January 9, 2025 • 22 mins
Welcome to episode 303 of the Minnesota Vikings Podcast presented by Pepsi - Made for Vikings watching! Tatum Everett welcomes former Viking running back Robert Smith to the show to breakdown the regular season finale and preview the upcoming Vikings wild card weekend against the Los Angeles Rams. Robert talks about learning from the mistakes of the week 18 loss, the importance of Aaron Jones in the Vikings offense, how the 'win or go home' aspect of the NFL playoffs makes it so intense, and how getting Matt Stafford off his game will be a key emphasis on Monday night. All of this and more is in episode 303 of the Minnesota Vikings Podcast presented by Pepsi - Made for Vikings watching!
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome into the postseason edition of the Minnesota Vikings podcast.
I'm your host Tatum Everett from the Vikings Entertainment Network.
The fourteen and three Vikings are headed to la for
the first round of the NFL Playoffs. As number five
seed in the NFC, the Vikings now face the NFC
West winners in the La Rams the NFL saving the
(00:24):
best for last again as it's Monday night football kick
from SOFI Stadium, and now it feels like a really
good time to bring in our guest, former Vikings running
back Robert Smith. He's a longtime friend of the program. Robert,
thank you so much for talking to us today. How
have you been enjoying this season?
Speaker 2 (00:42):
It was pretty enjoyable until this past weekend.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
It was a tough loss. You know.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
There was so much build up going into the game
and just excited to see a really good game, and
I thought that it would be a high scoring affair
on both sides, and of course it only ended up
being above thirty for one team, so it was it
was kind of a letdown. But I think you know,
from a timing perspective, you always talk about wanting to
play your best going into the playoffs. But when you
(01:09):
prepare to play your best and you don't, I think
it can expose or at least reveal some of the
weaknesses that you definitely need to work on. So if
there's a bright spot, that would be the one.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
This team was on a nine game winning streak before
this game, and you like to see this happen in
a contest where you've already clinched the playoff berth. So
now you know you put stuff on tape that maybe
teams can see from you.
Speaker 4 (01:35):
But how can you learn from this experience?
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Well, I think you look at the way that teams
have exposed some of your weaknesses and some of the
areas that they felt that they were going to be
able to gain an advantage. I think you start to
look at your protection schemes, you'd look at the execution
of those schemes. And then on the defensive side, you know,
there aren't many Jremior Gibbs fortunately in the National Football League,
(02:01):
and he's one of those guys that can just change
a game and it forces a really bad matchup a
lot of times with the linebacker and situations like that,
you need to react a little bit better and in
some cases just tackle a little bit better by taking
better angles.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
Yeah, and you talk about the defense. I mean, I
feel like they had a really really.
Speaker 4 (02:19):
Good day there in the first half.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
And coach even saidas I think this week in Ex's
and O's with Paul Allen, that if you don't have
the complimentary football, it doesn't matter how well your defense
plays there in the first half, because in the second
half it's just wasn't sustainable.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
Yeah, absolutely not.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
You know, you're on the field too much, and I
think guys just get a little bit worn out and
get a little bit worn out. Sometimes you do take
those bad angles and even the fundamentals start to break
down a little bit. So just chalk that one up
to experience. What else can you do? Right, The most
important play is always the next one, and the most
important game is always the next one.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
Yeah. It's funny because I think that the mindset of
this team has been and what I felt myself around
this facility since the game on Sunday night is that
they're moving on. They're going to correct what they need
to correct, and they know they're gonna be honest. They
know that they need to get better in certain areas.
But if I have to say, like, following Sam Donald's
(03:18):
lead and his mental fortitude I think has been a
bit a nice blueprint for this team. It takes me
back to that Jacksonville game, was a game where they
didn't score a touchdown, and ever since then he's been
on a heater.
Speaker 4 (03:31):
How can he start that all over again?
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Yeah, I think it's just going back to fundamentals. And
I think the thing that made Sam Donald different this year,
and you saw a little bit with San Francisco a
year ago, and we had an opportunity to call it
one of his games when he was a.
Speaker 3 (03:45):
Starter down in Carolina.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
He's just gotten so much better with his fundamentals of
playing the position, whether it's understanding protections how he needs
to climb or slide, move subtly in the pocket, and
his anticipy patient just reading defenses extremely well. And credit
Aaron Glenn and that Detroit Lions defense, even with the
missing pieces, I think that they made Sam hold on
(04:09):
to the ball a little bit longer than he wanted
to sometimes probably should have gotten rid of it maybe
two or three times. And that's the thing about the
quarterback position. You have to have a short memory and
you have to just kind of let it go sometimes,
and I don't think that was the case with Sam Darnold.
And as you go into the playoffs, I think it's
good to have that lesson in live action under your belt.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
Yeah, I mean, it really is kind of interesting. I mean,
it didn't feel like all of the win was out
of the sales.
Speaker 4 (04:33):
I mean, this is a fourteen win team.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
And to be able to accomplish that in the NFL,
I mean throughout your years of playing. Obviously there weren't
seventeen games and whatnot, so that was really hard to
get to. But how hard is it to be able
to stack wins like that in this league?
Speaker 3 (04:48):
That's extremely difficult.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
And I think when you look at coach O'Connell's record,
I think it was somewhere around twenty six and eight
or twenty six and nine, and those one score games,
and a lot of those were one score games.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
I think the.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
Fundamentals are there, the structure, the foundation is there for
the team. And again, when you look at film like that,
as difficult as it can be to kind of relive
the loss that you just have, it really does kind
of point out those areas where you get better and
that ultimately is what each person has to do on
each play is look back and say, did I really
(05:23):
step the way that I was supposed to step? Did
I take that blitzerer on the way that I was
supposed to Did I use that correct angle when I
was going in for that tackle? Did I see that
route combination unfolding the.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
Way that it was?
Speaker 2 (05:38):
And so when you go back and you individually look
at your one to eleventh, it becomes a pretty clear
path as to how you need to improve.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
Yeah, and this team hopes to have improved over that
stretch of games since the last time they played the Rams.
Obviously this is a team they saw before. The Veggans
have two losses on the year, one of them being
the Rams, and it was a way total different situation.
You're coming off of that Lions game, you have a
short week, you go in, your left tackle goes down
(06:08):
mid game, You're forced to play with your backup. Now
you've had a few games to get even better. Cam
Robinson in a trade has been a sneaky move by
this front office this entire season.
Speaker 4 (06:21):
How do you think this.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Team can use what happened in LA to their advantage
this time? Being that it's so or can they use
it at all since it's been such a long time.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
Yeah, I think it's a you don't really kind of
look at it that way. And I think you know,
what you've seen out of the Rams really over the
last couple of years is they've gotten better as the
season has gone on, and I think, you know, it's
going to be a tough defensive challenge our offense against
their defense. I think it's a tougher challenge, maybe even
tougher than what they faced against the Lions. And you
(06:52):
don't really think, I don't believe that a team's going
to be the same because they generally don't play you
the same way that they did before. The things that
you see in that first matchup are going to be
a lot different than what they're going to use against you.
And I think again, it's fortunate for the Vikings to
have had that loss at the end of the year
(07:13):
because you better believe that the Rams are going to
be breaking that film down and say, well, this is
that we can try, this is a protection that we
think we're going to be able to exploit, or these
are players defensively that we think we can get out
of position so I think it's more about breaking down
the individual matchup on that week than it is going
all the way back to whatever that was. I guess
(07:35):
it was October and say, well, I think this is
what we're going to build our Branda.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
It's funny you mentioned that. Have you watched any RAMS
games this season?
Speaker 3 (07:46):
It's been a while, you know for me too.
Speaker 4 (07:48):
But one thing that I saw that was really interesting.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Obviously this past week when they lost to the Seahawks,
they rested all their starters. But before that, to your
point of their defense, they've been playing exceptionally well in
the last three weeks. Before then, in weeks fifteen through seventeen,
they only allowed eight points per game on average, four
point eight yards per play on average, two passing touchdowns total,
(08:12):
and eighty three point seven rushing yards per game. I mean,
hearing those stats, you're like, man, what are they doing correct? Like,
what are they doing so good right now?
Speaker 4 (08:20):
Right?
Speaker 3 (08:21):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (08:21):
Well, I think when you look at the execution of
their defense and you just kind of see the way
that this staff has really been able to kind of
mold this unit into what they wanted it to be
all year long, I think it's just they've They've gotten
so much better both sides of the ball, really, but
I think particularly on the defensive side of the ball,
(08:42):
just playing very disciplined football. And you know, when you
have a unit that believes in itself, it's got some talent.
You have coordinator that you know has been around the
game for a while and understands how to use those guys,
they get better and better as the season goes on.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
We are currently talking to former Vikings running back Robert
Smith here on the Minnesota Vikings podcast, and Robert, I
really wanted to get your thoughts on the run game
this year. You know, it's always been a point of
emphasis for Kevin O'Connell and the staff is to establish
that run game, and I really feel like this year
they were able to get a better, you know, a
(09:14):
better operation, Goug, I guess you can say than in
the past two seasons, mainly because Aaron Jones has been awesome.
What do you like about his game?
Speaker 3 (09:23):
I just say he's versatile back.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
He can just do so much and he's not the
biggest back in the world, but he runs with great body, lean,
he finishes runs extremely hard, and then when you do
give him those opportunities to come out of the backfield.
He's so quick, so good with his lateral movement for
a guy I believe he just turned thirty, you know,
for a running back, that's a senior days, right, So.
Speaker 3 (09:46):
It's been around the game that long and it's kind
of molded his game.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
I think he's gotten even better at making people miss.
And when you don't have the speed that you had
in your early twenties, you get a little bit better
with your lab movement.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
But he's done a nice job. Think I think he's
done a great job of following as.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
Blockers, and you know, you see a little bit more
insert out of the scheme where you have wide receivers,
you have tight ends kind of moving into the line
as blocker, almost like a like counter power more of
a gap scheme type of philosophy mixed in with some
of the zone schemes. So I think they've done a
tremendous job and Aaron's been a great addition.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
We have to pause right now, but more from Robert
Smith after the break. Say hello to Policy Smooth Skin
at Pure Lux MEDSPA, the preferred medspov the Minnesota Vikings
cheerleaders specializing in elite laser hair removal, body contouring, botox
cosmetic filter, and age defying skincare treatments such as Diamond
Glow and skin pen for collagen induction therapy.
Speaker 4 (10:49):
Is it mypure Luck dot com.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
Backslash Bikings for exclusive offers to Viking fans. Is the
Twin Cities premier salon and spa destination and proud official
hair sponsor of the Minnesota Vikings cheerleaders with three convenient locations,
and he Dinah Woodberry and Chan Hassen. There is a
(11:12):
Spalan close to you. Visit online at spalon dot com.
Speaker 4 (11:16):
You can win a Polaris razor and help that's get
a quality career.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
Visit All true dot com slash code. Welcome into the
Minnesota Vikings Podcast. I'm your host, Tatum Everett from the
Vikings Entertainment Network, and if you listen to the first
half of our show, we have a very fun guest
this week. It is former Vikings running back Robert Smith,
and our conversation continues. Now, those things that you say,
(11:40):
like that you've seen them change THEMIT for two more
gap skives. Is that something that you've seen Kevin O'Connell
intentionally add or adjust into his scheme.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
Yeah, and I think it's kind of it's been something
across the league that we've seen more of, you know,
as these boxes get lighter depending on the personnel or
depending on the formation, and sometimes you go with a
true lead blocker like a CJ. Ham, or sometimes you
use those tight ends. And of course, the great thing
about versatile tight ends, you know, like a TJ. Howkinson,
(12:11):
is you know you can use a guy like that
to pull around, get up into the line of scrimmage,
or you can release him and have a favorable matchup
against a linebacker or a safety. So that's you know,
you talk about complimentary offense and defense, we also have
complimentary run and pass schemes. You really want to have
counters off of runs, so you see action one way
(12:34):
and then you have it coming back the other way.
You want good play action off of those, so you
really want to kind of give up defenses similar looks
with your run game with slight variations.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
How do you think the one two punch of with
cam Akers in there has been It's kind of been
a little bit of fresh air and just incredible to
see him come back over what he has faced with
two achilles injuries and being able to run like that.
Speaker 3 (12:58):
Yeah, it's been awesome.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
And you know, when you've been through an injury one time,
kind of coming back the second time, it's a little
bit better. You have a little bit more confidence early
because you kind of know the different milestones that you're
going to experience and you're a little bit more patient
with it. You understand that it's a process. But it's
been great. And obviously coach O'Connell had the experience with
him when he was with the Rams and knew what
(13:22):
kind of player he was, but more importantly what kind
of person he was. He's from a personality and mentality standpoint.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
So now Robert, we are headed into the playoffs and
it's going to be a tough road.
Speaker 4 (13:36):
You have to win four games if you want it all.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
And it really starts with the Rams as a player,
Like what makes playoff football different?
Speaker 2 (13:45):
It's win or go home. And I think it's not
just what makes the playoffs in the NFL different. I
think what makes football so exciting. I mean you talk
about basketball or hockey or baseball and you're like, well,
we lose this game, we'll get them when we get
back to our place or something like that, right, like
you don't thankfully you don't have seven games series.
Speaker 4 (14:05):
No series is right.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
It's that excitement, but it's the urgency really that it
brings to the game, and it brings to your preparation
more importantly, because we say so many times games are
won and lost during the course of the week and
the way you prepare, and I think especially coming off
the loss, the disappointment with all the build up going
in to that Lions.
Speaker 3 (14:28):
Game on the road. Now you have to go on
the road again.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
That business trip starts a little bit early, but that
focus is that much more intense.
Speaker 4 (14:38):
How does that change things?
Speaker 1 (14:39):
Because it's interesting that you know, sofi stadium rams, it's
not known as this like treacherous fan environment.
Speaker 4 (14:49):
Like we were just experienced at Ford Field.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
I mean, I've never heard a crowd like ford Field,
like I mean I have, but only in like massive
games and sometimes we're in the press boxes and we
have those closed air press boxes. So like in Seattle,
for instance, I didn't hear a thing. I'm sure the
Twelfth Man is awesome. I've heard great things, but like
me being in the press box not a thing. But
Ford Field is wide open and my ears are still
(15:14):
ringing like a few days later, so we're thinking so
Ifi stadium and as a player you don't really have
to worry about that too much.
Speaker 4 (15:21):
Can that be an advantage, you.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
Know for me?
Speaker 2 (15:24):
And I think the best way to prepare is to
try and block out as much of that stuff as
you can. Obviously, on a game day, when you do
have that noise, it's just more difficult to make communication,
you know, on the offensive side.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
Defense.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
Defense can be a little bit better on the road
because they're quiet for that opposing offense, and so you
can do a little bit more on the verbal communication
side with your signaling. So I think it's just important
to prepare the best you can and understand that games
always come down to execution. You make a few plays
here or there, even in that first half again Detroit,
(16:01):
and maybe get that safety call that should have been
galled against GoF right, little things like that, you know,
you get after that, But little things like that, you
don't worry about the environment so much as really just
kind of vectoring.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
In, zeroing in on your job on.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
That particular play, because it always comes down to particular plays,
and the thing is you just don't know which of
those five or six plays are going to be the
difference in the game.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
So let's kind of look forward to Monday night and
we're watching the game. Is what are the Vikings doing
right in order to walk away and keep their season alive.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
Well, I think offensively, particularly in the middle of that
offensive line, you're going to need better play there. There
are a couple of times where they kind of lost
blitzers in the middle, and it's kind of something that
happened in the first game two against the lines, and
I think three of the first sacks came from the
linebacker level. So it's really I think the interior of
(17:00):
that offensive line. You always need to be stout at tackle,
but I think from a running back perspective and helping
out with pass protection, you really kind of have to
put a little bit more emphasis on those blitzers. Make sure,
especially if you're a running back out, you don't leak
a little bit too early, even if one of those linebackers.
(17:21):
Blitzing is the assignment of one of the linemen.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
Okay, and then defensively, I mean, this unit was not
able to get a sack on Matthew Stafford.
Speaker 4 (17:29):
How can they bring him to the Crown and.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
Just be sure to rattle his game because you know
he's a vet.
Speaker 4 (17:36):
It's like a Jared Goff situation.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
You know, he's you've got a pressure him, or he's
just gonna do his checkdowns and then hit you with
a deep ball.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
Yeah, he'll light you up.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
And you know that Super Bowl victory that they had
against the Bengals, that's actually the only Super Bowl that
I've ever been to, and that was out there at SOFI,
so I saw Stafford to operate in real time and
you know, had the no look pass and everything like that.
Speaker 3 (17:59):
He's been around the game a long time. He's seen everything.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
So it really does come down to execution, and it's
really about execution of your particular technique. You know, we
think of units all the time, but it's really it
comes down a lot of times. And this is Brian
Floores in the way that he designs things. You want
to try and get isolation on the outside. You know,
you want Van Ginkle and Grenard to have those opportunities
(18:25):
to be one on one against tackles, and then for
them it's kind of reaching into that bag of tricks,
the toolkit that they have from a pack rush tool
standpoint and going out and executing it, because you are
going to have to try and find a way to
pressure him because, as you said, you give him time,
he's going to make you pay.
Speaker 1 (18:44):
All right, Robert, Well, one more thing before we let
you head out. This coaching staff, this locker room chemistry.
As someone who's been in several locker rooms before, what's
it been like to see that evolve.
Speaker 4 (18:57):
Over the year or over this season for this Viking screen?
Like how special is it?
Speaker 3 (19:01):
It's been great?
Speaker 2 (19:02):
And you know, Coach O'Connell invited me up to talk
to the team in the summer of twenty three, and
as you know, I'm up there a fair amount of time,
so I've been in that locker room. I've seen these
guys and they really are a great unit. And I
think it's just it's, you know, from the top down
in the organization, from the Will family down to Quasi
and a coach of course, with coach O'Connell and his staff,
(19:25):
they're a very sincere group. And you know, there's the
saying that players don't care what you know until they
know that you care when you're a coach, and I
think you certainly have that not just with the staff,
but you have that from the organization, and so this
is a group that believes in themselves, but they also
understand that that belief has to come with an understanding
(19:46):
of what it is that you didn't do the previous
week that you're going to need to do on the
road to come away with the victory this time.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
Okay, Monday night, Robert, what's the setup look like? How
are we how do we game prep for this throughout Monday?
Speaker 4 (19:59):
Are you? You know?
Speaker 1 (20:00):
Do you go about your day normally? Do you think
about it? Do you watch some tape? Like what are
you doing to get ready?
Speaker 3 (20:05):
No?
Speaker 2 (20:05):
No, I don't do a whole unless I'm calling a game.
There's not a whole lot of prep going on. Being
excited about it, you know, it takes me back I remember,
you know on those late games, a lot of times
you're sitting around the hotel and you can't wait until
that and get started. So you kind of experience that
from Afar because you know that the players are going
(20:26):
through it, and you think about what they're going through.
Speaker 3 (20:28):
But I'm just excited. I'm excited for them to have.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
An opportunity to go out and get the taste of
ford Field out.
Speaker 3 (20:34):
Of their mouth.
Speaker 1 (20:34):
Me too, Me too, Because for me, I've loved the
way that this team has responded whether they're bad games.
I mean, they just didn't have a very like spirited
performance against Jacksonville and watching them come back and be
so confident, I really think that that's the key, just
finding that confidence once more and not letting that get
to you thinking it's a fluke.
Speaker 4 (20:54):
Thinking it's like, we know what we did.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
And like, the one thing I took away from Kevin
O'Connell's press conference that I thought was just really really
awesome is that we're going to look at ourselves in
the mirror and be accountable for our mistakes, but we
want to know why it happened. So it's not being
upset or pointing fingers or anything like that. It's about
being accountable and understanding the why, which I mean, if
(21:17):
that's what we're going off of, I have a lot
of confidence this week.
Speaker 3 (21:20):
Yeah. Well, I mean that's that's what it comes down to.
The tape doesn't lie.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
Well, your tape never lied. We love having you, Robert Smith.
Thank you so much for everything that you do for us,
for being one of our awesome vikings. Legends and if
we have a playoff game back here, Robert, I expect
to see you.
Speaker 4 (21:35):
Okay, deal, all right, deal, Thank you so much, appreciate you,
all right.
Speaker 3 (21:39):
Thanks Adam.
Speaker 4 (21:42):
Laurie, Thank you.
Speaker 1 (21:43):
So much to former Vikings running back Robert Smith, one
of my all time favorite Vikings legends, to catch up too.
I love the fact that he still watches all the games,
is still so invested in what our team is doing,
and what they are doing right now is heading to
Los Angeles for the first round of the NFL playoffs.
Speaker 4 (22:03):
Fans, don't forget.
Speaker 1 (22:04):
It is a Monday night football kickoff from Sofi Stadium.
Speaker 4 (22:09):
And if you're trying to get.
Speaker 1 (22:10):
Into the Viking spirit, check out Vikings dot com. There's
a playoffs tab. It'll show you local fan rallies. We
have all the exciting playoff content to get you ready
for the big game, and we want to see you
in person.
Speaker 4 (22:24):
There's even a watch party.
Speaker 1 (22:25):
So for all of those details, check out Vikings dot
com on the playoffs tab. This has been your MVP
Minnesota Vikings podcast. I'm Tatum Beverett. Thank you so much
for listening.
Speaker 4 (22:36):
And skull by
Welcome into the postseason edition of the Minnesota Vikings podcast.
I'm your host Tatum Everett from the Vikings Entertainment Network.
The fourteen and three Vikings are headed to la for
the first round of the NFL Playoffs. As number five
seed in the NFC, the Vikings now face the NFC
West winners in the La Rams the NFL saving the
(00:24):
best for last again as it's Monday night football kick
from SOFI Stadium, and now it feels like a really
good time to bring in our guest, former Vikings running
back Robert Smith. He's a longtime friend of the program. Robert,
thank you so much for talking to us today. How
have you been enjoying this season?
Speaker 2 (00:42):
It was pretty enjoyable until this past weekend.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
It was a tough loss. You know.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
There was so much build up going into the game
and just excited to see a really good game, and
I thought that it would be a high scoring affair
on both sides, and of course it only ended up
being above thirty for one team, so it was it
was kind of a letdown. But I think you know,
from a timing perspective, you always talk about wanting to
play your best going into the playoffs. But when you
(01:09):
prepare to play your best and you don't, I think
it can expose or at least reveal some of the
weaknesses that you definitely need to work on. So if
there's a bright spot, that would be the one.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
This team was on a nine game winning streak before
this game, and you like to see this happen in
a contest where you've already clinched the playoff berth. So
now you know you put stuff on tape that maybe
teams can see from you.
Speaker 4 (01:35):
But how can you learn from this experience?
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Well, I think you look at the way that teams
have exposed some of your weaknesses and some of the
areas that they felt that they were going to be
able to gain an advantage. I think you start to
look at your protection schemes, you'd look at the execution
of those schemes. And then on the defensive side, you know,
there aren't many Jremior Gibbs fortunately in the National Football League,
(02:01):
and he's one of those guys that can just change
a game and it forces a really bad matchup a
lot of times with the linebacker and situations like that,
you need to react a little bit better and in
some cases just tackle a little bit better by taking
better angles.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
Yeah, and you talk about the defense. I mean, I
feel like they had a really really.
Speaker 4 (02:19):
Good day there in the first half.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
And coach even saidas I think this week in Ex's
and O's with Paul Allen, that if you don't have
the complimentary football, it doesn't matter how well your defense
plays there in the first half, because in the second
half it's just wasn't sustainable.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
Yeah, absolutely not.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
You know, you're on the field too much, and I
think guys just get a little bit worn out and
get a little bit worn out. Sometimes you do take
those bad angles and even the fundamentals start to break
down a little bit. So just chalk that one up
to experience. What else can you do? Right, The most
important play is always the next one, and the most
important game is always the next one.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
Yeah. It's funny because I think that the mindset of
this team has been and what I felt myself around
this facility since the game on Sunday night is that
they're moving on. They're going to correct what they need
to correct, and they know they're gonna be honest. They
know that they need to get better in certain areas.
But if I have to say, like, following Sam Donald's
(03:18):
lead and his mental fortitude I think has been a
bit a nice blueprint for this team. It takes me
back to that Jacksonville game, was a game where they
didn't score a touchdown, and ever since then he's been
on a heater.
Speaker 4 (03:31):
How can he start that all over again?
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Yeah, I think it's just going back to fundamentals. And
I think the thing that made Sam Donald different this year,
and you saw a little bit with San Francisco a
year ago, and we had an opportunity to call it
one of his games when he was a.
Speaker 3 (03:45):
Starter down in Carolina.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
He's just gotten so much better with his fundamentals of
playing the position, whether it's understanding protections how he needs
to climb or slide, move subtly in the pocket, and
his anticipy patient just reading defenses extremely well. And credit
Aaron Glenn and that Detroit Lions defense, even with the
missing pieces, I think that they made Sam hold on
(04:09):
to the ball a little bit longer than he wanted
to sometimes probably should have gotten rid of it maybe
two or three times. And that's the thing about the
quarterback position. You have to have a short memory and
you have to just kind of let it go sometimes,
and I don't think that was the case with Sam Darnold.
And as you go into the playoffs, I think it's
good to have that lesson in live action under your belt.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
Yeah, I mean, it really is kind of interesting. I mean,
it didn't feel like all of the win was out
of the sales.
Speaker 4 (04:33):
I mean, this is a fourteen win team.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
And to be able to accomplish that in the NFL,
I mean throughout your years of playing. Obviously there weren't
seventeen games and whatnot, so that was really hard to
get to. But how hard is it to be able
to stack wins like that in this league?
Speaker 3 (04:48):
That's extremely difficult.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
And I think when you look at coach O'Connell's record,
I think it was somewhere around twenty six and eight
or twenty six and nine, and those one score games,
and a lot of those were one score games.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
I think the.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
Fundamentals are there, the structure, the foundation is there for
the team. And again, when you look at film like that,
as difficult as it can be to kind of relive
the loss that you just have, it really does kind
of point out those areas where you get better and
that ultimately is what each person has to do on
each play is look back and say, did I really
(05:23):
step the way that I was supposed to step? Did
I take that blitzerer on the way that I was
supposed to Did I use that correct angle when I
was going in for that tackle? Did I see that
route combination unfolding the.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
Way that it was?
Speaker 2 (05:38):
And so when you go back and you individually look
at your one to eleventh, it becomes a pretty clear
path as to how you need to improve.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
Yeah, and this team hopes to have improved over that
stretch of games since the last time they played the Rams.
Obviously this is a team they saw before. The Veggans
have two losses on the year, one of them being
the Rams, and it was a way total different situation.
You're coming off of that Lions game, you have a
short week, you go in, your left tackle goes down
(06:08):
mid game, You're forced to play with your backup. Now
you've had a few games to get even better. Cam
Robinson in a trade has been a sneaky move by
this front office this entire season.
Speaker 4 (06:21):
How do you think this.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Team can use what happened in LA to their advantage
this time? Being that it's so or can they use
it at all since it's been such a long time.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
Yeah, I think it's a you don't really kind of
look at it that way. And I think you know,
what you've seen out of the Rams really over the
last couple of years is they've gotten better as the
season has gone on, and I think, you know, it's
going to be a tough defensive challenge our offense against
their defense. I think it's a tougher challenge, maybe even
tougher than what they faced against the Lions. And you
(06:52):
don't really think, I don't believe that a team's going
to be the same because they generally don't play you
the same way that they did before. The things that
you see in that first matchup are going to be
a lot different than what they're going to use against you.
And I think again, it's fortunate for the Vikings to
have had that loss at the end of the year
(07:13):
because you better believe that the Rams are going to
be breaking that film down and say, well, this is
that we can try, this is a protection that we
think we're going to be able to exploit, or these
are players defensively that we think we can get out
of position so I think it's more about breaking down
the individual matchup on that week than it is going
all the way back to whatever that was. I guess
(07:35):
it was October and say, well, I think this is
what we're going to build our Branda.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
It's funny you mentioned that. Have you watched any RAMS
games this season?
Speaker 3 (07:46):
It's been a while, you know for me too.
Speaker 4 (07:48):
But one thing that I saw that was really interesting.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Obviously this past week when they lost to the Seahawks,
they rested all their starters. But before that, to your
point of their defense, they've been playing exceptionally well in
the last three weeks. Before then, in weeks fifteen through seventeen,
they only allowed eight points per game on average, four
point eight yards per play on average, two passing touchdowns total,
(08:12):
and eighty three point seven rushing yards per game. I mean,
hearing those stats, you're like, man, what are they doing correct? Like,
what are they doing so good right now?
Speaker 4 (08:20):
Right?
Speaker 3 (08:21):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (08:21):
Well, I think when you look at the execution of
their defense and you just kind of see the way
that this staff has really been able to kind of
mold this unit into what they wanted it to be
all year long, I think it's just they've They've gotten
so much better both sides of the ball, really, but
I think particularly on the defensive side of the ball,
(08:42):
just playing very disciplined football. And you know, when you
have a unit that believes in itself, it's got some talent.
You have coordinator that you know has been around the
game for a while and understands how to use those guys,
they get better and better as the season goes on.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
We are currently talking to former Vikings running back Robert
Smith here on the Minnesota Vikings podcast, and Robert, I
really wanted to get your thoughts on the run game
this year. You know, it's always been a point of
emphasis for Kevin O'Connell and the staff is to establish
that run game, and I really feel like this year
they were able to get a better, you know, a
(09:14):
better operation, Goug, I guess you can say than in
the past two seasons, mainly because Aaron Jones has been awesome.
What do you like about his game?
Speaker 3 (09:23):
I just say he's versatile back.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
He can just do so much and he's not the
biggest back in the world, but he runs with great body, lean,
he finishes runs extremely hard, and then when you do
give him those opportunities to come out of the backfield.
He's so quick, so good with his lateral movement for
a guy I believe he just turned thirty, you know,
for a running back, that's a senior days, right, So.
Speaker 3 (09:46):
It's been around the game that long and it's kind
of molded his game.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
I think he's gotten even better at making people miss.
And when you don't have the speed that you had
in your early twenties, you get a little bit better
with your lab movement.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
But he's done a nice job. Think I think he's
done a great job of following as.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
Blockers, and you know, you see a little bit more
insert out of the scheme where you have wide receivers,
you have tight ends kind of moving into the line
as blocker, almost like a like counter power more of
a gap scheme type of philosophy mixed in with some
of the zone schemes. So I think they've done a
tremendous job and Aaron's been a great addition.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
We have to pause right now, but more from Robert
Smith after the break. Say hello to Policy Smooth Skin
at Pure Lux MEDSPA, the preferred medspov the Minnesota Vikings
cheerleaders specializing in elite laser hair removal, body contouring, botox
cosmetic filter, and age defying skincare treatments such as Diamond
Glow and skin pen for collagen induction therapy.
Speaker 4 (10:49):
Is it mypure Luck dot com.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
Backslash Bikings for exclusive offers to Viking fans. Is the
Twin Cities premier salon and spa destination and proud official
hair sponsor of the Minnesota Vikings cheerleaders with three convenient locations,
and he Dinah Woodberry and Chan Hassen. There is a
(11:12):
Spalan close to you. Visit online at spalon dot com.
Speaker 4 (11:16):
You can win a Polaris razor and help that's get
a quality career.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
Visit All true dot com slash code. Welcome into the
Minnesota Vikings Podcast. I'm your host, Tatum Everett from the
Vikings Entertainment Network, and if you listen to the first
half of our show, we have a very fun guest
this week. It is former Vikings running back Robert Smith,
and our conversation continues. Now, those things that you say,
(11:40):
like that you've seen them change THEMIT for two more
gap skives. Is that something that you've seen Kevin O'Connell
intentionally add or adjust into his scheme.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
Yeah, and I think it's kind of it's been something
across the league that we've seen more of, you know,
as these boxes get lighter depending on the personnel or
depending on the formation, and sometimes you go with a
true lead blocker like a CJ. Ham, or sometimes you
use those tight ends. And of course, the great thing
about versatile tight ends, you know, like a TJ. Howkinson,
(12:11):
is you know you can use a guy like that
to pull around, get up into the line of scrimmage,
or you can release him and have a favorable matchup
against a linebacker or a safety. So that's you know,
you talk about complimentary offense and defense, we also have
complimentary run and pass schemes. You really want to have
counters off of runs, so you see action one way
(12:34):
and then you have it coming back the other way.
You want good play action off of those, so you
really want to kind of give up defenses similar looks
with your run game with slight variations.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
How do you think the one two punch of with
cam Akers in there has been It's kind of been
a little bit of fresh air and just incredible to
see him come back over what he has faced with
two achilles injuries and being able to run like that.
Speaker 3 (12:58):
Yeah, it's been awesome.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
And you know, when you've been through an injury one time,
kind of coming back the second time, it's a little
bit better. You have a little bit more confidence early
because you kind of know the different milestones that you're
going to experience and you're a little bit more patient
with it. You understand that it's a process. But it's
been great. And obviously coach O'Connell had the experience with
him when he was with the Rams and knew what
(13:22):
kind of player he was, but more importantly what kind
of person he was. He's from a personality and mentality standpoint.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
So now Robert, we are headed into the playoffs and
it's going to be a tough road.
Speaker 4 (13:36):
You have to win four games if you want it all.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
And it really starts with the Rams as a player,
Like what makes playoff football different?
Speaker 2 (13:45):
It's win or go home. And I think it's not
just what makes the playoffs in the NFL different. I
think what makes football so exciting. I mean you talk
about basketball or hockey or baseball and you're like, well,
we lose this game, we'll get them when we get
back to our place or something like that, right, like
you don't thankfully you don't have seven games series.
Speaker 4 (14:05):
No series is right.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
It's that excitement, but it's the urgency really that it
brings to the game, and it brings to your preparation
more importantly, because we say so many times games are
won and lost during the course of the week and
the way you prepare, and I think especially coming off
the loss, the disappointment with all the build up going
in to that Lions.
Speaker 3 (14:28):
Game on the road. Now you have to go on
the road again.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
That business trip starts a little bit early, but that
focus is that much more intense.
Speaker 4 (14:38):
How does that change things?
Speaker 1 (14:39):
Because it's interesting that you know, sofi stadium rams, it's
not known as this like treacherous fan environment.
Speaker 4 (14:49):
Like we were just experienced at Ford Field.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
I mean, I've never heard a crowd like ford Field,
like I mean I have, but only in like massive
games and sometimes we're in the press boxes and we
have those closed air press boxes. So like in Seattle,
for instance, I didn't hear a thing. I'm sure the
Twelfth Man is awesome. I've heard great things, but like
me being in the press box not a thing. But
Ford Field is wide open and my ears are still
(15:14):
ringing like a few days later, so we're thinking so
Ifi stadium and as a player you don't really have
to worry about that too much.
Speaker 4 (15:21):
Can that be an advantage, you.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
Know for me?
Speaker 2 (15:24):
And I think the best way to prepare is to
try and block out as much of that stuff as
you can. Obviously, on a game day, when you do
have that noise, it's just more difficult to make communication,
you know, on the offensive side.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
Defense.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
Defense can be a little bit better on the road
because they're quiet for that opposing offense, and so you
can do a little bit more on the verbal communication
side with your signaling. So I think it's just important
to prepare the best you can and understand that games
always come down to execution. You make a few plays
here or there, even in that first half again Detroit,
(16:01):
and maybe get that safety call that should have been
galled against GoF right, little things like that, you know,
you get after that, But little things like that, you
don't worry about the environment so much as really just
kind of vectoring.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
In, zeroing in on your job on.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
That particular play, because it always comes down to particular plays,
and the thing is you just don't know which of
those five or six plays are going to be the
difference in the game.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
So let's kind of look forward to Monday night and
we're watching the game. Is what are the Vikings doing
right in order to walk away and keep their season alive.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
Well, I think offensively, particularly in the middle of that
offensive line, you're going to need better play there. There
are a couple of times where they kind of lost
blitzers in the middle, and it's kind of something that
happened in the first game two against the lines, and
I think three of the first sacks came from the
linebacker level. So it's really I think the interior of
(17:00):
that offensive line. You always need to be stout at tackle,
but I think from a running back perspective and helping
out with pass protection, you really kind of have to
put a little bit more emphasis on those blitzers. Make sure,
especially if you're a running back out, you don't leak
a little bit too early, even if one of those linebackers.
(17:21):
Blitzing is the assignment of one of the linemen.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
Okay, and then defensively, I mean, this unit was not
able to get a sack on Matthew Stafford.
Speaker 4 (17:29):
How can they bring him to the Crown and.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
Just be sure to rattle his game because you know
he's a vet.
Speaker 4 (17:36):
It's like a Jared Goff situation.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
You know, he's you've got a pressure him, or he's
just gonna do his checkdowns and then hit you with
a deep ball.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
Yeah, he'll light you up.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
And you know that Super Bowl victory that they had
against the Bengals, that's actually the only Super Bowl that
I've ever been to, and that was out there at SOFI,
so I saw Stafford to operate in real time and
you know, had the no look pass and everything like that.
Speaker 3 (17:59):
He's been around the game a long time. He's seen everything.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
So it really does come down to execution, and it's
really about execution of your particular technique. You know, we
think of units all the time, but it's really it
comes down a lot of times. And this is Brian
Floores in the way that he designs things. You want
to try and get isolation on the outside. You know,
you want Van Ginkle and Grenard to have those opportunities
(18:25):
to be one on one against tackles, and then for
them it's kind of reaching into that bag of tricks,
the toolkit that they have from a pack rush tool
standpoint and going out and executing it, because you are
going to have to try and find a way to
pressure him because, as you said, you give him time,
he's going to make you pay.
Speaker 1 (18:44):
All right, Robert, Well, one more thing before we let
you head out. This coaching staff, this locker room chemistry.
As someone who's been in several locker rooms before, what's
it been like to see that evolve.
Speaker 4 (18:57):
Over the year or over this season for this Viking screen?
Like how special is it?
Speaker 3 (19:01):
It's been great?
Speaker 2 (19:02):
And you know, Coach O'Connell invited me up to talk
to the team in the summer of twenty three, and
as you know, I'm up there a fair amount of time,
so I've been in that locker room. I've seen these
guys and they really are a great unit. And I
think it's just it's, you know, from the top down
in the organization, from the Will family down to Quasi
and a coach of course, with coach O'Connell and his staff,
(19:25):
they're a very sincere group. And you know, there's the
saying that players don't care what you know until they
know that you care when you're a coach, and I
think you certainly have that not just with the staff,
but you have that from the organization, and so this
is a group that believes in themselves, but they also
understand that that belief has to come with an understanding
(19:46):
of what it is that you didn't do the previous
week that you're going to need to do on the
road to come away with the victory this time.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
Okay, Monday night, Robert, what's the setup look like? How
are we how do we game prep for this throughout Monday?
Speaker 4 (19:59):
Are you? You know?
Speaker 1 (20:00):
Do you go about your day normally? Do you think
about it? Do you watch some tape? Like what are
you doing to get ready?
Speaker 3 (20:05):
No?
Speaker 2 (20:05):
No, I don't do a whole unless I'm calling a game.
There's not a whole lot of prep going on. Being
excited about it, you know, it takes me back I remember,
you know on those late games, a lot of times
you're sitting around the hotel and you can't wait until
that and get started. So you kind of experience that
from Afar because you know that the players are going
(20:26):
through it, and you think about what they're going through.
Speaker 3 (20:28):
But I'm just excited. I'm excited for them to have.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
An opportunity to go out and get the taste of
ford Field out.
Speaker 3 (20:34):
Of their mouth.
Speaker 1 (20:34):
Me too, Me too, Because for me, I've loved the
way that this team has responded whether they're bad games.
I mean, they just didn't have a very like spirited
performance against Jacksonville and watching them come back and be
so confident, I really think that that's the key, just
finding that confidence once more and not letting that get
to you thinking it's a fluke.
Speaker 4 (20:54):
Thinking it's like, we know what we did.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
And like, the one thing I took away from Kevin
O'Connell's press conference that I thought was just really really
awesome is that we're going to look at ourselves in
the mirror and be accountable for our mistakes, but we
want to know why it happened. So it's not being
upset or pointing fingers or anything like that. It's about
being accountable and understanding the why, which I mean, if
(21:17):
that's what we're going off of, I have a lot
of confidence this week.
Speaker 3 (21:20):
Yeah. Well, I mean that's that's what it comes down to.
The tape doesn't lie.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
Well, your tape never lied. We love having you, Robert Smith.
Thank you so much for everything that you do for us,
for being one of our awesome vikings. Legends and if
we have a playoff game back here, Robert, I expect
to see you.
Speaker 4 (21:35):
Okay, deal, all right, deal, Thank you so much, appreciate you,
all right.
Speaker 3 (21:39):
Thanks Adam.
Speaker 4 (21:42):
Laurie, Thank you.
Speaker 1 (21:43):
So much to former Vikings running back Robert Smith, one
of my all time favorite Vikings legends, to catch up too.
I love the fact that he still watches all the games,
is still so invested in what our team is doing,
and what they are doing right now is heading to
Los Angeles for the first round of the NFL playoffs.
Speaker 4 (22:03):
Fans, don't forget.
Speaker 1 (22:04):
It is a Monday night football kickoff from Sofi Stadium.
Speaker 4 (22:09):
And if you're trying to get.
Speaker 1 (22:10):
Into the Viking spirit, check out Vikings dot com. There's
a playoffs tab. It'll show you local fan rallies. We
have all the exciting playoff content to get you ready
for the big game, and we want to see you
in person.
Speaker 4 (22:24):
There's even a watch party.
Speaker 1 (22:25):
So for all of those details, check out Vikings dot
com on the playoffs tab. This has been your MVP
Minnesota Vikings podcast. I'm Tatum Beverett. Thank you so much
for listening.
Speaker 4 (22:36):
And skull by
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Amy Robach & T.J. Holmes present: Aubrey O’Day, Covering the Diddy Trial
Introducing… Aubrey O’Day Diddy’s former protege, television personality, platinum selling music artist, Danity Kane alum Aubrey O’Day joins veteran journalists Amy Robach and TJ Holmes to provide a unique perspective on the trial that has captivated the attention of the nation. Join them throughout the trial as they discuss, debate, and dissect every detail, every aspect of the proceedings. Aubrey will offer her opinions and expertise, as only she is qualified to do given her first-hand knowledge. From her days on Making the Band, as she emerged as the breakout star, the truth of the situation would be the opposite of the glitz and glamour. Listen throughout every minute of the trial, for this exclusive coverage. Amy Robach and TJ Holmes present Aubrey O’Day, Covering the Diddy Trial, an iHeartRadio podcast.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Come hang with Amy Poehler. Each week on her podcast, she'll welcome celebrities and fun people to her studio. They'll share stories about their careers, mutual friends, shared enthusiasms, and most importantly, what's been making them laugh. This podcast is not about trying to make you better or giving advice. Amy just wants to have a good time.