Minnesota Tim discusses the latest rumors surrounding the Minnesota Vikings, particularly focusing on Sam Darnold's potential trade. He analyzes the challenges the Vikings face in making a trade and the implications of tagging Darnold. The conversation then shifts to Kevin O'Connell's meeting with Cam Ward, exploring the strategic reasons behind it. Tim also delves into the struggles of the Gophers basketball program, highlighting the difficulties faced by head coach Ben Johnson. Finally, he addresses the inconsistency of the Minnesota Timberwolves and the leadership issues surrounding Anthony Edwards.
00:00 Vikings Rumors and Sam Darnold's Future
11:52 Kevin O'Connell's Meeting with Cam Ward
18:15 Challenges Facing the Gophers Basketball Program
22:11 Timberwolves' Inconsistency and Anthony Edwards' Leadership
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Welcome into the show today.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
If this is your first time watching our your thousandth
time watching, thank you for making this podcast part of
your day. Hit that subscribe or follow button wherever you
are watching or listening. A lot to talk about today,
many many Minutesota Vikings rumors have surfaced over the weekend,
(00:31):
and there's things to discuss and things to break down,
So everything and everybody wants to talk about one subject
right now, and that subject revolves around Sam Darnold, because
(00:52):
the clock is ticking for the Vikings to tag and
trade Sam Donald and right now the Viking seven until
Tuesday at three pm. And there is a reporter who
goes by the name of Tony Pauline.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
Now I've never heard of this guy.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
He's not an Adam Schefter or a Tom Pelissaro or
an Ian Rappaport. So take the report as you will,
but he seems to be running with a report that
he feels very convicted on. I'm not sure who his
sources are. I don't know who anybody's sources are, but
what I do know is that this is the first
(01:39):
time that I'm seeing his name behind a huge story.
So take that as you will. But he's talking about
Sam Donald and his weekly notes, talking about the potential
tag and all this stuff. The first report he said,
(02:00):
he said, people close to Sam Darnald tell me that
the Raiders coach Pete Carroll will work to make a
move to acquire the quarterback. So after the Raiders lose
out on Matthew Stafford, the Raiders are now going to
(02:22):
pursue option B, which, according to Tony Pauline on x
at Tony Pauline p A U L I N E,
their Option B is Sam Donald, and by the looks
of it, Tony not Tony La Barbera. But Tony is
(02:47):
also noting that the chances the Vikings tag and trade Sam.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Donald are not very high right now.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
During my Saturday Notes article, this is what he wrote
from the combine. I mentioned reports elsewhere stated the Vikings
could pull a tag and trade on Sam Donald. This morning,
a source told me emphatically that they won't tag the
quarterback and Donald will hit the free agent market. Now,
(03:23):
I've been back and forth on this tag and trade thing.
My original take was that Donald will not get tagged
and traded because the Vikings want to save that tag
and they don't want to require any pieces.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
From the Raiders.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
The Giants are some of these teams that are looking
for a quarterback, because then that's gonna eat up the
cap space like Sam Donald would. But then I flipped
that take. I did some soul searching, and I said, Quesse,
the Vikings GM is a Wall Street Number stock guy,
and the last thing that you want to do is
(04:01):
let a huge asset walk out that door for nothing.
But the Vikings are also facing a challenging decision because
if you take Donald, you must guarantee that a team
like the Raiders is willing to depart with a top
(04:24):
draft pick, whether that be second or third round, even
a first round to acquire a guy that has a
past like Sam Darnald does. So a tag in trade
is not as easy as just tagging a guy and
trading a guy. It sounds a lot easier said than done.
(04:46):
And that's what we're seeing. As far as the latest
reports indicate. The Vikings, I'm sure would love to tag
and trade Sam Donald. I'm sure it's option number one
and what they want to do with Darnald this offseason.
But the problem that they're facing is that you cannot
(05:07):
guarantee a team like the Raiders will depart with a
high draft pick to get the quarterback. So that is
the dilemma the Vikings are facing right now. But that
is the newest juicy report coming from Tony Pauline. Now,
there's another story over the weekend. Here's a fascinating one.
(05:30):
The Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell met with cam Ward,
the projected first overall quarterback taken in the NFL Draft. Now,
the Vikings have a zero percent chance to draft cam Wore.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
That's not the discussion here.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
The discussion that needs to be brought up is why
did Kevin O'Connell waste his time meeting with the number
one overall prospect at the quarterback position in the NFL
draft when the Vikings have no interest and don't have
(06:14):
the assets to trade for the quarterback unless they departed
with JJ McCarthy. Now, there's a few reasons why. The
first reason why Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell met with
cam Ward is to build that relationship. Is to show
(06:39):
this quarterback and that he cares. Okay, that's option number one.
That's the reason number one why you met with the QB. Now,
future reasons. Reason number two, the coach met with cam
Ward because if he faces cam Ward in the future,
(07:04):
and Kevin O'Connell did the same thing with Caleb Williams,
if he faces cam Ward in the future and the
likely is high.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
Well then he knows a little bit about the quarterback.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
Any competitive advantage that you can receive is a good thing,
and that's what Kevin O'Connell is doing in this situation.
He wants to receive a competitive advantage against cam Ward.
So what better thing to do than to meet with
(07:40):
cam Ward and ask him questions. Pull up a play
on the clipboard and say, hey, what would you do
in this situation? Pull up a play on the screen
and say, you have option A, you have option B,
you have option CE. What are your options? What are
you thinking? Give me the.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
Play in your head?
Speaker 2 (07:59):
Like how how are you processing this kind of progression?
And that's valuable information. So if the Vikings play the Titans,
or if the Titans trade that pick to someone else
and the Vikings play them, well Kevin O'Connell has a
leg up on what cam Ward does at the quarterback position.
(08:26):
That's good information. Now reason number three. Reason number three
is this there's only two types of head coaches anywhere,
the ones that have been hired and the ones that
have been fired.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
Okay, I think Bill Parcells had that quote.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
And the reason why Kevin O'Connell wanted to meet with
cam Ward is because, let's say cam Ward becomes a
quarterback that's a good NFL player. Let's say in two
years from now, the Vikings plan did not go accordingly.
JJ McCarthy was a bust of their record.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
Stinks. Cavin o'connin's on the hot.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
Seat, and eventually he gets fired, because there is a
day when O'Connell will get fired, whether you like it
or not. Bill Belichick got fired after delivering six or
seven Super bowls to the New England Patriots organization. There
came a day and time when Tom Brady left and
(09:39):
Bill Belichick got fired. Cavin O'Connell will get fired one day,
and I'm sure he understands that too. Reason number three
is because if O'Connell gets fired, When O'Connell gets fired,
and let's just say cam Ward doesn't have a head coach,
(10:02):
but cam Ward is shaping up to be a very
good NFL player, well there's already a relationship there. Cam
Ward knows Kevin O'Connell was interviewed by Kevin O'Connell, and
they've already built a relationship there. So O'Connell, who's already
proven himself to be an elite offensive mind.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
Let's say cam Ward goes to.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
The Jets or the Titans and they fired their coach
in two years and they're looking for a quarterback whisper
type that can come in and take cam warden and
make him all he can be well if the Vikings fire,
Kevin O'Connell. O'Connell is going to be number one on
that list because of what he already knows about cam Ward.
(10:50):
So the motivations to meet for Kevin o to meet
with Kevin o huh on second here, So the motivations
to meet with cam Ward by Kevin O'Connell are multiple reasons.
(11:10):
Reason number one, build the relationship, Reason number two, get
a leg up on the type of quarterback he is
in case you meet him in the future with the Vikings.
And number three, when Kevin O'Connor gets fired from the
Vikings eventually, whether that's in three years from now or
in fifteen years from now, he has a leg up
in the interview process if the head coaching position is
(11:36):
open and cam Ward is the quarterback. So it don't
make sense. I get why he did it, and it
doesn't take much to figure out why he did it,
all right.
Speaker 1 (11:50):
Gearing away from the.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
Minnesota Vikings content here for a second. This is a
Vikings podcast. I'm a predominantly Vikings podcast. But there was
an interesting discussion over the weekend because Seth Davis, he's
been an analyst forever, CBS, kind of everywhere, he mentioned
(12:13):
this about the Minnesota Gophers head basketball coach Ben Johnson.
He calls him one of the elite coaches and one
of the toughest jobs in America. After the Gophers defeated Nebraska.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
And people ran with that, and people went crazy.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
Because Ben Johnson in his time with the Gophers and
the few years he's been with the program has not
had a winning record. I'm guessing I don't know that
for a fact, but it kind of used common sense
and there's no way Ben Johnson has had a winning
record with the Gophers in the last few years, at
(13:00):
least in the Big Ten. Okay, and k fan preposterous
tournament ran with it and we're calling it a preposterous take,
and they're gonna put it in the Preposterous Tournament bracket
next season, which is one of my favorite things ever.
I love the Preposterous Tournament. I don't If you don't
know the Preposterous Tournament by common Man on k Fan,
(13:23):
you should check it out because it's one of the
funniest bits I've ever seen in radio.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
But people are calling this.
Speaker 2 (13:32):
Crazy psycho, and I'm actually going to agree with Seth
Davis and his take about the Gopher's job being.
Speaker 1 (13:45):
One of the toughest jobs in the country.
Speaker 2 (13:49):
You think about William's Arena, Oh, a historical place, an
amazing arena, so much history the bar people these days,
college athletes that are eighteen years old and need to
decide between playing at Wisconsin and Madison and playing for
(14:13):
the U of M are not considering.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
Just how historical a place.
Speaker 2 (14:22):
Williams Arena is in terms of a basketball sense. College
athletes do not care about how historical Williams Arena is.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
They don't care. They don't care. People like me care about.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
Williams Arena, not as much as people that are sixty
seventy eighty years old care about Williams Arena because they
care the most. And guess what, they are the ones
with the dollars, They're the ones with the mon They're
the ones making the decision on whether or not to
(15:04):
rebuild Williams Arena or build something else, or or or
or remodel Williams Arena. I will say this, when the
Barn is jumping, there is no place like it. But
the problem with the Barn jumping and there being no
place like it is that the Barn has not been jumping.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
For years. For years.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
When is the last time the Golden Golphers have been
a relevant basketball program.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
It's been a long time.
Speaker 2 (15:44):
I think coach Pattino, Rick's son Richard got them to
an NCAA tournament, but they didn't win. They didn't go far,
they didn't they didn't make a run. The one time
in the Gophers history where they made a run back
(16:07):
in the late nineteen nineties, they cheated. That says all
you need to know about the Minnesota Gophers basketball program,
because you look at the Gophers recently. They had a
winning record in twenty three, twenty four, nineteen and fifteen,
(16:27):
losing record in conference nine to eleven.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
They had a record of nine and twenty.
Speaker 2 (16:33):
Two in twenty twenty two, twenty twenty three, two and
seventeen conference record, twenty twenty one, twenty twenty two a
thirteen and seventeen overall record, a four and sixteen conference record.
Ben Johnson took over in twenty twenty one. His first
(16:54):
year thirteen and seventeen, four and sixteen conference record, twenty
twenty fourteen and fifteen. This is Richard Bettino's last year
with the Gophers, six and fourteen in the conference, twenty
nineteen a fifteen and sixteen overall record, eight and twelve
in the conference, and the last time the Gophers have
(17:16):
done anything worth noting was in twenty eighteen. They went
twenty two and fourteen, they had a conference record of
nine and eleven, and they went to the NCAA Tournament
and they actually won their first round.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
This was with Richard Pattino.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
Richard Pattino was Gophers head coach from twenty thirteen until
twenty twenty and he had two NCAA appearances, won one
round in two thousand and eighteen and lost first round
in two thousand and sixteen. That's looking like the lottery
(18:02):
right now, and it's just getting tougher for a Gopher's program.
So the challenge for Ben Johnson is huge right now. Like,
I don't think people comprehend what said Davis is talking
(18:25):
about because with nil money and boosters and arena stadium,
whatever you want to call it, the Gophers program is
at a severe disadvantage. Just look at their roster right now.
Their best player is Dawson Garcia. Okay, fine, he's a
(18:48):
decent player. Their player b's and c's and d's are
all transfer kids. Which there's nothing wrong with transfer kids
because it's all about the transfer portal, so there's nothing
wrong against that, but they're not top of the line
transfer players. These aren't transfer players coming from Duke or
North Carolina or Kentucky or Wisconsin. These are transfer guys
(19:11):
coming from mid level programs that maybe didn't get playing time,
that are seeking playing time in a conference like the
Big Ten so they can get noticed either by the
NBA scouts or overseas so they can continue playing their
basketball somewhere else.
Speaker 1 (19:30):
So the Gophers program.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
Is at a severe disadvantage against all other Big Ten programs,
at least top bachelon like Michigan State, Wisconsin, Purdue, Indiana,
because of the arena they play in, because of the
money that they're giving players, which is hardly any and.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
The sell job.
Speaker 2 (19:55):
How can you sell Minnesota Gophers basketball. That's a tough
tough thing to do. And I'm gonna defend Ben Johnson.
A fifteen and fourteen overall record, a seven win record
versus eleven losses in the Big Ten conference this year
when the Big Ten isn't.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
Even the Big Ten anymore.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
It's like the Big thirty with all the schools that
they added out west. And they went out west and
beat Ucla and they beat USC and then they come
back and lose to Northwestern, which is what it is.
But it is what it is because, let's face it,
the Gophers program, any win that they get is a
(20:38):
good thing, and there's really nothing guaranteed about it. The
fact that they went out west and beat programs like USC,
like UCLA and earlier in the year beat twentieth ranked
Michigan in overtime, and earlier in the year beat Iowa,
(21:00):
beat number fifteen Oregon, the Gophers program this year has
done better than any Gopher program in the last six years,
and Ben Johnson has done an extraordinary job with the
Gophers program this year, and I agree with Seth Davis.
(21:21):
It's one of the toughest coaching programs in the NCAA
because of his competition, because of who his competition is
in the nil money. The competition has, let's face it,
Michigan State and Indiana. They can spend money on these
big time talents and the Gophers are over here getting
(21:43):
bottom feed bottom feeder transfers. And Ben Johnson has the
Gophers at a winning record in the toughest conference in
the NCAA. I think he deserves some credit and I
think he deserves to be defended to this point in time.
(22:05):
One more story that I want to touch on Anthony
Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves. They beat the Suns last night,
dominated them in the second half.
Speaker 1 (22:15):
Julius Randall came back, but prior to that, the Timberwolves.
Speaker 2 (22:21):
Who said at thirty three and twenty nine, are tied
with the Clippers and the Golden State Warriors for that
sixth seed. And that's a problem because the Golden State
Warriors have been playing some fine basketball recently with their
addition of Jimmy Butler, and everybody's gunning for that sixth seed,
(22:42):
because then you avoid.
Speaker 1 (22:44):
The playing tournament.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
Timber was lost to the Lakers and they lost to
the Jazz, both competitive games, but versus the Lakers, Anthony
Edwards got suspended a game against the Jazz because he
reached his technical foul mark and had sixteen technicals in
(23:07):
the season and had to be suspended one game. Anthony
Edwards lacks something that I want all my super great
players to have, and that's composure and poise.
Speaker 1 (23:20):
Those are two of the most.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
Important traits for a player that's already a superstar. Anthony
Edwards lacks the ability to shut up when he needs
to shut up. You know, there becomes a point when
you get at fourteen technicals and you're like, Okay, you
(23:46):
know what team, I'm gonna shut my mouth and I'm
not going to fire anything towards the officials because you
guys need me and we are trying to make a
playoff run late in the year.
Speaker 1 (23:58):
And then he goes and spews his.
Speaker 2 (24:00):
Mouth towards the officials versus the Lakers and gets ejected
without any thought of the repercussions that that would have
against the Minnesota Timberwolves. And when I look at what
the Timberwls are. It's very very clear because every time
(24:23):
the Timberwls win and every time they lose, I see
a lot of reaction from media and fans alike where
they're like.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
Who are these Timberwolves? What? What team are we? Well?
Speaker 2 (24:37):
Why did we come back from twenty five points versus
the Thunder and then lay an egg against the Utah Jazz.
Why did we just beat the Phoenix Suns by almost
twenty points but then we lost to the Milwaukee Bucks
without Yannis and Damian Lillard.
Speaker 1 (24:55):
The Timberwolves are very clear what they are.
Speaker 2 (25:01):
They are an inconsistent team that sometimes plays well and
sometimes plays like a bottom feeder.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
In the league. The Timberwolves.
Speaker 2 (25:14):
Are inconsistent because they're superstar. Anthony Edwards is inconsistent right now.
And Anthony Edwards, in my opinion, is not a superstar
in the NBA. Yet he rises to the occasion versus
the Phoenix Suns where he scored forty four points. But
(25:37):
you cannot have your superstar player rejected because he picked
up sixteen technical files in a season. When you are
a superstar, you are more than just a great player.
You are a composed player. You are a leader you
are poised when you need to be poised, you can
handle adversity. And Anthony Edwards, as entertaining as it is,
(26:02):
has no filter and he has no line where he's like,
you know what, I'm done.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
I'm gonna be quiet.
Speaker 2 (26:08):
I'm gonna shut my mouth because my team needs me
and we're trying to make it a run. And as
bad as the Utah Jazz loss was one seventeen one sixteen,
every game matters at this point forward. If the Vikings won,
if the Vikings won the game, if the Timberwolves won
(26:29):
that game, they would be right now the sixteen. They'd
be half a game up against the Clippers and half
a game up against the Warriors. The problem with just
focusing on that one loss by the Timberwolves is this,
they weren't supposed to win that OKAC game either.
Speaker 1 (26:46):
It bounces itself out.
Speaker 2 (26:49):
The Timberrols all season long have won games that they
have no business winning, like a twenty five point comeback
against OKAC in the fourth quarter, like a sixteen point
comeback with five minutes left against the Houston Rockets in Houston.
And they've also had no business losing games that they
(27:12):
should have lost. Versus the Utah Jazz, versus the Milwaukee Bucks.
You've seen it through the entire course of the season.
The Timberwolves have had massive leads and have lost them.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
They've had sixteen fourth quarter leads this year.
Speaker 2 (27:30):
And lost them, most by any team in the league.
But then they've also had these tremendous comebacks against the
Thunder and against the Houston Rockets. So when I look
at that, I think it's an eighty two game season.
These things are going to happen. Don't put too much
weight in one game because teams are going to lose
(27:53):
to teams that they should not lose to. You look
at every single team and every single schedule this year,
and there are gonna be games for every team where
they lose because it's just one off night when you
play eighty two games. But this has been the situation
for the Timberwolves all season long. The Timberwolves are an
(28:14):
inconsistent team, and you should not fall for the trap
that they're gonna make a playoff run, because right when
you think they're gonna make a run, then they lose
bad games.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
Their offense is hard to watch.
Speaker 2 (28:32):
Because it's mostly isolation basketball, and their defense is inconsistent.
Speaker 1 (28:40):
They'll give up.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
Ninety eight points to the Suns and then give up
one hundred and seventeen points against the Utah Jats and
a one hundred and twenty eight points against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
And the problem with the Timberwolves this season is that
their star player, Anthony Edwards is not held accountable as
(29:09):
much as you should be. He does not put himself,
he does not hold himself to the place that he should.
When you think about sixteen technical fouls, it's ridiculous. Shut
your mouth, play basketball, be composed and have have composure,
(29:30):
be poised, and he has not shown an ability.
Speaker 1 (29:35):
To do That's like Rashid.
Speaker 2 (29:37):
Wallace, technical files galore and the Timberwolves and Anthony Edwards.
They need to fix that. And right now they go
through a stretch run that are easier. They play Philadelphia,
they stink, Charlotte, Miami, San Antonio, Denver, Orlando, Utah, Indiana,
New Orleans, New Orleans, Indiana, Phoenix, Detroit, Denver. The Timberwolves
(30:00):
have a stretch of games where that could really rattle
off a few in a row. But we'll see, because
the Timbrels all season long have proven that they can't
win games that they're supposed to win, and that they're
really an inconsistent team at best this season. So every
time you see him wins like gosh, they're back, and
(30:22):
I fall for the trap sometimes too, and then like okay,
they're going to go on the run here the schedule
really lightens up, and then they lose against a team
or teams that they have non business losing to.
Speaker 1 (30:36):
It's just been the story of the season.
Speaker 2 (30:39):
Whether Chris Finch isn't calling a timeout when you should
call a timeout, which has been a problem for years,
Anthony Edwards getting technical fouls when you shouldn't get technical foles,
isolation basket. Oh, it's been the same thing all season long.
The Timberls are what they are, and it's very clear
an inconsistent team with inconsistent leadership and the eyes that
(31:00):
run their mouths that can't stay quiet, which cost the
team wins. All right, thank you for watching this episode.
Really kind of win everywhere today, Vikings, Gophers, Timberwolves. Thank
you for watching this podcast and listening if that's what
you chose to do.
Speaker 1 (31:17):
Everyone, have a great day.
Welcome into the show today.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
If this is your first time watching our your thousandth
time watching, thank you for making this podcast part of
your day. Hit that subscribe or follow button wherever you
are watching or listening. A lot to talk about today,
many many Minutesota Vikings rumors have surfaced over the weekend,
(00:31):
and there's things to discuss and things to break down,
So everything and everybody wants to talk about one subject
right now, and that subject revolves around Sam Darnold, because
(00:52):
the clock is ticking for the Vikings to tag and
trade Sam Donald and right now the Viking seven until
Tuesday at three pm. And there is a reporter who
goes by the name of Tony Pauline.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
Now I've never heard of this guy.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
He's not an Adam Schefter or a Tom Pelissaro or
an Ian Rappaport. So take the report as you will,
but he seems to be running with a report that
he feels very convicted on. I'm not sure who his
sources are. I don't know who anybody's sources are, but
what I do know is that this is the first
(01:39):
time that I'm seeing his name behind a huge story.
So take that as you will. But he's talking about
Sam Donald and his weekly notes, talking about the potential
tag and all this stuff. The first report he said,
(02:00):
he said, people close to Sam Darnald tell me that
the Raiders coach Pete Carroll will work to make a
move to acquire the quarterback. So after the Raiders lose
out on Matthew Stafford, the Raiders are now going to
(02:22):
pursue option B, which, according to Tony Pauline on x
at Tony Pauline p A U L I N E,
their Option B is Sam Donald, and by the looks
of it, Tony not Tony La Barbera. But Tony is
(02:47):
also noting that the chances the Vikings tag and trade Sam.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Donald are not very high right now.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
During my Saturday Notes article, this is what he wrote
from the combine. I mentioned reports elsewhere stated the Vikings
could pull a tag and trade on Sam Donald. This morning,
a source told me emphatically that they won't tag the
quarterback and Donald will hit the free agent market. Now,
(03:23):
I've been back and forth on this tag and trade thing.
My original take was that Donald will not get tagged
and traded because the Vikings want to save that tag
and they don't want to require any pieces.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
From the Raiders.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
The Giants are some of these teams that are looking
for a quarterback, because then that's gonna eat up the
cap space like Sam Donald would. But then I flipped
that take. I did some soul searching, and I said, Quesse,
the Vikings GM is a Wall Street Number stock guy,
and the last thing that you want to do is
(04:01):
let a huge asset walk out that door for nothing.
But the Vikings are also facing a challenging decision because
if you take Donald, you must guarantee that a team
like the Raiders is willing to depart with a top
(04:24):
draft pick, whether that be second or third round, even
a first round to acquire a guy that has a
past like Sam Darnald does. So a tag in trade
is not as easy as just tagging a guy and
trading a guy. It sounds a lot easier said than done.
(04:46):
And that's what we're seeing. As far as the latest
reports indicate. The Vikings, I'm sure would love to tag
and trade Sam Donald. I'm sure it's option number one
and what they want to do with Darnald this offseason.
But the problem that they're facing is that you cannot
(05:07):
guarantee a team like the Raiders will depart with a
high draft pick to get the quarterback. So that is
the dilemma the Vikings are facing right now. But that
is the newest juicy report coming from Tony Pauline. Now,
there's another story over the weekend. Here's a fascinating one.
(05:30):
The Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell met with cam Ward,
the projected first overall quarterback taken in the NFL Draft. Now,
the Vikings have a zero percent chance to draft cam Wore.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
That's not the discussion here.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
The discussion that needs to be brought up is why
did Kevin O'Connell waste his time meeting with the number
one overall prospect at the quarterback position in the NFL
draft when the Vikings have no interest and don't have
(06:14):
the assets to trade for the quarterback unless they departed
with JJ McCarthy. Now, there's a few reasons why. The
first reason why Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell met with
cam Ward is to build that relationship. Is to show
(06:39):
this quarterback and that he cares. Okay, that's option number one.
That's the reason number one why you met with the QB. Now,
future reasons. Reason number two, the coach met with cam
Ward because if he faces cam Ward in the future,
(07:04):
and Kevin O'Connell did the same thing with Caleb Williams,
if he faces cam Ward in the future and the
likely is high.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
Well then he knows a little bit about the quarterback.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
Any competitive advantage that you can receive is a good thing,
and that's what Kevin O'Connell is doing in this situation.
He wants to receive a competitive advantage against cam Ward.
So what better thing to do than to meet with
(07:40):
cam Ward and ask him questions. Pull up a play
on the clipboard and say, hey, what would you do
in this situation? Pull up a play on the screen
and say, you have option A, you have option B,
you have option CE. What are your options? What are
you thinking? Give me the.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
Play in your head?
Speaker 2 (07:59):
Like how how are you processing this kind of progression?
And that's valuable information. So if the Vikings play the Titans,
or if the Titans trade that pick to someone else
and the Vikings play them, well Kevin O'Connell has a
leg up on what cam Ward does at the quarterback position.
(08:26):
That's good information. Now reason number three. Reason number three
is this there's only two types of head coaches anywhere,
the ones that have been hired and the ones that
have been fired.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
Okay, I think Bill Parcells had that quote.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
And the reason why Kevin O'Connell wanted to meet with
cam Ward is because, let's say cam Ward becomes a
quarterback that's a good NFL player. Let's say in two
years from now, the Vikings plan did not go accordingly.
JJ McCarthy was a bust of their record.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
Stinks. Cavin o'connin's on the hot.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
Seat, and eventually he gets fired, because there is a
day when O'Connell will get fired, whether you like it
or not. Bill Belichick got fired after delivering six or
seven Super bowls to the New England Patriots organization. There
came a day and time when Tom Brady left and
(09:39):
Bill Belichick got fired. Cavin O'Connell will get fired one day,
and I'm sure he understands that too. Reason number three
is because if O'Connell gets fired, When O'Connell gets fired,
and let's just say cam Ward doesn't have a head coach,
(10:02):
but cam Ward is shaping up to be a very
good NFL player, well there's already a relationship there. Cam
Ward knows Kevin O'Connell was interviewed by Kevin O'Connell, and
they've already built a relationship there. So O'Connell, who's already
proven himself to be an elite offensive mind.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
Let's say cam Ward goes to.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
The Jets or the Titans and they fired their coach
in two years and they're looking for a quarterback whisper
type that can come in and take cam warden and
make him all he can be well if the Vikings fire,
Kevin O'Connell. O'Connell is going to be number one on
that list because of what he already knows about cam Ward.
(10:50):
So the motivations to meet for Kevin o to meet
with Kevin o huh on second here, So the motivations
to meet with cam Ward by Kevin O'Connell are multiple reasons.
(11:10):
Reason number one, build the relationship, Reason number two, get
a leg up on the type of quarterback he is
in case you meet him in the future with the Vikings.
And number three, when Kevin O'Connor gets fired from the
Vikings eventually, whether that's in three years from now or
in fifteen years from now, he has a leg up
in the interview process if the head coaching position is
(11:36):
open and cam Ward is the quarterback. So it don't
make sense. I get why he did it, and it
doesn't take much to figure out why he did it,
all right.
Speaker 1 (11:50):
Gearing away from the.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
Minnesota Vikings content here for a second. This is a
Vikings podcast. I'm a predominantly Vikings podcast. But there was
an interesting discussion over the weekend because Seth Davis, he's
been an analyst forever, CBS, kind of everywhere, he mentioned
(12:13):
this about the Minnesota Gophers head basketball coach Ben Johnson.
He calls him one of the elite coaches and one
of the toughest jobs in America. After the Gophers defeated Nebraska.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
And people ran with that, and people went crazy.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
Because Ben Johnson in his time with the Gophers and
the few years he's been with the program has not
had a winning record. I'm guessing I don't know that
for a fact, but it kind of used common sense
and there's no way Ben Johnson has had a winning
record with the Gophers in the last few years, at
(13:00):
least in the Big Ten. Okay, and k fan preposterous
tournament ran with it and we're calling it a preposterous take,
and they're gonna put it in the Preposterous Tournament bracket
next season, which is one of my favorite things ever.
I love the Preposterous Tournament. I don't If you don't
know the Preposterous Tournament by common Man on k Fan,
(13:23):
you should check it out because it's one of the
funniest bits I've ever seen in radio.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
But people are calling this.
Speaker 2 (13:32):
Crazy psycho, and I'm actually going to agree with Seth
Davis and his take about the Gopher's job being.
Speaker 1 (13:45):
One of the toughest jobs in the country.
Speaker 2 (13:49):
You think about William's Arena, Oh, a historical place, an
amazing arena, so much history the bar people these days,
college athletes that are eighteen years old and need to
decide between playing at Wisconsin and Madison and playing for
(14:13):
the U of M are not considering.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
Just how historical a place.
Speaker 2 (14:22):
Williams Arena is in terms of a basketball sense. College
athletes do not care about how historical Williams Arena is.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
They don't care. They don't care. People like me care about.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
Williams Arena, not as much as people that are sixty
seventy eighty years old care about Williams Arena because they
care the most. And guess what, they are the ones
with the dollars, They're the ones with the mon They're
the ones making the decision on whether or not to
(15:04):
rebuild Williams Arena or build something else, or or or
or remodel Williams Arena. I will say this, when the
Barn is jumping, there is no place like it. But
the problem with the Barn jumping and there being no
place like it is that the Barn has not been jumping.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
For years. For years.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
When is the last time the Golden Golphers have been
a relevant basketball program.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
It's been a long time.
Speaker 2 (15:44):
I think coach Pattino, Rick's son Richard got them to
an NCAA tournament, but they didn't win. They didn't go far,
they didn't they didn't make a run. The one time
in the Gophers history where they made a run back
(16:07):
in the late nineteen nineties, they cheated. That says all
you need to know about the Minnesota Gophers basketball program,
because you look at the Gophers recently. They had a
winning record in twenty three, twenty four, nineteen and fifteen,
(16:27):
losing record in conference nine to eleven.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
They had a record of nine and twenty.
Speaker 2 (16:33):
Two in twenty twenty two, twenty twenty three, two and
seventeen conference record, twenty twenty one, twenty twenty two a
thirteen and seventeen overall record, a four and sixteen conference record.
Ben Johnson took over in twenty twenty one. His first
(16:54):
year thirteen and seventeen, four and sixteen conference record, twenty
twenty fourteen and fifteen. This is Richard Bettino's last year
with the Gophers, six and fourteen in the conference, twenty
nineteen a fifteen and sixteen overall record, eight and twelve
in the conference, and the last time the Gophers have
(17:16):
done anything worth noting was in twenty eighteen. They went
twenty two and fourteen, they had a conference record of
nine and eleven, and they went to the NCAA Tournament
and they actually won their first round.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
This was with Richard Pattino.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
Richard Pattino was Gophers head coach from twenty thirteen until
twenty twenty and he had two NCAA appearances, won one
round in two thousand and eighteen and lost first round
in two thousand and sixteen. That's looking like the lottery
(18:02):
right now, and it's just getting tougher for a Gopher's program.
So the challenge for Ben Johnson is huge right now. Like,
I don't think people comprehend what said Davis is talking
(18:25):
about because with nil money and boosters and arena stadium,
whatever you want to call it, the Gophers program is
at a severe disadvantage. Just look at their roster right now.
Their best player is Dawson Garcia. Okay, fine, he's a
(18:48):
decent player. Their player b's and c's and d's are
all transfer kids. Which there's nothing wrong with transfer kids
because it's all about the transfer portal, so there's nothing
wrong against that, but they're not top of the line
transfer players. These aren't transfer players coming from Duke or
North Carolina or Kentucky or Wisconsin. These are transfer guys
(19:11):
coming from mid level programs that maybe didn't get playing time,
that are seeking playing time in a conference like the
Big Ten so they can get noticed either by the
NBA scouts or overseas so they can continue playing their
basketball somewhere else.
Speaker 1 (19:30):
So the Gophers program.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
Is at a severe disadvantage against all other Big Ten programs,
at least top bachelon like Michigan State, Wisconsin, Purdue, Indiana,
because of the arena they play in, because of the
money that they're giving players, which is hardly any and.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
The sell job.
Speaker 2 (19:55):
How can you sell Minnesota Gophers basketball. That's a tough
tough thing to do. And I'm gonna defend Ben Johnson.
A fifteen and fourteen overall record, a seven win record
versus eleven losses in the Big Ten conference this year
when the Big Ten isn't.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
Even the Big Ten anymore.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
It's like the Big thirty with all the schools that
they added out west. And they went out west and
beat Ucla and they beat USC and then they come
back and lose to Northwestern, which is what it is.
But it is what it is because, let's face it,
the Gophers program, any win that they get is a
(20:38):
good thing, and there's really nothing guaranteed about it. The
fact that they went out west and beat programs like USC,
like UCLA and earlier in the year beat twentieth ranked
Michigan in overtime, and earlier in the year beat Iowa,
(21:00):
beat number fifteen Oregon, the Gophers program this year has
done better than any Gopher program in the last six years,
and Ben Johnson has done an extraordinary job with the
Gophers program this year, and I agree with Seth Davis.
(21:21):
It's one of the toughest coaching programs in the NCAA
because of his competition, because of who his competition is
in the nil money. The competition has, let's face it,
Michigan State and Indiana. They can spend money on these
big time talents and the Gophers are over here getting
(21:43):
bottom feed bottom feeder transfers. And Ben Johnson has the
Gophers at a winning record in the toughest conference in
the NCAA. I think he deserves some credit and I
think he deserves to be defended to this point in time.
(22:05):
One more story that I want to touch on Anthony
Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves. They beat the Suns last night,
dominated them in the second half.
Speaker 1 (22:15):
Julius Randall came back, but prior to that, the Timberwolves.
Speaker 2 (22:21):
Who said at thirty three and twenty nine, are tied
with the Clippers and the Golden State Warriors for that
sixth seed. And that's a problem because the Golden State
Warriors have been playing some fine basketball recently with their
addition of Jimmy Butler, and everybody's gunning for that sixth seed,
(22:42):
because then you avoid.
Speaker 1 (22:44):
The playing tournament.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
Timber was lost to the Lakers and they lost to
the Jazz, both competitive games, but versus the Lakers, Anthony
Edwards got suspended a game against the Jazz because he
reached his technical foul mark and had sixteen technicals in
(23:07):
the season and had to be suspended one game. Anthony
Edwards lacks something that I want all my super great
players to have, and that's composure and poise.
Speaker 1 (23:20):
Those are two of the most.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
Important traits for a player that's already a superstar. Anthony
Edwards lacks the ability to shut up when he needs
to shut up. You know, there becomes a point when
you get at fourteen technicals and you're like, Okay, you
(23:46):
know what team, I'm gonna shut my mouth and I'm
not going to fire anything towards the officials because you
guys need me and we are trying to make a
playoff run late in the year.
Speaker 1 (23:58):
And then he goes and spews his.
Speaker 2 (24:00):
Mouth towards the officials versus the Lakers and gets ejected
without any thought of the repercussions that that would have
against the Minnesota Timberwolves. And when I look at what
the Timberwls are. It's very very clear because every time
(24:23):
the Timberwls win and every time they lose, I see
a lot of reaction from media and fans alike where
they're like.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
Who are these Timberwolves? What? What team are we? Well?
Speaker 2 (24:37):
Why did we come back from twenty five points versus
the Thunder and then lay an egg against the Utah Jazz.
Why did we just beat the Phoenix Suns by almost
twenty points but then we lost to the Milwaukee Bucks
without Yannis and Damian Lillard.
Speaker 1 (24:55):
The Timberwolves are very clear what they are.
Speaker 2 (25:01):
They are an inconsistent team that sometimes plays well and
sometimes plays like a bottom feeder.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
In the league. The Timberwolves.
Speaker 2 (25:14):
Are inconsistent because they're superstar. Anthony Edwards is inconsistent right now.
And Anthony Edwards, in my opinion, is not a superstar
in the NBA. Yet he rises to the occasion versus
the Phoenix Suns where he scored forty four points. But
(25:37):
you cannot have your superstar player rejected because he picked
up sixteen technical files in a season. When you are
a superstar, you are more than just a great player.
You are a composed player. You are a leader you
are poised when you need to be poised, you can
handle adversity. And Anthony Edwards, as entertaining as it is,
(26:02):
has no filter and he has no line where he's like,
you know what, I'm done.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
I'm gonna be quiet.
Speaker 2 (26:08):
I'm gonna shut my mouth because my team needs me
and we're trying to make it a run. And as
bad as the Utah Jazz loss was one seventeen one sixteen,
every game matters at this point forward. If the Vikings won,
if the Vikings won the game, if the Timberwolves won
(26:29):
that game, they would be right now the sixteen. They'd
be half a game up against the Clippers and half
a game up against the Warriors. The problem with just
focusing on that one loss by the Timberwolves is this,
they weren't supposed to win that OKAC game either.
Speaker 1 (26:46):
It bounces itself out.
Speaker 2 (26:49):
The Timberrols all season long have won games that they
have no business winning, like a twenty five point comeback
against OKAC in the fourth quarter, like a sixteen point
comeback with five minutes left against the Houston Rockets in Houston.
And they've also had no business losing games that they
(27:12):
should have lost. Versus the Utah Jazz, versus the Milwaukee Bucks.
You've seen it through the entire course of the season.
The Timberwolves have had massive leads and have lost them.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
They've had sixteen fourth quarter leads this year.
Speaker 2 (27:30):
And lost them, most by any team in the league.
But then they've also had these tremendous comebacks against the
Thunder and against the Houston Rockets. So when I look
at that, I think it's an eighty two game season.
These things are going to happen. Don't put too much
weight in one game because teams are going to lose
(27:53):
to teams that they should not lose to. You look
at every single team and every single schedule this year,
and there are gonna be games for every team where
they lose because it's just one off night when you
play eighty two games. But this has been the situation
for the Timberwolves all season long. The Timberwolves are an
(28:14):
inconsistent team, and you should not fall for the trap
that they're gonna make a playoff run, because right when
you think they're gonna make a run, then they lose
bad games.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
Their offense is hard to watch.
Speaker 2 (28:32):
Because it's mostly isolation basketball, and their defense is inconsistent.
Speaker 1 (28:40):
They'll give up.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
Ninety eight points to the Suns and then give up
one hundred and seventeen points against the Utah Jats and
a one hundred and twenty eight points against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
And the problem with the Timberwolves this season is that
their star player, Anthony Edwards is not held accountable as
(29:09):
much as you should be. He does not put himself,
he does not hold himself to the place that he should.
When you think about sixteen technical fouls, it's ridiculous. Shut
your mouth, play basketball, be composed and have have composure,
(29:30):
be poised, and he has not shown an ability.
Speaker 1 (29:35):
To do That's like Rashid.
Speaker 2 (29:37):
Wallace, technical files galore and the Timberwolves and Anthony Edwards.
They need to fix that. And right now they go
through a stretch run that are easier. They play Philadelphia,
they stink, Charlotte, Miami, San Antonio, Denver, Orlando, Utah, Indiana,
New Orleans, New Orleans, Indiana, Phoenix, Detroit, Denver. The Timberwolves
(30:00):
have a stretch of games where that could really rattle
off a few in a row. But we'll see, because
the Timbrels all season long have proven that they can't
win games that they're supposed to win, and that they're
really an inconsistent team at best this season. So every
time you see him wins like gosh, they're back, and
(30:22):
I fall for the trap sometimes too, and then like okay,
they're going to go on the run here the schedule
really lightens up, and then they lose against a team
or teams that they have non business losing to.
Speaker 1 (30:36):
It's just been the story of the season.
Speaker 2 (30:39):
Whether Chris Finch isn't calling a timeout when you should
call a timeout, which has been a problem for years,
Anthony Edwards getting technical fouls when you shouldn't get technical foles,
isolation basket. Oh, it's been the same thing all season long.
The Timberls are what they are, and it's very clear
an inconsistent team with inconsistent leadership and the eyes that
(31:00):
run their mouths that can't stay quiet, which cost the
team wins. All right, thank you for watching this episode.
Really kind of win everywhere today, Vikings, Gophers, Timberwolves. Thank
you for watching this podcast and listening if that's what
you chose to do.
Speaker 1 (31:17):
Everyone, have a great day.
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