#92Noon! 10am Hour 10/7 Ben Goessling!

92Noon! Goessling - NDN

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
About Standard Heating and Air.

Speaker 2 (00:01):
Love you Standard Heating and Air for bringing us Ben Gesling.
On a weekly basis, columnists Excuse Me covers the Minnesota
vikings for the Star Tribune, Star Tribune dot.

Speaker 1 (00:11):
Com Access Vikings.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
You got podcasts, we got newsletters, we got all kinds
of bits. And I know that you're on the grind
into the by just like everybody else. Everyone trying to
get healthy, everyone trying to feel one out of the
break to face Philly, but maybe going backwards for a
moment to move forward getting the w in Cleveland, and

(00:34):
maybe your perspective in terms of what you heard from
the head coach. We had talked about it earlier, Ben,
and I think I got a talk back on it.
Just listening to Kevin O'Connell speak through kind of the
game itself, good to get good to get a win.

Speaker 1 (00:49):
It sounded like a.

Speaker 2 (00:50):
Guy who had to grind his way through maybe one
of the more difficult coaching performances of his time in Minnesota. Yeah,
combined with man I want to go home.

Speaker 1 (01:00):
Yeah, Man, I'm here. Can we just go home? Please?
Did you feel similar respects of that speech?

Speaker 3 (01:06):
I did, first of all, though, shout out Brett Blakemore
for bringing me with the Prince the old Prince. Let's work.
Oh yeah, that was very nicely done. Nice to throw
back there.

Speaker 1 (01:15):
Of course it was my idea. Yeah, I appreciate that. Yeah,
that was very well done. I like it. Yes, I
did think Kevin O'Connell was ready to go home. There was.
He made a comment in his.

Speaker 3 (01:26):
Press conference I think Friday he said something about two
more sleeps. But who's counting which the phrase two more sleeps.

Speaker 1 (01:34):
Somebody said this to me over the weekend.

Speaker 3 (01:35):
It's like you could tell he's a dad of four kids,
because that's like a phrase you use with your kids,
like only one more sleep till we go to Disney
World or something.

Speaker 1 (01:45):
That phrase.

Speaker 3 (01:45):
And then he said it in his post game victory
speech too, no more sleep, still we go home. Yes,
I think he was ready to be in his own bed.
Players were ready to go home.

Speaker 1 (01:55):
It is.

Speaker 3 (01:58):
This is not like a slight to the experience, not
a slight to the cities that they were in. But
that is such a long time to be gone and
to uproot your entire operation. I mean, NFL teams are
so regimented, so built on routine that when you take
the whole thing and move it as significantly as.

Speaker 1 (02:16):
They did it. It is.

Speaker 3 (02:19):
It's a lot of disruption for a lot of people,
and I think you could see by the end of
that stretch they were feeling it and ready to be done.
Even if they you know, I think that type of
thing is going to come back again. I'll be very
curious to hear kind of what the conversations are what
the NFL looks at from this process, because you could

(02:42):
do it again, but I think you'd have to have
a team that is willing to sign up for it.
Knowing that the Vikings, who are as enthusiastic as they
get about international travel. Yeah, you could see it by
the end that they were just I think Jonathan Grenard
said it after the game on Sunday that like, we're
ready to go, We're ready to be back home and
just kind of get back to normal.

Speaker 2 (03:01):
Well, I think there's even kind of that element because
the Jaguars have played consecutive games in the London area
or in the UK before, but they but there wasn't
even the you know, it seems because it's a shorter flight.
I suppose you're all the same, even the difference of
having to set up shop in Dublin, then pick up everything,
move to London and in fact and you get the

(03:22):
extended time that is and it sounds like it was
a massive difference operationally and just putting everything together into
that trip.

Speaker 3 (03:30):
Well, that was a funny thing about it is we
we got a chance to talk to a lot of
the people doing the behind the scenes work and names
that you never really find out and I think I
think Kevin O'Connell said it yesterday. You know, people like
Paul Martin who put on a lot of this stuff
where it's okay, everything has to get shipped into Dublin,
which is in the EU, then you have to ship
it to the UK, which is not in the EU

(03:51):
and has different laws, and there have to be basically
two different ferries that go over with different things and
different manifests, and every possible thing that you are bringing
have to be documented down to the quantity and type
of everything. So I mean it is you know, this
is stuff that a lot of people probably say, yeah,
I don't care, just give me the football game, but

(04:12):
this is how you get to the football game, and
this type of a setting, This was pretty much unprecedented
type stuff. I mean when they brought in Matt Well,
let's go the tackle from McCory last week on the
practice squad. They have to find somebody that has a passport,
they have to find somebody that can get over to
the UK, and then they have to have a tailor
in the UK to sew his name onto a uniform

(04:36):
because they don't have that yet. So that level of
detail is what this took. And I think the fact
that you did have to move the operation, like you say,
was what make it what made it so much more
difficult than what the Jaguars would do. Because the Jaguars
at this point have gone there enough that I think
they probably have some of this down to science. I

(04:57):
think the Vikings probably have a lot of this into
something of a routine when you go to London, only
because they've been there so much. But the Dublin to
London thing was new and it took a lot of
manpower and a lot of time for them to pull
it off. And I think you'd have certain teams that
would look at that and say, you know what, I'm

(05:17):
not sure we want to take that on.

Speaker 2 (05:19):
Yeah, as we go, as we go into the bye week,
you go you split one in one tough loss to
the Steelers, he handle Stefanski's Browns coach is ready to
come home.

Speaker 1 (05:27):
Coach had to grind from a.

Speaker 2 (05:29):
Coaching perspective, But into the bye I don't know if
you were listening as you came in, just kind of
weaving my way through kind.

Speaker 1 (05:35):
Of a JJ McCarthy related conversation.

Speaker 2 (05:37):
And we'll get more in depth in the quarterback specifically,
but as you're covering the team and you're trying to
turn the corner on the by, eventually it's full speed
ahead to the Eagles starting next week. When you look
at the Browns game and you're thinking about, like what
angles can I find? I'm kind of in an I

(05:57):
don't know period with the team because in one sense,
you can say, my goodness, Blake Brandell, Joe Huber justin
school putting really tough spots, and by all accounts, I
mean pro football focus isn't going to be very nice
to them. But in the end, I think everyone's walking
away going man, they put Carson in the spot to
be successful the cardon crash, but then moving forward, what

(06:21):
does that look like?

Speaker 1 (06:22):
I don't know. The rookie's got to come back with
the wrist.

Speaker 2 (06:25):
What's the snap count situation out of the by with
with derisaw Brandell or Jurgens at center, now that Kelly
is on IR and then week to week for the
right tackle in Brian O'Neil so in a sense I
don't know, and then defensively Van Ginkel in the neck
I don't know. Looks like people are running right at
Dallas Turner and they're having success with it. I don't

(06:46):
know about hard Grave and Allen out of the break.
So that's what I meant when it just kind of
overall view, I'm trying to find a direction with this thing.

Speaker 1 (06:54):
What do I know about my team? Through five?

Speaker 2 (06:57):
I know they're three and two, and I know that
Carson has a warrior in there. He's playing with the
bump shoulder. I think he was hurt even coming out
of the Steelers game, and he's put this team in
spots to be successful. I know that Addison looks terrific
when he's on the field, except when he doesn't go
to freaking walk throughs. I don't know how you are
in a countryside manner, kind of in a captive environment

(07:18):
and don't make it to a walkthrough. But different conversation
in a different moment, but I'm just still feeling it's
like I don't know what I have in my favorite team.

Speaker 1 (07:26):
Where do you sit?

Speaker 3 (07:27):
I think that's a fair read on it because there
are so many key members of this thing whose health
is still a question. I mean, Blake Cashman will come
back here, but Andrew van Ginkel, you know, that whole
thing with the neck, I think is worth continuing to
watch pretty closely because they are different with him on

(07:47):
the field. I just I think everything they do is
multiplied because of how intuitive he is, because of how
many different things he does that you just can't replace.

Speaker 1 (07:59):
I mean that sense of what a team is doing.

Speaker 3 (08:02):
You see the number of times, I mean, we know
about the pick sixes, but there have been five or
six other times by this point that he's almost done
the same thing, and you just don't replace that level
of football, since that's not going to come from the
next man up all the time. I think you see
that with Harrison Smith do is that there's a level
of know how with players like that that's just unique

(08:25):
to those players. So whether it's Cashman, Van Ginkel, Brian O'Neil,
I think you go down that list, and then you
ask the questions about the defensive tackles because they've gotten
run on a lot, and some of it's the front,
some of that's the linebackers, some of that people jump
in gas, all those kinds of things. But until they

(08:46):
can stop that, especially with the teams are going to
play coming out of the buy, whether it's the Eagles,
the Lions, the Ravens, I mean, the Chargers have running
back questions now with Lamar and Hampton out, but they
want to run the ball as well, So you have
to show that you can get that thing under control,
and then what the line looks like with who's the center,
When does Donova Jackson come back?

Speaker 1 (09:07):
When does Brian O'Neil come back. I mean, there are
so many questions.

Speaker 3 (09:09):
We haven't even mentioned the big one with the quarterback situation.
I think figuring all of this out and saying I
don't know is very fair. I mean, Kevin O'Connell said
it that trying to figure out the identity of this
team is still very much a work in progress, in
part because they've had so many weeks where it's like, Okay,
who do we have now? And this you have players

(09:32):
kind of coming back and leaving, almost like ships passing
in the night. Pardon the Dublin London pun there. But
it's hard to get an identity when you're playing that
way and you just have players kind of going where
they have to go, you know, switching tackles during the
game on Sunday with justin School and Walter Ross switching sides.
It's hard to get an identity when you're living that way.
And I think getting healthy is a big piece of that.

(09:54):
But there's a lot of work that this team still
has to do of what can we hang our hat
on and how do.

Speaker 1 (09:59):
We want to do it.

Speaker 2 (10:00):
Yeah, Saquon is looming, Yes he is, so we don't
have to worry about that until Monday.

Speaker 1 (10:04):
That's true. It's the byew it's the bye week, you
know you.

Speaker 2 (10:07):
Mentioned and and the uh we're we're in our We're
in our own little prism right now. And maybe it's
tunnel vision to a negative. But those Chargers, man, I mean,
we got some health issues. But Rashaun Slater, I think
he's on. I I think he's done for the year. Uh,
Joe Alt their left tackle is hurt. Makai Beckton and

(10:28):
what he was doing with those Eagles a year ago.

Speaker 1 (10:31):
Uh, they need him, and I believe he is hurt.

Speaker 2 (10:34):
Na Gie Harris rips his achilles just preparing to take
I think it was a play action play and.

Speaker 1 (10:41):
People were kind of marveling.

Speaker 2 (10:42):
Herbert just kind of jumps over him as he's writhing
in paying on the turf and makes the throw. And
then now maryon Hampton, I mean, we're we're keyed in.
Our favorite team matters most, but but we are not
the only team and it's just getting ravaged right now.

Speaker 3 (10:56):
No, it is the way of life in the NFL
that people deal with a lot of injuries. And you
know the Lions are dealing with it right now too,
Terry and Arnold going out for I think Dan Campbell
said a long time. So everybody has to deal with
this throughout the course of the season. And it's part
of why this is, you know, you never know when

(11:18):
it's your time, because the year where the injury gods
kind of smile on you doesn't happen all the time.
And they've had moments where they've been in pretty good health.
I mean last year overall, they were in relatively good health.
And there are years where it's harder to come by,
and but that is something that everybody goes through at
different points of the year, and they're going to, you know,

(11:39):
the question of when you play people, how healthy is
Lamar Jackson when they play him in a few weeks.
I mean, these are all things that everybody's dealing with,
and it's.

Speaker 1 (11:48):
Why the whole thing is pretty unpredictable at times.

Speaker 2 (11:50):
I want to I want to go go somewhere positive
before and in tons of text messages and talkbacks on
the quarterback conversation, which we will address, but justin Jefferson
and felt like on Sunday, when you know, whether it's
I mean this this, I've heard him now it's the
second or third time he's actually mentioned an oppressor about it.
He's got to take Addison under his way. He's got

(12:11):
to be that leader. And I'm just kind of thinking,
you know, and in the vacuum with that, it's like,
I mean, how many do we really have to drag
a guy along? I mean, you know, and and what
does that look like in the long term. But again
that's an aside in himself to the positive. Then they
kind of feel like your team's best player just decided
there's no way we're losing this game. And not all

(12:34):
of Carson's throws were perfect. Justin Jefferson, I was worried
he was going to get hurt on one where he
went up super high, and I think Newsome kind of
let's just say Newsom helped him to the ground.

Speaker 1 (12:44):
Yeah, but but.

Speaker 2 (12:46):
Justin Jefferson and and just impressive moments, uh, you know,
moments in the Steelers game, but specifically this, this last one.
He's like, there's no chance we're losing to the freaking Browns.
I don't care QB this. Everyone's asking me what it's
like with the quarterbacks. I just go out there and
I catch passes. Very similar response each time he's asked
about it. But your best player just said in London,

(13:07):
we are winning yet one way or another.

Speaker 1 (13:10):
Who's with me?

Speaker 2 (13:11):
And he was so spectacular, not as big as stat
line ever, but I think one of his better games
is a member of the Vikings.

Speaker 3 (13:19):
Well, the catches he makes down the stretch, I mean,
in terms of the importance and in terms of the difficulty,
it's hard to look at anybody else in the league
and say they're better than that. I mean, it was
one of those moments I think I tweeted something to
this effect at some point late in the game. It's like, yeah,
just don't overthink it. Just find Jefferson and feed him.

(13:40):
And you know, the old justin Jefferson's down there somewhere thing.
And this is something he will tell quarterbacks, which is
getting to be a lot of them now but once
he's played with but his message to them over and
over and over is trust yourself and trust me, like
trust that you can get me the ball, and trust
that I'm going to come down with it, even if
it's something where it's tight coverage, because more often than

(14:04):
not more often than normal, I should say, he catches
those passes that you would say, this is not a
high percentage play.

Speaker 1 (14:12):
I mean, you know, I think back.

Speaker 3 (14:14):
I mean the most famous one, of course, is Buffalo
in twenty twenty two with Kirk Cousins and the fourth down,
fourth and eighteen where he makes the incredible catch and
there was a lot of discussion that season about his
Cousins trusting Jefferson enough and is he taking those chances
knowing that it's Jefferson and the odds are more in
your favor than they ordinarily would be given the fact

(14:35):
that it's justin Jefferson on the other end. And I
think that season there was a lot of discussion about,
you know, Kirk kind of moving in that direction, and
then you of course have it with the quarterbacks that
come after him, certainly with Sam Darnold last year. I
think JJ McCarthy there's some of that discussion and Carson Wentz,
but his message is I'm going to come down with
the ball one way or the other, and it did

(14:56):
have that feel.

Speaker 1 (14:57):
Late in that game.

Speaker 3 (14:57):
I think there was, you know, some of the micd
up stuff. There was quite a bit of chatter and
quite a bit of physicality between him and the corners,
but it was, yeah, I'm taking this game over. You're
not going to stop me, and that's going to be
how this goes. And I think that's what you see
generational players do, elevate themselves and elevate the team to
a point where there's really nothing you can do about it.

Speaker 1 (15:18):
And that was one of those moments.

Speaker 2 (15:20):
On Sunday, I thought, cleaning up things over the bye
one thing that I was peppered with, whether it was
Vikings fan line, and then even kind of in a
reactionary mode yesterday morning, was just you know, with the
health of this team. You see this team and bye
weeks usually that that moment, specifically, if it's prior to
the deadline. Of course, the idea of adding bodies, right,

(15:41):
and you were mentioning with London, you know, we got
to have some catlle let's get let's get the passport
figured out. We got to find I did get a
text message, no shortage of tailor's in London.

Speaker 1 (15:50):
That's that's true.

Speaker 2 (15:52):
So in fairness, maybe they could have just walked down
the street. That's probably true, and they could have found.

Speaker 1 (15:57):
In some beast spoke Taylor. Yeah, I've seen a lot
of signs for those in the streets in London, some
very regal looking.

Speaker 2 (16:03):
Of course, you walk in it's pins, there's maybe you
have a glass of sherry while you get fitted for
fitted for a uniform in this particular case, but the
idea of adding bodies, this team does happen to have
a lot more in the short term, at least a
lot more monetary flexibility than they've had in the past.
You know, hindsight, we should have gotten Cam Robinson or

(16:25):
something like that, and that was I believe via trade.
But all the same the idea of this team, you know,
maybe peeking around during the break.

Speaker 1 (16:33):
I don't know who's on on the street.

Speaker 2 (16:34):
I'm not asking you for specific names, but kind of
in that vein from a health perspective, is this a
moment for them to investigate that.

Speaker 3 (16:42):
It's an interesting question because in one sense, you could
say yes, because they have needs and they have draft
picks next year, which is different than it's been. In
the other sense, you could say they may be a
little less in the mode of the TJ. Hawkinson type
deadline deal this year because they are approaching this point

(17:04):
financially where they need to have some younger bodies. They
need to use these draft picks to refresh the roster
and probably have some cheaper labor. And let's just call
it what it is they have. You know, they've signed
a lot of these veterans and there are ways to
make it work cap wise. I mean, Ryan Kelly is one.
To keep in mind that they have like eleven million
dollars if they release him after the year, and you

(17:24):
know that's going to be a question with health. But
that was going to be a question either way, given
the fact that he's in his thirties and that's the
cap savings, and you know, there's there's different things that
they can do to get themselves back in a decent
spot with the cap. But they are going to have
to figure that out after this year because of some
of the moves they made to get the roster where
they wanted it for this year. So having those draft

(17:47):
picks to fill out the roster next year and have
some of this young talent, this youthful infusion of help
that they kind of need. I think they're going to
be interested in hanging on to some of those draft
picks for that reason. So the right fit is probably
somebody like a Hockinson, where you say, if we're going

(18:07):
to do it, it's got to be somebody that's going
to be here from more than just this year. You
have to look for somebody that can help you now
and then also kind of be in the in the
plans probably in twenty six, maybe even into twenty twenty seven.
I think if they go for something like that, it's
going to have to be somebody that can be a
fit for a longer term because of the needs that

(18:29):
stretch beyond this year. I They're gonna have different conversations
and they may just decide, hey, forget it, let's go
for it.

Speaker 1 (18:36):
We'll figure the rest of it out later.

Speaker 3 (18:37):
But I do know that some of the dynamics they're
navigating as they go through this, it's not just going
to be about this year. It's how does all of
this fit when the cap situation next year is going
to be a little bit tricky for them.

Speaker 2 (18:49):
Yeah, and the draft picks matter, they do, They matter
a lot. Draft picks help you keep your cost down.
As a matter of fact, Yes, that's Ben Gessling. When
we come back, I've received a lot of quite or
it's been a theme throughout the season.

Speaker 1 (19:03):
Really, this is a roster built to win.

Speaker 2 (19:05):
Now there have been roster specific questions and how maybe
that relates to the quarterback question. I do want I
do want your insight on that. That's that's Ben Gaestling
at Ben Gessling via x. So whether it's newsletters, his
strip columns and reporting, or or just getting his his
his opinions during games, follow him Ben Gessling via X

(19:25):
brought to you by Standard Heating and Air. More with
Ben around the corner. But first to cash, giveaway opportunity.

Speaker 4 (19:32):
The cash thing, the fan of two men and a
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Speaker 2 (19:43):
Now yeah on the call Man of the match, Jordan
Addison misses the first quarter and just goes ahead and
totally redeems himself by catching the game winning the go
ahead touchdown at Tottenham on Sunday in London. It's Nordoen
for Pa Ben Gessling thanks to standard heating and a
in studio with me and into the break kind of

(20:03):
teasing it talking about you know, is this team flexible
to make moves maybe in this bye week or leading
up to the trade deadline. Certainly you have to think
about what is looming around the corner in future years
in regardle of money allocations.

Speaker 1 (20:17):
This team team had a lot of cash, Ben, but
it's going.

Speaker 2 (20:19):
To go away real quick, and what are they replacing
it with the draft picks matter. We talked about that,
but through five games and I know health plays into this,
so feel free to just be like, I can't answer
that right now. Let's move on and we will has
your perception again the theme over the course of the season,
this is a roster that's built to win, now, yeah,

(20:41):
versus in some ways it feels like it's a veteran
laden roster because we.

Speaker 1 (20:44):
Haven't drafted well enough. But again, you know, putting.

Speaker 2 (20:46):
All of that together, has your perception of what this
team potentially could be?

Speaker 1 (20:51):
Has it changed through five games? Boy?

Speaker 3 (20:55):
The phrase I don't know is boring radio, but it's
kind of we were talking about last segment. It's kind
of where I go because there's just so many things
we haven't seen yet. I mean, they they're preferred five linemen.
I don't think I've played a snap together yet. No,
they have not, from Darri Saw to Jackson to Kelly,

(21:16):
to Fries to O'Neill. So you have that, You've had
the Blake Cashman injury, You've had Ben Kinkel, you know
JJ McCarthy of course being injured. You haven't had Addison
and Jefferson on the field with McCarthy yet. You know,
there's just this, Yeah, there's just been this, Like like

(21:39):
I said last segment, shifts passing in the night kind
of thing where one thing, one person comes in, one
person leaves, and it's really hard to sit here and say, Okay,
they're they're going to be this is the floor, this
is the ceiling, because you just haven't seen what they
intended it to be yet. I mean, Aaron Jones, it's
the other one that it's like, I know, there's another

(22:01):
guy that's injured. Aaron Jones would be another one on
that list. So you know, the three and two they
lose to the Falcons team that they couldn't stop the run,
they lose to a Steelers team that changed the game
by running the ball in the fourth quarter. I think
that is a big question I have, especially with the
schedule coming out of the BUI, like we mentioned, but

(22:21):
they still if you get healthy, let's get healthy. And
the NFC is wide open enough. I you know, I'm
not sitting here saying like, hey, it's San Francisco or
Santa Clara, because it's not San Francisco, Santa Clara or bust.
But the NFC is enough of a muddle that could
they get things figured out and be in the mix.

(22:43):
I mean, I think job one is win a playoff
game for the first time since twenty nineteen. I mean,
that's that is a big priority. So are they incapable
of that. I wouldn't say that. I mean, I think
they get healthy and get things figured out, they could
make a a at least a two round appearance in
the playoffs and go from there.

Speaker 1 (23:03):
It's hard to hard to know where this is going
to go.

Speaker 3 (23:05):
But I just think there are so many pieces to
this that still have to get put in their right
spots that it'll be a little easier to figure that
out once they have that. Now, the trick is the
schedule coming out of the buy. You have to have
enough pieces to survive it. And there's some of those
teams that haven't looked as good as what we thought,
but they're still going to be formidable and yeah, and

(23:26):
you have to get through this whole stretch. But if
they can do that, yeah, I think there's still a
lot of pieces that they could put into their right
spots and and be competitive.

Speaker 2 (23:36):
So I appreciate you despite my terrible question, you were
able to filibuster your way through it, yeah, and found
found a way to move forward. We hear we hear
a lot of filibustering sometimes, and I think that you
did a terrific job.

Speaker 1 (23:49):
Thank you.

Speaker 2 (23:50):
The Ben Gesling and studio a couple more so to
the quarterback question, watching Drake May on Sunday Night, watching
and Trevor Lawrence. I mean, these are these are not
comparable given years in service, and Trevor Lawrence just made
you know it made two hundred million plus dollars. They're
gonna they're gonna ride with him and they But but

(24:10):
if not, now when scenario for him and Trevor and
the Jaguars, He's showing up.

Speaker 1 (24:16):
But Drake May in particular going backwards to Sunday Night.

Speaker 2 (24:19):
That completely reinvigorated me to see JJ McCarthy on the
field and getting him an opportunity as you talked about
in the health And that's why very unanswerable question that
I put you put in front of you because because
of the health situation around but getting nine back on
the field, the the commitment that the coach has, while

(24:41):
not being definitive and pressers kind of the idea, once
we get a rhythm with him, once we get him
practicing in full on a daily basis, then the development
plan is the plan?

Speaker 1 (24:53):
How has it have?

Speaker 2 (24:55):
Have you found the right answer in terms of how
this team or at least the maybe a clue to
an angle in terms of how they're going to handle
McCarthy or Carson post break, well, I think the first
question is win.

Speaker 3 (25:10):
Is JJ McCarthy fully healthy, when is he fully back
from that ankle sprain to the point where he can
do everything that they want him to do, which does
include being mobile on the field. I mean we saw
that the first game where he scores on the zone redplay.
I mean that is going to be part of what
they want him to do, and I think if he's
not at full capacity with that, they're not going to
rush it. So that is the first question. But I

(25:33):
don't look at this as like a horse race between
JJ McCarthy and Carson Wentz because this season is still
about figuring out what you have in JJ McCarthy. I
think that is yes, the north star. I mean, yes,
this question of it can this team win now? I
think they built it with the belief that they can
win now with JJ McCarthy as the quarterback, knowing they

(25:55):
were going to be some bumps in the road during
that process. But you have to come out of this
season understanding what he's going to be and I think
that has been the plan the entire time. I don't
think they can get waylaid from that a whole lot,
because that will be what this regime is defined by.

(26:16):
Did you fix the quarterback situation long term? Are we
out of this world where it's okay, this guy is
a mid career player.

Speaker 1 (26:25):
Do we sign a long term deal? Did we let
him go?

Speaker 3 (26:27):
I mean, all of these things they've done last year
with Cousins, Darnold Jones, et cetera. They don't want to
live in that world. No, and I don't want to
live in that nobody does. I mean, we've watched the
recipe play out in Wisconsin for the last thirty some years,
and Vikings fans are saying, we want our own version
of it. Blakemore's probably back here smirking. I was just

(26:49):
written the term yes to see. But I mean, that
is the way, if you can do it that people
want to live. Is that you have a guy for
fifteen years and then you drive after replacement and he
is the understudy for a couple and then you just
it's a seamless transition, and you're always competitive because of that.
So the first step to that is figuring out if

(27:10):
the guy you have now can be that player and
I think that is still the main goal for the
rest of the season. So I think it's more about
when is he healthy and ready to do everything you
want to do than sort of this where does he
stack up in comparison to with Carson Wentz, Because if

(27:30):
you're sitting here in early October saying, well, the guy
we draft the tenth overall, the guy that we said
no to Daniel Jones, to Sam Darnold, to Aaron Rodgers,
it's either him or the guy we brought in in
late August. You know, I don't know which one it is.
That's not much of a plan. I don't think that.

(27:51):
I mean, winning some games with Carson Wentz has been
a good thing, but I don't think you can let
that make you deviate from what you decided your plan
is going to be. I think you still have to
see that out, and I think that will ultimately dictate
the way they go with this thing. Seem I'm glad you.

Speaker 2 (28:08):
I'm glad you've framed it up that way because it
perfectly said because for me, as I've kind of gone
through this, Carson Wentz is never going to be in
the way that we talk about. If JJ comes in
and he's not good. Yeah, like there's a fear element,
there's a risk element. I've seen it from listeners and

(28:30):
we've talked through it. Carson Wentz is never going to
be so awful that you absolutely have to drag him
off the field. Yeah, as long as he's healthy, he
will get you to be competitive in these games. He'll
make mistakes. He's going to throw a bad pick, he's
going to take a bad sack. Yeah, he's going to
make a decision like maybe getting rid of the ball
instead of trying to run with it. That put him
in a spot where his shoulder got hurt the other day.

(28:52):
But he's never going to be awful to take him
off the field. So do you want to live in that?
So you're competitive against the Eagles, you go on a
short week, you beat the Tars. Now you're four and three,
Well you still don't know what the kid has, right,
and just continue to play that out. Well, we we
want to win. Now we get a little bit healthier,
we grind our way. If you are an eight If
you're a nine win team with Carson Wentz opportunity to

(29:14):
go to Tampa or Philly and losing a wild card game,
do you feel like that's successful versus potentially being a
seven to eight win team. But we know in some ways,
through let's say, ten twelve games of play, Carson JJ
McCarthy is or is.

Speaker 1 (29:31):
Not a viable answer long term.

Speaker 2 (29:34):
And I know people don't, you know, it's crazy for
me to say this, you know, losing with JJ McCarthy
better than winning with Carson Wentz. But I actually do
believe that at a base level there's some honesty and
there's some truth there from a long term standpoint of
the franchise. This team wasting Justin Jefferson's prime years. Yeah,
going nine to eight every year is wasting the prime
years of Justin Jefferson two.

Speaker 1 (29:55):
We saw it Garnett early one and done kind of stuff.

Speaker 2 (29:59):
Yeah, single game situations, we saw it last night. Single season,
we see it with the Chiefs every year. We see
it with with what the Eagles have been able to.

Speaker 1 (30:07):
Do, et cetera.

Speaker 2 (30:09):
That prime quarterback play is going to get you over
that hump to where you win in those playoff games
that are so important and and so at some point
that health and maybe the health of the old lives.

Speaker 1 (30:19):
See I wonder, you know, I know the head coach.

Speaker 2 (30:21):
You know, he's he's kind of had his uh his
antenna has been up recently because of the idea of
soft benching or this, and he's been so adamant. And
I don't believe it's a soft benching by any means.

Speaker 3 (30:34):
The kid's ankles hurt, but if it was a soft
bench that would require They've been lying on the injury
reports the last several weeks as well.

Speaker 2 (30:40):
So I don't I'm not seeing any lies coming from
their camp. However, I do kind of wonder if there's
a bit of this element now moving forward, not just
JJ being healthy, but I want to know that Donovan
Jackson's going to be back. I want to know that
when I put that kid back in, he does indeed
have the best of what they can currently do Ryan

(31:02):
Kelly and O'Neil week to week aside to put in
front of him, you.

Speaker 1 (31:05):
Know what I mean.

Speaker 3 (31:05):
Yeah, And I think that is that's why they constructed
this line in part to protect him. I mean, some
of it was also to be better running the ball,
which they've been, but they wanted the pressure up the
middle that dictated that playoff game against the Rams to
not be something that affects JJ McCarthy in his first
year as a starter, and I think the fact that

(31:28):
he has not played a game with Christian Darosaw as
his left tackle.

Speaker 1 (31:30):
Yet is worth noting.

Speaker 3 (31:31):
It's almost criminal, yeah, and in that I think changes
things a lot when you are the quarterback that's helping
set protections and you can say we've got a little
bit of the setate.

Speaker 1 (31:42):
And forget it.

Speaker 3 (31:42):
I mean Kevin O'Connell talks about the weighty downs you
have Christian Darosaw, where it's the help is not coming.
You have to win your matchup. You're not getting a chip,
you're not getting another guy to help you with a
double team or running back shaded to this side or whatever.
You have your guy and we trust that you can
handle it. When you that player, it changes a lot
of things the way you set the rest of your protections.

(32:04):
And I think that's worth noting that they haven't had
him on the field with Daris Saw yet. So I
think a lot of what they are hoping to do,
or have been hoping to do, is to have a
supporting cast strong enough that if you get a representative
level of play from JJ McCarthy, it doesn't have to

(32:25):
be what we saw from what we see from Patrick
Mahomes at times, or what we see from Lamar Jackson.
It doesn't have to be that yet, but if you
can get some version of what Carson Wentz has been
giving you where it's the ball gets out. Kevin O'Connell
talked again yesterday about footwork and he said that a
few times with Wentz. I think that's been a message

(32:46):
to McCarthy, and that was the case again yesterday of hey,
let's get back to some of these fundamentals that you've
seen Carson Wentz demonstrating in this offense. If you can
get that from JJ McCarthy, you may be able to
get the same level of play or something similar to
the level play you've gotten from Carson Wentz. Carson Wentz
was very good on that last drive. The last row
he hit to Jordan Adison was a big time throw.

(33:08):
I think they want to see JJ McCarthy approach. That
doesn't mean it all has to be there right now,
but if you can get close to that, given what
they have around him, if it's healthy, I think they
feel like we can be competitive now. And then he
gets the development in the same time. I mean that's
kind of been the whole mo of this team, and

(33:28):
I think it will be very telling if you see
him do some of those things once he gets healthy
and once they get the cast around him, because that
has been the aim, that's been what they wanted this
season to be, and I think there's still a chance
to get a lot of that, or at least figure out, hey,
this isn't where we want to be, and then that

(33:49):
leads to larger questions, but at least you know, yeah, absolutely.

Speaker 1 (33:52):
What's going to be fresh.

Speaker 2 (33:53):
Maybe everyone's just turned the lights off and taken a
breath for a few days, But what's the next angle
via the strip?

Speaker 3 (33:59):
Well, we'll do a podcast tomorrow, kind of a bye
week mail bag kind of thing, and then the newsletter
will still come out on Friday. People can sign up
for that on my Socials. Free newsletter comes out every Friday,
kind of a have kind of a look at you know,
Kevin O'Connell's talked about what the identity of this team
is going to be, and we'll take a kind of
thirty thousand foot view of that in the newsletter on Friday.

(34:20):
And then Emily Laker has been working on a kind
of a fun story on Justin Jefferson with off field
stuff that I think is. I think the plan is
to have that done for Sunday, so people should check
that out too. That'll be I don't want to spoil
it too much, but it'll be a fun one at
the sight of Justin Jefferson that we don't cover much
in the Start Tribune, so it should be a lot
of fun to read that one.

Speaker 1 (34:39):
No, that's awesome, Thanks for hanging out. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (34:41):
Absolutely, that's Ben Gasline at Ben Gesling via x follow
his work Start Tribune startribune dot com and of course
Standard Heating and Air brings you Guestling's appearances on a
weekly basis. Everyone take a breath and then we try
to figure out how to solve saquon.

Speaker 1 (34:57):
Thank you. Ben.

Speaker 2 (34:59):
Lavelle Gohort is in studio eleven ish and some news
is next night a doone on the Founderspeed.

Speaker 4 (35:06):
You're joining the fans of Meat Sauce Lucky at Fleet
Farman Hastings this Saturday for their Octoberfest celebration. Joined from
noon to two for the opening of toy land Yard
Games and more. Full details now kfan dot com, Key Recounter.

Speaker 2 (35:21):
News, Denord brought to you by the casino at Canterbury Park.
Canterburypark dot com poker, blackjack and table games all year round.
Feeling the Felt horse racing season of course is on
pause until the spring, but cool events taking place Canterbury
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Thursdays they do the the NFL Pro Pick Them Challenge

(35:42):
where you just roll into shokapy, you know, before you
hit that ten dollars table and take Canterbury for a
mortgage payment.

Speaker 1 (35:49):
What you do is you step up.

Speaker 2 (35:50):
You can make your picks for the football games over
the weekend. All you gotta do is just be right
and you can win weekly prizes well thanks to the
Pro Pick Them Challenge. At the end of the year,
somebody's gonna win fuel for an entire year thanks to
Quick Trip, So check that out. The NFL Pro Pick
Them Challenge down at Canterbury Thursdays and where.

Speaker 1 (36:09):
We headed to first news to nord style number why.

Speaker 4 (36:13):
We're headed a doo ball, which I always thought was
weird because I would just be like saying, hennepin here.
But regardless, how about the Jags thirty one to twenty
eight winners over the Chiefs. I think this week has
almost been like a great evening week because you've got
the Eagles kind of looking flat in the fourth against
the Broncos. You've got a completely inept Bills offense for

(36:35):
a change that just didn't want to have the ball.
And then you've got the Chiefs, who were not undefeated,
but they were still considered to be a good team.
They're still the Chiefs. They're now two and three after
losing on the road to the Jags. Trevor Lawrence absolutely
lights out down the stretch, made two unbelievable ice cold throws,
and then the losing your balance trying to get back up,

(36:57):
losing your balance again to then run into the end
zone to score the game winner. Just an unbelievable game
to watch. I was watching the Manning cast. I don't
know if you're a Manning cast guy or not.

Speaker 2 (37:06):
I like the Mannings. I haven't tuned into a Manning cast,
but they're usually pretty good.

Speaker 4 (37:10):
This is a perfect Manning Cast game for me, because
there are two teams that are good. It'd be a
good game. But I don't really care. You know, I
don't have the invested.

Speaker 2 (37:18):
It's not Minnesota, a Green Bay Area Packers fans and
nothing matters outside of that.

Speaker 1 (37:23):
Out of my purview, that is correct.

Speaker 4 (37:25):
Yeah, But how about the Jags though they're four and one,
they're in the playoffs.

Speaker 1 (37:28):
What a game?

Speaker 2 (37:29):
Yeah, and you know, speaking on it earlier, just kind
of the if not now when question I had asked
prior to the season, and for a few different quarterbacks
in the NFL, Trevor Lawrence was one of them, at
least for a night, showing out in a big way
in primetime against Mahomes and finding a way to best
them despite throws a pick earlier in the game. I
think there was a fumble at the goal line fourth

(37:51):
and one, maybe Nick Polton recover that I forget, but
you get you get a little bit of everything in
there with with Devin Lloyd and the pick six for
nine nine yards, but when you absolutely had to have it.
I mean, Lawrence has clomped around a little bit throughout
his career and the team's come up short and lost
their way out of the playoffs. But you know, last night,
even he's running three yards past the line of scrimmage

(38:12):
and trying to throw the ball, Like, what's that all about?
Figure out where the line of scrimmage is dude. But
then he just he's he's absolutely magnificent in that toss
to Brian Thomas, after having to scramble a little bit,
finds his way there, hangs in the pocket on that
particular one, and then yeah, finding some poise. And I
think even in the postgame he stopped by the booth

(38:34):
or the table field side with SVP on ESPN and
he's he's like, it was panic, but then I got
up and I expected maybe some pressure here or somebody
to come and get me. But then suddenly it was
like the Red Sea parted and I found my way
into the end zone.

Speaker 1 (38:50):
So it was a cool moment.

Speaker 2 (38:52):
The Jags absolutely, you know, with all that is new
down there in Jacksonville, they have a defense that can play.
They got a kid at t end now that he's healthy,
that's running the heck out of the ball. They have
some weapons there, you know, still trying to figure out
how to use. Travis Hunter. Unbelievable catch he had last night,
like some of me. You know, he's like forty some
yards or something like that. Highlight play between a couple

(39:12):
Chiefs defenders and and you say, it was kind of
an evening moment, it was almost the weekend was kind
of unevening. Whether it was the Bills who had eight
total turnovers a year ago.

Speaker 1 (39:23):
That's part of their story, from.

Speaker 2 (39:24):
Josh Allen not turning over the ball to the team
in general not turning over the ball.

Speaker 1 (39:28):
That's been part of their evolution.

Speaker 2 (39:30):
And they're coughing it up on the ground a couple
times early on, and Alan throws a pick, and then
Drake may and the performance that he had. But from
I mean, what's happening in the AFC West right now?

Speaker 1 (39:42):
Bronco's finding their way through Philly.

Speaker 2 (39:44):
Philly's no longer undefeated, but the Chiefs losing the way
they did the Raiders, it just looked like a mess in.
Geno Smith might just not have it. He may have
lost it. Tip of the Captain Schneider, by the way,
who twice in a row now has figured out how
to move on from Russell Will Wilson before he completely creted,
And now it appears maybe Geno Smith before he completely creators.

(40:05):
And now they're rolling with Sam Darnold in a shootout
with Baker Mayfield, who's researched his career.

Speaker 1 (40:11):
Donald now appears to be even better than he.

Speaker 2 (40:13):
Was last year in Minnesota, as Vikings fans frustrated. But no,
the games this particular weekend among it just again it's
like someone's going to point out, well, you wouldn't believe
week seven from twenty twenty two. I just don't remember
Week seven from twenty twenty two. Maybe it was crazier,
but this was a nutty weekend for games and it

(40:34):
was an absolute blast. But just kind of building again
back into the JJ conversation. I want to see JJ
have the opportunity that a Drake May did to build
himself into whatever he possibly can be this weekend. I mean,
the is it over a conversation with some of these divisions,
whether it's the AFC North, the Ravens at one and four,
still very much game in that weird division.

Speaker 1 (40:57):
You look at the Bills.

Speaker 2 (40:58):
Bills probably still run away favorites in the AFC East,
but the Patriots with Vrabel and everybody, they're going to
be game. The Eagles no longer perfect. The NFC North
is a complete mess. The tie into the by our
squads three and two. The Bears, well they're not going
to be winless. We know that they're two and two.
The Saints won a freaking game that's not supposed to happen.

Speaker 1 (41:19):
They're awful, but they did.

Speaker 2 (41:21):
Cardinals one of the most egregious losses in franchise history.
The Niners Mac Jones limping his way down the field
to victory against the Rams.

Speaker 1 (41:29):
That was a fun weekend in the league. Got time
for one more and then we'll pause and find La Belle.
Let's do one more. Number two. It's NHL Opening Night tonight.

Speaker 4 (41:38):
Three games on the dock at first game at four,
Blackhawks going two sunrise to take on the Panthers.

Speaker 1 (41:44):
Let's go Panthers.

Speaker 4 (41:46):
And then a seven o'clock Penguins Rangers matchup a nine
to thirty Avalanche Kings. Let's go Kings. It's the perfect
day for NHL. Opening day of the week is a Tuesday.
Let's be honest. There's no football going on, there's no
NVA yet, there's preseason sure, uh, but I'm going to
be locked into this kind of three game slate going

(42:06):
on tonight.

Speaker 1 (42:07):
Yeah, that's that's sweet.

Speaker 2 (42:08):
And you know, I'm I'm excited for specifically more so
for the wild I'll be honest, I'm gonna I'm going
to check out some playoff baseball. Later today, I will
I will pop in just to see specifically the Abs
and just kind of connect with with what they're up to.
Pittsburgh and Rangers don't necessarily do a lot for me.
The Rangers were my team, my Eastern Conference team for
a minute. So it's just Stirkin and Crider and Savannah

(42:32):
jad I'm on in MSG.

Speaker 1 (42:36):
There's some value to that. Yeah, yes it was. It was.

Speaker 2 (42:39):
It was a poor and fleeting response to my favorite
hockey team getting ousted in the first round every year.
It was a poor decision on my part and I
moved on from it. But yes, NHL Liftoff is going
to be sweet, but even better than that Thursday night
in Saint Louis getting to see the Minnesota Wild and
getting to see Caprice off with.

Speaker 1 (42:56):
All that money.

Speaker 2 (42:56):
Hopefully it's not weighing them down on the ice and
then in the Wild can get two points again the Blues.

Speaker 1 (43:01):
That's that's news.

Speaker 2 (43:02):
De Nord and uh, he didn't mention playoff baseball. But
that's okay because Lavelle Neil, the third from the Star
Tribune is going to be in studio.

Speaker 1 (43:10):
The columnist.

Speaker 2 (43:11):
We're going to talk about a Popo Rio, Topics, our
favorite baseball team in the managerial search, MLB playoffs at
large bears off the bye week, the NFC North, what
he thought of the vikings in London. All sorts of
topics coming your way with lavell As the final hour
unfolds and starts next right here on the fan