August 7, 2025 • 35 mins
Welcome back to the Minnesota Vikings Podcast. Tatum Everett welcomes in Vikings Senior Editor Craig Peters to help recap all of the events from this past week at Vikings Training Camp presented by Omni Viking Lakes. Craig talks about the festivities in Canton, Ohio last weekend when Vikings Jared Allen was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the legacy of Jim Marshall, the highlights coming out of the Night Practice scrimmage on Monday evening, and gives a quick primer before the Vikings first preseason game this Saturday against the Texans. All of this and more is in Episode 307 of the Minnesota Vikings Podcast.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
Welcome back into another episode of MVP the Minnesota Vikings Podcast.
I'm your host Tatum Everett, and it's been quite a
week since last week's episode. Jared Allen inducted into the
Pro Football Hall of Fame, the Vikings hosted a successful
night practice in front of a record crowd, and the
team is currently preparing for their first preseason game of
(00:27):
the twenty twenty five season right here at US Bank Stadium.
To get us prime for that matchup, is this week's guest,
Vikings dot Com Senior editor Craig Peters, fresh off that
trip to Canton.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
How was it, Craig, Oh, it's fantastic. It's just amazing
when you have such a respect for the history of
the game. That's really I guess kind of always been
there and then really went to another level when I
started working for the Vikings, just because of the rich
history that exists here. Jared is the sixteenth person go
(01:00):
into the Hall of Fame that spent all or most
of their career with the Viking, So that's pretty special too.
He did a tremendous job his speech. I thought the
bust looks fantastic. We got we got some flow, some
flow right, Yeah, going going into the hall, So that
that was I'm just always in awe of the skill
(01:21):
that exists with the bus makers and how they capture
the essence of these these just remarkable uh players that
have impacted the game so much, and you can kind
of see that in in the finished product of the Bust.
You definitely get opportunities to see Jared's personality stand out
during the gold Jacket dinner, ripped to see him doing
(01:45):
the calf roping, but I saw that it was you know,
he just had so much fun with it. So that's
that's that's great to see, you know, it's it's it's
a long way from from his college days at Pocatello, Idaho,
you know where or a few scouts including Mike Petten wow,
really assistant head coach was there working for the Ravens,
(02:08):
kind of like on the entry level of the scouting world. Right,
that's how you go to Pocatello, Idaho and you're looking
at this guy who might be able to long snap,
but then he might be able to edge rush, and
then you know, it just worked out that way. There's
been some content so far, We've got more on the way. Yeah,
really diving into.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Guys doing a wonderful job.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Oh well, we try, you know, like you really want
to just try to deliver the content that befits the moment,
befits the earned honors along the way, and so there
is a lot of pride and that we kind of
try to take in in relaying those stories, helping connect
the fans to one of their favorites. And it's just
a fantastic opportunity always.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
I mean to your point about the bust, it kind
of jogged my memory of being in New Orleans and
we followed Jared around. Yeah, he was getting he got
his jacket sized. They went over all the jewelry, what
the rings would look like. You know, he did a
bajillion autographs, but the by far the coolest part was
watching them measure him for a bus. And it's an
(03:14):
older couple that does it. I think that they I
don't know if they've done all of them, but they've
definitely done a lot of them. Had a whole book
of like their work and they were just taking measurements
by measurements of like all over the face and his
wife was like sitting there just writing them all down.
They were talking about which photos, he you know, what
(03:34):
he wanted to look like, things like that. It was
just a really, really neat experience. So it's no wonder
they're very lifelike. I mean he spent probably half an
hour with that couple going over what that bus was
going to look like.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Yeah. Absolutely, And now that it's been placed in the
Hall of Fame there you think about John Madden and
Peyton Manning referenced it when he went into the chime
in about the bus getting together and talking to each other.
I bet Jared's bust has some really funny stories to share. Yea.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Yeah, speaking of let's kind of talk a little bit
about the weekend in general. So like you guys went
out there on a Friday. If I'm not mistaken, we.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
Get there Thursday day, Okay, logistical Thursday, right, you know,
you get you get there, the rental car, the drive,
the you know, all all the travel. But it sets
you up for success. That also meant we got to
catch him at the at the Hall of Fame game.
You know, the video crew photo crew was able to
catch him. You know, as the this year's in Chinese
(04:27):
were participating in the game. They walked a gauntlet between
the Lions and Chargers right on the field there, and
you know, you can just kind of see it in
their their faces. They just know how how big the
weekend is and what it's ultimately leading to, and all
the work, all the influences on their lives that that
have led him to that moment, and uh, you know,
(04:50):
it's it's great to see football kickoff.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
Yeah, that's so true. You kind of forget about there's
a game in the middle of all this. So you
wake up on Friday, You've got the Hall of Fame walk.
Oh yeah, can you take us there?
Speaker 2 (05:01):
Like?
Speaker 1 (05:01):
What is that?
Speaker 2 (05:01):
Like? Yeah, that was really cool. So George Hollis Drive
starts out in front of the Hall of Fame there,
and it's kind of fitting because a lot of people
don't know, but George Hallis, the founder owner of the Bears,
was very instrumental and the Vikings being awarded in Minnesota
being awarded the NFL franchise, right, and then that was
(05:22):
the first game in franchise history, and Papa Bear was
on the sidelines and fran Tarkinson came off the bench
and the magic happened, and you know, like a relationship
with this community was born forever right, So they just
walked down George Hollis Drive. You know, you see fans
of the different players and organizations on hand. I'm met
(05:42):
a father and son duo. They're in the Chicago Land
area now. They got tickets for Week one, but I
bet the father was wearing the Allen Page jersey and
knew the backstory of Allen having worked construction on the
Hall of Fame as it was being built in the
early sixties. And they're so excited for what's ahead for
this team, what they think it is. And they're ties
(06:04):
to a White bear Lake too, So that's how the
Vikings fandom started, right, But they're they're all in, you know,
you could see the passion of the purple and then
then it's it's just so funny to see the more
than one hundred you know, gold jackets out there. Stuff. Yeah, yeah,
just right down there this year's and Chinese are in
(06:26):
like a blue shirt because they haven't been presented the
old jacket yet because that's later in the evening, right,
And so then they all gather on the steps in
front of the rotunda, which is where they used to
do the speeches a long long time. Okay, so yeah, like,
if you go back and you look at you know,
pictures from fran Or Alan's Enshrinement's they're they're standing in
front of the the rotunda there and it's just kind
(06:49):
of this undulating hill and everything. And now they have this,
you know, massive modern stadium that do things from, and
it's it's just kind of like also just another sign
of how much the sport has grown through supportive fans.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
And then you mentioned the gold Jacket dinner. The video
went viral of the first calf roping in a gold jacket,
and to be fair, like I was watching it a
few times. I was like, oh, that's cool, and then
I saw that he split his pants, and I'm not
gonna lie to you, like I did not even I
did not even see it the first few times. And
then once I saw it, I was like, oh, no,
(07:26):
of course this happened.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
I was seated for that in like the media area,
and I was just kind of zoomed out getting a
wide angle on the phone.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
You know, is that your video?
Speaker 2 (07:36):
No? No, it wasn't. Oh okay, you know me, I
don't share a lot on social media, so no.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
But I just I wasn't sure if you were the
one that captured the moment.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
Yeah, you know, I didn't even go back and watch
it because we've haveved right into wreckon to camp and
we right right.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
I mean, you got back here and went straight to work,
so you get it.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
So, but no, I need to look at that still.
But I guess they should have taken some measurements for
pans to allow for calf roping too. While all the.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
Other Jared lost a bunch of weight. He takes care
of his body. He's got a little bit slimmer and trimmer.
You want to show that off. I guess maybe just yeah,
that's all I got.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
No, it's fine, he's looking great. It's always funny how
like guys have had to keep a certain weight to
play certain positions. Yeah, then they are so good now
with all the fitness and nutrition.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
I know he's very strict about his diet.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
Yeah, he's very mindful of that. So that's good.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
And the gold jacket fit him nicely, fitted perfectly.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
Yeah, it was great. You know, Like it's in the
Canton Memorial Civic Center and they kind of form a
gauntlet for the this year's in Chinese and so there's
gold jackets here, gold jackets there.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
Yeah, what do you mean by the gauntlet?
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Like, so it's like a row of just seated. They
had more than one hundred in town, okay, and so
it's like fifty on each side of this change, and
they just walk down, get hugs, get dapped up, you know,
nice whatever, private conversations, just just really big hugs and everything.
And you know a lot of Vikings representation there. And
(09:07):
then like I just like the moment for me, you know,
growing up a child of the eighties and and you know,
really embracing NFL football in the early nineties. The Buffalo
Bills of that era was like a team I saw
a lot in Tennessee. We didn't have the Titans, so
it was kind of whoever was good was who was
on TV there, and so they were on a lot.
(09:28):
So the fact that like if my like eleven year
old self could know that I had one to like
be lucky enough to stumble upward into the same room
as Jim Kelly and Thurman Thomas and Andre Reid and
James Lofton and Marv Levy, I mean, like you know,
it's it's like living a dream.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
Yeah, that's really cool, Craig. I'm really glad you got
to experience that too. I mean partly, yes, you want
to do wonder, wonderful job, but like you are a
football fan and football historian really at heart, so that
probably was just one of those like full circle moments
for you.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
It was really really special.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
That was really cool.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
Every fan of football should should make the track at
least once to Campton.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
Was that your first time?
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Oh no, actually I've been fortunate enough to make three trips.
WHOA okay, so mctinglehoff. In twenty fifteen, the Vikings were
in the Hall of Fame game against the Steelers. Stefan
Diggs had a really long punt return in his first
ever NFL appearance. And then let's see, in twenty twenty one,
I was fortunate to go when Steve Hutchinson went into
(10:31):
the Hall of Fame, and he was like that year
was kind of a different entity all of its own
because that he was actually the class of twenty twenty,
but it was delayed until twenty twenty one because of
you know, COVID restrictions and regulations and things like that.
So it was a massive just like it's almost overwhelming double.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
Because it was double the classes, right, Yeah, So yeah,
I get that. Well, let's go back to the ceremony itself,
the bust unveiling. The speech. I think Shared's has been
the one that's probably the most talked about this past weekend.
A very very viral moment of emotion and humor, which
(11:10):
we expect nothing less of from the big man himself.
What really stuck out to you as you listen to
his speech and the moment with his dad and that
that moment really stuck out to you.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Yeah, I loved what he was able to do with
his speech. Like I wrote that, you know, he blended
a trademark, his trademark humor and a humble appreciation for
everyone who helped his journey. He's so appreciative of how
things worked out after he arrived in Minnesota. He really
is the relationships he was able to develop that really
(11:45):
stuck out to me when he's when he said, I'm
a firm believer that God puts people in your life
at the appropriate time, and what you did for the
growth of my career, but more importantly, the people that
you surrounded me with in that organization helped me grow
as a man. That is why I will forever call
the Vikings my home.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
It's amazing, Like you know.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
Like that's that's really special. You can see the effective
relationships over time, right, And like you sometimes you're so
in the moment you don't fully appreciate what everyone is
pouring into you. And I think he definitely has along
the way, and even now it's even more of an
appreciation level.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
It's funny you mentioned that there was like a really
cool moment. Chris Carter was down at the Pro Football
Hall of Fame when the class was announced in New
Orleans and they did all the sizing and stuff. Chris
was in the room and they were by the jewelry section,
and I was lucky enough to just kind of be
eavesdropping and and Chris was like, what are you going
(12:50):
to go in as like on your ring because you
can get multiple teams on your ring and whatever and whatnot.
And he goes like, you know, what are you going
to do? Chiefs and vikings whatever? And It's like, no, man,
are you kidding me? I'm vikings all the way. It's
always the vikings. And then I love that, and Chris
was like That's what I'm talking about, you know, And
and that moment I was like, Okay, obviously, Like this
(13:10):
is just you know, a really really impactful moment to
know that, you know, this organization's made that much of
an impact on Jared and and it was just really
really cool to see that that interaction between the two
of them.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
It's it's a wonderful thing to be believed in. Yeah,
and it's it's a wonderful thing to see someone appreciate
being believed in the most of that, well, thank you. Well,
so I feel like, you know, people believed in us
along our work journeys and you know, like not everyone did,
but enough people did it thankfully, and uh, you know,
(13:48):
that's that's what happened. And then I thought when he
like he took it to another level when like I
love the way he laid it out with fear and
explaining the right kind of fear that was a motivator
and then respect act it just and then the pursuit
of greatness right, Like that's like you you talk to
anyone teammate or everything, the motor was always going right
(14:10):
and it was always like trying to inflict his will
with the maximum force.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
Right.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
So yeah, so there's that that that really struck in.
But then when when you get the guys talking about
their family, you know, I mean.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
It's it's always when I started crying, it was.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
It was you know, like it was great to see
cut onions out there. Somehow I don't know, but it was.
It was great. And you can just tell how special
the relationship he and his wife, Amy and Joy and
their two daughters and everything that's ahead of them and
and so it's it's just fantastic, you know. And I
(14:52):
love the way that he kind of you know explained
after going through he married aal talks with Tom lanfear
chaplain here, you know, and like the two most important
things that that he viewed were whether you follow Jesus
or not and who you marry and those are those
(15:12):
are you know, decisions and he said, you know, like
he explained that he considers Amy a true game elevator,
and yeah, I love.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
That analogy he made. That was really cool.
Speaker 2 (15:23):
Yeah. So I feel like that that really really wrung
rung things home. And you can see how much he
loves being a dad too.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
Oh, I know, it was really nice. It was a
wonderful weekend. Thank you for sharing all that insight, because uh,
I'm so glad I could so cool and obviously, like
Craig said, his articles are up there on Vikings dot com,
beautifully written articles on Jared's weekend and uh there are
some really exciting UH content pieces that will be dropping
very soon. I don't think we can give too much away.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
No, we won't give it too much away. But everyone
be on the lookout heading into that week two game.
He'll be in town and receive the the ring, the
Hall of Fame ring ceremony. And if I know one
thing about Vikings fans in night game, to open a
season is going to be.
Speaker 1 (16:08):
Crazy, gonna be crazy.
Speaker 2 (16:11):
Well, speaking of uh, I should say open a home season.
Speaker 1 (16:16):
I think I made that mistake on TV. I said
season opener, but then I corrected myself. It's so easy
to make that that uh flub, just like the wording
to someone thinks this Vikings seems to be fun to watch.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
I don't disagree.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
I don't disagree to. We're gonna get to that in
just a second. We've got to take a short break
here on the Minnesota Vikings podcast. Will be right back
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(16:53):
online at spellon dot com. I did want to talk
about a couple of the ways that this Viking team
is remembering Jim Marshall this season. I know that's a
story that you have been so passionate about being able
to try and continue his legacy on within Viking fans,
(17:13):
as well as trying to remind people that he deserves
to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Unfortunately,
he passed recently, and I know that there are a
few things that this team plans on doing in the
coming months to remember his legacy. What stands out to
you about what this organization is doing for him.
Speaker 2 (17:32):
Well, I think that's it's really been awesome the way
that coach O'Connell and Quosi have embraced the history of
this franchise. Yeah, totally true of the younger generation now
and they didn't have to really fully appreciate it, but
it's been so important to him and you can see
him put actions behind when they say it's important to them.
(17:54):
Last year, last fall. Right before the season, they unfilled
the Jim Marshall Captain's Wall. Yeah, that's the last thing
we see when when we leave on a road trip.
It's the first thing we see when we get back.
And it just when players come in through that entrance
every day. That's that's right there for them too, and
they can continue to understand what a fourteen time captain
(18:15):
yeah could mean to to his peers and really lay
the foundation for for so much of what we enjoy here.
I've I have a lot of car thoughts about Jim.
Bud Grant was always careful to to never say he
had a favorite player. He would always call him a special,
(18:36):
special player, you know, and uh, but I'm allowed to
have favorites, especially when they are legends. And Jim, I
don't know what it was, but we just connected instantly.
And I was visiting with with his lovely wife Susan
recently and like I was like Susan, I thought, I
(18:57):
was like so so sped. I was like, man, if
Jim Marshall is this nice to me and this great
to me, I must be something special. And then I
was like, you know, and then I thought about more,
and I'm like He's like that to everyone, So I
had like move my ego back down, but you know,
you know, but.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
That just kind of shows you the person.
Speaker 2 (19:15):
Yeah, he was just just the personality, the life well lived.
I mean, just this this, there's a lot of overlap
in the adventurous nature of Jim Marshall and Jared Allen,
to be honest, like they had different pursuits. Jim Marshall
was a skydiver, loved the snowmobiles. Jared does the curling
and lots of other things too, the horses. I mean
(19:37):
just just really really cool. But like just this, this
bright light. Never gave up, never gave in. He always
played hard, he always played smart, he always played Yeah,
And so I think that resonates. You don't get to
two hundred and seventy consecutive starts that began with that
nineteen sixty one opener with Papa bear Over on the
(19:59):
other side looking and I think Jim got traded acquired
that week in a trade with Cleveland, drove up played
started that that game, and Van Brocklin, the original coach,
was in the newspapers crediting him for forcing two interceptions
after the game, So like it was, it was an
instant impact for for Jim Marshall here, and and like
(20:22):
no one could have ever envisioned right like this kind
of like almost like a dump off trade in in
some capacities. And Jim had been sick, he was dealing
with encephalitis, so his weighted dropped way down right before
the start of the season, if I can skid him,
and just there's there's no better man to come up
to the iron range than than this guy that has
(20:43):
just this I right, Yeah, And so in honor of that,
players will be having a decal helmet sticker on on
their helmets this year. So it's really great to see
that family is coming out on August seventh for a
celeb writing Jim Marshall Day and then there we're going
(21:05):
to really try to center piece around Legends weekend this year.
In Week three, it's it's gonna kick off with like
an event. And you know, getting to work with Tom
West and Tracy in the Legends department here, they're they're
so great at what they do and taking care of
of everyone. And we were talking with Susan and she's like, well,
do you do you think we should have that as
(21:26):
part of it. I don't want to take away from
the legends, and we all kind of like Susan.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
He's the legend of all legends right now.
Speaker 2 (21:33):
Yeah, he's front and center. I don't know what to
tell you the first Like, if I ask anyone anything,
it will be like, well, I just wish Jim was
here right right, So like we're gonna be able to
do that. We're working on some some proper tributes to
go along with kind of a private friends and family
event that's going to be at the stadium. But it's
(21:56):
gonna be great to have the family out at Chaining
camp and they'll they'll fill that love that you know
is duly placed toward towards him and his legacy.
Speaker 1 (22:06):
That's awesome. I feel like ever since, I mean I've
only been here for five seasons, will this be my
fifth season? I just feel like, you know, this organization
always remembers their own and the impacts from the history
of it. It's a really really cool thing and it's
nice to see that continue. Let's kind of talk a
little bit about what's going on right now, Craig. You've
(22:26):
been out of training camp the past couple of weeks.
Feels like we kind of partially live here part time.
But last night we had night practice. Well so we're
recording this on Tuesday, so like night practice on Monday,
energy was high. I thought there were a ton of
people really excited to see what this Vikings team was
all about. Which players kind of stuck out to you.
(22:50):
I know, it's just a practice. It was pretty mild
and whatnot. I would say. I thought, well, Reikert, you know,
he didn't miss. That was great to see.
Speaker 2 (22:58):
You had a great night. Yeah, that's it's always good
to see that momentum and just like you know, they
take it back a couple of steps through the uprights,
take it back a couple more through the upright. I
like that his first kick was a forty eight yarder
at the end of a two minute drill too, which
is very game scenario.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
Like very much.
Speaker 2 (23:12):
So yeah, it was the developed developmental excuse me out there,
developmental offense versus developmental defense. That's that's an O'Connell terminology.
But you know, some would say like third string deeper.
But yeah, so it was it was nice to see that.
I thought, you know, like the whole night, I'm just thinking, wow,
(23:33):
JJ McCarthy wasn't even part of night practice last year
because we had had the preseason drill and then right
before night practice we had the press conference announcing he
was not going to be participating, and then within the
week we're in Cleveland and surgery and season is you
know now rehab season, right. Yeah, Wow, he's worked hard,
(23:57):
He's crazy.
Speaker 1 (23:58):
What does huh?
Speaker 2 (23:59):
He's definitely got a good, good growth attitude, right, And
like he was using the mobility a little bit more
than I think I've seen him do so far earlier
in camp too. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
Yeah, you haven't seen him kind of run run too much.
He's been really focusing on staying in the pocket.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
Yeah, and that's a that's a pocket that's under some pressure, right,
because this first this defense is coming in waves, and
you can definitely clearly see the impacts that Jonathan Allen
and Javon Hargrave have had up front and what that
can kind of create for that next wave. Plus you
couple that with the edge presence that a Grenard of
(24:38):
Van Kinkel and a Dallas Turner are going to provide,
and I mean it's it's a really deep front seven.
Like I don't envy people trying to sort through who
winds up on the fifty three on that side of
the ball. I mean, it's it's just been really impressive.
And conversely, you can you can also kind of put
(25:00):
in your mind, well, the offensive line that was rebuilt
over the offseason is still kind of getting back together,
getting fully.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
Together, right, unhealthy too, right?
Speaker 2 (25:11):
Yeah, Yeah, So Will Fries has been out there. That's
that's been great to see c D big Dog coming
back for some team snaps already. So it's it's going
to be interesting to see how quickly that five can play.
Is one which is gonna be essential, but there's no
doubt that that unit and everyone on the O line
will have been battle tested very well. Yes, the other
(25:34):
caveat I kind of have is like, is the defense
having to fully respect the run game? Right, like I thought,
Jordan Mason and Aaron Jones had some really nice runs
over the night practice. Jordan really made this awesome cut
down in a low red zone for a touchdown. That's
obviously a point of emphasis for the Vikings. I believe
finished with nine rushing touchdowns last season, so I had
(25:56):
a few more of those in there. Really forced the respect.
So a lot of low rid zone passing occurred early
in camp, right, And that's got to be tough, right
because you just have such little space to fit the
footballs into. Right, Like in the defense is they're all
this is a pass, right, So like we don't have
to like even cheat the line or anything like that, right, No, yeah, yeah,
(26:19):
so's it's really good. I think that they've been very
mindful and intentional of the challenges that they put in
front of JJ. I think he's handled them with like class,
maturity and like that ability to grow from him understanding
that what he sees out here is just as good
or better than what he might see in some games.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
Well, and coming up, we've got the first preseason game
of the year on Saturday against the Texans. It's a
three pm kick and coach on Monday did say they
have a plan for JJ McCarthy that he will see
playing time in this contest. So what should fans expect
to see? I mean, obviously we don't know. I'm sure
(27:02):
maybe by the time you guys might be listening, you
may know more as a listener about the plan for
JJ than we do in this current moment. But what
do you hope to see?
Speaker 2 (27:12):
So? Coach of Kin added the caveat that he hadn't
gone over the full plan with JJ.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
So yeah, he didn't want, yeah find out in the media, right,
that's generally a.
Speaker 2 (27:21):
Good rule of thumb. Usually he's juggling all these things
and trying to figure out when he meets and you know,
but yeah, I do think that it will be a
good opportunity. And I feel like there could be quite
quite a few first team or starters that at least
get some reps in this one. And I think they'll
probably shift the focus towards the two joint practices next
(27:43):
week with New England, and there'll be a high rep
workload for for those players in those two joint practices,
And like, he reserves the right depending on how the
practices go, if if someone needs some more work or
wants to, you know, like get back in there for
for some more snaps. We'll see how that goes. But
I do think that there's gonna be just a tremendous enthusiasm.
(28:08):
You know, fans were able to see like that that
first little is like you go the ice cream shop, right,
like the little bitty spoon, Yeah, yeah, right, like and
then you like that was that was cool? I like
that yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
Yeah, but I mean we saw, you know, before JJ
got hurt or injured, we saw him look really good
in that preseason game.
Speaker 2 (28:31):
Yeah, that's what I'm talking about that. Yeah, yeah, So
I think the first maybe the first throw was an
interception or something like that, and he came rolling back
through a couple of touchdowns, really showed good pocket presence,
good pocket movement, some some ability to run on the ground.
So I feel like like he's gonna be a guy
(28:53):
that teammates play for. And that can sound cliche, but
like you can also kind of see it, like and
coach of Conn's big emphasizer of that strain, that very
last moment, you know, like that make that final strain
to make a play succeed, right, And we've seen it
before with like that last little bit of block enabled
(29:16):
Sam Darnold last year to get a couple of really
beautiful touchdowns off. And if if if someone else hadn't
picked up that block or picked up the blitz or
strained for that final second of executing that block, then
that's a sack or it's a completion something like that.
So I feel like all of that plays into it,
and it's it's you can just see this kind of
(29:39):
relationship building that's occurred, and I think that that's that's
going to be be fun. And there's there's just nothing
like live game action, even if it doesn't count in
the standings there, there's just certain things you can't simulate
in practice if you're for sure prioritizing taking care of
your players.
Speaker 1 (29:54):
Oh yeah, I mean especially that. So if we've talked
a ton obviously about JJ McCarthy and what he'll be
able to do, we've touched on the defensive line a
little bit. Is there another position group that you're going
to have your eye on during this preseason game? What
are you excited to see?
Speaker 2 (30:09):
Yeah? I think I think there's a couple of areas
actually that are of really strong interest. And it's it's
kind of like a little bit deeper down the depth.
Speaker 1 (30:18):
Chart, right, Yeah, I'm ready to go. Let's dive in.
All right, all Right, I feel like if you've gotten
this far in the podcast, you're a Vikings faithful you understand, right.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
You know, like they're they're ready to start saying who
they're ready to watch? Right. I don't blame let's go,
but I really been you're a sect the undrafted tight
end out Stanford first and then Georgia. You know, it's
as the team's trying to replace Johnny Mount was a
critical role in the number three tight end. TJ's back,
Josh Oliver's back, Jian Mont left. They draft Avin Bartholomew,
(30:49):
but he's he's been sidelined. So Ben is just like
really really impressed. Bryson Nesbit has made some plays there,
so it'll be interesting to see those guys name to
really keep an eye on. In the number thirty four.
Zamaya Va on his.
Speaker 1 (31:06):
He's made some flashy plays at camp, right, Yes.
Speaker 2 (31:09):
He's just he just like kind of Wes West Phillips
Offens the coronary will talk about corners and he's like, yeah,
they I just like watching him the ones that don't panic, right, Like,
so he's a rookie. He hasn't played corner that long
in his in his football career, to be honest, Wow,
at least an organized ball. He said he used to
cover his siblings right in the in the in the
(31:30):
neighborhood games and everything. But uh so he just like
he looks like the part, you know, like he's got
really long links, got good technique. So from from what
I've learned to this point about technique. I'm not a technician,
don't don't like oh right, but uh, I don't want
to get ahead of my ski.
Speaker 1 (31:50):
No, you know, you know, you know, you know your stuff.
Speaker 2 (31:53):
But he looks he just looks the part, you know,
So it's it's going to be cool to see him
make that debut, you know, an undrafted I love the
undrafted guys in this tasty action. And sometimes they come
from big programs that have stadiums as big or bigger,
you know, especial, So.
Speaker 1 (32:09):
You talk, I mean, you hear coach talk so much
post draft about like or even nowadays like in camp
when these guys are like making splash plays, like we
were really lucky to get a guy to come here
undrafted for agent, and they don't want to hear us.
I think you said this about your sec yesterday or
on Monday that you know, he doesn't want to hear
that we felt like we got a draft pick with
him because obviously, you know, the undrafted free agent money's
(32:32):
a little bit different. But but that's what they feel
like with some of these guys, that they get these
undrafted free agents to decide to come here because there
are other teams who are also just as excited about
adding that diamond and the rough, the you know, Ivan
paces of the world. I guess this is kind of
the cornerstone here in the most recent years of of
(32:53):
what they can do at the next level.
Speaker 2 (32:54):
So absolutely, that's a good game.
Speaker 1 (32:56):
I like that.
Speaker 2 (32:56):
You can go old school, back to Eric Wilson, who's
back in the second you know, so he was. He
was like one of the early early forays into undrafted
free agency. They really panned out really well, and that
is so critical, especially this year when there were only
I think five draft picks.
Speaker 1 (33:13):
Yes, that's so true.
Speaker 2 (33:14):
You've really got to mind the depths, and that's that's
a testament to your scouting department and really projecting who
might still be available. It's a testament to the culture
and reputation that's being earned here from the coaching staff
and the you know, the nfl PA report cards. You
rookies can see those two, right, Yeah, so they can
(33:35):
they can weigh into factors of of where they sign,
and I think that I think it all works together
really well. But it's it's so important to be able
to mine that the post draft undrafted free agents and always,
always keep a.
Speaker 1 (33:51):
Lookout always, Well the lookout is on Sunday.
Speaker 2 (33:56):
No Saturday. Yeah, I know we're not there yet.
Speaker 1 (33:58):
Oh my goodness. Well that was a Friday and slip.
Right now, all eyes are now on this weekend as
the Vikings kick off the preseason game on Saturday against
the Houston Texans. It's a three pm kick right here
at US Bank Stadium. If you can't make it in person,
you can catch it live in action on Fox nine.
You can tune in to KFA N and the Vikings
Audio Network to hear the radio team on the call,
(34:22):
and or you can stream it on NFL Plus if
you have that. So, Craig, thank you so much for
taking the time to do this. I know it's a
busy week. This is a player's day off that we're
doing this, So enjoy a little bit of a day
ish off. But back at it tomorrow, huh.
Speaker 2 (34:38):
You know, let's get after it. You know why I
take off days? If work days are so much fun,
why take off?
Speaker 1 (34:44):
I love that. Yep, haven't worked a day in your life? Hung, Craig.
Speaker 2 (34:47):
I won't say that, but most days it's it doesn't
feel like work, that's for sure. And thanks so much
for having me. Great to be back, and just really
this season is this for you?
Speaker 1 (35:00):
With the Vikings.
Speaker 2 (35:02):
I got here in twenty fourteen. Okay, so on Week
four twenty fourteen, So was that twelfth season here? Right?
Speaker 1 (35:09):
I'm not going to pretend to do this.
Speaker 2 (35:11):
This is going to be my sixteenth season overall.
Speaker 1 (35:13):
Wow. Congratulations, thank you, thank you amazing well, thank you
so much for listening to the Minnesota Vikings podcast. Football
is back. The Viking season is officially here. Stay tuned though,
as we will have another episode dropping next week. Say
hello to flawlessly smooth skin at pure Lux Medspa, the
(35:34):
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Backslash Vikings for exclusive offers to Vikings fans
Welcome back into another episode of MVP the Minnesota Vikings Podcast.
I'm your host Tatum Everett, and it's been quite a
week since last week's episode. Jared Allen inducted into the
Pro Football Hall of Fame, the Vikings hosted a successful
night practice in front of a record crowd, and the
team is currently preparing for their first preseason game of
(00:27):
the twenty twenty five season right here at US Bank Stadium.
To get us prime for that matchup, is this week's guest,
Vikings dot Com Senior editor Craig Peters, fresh off that
trip to Canton.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
How was it, Craig, Oh, it's fantastic. It's just amazing
when you have such a respect for the history of
the game. That's really I guess kind of always been
there and then really went to another level when I
started working for the Vikings, just because of the rich
history that exists here. Jared is the sixteenth person go
(01:00):
into the Hall of Fame that spent all or most
of their career with the Viking, So that's pretty special too.
He did a tremendous job his speech. I thought the
bust looks fantastic. We got we got some flow, some
flow right, Yeah, going going into the hall, So that
that was I'm just always in awe of the skill
(01:21):
that exists with the bus makers and how they capture
the essence of these these just remarkable uh players that
have impacted the game so much, and you can kind
of see that in in the finished product of the Bust.
You definitely get opportunities to see Jared's personality stand out
during the gold Jacket dinner, ripped to see him doing
(01:45):
the calf roping, but I saw that it was you know,
he just had so much fun with it. So that's
that's that's great to see, you know, it's it's it's
a long way from from his college days at Pocatello, Idaho,
you know where or a few scouts including Mike Petten wow,
really assistant head coach was there working for the Ravens,
(02:08):
kind of like on the entry level of the scouting world. Right,
that's how you go to Pocatello, Idaho and you're looking
at this guy who might be able to long snap,
but then he might be able to edge rush, and
then you know, it just worked out that way. There's
been some content so far, We've got more on the way. Yeah,
really diving into.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Guys doing a wonderful job.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Oh well, we try, you know, like you really want
to just try to deliver the content that befits the moment,
befits the earned honors along the way, and so there
is a lot of pride and that we kind of
try to take in in relaying those stories, helping connect
the fans to one of their favorites. And it's just
a fantastic opportunity always.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
I mean to your point about the bust, it kind
of jogged my memory of being in New Orleans and
we followed Jared around. Yeah, he was getting he got
his jacket sized. They went over all the jewelry, what
the rings would look like. You know, he did a
bajillion autographs, but the by far the coolest part was
watching them measure him for a bus. And it's an
(03:14):
older couple that does it. I think that they I
don't know if they've done all of them, but they've
definitely done a lot of them. Had a whole book
of like their work and they were just taking measurements
by measurements of like all over the face and his
wife was like sitting there just writing them all down.
They were talking about which photos, he you know, what
(03:34):
he wanted to look like, things like that. It was
just a really, really neat experience. So it's no wonder
they're very lifelike. I mean he spent probably half an
hour with that couple going over what that bus was
going to look like.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Yeah. Absolutely, And now that it's been placed in the
Hall of Fame there you think about John Madden and
Peyton Manning referenced it when he went into the chime
in about the bus getting together and talking to each other.
I bet Jared's bust has some really funny stories to share. Yea.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Yeah, speaking of let's kind of talk a little bit
about the weekend in general. So like you guys went
out there on a Friday. If I'm not mistaken, we.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
Get there Thursday day, Okay, logistical Thursday, right, you know,
you get you get there, the rental car, the drive,
the you know, all all the travel. But it sets
you up for success. That also meant we got to
catch him at the at the Hall of Fame game.
You know, the video crew photo crew was able to
catch him. You know, as the this year's in Chinese
(04:27):
were participating in the game. They walked a gauntlet between
the Lions and Chargers right on the field there, and
you know, you can just kind of see it in
their their faces. They just know how how big the
weekend is and what it's ultimately leading to, and all
the work, all the influences on their lives that that
have led him to that moment, and uh, you know,
(04:50):
it's it's great to see football kickoff.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
Yeah, that's so true. You kind of forget about there's
a game in the middle of all this. So you
wake up on Friday, You've got the Hall of Fame walk.
Oh yeah, can you take us there?
Speaker 2 (05:01):
Like?
Speaker 1 (05:01):
What is that?
Speaker 2 (05:01):
Like? Yeah, that was really cool. So George Hollis Drive
starts out in front of the Hall of Fame there,
and it's kind of fitting because a lot of people
don't know, but George Hallis, the founder owner of the Bears,
was very instrumental and the Vikings being awarded in Minnesota
being awarded the NFL franchise, right, and then that was
(05:22):
the first game in franchise history, and Papa Bear was
on the sidelines and fran Tarkinson came off the bench
and the magic happened, and you know, like a relationship
with this community was born forever right, So they just
walked down George Hollis Drive. You know, you see fans
of the different players and organizations on hand. I'm met
(05:42):
a father and son duo. They're in the Chicago Land
area now. They got tickets for Week one, but I
bet the father was wearing the Allen Page jersey and
knew the backstory of Allen having worked construction on the
Hall of Fame as it was being built in the
early sixties. And they're so excited for what's ahead for
this team, what they think it is. And they're ties
(06:04):
to a White bear Lake too, So that's how the
Vikings fandom started, right, But they're they're all in, you know,
you could see the passion of the purple and then
then it's it's just so funny to see the more
than one hundred you know, gold jackets out there. Stuff. Yeah, yeah,
just right down there this year's and Chinese are in
(06:26):
like a blue shirt because they haven't been presented the
old jacket yet because that's later in the evening, right,
And so then they all gather on the steps in
front of the rotunda, which is where they used to
do the speeches a long long time. Okay, so yeah, like,
if you go back and you look at you know,
pictures from fran Or Alan's Enshrinement's they're they're standing in
front of the the rotunda there and it's just kind
(06:49):
of this undulating hill and everything. And now they have this,
you know, massive modern stadium that do things from, and
it's it's just kind of like also just another sign
of how much the sport has grown through supportive fans.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
And then you mentioned the gold Jacket dinner. The video
went viral of the first calf roping in a gold jacket,
and to be fair, like I was watching it a
few times. I was like, oh, that's cool, and then
I saw that he split his pants, and I'm not
gonna lie to you, like I did not even I
did not even see it the first few times. And
then once I saw it, I was like, oh, no,
(07:26):
of course this happened.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
I was seated for that in like the media area,
and I was just kind of zoomed out getting a
wide angle on the phone.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
You know, is that your video?
Speaker 2 (07:36):
No? No, it wasn't. Oh okay, you know me, I
don't share a lot on social media, so no.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
But I just I wasn't sure if you were the
one that captured the moment.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
Yeah, you know, I didn't even go back and watch
it because we've haveved right into wreckon to camp and
we right right.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
I mean, you got back here and went straight to work,
so you get it.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
So, but no, I need to look at that still.
But I guess they should have taken some measurements for
pans to allow for calf roping too. While all the.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
Other Jared lost a bunch of weight. He takes care
of his body. He's got a little bit slimmer and trimmer.
You want to show that off. I guess maybe just yeah,
that's all I got.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
No, it's fine, he's looking great. It's always funny how
like guys have had to keep a certain weight to
play certain positions. Yeah, then they are so good now
with all the fitness and nutrition.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
I know he's very strict about his diet.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
Yeah, he's very mindful of that. So that's good.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
And the gold jacket fit him nicely, fitted perfectly.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
Yeah, it was great. You know, Like it's in the
Canton Memorial Civic Center and they kind of form a
gauntlet for the this year's in Chinese and so there's
gold jackets here, gold jackets there.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
Yeah, what do you mean by the gauntlet?
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Like, so it's like a row of just seated. They
had more than one hundred in town, okay, and so
it's like fifty on each side of this change, and
they just walk down, get hugs, get dapped up, you know,
nice whatever, private conversations, just just really big hugs and everything.
And you know a lot of Vikings representation there. And
(09:07):
then like I just like the moment for me, you know,
growing up a child of the eighties and and you know,
really embracing NFL football in the early nineties. The Buffalo
Bills of that era was like a team I saw
a lot in Tennessee. We didn't have the Titans, so
it was kind of whoever was good was who was
on TV there, and so they were on a lot.
(09:28):
So the fact that like if my like eleven year
old self could know that I had one to like
be lucky enough to stumble upward into the same room
as Jim Kelly and Thurman Thomas and Andre Reid and
James Lofton and Marv Levy, I mean, like you know,
it's it's like living a dream.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
Yeah, that's really cool, Craig. I'm really glad you got
to experience that too. I mean partly, yes, you want
to do wonder, wonderful job, but like you are a
football fan and football historian really at heart, so that
probably was just one of those like full circle moments
for you.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
It was really really special.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
That was really cool.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
Every fan of football should should make the track at
least once to Campton.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
Was that your first time?
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Oh no, actually I've been fortunate enough to make three trips.
WHOA okay, so mctinglehoff. In twenty fifteen, the Vikings were
in the Hall of Fame game against the Steelers. Stefan
Diggs had a really long punt return in his first
ever NFL appearance. And then let's see, in twenty twenty one,
I was fortunate to go when Steve Hutchinson went into
(10:31):
the Hall of Fame, and he was like that year
was kind of a different entity all of its own
because that he was actually the class of twenty twenty,
but it was delayed until twenty twenty one because of
you know, COVID restrictions and regulations and things like that.
So it was a massive just like it's almost overwhelming double.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
Because it was double the classes, right, Yeah, So yeah,
I get that. Well, let's go back to the ceremony itself,
the bust unveiling. The speech. I think Shared's has been
the one that's probably the most talked about this past weekend.
A very very viral moment of emotion and humor, which
(11:10):
we expect nothing less of from the big man himself.
What really stuck out to you as you listen to
his speech and the moment with his dad and that
that moment really stuck out to you.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Yeah, I loved what he was able to do with
his speech. Like I wrote that, you know, he blended
a trademark, his trademark humor and a humble appreciation for
everyone who helped his journey. He's so appreciative of how
things worked out after he arrived in Minnesota. He really
is the relationships he was able to develop that really
(11:45):
stuck out to me when he's when he said, I'm
a firm believer that God puts people in your life
at the appropriate time, and what you did for the
growth of my career, but more importantly, the people that
you surrounded me with in that organization helped me grow
as a man. That is why I will forever call
the Vikings my home.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
It's amazing, Like you know.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
Like that's that's really special. You can see the effective
relationships over time, right, And like you sometimes you're so
in the moment you don't fully appreciate what everyone is
pouring into you. And I think he definitely has along
the way, and even now it's even more of an
appreciation level.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
It's funny you mentioned that there was like a really
cool moment. Chris Carter was down at the Pro Football
Hall of Fame when the class was announced in New
Orleans and they did all the sizing and stuff. Chris
was in the room and they were by the jewelry section,
and I was lucky enough to just kind of be
eavesdropping and and Chris was like, what are you going
(12:50):
to go in as like on your ring because you
can get multiple teams on your ring and whatever and whatnot.
And he goes like, you know, what are you going
to do? Chiefs and vikings whatever? And It's like, no, man,
are you kidding me? I'm vikings all the way. It's
always the vikings. And then I love that, and Chris
was like That's what I'm talking about, you know, And
and that moment I was like, Okay, obviously, Like this
(13:10):
is just you know, a really really impactful moment to
know that, you know, this organization's made that much of
an impact on Jared and and it was just really
really cool to see that that interaction between the two
of them.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
It's it's a wonderful thing to be believed in. Yeah,
and it's it's a wonderful thing to see someone appreciate
being believed in the most of that, well, thank you. Well,
so I feel like, you know, people believed in us
along our work journeys and you know, like not everyone did,
but enough people did it thankfully, and uh, you know,
(13:48):
that's that's what happened. And then I thought when he
like he took it to another level when like I
love the way he laid it out with fear and
explaining the right kind of fear that was a motivator
and then respect act it just and then the pursuit
of greatness right, Like that's like you you talk to
anyone teammate or everything, the motor was always going right
(14:10):
and it was always like trying to inflict his will
with the maximum force.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
Right.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
So yeah, so there's that that that really struck in.
But then when when you get the guys talking about
their family, you know, I mean.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
It's it's always when I started crying, it was.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
It was you know, like it was great to see
cut onions out there. Somehow I don't know, but it was.
It was great. And you can just tell how special
the relationship he and his wife, Amy and Joy and
their two daughters and everything that's ahead of them and
and so it's it's just fantastic, you know. And I
(14:52):
love the way that he kind of you know explained
after going through he married aal talks with Tom lanfear
chaplain here, you know, and like the two most important
things that that he viewed were whether you follow Jesus
or not and who you marry and those are those
(15:12):
are you know, decisions and he said, you know, like
he explained that he considers Amy a true game elevator,
and yeah, I love.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
That analogy he made. That was really cool.
Speaker 2 (15:23):
Yeah. So I feel like that that really really wrung
rung things home. And you can see how much he
loves being a dad too.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
Oh, I know, it was really nice. It was a
wonderful weekend. Thank you for sharing all that insight, because uh,
I'm so glad I could so cool and obviously, like
Craig said, his articles are up there on Vikings dot com,
beautifully written articles on Jared's weekend and uh there are
some really exciting UH content pieces that will be dropping
very soon. I don't think we can give too much away.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
No, we won't give it too much away. But everyone
be on the lookout heading into that week two game.
He'll be in town and receive the the ring, the
Hall of Fame ring ceremony. And if I know one
thing about Vikings fans in night game, to open a
season is going to be.
Speaker 1 (16:08):
Crazy, gonna be crazy.
Speaker 2 (16:11):
Well, speaking of uh, I should say open a home season.
Speaker 1 (16:16):
I think I made that mistake on TV. I said
season opener, but then I corrected myself. It's so easy
to make that that uh flub, just like the wording
to someone thinks this Vikings seems to be fun to watch.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
I don't disagree.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
I don't disagree to. We're gonna get to that in
just a second. We've got to take a short break
here on the Minnesota Vikings podcast. Will be right back
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(16:53):
online at spellon dot com. I did want to talk
about a couple of the ways that this Viking team
is remembering Jim Marshall this season. I know that's a
story that you have been so passionate about being able
to try and continue his legacy on within Viking fans,
(17:13):
as well as trying to remind people that he deserves
to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Unfortunately,
he passed recently, and I know that there are a
few things that this team plans on doing in the
coming months to remember his legacy. What stands out to
you about what this organization is doing for him.
Speaker 2 (17:32):
Well, I think that's it's really been awesome the way
that coach O'Connell and Quosi have embraced the history of
this franchise. Yeah, totally true of the younger generation now
and they didn't have to really fully appreciate it, but
it's been so important to him and you can see
him put actions behind when they say it's important to them.
(17:54):
Last year, last fall. Right before the season, they unfilled
the Jim Marshall Captain's Wall. Yeah, that's the last thing
we see when when we leave on a road trip.
It's the first thing we see when we get back.
And it just when players come in through that entrance
every day. That's that's right there for them too, and
they can continue to understand what a fourteen time captain
(18:15):
yeah could mean to to his peers and really lay
the foundation for for so much of what we enjoy here.
I've I have a lot of car thoughts about Jim.
Bud Grant was always careful to to never say he
had a favorite player. He would always call him a special,
(18:36):
special player, you know, and uh, but I'm allowed to
have favorites, especially when they are legends. And Jim, I
don't know what it was, but we just connected instantly.
And I was visiting with with his lovely wife Susan
recently and like I was like Susan, I thought, I
(18:57):
was like so so sped. I was like, man, if
Jim Marshall is this nice to me and this great
to me, I must be something special. And then I
was like, you know, and then I thought about more,
and I'm like He's like that to everyone, So I
had like move my ego back down, but you know,
you know, but.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
That just kind of shows you the person.
Speaker 2 (19:15):
Yeah, he was just just the personality, the life well lived.
I mean, just this this, there's a lot of overlap
in the adventurous nature of Jim Marshall and Jared Allen,
to be honest, like they had different pursuits. Jim Marshall
was a skydiver, loved the snowmobiles. Jared does the curling
and lots of other things too, the horses. I mean
(19:37):
just just really really cool. But like just this, this
bright light. Never gave up, never gave in. He always
played hard, he always played smart, he always played Yeah,
And so I think that resonates. You don't get to
two hundred and seventy consecutive starts that began with that
nineteen sixty one opener with Papa bear Over on the
(19:59):
other side looking and I think Jim got traded acquired
that week in a trade with Cleveland, drove up played
started that that game, and Van Brocklin, the original coach,
was in the newspapers crediting him for forcing two interceptions
after the game, So like it was, it was an
instant impact for for Jim Marshall here, and and like
(20:22):
no one could have ever envisioned right like this kind
of like almost like a dump off trade in in
some capacities. And Jim had been sick, he was dealing
with encephalitis, so his weighted dropped way down right before
the start of the season, if I can skid him,
and just there's there's no better man to come up
to the iron range than than this guy that has
(20:43):
just this I right, Yeah, And so in honor of that,
players will be having a decal helmet sticker on on
their helmets this year. So it's really great to see
that family is coming out on August seventh for a
celeb writing Jim Marshall Day and then there we're going
(21:05):
to really try to center piece around Legends weekend this year.
In Week three, it's it's gonna kick off with like
an event. And you know, getting to work with Tom
West and Tracy in the Legends department here, they're they're
so great at what they do and taking care of
of everyone. And we were talking with Susan and she's like, well,
do you do you think we should have that as
(21:26):
part of it. I don't want to take away from
the legends, and we all kind of like Susan.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
He's the legend of all legends right now.
Speaker 2 (21:33):
Yeah, he's front and center. I don't know what to
tell you the first Like, if I ask anyone anything,
it will be like, well, I just wish Jim was
here right right, So like we're gonna be able to
do that. We're working on some some proper tributes to
go along with kind of a private friends and family
event that's going to be at the stadium. But it's
(21:56):
gonna be great to have the family out at Chaining
camp and they'll they'll fill that love that you know
is duly placed toward towards him and his legacy.
Speaker 1 (22:06):
That's awesome. I feel like ever since, I mean I've
only been here for five seasons, will this be my
fifth season? I just feel like, you know, this organization
always remembers their own and the impacts from the history
of it. It's a really really cool thing and it's
nice to see that continue. Let's kind of talk a
little bit about what's going on right now, Craig. You've
(22:26):
been out of training camp the past couple of weeks.
Feels like we kind of partially live here part time.
But last night we had night practice. Well so we're
recording this on Tuesday, so like night practice on Monday,
energy was high. I thought there were a ton of
people really excited to see what this Vikings team was
all about. Which players kind of stuck out to you.
(22:50):
I know, it's just a practice. It was pretty mild
and whatnot. I would say. I thought, well, Reikert, you know,
he didn't miss. That was great to see.
Speaker 2 (22:58):
You had a great night. Yeah, that's it's always good
to see that momentum and just like you know, they
take it back a couple of steps through the uprights,
take it back a couple more through the upright. I
like that his first kick was a forty eight yarder
at the end of a two minute drill too, which
is very game scenario.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
Like very much.
Speaker 2 (23:12):
So yeah, it was the developed developmental excuse me out there,
developmental offense versus developmental defense. That's that's an O'Connell terminology.
But you know, some would say like third string deeper.
But yeah, so it was it was nice to see that.
I thought, you know, like the whole night, I'm just thinking, wow,
(23:33):
JJ McCarthy wasn't even part of night practice last year
because we had had the preseason drill and then right
before night practice we had the press conference announcing he
was not going to be participating, and then within the
week we're in Cleveland and surgery and season is you
know now rehab season, right. Yeah, Wow, he's worked hard,
(23:57):
He's crazy.
Speaker 1 (23:58):
What does huh?
Speaker 2 (23:59):
He's definitely got a good, good growth attitude, right, And
like he was using the mobility a little bit more
than I think I've seen him do so far earlier
in camp too. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
Yeah, you haven't seen him kind of run run too much.
He's been really focusing on staying in the pocket.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
Yeah, and that's a that's a pocket that's under some pressure, right,
because this first this defense is coming in waves, and
you can definitely clearly see the impacts that Jonathan Allen
and Javon Hargrave have had up front and what that
can kind of create for that next wave. Plus you
couple that with the edge presence that a Grenard of
(24:38):
Van Kinkel and a Dallas Turner are going to provide,
and I mean it's it's a really deep front seven.
Like I don't envy people trying to sort through who
winds up on the fifty three on that side of
the ball. I mean, it's it's just been really impressive.
And conversely, you can you can also kind of put
(25:00):
in your mind, well, the offensive line that was rebuilt
over the offseason is still kind of getting back together,
getting fully.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
Together, right, unhealthy too, right?
Speaker 2 (25:11):
Yeah, Yeah, So Will Fries has been out there. That's
that's been great to see c D big Dog coming
back for some team snaps already. So it's it's going
to be interesting to see how quickly that five can play.
Is one which is gonna be essential, but there's no
doubt that that unit and everyone on the O line
will have been battle tested very well. Yes, the other
(25:34):
caveat I kind of have is like, is the defense
having to fully respect the run game? Right, like I thought,
Jordan Mason and Aaron Jones had some really nice runs
over the night practice. Jordan really made this awesome cut
down in a low red zone for a touchdown. That's
obviously a point of emphasis for the Vikings. I believe
finished with nine rushing touchdowns last season, so I had
(25:56):
a few more of those in there. Really forced the respect.
So a lot of low rid zone passing occurred early
in camp, right, And that's got to be tough, right
because you just have such little space to fit the
footballs into. Right, Like in the defense is they're all
this is a pass, right, So like we don't have
to like even cheat the line or anything like that, right, No, yeah, yeah,
(26:19):
so's it's really good. I think that they've been very
mindful and intentional of the challenges that they put in
front of JJ. I think he's handled them with like class,
maturity and like that ability to grow from him understanding
that what he sees out here is just as good
or better than what he might see in some games.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
Well, and coming up, we've got the first preseason game
of the year on Saturday against the Texans. It's a
three pm kick and coach on Monday did say they
have a plan for JJ McCarthy that he will see
playing time in this contest. So what should fans expect
to see? I mean, obviously we don't know. I'm sure
(27:02):
maybe by the time you guys might be listening, you
may know more as a listener about the plan for
JJ than we do in this current moment. But what
do you hope to see?
Speaker 2 (27:12):
So? Coach of Kin added the caveat that he hadn't
gone over the full plan with JJ.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
So yeah, he didn't want, yeah find out in the media, right,
that's generally a.
Speaker 2 (27:21):
Good rule of thumb. Usually he's juggling all these things
and trying to figure out when he meets and you know,
but yeah, I do think that it will be a
good opportunity. And I feel like there could be quite
quite a few first team or starters that at least
get some reps in this one. And I think they'll
probably shift the focus towards the two joint practices next
(27:43):
week with New England, and there'll be a high rep
workload for for those players in those two joint practices,
And like, he reserves the right depending on how the
practices go, if if someone needs some more work or
wants to, you know, like get back in there for
for some more snaps. We'll see how that goes. But
I do think that there's gonna be just a tremendous enthusiasm.
(28:08):
You know, fans were able to see like that that
first little is like you go the ice cream shop, right,
like the little bitty spoon, Yeah, yeah, right, like and
then you like that was that was cool? I like
that yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
Yeah, but I mean we saw, you know, before JJ
got hurt or injured, we saw him look really good
in that preseason game.
Speaker 2 (28:31):
Yeah, that's what I'm talking about that. Yeah, yeah, So
I think the first maybe the first throw was an
interception or something like that, and he came rolling back
through a couple of touchdowns, really showed good pocket presence,
good pocket movement, some some ability to run on the ground.
So I feel like like he's gonna be a guy
(28:53):
that teammates play for. And that can sound cliche, but
like you can also kind of see it, like and
coach of Conn's big emphasizer of that strain, that very
last moment, you know, like that make that final strain
to make a play succeed, right, And we've seen it
before with like that last little bit of block enabled
(29:16):
Sam Darnold last year to get a couple of really
beautiful touchdowns off. And if if if someone else hadn't
picked up that block or picked up the blitz or
strained for that final second of executing that block, then
that's a sack or it's a completion something like that.
So I feel like all of that plays into it,
and it's it's you can just see this kind of
(29:39):
relationship building that's occurred, and I think that that's that's
going to be be fun. And there's there's just nothing
like live game action, even if it doesn't count in
the standings there, there's just certain things you can't simulate
in practice if you're for sure prioritizing taking care of
your players.
Speaker 1 (29:54):
Oh yeah, I mean especially that. So if we've talked
a ton obviously about JJ McCarthy and what he'll be
able to do, we've touched on the defensive line a
little bit. Is there another position group that you're going
to have your eye on during this preseason game? What
are you excited to see?
Speaker 2 (30:09):
Yeah? I think I think there's a couple of areas
actually that are of really strong interest. And it's it's
kind of like a little bit deeper down the depth.
Speaker 1 (30:18):
Chart, right, Yeah, I'm ready to go. Let's dive in.
All right, all Right, I feel like if you've gotten
this far in the podcast, you're a Vikings faithful you understand, right.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
You know, like they're they're ready to start saying who
they're ready to watch? Right. I don't blame let's go,
but I really been you're a sect the undrafted tight
end out Stanford first and then Georgia. You know, it's
as the team's trying to replace Johnny Mount was a
critical role in the number three tight end. TJ's back,
Josh Oliver's back, Jian Mont left. They draft Avin Bartholomew,
(30:49):
but he's he's been sidelined. So Ben is just like
really really impressed. Bryson Nesbit has made some plays there,
so it'll be interesting to see those guys name to
really keep an eye on. In the number thirty four.
Zamaya Va on his.
Speaker 1 (31:06):
He's made some flashy plays at camp, right, Yes.
Speaker 2 (31:09):
He's just he just like kind of Wes West Phillips
Offens the coronary will talk about corners and he's like, yeah,
they I just like watching him the ones that don't panic, right, Like,
so he's a rookie. He hasn't played corner that long
in his in his football career, to be honest, Wow,
at least an organized ball. He said he used to
cover his siblings right in the in the in the
(31:30):
neighborhood games and everything. But uh so he just like
he looks like the part, you know, like he's got
really long links, got good technique. So from from what
I've learned to this point about technique. I'm not a technician,
don't don't like oh right, but uh, I don't want
to get ahead of my ski.
Speaker 1 (31:50):
No, you know, you know, you know, you know your stuff.
Speaker 2 (31:53):
But he looks he just looks the part, you know,
So it's it's going to be cool to see him
make that debut, you know, an undrafted I love the
undrafted guys in this tasty action. And sometimes they come
from big programs that have stadiums as big or bigger,
you know, especial, So.
Speaker 1 (32:09):
You talk, I mean, you hear coach talk so much
post draft about like or even nowadays like in camp
when these guys are like making splash plays, like we
were really lucky to get a guy to come here
undrafted for agent, and they don't want to hear us.
I think you said this about your sec yesterday or
on Monday that you know, he doesn't want to hear
that we felt like we got a draft pick with
him because obviously, you know, the undrafted free agent money's
(32:32):
a little bit different. But but that's what they feel
like with some of these guys, that they get these
undrafted free agents to decide to come here because there
are other teams who are also just as excited about
adding that diamond and the rough, the you know, Ivan
paces of the world. I guess this is kind of
the cornerstone here in the most recent years of of
(32:53):
what they can do at the next level.
Speaker 2 (32:54):
So absolutely, that's a good game.
Speaker 1 (32:56):
I like that.
Speaker 2 (32:56):
You can go old school, back to Eric Wilson, who's
back in the second you know, so he was. He
was like one of the early early forays into undrafted
free agency. They really panned out really well, and that
is so critical, especially this year when there were only
I think five draft picks.
Speaker 1 (33:13):
Yes, that's so true.
Speaker 2 (33:14):
You've really got to mind the depths, and that's that's
a testament to your scouting department and really projecting who
might still be available. It's a testament to the culture
and reputation that's being earned here from the coaching staff
and the you know, the nfl PA report cards. You
rookies can see those two, right, Yeah, so they can
(33:35):
they can weigh into factors of of where they sign,
and I think that I think it all works together
really well. But it's it's so important to be able
to mine that the post draft undrafted free agents and always,
always keep a.
Speaker 1 (33:51):
Lookout always, Well the lookout is on Sunday.
Speaker 2 (33:56):
No Saturday. Yeah, I know we're not there yet.
Speaker 1 (33:58):
Oh my goodness. Well that was a Friday and slip.
Right now, all eyes are now on this weekend as
the Vikings kick off the preseason game on Saturday against
the Houston Texans. It's a three pm kick right here
at US Bank Stadium. If you can't make it in person,
you can catch it live in action on Fox nine.
You can tune in to KFA N and the Vikings
Audio Network to hear the radio team on the call,
(34:22):
and or you can stream it on NFL Plus if
you have that. So, Craig, thank you so much for
taking the time to do this. I know it's a
busy week. This is a player's day off that we're
doing this, So enjoy a little bit of a day
ish off. But back at it tomorrow, huh.
Speaker 2 (34:38):
You know, let's get after it. You know why I
take off days? If work days are so much fun,
why take off?
Speaker 1 (34:44):
I love that. Yep, haven't worked a day in your life? Hung, Craig.
Speaker 2 (34:47):
I won't say that, but most days it's it doesn't
feel like work, that's for sure. And thanks so much
for having me. Great to be back, and just really
this season is this for you?
Speaker 1 (35:00):
With the Vikings.
Speaker 2 (35:02):
I got here in twenty fourteen. Okay, so on Week
four twenty fourteen, So was that twelfth season here? Right?
Speaker 1 (35:09):
I'm not going to pretend to do this.
Speaker 2 (35:11):
This is going to be my sixteenth season overall.
Speaker 1 (35:13):
Wow. Congratulations, thank you, thank you amazing well, thank you
so much for listening to the Minnesota Vikings podcast. Football
is back. The Viking season is officially here. Stay tuned though,
as we will have another episode dropping next week. Say
hello to flawlessly smooth skin at pure Lux Medspa, the
(35:34):
preferred medspa of the Minnesota Vikings cheerleaders, specializing in elite
laser hair removal, body contouring, botox, cosmetic filler, and age
defying skincare treatments such as Diamond Glow and skin Pen
for collagen induction therapy. Visit my pure Lux dot com
Backslash Vikings for exclusive offers to Vikings fans
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