December 13, 2025 • 22 mins
Tatum Everett from VEN is back for the MVP!
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
Welcome into the Minnesota Vikings Podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Once again.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
I'm your host Tatum Everett, and we've got one of
our best shows yet coming up. The Viking secured a
dominant win over the Commanders at home, blanking Washington.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Thirty one zip.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
So many good things happened in the most complimentary game.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Of the season.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
Now, Vikings fans will be waiting all day for Sunday
night when the Vikes traveled to Dallas to face the
Cowboys on Sunday Night Football. But you can watch NFL
Game Day morning on the NFL Network, bringing at eight
am on Sunday to catch our next podcast guest, Kurt Warner,
the Super Bowl winning QB, caught up with me about
playing through adversity and his thoughts on Vikings. QB JJ
(00:44):
McCartney joining us today is a true NFL legend, guiding
the Saint Louis RAN's greatest show on turf, winning two
league MVPs and an MVP.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
In the Super Bowl in nineteen ninety nine.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Hey through for thirty two thousand yards and guided two
franchises to Super Bowls as well as being inducted is
the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Kurt Warner we are
so excited to have you here on our channel.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
How are you doing.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
I am doing great. Thank you so much for having me. Yeah,
of course.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
Well I really want to pick that elite quarterback mind
of yours. As we've seen JJ McCarthy come into his
own here in the second in his second year in
the NFL. You've watched and analyzed a lot of his film.
What did you see in his performance on Sunday in
the win against the Commanders.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
Yeah, I mean, I think there's a there's always a
combination of things, and so you know, I broke down
JJ a couple of weeks ago one of his performances,
and you know, I was talking a lot about in
their system, how you know that they asked the quarterbacks
to start one place and then work through their progressions
from there. And I felt like in that performance he
(01:52):
was he was slow getting from one to the next. Guy. Okay,
So when that happens, obviously you can miss a lot
of things can break down in front of you, and
some of those things can happen. So when we go
to this past week's performance, I thought that process was
sped up for him, and I think there was a
couple of reasons first, you know, when your number one
receiver is open more often than they're not, makes the
(02:15):
game a little bit easier where it's more about pitch
and catch and just getting back and throwing the football.
And so a number of those things happened. So coach,
you know, Koc did a great job of designing some
things to allow him to have some easier reads from
that perspective, and then he made the throws and then
the times where he had to kind of process and
see through it. I thought he did a much better
(02:36):
job this time around at you know, getting through those
things a little bit faster so he didn't have to
speed up the throw part of it, because that's the
other thing. When you're playing late as a quarterback and
all of a sudden you see something and it's like,
oh my gosh, I got to be I should have
been there, and I got to throw it. Now, you
speed up the process of throwing it. And I think
that was part of some of his issues with accuracy
(02:58):
early in the year, was he was a little laid
on things. So he's trying to throw things a little
bit harder, he's trying to speed up the process, and
it's going to lead to more errant throw. So the
more he can slow things down, obviously, the more that
that coach can call plays that they get his first
guy open. But the more he can slow things down,
be more comfortable with what he's seeing and play the
game at you know, at a slower pace when it
(03:19):
comes time to throw it, the better he's going to be.
And you know what, you're always hoping for these young guys.
And again, I know we talk about him as a
second year guy, but let's be honest, this is really
his rookie year from standpoint of playing. You want to
see the ascension. You want to see guys, you start
the season somewhere and then make slow upticks along the way.
(03:41):
And you know, the unfortunate thing for JJ, and I
keep saying it, is that this team won fourteen games
a year ago, and they've got a lot of talent
on the team, and they chose to go with the
young guy, And so everybody expected the same sort of
results from this team because the team's the same. But
you know, he's a second year quarterback and he hasn't
(04:02):
played a lot of football and he's trying to fit
in and figure it out. And so I think our
expectations for this team and for him were way too
high from the get go, and if we would just
step back and go, okay, le's forget about the team
and let's just look at a rookie quarterback and what
we're expecting and start one and what we're expecting halfway
through the season with the guy who's been injured a
(04:22):
couple of times. You want to just see the progress
being made. And if last week is any indication, you know,
there's definitely been some progress to where he was earlier
in the year.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
When you think of how he made that progress in
Sunday's game, whether it was the different types of plays
that were called, the schemes that set him up, well,
where do you go next in order for him to
build and grow and off of that performance?
Speaker 3 (04:49):
Again, there's always, you know, two sides to the story.
Is there's the one side as a coach of going, Okay,
this is what this defense does that we're playing against,
this is how we're going to attack them, these are
the things that we like, these are the plays that
we're going to put in. And then there's the other
side of it going but where is JJ what is
he comfortable with? What are things that he does well
(05:12):
that we can also have success against this defense with,
so we're not constantly throwing new things at him where
he can't play his best. And so that's the challenge,
you know, every week with great offensive minds like you
know Koc that sees it and wants to create it
and wants to create the perfect play to get the
big play because he's so good at that, and then
(05:34):
realizing what you have as a young quarterback. You know,
you don't have a Sam Darnold that's been in the
league for a long time or Kirk Cousins has been
in the league for a long time and has seen
and run a lot of different things. You got a
young guy that you're trying to bring along. So you
need to try to keep him as much in his
comfort zone as you can while still attacking the defense
(05:54):
and having success with it. And so it's always, you know,
a challenge. It's always a juggling at for these really
good coaches to be able to do that, you know,
and because a lot of times they got to settle
for like, Okay, we can't do everything I want to do,
you know, and then you come out of a game
and you didn't have as much success, and you're like,
I wish I, you know, would have done this, or
I wish I could have done that, while at the
(06:14):
same time going but the bigger picture is we've got
to get this young man ready to win US championships
at some point, and we have to realize that's not
this year. You know, we can't expect that from him
this year. And you've got to, you know, fight those
two balances of winning and playing your best football while
also bringing you along a young quarterback. Right.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
I mean, there is a very very very small percentage
the fact the Vikings will make the playoffs. The NFC
is just so good this year. And when you think
of these final games of the year, what do you
want to see or what would you want Viking fans
to hope to see from JJ to see that the
future for next season is a good one, is a
(06:55):
positive one.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
Yeah, I think you want to continue to see steady growth,
you know. And that's the biggest thing is that you
want to try to use these last four games to
build into next year, you know. And that doesn't mean
you're giving up on this year and you're not saying, hey,
let's try to win them all and see if we
can get the playoffs. But the idea is simply, let's
keep getting better, let's keep building, Let's go into the
(07:18):
off season with everybody feeling really good about where we're at,
or in this specific case, let's get everybody feeling really
good about the quarterback that's in our room and what
he can be for us. That's the fan base, that's
the team in general, that's the coaches, that's the quarterback.
You know, like we want him going into the off
(07:38):
season feeling really good that we're putting in a position
to play his best football and to help us win.
And so that to me is kind of the underlying
thing that you're trying to accomplish in these last four
games is play good football. Be competitive. I mean, you know,
coming off the game this past weekend, I mean, huge
Updick JJ plays great, you get a huge win, you
(07:58):
start to see it, Okay, you know, maybe we're not
that far off. I mean, you don't blow people out
in the NFL unless you're playing good football. You don't
fall into those games very often. So it's a great
start for them, you know, down the stretch here, even
if they don't make the playoffs. But that, to me
is what you're looking to do. You're looking to walk
off the field after Week seventeen going okay. I like
(08:20):
where we're at going into the offseason and into next season.
This is something that we can build up when the Vikings.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
Do face a tough challenge though this week, when they
face an experienced quarterback in Dallas. Dak Prescott is having
a great year. He's got some of the most skilled
players on the roster as long as Ceedee Lamb.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
Is able to play.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
You've also got George Pickens, Jake Ferguson with that incredible
catch the other night. When you are Brian Flores and
you're dialing up what you want to do against that
Dallas offense, what are you thinking you can take advantage
of just to slow them down on Sunday?
Speaker 3 (08:55):
Well, coach Flores does a great job of keeping you
off balance, especially in third down situations, and so I know,
you know his goal is going to be to win
person second down. That's where they're so good defensively. And
you know Dallas, you know where they've been their most
successful is when they win early downs. You know, because
they've been able to run the football and do some
of those things. So I think it starts right there is,
(09:18):
you know, coming up with a plan to slow them
down early so you can use that blitz package to
create some negative plays and you know, force Dak to
have to think and maybe make some mistakes. And then
I think the other area, you know, while you're trying
to balance all of that out, is just not giving
up the big plays. You know, Dallas's offense is built
(09:38):
on the big pass plays, pushing the ball down the field,
you know, George Pickens, you know, stretching the field with him,
ceedee lamb. The chunk plays work in the middle of
the field, but that's what they do so well. And
for any offense, even the best offense in the league,
when you can take away the big plays and force
them to make ten and twelve play drives, you know,
(10:00):
against a really good defense that can create havoc, that's
when you win these type of football games. So going
into this game, that's to me, what it's all about.
Don't give up the big plays, the easy chunk plays,
and then force Dallas, you know, into some third and
longer situations where you know that blitz package of of
you know, Minnesota can can really create havoc and create
some negative plays and hopefully give the ball back to
(10:22):
their offense and JJ McCarthy a few more times.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
Yeah, maybe they would bring up another nineteen play ninety
eight yard involvement and drive.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Who knows.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
Oh, one last thing before I go kurty, because our engineer,
Cole and I were talking about what to ask you
a little bit before this, and so I wanted to
to I can't take credit for this, but when you
think of Brian Flores's defense and so many exotic defenses
that we see that make so many different checks and
movements at the line, how much of that were you
seeing then?
Speaker 2 (10:52):
And how's that really evolved since you've played the game.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
Yeah, I mean we would see some, but maybe not
to the extent that you see it now. You know,
you see a lot more of this. Everybody walks up.
You know, it's it's what we would call a blitz
zero look. So for those listening at home that may
not know, the blitz zero look is obviously straight man
across the board. Everybody else is up at the line
(11:16):
of scrimmage and you know, looking as if they're going
to bring all those defenders, which usually means we can't
block them all, and so there's gonna be an extra
defender somewhere, and we got to get the ball out
of our hands quickly and make a play. But now
you're seeing a lot of teams, and obviously you see
it on a weekly basis. Is Coach Flores does a
great job of giving you those looks and then running
(11:37):
out of those looks to a variety of different zone coverages.
You know, he'll bring some guys, he'll drop some guys,
but they have the ability to get back to a
lot of their different coverages from that. And that's the
thing I don't think we saw as much when I
was playing. You know, we would see you know, the
walk up players with the guys in the A gaps
and people popping out some of that, but not to
(11:59):
the extent where you have so many guys at the
line of scrimmage and then the you know, the ability
for anybody to drop out right, you're going to see
on a weekly basis. You know, defensive tackles pop out,
defensive ends pop out. When I was playing, those guys
weren't quite as athletic as they are now, so most
of the guys popping out were the linebackers or the safeties,
not those big defensive linemen. But now those guys are
(12:22):
so versatile that you can blit anybody, and you can
drop anybody and still have a good chance to be
successful in your zone coverage. So that to me, where
is where it's gotten more complex, and specifically on third
down and why you know, it's so key for teams
to stay out of those third and long situations where
you've got to hold the football and throw it down
(12:42):
the field because they create some easy opportunities in the
pass rush and three rushers on the quarterback that make
it really, really hard.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
Okay, not to really put you on this bot because
I told you I wasn't.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
We weren't going to even talk about this.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
But have you have you seen any of that reflected
in college? Does that make the quarterback transition even more
difficult because it's some thing you've never seen?
Speaker 3 (13:02):
Yeah, I don't think you're seeing it to the degree
that you see it at the NFL level. There's just
not the time and the sophistication to it. At the
college level. You know, you might see aspects of it
that are going to be much easier, much more defined.
You know, where Ryan Flores might have ten different calls
from that look. A college team may have two or three. Okay,
(13:23):
so now you know, okay, I'm either getting this or
I'm getting that, and so yeah, you make that transition
to the NFL. Yeah, it's very difficult. And then the
next piece to it is that I don't think even
NFL offenses do a great job of creating easy, hot opportunities,
right quick throws against pressure for their quarterback. So now
you're getting all these looks, and you want to try
(13:44):
to solve those looks with protections and backs and protection,
it's not going to happen. So it leads to so
many negative plays every week because they don't have the
proper answers or because they're not ready to handle it
and come up with the proper answers in those type
of situations. And so I do believe it's more sophisticated,
but when guys aren't ready for it and they come
(14:07):
to this level, it's a tough thing to be able
to decipher and get the ball out and continually make
positive plays against looks like that.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
All right, well, Kurt, thank you so much for your
time today.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
We really appreciate the insight.
Speaker 1 (14:19):
And of course you can watch him on NFL game
Day mornings starting at eight am Central Time on the
NFL Network. Check that out Sunday before the Vikings play
later that night.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
Get your football all day. Thank you so much, Kurt,
you got it.
Speaker 3 (14:31):
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
Thanks to Kurt Warner for joining MVP. We will have
more for you after the short break, including nine to
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Speaker 1 (15:09):
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Shop now at spolon dot com and gift yourself the
luxury of Spolan Montage. Welcome back into the Minnesota Vikings podcast.
I'm your host, Tatum Everett. If you missed our first
guest of the evening, Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner
(15:38):
joined us and you can find that interview anywhere you
listen to your favorite podcasts or Vikings dot com or
the Vikings app. We now have one of our favorite
friends of the program joining the show. Let's get to
our chat with nine to Noons Eric Norquiest.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
Well, hey, Nordoh, how's it going. We haven't talked in
a little bit.
Speaker 4 (15:56):
It's been a while, it's said a while, and a
lot has happened.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
Well, yeah, I mean different got.
Speaker 4 (16:00):
Shut out and then we shut out a team.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
Right, it's been it's been a while, and like, what
a difference it feels like today as opposed to previous
times we've talked, where you know, the first shoutouts in
twenty twenty three.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
You get this victory.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
What are what is going on in the mind of
Minnesota sports fan as you are, you know, assessing the
current Viking situation.
Speaker 5 (16:20):
Well, I think for the most most part, the way
we've handled it not and noon is we just the
the a topic for this team with five wins. I
want to see JJ McCarthy take steps. I want to
see him evolve. I want to see him to see
feel success is good, us to see success is good.
So I think I think the majority of fans uh
not apathetic, but but in the same sense, I think
(16:43):
they've already kind of maybe transition their mind, like want
to see the QB play well, but now they're already
thinking about as soon as things go south, a lot
of fans start thinking about draft position.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
Did you get any of that this fan line even
after the win?
Speaker 3 (16:56):
Oh?
Speaker 5 (16:57):
Absolutely, Yeah, there was kind of this, this kind of
this cross cut where celebrating that JJ took some baby steps,
which I think he did some measurably better things than
we've seen from him.
Speaker 4 (17:08):
So that was exciting.
Speaker 5 (17:08):
No turnovers, three touchdowns, just quicker processing. Sure, there's a
lot of negativity and losing, so you know, for me,
whether it was seeing that shut out on Sunday, and
I think for most fans as well, getting to see
success from JJ McCarthy. Finally, how about a complimentary effort, right, defense,
take away, all three phases.
Speaker 3 (17:27):
Great.
Speaker 4 (17:27):
You got to see Kevin.
Speaker 5 (17:28):
O'Connell run the ball really more with more commitment, maybe
at least within a single game, than we've seen through
his entire time here as head coach.
Speaker 3 (17:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
I mean, if you think about it, this was the starting
group you had your eyes on in trading.
Speaker 4 (17:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
And the Vikings and Cowboys have quite the history. Obviously
they play each other on Sunday Night Football this week.
You can date back to one of the best rivalries
in the nineteen seventies between those two teams. See.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
Oh yeah, yeah.
Speaker 4 (17:55):
That is true.
Speaker 5 (17:56):
Yes, I don't I'm not emotionally compelled by the the
way that some of are older.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
Viking team seventy five. Yeah yeah, I know.
Speaker 5 (18:05):
I've been told team goes to four Super Bowls. But
that was the team. That's what Vikings fans, the older
ones have told me, is that was the team. And
that's why that push off to this day still means
what it does.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
It does mean a lot. The herschel Walker trade.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
Some other iconic memories, Randy Moss's three touchdown game.
Speaker 5 (18:22):
Now we're now we're creeping into my Yeah that was Yeah,
that was that was fourteen year old Nordo. I think
it's thirteen or fourteen years old when when he had
the Thanksgiving the three catches, three touchdowns like a buck
sixty five.
Speaker 1 (18:33):
Yeah and so and so, this one's going to be
an interesting one. Hopefully there's another iconic moment. However, there's
just not as much on the line. I think the
Cowboys went from like nineteen percent playoff chances to six
percent right now.
Speaker 5 (18:45):
Well, the Cowboys I would say this, I don't know
what the percentages are, but they do play the Eagles again.
They beat them in that comeback effort two three weeks ago.
Well the Eagles at six, six and one, you got
the you got Jalen Hurts just throwing it around the gym,
and then suddenly they're eight and five.
Speaker 4 (19:02):
So they're just a game and a half back.
Speaker 5 (19:04):
I think we're gonna get a really motivated Cowboys team.
Speaker 4 (19:07):
We can really only make the playoffs if they.
Speaker 5 (19:09):
Win the NFC East, yes, just because of how stack
the NFC West and Bears and Pack and our division
of course, of course, So I think you're you're going
to see them very motivated and it's gonna be kind
of a fun and I'm hoping JJ can hold serve
in this, uh JJ McCarthy because uh, just look at
the skill players that are going to be on the field.
If IF, IF Cede Lamb's good with his concussion, if
(19:32):
and and he's going to be back Thursday night. Gave
him a couple extra days. Pickens can absolutely hustle on
that field. They have this floor NOI this young cat
that's pretty good.
Speaker 3 (19:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (19:42):
And then Cavante Turpin, I mean they got they got
speed all over the field. Ferguson they figured out how
to really make use of him at the tight ends.
Speaker 2 (19:50):
This last week's game was incredible.
Speaker 4 (19:51):
It was gorgeous.
Speaker 5 (19:52):
And uh and then we have our skill set with
a QB trying to figure out how to throw his
way around the gym. So skill players go lore under
the bright lights of Jerry World.
Speaker 1 (20:02):
Yeah, I mean it's going to be exciting. It will
be a bigger task for JJ McCarthy. I think it's
easy to say that the Cowboys defensive line is a
bit more talented than the Commanders.
Speaker 4 (20:14):
I think the most pass yards in the league though.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
They yes, well, I mean the.
Speaker 5 (20:18):
Geberflus's bunch, like they got Eziraku this rookie.
Speaker 4 (20:21):
That's pretty good.
Speaker 5 (20:22):
I think Kenny Clark has actually kind of limited him
in snaps in recent weeks.
Speaker 4 (20:28):
I don't know what's up with that. Quinnin Williams can.
Speaker 5 (20:30):
Ball out though, So yeah, there are going to be
a little bit better defensive group. Statistically though that the
Commanders were as gettable as it gets in regard to
our opponents down the stretch here, but the Cowboys not
too far behind him.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
They're number one in total yards.
Speaker 1 (20:44):
On the offensive side of things, they're averaging about twenty
nine point three points per game. So, I mean, do
you foresee this to be a barn burner? I mean,
I hope so, right, I.
Speaker 4 (20:55):
Hope so, because that means, well, I don't.
Speaker 2 (20:58):
See that happening with our defense necessarily.
Speaker 5 (21:00):
I hope we replicate the shutout, but that seems yeah,
but that seems unlikely, So we'll settle for the fact that,
I mean, this is going to be you know, I
don't know if we ever talk about NFL totals, but
this might be of the overwhelming variety in terms of
points potentially being scored, and it's going to be the
biggest challenge. We saw Jay Ward playing a lot of
(21:21):
corner and kind of and they've mixed him up a
bunch where they can put him on the field from
a safety spot and he was you know, from a
tackling standpoint maybe against the Commanders.
Speaker 4 (21:30):
That was a factor that saw him.
Speaker 5 (21:32):
I mean, this is going to be a big day
for Isaiah Rodgers. He's going to keep you, keep up
with you with the speed, but can he finish those
freaking tackles And that's going to be a talking point
with Byron Murphy too. Yeah, the biggest challenge of the
year for our second area in particular with all these
skill players.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
Awesome.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
Well, thank you so much norn No for your insights,
your thoughts and your time today.
Speaker 4 (21:52):
Thank you You're the best.
Speaker 2 (21:54):
Nah No, not at all.
Speaker 1 (21:55):
Well, we do record this a little earlier in the week,
so if you want to dive more into the matchup,
make sure you listen to Nordo alongside Pa on nine
to noon. Okfan from Guess What nine to noon on weekdays,
and big thank you to Nordo and Kurt Warner for
joining the show this week. The Vikings are back in
primetime this Sunday night against the Dallas Cowboys at AT
(22:16):
and T Stadium.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
Kick off at seven twenty on NBC.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
Check out Vikings dot com or the Vikings app for
the latest news on your favorite team.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
Thanks for listening to MVP and School Vikings.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
Minnesota needed a go to source for everything high school sports.
That's why the Minnesota Star Tribune created Strib Varsity. Sign
up now at startribune dot com slash strib Varsity
Welcome into the Minnesota Vikings Podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Once again.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
I'm your host Tatum Everett, and we've got one of
our best shows yet coming up. The Viking secured a
dominant win over the Commanders at home, blanking Washington.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Thirty one zip.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
So many good things happened in the most complimentary game.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Of the season.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
Now, Vikings fans will be waiting all day for Sunday
night when the Vikes traveled to Dallas to face the
Cowboys on Sunday Night Football. But you can watch NFL
Game Day morning on the NFL Network, bringing at eight
am on Sunday to catch our next podcast guest, Kurt Warner,
the Super Bowl winning QB, caught up with me about
playing through adversity and his thoughts on Vikings. QB JJ
(00:44):
McCartney joining us today is a true NFL legend, guiding
the Saint Louis RAN's greatest show on turf, winning two
league MVPs and an MVP.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
In the Super Bowl in nineteen ninety nine.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Hey through for thirty two thousand yards and guided two
franchises to Super Bowls as well as being inducted is
the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Kurt Warner we are
so excited to have you here on our channel.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
How are you doing.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
I am doing great. Thank you so much for having me. Yeah,
of course.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
Well I really want to pick that elite quarterback mind
of yours. As we've seen JJ McCarthy come into his
own here in the second in his second year in
the NFL. You've watched and analyzed a lot of his film.
What did you see in his performance on Sunday in
the win against the Commanders.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
Yeah, I mean, I think there's a there's always a
combination of things, and so you know, I broke down
JJ a couple of weeks ago one of his performances,
and you know, I was talking a lot about in
their system, how you know that they asked the quarterbacks
to start one place and then work through their progressions
from there. And I felt like in that performance he
(01:52):
was he was slow getting from one to the next. Guy. Okay,
So when that happens, obviously you can miss a lot
of things can break down in front of you, and
some of those things can happen. So when we go
to this past week's performance, I thought that process was
sped up for him, and I think there was a
couple of reasons first, you know, when your number one
receiver is open more often than they're not, makes the
(02:15):
game a little bit easier where it's more about pitch
and catch and just getting back and throwing the football.
And so a number of those things happened. So coach,
you know, Koc did a great job of designing some
things to allow him to have some easier reads from
that perspective, and then he made the throws and then
the times where he had to kind of process and
see through it. I thought he did a much better
(02:36):
job this time around at you know, getting through those
things a little bit faster so he didn't have to
speed up the throw part of it, because that's the
other thing. When you're playing late as a quarterback and
all of a sudden you see something and it's like,
oh my gosh, I got to be I should have
been there, and I got to throw it. Now, you
speed up the process of throwing it. And I think
that was part of some of his issues with accuracy
(02:58):
early in the year, was he was a little laid
on things. So he's trying to throw things a little
bit harder, he's trying to speed up the process, and
it's going to lead to more errant throw. So the
more he can slow things down, obviously, the more that
that coach can call plays that they get his first
guy open. But the more he can slow things down,
be more comfortable with what he's seeing and play the
game at you know, at a slower pace when it
(03:19):
comes time to throw it, the better he's going to be.
And you know what, you're always hoping for these young guys.
And again, I know we talk about him as a
second year guy, but let's be honest, this is really
his rookie year from standpoint of playing. You want to
see the ascension. You want to see guys, you start
the season somewhere and then make slow upticks along the way.
(03:41):
And you know, the unfortunate thing for JJ, and I
keep saying it, is that this team won fourteen games
a year ago, and they've got a lot of talent
on the team, and they chose to go with the
young guy, And so everybody expected the same sort of
results from this team because the team's the same. But
you know, he's a second year quarterback and he hasn't
(04:02):
played a lot of football and he's trying to fit
in and figure it out. And so I think our
expectations for this team and for him were way too
high from the get go, and if we would just
step back and go, okay, le's forget about the team
and let's just look at a rookie quarterback and what
we're expecting and start one and what we're expecting halfway
through the season with the guy who's been injured a
(04:22):
couple of times. You want to just see the progress
being made. And if last week is any indication, you know,
there's definitely been some progress to where he was earlier
in the year.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
When you think of how he made that progress in
Sunday's game, whether it was the different types of plays
that were called, the schemes that set him up, well,
where do you go next in order for him to
build and grow and off of that performance?
Speaker 3 (04:49):
Again, there's always, you know, two sides to the story.
Is there's the one side as a coach of going, Okay,
this is what this defense does that we're playing against,
this is how we're going to attack them, these are
the things that we like, these are the plays that
we're going to put in. And then there's the other
side of it going but where is JJ what is
he comfortable with? What are things that he does well
(05:12):
that we can also have success against this defense with,
so we're not constantly throwing new things at him where
he can't play his best. And so that's the challenge,
you know, every week with great offensive minds like you
know Koc that sees it and wants to create it
and wants to create the perfect play to get the
big play because he's so good at that, and then
(05:34):
realizing what you have as a young quarterback. You know,
you don't have a Sam Darnold that's been in the
league for a long time or Kirk Cousins has been
in the league for a long time and has seen
and run a lot of different things. You got a
young guy that you're trying to bring along. So you
need to try to keep him as much in his
comfort zone as you can while still attacking the defense
(05:54):
and having success with it. And so it's always, you know,
a challenge. It's always a juggling at for these really
good coaches to be able to do that, you know,
and because a lot of times they got to settle
for like, Okay, we can't do everything I want to do,
you know, and then you come out of a game
and you didn't have as much success, and you're like,
I wish I, you know, would have done this, or
I wish I could have done that, while at the
(06:14):
same time going but the bigger picture is we've got
to get this young man ready to win US championships
at some point, and we have to realize that's not
this year. You know, we can't expect that from him
this year. And you've got to, you know, fight those
two balances of winning and playing your best football while
also bringing you along a young quarterback. Right.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
I mean, there is a very very very small percentage
the fact the Vikings will make the playoffs. The NFC
is just so good this year. And when you think
of these final games of the year, what do you
want to see or what would you want Viking fans
to hope to see from JJ to see that the
future for next season is a good one, is a
(06:55):
positive one.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
Yeah, I think you want to continue to see steady growth,
you know. And that's the biggest thing is that you
want to try to use these last four games to
build into next year, you know. And that doesn't mean
you're giving up on this year and you're not saying, hey,
let's try to win them all and see if we
can get the playoffs. But the idea is simply, let's
keep getting better, let's keep building, Let's go into the
(07:18):
off season with everybody feeling really good about where we're at,
or in this specific case, let's get everybody feeling really
good about the quarterback that's in our room and what
he can be for us. That's the fan base, that's
the team in general, that's the coaches, that's the quarterback.
You know, like we want him going into the off
(07:38):
season feeling really good that we're putting in a position
to play his best football and to help us win.
And so that to me is kind of the underlying
thing that you're trying to accomplish in these last four
games is play good football. Be competitive. I mean, you know,
coming off the game this past weekend, I mean, huge
Updick JJ plays great, you get a huge win, you
(07:58):
start to see it, Okay, you know, maybe we're not
that far off. I mean, you don't blow people out
in the NFL unless you're playing good football. You don't
fall into those games very often. So it's a great
start for them, you know, down the stretch here, even
if they don't make the playoffs. But that, to me
is what you're looking to do. You're looking to walk
off the field after Week seventeen going okay. I like
(08:20):
where we're at going into the offseason and into next season.
This is something that we can build up when the Vikings.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
Do face a tough challenge though this week, when they
face an experienced quarterback in Dallas. Dak Prescott is having
a great year. He's got some of the most skilled
players on the roster as long as Ceedee Lamb.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
Is able to play.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
You've also got George Pickens, Jake Ferguson with that incredible
catch the other night. When you are Brian Flores and
you're dialing up what you want to do against that
Dallas offense, what are you thinking you can take advantage
of just to slow them down on Sunday?
Speaker 3 (08:55):
Well, coach Flores does a great job of keeping you
off balance, especially in third down situations, and so I know,
you know his goal is going to be to win
person second down. That's where they're so good defensively. And
you know Dallas, you know where they've been their most
successful is when they win early downs. You know, because
they've been able to run the football and do some
of those things. So I think it starts right there is,
(09:18):
you know, coming up with a plan to slow them
down early so you can use that blitz package to
create some negative plays and you know, force Dak to
have to think and maybe make some mistakes. And then
I think the other area, you know, while you're trying
to balance all of that out, is just not giving
up the big plays. You know, Dallas's offense is built
(09:38):
on the big pass plays, pushing the ball down the field,
you know, George Pickens, you know, stretching the field with him,
ceedee lamb. The chunk plays work in the middle of
the field, but that's what they do so well. And
for any offense, even the best offense in the league,
when you can take away the big plays and force
them to make ten and twelve play drives, you know,
(10:00):
against a really good defense that can create havoc, that's
when you win these type of football games. So going
into this game, that's to me, what it's all about.
Don't give up the big plays, the easy chunk plays,
and then force Dallas, you know, into some third and
longer situations where you know that blitz package of of
you know, Minnesota can can really create havoc and create
some negative plays and hopefully give the ball back to
(10:22):
their offense and JJ McCarthy a few more times.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
Yeah, maybe they would bring up another nineteen play ninety
eight yard involvement and drive.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Who knows.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
Oh, one last thing before I go kurty, because our engineer,
Cole and I were talking about what to ask you
a little bit before this, and so I wanted to
to I can't take credit for this, but when you
think of Brian Flores's defense and so many exotic defenses
that we see that make so many different checks and
movements at the line, how much of that were you
seeing then?
Speaker 2 (10:52):
And how's that really evolved since you've played the game.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
Yeah, I mean we would see some, but maybe not
to the extent that you see it now. You know,
you see a lot more of this. Everybody walks up.
You know, it's it's what we would call a blitz
zero look. So for those listening at home that may
not know, the blitz zero look is obviously straight man
across the board. Everybody else is up at the line
(11:16):
of scrimmage and you know, looking as if they're going
to bring all those defenders, which usually means we can't
block them all, and so there's gonna be an extra
defender somewhere, and we got to get the ball out
of our hands quickly and make a play. But now
you're seeing a lot of teams, and obviously you see
it on a weekly basis. Is Coach Flores does a
great job of giving you those looks and then running
(11:37):
out of those looks to a variety of different zone coverages.
You know, he'll bring some guys, he'll drop some guys,
but they have the ability to get back to a
lot of their different coverages from that. And that's the
thing I don't think we saw as much when I
was playing. You know, we would see you know, the
walk up players with the guys in the A gaps
and people popping out some of that, but not to
(11:59):
the extent where you have so many guys at the
line of scrimmage and then the you know, the ability
for anybody to drop out right, you're going to see
on a weekly basis. You know, defensive tackles pop out,
defensive ends pop out. When I was playing, those guys
weren't quite as athletic as they are now, so most
of the guys popping out were the linebackers or the safeties,
not those big defensive linemen. But now those guys are
(12:22):
so versatile that you can blit anybody, and you can
drop anybody and still have a good chance to be
successful in your zone coverage. So that to me, where
is where it's gotten more complex, and specifically on third
down and why you know, it's so key for teams
to stay out of those third and long situations where
you've got to hold the football and throw it down
(12:42):
the field because they create some easy opportunities in the
pass rush and three rushers on the quarterback that make
it really, really hard.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
Okay, not to really put you on this bot because
I told you I wasn't.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
We weren't going to even talk about this.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
But have you have you seen any of that reflected
in college? Does that make the quarterback transition even more
difficult because it's some thing you've never seen?
Speaker 3 (13:02):
Yeah, I don't think you're seeing it to the degree
that you see it at the NFL level. There's just
not the time and the sophistication to it. At the
college level. You know, you might see aspects of it
that are going to be much easier, much more defined.
You know, where Ryan Flores might have ten different calls
from that look. A college team may have two or three. Okay,
(13:23):
so now you know, okay, I'm either getting this or
I'm getting that, and so yeah, you make that transition
to the NFL. Yeah, it's very difficult. And then the
next piece to it is that I don't think even
NFL offenses do a great job of creating easy, hot opportunities,
right quick throws against pressure for their quarterback. So now
you're getting all these looks, and you want to try
(13:44):
to solve those looks with protections and backs and protection,
it's not going to happen. So it leads to so
many negative plays every week because they don't have the
proper answers or because they're not ready to handle it
and come up with the proper answers in those type
of situations. And so I do believe it's more sophisticated,
but when guys aren't ready for it and they come
(14:07):
to this level, it's a tough thing to be able
to decipher and get the ball out and continually make
positive plays against looks like that.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
All right, well, Kurt, thank you so much for your
time today.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
We really appreciate the insight.
Speaker 1 (14:19):
And of course you can watch him on NFL game
Day mornings starting at eight am Central Time on the
NFL Network. Check that out Sunday before the Vikings play
later that night.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
Get your football all day. Thank you so much, Kurt,
you got it.
Speaker 3 (14:31):
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
Thanks to Kurt Warner for joining MVP. We will have
more for you after the short break, including nine to
noons Eric nor Twist, so stay tuned. Say hello to
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Speaker 2 (15:02):
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Speaker 2 (15:07):
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Speaker 1 (15:09):
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Shop now at spolon dot com and gift yourself the
luxury of Spolan Montage. Welcome back into the Minnesota Vikings podcast.
I'm your host, Tatum Everett. If you missed our first
guest of the evening, Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner
(15:38):
joined us and you can find that interview anywhere you
listen to your favorite podcasts or Vikings dot com or
the Vikings app. We now have one of our favorite
friends of the program joining the show. Let's get to
our chat with nine to Noons Eric Norquiest.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
Well, hey, Nordoh, how's it going. We haven't talked in
a little bit.
Speaker 4 (15:56):
It's been a while, it's said a while, and a
lot has happened.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
Well, yeah, I mean different got.
Speaker 4 (16:00):
Shut out and then we shut out a team.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
Right, it's been it's been a while, and like, what
a difference it feels like today as opposed to previous
times we've talked, where you know, the first shoutouts in
twenty twenty three.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
You get this victory.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
What are what is going on in the mind of
Minnesota sports fan as you are, you know, assessing the
current Viking situation.
Speaker 5 (16:20):
Well, I think for the most most part, the way
we've handled it not and noon is we just the
the a topic for this team with five wins. I
want to see JJ McCarthy take steps. I want to
see him evolve. I want to see him to see
feel success is good, us to see success is good.
So I think I think the majority of fans uh
not apathetic, but but in the same sense, I think
(16:43):
they've already kind of maybe transition their mind, like want
to see the QB play well, but now they're already
thinking about as soon as things go south, a lot
of fans start thinking about draft position.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
Did you get any of that this fan line even
after the win?
Speaker 3 (16:56):
Oh?
Speaker 5 (16:57):
Absolutely, Yeah, there was kind of this, this kind of
this cross cut where celebrating that JJ took some baby steps,
which I think he did some measurably better things than
we've seen from him.
Speaker 4 (17:08):
So that was exciting.
Speaker 5 (17:08):
No turnovers, three touchdowns, just quicker processing. Sure, there's a
lot of negativity and losing, so you know, for me,
whether it was seeing that shut out on Sunday, and
I think for most fans as well, getting to see
success from JJ McCarthy. Finally, how about a complimentary effort, right, defense,
take away, all three phases.
Speaker 3 (17:27):
Great.
Speaker 4 (17:27):
You got to see Kevin.
Speaker 5 (17:28):
O'Connell run the ball really more with more commitment, maybe
at least within a single game, than we've seen through
his entire time here as head coach.
Speaker 3 (17:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
I mean, if you think about it, this was the starting
group you had your eyes on in trading.
Speaker 4 (17:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
And the Vikings and Cowboys have quite the history. Obviously
they play each other on Sunday Night Football this week.
You can date back to one of the best rivalries
in the nineteen seventies between those two teams. See.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
Oh yeah, yeah.
Speaker 4 (17:55):
That is true.
Speaker 5 (17:56):
Yes, I don't I'm not emotionally compelled by the the
way that some of are older.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
Viking team seventy five. Yeah yeah, I know.
Speaker 5 (18:05):
I've been told team goes to four Super Bowls. But
that was the team. That's what Vikings fans, the older
ones have told me, is that was the team. And
that's why that push off to this day still means
what it does.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
It does mean a lot. The herschel Walker trade.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
Some other iconic memories, Randy Moss's three touchdown game.
Speaker 5 (18:22):
Now we're now we're creeping into my Yeah that was Yeah,
that was that was fourteen year old Nordo. I think
it's thirteen or fourteen years old when when he had
the Thanksgiving the three catches, three touchdowns like a buck
sixty five.
Speaker 1 (18:33):
Yeah and so and so, this one's going to be
an interesting one. Hopefully there's another iconic moment. However, there's
just not as much on the line. I think the
Cowboys went from like nineteen percent playoff chances to six
percent right now.
Speaker 5 (18:45):
Well, the Cowboys I would say this, I don't know
what the percentages are, but they do play the Eagles again.
They beat them in that comeback effort two three weeks ago.
Well the Eagles at six, six and one, you got
the you got Jalen Hurts just throwing it around the gym,
and then suddenly they're eight and five.
Speaker 4 (19:02):
So they're just a game and a half back.
Speaker 5 (19:04):
I think we're gonna get a really motivated Cowboys team.
Speaker 4 (19:07):
We can really only make the playoffs if they.
Speaker 5 (19:09):
Win the NFC East, yes, just because of how stack
the NFC West and Bears and Pack and our division
of course, of course, So I think you're you're going
to see them very motivated and it's gonna be kind
of a fun and I'm hoping JJ can hold serve
in this, uh JJ McCarthy because uh, just look at
the skill players that are going to be on the field.
If IF, IF Cede Lamb's good with his concussion, if
(19:32):
and and he's going to be back Thursday night. Gave
him a couple extra days. Pickens can absolutely hustle on
that field. They have this floor NOI this young cat
that's pretty good.
Speaker 3 (19:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (19:42):
And then Cavante Turpin, I mean they got they got
speed all over the field. Ferguson they figured out how
to really make use of him at the tight ends.
Speaker 2 (19:50):
This last week's game was incredible.
Speaker 4 (19:51):
It was gorgeous.
Speaker 5 (19:52):
And uh and then we have our skill set with
a QB trying to figure out how to throw his
way around the gym. So skill players go lore under
the bright lights of Jerry World.
Speaker 1 (20:02):
Yeah, I mean it's going to be exciting. It will
be a bigger task for JJ McCarthy. I think it's
easy to say that the Cowboys defensive line is a
bit more talented than the Commanders.
Speaker 4 (20:14):
I think the most pass yards in the league though.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
They yes, well, I mean the.
Speaker 5 (20:18):
Geberflus's bunch, like they got Eziraku this rookie.
Speaker 4 (20:21):
That's pretty good.
Speaker 5 (20:22):
I think Kenny Clark has actually kind of limited him
in snaps in recent weeks.
Speaker 4 (20:28):
I don't know what's up with that. Quinnin Williams can.
Speaker 5 (20:30):
Ball out though, So yeah, there are going to be
a little bit better defensive group. Statistically though that the
Commanders were as gettable as it gets in regard to
our opponents down the stretch here, but the Cowboys not
too far behind him.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
They're number one in total yards.
Speaker 1 (20:44):
On the offensive side of things, they're averaging about twenty
nine point three points per game. So, I mean, do
you foresee this to be a barn burner? I mean,
I hope so, right, I.
Speaker 4 (20:55):
Hope so, because that means, well, I don't.
Speaker 2 (20:58):
See that happening with our defense necessarily.
Speaker 5 (21:00):
I hope we replicate the shutout, but that seems yeah,
but that seems unlikely, So we'll settle for the fact that,
I mean, this is going to be you know, I
don't know if we ever talk about NFL totals, but
this might be of the overwhelming variety in terms of
points potentially being scored, and it's going to be the
biggest challenge. We saw Jay Ward playing a lot of
(21:21):
corner and kind of and they've mixed him up a
bunch where they can put him on the field from
a safety spot and he was you know, from a
tackling standpoint maybe against the Commanders.
Speaker 4 (21:30):
That was a factor that saw him.
Speaker 5 (21:32):
I mean, this is going to be a big day
for Isaiah Rodgers. He's going to keep you, keep up
with you with the speed, but can he finish those
freaking tackles And that's going to be a talking point
with Byron Murphy too. Yeah, the biggest challenge of the
year for our second area in particular with all these
skill players.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
Awesome.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
Well, thank you so much norn No for your insights,
your thoughts and your time today.
Speaker 4 (21:52):
Thank you You're the best.
Speaker 2 (21:54):
Nah No, not at all.
Speaker 1 (21:55):
Well, we do record this a little earlier in the week,
so if you want to dive more into the matchup,
make sure you listen to Nordo alongside Pa on nine
to noon. Okfan from Guess What nine to noon on weekdays,
and big thank you to Nordo and Kurt Warner for
joining the show this week. The Vikings are back in
primetime this Sunday night against the Dallas Cowboys at AT
(22:16):
and T Stadium.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
Kick off at seven twenty on NBC.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
Check out Vikings dot com or the Vikings app for
the latest news on your favorite team.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
Thanks for listening to MVP and School Vikings.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
Minnesota needed a go to source for everything high school sports.
That's why the Minnesota Star Tribune created Strib Varsity. Sign
up now at startribune dot com slash strib Varsity
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