Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:12):
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Speaker 2 (00:13):
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Speaker 3 (00:28):
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(00:48):
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Speaker 1 (00:49):
I want to start here.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
Here is head coach Kevin O'Connell addressing the media yesterday
talking about that first Vikings Rams matchup on a Thursday night.
Speaker 4 (00:58):
We had a little bit of you know, had some
pre that issues with for a variety of reasons. Kind
of that kind of created a little bit of a
pause and a lull in our flow, and they were
able to capitalize and you know, defensively had some chances
to get off the field in the second quarter that
would have maybe gave us an opportunity. I think there
was two or three penalties on one long drive, and
(01:19):
they were able to kind of put us in a
position where after losing CD, we were, you know, up
against it a little bit, but no excuse. They beat
us and won the football game. We got to go
try to play a little bit better, more consistent for
longer and see what that looks like.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
So I'm curious where your guys' heads are at on this.
In a lot of ways, we would into the Lions game.
We look at how that shootout transpired at US Bank Stadium,
and so going back to that Rams game, though everything's
so much different. They won seven of their ten last ten,
they were getting healthy at that time. We were kind
of all shocked, even Brian Flores admitting that we didn't
really think Puko was going to play, So we had
(01:56):
to adjust pretty quickly to that. Meanwhile, the Vikings rip
off a nine win streak. You see the worst of
Sam Donald at Jacksonville really culminating with the best of
Sam Donald on the road against Seattle, the Border Battle
win and all of that. So how much can you
really take from that Thursday night earlier this year and
try and and I guess transpose that on how you
(02:17):
intend things to play out on Monday night.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
I think they're going to.
Speaker 5 (02:21):
I think the Rams are gonna try a lot of
the same things that worked against the Vikings in that game.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
And the two things that they really did well.
Speaker 5 (02:28):
One was fast rhythm passes, and the Vikings that's a
great way. The Vikings got this great pass rush and
they blitz. Well, if you're getting rid of the ball
in one and a half seconds, it doesn't matter. And
so they were doing quick hitters to the receivers and
those guys can get yardage after the catch. And so
here comes a three yard pass, but there goes another
(02:49):
five yards of extra yardage at the end of that
and Vikings did not react to that, and that was
a problem for Minnesota. Then the other was and this
has been ongoing problem for an Soda. These the intermediate
middle of the field passes between our zones, and boy,
they ate us up on those in that game, and
that's been a problem all year. The Vikings have been
(03:11):
susceptible to those eight twelve yard passes across the middle
of the field between the zones, and that's that that hurt.
And I think the Vikings will can I think they'll
try to find out whether the Vikings are going to
be able to stop that here, and I suspect that
they'll attack the Vikings the same way and see if
Brian Flores is concocted a way to stop it, because
(03:32):
it's it's been a problem that RAMS game, been a
problem for other games, and to this point, I can't
tell you right now that the Vikings have is sure
fire answer for that.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
Bikes byes, Thank you Thousand Hills.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
Here's more from the head coach talking about a QB
room that now includes Daniel Jones.
Speaker 4 (03:49):
The best way I could put it is we're doing
everything we can to get Sam ready to go. But
at the same time, you know, whether it's you know,
Nick or Daniel or Brett, now those guys are absorbing
the game plan like always, and it's it's such a
fluid thing here. For the rest of the way, we're
going to do whatever we think gives us the best
chance to win.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
Well, I was watching Notre Dame in Penn State last night,
chart and they had a quarterback that was better at
design runs. You think Daniel Jones is going to roll
in here and do some to designs sneak got it?
That would be fun wouldn't it. People have been asking
a lot of questions though about how they're handling Daniel Jones.
Is he part of the active roster for the sake
of a future compensatory pick if he goes elsewhere?
Speaker 1 (04:28):
What do you think Daniel Jones's lot in life is?
Speaker 3 (04:30):
Is he is really in a supportive role for Sam
Darnold into the postseason.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
The compensatory selection part that you brought up is big,
so so that thus the timing of what has happened
now O'Connell yesterday at the press conference he was pressed
on Jones being elevated to the active roster and and like,
you know, what what does it mean for the one,
two and three?
Speaker 1 (04:52):
And he played koy with it.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
So I'm curious to see what they do with Jones
from a roster standpoint, because is the the You can
designate him third quarterback, but then he, in essence is
a scratch game day, and you would have to lose
Donald and your your two for him to play. So
I mean there's maybe a greater chance that Donald is
(05:16):
of course the starter and and Jones is the two
the backup then than I originally thought. But you know,
it's what what what you need to get into is
is like when they start practicing during the regular season,
Nick Mullins, I mean, he's gonna be in the meetings,
he's going to do some stuff with the with the
one offense. Uh, but they generally are scout team quarterbacks
(05:39):
with it with Mullins or maybe Jones playing the role
of Matthew Stafford this week and and therefore that gets
into the that gets into the preparation or lack thereof
for this game.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
So him being.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
Elevated to the to the active roster doesn't surprise me. Uh,
but but you know what's next into this game? Uh,
he may maybe farther along, as Kevin shared yesterday than
most of us think.
Speaker 5 (06:04):
So do you know the can you can you explain
the active roster rule for the compensatory pick. I mean
it just you have to have this. You can't the
last game of the season you play, he has to
be in the active roster or you know, the practice
squad players don't count. But at what point do you
need to elevate somebody? I hadn't heard this angle and
down now and I don't know this rule, but I'm
(06:26):
very intrigued because the Vikings don't have a lot of
picks in this next draft, right, and if Daniel Jones
can net you a fifth round pick with a compensitory selection,
I'm interested.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Kevin Seffert has been all over this for for like
the last couple of weeks, so either reading his stories
or following his tweets, which I have, but I can't
remember the answer that that plays into it with the
timing of this, for I thought it was by the
end of the regular season, but it's not. It goes
through the playoffs too, So I guess if they lose
(06:58):
Daniel Jones, they get a compensatory pick.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Okay, I'm interested in that. And although I believe Dan,
I'm interested in keeping Daniel Jones.
Speaker 5 (07:08):
I think so too, But maybe they're just playing it safe.
Daniel Jones has to want to come back, and so
I think this could be a brilliant move by Quacy
if it does end up working out that he goes elsewhere,
and because we elevated him to quarterback two, we get
a compensatory pick.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
Okay, I'm interested.
Speaker 5 (07:23):
Also, I'm not opposed to bringing in Daniel Jones for
some designed plays that work to his strengths. Yeah, you know,
It's not like he's an incapable quarterback.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
He can throw, he can run.
Speaker 5 (07:37):
Sean Payton does this all the time with like Taysom
Hill comes in inside the ten yard line and does
you know, he'll figure out what the play is. If
they like the play as a run, they'll run Taysom Hill.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
They like it as a pass, Taysom will throw.
Speaker 5 (07:51):
You could get creative with Daniel Jones and this would
not be the craziest thing that that I've ever heard of,
and I wouldn't necessarily be opposed to.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
That, and actually mostly would catch somebody off guard, not totally,
but but mostly especially if Mullins is now the three right,
you know, so he's part of the scratches, but he
can play if the other two get hurt and can't play.
So excited to see what happens there the con well.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
I like how this kind of evolved from me just
kind of curious, like what's up with Daniel Jones, And
thanks to charges creativity, it has evolved. Now we have
to see Daniel Jones doing Taysom Hill bits on Monday Night.
It's an absolute must and and it's guaranteed to happen.
I love that Bites Bites brought to you by Thousand Hills.
(08:39):
Sam Darnold talked to the media as well, and he
knows that the postseason, well, it's big.
Speaker 6 (08:44):
This is the time when you know people that you know,
whether you know, guys are in the league for a
long time, whether they've been with the same team for
a long time, whether they're going, you know, bouncing around
the league. You know, it's it's kind of you know
where legacies, I guess are made in the playoffs, not
(09:05):
just winning games, but winning.
Speaker 1 (09:08):
You know, those later games like AFC.
Speaker 6 (09:11):
NFC championships, winning Super Bowls like that's you know, that's
that's how you're going to be remembered at the end
of the day, you know, looking fifty years down the line,
that's what people are going to remember.
Speaker 3 (09:22):
I mentioned this earlier this week to PA as if
it was some sort of shocker.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
It's super obvious.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
Other than Jayden Daniels or the Commanders and then bo
Nix you talked about him last segment. This is the
first playoff game for Sam Darnold, no playoff experience, no
postseason experience. Now he's not a rookie, so that's an
advantage or a benefit of time served. But what do
we think about Sam seizing his first postseason opportunity and
handling business on Monday Night.
Speaker 5 (09:47):
I contend last week was a playoff game in many ways.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
I feel like it was.
Speaker 5 (09:51):
It certainly had the atmosphere, It had many of the
ramifications of a playoff game. It completely changes through the
trajectory of your playoff run. And we did not see
the best of Sam Donald. And I feel like that
moment got to him. Now he's got a chance to
change that narrative a couple of different ways. I mean,
he had a bad Jacksonville game, came back, change the
(10:12):
narrative the next week. Can he rebound from the last
week's bad game and play better here and recraft the narrative?
Speaker 1 (10:21):
You don't do you not want Sam Donald?
Speaker 5 (10:24):
It would be I don't want to use the word disaster,
especially things going on in LA and everything else. It
would be really harmful for Sam Donald's career path if
he goes dud dud and the Vikings are out of
the playoffs. I mean, that is not how he wants
to enter the offseason as a free agent. There is
a lot at stake for Sam Donald personally, professionally, both
(10:45):
as an individual and as a member of the Minnesota
Vikings to put.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
Together a really good game here.
Speaker 5 (10:52):
And I hope that I want to believe that the
moment's not going to be too big for Sam and
that he's going to be able to get past last
week's game, turn the page and play much better.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
If if you were to ponder, let's say two teams
next season that potentially would want the services at a
fair price of Sam Darnald.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
Yeah, which would they be?
Speaker 2 (11:12):
I'd be like, well, Cleveland is the second overall pick
in the draft. They're going to take a quarterback now,
but nevertheless they may want Sam Donald.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
So I'll put Cleveland in there. What one would you
put in there?
Speaker 5 (11:24):
Raiders? Okay, the Raiders. You're you're picking seven. You don't
have a path to go get a quarterback, and you
need a quarterback.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
Here's the point is the it's not that I believe
in karma, but the karmic convergence here would be. You
have entities all over the NFL, like Messrs Stefanski, Barry,
whomever the new coach and or GM for the Raiders
is going to be Tom Brady's part of their ownership group.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
They're all rooting for Sam to have.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
Back to bag Dodds because if he hits the market,
the old price probably has gone down quite a bit.
So we have so many entities rooting against us around
the country. Isn't that what it's like to be a
Vikings fan? Ladies and gentlemen. Can't I get a witness
Rocks round of applause? What's next?
Speaker 4 (12:10):
Well?
Speaker 5 (12:10):
And and to that point, Paul, I do think this
team has thrived on the underachiever. You know that people
have under expected low expectations, and you know, this team
all season long, they came in as with a six
and a half point win expectation by by betters.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
They obviously blew that away.
Speaker 5 (12:30):
And right when when the sort of the narrative of
the Vikings started to pick up nationally and people started
to believe we rolled into Detroit and crap the bed.
So maybe now that maybe things are gonna be different
and that this team is going to like the positioning
that they've got right now better now granted their favorites
(12:50):
to win, their betting line favorites to win. But you know,
there isn't sort of the national mojo on this team
that they had one week ago today.
Speaker 3 (12:57):
Fair Just one last thing, you know, when you were
talking about specifically bo Nicks last segment, you said it
pa and against the Bills. I totally agree with you
that this is too big a stage for him. He's
not ready for this particular moment.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
Well see if well, but I agree with you.
Speaker 3 (13:14):
What I was curious though, is where's your head out
maybe on one particular thing that says that Sam Darnold
no playoff experience, but certainly a longer tenure in the league,
what makes him ready for this moment?
Speaker 2 (13:25):
Potentially older, has seen, more, more mature, has had a
better season than Bo. Knicks can call on things that
he has done repeatedly with better skill guys around him
than Bo has. He's on the road, But is he
really on the road with this game at State Farm now?
And and what bon Nicks is rolling into could be
(13:47):
forty mile per hour Calcutta Clippers in his face, There
could be there could be snow. It ain't easy winning
the Bill's mafia. He's playing a better team than we're playing.
I like Buffalo. Well, you know what, the Rams beat
the Bill, So I probably shouldn't go down that road.
But just those factors right there where. Just professional maturity
(14:08):
for Sam Darnold is one thing on which I'm counting.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
Yeah, I dig that, bites, bites, Thank you, thousand Hills.
This just did into my email inbox. TJ Hawkinson is
the twenty twenty four ed Block Courage Award recipient for
the team. So the ed Block Courage Foundation annually honors
one player from each team who exemplifies commitment to the
principles of sportsmanship and courage.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
And we absolutely love TJ.
Speaker 3 (14:34):
He's played in ten games and I guess you know
charts specifically to you. First forty one catches four hundred
and fifty five yards no tds, and Sam was putting
him in some awful spots. He missed him on this
third and seventeen. That is a quick twenty five easy.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
All day the middle of the field.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
Bit Yeah, yeah, seven. Go back and watch that. You
go back and watch that play in the five touchdowns
he missed. It's like watching Saw eight. Just seriously, it's
it's like the masochist in me went back and watched
some of those things last night, Like why did I
do that, ma'am?
Speaker 6 (15:08):
Well.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
I The reason I bring it up, though, is Sam
did miss him a bunch last week and has missed
him maybe other times that just weren't as impactful as
his last Sunday's game, But all the same, the impact
of TJ Hawkinson charge. Have you felt it since he
returned from injury? Do you feel like there was a
ramp up period of just getting to be one hundred
percent again?
Speaker 1 (15:27):
Are we getting what we need out of TJ? What
do you think?
Speaker 5 (15:32):
I'm gonna be honest with you, and I honestly no,
I don't, you know, not quite. I had higher expectations
for what his impact would be, especially at this point,
right coming off the ACL I take a month to
sort of get right. I expected it to be a
more impactful return for the Vikings, and not just from
like a fantasy standpoint because he doesn't have it doesn't
(15:54):
have any touchdowns yet. I just I wanted to see
more big time catch. I wanted to see him like
come down with that ball on the sideline last week
that we needed for that first down. I want to
see him make those tough catches and differentiate himself. I
don't feel like we've got the old TJ Hockinson quite
back yet.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
And I was hoping by now we'd be there. So
I don't like that answer. I don't feel good about it.
Speaker 5 (16:19):
But if I look at myself honestly, and I look
at what we've gotten from TJ, don't I don't feel
like we've quite got the pre acl version yet, that's
pulling down contested catches, that's finding ways to get open
in the end zone.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
I don't. I just I don't feel like we've gotten
that version of him yet. Bites, bites, thank you, Thousand Hills.
Speaker 3 (16:40):
A couple more specifically on the rams here, you've talked
about this the last few weeks, specifically from a fantasy perspective,
charge that Cooper Cup three consecutive games in a row,
just three yeah, three targets a game, a total of
four catches in the last three games under they got
the week though, they got the chill a little bit
with the So, you know, are we gonna make a
(17:01):
proclamation here that that Cooper's cooked? Or do we still
have a dual a topic in Pooka and Cup on
Monday Night? Where are you at?
Speaker 5 (17:10):
This is so hard to figure out because Cooper Cup's
been such a big part of this offense for so
long and inexplicably down the stretching games the Rams needed.
Not week eighteen, but even going back before that Week seventeen,
we've skied seen it at fifteen guys.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
Barely even getting targeted.
Speaker 5 (17:25):
Yeah, and you know, and Sean McVay knows everything there
is to know about how to get Cooper Cup open,
get him into windows, and to throw him the ball
twelve times a game if you want to. And Sean
McVay isn't McVeigh is finding other players to go to,
not Cooper Cup. Maybe he's injured in a fashion that
we don't know about and isn't on the injury report.
(17:47):
Maybe that's part of way Cooper Cup's getting ignored in
this offense. Or maybe Cooper Cup just that Sean McVay
feels like Cooper Cups lost this step.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
We don't We really don't know yet.
Speaker 5 (17:58):
Nobody'd be surprised if Cup's got plenty of game left
and he tortures the Vikings. Vikings have struggled with slot
receivers for a lot of this year and a lot
of big games.
Speaker 1 (18:07):
Keenan Allen roasted this team.
Speaker 5 (18:09):
Ray Ray McLeod five weeks ago had nine catches against
the Vikings, I think, I mean the Vikings have struggled
in the slot.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
Cooper Cup is a huge X factor.
Speaker 5 (18:18):
In this game, and I don't know the answer for
why that why the Rams have decided, I mean, very
purposely not to include Cooper Cup in game plans down
the stretch.
Speaker 3 (18:30):
So in all of his games this year, he has
averaged eight point three, including these duds, recently eight point
three targets game. Yeah, if I was to put him
at six and a half, which way you're going.
Speaker 5 (18:41):
I have to go under base on the fact that
they're not that they haven't thrown to him for a month,
And I don't think they're just like, oh, we're gonna
we're gonna try to fake out our first round opponent,
whoever that might be.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
Like, I don't think a month ago they were like, Yeah, we're.
Speaker 5 (18:54):
Gonna start crafting this big, this big con game for
our first round opponent.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
They'll never see it coming.
Speaker 5 (19:01):
We're gonna not throw to Cooper Cup for a month,
and then in the first game of the playoffs, we're.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
Gonna unleash him. I don't think there was anything like
that happening. Well, consider this or factor this in uh
the with Sean McVeigh giving his best players, his ones,
the majority of the Stars the week off. In their
most recent game against Seattle, he in essence, has had
a buy so Cooper has had an extra amount of
(19:28):
time for the medical and training team to work with him,
for him to limber.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
Up or whatever.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
Do we believe that's any factor into this extra time
to get ready, Yes, you know.
Speaker 1 (19:41):
Very well could be.
Speaker 5 (19:42):
I mean it's you know, Sean made a calculated decision
to rest his starters when they could have potentially moved
up one spot by the playoff seeding, decided it was
more important to them to rest. We don't know who's hurt,
how hurt, who's banged up, and you know, but what
we do know, at the end of a long season,
having that extra week off of your huge everybody's gonna
be at full go health wise for this game. And
(20:05):
that's you know, you get also by the way you
get to rest Kyried Williams, that's no small thing.
Speaker 1 (20:10):
You know.
Speaker 5 (20:10):
They they run him a lot, but two weeks ago
they brought him down to thirteen carries and last week
he didn't play. That guy has got fresh legs and
that's gonna be a problem.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
For Minnesota.
Speaker 3 (20:20):
Well that's my final Mike Mike brought to you by
Thousand Hills Charts. Because Kyron Williams I think could be
a problem. And you watch the way that the Lions
have employed mister Gibbs, Emir Gibbs, Jomer Gibbs, excuse me
against the Purple in just four games, all those tds
that Pa mentioned.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
Earlier in the show.
Speaker 3 (20:37):
But Kyron twenty three totes and just under one hundred
yards in that first game.
Speaker 1 (20:41):
And they haven't run the ball aton the last two weeks.
Speaker 3 (20:43):
And you mentioned kind of taking some tread off the
tires or keeping some tread on the tires of Kyne.
Can they do with Kyron what Jamiir Gibbs did to
the Vikings.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
A week ago. No, I mean they can't.
Speaker 2 (20:54):
They can get to four touchdowns with him, because he
does score a lot of touchdowns. They don't play the
same way. Uh, Kyron is not as fast as Jamiir.
He's not as twitchy as Jamiir. They don't use him
on the perimeter as much as Jamiir. Uh, he's more
when they screen, it's more middle screen, a lot between
the tackles. He breaks tackles every bit as well as
(21:15):
Beer gives. They're they're different guys, but he was a
factor in that game with the catching and with the rushing,
you know, other factors.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
You know, if you go back to week.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
Eight, all right, the the Rams missed t J. Hawkinson,
and they missed Blake Cashman. Uh, the the Vikings missed
left guard Steven Avila, who they like a lot second
your TCU and uh, they also miss Tyler Higbee.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
Uh and Higby.
Speaker 2 (21:43):
I mean we're not you know, andrews Kelsey and and
some of the greats and the hist Mark Bavarro are
not blushing, but he Tyler Higbee has done a lot
of good things for the Rams for a lot of years.
And he's a round He's a well rounded tight end
with his past protection and his blocking. So we missed Higby.
But you know, one of the under the radar facets
(22:06):
from week eight to now for the Rams is is
I had heard this in the preseason because the guy
just tore it up in the preseason. But you know
who's really following the Rams preseason that closely. They have
a rookie I think he wears forty eight defensive player
named Omar Spates Omar either made his debut or his
starting debut Week eight against the Vikings, and he had
(22:28):
some problems.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
They're really high on him. He tore it up in the.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
Preseason and he's really really come on strongly, so with Spates,
along with Verse and Fisk, Byron Young in his second year,
and so on Kolbe Turner, Colby Turner, I believe in
his third year or second year. That plays into what
order brought up earlier about the draft picks that they've
had and just how well they're doing with these young players.
(22:54):
A lot of them are on defense, but States and Higbee,
those are a couple of facets that we just did
not have to deal with that much week eight compared
to what we're going to see this weekend or Monday.
Speaker 5 (23:06):
Yeah, it's again, it's a well rounded team offensively and defensively, Paul,
that doesn't have glaring weaknesses that you can go expose.
And it's largely because they've just they've drafted well. They
plug and play players, and you know, you look at
the Rams, you go, well, okay, you're gonna go beat
the Rams because you're gonna run against them. They just
they don't have They just don't have these glaring deficiencies
(23:28):
because they've drafted so well.
Speaker 1 (23:30):
They just don't. They don't. They don't have to worry
about that.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
Okay, Now, if you missed it, the game Monday against
the Rams Arizona where the Cardinals play State Farm Stadium,
and tickets are going to go on sale today for
those interested here going there, or those listening throughout iHeartRadio
around the country because kfa N has a lot of
those listeners. So if you missed it, the here's how
(23:54):
the ticket situation works, and it starts and or is
completely through seat Geek. All right, Seat Geek is where
you need to go. At noon today, the LA Rams
season ticket holders get a two hour crack at those
seats because there are no seats sold at State Farm
Stadium at this stage. So LA Ram season ticket holders
(24:17):
at noon at seat Geek there first. Then at two
o'clock the public gets involved and anybody can buy seats
from anywhere at anywhere in that stadium beginning at two o'clock.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
And that's all through seat Geek. Now.
Speaker 2 (24:34):
The NFC playoffs also commenced this weekend. AFC on Saturday,
NFC on Sunday and Monday. We discussed the weird to
a certain extent, hold the nose aspect of hoping Green
Bay beats Philadelphia and then the Vikings can win on
Monday night. But there's one in the middle sandwiched between
those two where in case you've missed it, to get
(24:57):
the Minnesota Vikings back to US Bank Stadium of the
divisional round, it's go, Commanders, go against Tampa Bay, right
the con.
Speaker 7 (25:10):
Commanders, Commanders, Hey, Hey, Rodney football feast, Buffalo wild Wing Savage.
Speaker 1 (25:26):
Great to see everybody.
Speaker 2 (25:27):
Alex Lewis from the athletic here at eleven o'clock and
we be here right back on k f A n.
Speaker 8 (25:35):
Fikes Bikes ivy to the NFC.
Speaker 2 (26:12):
Yeah, and we have three games, the Vikings being in
the final game. We will handle two of the games
here much in the same vein as the way we
handled the AFC about an hour ago. Point spreads and
fantasy preferences. For those interested in playing playoff long fantasy
football through the Super Bowl, you can play at a
(26:34):
guillotine leagues dot com. Consider that, and we begin Sunday,
middle of the day, Green Bays at Philadelphia. Philadelphia is
favored by five points in this game. Uh so handicap
this if you are so inclined and share some of
the some of the fantasy guys that you would like
to have.
Speaker 5 (26:51):
What if I'm not inclined, So I'm just going to
kick back and let you take the whole segments.
Speaker 2 (26:55):
Then I can take the whole segment. We're used to
doing that. Monday through Thursday.
Speaker 5 (27:00):
Packers Eagles. Eagles are favored by five. I think you
mentioned that that's Sunday at three point thirty. Eagles are
the NFL's most complete team, Paul. If I had to
wager right now and who's gonna win the Super Bowl,
I would take the Eagles. Is a there's a really,
really good team without any obvious deficiencies.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
Here's some stats to back that up.
Speaker 5 (27:19):
On offense, rushing yards per game, the Eagles are number
one in the league on offense. Your quarterback for the Eagles,
Jalen Hurts, has the third highest quarterback rating in the NFL.
So they can pass their way to victory. They can
run their way to victory on offense. About the defense,
Their run defense in yards per carry ranks fourth best,
(27:39):
and their pass defense in yards allowed this year ranks
number one. This is a really really solid roster without
any obvious deficiencies.
Speaker 1 (27:49):
And then there's the Packers.
Speaker 5 (27:51):
A lot of things have gone wrong for the Packers,
and still a good season by I think any measure.
Speaker 1 (27:56):
But yeah, you know they're eleven victories, right is I think?
Are they a twelve? Are they eleven? I thought it
was eleven? Maybe right? Eleven and six? Thanks eleven and six,
thank you.
Speaker 5 (28:05):
Lack of reliable production from those wide receivers is one
of the key things that I think has hurt the
Packers this year, Paul. They've got good receivers, but you
know what they don't have is any explosive receivers outside
of Christian Watson. And now he's got an ACL that
takes the vertical game away from this Packers offense. And
in the three games that Christian Watson has been hurt,
(28:29):
here at the end of the season, the average pass
distance for Jordan Love.
Speaker 1 (28:35):
He had the third.
Speaker 5 (28:36):
Longest average pass distance in the games with Christian Watson.
In the games without him, he's dead last among NFL starters.
He Christian Watson takes the explosive d plays away when
he doesn't play, and it's all dink and dunk stuff
for Jordan Love. They've got to be able to get
some more explosiveness from that offense and from the passing game.
Speaker 1 (28:58):
That's a big factor here.
Speaker 5 (28:59):
Say, Barkley has obviously been great, and the Packers run
defense middle of the pack. They've gone, They've had a
variety of different struggles there. Vikings largely beat that team
on the ground.
Speaker 2 (29:09):
Hey, would you would you take Barkley ahead of Hurts
in the Guillotine League see through the super Bowl bit?
Speaker 5 (29:16):
I would take Barkley first overall among every player available
in the playoffs.
Speaker 1 (29:20):
He'd be my first choice. I played.
Speaker 2 (29:22):
I played a fifty dollars a bit last night with
five people at Guillotine leagues dot com. Oh, thank you,
and and yeah, I took I should have taken Barkley.
Speaker 1 (29:29):
I didn't. Did you have the first pick?
Speaker 6 (29:31):
No?
Speaker 2 (29:31):
The third pick I ended up with. I took Hurts.
It took Hurts. Yeah, No, I second pick, I took Hurts.
It went maybe Josh Allen first. Yeah, something like that,
which makes sense.
Speaker 5 (29:41):
I mean, you know, these great rushing quarterbacks makes sense
as well. Uh, but I think you probably found out
running back gets thin in the playoffs.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
And I don't know how you're drafted after that.
Speaker 2 (29:51):
Well, you know what I think when it comes to
the eight players that you get via via Guillotine League
or fantasy drafts throughout the playoffs where it doesn't have
to be one from each team, you can take as
many from each team as you want, right, David Montgomery
is one that people are forgetting. Yeah, and and you can.
I mean I got David Montgomery with like my second
(30:11):
and last pick.
Speaker 1 (30:12):
Yeah, you know. Now he will play in the playoffs
is what the belief is.
Speaker 5 (30:15):
It will, but the catches he won't play this week,
and you could get.
Speaker 1 (30:18):
Chopped this week. Yeah, good point. So you gotta you know,
you need to survive this week. It's a chop. It's
a chop. We're chopping. Yep, we're chopping.
Speaker 5 (30:26):
Oh that's you know, that's gonna be tricky, and you
just but if you can survive that, you have a
huge advantage because you've got David Montgomery.
Speaker 1 (30:33):
Yeah yeah. Uh So you like Eagles minus five.
Speaker 5 (30:37):
I like Eagles. I like Eagles to win the Super Bowl.
I like Eagles minus five.
Speaker 1 (30:41):
Here. I like you to cover the spread here.
Speaker 5 (30:43):
Uh, if there's there's a packer that's going to make
a difference. Then if the Packers are going to win
this game, it's got to be Josh Jacobs. This is
why they got Josh Jacobs, and I think why they
they They looked at their decision on Aaron Jones, whoeverybody
loved as a person, they respected his play, and they
looked at Josh Jacobs and they said, we want a
(31:04):
power back in January who can go to a cold surface,
whether that's Lambell or it's the Eagles wherever, Yeah, and
can just pound the ball. You're gonna see them try
hard to get Jacobs going. I wouldn't be surprised no
matter the score, if he carries the ball twenty times
in this game, even if they're trailing throughout. It's Josh
(31:24):
Jacobs is to me, the path to victory for them.
Speaker 1 (31:27):
I like them. It's I like Philly to win.
Speaker 2 (31:31):
That five that that that five for a quarterback who
can throw a little bit, that's the five scares me.
That's a very tricky number. So I like the Eagles
to win. I wouldn't play it if I were playing
at least the point spread. But from a fantasy standpoint,
the Green Bay Packer that I like here is Jayden
reed and he's gotten lost a little bit in the equation.
Speaker 1 (31:51):
It really has, yes, and.
Speaker 2 (31:52):
And but I think he's going to be found in
this game because they need pop with their offense.
Speaker 1 (31:57):
They need run after catch. Ye.
Speaker 2 (32:00):
Now, Jacobs, Jacobs has been terrific. He's not a perimeter guy, right.
They need work on the perimeter to make to make
Darius slay the rookie what's what's the rookie's name? Dejean
and quin On Mitchell and they've both been outstanding. Yepen
de Jean gets the slot guy. And that's why I
need to go outside the numbers. So I just have
(32:22):
a feeling Jayden Reid sitting on a big game here.
Speaker 5 (32:24):
Do you think do they run They haven't run him
very much this year, right, And I'm with you, right,
you can you can run Read on these jet sweeps
and pack the edges in the way Josh Jacobs can't. Yeah,
I'm I'm with you on that, and I hope they
do use Jayden Read that way.
Speaker 2 (32:37):
But but I do believe Philadelphia would win, uh will
win the game? And uh we again, I mean, if
you want to if you want to get tricky and
and you know, root for a team that many of
you despise. Uh, yours truly will be pulling for Green Bay,
then pulling for Washington, then pulling for the Vikings on
Monday night so we can have a game at us
Bank Stadium in the divisional round.
Speaker 1 (32:58):
It's the time of the year to play that game.
Speaker 2 (33:01):
And I'm I'm I'm a willing participant when it comes
to playing that game.
Speaker 5 (33:05):
So I'm with you and anything that gets the Eagles
to me again, Eagles are the best team, most of
the best complete team in the NFC, and if we
can get an upset and get them out of the playoffs,
that's ultimately good for the Vikings.
Speaker 2 (33:17):
See, I like I like Detroit better than I like
Philadelphia for from a finish line standpoint, And and most
of it for me comes down to the coaching staff.
Speaker 1 (33:28):
Yeah. Uh, it's it's just Detroit is.
Speaker 2 (33:30):
So organized and so squared away, and they have counter
punches for everybody's upper cut. And obviously Goff has been
there before. Likewise for Jail and Hurts. I mean, I'm
splitting the hairs here.
Speaker 1 (33:41):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (33:41):
But but you know, the the until the Sirianni bit
really gains cohesiveness, And I mean we're we're three weeks
removed from this team winning eight in a row and
Jalen Hurts, AJ Brown and DeVante Smith basically nearly fighting,
you know, because at least verbally fighting because AJ not
getting the ball enough.
Speaker 1 (34:01):
And they just win a game.
Speaker 2 (34:02):
And after the game the media is like, well, you
know what, do you think what needs to get better
with the offense?
Speaker 1 (34:07):
And they're like passing.
Speaker 2 (34:08):
Yeah, I mean that's they know when they say that publicly,
it's going to go right at the quarterback.
Speaker 1 (34:13):
So they still do things like that. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (34:15):
Now, speaking of the Lions and agree the coaching. The
coaching to me is far better on the Lions side.
Did you see Aaron Glenn, who has accepted every job
interview he's been offered except the Patriots put a fat album. No,
you know what, I'll talk to everybody else. I am
not talking to the Patriots. That's that was very a
little bit surprising to me, to be honest.
Speaker 2 (34:37):
All right, Now to close Washington at Tampa Bay at
Raymond James. The Buccaneers are favored by three points. What
you're gonna do here and which two fantasy guys do
you like the most?
Speaker 5 (34:48):
Bucks feel like a team nobody wanted to see make
the playoffs because they can just outscore anybody in a game.
Baker Mayfield playing extremely well. They're winners of six of
the last seven. Now granted, pretty much all their wins
are against bottom tier teams except the Chargers, and over
those seven games, winners.
Speaker 1 (35:06):
Of the six to last seven.
Speaker 5 (35:08):
As I mentioned, they're afaging thirty two points per game,
the most in the NFL. I mean, this is a
great offense. They don't and keep in mind they lost
Chris Godwin for the season. I mean it was even
better than the Bucks defense has been quietly playing much improved.
It was really bad for a long time and everybody
was hurt and they sell a lot of injuries.
Speaker 1 (35:28):
But they're just playing a lot better.
Speaker 5 (35:30):
Over the last seven games, Bucks are giving up to
seventeen points per game on defense. They've got Bucks have
two just emerging stars on offense. Paul Bucky Irving is
one of the five best running backs in the NFL.
He is awesome. And Jalen McMillan is their rookie receiver.
He's come on really really strong. With the void that
(35:51):
Chris Godwin left, Jaydalonen, McMillan has stepped right into it
and he's been fantastic.
Speaker 1 (35:56):
There's Jaden Daniels.
Speaker 5 (35:57):
He's the rare rookie quarterback where you can say the
moment might not be too big for him. Remember a
month ago, the Commanders needed that win against the Eagles
and he went out there and he beat the Eagles
in Philadelphia. I mean, this kid is got ice water
in his veins. He had all those big moments at
LSU that he rose to the occasion for right. I
don't think the moment's too big for jayd and Daniels.
(36:19):
But in totality, the Bucks to me, are just a
better team with more offensive weapons than what the Commanders bring,
which is really just Jade and Daniels Terry mclaurinin.
Speaker 2 (36:29):
Offense, and that's it. I like Tampa Bay minus three.
I think Washington over the totality of the game is
going to have problems with Tampa Bay's passing game. Thus,
for me, for my Chase Mike Evans is my favorite
fantasy guy out of this game. And really moving forward
for the Buccaneers, nine to noon is at Buffalo Wild
(36:49):
Wings Savage. Hey, it's the Friday Football. Yeah, we're feasting,
so come on by Buffalo wild Wing Savage Alex Lewis
from the Athletic about fifteen minutes from now. Don't leave,
(37:12):
Oh good if you Homer, All right, tell me what
you want to do with these I have. I craft
did some questions. I crafted about fifteen questions in a
buy or sell and why like fashion?
Speaker 1 (37:27):
Okay for my buying? Am I selling? And why? Correct?
Speaker 2 (37:31):
And I unfurled half of them, uh to Nordo yesterday,
and I saved some for you.
Speaker 1 (37:36):
And let's let's begin here.
Speaker 2 (37:38):
All off for the statement you tell me in stock
like fashion, if you want to buy it, if you
want to sell it? And why? And we will begin here.
The Baltimore Ravens will win the super Bowl.
Speaker 5 (37:55):
I am sell, but not for the reasons that everybody
else is where you know the Lamar. Everybody thinks Lamar
Jackson can't win a big game and he can't get
that team to the super Bowl. I think I think
he's great, and I don't think that's I don't think
that is a problem.
Speaker 2 (38:11):
Oh it's a problem, but I think it's a problem
that may be solved this year. And it might be
solved this year. I've flipped on him a little bit.
Speaker 5 (38:17):
He should be m v P, and I I think
the only reason that he's not the runaway m VP
is that he's just won it recently. Yeah, that's all,
And there's just sort of voting fatigue, which is not
fair to him. This is statistically his best season. Lamar
Jackson's great. The passing has been way way better. He
turns a Flowers into a huge X factor here as well.
(38:39):
But I think at the end of the day, it's
I in my in my bracket, Paul. The Ravens have
to go to Buffalo in the middle winner and go
win a game there, and I think Buffalo would win
that game. I I just I just think that. I
don't know, for whatever reason, I feel like Buffalo is
it as as a as a home team would be,
(39:01):
would be the better team between those two if it
comes down to that side, right if they've got to
travel to the Chiefs, I don't know that they get
that Chiefs winning Kansas City either. I trust Buffalo to
win a game in Kansas City before I trust Baltimore.
Speaker 2 (39:13):
So the not quite there. The I'm selling the Dereck
Henry factor. I mean, okay, he's Derrick Henry's King Henry.
He's a beast, you know, but but he's It's a
run first approach with a running back in a passing league.
So Saquon does it differently than Derrick Henry. Hurts runs,
(39:33):
but it's different than Lamar Jackson. The way they've gotten
that thing to mesh with the play action and Lamar
breaking the pocket with his eyes down the field. There
there are guys open all over the place. I mean,
it's just the Derrick Henry factor compared to Dobbins and
Edwards and the totality of games where they just stop
(39:54):
tripping on Dobbins and Edwards Layton games, and it's like, Hey,
if these guys are going to beat us, you know,
with us six in the box, then are gonna beat us.
But we're not gonna let this quarterback run willy nilly
and then have people wide open on Gotcha's.
Speaker 1 (40:07):
You can't do that with Derrick Henry. I mean, you
have to stack that box or he'll go seventy on you. Right.
Speaker 2 (40:13):
So, things I've seen from Lamar this year, specifically with
Mark Andrews being as healthy as he's been in a while,
that they're gonna be tough. They're gonna be really tough
no matter where they have to play. And I've just
you know, Lamar Jackson, he has missed throws that you
can't miss in the postseason, throwing some of these knuckleballs.
Speaker 1 (40:35):
A lot of that's changed this year and he's.
Speaker 2 (40:37):
Coming through with what he's supposed to come through with
as a quarterback. Where in the past, in the regular
season he has, but in the postseason, in the biggest moments,
he hasn't. I'm thinking he's going to do it this year.
So I have I have hashtag faith in Lamar Jackson.
Speaker 5 (40:53):
I would not be surprised if they're in the super
Bowl or even win the Super Bowl would shock me
at all. I just think I just think the path
ultimately has to go through Buffalo, and I think that's
I think that's a tough spot for them.
Speaker 1 (41:03):
What do you think about Baltimore's defense.
Speaker 5 (41:06):
Baltimore's defense has gotten way bit well. A. They've been
great against the run all year. They've been almost impossible
to run upon all year. First two thirds of the season,
their pass defense was really bad, right, I mean, like
last in the league. They have flipped that almost one
eighty in the last six or seven games. They are
getting so much better play out of their cornerbacks, especially
(41:29):
than they were getting in the first part of the season.
That they've become a a They've become very good on
both sides of the ball now, and that improvement in
pass defense has not eroded their run defense, so it
hasn't been like, well, we're putting resources into our pass
defense and taking them away from the run. There's still
a great run defense too, so they've become a much
more balanced defense now.
Speaker 2 (41:50):
All right, buyer sell and why you touched on it
a little bit earlier. I'm going to be more pointed
with it. Wide receiver Cooper Cup for the l MS.
Cooper Cup has had nine targets his last three games,
three in each game. They targeted him three games, three
three times. Three games ago it had zero catches. Yes,
(42:11):
that's crazy. So I think I think Cooper Cup nine
targets the last three games, four catches, fifty three yards,
zero touchdowns. Buy or sell, Cooper Cup is all done
due to injuries.
Speaker 5 (42:25):
Come on, so I guess I'm selling Cup. I'm buying
the concept that you're suggesting.
Speaker 1 (42:31):
You're buying the concept. Buying the concept.
Speaker 2 (42:33):
To buy the concept, you have to buy the two
words all done.
Speaker 5 (42:39):
I can't go all done. I can't do that, yea.
The under it's you can't. I can't do that yet
because Cooper Cup's been too good for too long.
Speaker 1 (42:47):
Yeah, and he's off a baby by.
Speaker 5 (42:49):
I will augment what our earlier discussion on Cooper Cup
with this Paul, something that Scott fish just had had
mentioned to me earlier. He's played twelve healthy games this year,
and this exemplifies the change that this team has with
has had in how they're using it. First six games,
he get targeted in the end zone seven times, that's great.
(43:11):
The second six games for Cooper Cup, he's been targeted
in the end zone one time in six games, and
that just it tells me there's something. There's something inside
that RAMS organization with Matthew Stafford and Sean McVay. They
just don't They just don't trust him, the same way
they're not designing plays for Cooper Cup the same way
something is up.
Speaker 1 (43:32):
Am I ready to pound.
Speaker 5 (43:34):
Nails into Cooper Cup's career Coffin No, I can't go
there yet, but something is clearly wrong. Buyers sell and
why two to go?
Speaker 2 (43:43):
As we eagerly await the arrival of Alex Lewis from
the Athletic in the Athletic dot Com to break down
the Vikings and the Rams.
Speaker 1 (43:51):
Here we go, Sam Darnold will throw for three or more.
Speaker 2 (43:55):
Touchdowns versus the La Rams buyers sell and why did.
Speaker 1 (44:02):
You see that counting? It's wow?
Speaker 5 (44:03):
Yeah, that's uh all right, not one that's asking that
is asking a lot.
Speaker 1 (44:09):
I don't think three or more and why yeah, I'm
gonna sell on that. I'll go under you.
Speaker 5 (44:16):
I don't think they have to Hopefully they will need
three touchdowns from Sam in this game.
Speaker 1 (44:21):
I don't. I don't have the numbers in front of me.
Speaker 5 (44:23):
I don't think the Rams have given up three in
a game very often.
Speaker 1 (44:28):
I don't. I want to believe that the Vikings, the
Vikings is gonna win this. It's gonna be a.
Speaker 5 (44:31):
Balanced attack with plenty of Aaron Jones went away from
Aaron Jones way too fast last week. I want to
believe that it's gonna be much more balanced here. And
we don't need Sam to throw his arm out of
socket to go win this game. Okay, so I'm gonna
I'm gonna take the under on this, and Rams secondary
is not great and I'm Sauce Gardner back there, but
it's it's good enough that I think you, I think
(44:52):
you have a more balanced approach.
Speaker 2 (44:53):
And finally, uh, for the Denver Broncos, they got a
little rookie quarterback named Bonix. So let's not forget this
draft that we had last April. I believe it was
April or early May. I think it was six quarterbacks taken.
You know within the all offense. We know that from
Jayde and Daniels, through Caleb Williams and bow Knicks Drake May,
(45:17):
JJ McCarthy and so on. Yeah, Pennix, Michael Pennix, thank you.
We know how ballyhod it was. Well, now we've played
the season bow Knicks, so let's say, let's say all
the careers are done, buy or sell, and why this
bow Knicks will end up the best quarterback from the
twenty twenty four draft.
Speaker 1 (45:37):
Well, we're selling hard on that. And it's I don't,
I don't.
Speaker 5 (45:40):
I mean, Jaydan Daniels won the offensive Rookie of the
Year I think fourteen times this year, you know, play
offensive Rookie of the week rather fourteen times. Yeah, Taydan
Daniels is the clear class of these quarterback group. Now,
none of them look like bus so far. I mean,
if you go you know top, Yeah, Caleb Williams is
(46:01):
not yet a bus, but he's the wobblist of the group.
Then you and Jaydeen Daniels, who was awesome as both
a passer and a runner.
Speaker 1 (46:08):
And Kale's more wobbly than Drake May. Drake May's looked
really good.
Speaker 5 (46:12):
Yeah, playing behind the league's worst offensive line with no
receivers to throw to.
Speaker 2 (46:16):
Yeah, even when things are bad for Drake May, he's calm.
Speaker 5 (46:20):
And they're always bad. It's always a catastrophe in the pocket.
And here he is running for his life, throwing on
the run, throwing thirty yards downfield on the run. You know,
nobody watching Patriots games. Drake May is legit. Then I
think Pennix went next. If I've got the sequencing right,
Pennix gets dropped into this spot where he's got good
(46:42):
wide receivers and Drake May and Ray Ray McCloud and
Arnell Mooney. He's got great running backs to hand the
ball off to in a good offensive line, and he's
walked right in and he's looked poised, he's looked accurate.
He's played really well. I love what we've seen from Pennix.
Then it went JJ McCarthy, we don't know, and then
we've got Bonnet look good and so really, this whole
(47:03):
class looks promising and the guy.
Speaker 1 (47:05):
Who went first looks the shakiest out of the whole group.
Speaker 2 (47:09):
Nine to noon heads into the final hour. Alex lewis
one of our favorites. We'll join us here at Buffalo
wild Wing Savage around the corner. There we will deep
dive the Vikings and Rams from State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
Tickets for Rams season ticket holders go on sale one
hour from now, and they're all via seat geek, and
(47:31):
then at two o'clock they're open to the general public
via seat geek. So you can buy tickets to the
Vikings and Rams and Wildcard festivities on Monday night seven
o'clock KFA in time at two o'clock via seat geek,
and we'll be right