Latest / The Vikings Tailgate / Vikings Tailgate: Bryant McKinnie Looks Back On His 2009 Experience and Let His Play Do The Talking - NO - Ep 75

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Vikings Tailgate: Bryant McKinnie Looks Back On His 2009 Experience and Let His Play Do The Talking - NO - Ep 75 · The Vikings Tailgate

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  Speaker 1: As the official ticket marketplace of the Minnesota Vikings and
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  Speaker 1: Join Paul Allen and Alec Lewis this Friday, October 9th
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  Speaker 1: at Buffalo Wild Wings in Savage, the Buffalo Wild Wings
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  Speaker 1: in Savage, for Friday football feast presented by Coors Light.
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  Speaker 1: Visit vikings.com slash BWW for full schedule and details. Before kickoff,
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  Speaker 1: there's one sign that it's game time, and that's when
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  Speaker 1: the mountains turn blue. Be sure to get your mountain
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  Speaker 1: cold Coors Light at U.S. Bank Stadium. Hey, everybody. Thanks
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  Speaker 1: for coming back to another episode of the Vikings tailgate
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  Speaker 1: with Chad Daniels and I. This is a really fun one.
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  Speaker 1: I know I say that a lot because they're all fun.
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  Speaker 1: The great Bryant McKinney joins us to discuss some of
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  Speaker 1: the amazing Viking teams he was on, what he's doing
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  Speaker 1: off the field nowadays, and just talk about his career
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  Speaker 1: in general. We think you're really going to like it.
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  Speaker 1: And then stick around. Chad and I preview the The
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  Speaker 1: Saints game. As always, give us a like and a
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  Speaker 1: rating if you like the show, guys. We really appreciate
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  Speaker 1: you being a part of it. Boom!
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  Speaker 2: I'm hot today.
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  Speaker 1: Wreck it. Wreck it. That's a bad man.
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  Speaker 3: Come on, baby.
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  Speaker 1: Turn me up. Yeah. Touchdown! Hey, everybody. Welcome to another
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  Speaker 1: episode of the Vikings Tailgate. He's the great Chad Daniels.
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  Speaker 4: Boop!
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  Speaker 1: And we have a great guest for you guys today.
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  Speaker 1: Joining us shortly will be Bryant McKinney. Talk a little
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  Speaker 1: bit about all the famous Viking teams he was on,
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  Speaker 1: some of his work on and off the field. It's
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  Speaker 1: going to be a fun one. But first, Chatty Daddy,
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  Speaker 1: our Minnesota Vikings have won again. They are one of
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  Speaker 1: three teams still undefeated. Can I be accused of being
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  Speaker 1: too positive, Guy?
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, you always ask me stuff and then
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  Speaker 4: you do it anyway, so just do it.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, but I'd just like you to be involved in
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  Speaker 1: the decision, even if you're not actually involved in the decision.
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  Speaker 2: Sure, go ahead.
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  Speaker 1: Having a number one unit in the NFL, right, the defense,
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  Speaker 1: number one unit in the league, they are the leagues currently,
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  Speaker 1: they are defined by the experts and the metrics as
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  Speaker 1: the number one unit in the league. Yep. I think
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  Speaker 1: it doesn't look pretty. If you don't have an offense
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  Speaker 1: to match with it, that's caught up to it or
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  Speaker 1: performing at the level it wants to to this point.
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  Speaker 1: But I think we're just so spoiled by offensive football
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  Speaker 1: that people are having a hard time understanding the potential
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  Speaker 1: and where this team is at. Because if you made
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  Speaker 1: me pick between having the number one offense in the
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  Speaker 1: league and the number one defense in the league, I'm
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  Speaker 1: always choosing defense. There's a lot of numbers and information
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  Speaker 1: behind that. And I think with the talent and the
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  Speaker 1: staff we have on offense and how it started with
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  Speaker 1: a QB injury and a Jefferson injury, I have faith
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  Speaker 1: that that's going to catch up. I'm just like, I
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  Speaker 1: have all bullishness right now. I know that's annoying, but
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  Speaker 1: I am pure bullish. This thing is going to, I
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  Speaker 1: feel so much better than I did even before the
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  Speaker 1: season started.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, let's look at this offense as like an improv group, right?
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  Speaker 4: You have a bunch of people that haven't necessarily done
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  Speaker 4: improv together, and it might look weird and awkward for
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  Speaker 4: a little bit. But eventually, they're going to pick up
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  Speaker 4: on each other's cues. They're going to know each other,
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  Speaker 4: where they're going, where they're headed. And eventually, you're going
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  Speaker 4: to get some of these guys on SNL.
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  Speaker 1: And Kyler finishing those last two drives, 13 of 14
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  Speaker 1: for 120 yards. And what would have been a touchdown
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  Speaker 1: if TJ Hawkinson didn't make the right play. Leave me
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  Speaker 1: alone in the comments. The right play. Just a good
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  Speaker 1: step in the right direction. I know you were a
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  Speaker 1: big Kyler guy before the season started. And I think
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  Speaker 1: it's going to take a minute for a coach with
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  Speaker 1: a system he loves and a quarterback who's been in
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  Speaker 1: the league a long time to figure each other out.
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  Speaker 1: And I'm hoping that's the start. And we really start
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  Speaker 1: going the right direction here because I think it could
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  Speaker 1: get real, real fun.
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  Speaker 4: I think you're right. It's going to take some time.
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  Speaker 4: I'd like to see it right now. I mean, we
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  Speaker 4: saw what Atlanta did down in New Orleans. And so
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  Speaker 4: it's gettable.
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  Speaker 2: It's gettable.
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  Speaker 1: It's gettable. But here's the thing. The only thing I
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  Speaker 1: care about being gettable is a win. If you'd have
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  Speaker 1: told me, if they get one this weekend, if you'd
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  Speaker 1: have told me going into the bye week, this team
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  Speaker 1: would be 5-0 with two division wins and the number
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  Speaker 1: one defense, probably the best kick returner in the league
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  Speaker 1: and the best kicker in the league.
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  Speaker 4: I'm going to go the best kick returner in the league.
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  Speaker 4: I'm just, I can't even allow the probably in this.
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  Speaker 4: Price is just, he is a magic man. It is
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  Speaker 4: so fun.
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  Speaker 1: I just haven't seen all the kick returners, so I'm
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  Speaker 1: going to agree with you. I'm going to jump on
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  Speaker 1: board with that. It's really, really, really fun. As you mentioned,
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  Speaker 1: we're headed for another showdown with the Saints. We'll get
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  Speaker 1: to the game preview in a minute, but let's get
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  Speaker 1: to our guest of the week, larger-than-life player on some
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  Speaker 1: of the greatest Vikings teams of the early 2000s. Let's
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  Speaker 1: jump into our conversation here with Vikings legend Bryant McKinney.
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  Speaker 1: All right, ladies and gentlemen, we are now joined by
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  Speaker 1: Super Bowl champion, former Minnesota Viking, former Hurricane, the great
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  Speaker 1: Bryant McKinney. Thanks for joining us, Bryant.
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  Speaker 2: Thanks for having me. You can't forget national champion as well.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, that's right, pro bowler.
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  Speaker 2: We forgot a bunch of stuff.
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  Speaker 1: Well, let's start. I mean, there's a lot of questions here,
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  Speaker 1: but let's start with this one because, you know, you
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  Speaker 1: played on so many great teams with so many great
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  Speaker 1: players and you had such a great career yourself. But
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  Speaker 1: I am always curious, for somebody who spent as long
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  Speaker 1: as you did in the league and had as many
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  Speaker 1: experiences as you did, do you have a welcome to
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  Speaker 1: the NFL moment?
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  Speaker 2: I do.
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  Speaker 3: There was a play in the Green Bay game. I
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  Speaker 3: think I was laid off the ball. I feel like
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  Speaker 3: it was Gilbert Brown or somebody like Boovers that messed up.
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  Speaker 3: I mean, I feel like it was the only time
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  Speaker 3: it was like a reverse pancake. It might have been
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  Speaker 3: like my second year, very early in the league. It
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  Speaker 3: might have been my first or second year in the
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  Speaker 3: league when that happened and we were on the road,
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  Speaker 3: we were in Green Bay and I don't know, maybe
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  Speaker 3: I wasn't using my peripheral vision. I was late and
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  Speaker 3: he fired off and yeah, I ended up backwards.
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  Speaker 2: I feel like that's probably the only time that ever happened.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, there's not, I can't imagine a lot of, I mean,
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  Speaker 1: there's I believe you and Phil Lodeholt were together the
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  Speaker 1: two biggest human beings to ever bookend an offensive line
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  Speaker 1: yes so there can't be a lot of times in
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  Speaker 1: your career where you wound up on that end of
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  Speaker 1: stuff especially by a guy the size of Gilbert Brown
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  Speaker 1: he was he.
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  Speaker 3: Was heavy I feel like he was like my height
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  Speaker 3: I mean I'm I'm six eight but he was shorter
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  Speaker 3: but like he was like my.
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  Speaker 1: Weight or so like Yeah, he was like Jerry Ball.
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  Speaker 1: He's one of those back in the day where William
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  Speaker 1: Refrigerator Perry type guys.
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  Speaker 4: When you were on the other end of things, did
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  Speaker 4: you have a go-to smack talk? Like, was there anything
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  Speaker 4: that you loved to say in particular, like a catchphrase
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  Speaker 4: or anything?
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  Speaker 3: I didn't really talk that much because you had guys
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  Speaker 3: like Anthony Herrera. When you play, he talks so much, like,
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  Speaker 3: you know what I mean? A lot of guys didn't really, like,
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  Speaker 3: say anything to me, so I didn't say anything. I
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  Speaker 3: kind of just tried to stay more focused. I mean,
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  Speaker 3: God would try to think, I feel like God was
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  Speaker 3: trying to distract me and say things like, Oh, I
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  Speaker 3: remember when I seen you in Miami at Whit Willies,
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  Speaker 3: like just say like random stuff. Like, I don't know,
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  Speaker 3: try to write in the mood or something, but I
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  Speaker 3: would just try to block it out. So I didn't
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  Speaker 3: really talk much.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah. It's interesting how that works with Anthony Herrera. Cause
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  Speaker 1: I remember talking to Kevin Williams and he would say
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  Speaker 1: with Jared and Pat on the O-line, I could just
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  Speaker 1: do my job. They were going to take care of
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  Speaker 1: all that nonstop. So it's, When you have somebody like Herrera,
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  Speaker 1: it's probably easy to focus because you know you have
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  Speaker 1: a maniac near you going crazy.
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  Speaker 2: He's arguing with everybody.
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  Speaker 3: Even if it's somebody way over here in my position,
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  Speaker 3: he's saying something. I'm going to tell you a funny
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  Speaker 3: argument was between him and Warren Sapp, though, because Warren
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  Speaker 3: Sapp kind of got the best of that argument one
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  Speaker 3: year when we played against him.
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  Speaker 2: But it was just funny to hear them go back
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  Speaker 2: and forth.
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  Speaker 1: Your career spanned kind of this golden era of a
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  Speaker 1: lot of Hall of Famers right you even mentioning Warren
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  Speaker 1: Sapp you're on the end of Warren Sapp against him
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: you know you played against Brett Favre then Favre comes
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: here you're here for the the end of Randy but
• 8:54
  Speaker 1: then also the beginning of AP you know what was
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  Speaker 1: was there any of those guys that kind of stuck
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  Speaker 1: out for you as a kid who grew up playing
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: football when you first saw him you went man this
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: is magic to watch oh well.
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  Speaker 3: Definitely Brett Favre and Randy Moss um Brett Favre my
• 9:09
  Speaker 3: mom was a big My mom was a big Brett
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  Speaker 3: Favre fan. I grew up in South Jersey, so we
• 9:14
  Speaker 3: were a Reggie White fan. I was a Reggie White
• 9:16
  Speaker 3: fan growing up with the Eagles. For some reason, my
• 9:18
  Speaker 3: mom liked Brett Favre a lot, too. So I grew
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  Speaker 3: up watching him, too. And then Randy Moss. By the
• 9:25
  Speaker 3: time I got to college and everything like that, Randy
• 9:28
  Speaker 3: Moss was making a big name and everything. So having
• 9:31
  Speaker 3: the opportunity to be a teammate with him, too, was
• 9:33
  Speaker 3: actually a good experience. And then Adrian Peterson, I just
• 9:35
  Speaker 3: got the chance to watch him develop from coming in
• 9:38
  Speaker 3: from college. And then watching Eric being to be like
• 9:41
  Speaker 3: really like kind of coach him and teaching the importance
• 9:44
  Speaker 3: of not only being a runner ball well, but knowing
• 9:47
  Speaker 3: the pass projection and who to pick up and things
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  Speaker 3: like that to help, you know, save the quarterback and
• 9:51
  Speaker 3: O-line and stuff. So I watched that development happen and
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  Speaker 3: I watched them take over that position.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah.
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  Speaker 4: You, you talk about protecting the quarterback in college, obviously
• 10:02
  Speaker 4: you're in the college football hall of fame. You did
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  Speaker 4: not give up one sack your entire college career.
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  Speaker 2: That's wild.
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  Speaker 4: So when it, When you saw the college career winding down,
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  Speaker 4: was it you starting to feel more pressure, starting to
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  Speaker 4: feel like I absolutely am not gonna let anybody buy me?
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  Speaker 3: The thing about that was I didn't have any person
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  Speaker 3: until my senior year, because I never thought about it,
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  Speaker 3: never really came up until going into my senior year,
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  Speaker 3: and it became like a thing. I'm like, oh gosh,
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  Speaker 3: I never even realized it. I just didn't think about it.
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  Speaker 3: But then going into my senior year, the media kind
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  Speaker 3: of picked up on it, and then like, there were
• 10:37
  Speaker 3: teams that we were playing, like Florida State one year,
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  Speaker 3: And we were blowing him out, but the guy had
• 10:41
  Speaker 3: got a good start, a good jump off the edge.
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  Speaker 2: And he got close, but I was able to push
• 10:46
  Speaker 2: him by.
• 10:46
  Speaker 3: And their sideline, like, it was like an uproar on
• 10:50
  Speaker 3: their sideline.
• 10:50
  Speaker 2: I'm like, what? And they were, like, pointing at you.
• 10:53
  Speaker 2: They don't get you today. I'm like, oh, I got
• 10:56
  Speaker 2: to really.
• 10:56
  Speaker 3: Like, focus in, you know, because not only am I
• 11:01
  Speaker 3: playing a game with my teammates, it's a whole other
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  Speaker 3: battle within, you know, the person who's trying.
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  Speaker 2: To get a sack.
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  Speaker 4: So.
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  Speaker 2: That game right there let me know, like, oh, I
• 11:10
  Speaker 2: have to really lock in.
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  Speaker 3: Because even if they don't win, they still want to
• 11:13
  Speaker 3: get a small victory on being able to get a
• 11:15
  Speaker 3: sack on me. So, yeah, my senior year became a
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  Speaker 3: little pressure. And then you had Dwight Freeney, who the
• 11:20
  Speaker 3: year before, when I was at Syracuse, I didn't play
• 11:22
  Speaker 3: against him because I think he was injured. So then
• 11:24
  Speaker 3: now it's like he's the sack master.
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  Speaker 2: They had all these articles about him.
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  Speaker 3: And we both were seniors, so we had to, you know,
• 11:30
  Speaker 3: have a head-to-head collision during that season, too.
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  Speaker 2: So that was, like, a lot of pressure, too.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, because you were, I mean, University of Miami, you're
• 11:39
  Speaker 4: not going up against chumps. Right. This is like the
• 11:41
  Speaker 4: real deal. So that's insane.
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  Speaker 2: It was a good battle.
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: I'm super competitive and also exhausting to people I'm competing with,
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: as Chad knows. So, like, I always find it fascinating
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: the things that I would really attach myself to in
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: the achievements. Like, you've got this great resume, but the
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: one that's so interesting, like, you finished 8th. in the
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: Heisman voting. I mean, I think there's only eight guys
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: in modern college football history who finished in the top
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: 10 of Heisman voting. Like, I mean, you win a
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: Super Bowl, you win a national championship, all pro, pro ball,
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: all this stuff. But am I weird to think that
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: that's like maybe the coolest notch on the belt, that
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: you're an old lineman who got Heisman votes?
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  Speaker 3: As I look back at it, I definitely realize like
• 12:29
  Speaker 3: how much of a statement that was for me in college.
• 12:33
  Speaker 3: Because when they first, they told me afterwards, after the
• 12:36
  Speaker 3: ceremony and everything, they were like, oh, you know, you
• 12:38
  Speaker 3: finished A's.
• 12:38
  Speaker 2: And I'm like, okay, what's that? I got a page
• 12:42
  Speaker 2: in Omaha. Like, okay, what does that mean? Like, I
• 12:44
  Speaker 2: didn't win.
• 12:45
  Speaker 3: Like, I had no clue. But then later on, I'm fine.
• 12:47
  Speaker 3: I was like, wait, that's a big deal. I'm an
• 12:49
  Speaker 3: offensive lineman who, you know, we're getting first place votes
• 12:51
  Speaker 3: and things like that, too. So I definitely appreciate it.
• 12:54
  Speaker 3: The more I got away, like, in the moment, I
• 12:57
  Speaker 3: forgot what was going on somewhere, where, like, one of
• 12:58
  Speaker 3: my media guys, he mentioned it to me, and I
• 13:01
  Speaker 3: was kind of like, okay, like, And I just kept
• 13:03
  Speaker 3: going about my day. And then as I thought about it,
• 13:05
  Speaker 3: like later on, I was like, wow, this is actually
• 13:07
  Speaker 3: a big thing.
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: It's a really, I mean, it's also a good thing
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: you didn't know beforehand. Like as it would like, because
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: how funny would it be to be an O-lineman who
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: pancakes someone and then strikes the Heisman? You don't see that.
• 13:24
  Speaker 2: That would have been creative though.
• 13:25
  Speaker 3: That would have been funny.
• 13:28
  Speaker 2: Probably would have got me a flag though.
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: I think so.
• 13:33
  Speaker 4: This is a football podcast, obviously, but I'm going to
• 13:36
  Speaker 4: switch gears to the philanthropic side of things. You have
• 13:40
  Speaker 4: the B Major Foundation that helps men with mental health.
• 13:45
  Speaker 4: And then you're also a partner with another organization that
• 13:49
  Speaker 4: helps build schools and clean water wells in Africa. What
• 13:52
  Speaker 4: got you into those two things?
• 13:55
  Speaker 3: It was a company, a group called Pros for Africa,
• 13:58
  Speaker 3: who brought a bunch of us over there. Adrian Peterson
• 14:00
  Speaker 3: was on a trip actually with me as well. We
• 14:03
  Speaker 3: went over there, I feel like for like 12 to
• 14:05
  Speaker 3: 15 days to Uganda and Rwanda, but we did like
• 14:08
  Speaker 3: a lot of the mission work in Uganda. And I
• 14:12
  Speaker 3: just really like enjoyed it. And then the company up
• 14:14
  Speaker 3: in based in Minnesota called Starkey, they did the hearing aids.
• 14:16
  Speaker 3: So we did the hearing aids and everything. We did the,
• 14:19
  Speaker 3: you know, passed out food, gave them like filter straws.
• 14:22
  Speaker 3: We just like a lot of things over there. So
• 14:24
  Speaker 3: it was a great experience. And it kind of made
• 14:25
  Speaker 3: you realize like to be more grateful for the things
• 14:28
  Speaker 3: that you have, because a lot of people that are
• 14:29
  Speaker 3: less fortunate and, still happy and still like thriving and
• 14:32
  Speaker 3: living life. And I feel like we take a lot
• 14:34
  Speaker 3: of things for granted here. So that kind of opened
• 14:35
  Speaker 3: up my eyes. And then the mental health awareness piece,
• 14:38
  Speaker 3: I added that on at the end of my career
• 14:40
  Speaker 3: because when I was transitioning from football to life after,
• 14:43
  Speaker 3: there was a few guys that was around the same
• 14:45
  Speaker 3: time as me that was retiring and they were having
• 14:47
  Speaker 3: like trouble transitioning. And I realized like, oh, mental health
• 14:50
  Speaker 3: was real. And then they was getting arrested and one
• 14:53
  Speaker 3: got Baker Act and they felt more comfortable talking to
• 14:57
  Speaker 3: me because, you know, we've been in the same shoes
• 15:00
  Speaker 3: and same thing than their family. So I had to learn, like,
• 15:03
  Speaker 3: how to, you know, go through the NFL, NFLPA, to
• 15:06
  Speaker 3: figure out how to get them help.
• 15:07
  Speaker 2: And I knew they would go send them away to, like, Jacksonville.
• 15:10
  Speaker 2: There's another location, I believe, in Michigan.
• 15:12
  Speaker 3: And they would go there away for, like, 30 days
• 15:14
  Speaker 3: to help them get treatment to, like, you know, recover
• 15:16
  Speaker 3: for some of these things. But I then wanted to
• 15:19
  Speaker 3: add that onto my mission statement because I realized how
• 15:21
  Speaker 3: important mental health was. And then kind of knowing signs
• 15:24
  Speaker 3: and learning signs to win a check on people and
• 15:27
  Speaker 3: just sometimes just, you don't have to see silence. Sometimes
• 15:29
  Speaker 3: just check on people, see how they're doing because some
• 15:31
  Speaker 3: people are suffering silence and I learned that as well.
• 15:33
  Speaker 3: So you always just want to check on people, see
• 15:36
  Speaker 3: what their mental is.
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: Yeah. I think it's one of the interesting imprints of
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: your generation. And, you know, we're all kind of in
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: the same age range here, our generation of humans, but
• 15:49
  Speaker 1: especially the athletes, your generation of athletes, you think even
• 15:52
  Speaker 1: across other sports, Kevin Love and other, like, are the
• 15:54
  Speaker 1: first ones to go like, hey, hey, hey, hey, you can,
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: it's okay. This is a thing. And I think, you know, 20,
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: 30 years from now, as much as the on-the-field achievements
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: were a big deal, I think that's going to be
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: a hallmark of the people that played in your era
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: of professional sports.
• 16:10
  Speaker 2: It definitely is.
• 16:10
  Speaker 3: I think Brandon Marshall was one of the first players
• 16:13
  Speaker 3: during my era who I heard speak on mental health.
• 16:16
  Speaker 3: And from there, then I just started seeing just, you know,
• 16:20
  Speaker 3: different things come about. And then I just, I felt
• 16:22
  Speaker 3: like I needed to take part and, and help kind
• 16:24
  Speaker 3: of educate people. So I do, I do an event
• 16:26
  Speaker 3: here every May where I have a panel of former
• 16:29
  Speaker 3: athletes and entertainers and therapists.
• 16:32
  Speaker 2: And we, we get up there and we, we talk
• 16:34
  Speaker 2: about it and we give.
• 16:36
  Speaker 3: Them like information on, you know, how to, what to
• 16:38
  Speaker 3: look out for, who to reach out to, things like that.
• 16:40
  Speaker 3: And then I've been up to Minnesota a few times.
• 16:44
  Speaker 3: And they brought me up to speak to the players.
• 16:45
  Speaker 3: I feel like two or three years now. So I've
• 16:48
  Speaker 3: done that as well. And I always appreciate the Vikings
• 16:50
  Speaker 3: because they've always been a big, And they're always like,
• 16:53
  Speaker 3: I'll be a sponsor and, you know, help me with
• 16:55
  Speaker 3: this whole mental health awareness event.
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: Yeah, they do a really, really good job with that.
• 17:00
  Speaker 1: Let me shift back towards the field with a question because,
• 17:05
  Speaker 1: you know, one of the guys that you blocked for,
• 17:08
  Speaker 1: Percy Harvin, I think about a lot now because can
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: you imagine with the way these offenses have changed? And you,
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: the Debo Samuels of the world, and even what Patterson
• 17:24
  Speaker 1: did at the end of his career with Atlanta, you know,
• 17:27
  Speaker 1: I think there's a chance I get a little dramatic,
• 17:30
  Speaker 1: but I think there's a chance Percy's one of the
• 17:31
  Speaker 1: most talented people to ever step foot on a football
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: field ever. Imagine him in this day and age. What
• 17:37
  Speaker 1: was it like when you guys saw him come into
• 17:40
  Speaker 1: camp and you started blocking for him and you realize like,
• 17:42
  Speaker 1: what is this interesting athlete that does all these things
• 17:46
  Speaker 1: way before his time?
• 17:48
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I think he was, like you said, a little
• 17:50
  Speaker 3: bit before his time. But very exciting to watch. So
• 17:53
  Speaker 3: to have him and AP on the same team was
• 17:55
  Speaker 3: very exciting because you had by air and by land,
• 17:58
  Speaker 3: you know what I mean? And you also had Sidney
• 18:01
  Speaker 3: Rice to accompany Percy, too. So I just feel like
• 18:05
  Speaker 3: we had a great combination of guys on, you know,
• 18:07
  Speaker 3: receiver and running back.
• 18:08
  Speaker 2: And I feel like he was a spectacular player.
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: Do you think about that 0-9 team? I mean, because
• 18:14
  Speaker 1: obviously you won a Super Bowl, which had to have taken...
• 18:16
  Speaker 1: You know, I assume you strive your whole career and
• 18:18
  Speaker 1: got so close in 09. And so when you and
• 18:21
  Speaker 1: Burke won one with the Ravens, that had to have,
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: you know, I don't know that relief is the right word.
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: It was probably joy, but have or have not gone
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: through it. What does that 09 team mean to you
• 18:30
  Speaker 1: as you look back on it?
• 18:31
  Speaker 3: The 09 team means a lot to me because I
• 18:33
  Speaker 3: really feel like that was the most talented team that
• 18:36
  Speaker 3: season in the NFL. However, we just fell short because
• 18:39
  Speaker 3: we had like five turnovers and still only lost by,
• 18:42
  Speaker 3: you know, a field goal, which, you know, later on
• 18:45
  Speaker 3: they changed that sudden death a year after.
• 18:48
  Speaker 2: So, you know, now both teams are able to get possession.
• 18:50
  Speaker 2: So it could have been a little different.
• 18:52
  Speaker 3: It was a lot of things that kind of went
• 18:54
  Speaker 3: into the game that kind of like crushed me because
• 18:57
  Speaker 3: then it was like Super Bowl was in Miami. I
• 18:59
  Speaker 3: already had an opportunity to come back to Miami and
• 19:01
  Speaker 3: play in Miami, things like that. I feel like that
• 19:03
  Speaker 3: was the most complete team I played on, you know,
• 19:07
  Speaker 3: thus far, especially as a Viking. That was the best
• 19:09
  Speaker 3: record I had playing with the Vikings being 12 and
• 19:12
  Speaker 3: four in the regular season. So I just felt like
• 19:15
  Speaker 3: it was a lot of positive things that happened that season. Still,
• 19:18
  Speaker 3: to me, one of the greatest seasons I've had in
• 19:20
  Speaker 3: my whole NFL career.
• 19:22
  Speaker 4: Do you have a favorite, and I'm going to start
• 19:25
  Speaker 4: asking this of everybody, do you have a favorite off
• 19:27
  Speaker 4: the field story, like a prank in the locker room?
• 19:32
  Speaker 3: People would do things like, you know, it gets so
• 19:35
  Speaker 3: cold in Minnesota, people would take people's jeans and I
• 19:37
  Speaker 3: put them like in a hot tub and then I
• 19:39
  Speaker 3: hang them outside. And they'll be like, brick hard by
• 19:42
  Speaker 3: the time you get out of meetings and things like that.
• 19:45
  Speaker 3: They were doing some things. Somebody took somebody's tires off
• 19:48
  Speaker 3: their car before. I feel like the D lineman did
• 19:51
  Speaker 3: that before. I took somebody's tires off the car. I
• 19:55
  Speaker 3: want to say like Pat Williams or Brian Robeson, somebody
• 19:59
  Speaker 3: in that crew, they did that to each other. They
• 20:03
  Speaker 3: played some pretty, nobody really bothered me too much, but
• 20:06
  Speaker 3: they played some pretty good tricks on each other.
• 20:09
  Speaker 1: Nobody bothered the six-foot, eight-and-a-half left tackle. They didn't think
• 20:13
  Speaker 1: that was a good idea.
• 20:14
  Speaker 2: I think they were smart.
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: Well, let's close it out. Let's jump from the past
• 20:20
  Speaker 1: up to the future. Teams 4-0. It's funny. I'd love
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: your football perspective on this because I think there's a
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: lot of angst in the fan base because it's not
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: pretty right now. The offense isn't scoring a lot. But
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: when you have a number one unit, You know, number
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: one unit in the whole league with the defense and
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: the special teams is great. They're winning games. You know,
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: what do you think of the team's 4-0 start? And
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: what are you feeling about the game on Sunday?
• 20:47
  Speaker 3: I love the game. The team's 4-0 start. A lot
• 20:50
  Speaker 3: of people are. I mean, if you looked at the
• 20:51
  Speaker 3: beginning of the season, they had the Vikings at the
• 20:53
  Speaker 3: bottom of the NFC North. And they went on to
• 20:57
  Speaker 3: beat two division opponents already. So I like the start.
• 21:01
  Speaker 3: Just keep everything going. And I just feel like the offense,
• 21:04
  Speaker 3: you know, the offense takes longer to gel and get
• 21:07
  Speaker 3: together and then, you know, make sure, you know, as
• 21:09
  Speaker 3: long as the offensive line stays healthy too, I feel
• 21:10
  Speaker 3: like that's a big part too. Because last season, there
• 21:13
  Speaker 3: was a lot of people interchanging in and out. But
• 21:14
  Speaker 3: then when the O-line all came back together as one,
• 21:17
  Speaker 3: the last five games, they won the last five games.
• 21:19
  Speaker 3: So I feel like a good team is always going
• 21:21
  Speaker 3: to find a way to win, even though it may
• 21:22
  Speaker 3: not look pretty. But just keep that mindset and just
• 21:25
  Speaker 3: go out there and just play at a level that
• 21:26
  Speaker 3: your opponent is unwilling or unable to match.
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: Well, we really appreciate the time, Brian. And, uh, thank you.
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: And we'll put a link to the charity in the, uh,
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: in the description so people can check out some of
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: your philanthropic stuff. And we really appreciate you spending time
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: with us, man.
• 21:42
  Speaker 2: Oh, well, thank you for having me. Yeah. Thanks, Brian.
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: That was so fun. Uh, this is, I think we
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: keep getting access to players that played on teams when
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: we were still young guys. And, you know, like when
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: sports are so magical as you're growing, like, That was
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: a really fun one to hear him talk about AP
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: and Favre and Percy Harvin. That was a really, really
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: fun one.
• 22:07
  Speaker 4: The fact that I'm given access to this is incredible.
• 22:09
  Speaker 4: Somebody has not done their job in the background check arena.
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: It's crazy. It's crazy that we've been able to get
• 22:16
  Speaker 1: through five weeks of this show without doing something that
• 22:20
  Speaker 1: gets our privileges revoked.
• 22:23
  Speaker 2: I'm into it.
• 22:23
  Speaker 4: Let's keep it up.
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: So, I mean, hey, let's keep the streak going.
• 22:27
  Speaker 4: It's probably because of my predictions, most likely.
• 22:31
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, yes. I think that's the way you
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: would view it.
• 22:35
  Speaker 4: Although Isaiah Rogers did not get a pick, which was
• 22:37
  Speaker 4: my prediction, he did take a pick with my mom,
• 22:41
  Speaker 4: who was there for the crucial catch game.
• 22:44
  Speaker 1: Oh, so maybe the universe just didn't understand your prediction.
• 22:48
  Speaker 4: Yeah, but I am going to tell you something about Rodgers.
• 22:52
  Speaker 4: I don't know, and I've been to a bunch of
• 22:54
  Speaker 4: games in different spots. I don't know there is a
• 22:56
  Speaker 4: better pregame ritual than Rodgers going down the end zone
• 23:04
  Speaker 4: and playing catch with kids in the crowd. It's just unbelievable.
• 23:09
  Speaker 4: He gets everybody jacked up. It's so fun to watch.
• 23:13
  Speaker 4: It makes you want to be there, and it puts
• 23:14
  Speaker 4: you in such a good mood.
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: Yeah, that's great. That is really, really, really, really great.
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: Imagine that story that all those kids have for as
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: long as they have it.
• 23:25
  Speaker 4: That's what I'm saying. I mean, you've got a Viking
• 23:27
  Speaker 4: fan for the rest of your life at this point.
• 23:30
  Speaker 4: That's not even why he's doing it.
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: Well, those Vikings, 4-0. They're going to be taking on
• 23:37
  Speaker 1: the Saints, 1-3 this season. They're coming off a 45-24
• 23:41
  Speaker 1: loss to Kevin Stefanski and the Falcons, who ran for
• 23:47
  Speaker 1: 205 yards and five touchdowns behind Bijan Robinson and Brian Robinson.
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: Bijan is so good, but it does feel like, I
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: think everybody, you kind of mentioned this, everybody wants a
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: get-right game. I just need the nudge forwards. Like, what
• 24:06
  Speaker 1: you started to see in that fourth quarter, I want
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: to see that a little bit more. Like, I don't
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: need to, especially with, you know, Donovan Jackson hurt now.
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: We don't know what Dara Saw's situation is. We still
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: don't totally know what Jefferson's situation is for the weekend.
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: Get out there, run the ball, look more comfortable throughout
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: the whole game. I just need a nudge for it.
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: I don't need this idea of a get right, show
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: me who you are offensive game.
• 24:32
  Speaker 4: Yeah, just give me a little something.
• 24:34
  Speaker 2: Give me that.
• 24:35
  Speaker 4: Give me that bomb to Addison, right? I mean, just
• 24:39
  Speaker 4: a little tip of the cap, a little wave like
• 24:41
  Speaker 4: you made a 40-foot putt up to the crowd.
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: A little bit of magic. Just give me a little
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: bit of magic. I did like in that fourth quarter
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: last week how quickly the ball was coming out. There
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: was one play where Kyler dropped back, fake pumped right,
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: and then dropped it off to Aaron Jones on the left,
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: and he went up like, It felt like in that
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: second half and in the fourth quarter, they were getting
• 25:06
  Speaker 1: the ball in their playmakers hands a little quicker and
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: they were doing damage. Would love to see a little
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: more of that. Can I tell you my worry? This
• 25:14
  Speaker 1: is a fan podcast. Can I tell you my worry?
• 25:17
  Speaker 4: Yeah, but before you do, I brought up that exact
• 25:20
  Speaker 4: same play at the game, the pump and then the
• 25:22
  Speaker 4: drop off. I mean, I was like, oh, that pump
• 25:25
  Speaker 4: was perfect. He got everybody moving in the other direction.
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: I mean, it was it really was great. I'm very
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: much on board with that. Let me tell you something.
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: I'm both proud of our fan base and worried. The
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: support that this fan base and the confidence this fan
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: base has in Will Reichardt. For a fan base that
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: has gone through what we've gone through with kickers. I know,
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: I know. But doesn't it almost trigger you a little
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: bit where you're like, hey, stop it. He's automatic. He's
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: the best. He'll never... The way people talk about him
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: is as if... we don't have a history with kickers
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: and I'm so proud of our fan base for that.
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: And I can't tell if it's young people who are
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: driving it, but I, I'm impressed by it. And every
• 26:16
  Speaker 1: time somebody talks that way, I get almost sick to
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: my stomach because I start worrying.
• 26:23
  Speaker 4: Sure. Yeah. I mean, that's right. You, I mean, the
• 26:25
  Speaker 4: last time we talked about this, there's two guys that
• 26:27
  Speaker 4: come to mind. You have, uh, obviously Anderson and then, uh,
• 26:31
  Speaker 4: Fuad Ravez, Fuadomatic, right? We had an outstanding kicker, but
• 26:37
  Speaker 4: now you have this guy who just like, he goes
• 26:40
  Speaker 4: out there and everybody, during a field goal, people are leaving.
• 26:43
  Speaker 4: They go, oh, okay, we can go get another beer
• 26:45
  Speaker 4: because we don't even have to watch this. It is very,
• 26:50
  Speaker 4: it is very fun and very relaxing. The defense comes
• 26:52
  Speaker 4: on the field, same thing. Oh, there's a penalty. Oh man,
• 26:56
  Speaker 4: this is, this is how it starts, but no one's
• 26:58
  Speaker 4: saying that it's just like, okay, penalty, no problem. They'll
• 27:01
  Speaker 4: just stop them on this, on this one. So, um,
• 27:04
  Speaker 4: it is, uh, there's a confidence here. And again, it
• 27:07
  Speaker 4: might be young people that ha that don't remember or
• 27:12
  Speaker 4: weren't around. And I'm going to tell you something. Normally,
• 27:16
  Speaker 4: I'm not crazy about the youth leading, but let's let
• 27:18
  Speaker 4: them on this.
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: Let them lead, baby. Let them lead. With Will specifically,
• 27:27
  Speaker 1: he's just so good and so calm. And I was
• 27:33
  Speaker 1: trying to think of the last time I felt this
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: confident in a kicker. And I remember when we lost,
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: speaking of the Saints, when we lost the NFC Championship
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: game to the Saints, when Favre dumped that pass to
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: Sidney Rice and he got it up over the 50-yard line,
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: at some point after that, before the 12-minute huddle, before
• 27:55
  Speaker 1: the interception, at some point they cut to Ryan Longwell,
• 28:03
  Speaker 1: Ryan Longwell on the sideline, and you just looked at
• 28:05
  Speaker 1: him and I was like, oh, he's going to make it.
• 28:07
  Speaker 1: He was just sitting there with kind of like a
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: calm grin on his face, like, oh, he's going to
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: drill this. And we never got the chance. But I
• 28:14
  Speaker 1: haven't felt that way about a guy since. And it's really,
• 28:18
  Speaker 1: really fun to feel that way.
• 28:20
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, you remember the Seahawks game where AP
• 28:23
  Speaker 4: runs it up to... I can't remember exactly where you are,
• 28:26
  Speaker 4: but everybody's chanting, it's too close! Because everybody's worried about
• 28:31
  Speaker 4: the angle. And then you have the opening game where Carlson, unfortunately,
• 28:36
  Speaker 4: didn't make that one.
• 28:38
  Speaker 2: But now you go....
• 28:41
  Speaker 4: Those things are no longer at the forefront. They're no
• 28:45
  Speaker 4: longer the opening line in the conversation. Now what it is,
• 28:51
  Speaker 4: is the streak or the, you know, the controversial miss
• 28:55
  Speaker 4: or all these things. I just think everybody, he's got
• 29:00
  Speaker 4: a swagger to him. There's no question. And he just,
• 29:04
  Speaker 4: you look at him and you go, yep, all right, good.
• 29:06
  Speaker 4: Let him kick it from 65.
• 29:08
  Speaker 1: And that's what ultimately will worry me at some point
• 29:12
  Speaker 1: is everything you just said. Let's do predictions. Let's close
• 29:17
  Speaker 1: the show. What do you got for a prediction this week?
• 29:19
  Speaker 4: Well, I'm going to bring it back to our kicker,
• 29:21
  Speaker 4: Will Reichert. I'm going to say that he is going
• 29:24
  Speaker 4: to kick at least two extra points this week.
• 29:30
  Speaker 1: Oh, fun prediction from the Chad. I once again will
• 29:34
  Speaker 1: be abstaining because last week I abstained and Even though
• 29:39
  Speaker 1: it was ugly, we won. And I have OCD, which is,
• 29:42
  Speaker 1: you know, built upon a long history of superstition. And
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: so we're just going to we're going to keep doing that.
• 29:51
  Speaker 1: I'm going to abstain again.
• 29:52
  Speaker 4: Ever since I've known you, you've been a jinx. So
• 29:54
  Speaker 4: this is a great move.
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: I don't know that that's accurate or nice to say
• 29:58
  Speaker 1: about a person. It's a great move. Not accurate or nice.
• 30:03
  Speaker 1: Thanks again to Bryant McKinney for joining the show.
• 30:06
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that was great.
• 30:07
  Speaker 1: So fun. Chatty, thank you for being here. I like
• 30:10
  Speaker 1: doing these with you. Hey, and if you want to
• 30:13
  Speaker 1: listen to larger versions of these conversations, make sure to
• 30:15
  Speaker 1: check out our Vikings Tailgate podcast feed on your favorite
• 30:18
  Speaker 1: podcast app. Leave us a good review and a comment.
• 30:22
  Speaker 1: It helps us out. Finally, a huge shout-out to Ticketmaster,
• 30:25
  Speaker 1: the official ticket marketplace of the Minnesota Vikings, for helping
• 30:29
  Speaker 1: make this show happen. Enjoy the game, everybody.