Latest / The Skol Hop / TSH Ep. 13 - Josh. Freaking. Dobbs.

Transcript

TSH Ep. 13 - Josh. Freaking. Dobbs. · The Skol Hop

0:24
right. Hey, Vikings fans, welcome into
0:26
another episode of The School Hop.
0:28
I'm Evan. And I'm Austin.
0:31
We're just a couple of dudes from Iowa.
0:32
We like drinking beer. We like talking about the
0:34
Minnesota Vikings. We do, and it's for a lot of
0:38
this season, only one of those things has been consistently
0:42
fun. But for the last month or so,
0:45
both of those things have been consistently fun.
0:47
Five in a row 5. Four in a row Four in a row.
0:50
Five out of the last six. Sorry, that's what I was
0:52
thinking. Yep, that's that's a great place
0:56
to be. Yeah, it's fun.
0:57
It's really fun. Especially when you don't care
1:00
anymore. Which we were getting close to
1:02
apathy. Oh yeah, And now we're back,
1:04
baby. Now we're going to care when
1:06
they lose. Oh yeah.
1:08
Well, we got to talk about what we're drinking today.
1:10
We do. Would you just look at this
1:11
beer? You could look at this beer if
1:13
you follow us on Tiktok 'cause we do like a pre show.
1:17
First taste of every beer. You can also look at this beer
1:20
the entire episode 'cause we posted up on YouTube.
1:23
Now, that's right, which is pretty awesome.
1:24
So if that's how you like your podcast, we're there.
1:27
But yeah, this beer is amazing. So what?
1:30
What are we drinking? Maybe you should announce it
1:32
today. Well, here's why I chose this
1:35
beer. I brought the beer today.
1:36
Thank you. And I got to thinking, you know,
1:40
we've had a lot of really great beer.
1:42
This is our 13th episode. So this is the 13th different
1:46
beer brewed in Iowa because we exclusively drink Iowa brewed
1:51
beer on the podcast. Yeah.
1:54
And so I got to thinking, you know, I'd really like to be a
1:59
little more intentional and have a little bit more of a purpose
2:03
behind the beer that we drink. So we've had Millstream before.
2:08
We have. We had their Oktoberfest, I
2:11
don't know, a handful of episodes ago, really good.
2:14
They're based out of Amana, which is just, you know, 100
2:19
miles West or so of where we're from.
2:23
But I started to dig a little bit.
2:25
I started to do some research and I wanted to know the history
2:29
of beer in Iowa. OK, OK, so I'm gonna give you a
2:35
Jordan Addison number of tries. Three tries.
2:38
Man. To guess Did he wear 17 in
2:40
college? Can I have that?
2:42
I don't know. I don't know what he wore.
2:43
He had 17. You're gonna get 3 right now to
2:48
guess what the interesting fact about Millstream is in terms of
2:52
the history of Iowa beer. All right, so my first attempt,
2:56
it's I'm just gonna take the low hanging fruit.
2:59
Guess Were they the first brewery in Iowa?
3:04
You're close. Oh, you're close, but not quite.
3:10
And there's some history that, I mean, we could really go deep if
3:13
we wanted to go on a history lesson here.
3:15
We don't have to. That's fine.
3:19
Oh man. First.
3:21
Well, they weren't the first brewery.
3:23
That's the that's the only guess I have.
3:25
Are they the? Well, if they were the oldest,
3:28
then they would also be the first.
3:32
Well, I think you need a little history here to fill in the
3:35
blanks. Before Iowa was a state, there
3:38
were several breweries that opened.
3:41
There was actually one here in the Quad City area in Davenport
3:44
that was prominent. Dubuque had one.
3:46
And Iowa City actually had quite a thriving beer industry.
3:51
And this was all prior to Iowa's statehood.
3:54
Oh, OK. And then when Iowa became a
3:58
state, Prohibition took over very quickly And almost all
4:03
alcohol was outlawed, period. And then there was a huge surge
4:09
of German immigrants. And so they started to relax on
4:14
alcohol laws a little bit, mostly with wine and beer, but
4:19
the harder stuff was kind of off limits.
4:21
And then of course, like 1919, the whole country was under
4:26
Prohibition. There was no alcohol really
4:28
anywhere, legally. And then at some point down the
4:32
road, Iowa put out this 5% rule that if you were going to brew
4:38
beer in Iowa, it could not exceed 5% alcohol.
4:43
And that wasn't lifted, surprisingly, until 2010.
4:46
Well, I know a lot of states still have certain percent rules
4:50
on different kinds of beers, so I didn't know that about Iowa.
4:54
Wow. So I'll just, I'll spoil it for
4:56
you 'cause you. Were give me the details.
4:58
You're kind of circling around it.
5:00
Millstream is the oldest active brewery in the state of Iowa.
5:05
They weren't. They weren't the first
5:06
necessarily but the first breweries of Iowa are long gone
5:11
and I don't know I if somebody out there knows more of the
5:15
history we would love to know. I would love.
5:17
To know, maybe Millstream knows Millstream.
5:19
Let us know, yeah, Millstream, if you got any more background
5:21
on that, hook us up, give us some deets.
5:25
But Millstream 1985 is when they were founded.
5:29
They are the oldest active. 1985, 1985.
5:33
So they were brewing beer, but they had to be under 5% until
5:39
2010. Interesting.
5:40
And that's when beer makers were allowed to exceed that 5% mark.
5:44
And that's really when you see the boom in craft breweries
5:49
around Iowa. Yeah, Sweet.
5:51
I like it. And this one particularly?
5:54
Which is, have we even said what we're drinking?
5:56
It's the shield brow, sham brow, amber, the Vienna style lager.
6:00
It's very good. We we give a little bit of
6:02
opinions on it in our TikTok. But you mentioned the 5% rule.
6:07
This one is 4.9% at least as labeled.
6:10
So they're following the rules and I know you can get pretty
6:13
accurate on that percentage. So good job Millstream.
6:16
This beer is delicious. I can't wait to to sip on it the
6:20
entire podcast. And everyone else, if you are
6:23
able to find this beer, you definitely should 'cause it's
6:26
really good. It's got the Skull Hop stamp of
6:28
approval stamped. Sweet.
6:32
All right. We'll talk about a little bit
6:33
more too at the end. See what we feel like after a
6:36
couple for sure. For sure.
6:38
But at the end of what? What else do we talk about?
6:41
We gotta talk about this game. Are you sure?
6:43
Do we have to? Are you sure there's really only
6:46
three words that you need to say about the game against the
6:51
Falcons? And we haven't talked about
6:52
this, but can I can I have one guess at this?
6:55
Go ahead. Josh freaking Dobbs, you are
6:59
correct. Boom.
7:00
Those are the three words school.
7:02
We need to school. That we need to school?
7:03
That he does he even know what the school chant is?
7:08
I don't know. That's a good question.
7:09
I'm sure he does by now. He's gonna find out if he
7:11
doesn't on Sunday. Oh.
7:13
My gosh, he probably heard it a little bit in Atlanta.
7:15
I guarantee there's some Vikings.
7:16
I saw Randy Moss 84 on TV. Did you?
7:19
I did in the back in one of the end zones.
7:21
This was our first game watching together this season in your
7:24
basement, Put. Out a couple of tik toks.
7:26
That was fun. That was a lot of fun.
7:28
We put down a few beers and that was fun too.
7:31
Oh yeah, we didn't stick to the The Iowa Brewed Beer Rule, but
7:36
that's only on the podcast. That's only for this.
7:38
That's only for right here. We did drink the kinship, the
7:40
Amber Lager, so that's what we did.
7:42
Yeah. So that was good.
7:43
It was a fun game to watch. Another amber beer for you?
7:46
Yeah, you you like these ambers. You're trying to get me to like
7:48
them, and it's kind of working so far.
7:50
It's kind of my lane, man. That's what I like.
7:54
Well, you get to like what you like.
7:55
I really like Ipas, so I like a beer that tastes like beer, you
7:59
know? Yeah, so.
8:01
And a lot of people want a beer that doesn't taste like beer,
8:03
and those people are kind of weird.
8:06
That's my wife right there. She doesn't.
8:07
She doesn't want a beer that tastes like a beer.
8:10
She'd rather drink water. Yeah, this game.
8:14
This game was so much fun. Well, it started off really
8:18
frustrating and unexpected because Jaron Hall's the starter
8:23
and rookie drafted in the fifth round this year, sat behind.
8:28
Kirk Cousins has been in the quarterback room since April and
8:33
I think I felt confident. I know you felt confident.
8:37
I think the coaching staff felt confident that he was the guy
8:41
and we went three and out in the first drive, but then that
8:45
second drive he looked really, really good.
8:47
Yeah. What was, what was his stat
8:49
line? Do you remember in that?
8:51
I think he had something like 70 yards passing, yeah.
8:54
And I think he was like, what, five of six or six of seven.
8:57
He only missed once. If not for a little bit outside
9:01
throw to was it TJ, one of the first think you're right. 1st
9:07
and goal plays that they had, he kind of overthrew TJA little
9:11
bit. If not for that he'd have a he'd
9:14
had a touchdown and he wouldn't have gotten injured a player or
9:16
two later and probably would have played some more.
9:20
But even his first drive, the three and out drive to open the
9:23
game, he ended that on 3rd down rushing for around 10 yards.
9:28
He almost got the first down rushing.
9:30
He looked pretty good. He looked mobile and obviously
9:33
in that second drive he looked really good too.
9:36
It's a bummer that we didn't get to see that extend.
9:39
Hope he's OK and there will be some question marks here in the
9:44
future when he's, you know, past the concussion protocol.
9:49
Especially depending on how Josh freaking Dobbs the past or not.
9:52
Especially how he looks, 'cause if Josh Jobs comes out against
9:56
the Saints and looks the same and or better than he did
10:00
against the Falcons. But we don't have any questions
10:04
like you don't. You don't take that hot hand
10:06
out, you keep rolling with Josh Dobbs.
10:09
However, if Dobbs comes out and looks shaky and not great,
10:15
hopefully that's not the case, then we do have some questions
10:18
because hopefully this concussion of Jaren Hall is not
10:20
a huge deal. But yeah, if Jaren Hall's not
10:24
concussed anymore and Dobbs kind of comes out and looks a little
10:27
shaky, then we have a whole podcast a whole week where we're
10:31
kind of talking like, who starts?
10:32
What do we do? What should we do?
10:34
We're not there yet. Well, you were.
10:36
I mean before, before the game had even ended in Atlanta, you
10:40
were telling me like, well, Jaren Hall starts next week.
10:44
He starts next week. Like he's, he's the obvious
10:46
starter. I mean, obviously his injury,
10:51
his concussion has dictated. As it should there.
10:54
He's got to be healthy. He's got to be OK.
10:56
Yep. And, you know, I think it was a
10:59
pretty easy decision for Kevin O'Connell.
11:01
But let's say that next week, let's, let's say this
11:05
hypothetically speaking, Dobbs comes out and he doesn't play
11:09
great. But he also doesn't take a
11:12
safety in the end zone like he did on his first drive and
11:15
fumble the ball in the next two drives.
11:17
Like, you know, he plays OK, but he doesn't play lights out.
11:22
You know, who do you go with at quarterback?
11:25
In that kind of scenario, that's where I'm thankful I don't have
11:28
to make that call. In that scenario, truthfully, me
11:31
Austin as a fan fully trust the coaching staff in whatever they
11:35
they do. You know, just me kind of
11:39
thinking about it and what makes sense.
11:41
I thought the whole time Jaren Hall made the most sense because
11:45
he, like I said, he was drafted in April.
11:47
He's been with the team since then.
11:49
He theoretically should know the playbook a little bit more.
11:53
Definitely knows names of guys, and that's by no means.
11:57
Cutting down Josh Dobbs. I love Josh Dobbs.
11:59
He was amazing. And if he's the, if he's the
12:02
better quarterback Dobbs, then absolutely, you go with the
12:05
better guy. But it just made sense to me to
12:10
stick with Hall because it just seemed like he would be the
12:14
better option. But again, I'm fully OK with
12:17
whoever they put behind there. I'm not gonna be one of those
12:19
guys that's like, no, I hate Josh Dobbs because he's not the
12:23
guy that's been here since April if the coaches are good with
12:26
them. Than I am too, especially if it
12:29
looks OK. If if they're playing all right,
12:31
I'm not going to be the first one to say, oh, Dobbs through
12:34
his first interception, take him out.
12:36
Like, come on, trust the coaching.
12:39
Well, the the good thing is both of them looked good.
12:43
Granted the sample size for Hall has been pretty small.
12:47
We had, you know, I don't know what 2-3 drives maybe at Green
12:50
Bay and then the first two drives at Atlanta.
12:54
So you know his sample sizes Small, but he's got some reps
12:58
now in real games, not preseason.
13:04
And I mean obviously Dobbs came in and after he kind of brushed
13:09
off those early mistakes, he was lights out.
13:13
He was the leading rusher on the team.
13:16
He threw for a touchdown. He threw A2 point conversion.
13:21
He just and he just looked like he was in command, which is
13:25
crazy to think because he had no idea who any of these guys were.
13:30
I mean, I feel like if you follow the team at all, you
13:33
probably heard this at this point, but Dobbs and KOC were
13:39
communicating the whole time as every quarterback and coach do
13:42
throughout the game. But it was to the point that if
13:45
I'm understanding the situation right, KOC was in the headset
13:49
and in the huddle. He was saying, OK, Josh.
13:51
Tell the huddle these words. Tell them this play.
13:55
And he just like Word vomited, you know exactly, verbatim what
13:59
he was hearing. And then when they broke and as
14:02
Dobbs was walking up to the center to be in the shotgun or
14:04
whatever. Koc was like, all right, here's
14:07
what that play means. Like Jordan Adams to your right.
14:11
He's gonna run a hitch router. He's gonna run this route and he
14:14
might be open because there's a single high safety or whatever.
14:18
Here's what you might see. Here's your first read.
14:20
Like that is insane to me. And you know, obviously we're
14:26
just a couple of dudes in Iowa. We don't know a whole lot, so
14:30
maybe that's how it goes a lot of times, but just the way that
14:34
that story has been. Getting out there so much, it's
14:37
got to be a crazy thing. And I think even Matt Sanchez.
14:41
Matt Sanchez. Mark Sanchez, Geez heck, have
14:44
another one. Austin.
14:46
He even said something in the media this week that like that
14:50
scenario kind of happened at one point to when with Sanchez was
14:54
Kevin O'Connell. Yeah, with Kevin O'Connell in
14:57
Washington. Yeah, I saw that.
14:58
'Cause they had been teammates together in New York.
15:03
And a kind of similar situation kind of happened.
15:05
KOC was translating the play as he was walking up to the center.
15:11
That's just crazy to me. And to be able to like execute
15:16
one thing that's huge and it's only gonna be helpful throughout
15:21
Dobbs career is that he? Is mobile.
15:24
So it's not like once a defensive lineman or linebacker
15:28
got within 5 yards, he was dead to rights, 'cause he could kind
15:32
of move around. And we saw that a couple of
15:34
times and he rushed for a touchdown.
15:35
That at the beginning of the play you didn't think that was
15:38
going to happen. He kind of reminded me of like a
15:40
young Russell Wilson. Almost like great pocket
15:44
presence can throw the ball, is smart, knows how to read the
15:48
defense, but man, if things fall apart he can get out of it and
15:53
he can use his athleticism and his speed and create plays.
15:57
And he did that countless times. I think he rushed on 3rd or 4th
16:02
down multiple times and got the 1st.
16:05
On his feet, I wrote down his his rushing and passing stats.
16:09
So he Josh Dobbs right now is the third leading rusher on the
16:15
Vikings this year. For the whole season.
16:17
For the whole. Season he's got 7 carries for 66
16:21
yards and a touchdown. It's wild and he's tied for
16:23
first in rushing touchdowns on the team, the other one being
16:27
the now injured reserve Cam Akers.
16:30
And he is second on the team in passing yards, which that's not
16:34
crazy surprising cause Kirk has been the guy and then Jason Hall
16:38
hadn't played as much as he has at this point.
16:41
Hall only has or. Hall doesn't even have as many
16:44
passes as Dobbs does now. Dobbs was 20 for 3000 and 58
16:48
yards and two touchdowns and very importantly, no
16:51
interceptions. That one?
16:54
Weird. There's that one weird one where
16:56
it looked like his arm was coming forward, but the ball got
16:59
batted and it didn't even hit the ground.
17:01
It just went right to a defensive lineman, Yeah.
17:03
So I in my mind, I think, well, obviously it was labeled as a
17:07
fumble because I looked up the actual stats, but.
17:10
Immediately I knew like once he saw the replay, it like got
17:13
knocked out of his hand when he was starting to pull it back.
17:16
So it was not a pass, right? Either way, it's a turnover and
17:20
I think he had three fumbles in the game.
17:23
He recovered one of them. He recovered one of them.
17:26
But what do you expect for a guy that, I mean, like, I think I
17:30
saw today, his car finally made it to Minneapolis.
17:34
Oh gosh, today on Wednesday. Well, think about this.
17:37
Can you imagine? Not.
17:39
I mean, he didn't even take any practice reps throughout the
17:43
week. So walking up under center and
17:47
touching Garrett Bradbury's butt for the first time, like, hey
17:50
man, nice to meet you. Yeah, let me just put my hand
17:53
right. Here, Well, and he put out his
17:56
own TikTok, which I don't know if he does his own or if he's
17:59
got a guy or whatever, but it was in that TikTok was a clip of
18:04
the Pat McAfee show. And they're talking like, yeah,
18:08
like 15 seconds before he goes out there.
18:11
He's got the whole offensive line around him and lineman
18:14
around him listening to what his cadence sounds like, Like it's
18:18
just crazy. And hopefully it wasn't just
18:20
like an adrenaline filled lights out, pass out game, you know?
18:25
And it's not. Why can't I think of words?
18:29
It's not they can't do it again. But I you got to think, it's
18:33
only going to be better. Like it?
18:36
He's only gonna be more comfortable and probably doesn't
18:40
need 100% of the plays like translated to him as he's
18:44
walking up to the center. Maybe that's still probably
18:47
gonna be something that utilize a lot.
18:48
Oh yeah, for sure. Which, if it works, do it.
18:51
Even if, I mean, if you're Kirk and you've been here forever and
18:54
that's the best way to do it, do it Like if it works, who cares
18:58
what the what the thought process is outside of the
19:02
building. Just go for it.
19:04
We should at some point, but maybe not on this episode.
19:07
But talk about college football utilizing similar radio devices
19:12
in their helmets cause the whole Michigan scandal right now.
19:15
Oh yeah, is kind of blowing up. And that's that's been something
19:18
I've heard countless times on all of the news outlets.
19:22
It's just like, well, if college football would just utilize the
19:25
radios and the helmets like the NFL does, then we wouldn't be
19:28
talking about this. That's a good talker.
19:30
Maybe we could. If we have Forest on again in
19:32
the future. Which I think, I mean you know
19:35
on show production meeting here I'd I I would like to have
19:40
Forest on again. We got another Bears episode
19:43
coming up. You just have them on every time
19:45
the Bears play. I'm OK with that.
19:47
Forest, you're listening. You always are.
19:50
We love you. You're gonna be on for the next
19:52
Bears episode and maybe the bye week and definitely in the
19:55
offseason for draft talk and stuff.
19:57
But anyways, yeah, I think that you're probably right.
20:00
Like. The If everybody has the helmet
20:05
radio capability, everybody should be using it.
20:07
Like as long as it's not, you know, a competitive advantage or
20:11
disadvantage to either team. Like if everybody's using it,
20:15
everybody should. Right.
20:17
But anyways, yeah, I I'm still amazed at what happened on
20:23
Sunday. I've watched.
20:25
I haven't watched the whole game like you have, but I've watched.
20:28
All of the stuff that the Vikings have put out on YouTube
20:32
and Twitter and stuff like that, and just every time I'm just
20:36
like, man, how did that even happen?
20:39
Like, I mean, at one point we're sitting on your couch thinking
20:44
like, well, it's good season. I mean, you could probably
20:49
attest to this. When Jaron Hall went down, I was
20:52
pretty quiet for. Oh, yeah, yeah.
20:55
Like, I was pretty negative. And I even just thought about
20:59
this yesterday when I was watching the game back when
21:02
Jonnu Smith had that crazy screen touchdown that he ran
21:07
like the whole length of the field and scored a touchdown.
21:10
And then he he hit the tunnel and he just slipped down.
21:13
And he he he looked like he was OK, but he was still funny to
21:16
watch. You were like, oh, he slipped
21:17
out like any normal person would laugh at a funny physical thing
21:21
like that. And I was just sitting there
21:23
like and whatever. They just scored a touchdown.
21:25
The vegan's going to lose. This whole thing is stupid.
21:27
I miss Kirk. I miss Jaron Hall.
21:29
Yeah, I was just so negative about it.
21:31
And you're laughing at a funny thing.
21:33
And. I was.
21:34
You did laugh eventually. It took you a minute or two.
21:36
In the moment, I was like, I'm being a jerk.
21:38
I need to OK like. When you watch the replay, then
21:42
you're like, all right, that was kind of funny.
21:44
It was funny and it's it's funny, 'cause he's OK.
21:46
But like, did you see on that play Johnny Smith?
21:49
I think for the whole week in the NFL, he was the fastest
21:53
clocked player in the NFL. 21 point something miles an hour.
21:58
Like last week. Nobody ran faster than he did on
22:01
that play. He's a tight end.
22:03
Like good for him. Yeah, no, that's that's crazy.
22:07
He has Johnny Smith. Let's get off on a tangent.
22:10
He's been an underrated dude his entire career.
22:13
I've had him on fantasy teams. I I don't know anything about
22:16
him personality wise, but like football wise, when he gets
22:20
opportunities, he balls out like he's great.
22:24
Especially on a team with Kyle Pitts, who has been kind of the
22:28
opposite, like he's been overhyped and underperforming
22:30
his whole career. It's funny you say that, 'cause
22:33
I teach high school and there are a bunch of high school boys
22:36
in my class today talking about their fantasy rosters.
22:39
And one kid was like, yeah, I had Kyle Pitts on my team and I
22:43
just looked at him and I'm like, dude, Kyle Pitts.
22:46
Played terrible this last week. He's like, yeah, I know.
22:49
I think I'm going to drop him from my team.
22:51
Like that would be a wise decision.
22:52
He just, Kyle Pitts in college was legit like just the size and
22:57
speed and production. He was amazing and he just
23:00
hasn't turned it on in his NFL career.
23:03
And at one point I think he caught a the ball for a good
23:06
catch and I think I turned to you like, oh, this is the game
23:09
that he turns out to be, this Hall of Fame tight end.
23:11
Because of course it is. Against the Vikings, I don't.
23:14
He didn't do much other than that.
23:16
But I think I saw something. Either Paul Charchy and tweeted
23:20
it, or he retweeted it. It was this long tweet about
23:24
like the Vikings aren't great against tight ends and he's
23:29
actually gonna be playing with Heinecke, who's a quarterback.
23:32
He utilizes tight ends and everything's set up for Kyle
23:36
Pitts to have a great game. So of course Jonny Smith is
23:38
gonna have a great game. And it was this whole like,
23:42
yeah, Kyle Pitts can't do anything.
23:43
So Jonny Smith is gonna do what what the tight end should do.
23:48
I dropped my paper. All right.
23:49
You can get it. All right.
23:51
I'll ask you a question while you're getting that.
23:53
OK. So Speaking of kind of like,
23:58
will Kyle Pitts turn out to be great or not Josh Dobbs?
24:02
What do you think? I mean, is he gonna come out and
24:04
play like he did against Atlanta, or is it gonna be kind
24:09
of a different story? What are what are your
24:11
predictions for this next week? I wanna start off my answer by
24:17
saying I hope he's really good and if he continues to be good,
24:22
I'm not gonna crap on him just for the sake of crapping on him
24:26
'cause I hate the quote, UN quote fans of a team that always
24:30
find something wrong with what they perceive to be a bad aspect
24:35
of the team. If Josh Dobbs keeps balling out,
24:38
I'm super excited. Even to the point that look at
24:41
what Geno Smith, he kind of resurrected his career a year or
24:45
two ago with with the Seahawks. He got a late, you know,
24:50
journeyman payday and he's doing OK.
24:53
I mean, he's not MVP, but he's doing OK.
24:56
So I I hope Josh Dobbs is the answer and I hope he keeps
25:01
balling out. I I don't predict that to
25:05
happen. Just look at his whole career.
25:09
He's either been a backup or a spot starter and he's never
25:12
been. You know, like he was this week
25:15
the NFC offensive player of the week.
25:18
Like this week was awesome and a lot of fun and I want to keep it
25:22
rolling. And if he keeps playing, great,
25:23
let's go. I just, if I had, if I was a,
25:27
you know, betting on the outcome of the next few years of his
25:31
career, I wouldn't put a lot of money on the idea of him being a
25:38
a Pro Bowl level quarterback for the Vikings and making it so the
25:44
Vikings don't draft a guy this April Again, I want that to
25:48
happen. I want him to be good.
25:49
I want, I want him to be the savior and lead us to the Super
25:53
Bowl. I just, I I don't think it'll
25:56
happen. I think he is.
25:59
I don't, I don't even know. I think he is like the the
26:03
backup savior to come in and kind of give you a little bit of
26:07
mobility and give you a little bit of excitement when you need
26:12
it. But I don't know if he can
26:13
sustain it. This is just a thought that
26:15
popped into my mind while you were saying that.
26:18
I wonder if, because we're going to play the Saints this week,
26:22
down the road, like next season, Kirk comes back.
26:26
We get him back on a, you know, one year, two year extension,
26:29
whatever. He's healthy.
26:30
He's playing like he was before he went down a couple weeks ago
26:35
in Green Bay. What would happen if Josh Dobbs
26:38
kind of plays that Taysom Hill role?
26:41
Yeah. I I see that.
26:43
I mean, I I know what you're getting at, 'cause he's got the
26:45
mobility and he's a little bit more to do that though, maybe,
26:51
but like, I don't. It's not a knock on Taysom Hill.
26:54
Yeah, sure. Breaking news.
26:57
Evan thinks Taysom Hill is dumb. No, just kidding.
27:02
I don't know. I I kind of roll my eyes at that
27:04
kind of a a role on a team. Like, I 'cause I don't think
27:10
Taysom Hill has equated into wins.
27:15
Like having that gadget guy that comes in.
27:17
I think it only adds like like an annoying thing in your
27:21
playbook or on your team that you feel like you have to
27:23
utilize and maybe you, you know, want to force that utilization.
27:28
Plus, I don't think I don't. I don't know what kind of hands
27:31
Josh Dobbs has as a receiver. He's taller, but I don't think
27:36
he's much of A like blocker. I think he's definitely a
27:40
quarterback. He's in the position that best
27:42
suits him. But I don't know.
27:45
You never know if if Koc, who I trust in, if he finds that role
27:50
to be intriguing and something that could equate to wins, then
27:54
let's see it like can always give it a shot.
27:57
At the very least, quasi has something to play with when it
28:03
comes to the offseason and free agency and and all that, right?
28:08
Like, I've I've seen a few tweets now that have said like,
28:12
yeah, like he plays well the rest of this year.
28:15
Kirk comes back and it's time for the Vikings to move on from
28:19
Josh Dobbs. Could be some really good trade
28:23
bait or you know, depending. I mean, I don't know what his
28:27
contract looks like. I'm assuming it's a one year
28:29
deal. It's gone of I dropped the darn
28:34
paper again. But yeah, I mean they could,
28:38
they could try to do something. Plus, I mean, if he keeps
28:42
playing well, he could play himself into another contract,
28:45
whether it's a starter contract or we still want you on the
28:48
team. Especially just 'cause we have
28:51
so many unknowns with Kirk. I'm a big Kirk guy, and if he's
28:55
healthy, then run it back. But there's a lot of unknowns
28:59
with Kirk too, like he's getting older.
29:01
That's a that's not a laughable injury.
29:04
Like coming off a really serious injury.
29:06
Yeah. But also, I don't think it's.
29:08
And I'm kind of talking out of my butt right now.
29:10
I don't think it's on like his planting foot.
29:12
And Kirk's not known to be super mobile anyways, so you're not
29:16
talking about like Michael Vick losing his running ability, You
29:20
know, you're talking about Kirk, who he's more of a pocket guy
29:24
anyways he's been mobile at or he has shown that kind of
29:27
ability sometimes he's. Hesitant to be, but he can be.
29:31
But he's not somebody that you draft in fantasy because, oh he
29:35
if you can't pass it, he's able to throw it.
29:37
Josh Dobbs definitely seems to have been able to showcase that
29:40
ability more 66 yards on the run.
29:43
And it's not like the I don't think they designed any
29:46
quarterback runs against the the Falcons, but it could be
29:51
interesting how? Could they design any
29:53
quarterback runs? They didn't know that he was
29:54
going to be playing. The whole design went out the
29:56
window when Jaron Hall got that, got that concussion, which
30:01
again, I hope he's OK. I hope we're talking about.
30:04
Well, actually, I hope not. Never mind if.
30:06
Because if we're talking about like, oh, should we put Jaron
30:08
Hall again, that means Josh Dabs hasn't played well, which I hope
30:13
he plays well. I want.
30:15
I want stability. I don't want to have to go
30:16
through a couple of losses to find out You should have been
30:20
starting a different guy. I don't know.
30:23
He's definitely an option. You would think come offseason,
30:28
signing another contract time Dobbs would be open to signing
30:31
with the Vikings again unless some other team is like, oh, we
30:34
need him. We're going to throw like what
30:37
the Broncos did with Case Keenan, We're going to throw 20
30:39
million a year at him, which at that point, like, you got to do
30:43
what you got to do. You got to make your money.
30:44
So I don't know. It's it's kind of exciting to
30:49
have this, like unknown about that position for the Vikings.
30:54
That's scary. But it's exciting because the
30:56
last five years we've known or however many, four or five or
31:01
six years we've. Known 6th season with the
31:03
Vikings. Kirk's our guy, which that's
31:07
that's a blessing to know. Like, all right, Kirk's our guy.
31:10
He's not going to get injured. You know, like we'd people have
31:14
had problems with his contract, but whatever.
31:17
It's not their money. But this is kind of fun to think
31:21
about. What could happen?
31:22
Do you draft a guy? Does Dobbs kind of play well
31:24
enough to make you reconsider drafting a guy?
31:28
I don't know. And.
31:29
I think the the great part about all of it is the culture that
31:35
Kevin O'Connell has created in the locker room.
31:40
And it's not just him, it's all the other guys that are buying
31:44
into the culture that he's wanting to establish.
31:48
I think, I think on any other team, you know, if if your MVP
31:55
caliber quarterback goes down like Kirk did, and you trade for
32:01
a guy minutes before the trade deadline, bring him in, your
32:05
other backup goes down, you bring in the other guy, it
32:10
probably doesn't end. Like it did for the Vikings.
32:13
And I think a lot of that has to do with the culture.
32:16
I mean, you you watched. I watched, and I think you
32:18
watched too, all of the like kind of like sideline video from
32:25
the weekend, from Sunday. And you just see the Brotherhood
32:30
and not just talking about Josh Dobbs, but like all across the
32:34
board, like dudes are making plays on the field.
32:37
And everybody, regardless of position is high fiving,
32:40
celebrating. And I don't know what it's like
32:44
in those tough moments like when Josh Dobbs took the safety on
32:48
his literally like third play as a Viking or whatever.
32:52
It was like, I'm sure there were some frustrations, but I don't
32:56
think it was like Kirk and Zimmer getting into a shoving
33:01
match type of. I want to know what that was
33:04
all. About.
33:04
I think about that often. I do too.
33:08
Sorry not to cut you off, but. No, but.
33:10
But I guess that's the point I'm trying to make, right?
33:13
Like the culture in the Zimmer days is drastically different
33:17
now under Kevin O'Connell, and I think that's what makes this
33:20
team so special. It's why we went thirteen and
33:24
four last season. It's why we've won four
33:27
straight, five out of the last six and beat a perennial Super
33:32
Bowl contender in the 49ers. Beat the 6th best defense in the
33:37
Atlanta Falcons on the road at their place as underdogs as Guy
33:42
who didn't even know the the guys playing next to him.
33:46
Yeah. He's literally like, OK, you're
33:49
Garrett and you're Brian and you're oh, OK, all right.
33:53
I saw a video he was on. I think he's been on a few
33:56
podcasts since the Game, but he's somebody asked him like,
33:59
did you really not know anybody's name?
34:01
He's like, I knew a few first names, I knew a couple of
34:05
nicknames, but like, the guy still doesn't know.
34:08
Everybody. I think I saw something from
34:10
practice today that he was making it his goal to learn all
34:16
of the guys on the 53 man roster before the game on Sunday, which
34:20
that's honorable. But like, dude, I'm more
34:22
concerned about the playbook. I I teach high school and I've
34:26
got 75 students and I'm. It's November.
34:29
I've had these kids since August and I'm still struggling with
34:32
some of their names. So if he can do that before
34:34
Sunday, that whole thing kind of reminded me.
34:38
In college I had a job where I worked at the like athletic
34:41
facilities doing like a little bit of security and like
34:44
facility maintenance and stuff like that.
34:46
And there's probably, I don't know, 10 to 15 of us that were
34:51
on the team that did that. We worked the athletic events
34:54
and stuff, and there were sometimes that we did, like
34:58
where we removed the basketball court and the football turf and,
35:01
you know, long hours of, like, being right next to each other
35:04
and joking around and working hard.
35:06
And I did that for what, all four years?
35:12
I, even in the moment, couldn't have told you many of their
35:16
names. And to the point that, like, I
35:19
remember one time we were out somewhere and I saw one of them
35:22
and I'd talked to him for like an hour and we were chatting and
35:25
hanging out. And, you know, when we went our
35:27
separate ways, my wife, my wife now, who was my fiance at the
35:32
time, maybe my wife then I don't know.
35:34
Either way, she's like, oh, who is that?
35:36
And I was like, oh, it's some guy I work with.
35:38
Oh, it's his name. I have no idea.
35:42
But I knew that dude. I'd know him now.
35:44
But Nope, didn't know, didn't know his name.
35:46
So, like, names are hard. So Josh, we got you like the
35:51
team's got you. Names are good to know.
35:53
But playbook? Let's worry about the playbook
35:57
and. Playbook Get some chemistry with
35:59
I'd rather you know like how I'd rather you know how JJ wants the
36:05
ball thrown to him than know his name if that makes sense.
36:10
Which you're gonna know J JS name.
36:12
And that's an important update. We don't get JJ back this week.
36:15
He won't. Probably not.
36:17
It hasn't been official. Well, it's it's kind of
36:21
unofficially I think the the writing on the wall.
36:24
I think the coach today did kind of say like it would be a little
36:28
aggressive. I forget the terms he used a
36:31
little aggressive to say that he'd be back this week.
36:34
So I I don't expect him back this week.
36:36
Yeah, I would say earliest next week on the road at Denver,
36:42
yeah, maybe and I agree. But we'll say today, this
36:45
afternoon on Wednesday, they they did designate him to return
36:50
to practice. So if I if I understand it
36:53
correctly, they have 21 days from today to decide if they're
36:58
gonna actually activate him to the active roster, take him off
37:01
IR, or if he's gonna be shut down, I think for the rest of
37:05
the year. You'd almost have to be, and I
37:07
don't know what the timing had to be for them to designate him
37:13
to return like if they had to do it today or if they had some
37:16
time to do that. But if they did have time to do
37:19
that, then doing it today seems like a good sign.
37:23
Like, again, probably not this week against the Saints, but if
37:28
it's next week against the Broncos, like, that's that's
37:31
pretty exciting. Like, yeah, and I saw another
37:35
tweet sometime. We should be better about liking
37:38
these tweets and remembering them.
37:40
But somebody said, like, yeah, isn't it kind of crazy that at
37:43
this moment maybe it was Dustin Baker?
37:45
At this moment, getting the idea of getting JJ back kind of seems
37:49
like like a little cherry on top of everything.
37:52
Like this whole the last six games have been pretty fun.
37:58
You know, we've only lost one of them.
38:00
And after everything's been going on, you know, you have two
38:05
Achilles tears. You have a concussed third
38:09
string quarterback. Your initial backup was already
38:12
on IR when your MVP like quarterback went down.
38:16
The running game still hasn't figured it all out.
38:18
The defense has been figuring it out.
38:21
But after all that, like, you're you're 5 and one in your last
38:24
six games, right? Yeah, Is that right?
38:27
And you might get JJ back. And that's kind of like a a
38:31
footnote of what you're talking about.
38:33
Like, that's awesome to think about.
38:35
One of the best players in the league coming back as a
38:37
footnote. Let's go that that kind of seems
38:41
very Vikings like. Oh yeah, well, and it'll be
38:45
fascinating to see what unfolds with.
38:49
Effectively 2 wide receiver ones.
38:51
I mean, Oh my gosh, Jordan Addison has been playing out of
38:54
his mind and he's a huge reason why you haven't really felt the
38:59
the loss of JJ. Yeah, I mean, you couldn't
39:02
expect him to be who? What other rookie wide receiver
39:09
can you name that's better than him right now, or at least
39:12
playing better than him right now?
39:13
I don't think any of them. I think he's he's definitely the
39:16
best rookie wide receiver. He's one of the better wide
39:18
receivers in the league right now like at the pace he's been
39:22
the last month or so. If you make that the whole
39:25
season, he's definitely, his numbers are up there with Tyree
39:28
Kill and stuff. He leads the team in touchdown
39:32
receptions with seven right now. I I was looking at stats a
39:35
little bit earlier. The Vikings right now have three
39:38
players with over 500 receiving yards, JJ, Jordan, Addison and
39:44
TJ. And again, that's another thing
39:47
we can say that's been awesome is TJ.
39:49
He had some dropping issues, but that hasn't been a huge problem
39:54
the last handful of weeks. I I mentioned the defense a
39:57
little bit earlier. That was kind of a concern.
40:00
They couldn't stop the run, but they've kind of turned it around
40:04
enough that, like now it seems like definitely Brian Flores is
40:08
getting a head coaching job. But I wish like he wouldn't and
40:13
he would stay for. A little bit.
40:14
There's no salary cap on coaching positions.
40:17
So Wilfs, if you're listening, you probably aren't.
40:20
But no, they'll never hear us. Well, if they are, you know,
40:24
let's let's make that happen, 'cause it'd be great to have a
40:27
defensive mind like that around for a few years.
40:31
Yeah, let's make a run. Is making Koc's job that much
40:34
easier? Yeah, when you when you have to
40:37
worry about a quarterback that's been with you for four days, you
40:40
don't also want to have to worry about how Daniel Hunter's
40:44
playing, which that guy is a freaking monster.
40:47
He's my number one on resign. Right now leads the league in
40:50
sacks right now with 10. Is he still the the leader
40:53
after? I think 'cause he didn't get
40:54
any. I think there's like 3 tied at 9
40:56
1/2, but he's the sole leader with 10.
40:59
Nice. How about he didn't get any
41:02
sacks last week, but he still he broke the game mid second
41:08
quarter when it was after that weird like interception that was
41:13
actually a fumble. The Falcons goal line to the
41:17
goal line. He was solely responsible for at
41:20
least two of those plays not getting into the end zone. 100%,
41:25
yeah. We watched those together.
41:26
He was insane. He was just shut like he was a
41:30
wall. Yeah, I I somebody pointed it
41:32
out today. Will Raggetts, if that's how you
41:36
say his name on Twitter, I think it was him that tweeted out.
41:39
It was one of the all 22 clips, video clips and one of those two
41:45
insane plays at the goal line. Daniel Hunter literally, like,
41:48
picked up Jonnu Smith and threw him into be John Robinson.
41:54
So Hunter didn't get the tackle on that play.
41:55
I think that's the one, if you're looking back, the one
41:58
where Daniel's helmet actually came off.
42:01
Oh yeah, And rolled around right before his helmet got popped
42:05
off. He like, threw.
42:07
I'm pretty sure it was Jonny Smith into the running back and
42:11
which bounced him back and then you know, other other Vikings
42:13
were able to get into him. Like it's like he was possessed
42:18
for a couple of plays and was not going to let the Falcons
42:22
score a touchdown. And it was awesome.
42:25
Well, there's another one where he wasn't directly involved in
42:28
the tackle, but Tyler Algier was the ball carrier and he kind of
42:34
like got up to, I don't know, the three or the two.
42:38
And Daniel was there, disrupted the play, and then like five or
42:42
six other Vikings just pushed him back and he ended up getting
42:45
tackled for a loss back up to like 5 or the six or something
42:48
like that. So yeah, the defense played
42:50
great all game. Byron Murphy had that
42:53
interception. Oh yeah, and how many almost
42:55
near intercept there was like? Three near interceptions and
43:00
they got their hands on the ball quite a bit, yeah, I'm pretty
43:03
sure, Paul Allen said in the, like, play of the Byron Murphy
43:07
interception. He's like, yes, Byron Murphy
43:09
gets the interception. You knew Taylor Heineke was
43:12
gonna give us one, like, yeah, and that's just kind of the
43:15
gunslinger mentality Taylor Heineke has.
43:18
But yeah, you knew. You knew they were gonna get a
43:20
turnover And it just, it was so it was so awesome to see.
43:25
That was a We've had some fun games to watch lately, even with
43:29
the devastating Kirk injury. And well, how about before we
43:35
talk about Cam Akers injury, have I know you've seen the
43:39
play, the one blocked? For Josh Dobbs, Yeah, Dobbs
43:43
decided to run it around and Cam was like, oh, we're doing this.
43:46
He's a huge block on a dude, a defensive lineman.
43:50
He just cleats him like decleats him.
43:55
It's Oh my goodness. That was such a great play.
43:58
It was awesome and. That I've been a Cam Akers fan
44:03
this year. When I was looking at stats
44:05
earlier, I was kind of surprised to see that Akers only has like
44:08
170 something Viking rushing yards this year and obviously he
44:14
he tours Achilles, his season is over.
44:17
I mean maybe his Vikings career, maybe his whole career is over.
44:21
That I I can't imagine going through two different Achilles
44:24
tears, but if he can come back, I want him back.
44:28
I I want him as a Viking just because of that play.
44:32
And he had a great game, too. He was a he was a great
44:35
assisting player and yeah, he didn't have a ton of rushing
44:38
yards against the Falcons. But.
44:39
When you think about where a lot of those tailbacks line up in
44:44
kind of this modern NFL, where it's not the quarterback under
44:48
center all the time, but the quarterback's back in the
44:50
shotgun quite a bit and those tailbacks are shoulder to
44:54
shoulder, you've got to imagine. Cam Akers and Alex Madison are
44:58
analyzing the defense like a quarterback in some of those
45:01
moments and then maybe not in the moment, but on the sideline
45:06
telling Josh Dobbs like this is what I saw.
45:09
This is what they're giving us. This is what we typically do in
45:12
those situations. I mean they they may have
45:15
stepped in and and helped out, yeah, but we didn't even realize
45:19
that play that Cam Akers. Was on the block?
45:23
Well, no. Well, the block, sure.
45:24
But like when? I 'cause I think I, like, went
45:26
to the bathroom or something. I came back to you and I was
45:29
like, oh, they're tweeting. Cam Akers probably got another.
45:32
I was oblivious to that. I was like, it was crazy late in
45:36
the third quarter. I think that's a rough play.
45:38
I he's been playing really good. I want him back as a Viking.
45:42
Yeah, if he can, if he can work his way back, 'cause that's not
45:45
a small injury. And he should know.
45:47
I mentioned a week or two ago on the podcast like Kirk has a a
45:52
guy that can talk him through his injury on his team because
45:55
game makers came back and now they're gonna be rehabbing
45:58
together. Like, Yep, Yep, I did read
46:02
something somewhere that you read all of these predictions of
46:09
like, hot takes that people have.
46:12
One of the hot takes was Alexander Madison.
46:16
Will be. One of the worst performing
46:19
rushers in Vikings history over the course of the season.
46:22
And I don't know that I like that hot take necessarily.
46:28
And I like to think maybe a little more holistically because
46:32
he's been pretty effective and the tandem Cam Akers and
46:37
Alexander Madison together have been effective.
46:40
And obviously we have some other backs, Ty Chandler.
46:44
Could get thrown into the mix. Kenny Noongu is now back from
46:48
IR. Yeah, I think, I think it was,
46:50
Wes Phillips, the offensive coordinator, said the other day.
46:55
One of the coaches said, like, you're gonna see a lot more Ty
46:57
Chandler. Somebody asked them about like,
47:01
what do you do at the run game now that K Makers is out and
47:04
they the response was you'll see a lot more Ty Chandler, which
47:07
that's great. He's got some size and speed,
47:09
and I mean, obviously it wasn't clicking fully early in the
47:13
season, but maybe losing your job to a guy that gets traded to
47:18
your team kind of wakes you up a little bit.
47:20
Maybe the pressure gets taken off so you figure some stuff out
47:24
in a less pressure situation. I don't know if if he turns out
47:29
to be a really good RB1B, you know, 'cause I don't think I've
47:34
said it before. Alex Madison, I don't think he's
47:36
a true #1 back and he's proving that so far.
47:40
I think he's really good as the like Thunder to someone else's
47:44
lightning. And I don't think there's
47:48
anything wrong with that. Like if you think of Ladainian
47:51
Tomlinson and Michael Turner from back in the day, like those
47:54
guys made each other better. Like you gotta have that change
48:00
of pace. You know, running back duo.
48:03
It definitely in this NFL and on this past first team.
48:08
And I guess the reason I brought that up isn't because I I don't
48:13
necessarily agree with that, But I even Even if Alexander Madison
48:17
ends the season with historically low numbers for a
48:21
starter for a starting RB one, I still think he's contributed a
48:27
lot more than his running stats will show.
48:30
He has a receiving touchdown or two, receives at least a couple
48:34
well and even that huge. That big like 70 yard or 60 yard
48:37
play that Jaren Hall threw to him?
48:39
Yeah, I think there's like 40 but still like it.
48:41
It kind of opened things up. There's a big.
48:43
Chunk play. And so I I think those are
48:46
things that don't show up on a rushing stat line that don't
48:51
really communicate how impactful he's been to this team, so.
48:56
I don't know. I don't know that I agree with a
48:58
hot take like that. Yeah, I don't either.
49:00
The Vikings. The Vikings have proved this
49:02
season that they are a pass first team and the passing game
49:06
sets up the running game. Ideally, it's the other way
49:09
around, like that's traditionally how offenses work.
49:14
Yeah, the rushing game sets up the pass game.
49:17
I think the NFL is changing though.
49:19
It's definitely more about passing league.
49:22
So yes, I think in like the days of Adrian Peterson, not like
49:27
this most recent era of football.
49:30
Yes, the you you ran on 1st down to maybe hopefully pass on 2nd
49:34
down and to make the the play action true, you know, hold the
49:39
defense true on a play action play.
49:42
I think it's changing up a little bit.
49:45
Not to the point that you ever get rid of the run game like
49:48
that's just crazy. But yeah, I I agree with you.
49:52
I don't think Alex has been the worst starting running back in
49:56
Vikings history, especially when you add in his ability to pick
50:02
up pass blocks and actually catch the ball when he needs to.
50:07
He's been OK. It's just the whole run game has
50:10
been frustrating. You think they consider anything
50:14
crazy like signing a free agent like Adrian Peterson?
50:17
I think, and I'm pretty sure it was Wes Phillips who gave that
50:22
Ty Chandler answer. I think that comment saying
50:26
you'll see a lot more Ty Chandler kind of answers that
50:30
question you just asked. I they've got enough bodies in
50:34
the running backroom like you said, Kane Wang Wu is he's
50:37
coming back. Has he been activated?
50:40
We should know. This.
50:40
I don't think he was active this week, this last week against
50:43
Atlanta, but he might be, and I would maybe expect him to be.
50:47
You have the injury, yeah. He's not.
50:49
I don't believe he's on the. Injury.
50:50
He's on it. So I think we might see him like
50:53
returning punts or kicks maybe at the very least well, and it
50:56
seems like, I mean they're pretty good with Ty Chandler
50:59
being the main kick returner. He had that one big one that was
51:05
called back in the Packer game. But I don't know.
51:11
I I feel there's got to be something with Wong Woo like
51:16
he's he's had the chances, you know, to be able to get into the
51:22
lineup as a running back. He just never, never been in
51:26
there. So I don't know what the hold up
51:27
is for him. And maybe now with Cam Akers out
51:32
indefinitely, you know, maybe, maybe that's his opportunity to
51:36
step in and shine. Maybe.
51:37
I mean, that seems to be what the coaches are willing to do
51:42
right now. You, you never know.
51:44
I mean, Adrian Peterson is out there.
51:47
He's a free agent. I would be shocked and appalled
51:52
if if they signed him to come back.
51:54
That would be a that would be a blockbuster free agent signing.
51:58
Talk about a footnote on this season alone.
52:01
Like, yeah, that'd be crazy. But no, I'm.
52:05
I'm not saying that's going to I I think Josh Dobbs is going to
52:08
run for 2000 yards before Adrian Peterson gets signed to any team
52:13
again, let alone the Vikings. 2000 Wow, that's big.
52:16
No, that's that's, Yeah, But yeah, I think at the moment
52:20
they're, they're content with the guys they have.
52:23
We haven't heard any buzz about them working out any running
52:26
backs. Obviously they can't trade for
52:29
any at this moment, 'cause we're past the trade deadline, I don't
52:33
know if they would have to begin with like even.
52:36
So let's just say that trade deadline's a week from now and
52:39
you know, Cam Akers is out. Like, who would you trade the
52:44
house for? Derrick Henry, Like they did.
52:47
They already didn't trade for him.
52:48
So like, right. And I don't even know.
52:52
There's no big name out there on the free agent market.
52:56
Even if a guy like Josh Elliott is that.
53:01
Yeah, the that's is that is his name.
53:04
Josh, I should know this. He's he was a Pro Bowler.
53:08
The Cowboys. He's a patriot now.
53:12
Ezekiel Elliott. Ezekiel is such a close name to
53:15
Josh. That's how I can get get around
53:18
that, even if he had still been a maybe a year.
53:21
I don't know these these millstream beers are too good.
53:26
Even if like Ezekiel Elliott was still a free agent.
53:29
Like, I don't think he's I I don't feel like the Vikings
53:31
would go out of their way to sign a a name like that.
53:36
Obviously he's a Patriot now, so he's not even out there, but I
53:39
think they're good with who they have now.
53:41
If you go another couple of weeks and you see in game and in
53:45
practice how the team looks without that 1B in Cam makers,
53:50
maybe they rethink it then, but I think right now they're good.
53:53
Well, and maybe these more mobile quarterbacks, Josh Dobbs
53:57
and Jaren Hall, maybe they're enough to satisfy what we need
54:01
to do in the running game to supplement what those true
54:06
running backs are doing. And they can.
54:08
Kind of. Carry the the other parts of the
54:13
rushing game on their own and yeah, be productive.
54:16
Who knows what? What do you think?
54:19
Should we move on to the Saints game officially?
54:22
Yeah, yeah. I think the Saints game is
54:25
really interesting. I think the Saints are not as
54:29
good of a team as their record indicates.
54:32
I did a little math today. The Saints haven't really beaten
54:38
anybody of note. No.
54:42
All of their wins are against losing teams or teams with sub
54:47
500 records, I think. Did I write it down?
54:50
You wrote it down. So yeah, you you put it down.
54:53
Remind me. You said their wins come against
54:56
teams with a combined record of 12 and 31 this season.
55:00
Yeah, and the Vikings. I'll admit, I looked at the
55:04
Vikings as well. We're not as impressive.
55:08
We're we're not much more impressive.
55:10
The Vikings are not much more impressive than the Saints in
55:12
that category. But I would say the win against
55:16
the 49ers was a very signature win, a statement win, and the
55:23
Saints just don't have one of those.
55:24
Granted, that win was with Kirk Cousin Cousins, who balled out
55:29
on Monday night, who played a great game.
55:31
I mean, we when we talked about this in that episode, that was
55:34
the most complete game. In all phases that the Vikings
55:38
have played all season long, I'd say Still, to this date I agree
55:43
the Packer game was pretty good. Packer game was pretty good too,
55:46
but I agree with you and. Still think the 49ers game was
55:49
better? That's still against Kirk
55:51
Cousins. Breaking news does not play
55:53
defense, and the 49ers in that game had, albeit injured.
55:58
They had Christian McCaffrey who played every snap on offense and
56:03
the Vikings. I think McCaffrey had two
56:08
touchdowns but outside of that like he didn't, you know, break
56:12
any NFL record for touchdowns. Defense played well in that
56:16
game. I would argue too.
56:18
Yes, they were losses, but the Vikings held their own against
56:21
both the Eagles and the Chiefs. Again with the same caveat you
56:27
gave. That's with Kirk Cousins.
56:30
But in both of those games that is pre Brian Flores figuring it
56:34
out with the defense. So yeah, I I agree with you.
56:38
I think the Vikings on paper should be better.
56:42
Another stat you wrote down. Apparently Vegas doesn't agree.
56:47
2 1/2 point underdogs at home, which is kind of surprising,
56:50
which means I think they say like in a neutral site.
56:54
I think they say like the home team gets three points.
56:57
So theoretically, in a neutral site, Vegas would see the
57:02
Vikings as what, 5 1/2 point underdogs.
57:08
So I don't, I don't know. Vegas seems to be weirdly
57:12
accurate a lot of times, but it just we're super biased.
57:17
It just feels like the Vikings are better than the Saints, even
57:20
with. I mean, maybe especially off the
57:23
high of the Josh Dobbs performance.
57:25
But even without Kirk, like It just feels like the Vikings are
57:29
the better team cause. I don't know.
57:32
That's the way I feel. But I don't know.
57:34
Maybe we're just blinded by our own bias.
57:37
We absolutely are totally biased.
57:39
Like, there's no question about it.
57:41
We are beard up Vikings fans. So of course we're going to
57:47
think the Vikings are way better than they are, but we're also
57:50
going to think they're way worse than they are sometimes.
57:52
You probably heard it listeners in my voice, at least the first
57:56
four weeks of the season. How bad I think I thought the
58:00
Vikings were. But.
58:01
I would, I would say, I mean we're maybe a little more in
58:05
tune with what's happening than your casual fan.
58:08
I mean we we sure we follow the team and we Oh yeah we're on
58:12
Twitter daily and we're we're keeping track of the insurance
58:16
and outs and you know so I don't know I I think we have a little
58:21
bit of a leg to stand on when we say Vikings.
58:26
Will, they'll hold their own. Yeah.
58:28
I'm not going into it like I did, 'cause when we were going
58:31
into the 49ers game, I didn't. I mean, I would have put the
58:36
mortgage on the 49ers in that game.
58:39
I didn't bet on that game, but I probably would have.
58:42
I'm surprised I didn't put 100 bucks on the Niners, 'cause I
58:45
would have won like $105.00, 'cause they were that that
58:48
heavily favored. I'm not feeling that this week.
58:51
I feel like the Vikings, I'm not saying they're going to dominate
58:54
and win by 40 points, but I just feel like they feel like a team
59:00
of destiny right now, especially after that Falcons game with
59:02
Josh Dobbs. Like, I just feel like they can
59:05
beat the Saints. Here, here's a little bit of a
59:08
hot take, and there may not be a ton of weight behind this.
59:12
I don't know. But I do think with Josh Dobbs
59:16
as the starter, at least for the time being, who knows what
59:19
happens with Jaron Hall moving forward.
59:22
But let's. Say he's the starter for at
59:25
least the next few games before the bye.
59:29
I think at some point we'll see a a slight regression with Josh
59:33
Dobbs. The dust will settle, sure.
59:36
Yeah, and I mean it. It was not just like lights out
59:40
from the beginning. I mean, he took a safety and
59:44
then fumble on his first three possessions as a Viking.
59:48
I mean, it was ugly. But then once he got the.
59:53
The bad stuff out, it was pretty much all good from there.
59:57
I mean, there was really not anything bad.
1:00:00
There was that one other fumble, and I think it was just maybe
1:00:03
miscommunication from Garrett Bradbury, just that lack of
1:00:06
chemistry at the center. And he fell on it and recovered
1:00:10
it himself, which was fine, but I mean other than those four
1:00:16
plays. Josh Dobbs had a magical day in
1:00:20
Atlanta. I don't think we see that again.
1:00:22
I think, I think the pastor not comes down to earth a little bit
1:00:29
not. I mean, I'm not saying that he's
1:00:31
going to, you know, have a terrible game or anything like
1:00:34
that, but I I think he's, he's going to have a little bit more
1:00:40
of a realistic game and a little less of this Cinderella type
1:00:46
magical game that he had in Atlanta.
1:00:49
I I disagree a little bit dude. I think now that they've figured
1:00:54
out the the way that they should operate they're gonna fine tune
1:00:59
that whole translate the play from the huddle after the break.
1:01:05
Here's what you're doing Josh. I think that gives Koca little
1:01:10
more presence on the field cause KOC he's.
1:01:15
Not to say he hasn't been, but he's gonna be even more in tune
1:01:18
to what the defense is doing. He's gonna be reading the field
1:01:20
like a quarterback and he's gonna be in the mind like Madden
1:01:26
of Josh Dobbs. And I think the defense, they've
1:01:30
got it figured out. They do.
1:01:31
I think we see more than one turnover from the defense, maybe
1:01:35
even a touchdown scored from the defense this this week.
1:01:37
That'd be. Awesome.
1:01:38
And I think the past you're not. He's gonna plant his flag right
1:01:45
on the 50 yard line of U.S. bank Stadium.
1:01:49
I'm I'm predicting it right now. It's not gonna be a blowout, but
1:01:52
it is gonna be an A comfortable win.
1:01:55
It's gonna be the second win of more than one score for the
1:01:58
Vikings this year. Look at it to be like 34 to 14.
1:02:05
Wow, you heard it here first. That's what I'm saying.
1:02:07
There you go, Skull. I don't know that I'm gonna go
1:02:13
that far. I do think the Vikings win.
1:02:17
I think it comes with some struggle.
1:02:20
But I don't know, maybe you're on to something.
1:02:22
Maybe. Maybe, Kevin O'Connell told
1:02:25
Josh. Like, man, that worked really
1:02:27
well. Yeah, don't worry about, like,
1:02:30
the playbook. We got this.
1:02:31
We'll figure this out later. Or they they study together and
1:02:34
maybe they'll come up with their own, like, hey, this place says
1:02:37
this, so like when I tell you deep ball, just.
1:02:42
Effing. Throw it.
1:02:43
Just go. And trust me that I know what
1:02:46
the play should be. You'll figure it out in a few
1:02:49
weeks, but just trust me. Like, just here's your read.
1:02:53
Don't even go to the second read, just here's your read.
1:02:55
If that's not there, run it well and he's he's the, he's the guy
1:02:58
that I think you can trust in that situation.
1:03:01
I think Kevin O'Connell is proving, and I've seen some some
1:03:04
things from maybe some mine's a little smarter than ours that
1:03:07
have said like he's really coming into his own as a play
1:03:10
caller and establishing himself as one of the more elite
1:03:15
offensive minds in the league right now.
1:03:17
They say what invention comes out of necessity.
1:03:21
This could be the start of like a whole new way of communicating
1:03:26
and a whole new way of a coach playing the game.
1:03:30
I feel like with Kirk you could just give him 1-2 or three
1:03:35
options and be like. Kirk, you got this.
1:03:38
Here you go. Here's my call.
1:03:40
What I'm seeing the ball is yours.
1:03:43
And this might sound like I'm diminishing Josh dabs a little
1:03:47
bit. I don't intend to do that.
1:03:49
But this could be like KOC playing the game, doing what I
1:03:54
do when I play, Madden seeing the field being like, dude, just
1:03:59
trust me. What did I say last week about
1:04:01
Jaren Hall? All he has to do.
1:04:04
Is trust his abilities and trust his coach and his headset.
1:04:07
That's actually kind of interesting, 'cause I did say
1:04:09
like, just just listen to your coach and do what he says.
1:04:13
We had no idea what would happen.
1:04:15
Yeah, yeah. So I think if Dobbs or really
1:04:19
any able bodied quarterback could embrace this idea of like,
1:04:24
my coach has got me, he's been here.
1:04:25
Yeah, KFC wasn't a Pro Bowl quarterback, but you don't get
1:04:29
to the NFL and be bad like. Sure, you're playing on a team
1:04:34
with Tom Brady. You're not gonna start.
1:04:36
But like, KOC can see the field. I think maybe in some ways this
1:04:43
could unlock a whole new fun aspect of coaching and play
1:04:46
calling, like you said, for KOC. Just trust me, Josh, I got this.
1:04:51
Listen to what I say. Do what I say.
1:04:54
If you can't, do what I say. Freaking run the ball.
1:04:58
Boom. I'm excited.
1:04:59
I'm about to run through a brick wall off a hypothetical thought
1:05:02
process of the coach right now. Maybe you're on to something.
1:05:05
Maybe you're on to something. Time will tell, right?
1:05:08
And I don't know, maybe that's what worked against the Falcons.
1:05:13
I mean, and the Falcons were not a a bad defense.
1:05:15
No, I mean coming into the game ranked 6th overall in the
1:05:18
league. Like, that's nothing to shy away
1:05:21
from. And to throw this random dude
1:05:25
that you picked up right before the trade deadline who knows
1:05:29
nobody who knows none of the plays, to come out with a win
1:05:34
and to come out with a win that looked pretty darn good.
1:05:38
It was a lot of fun. So hopefully the Vikings can
1:05:41
keep it rolling this week against the Saints.
1:05:43
And I mean. It would help too if the run
1:05:47
game had a little bit of life. Yeah, you get some fire under
1:05:51
your butt after losing your 1B. And block a little bit
1:05:56
differently and a little bit better.
1:05:58
Not at the expense of the pass game, though.
1:06:00
Do what works. Win the game, get home.
1:06:05
Let let JJ come to a team that has is, you know, six and four,
1:06:10
right? Like, open it up after that,
1:06:13
'cause after the even right now the the schedule is pretty
1:06:15
favorable. Yeah, go to go to Denver and
1:06:20
then you've got the Bears at home before the buy.
1:06:22
Yeah, and then I think, what do you have Raiders, Bengals after
1:06:27
the buy or something like that? Yeah, I'm not sure I should
1:06:30
have. I do have it right in front of
1:06:31
me. Yeah, Raiders, at Raiders and at
1:06:34
Bengals after the buy. And then it's Lions.
1:06:37
Packers. Lions, isn't it?
1:06:39
Geez, close it out. Yeah, win well and get to the
1:06:44
playoffs. It will be really interesting to
1:06:47
get to that first Lions game. Is that Christmas Eve?
1:06:51
Is that the first Lions game at home against the Lions?
1:06:55
We. Don't have the dates here, no.
1:06:57
It might be, maybe. Anyways, it'll be really
1:07:01
interesting to play the Lions for the first time, because even
1:07:05
that first game against the Lions could have a lot of
1:07:09
divisional implications. And obviously that second game,
1:07:12
I think with the way things have been trending that that second
1:07:15
game, the last game of the season, could decide the
1:07:19
division. Yeah, I mean, well, that first
1:07:21
game, we'll be doing the math. Yeah, we'll know.
1:07:23
Hey, if we win this. Yeah, well and.
1:07:25
And the Vikings could have stormed all the way back and by
1:07:29
Week 18. I'd say continue to storm.
1:07:32
They've stormed. Yeah.
1:07:33
Oh yeah. Five and one in the last 6.
1:07:35
They're, they've stormed, they're back, they're back.
1:07:39
It's a good place to be. It's an exciting place to be and
1:07:44
gosh, hopefully we have more exciting things to.
1:07:47
Talk about Yeah, next week. I agree.
1:07:51
So. What do you think?
1:07:53
Should we start closing this out?
1:07:55
Yeah, well, I mean, we're. What'd you think?
1:07:57
It what'd you? We're we're both done.
1:07:59
This beer was good. This is a really good beer.
1:08:01
This was. I will get this again.
1:08:03
Oh, absolutely. I've had it before, I think.
1:08:05
I can't remember exactly, but this is a good one.
1:08:09
Yeah Millstream, you have sold me.
1:08:11
This is my second favorite beer we've had on the podcast.
1:08:14
Just because we had the pseudo sue that one time that's that's
1:08:18
always got to be my favorite, your top.
1:08:20
But millstream. Darn it.
1:08:21
This. Amber.
1:08:22
This. What's the official name again?
1:08:25
Shield brow. Shield Brow Amber.
1:08:28
A Vienna style lager. Millstream.
1:08:30
Thank you. This has been a treat.
1:08:32
I appreciate it. Put out more great beers like
1:08:35
this, and I'm sure you already have, so I'm going to keep
1:08:37
looking up your beers. Yeah, good stuff.
1:08:40
Yeah, all right, man. Where can people reach out to
1:08:42
us? Pretty much anywhere.
1:08:44
I mean, just look for the skull hop.
1:08:46
You'll find us. I feel like at this point, if
1:08:48
you Google the skull hop SKOL, you're gonna find us.
1:08:52
We're on Twitter or X Tiktok. Instagram, Facebook, YouTube,
1:08:59
everywhere. You can get podcasts now 'cause
1:09:01
you made sure of that and we're working on a website.
1:09:05
We are we, yes, we own the domain now.
1:09:09
You can steal that from us under construction.
1:09:11
I did, yeah, I did give out the first sticker.
1:09:15
I think that I guess the first sticker was probably to Forest
1:09:18
on the podcast. Yeah, he But I gave out.
1:09:21
I hand delivered to Matt for emailing us.
1:09:24
So if you don't e-mail us, we'll still give you a sticker?
1:09:27
Yeah. Give us a shout out anywhere in
1:09:29
on any platform, social media, e-mail, whatever.
1:09:33
We've still got stickers to hand out, yeah.
1:09:36
And yeah, we've got some other ideas, you know, maybe involving
1:09:41
something like this. Yeah, at least football or
1:09:44
football steins. These aren't steins.
1:09:47
We'll just call them beer glasses.
1:09:48
Beer glasses? Yeah, well, you never know.
1:09:51
We've got some ideas maybe. If you send us an e-mail, maybe
1:09:53
you'll be the first one to find out about.
1:09:55
Yeah, I don't know. Yeah, we'll keep that under
1:09:57
wraps until until you reach out to us and you'll find out for
1:10:02
sure. But yeah, we're going to wrap
1:10:06
this thing up now. All right, man, 'til next time.
1:10:09
It's cool. It's cool.