Latest / The Lunch Rush with Trent Condon / David Kaplan on the Bears & Cubs, Dane Mizutani talks Vikings & Trent's Picks presented by Circa Sports

Transcript

David Kaplan on the Bears & Cubs, Dane Mizutani talks Vikings & Trent's Picks presented by Circa Sports · The Lunch Rush with Trent Condon

0:02
Our number 2 Welcome back Miller and Condon.
0:05
I was sports radio network happy momentarily bottom of the hour.
0:08
Dane was a Tony. He covers the Vikings for the
0:11
Saint Paul Pioneer Press twincities.com.
0:13
He's just back from the UK Vikings on a bye.
0:16
We'll talk to Dane at the bottom of the hour and then Trent's
0:18
plays of the day Circus sports sponsor those Hello capper
0:21
Trenton Ken, how are you? I am.
0:24
Awesome. How are you guys?
0:25
Doing well back-to-back weeks for you in Vegas.
0:27
I guess I want to start there because I want to run out of
0:29
time without asking you about the eagles and the sphere.
0:33
And was it as good as everyone says it is that they've never
0:37
seen anything or experienced anything like they did when they
0:40
go to the sphere, regardless of what's going on there?
0:43
How was it? No, it wasn't.
0:46
It was in 11,000 levels above that.
0:50
It was the most amazing experience I've ever had at a
0:52
concert. I mean, I've been to Springsteen
0:56
in Paris, the Red Rocks in Colorado for the Goo Goo Dolls
0:59
in August. It was so mind blowing.
1:04
I can't recommend it more highly.
1:06
Like, if anyone out there is listening and they're a music
1:09
fan, you've got to go to the Sphere.
1:12
The Eagles. I think they just announced Zac
1:14
Brown Band is going to be there. U2's played there.
1:17
I hear the Stones might be going.
1:19
If they are, I'm going back. Yeah.
1:20
Yeah, it was incredible. Yeah.
1:22
So did you did you go well advance of the concert?
1:25
Because there's once you get into the sphere, are the things
1:28
to do before the the the the show starts.
1:32
I mean, they play music, just a collection of different artists.
1:37
OK, while you're sitting in your seat, but it's not like a normal
1:41
concert. You do not want to sit on the
1:43
floor. So anyone that's going to go,
1:46
you want to be on like the third level.
1:49
We sat in three O 6. That's what everyone I talked to
1:52
said. That's the best section.
1:53
So I bought tickets in three O 6 and it was dead center because
1:58
if you're all the way on the floor, you're craning your neck
2:00
to see what's going on behind you and on the ceiling it I
2:04
mean, it's just this immersive experience I can't explain.
2:09
It was incredible. So one more on this, because I
2:11
love the Eagles. We'll get to the Cubs.
2:15
Are are they still as good? I saw them about, I don't know.
2:17
It's been 10 years ago now. Obviously they're 10 years old.
2:20
It's not the same band. We've had a death.
2:23
But obviously the boys can still play.
2:25
Walsh's still got, he's still got his his guitar going and
2:29
Henley sounds like Henley. Are they still as good?
2:32
They're still as good. I mean, I've seen him before and
2:35
it was incredible. And then Glenn Frey's son is in
2:39
the band and so, so that was super cool.
2:42
They did a tribute to his dad and it was just an amazing,
2:47
amazing experience. And Don Henley, he just could,
2:51
he just controls the crowd. I mean, he's just amazing.
2:54
And it was packed in there. Not a seat to be had.
2:57
Not a seat to be had Monday night with the bears going on
3:00
the road to Washington. I don't know if I want to watch
3:02
this game because we're going to see the Hail Mary, what, 15
3:04
times I, I just, I'm setting up to just maybe put my eyes out
3:09
watching this one. Still coming off the bite.
3:11
Let's start right there. Coming off the bye, chance to
3:14
get healthy and sounding like defensively, the Bears are
3:17
getting healthier. Yeah, Austin Booker had his 21
3:23
day window to be activated off IR open yesterday.
3:27
There's some talk he might be able to go on Monday.
3:30
Kyler Gordon said he is definitely back.
3:33
TJ Edwards could be back. Grady Jarrett could be back.
3:37
So that should help. You got to be able to stop the
3:39
run against his football team. If you cannot stop the run,
3:43
Washington will win that game. But conversely, if you stop the
3:48
run and then Caleb can make some plays in pass action, I mean in
3:52
play action off of the run game, well then you can win that
3:56
football game. So it's a tough match up down
3:59
the road, but you should have beat them last year.
4:02
Let's see if they can get it done this year.
4:04
Yeah, they're, they're running back kid from Arizona and we
4:07
cover the Big 12 pretty close. I don't remember him at Arizona.
4:10
You talk about Mccroskey. Yeah, Mccroskey, Mary.
4:12
Yeah, I don't remember him. The kid they call Bill.
4:15
That's who they call him. OK, he's good.
4:19
He's really good, really good. So you've got to be able to stop
4:22
the run. They got a good offensive line
4:24
and Jayden Daniels is a good player.
4:26
But guess what? The Bears are getting better and
4:29
they just need to continue to play really good, solid football
4:34
and not turn it over. And I think they can win the
4:37
game. I'm not saying they will.
4:38
They can. Offense averaging 2325.3 points
4:42
per game, that's 11th in the NFL.
4:45
Ben Johnson, I, I think he said it's still a work in progress
4:48
and we certainly do see that. What are the areas that it's
4:51
been a surprise with the fixed interior of the offense line we
4:54
thought coming into the year still haven't been able to run
4:56
the ball. I mean, swift runs hard.
4:58
Just isn't a whole lot there. There's been talk potentially
5:01
maybe going out and bringing in another running back.
5:04
Take us inside the running game, Cappy.
5:05
What you've seen and what you hope to see unearthed here as we
5:09
come off the by. If Swift isn't a great back, but
5:12
he has great want to, he's been very engaged in pass protection.
5:17
He runs the ball hard. He's just a journeyman guy.
5:20
That's who he is. Not a great running back.
5:23
They don't have a great running back room.
5:26
So could they make a move to go get one?
5:28
I think so, but how much are you willing to give up?
5:31
Let's call him Breece Hall. I would love to see Breece Hall
5:35
in a Bears uniform. If he's out of contract at the
5:37
end of the year, it's a really good player.
5:41
Is he going to resign with me? If I trade you draft capital,
5:45
which I would like to keep for myself, What am I giving up and
5:49
what am I getting? Can I wait and just sign him in
5:52
free agency? There's these are all
5:54
interesting questions. Alvin Kamara getting old.
5:58
What do you want for him? And then there's a lot of money
6:01
left on that contract. So who they're going to go get,
6:05
I don't know. They made a mistake not getting
6:08
whether it was Nick Chubb, JK Dobbins.
6:11
There were some backs that were available late and free agents
6:15
to like in June. They thought they were OK in
6:18
that room. And I beg to differ.
6:19
Maybe they should have kept Montgomery.
6:21
Looks like he's got something. Left.
6:22
I think they tried, did they? OK, Cap, when you look at the
6:26
schedule and we'll get to the Cubs for you Cubs fan coming up.
6:29
I promise They play in three hours.
6:31
They've won their last two games this game against Washington,
6:34
but then they got a chance to go on a run.
6:36
And if they if they find a way to beat Washington, that would
6:39
obviously be three in a row. New Orleans isn't going to blow
6:42
you away. There's no Lamar Jackson as of
6:44
yet. There is no Joe Burrell for
6:46
sure. Then you host the the Giants and
6:49
they stink. Jackson dart or no Jackson cap,
6:52
there could be a little bit of a run here, if indeed you can win
6:55
on Monday night. Yeah, and it's funny, when the
6:58
schedule release comes out, it's cool to see who you're playing,
7:03
when and where. That's a cool thing back in May.
7:06
But as soon as it comes out, everyone's like, well, I've got
7:09
them at, you know, 9 and 8 or 10 or whatever it is.
7:12
My response to that always is you don't know who you're
7:16
playing. Like last May pull up any one of
7:19
the radio shows in Chicago or TV sports shows.
7:22
We're the one we're doing right now.
7:23
In Baltimore, they're not going to win over the Bengals there.
7:27
Bill Burrows this, Lamar Jackson that Well, they don't have Matt
7:32
A bouquet. They're great D tackle.
7:34
They don't right now have Roquan Smith.
7:36
They don't have Lamar Jackson. They just got blasted by the
7:40
Houston Texans. What, 40, 5 to 10, four to 10,
7:44
whatever it was. So you don't know who you're
7:47
playing. You could go into that game and
7:50
go, Oh my God, I'm on my third string quarterback.
7:53
I have no idea because of the violent nature of this sport.
7:56
So yes, you are correct if like this game is not a must win to
8:01
me, but New Orleans and splitting at least Cincinnati,
8:07
Baltimore on the road those games, I think you've got a
8:11
really good shot to win if you could find a way to win this
8:15
game Monday. Well, all of a sudden you're
8:18
three and two with, as you just put it, a chance at a run where
8:22
you go, whoa, Chicago, six and two, five and three, whatever
8:26
the number is. Where'd that come from?
8:28
They were all in two. They got blown out by Detroit.
8:31
They got a chance. That's why it'll be cool theater
8:34
to watch Monday. Tyreke Stevenson his to this
8:38
point? What career defining play he's
8:40
giving up that Hail Mary and the jawing and everything that went
8:43
along with it before that final play in the fateful one as the
8:46
Bears were looking to make it four in a row before it did.
8:49
How's he handled this week? I know the questions have been
8:52
there. I saw an interview with him at
8:54
The Athletic. How do you think Stevenson's
8:55
kind of tackled this? And there's going to be a lot of
8:57
eyeballs on him come Monday night.
9:00
Well, he really hasn't talked to the media except on my YouTube
9:05
channel. Kevin Byard, our captain and
9:07
safety, Kevin has his own show called Intercepted and he got
9:12
Tyreke Stevenson to sit down with him.
9:14
So if you go to my recap, REKAP recap channel on YouTube,
9:19
there's Intercepted, Kevin Bayard and Tyreke Stevenson and
9:22
they went for like 4045 minutes and the last probably 10 minutes
9:28
is all about the Hail Mary. And I thought Stevenson handled
9:32
it like a really mature young man, that it was a learning
9:35
experience. It was a blessing in disguise
9:38
for him him and that he does not want it to define him and he's
9:42
not going to run from it because he did it.
9:44
It's a super cool interview to hear him talk about the impact
9:48
it had on his life and how he's trying to channel it now to be a
9:52
better football player. So it's going to be played ad
9:55
nauseam. They'll show it on the game, you
9:57
know that you just got to deal with it.
10:00
Cap the Cubs have to deal with Quinn Priester and the Brewers
10:03
to avoid going putting the equipment away until Arizona
10:07
next spring. 3 nothing after the Cubs batted in the first, their
10:12
first at bat, then Andrew Vaughn just hit AI.
10:15
Don't know if it was the series ending shot, but boy it sure
10:18
felt big at the time. You know he put a three spot up
10:21
and in the noggins. Then that first inning that's
10:22
been his bugaboo. Go back to that moment Cap when
10:25
when Vaughn hit the three run Homer.
10:27
What are you thinking? Yeah, it's over the game, that
10:31
game, not the series, but that game when we took the three
10:35
nothing lead. I, you know, jumping off the
10:37
couch and I stand a lot during the game and I'm screaming get
10:41
out of here, get out of here and it's gone.
10:43
I mean, it was a rocket, 440 feet.
10:46
And then when he struck out the first two, I'm like, all right,
10:48
let's keep grinding. All right, Base hit the left.
10:51
Now a bloop base hit. And here comes Andrew Vaughn.
10:54
You got him two strikes. He hadn't been playing as well
10:57
as he did when he first joined the Brewers.
11:00
And then he hangs one right in the middle of the zone and he
11:02
smacks it. And it was super high and I
11:05
thought, oh, so that one stay in the ballpark.
11:08
Absolutely not. That one soared out of there.
11:10
And at that point I went, OK, we're screwed.
11:14
We just spit back a three, nothing lead.
11:17
That was just pathetic. But Menaga hasn't thrown the
11:21
ball well in the last six weeks. Matt Boyd should never have been
11:25
pitching on short rest on Saturday.
11:28
That was just an awful decision on every level.
11:32
Like, I don't know what they were thinking at Wrigley.
11:34
I really don't. And I'm not being Monday morning
11:37
quarterback here. I hated it before they ever did
11:40
it. So we take a guy who's had a bad
11:43
five weeks, we take a guy who is running out of gas, has pitched
11:48
more innings this year than he has in quite some time, and now
11:52
we're going to start him on short rest on the road against
11:56
the Milwaukee Brewers, the best team in the National League, not
11:59
well thought out at all. Today it will be a match up
12:03
against Priester, and Priester has been elite against the Cubs.
12:07
He's been very good throughout the course of the season, but
12:10
the Cubs got five blocks against him last time out at eight hits.
12:13
The previous start roughed him up in the the third start
12:16
against him. So you feel pretty confident
12:18
going into this match up, at minimum pushing this thing to
12:20
four games? Yeah, I do believe the Cubs win
12:24
today. I'm not sure about tomorrow, but
12:26
I do believe they win today. But tomorrow does not matter.
12:31
Just worry about 1 batter, one pitch, one out at a time and
12:36
find a way to win a baseball game.
12:38
That's it. Find a way and then we'll worry
12:40
about tomorrow. Tomorrow.
12:41
Who has to? Whose bat has to?
12:43
I mean, there's a bunch of them, right?
12:44
But if you can only pick one, whose bat would you like to see
12:46
come to life today? Who's bat would I like?
12:50
Ian Hap. Yeah, he's.
12:51
Been He's just been horrific. So yeah, I would like to see Ian
12:57
Hap at home at Wrigley crawl behind him.
13:01
Let's go. Him or Kyle Tucker.
13:03
I mean, Kyle Tucker just looked feeble at the plate.
13:08
Speaking Kyle Tucker, are we seeing the last game or games of
13:12
him in a Cubs uniform? I certainly think that's in
13:16
play. Let me ask you if you were the
13:19
owner or president of the Cubs and Kyle Tucker came to you and
13:24
said, I want to say here's the offer I've got from the Mets or
13:29
whoever it is, the Dodgers, they've offered me 8 years at
13:35
320 million. You doing it?
13:38
It's better than 50 or 500 rather, but that price may be
13:46
cap. Really.
13:50
I mean, it wasn't, it wasn't the original price tag 500 million
13:52
when we when we. Were talking and there were
13:54
people. Jim Bowden was saying 600
13:56
million and I came on your show and said that's just ludicrous.
13:59
I don't think he gets 500. I always believed it was going
14:03
to be somewhere around 375 but he has not played.
14:07
Well. And you've got a labor stoppage
14:10
coming. After.
14:11
That's right. That's right, yeah.
14:13
So you don't know the rules of engagement after next season and
14:19
if it's A and what if we miss a year of baseball and it's a hard
14:22
cap? I hope not.
14:25
It'll affect me in the pocket mean that'll be horrible for
14:30
what about the guy or gal who's a beer salesman or a program
14:33
salesman, parking lot attendant or whatever.
14:38
I mean, you're going to crush people's economy that work
14:41
around that game. But I mean, what if there is a
14:45
hard cap? Let's let's assume we miss time.
14:49
They finally agree. We've got this salary cap.
14:51
There's a floor and there's a cap and you go, oh, God, we just
14:56
gave how much money to Kyle Tucker?
14:58
Soccer, $40 million a year, and the cap is X.
15:03
Yeah. You have to know what the rules
15:05
of engagement are like. I'm hoping that first of all,
15:09
they've done a terrible job, usually at playing young
15:12
players. Owen Casey Ding, Ding, Ding,
15:15
Yes. What happens to Owen Casey?
15:18
Like you wouldn't trade him, so either you're going to play him
15:22
or you got to trade him. Well, what are we doing?
15:25
Drafting and developing guys that we're not going to let them
15:28
play? Look at pal.
15:29
Tucker was a 35 Homer, 120 RBI, 280 hitter.
15:34
Then it's a no brainer. You're going to sign him, but
15:37
you're going to roll the dice at even if he said he'd take a
15:42
three-year deal at 120 million, 40 million a year with opt outs.
15:48
What are we doing with Owen Casey then either if he can't
15:52
play, then put him in a deal and get him out of here.
15:54
But if he, if you really, truly believe Owen Casey can
15:59
absolutely be our everyday right fielder and has All Star level
16:03
talent, then what are we doing? Yeah.
16:07
I'm with you. So Cap.
16:09
And you think they'll win today? Gosh, I know.
16:10
I hope you're right. Who starts tomorrow?
16:12
Do they go back to Boyd tomorrow?
16:15
They have to. Well, she's going to go to.
16:17
It's got. To be him, right?
16:18
Boy, the Kate Horton is just crippling, isn't it?
16:20
My God. What often now he spoke
16:23
yesterday. He threw a 15 pitch, soft
16:26
bullpen and tested. He said he feels no pain.
16:28
He's ready to. He'll be ready to go for the
16:30
NLCS but losing him Crusher. Speaking of losing him, because
16:36
everybody's up in arms. So we'll get you out of here on
16:39
this that, you know, they should have got a starting pitcher.
16:41
They should they They messed up with the trade deadline, should
16:43
have got a starter, but everybody wanted Kate Horton in
16:46
return, right? That's correct.
16:49
Look, I wanted them to get a starter and they tried on Joe
16:52
Ryan of the Twins and Mackenzie Gore of Washington.
16:55
Both guys have not pitched well since the deadline, but I was
16:58
told by somebody not on the Cubs side On the other side, the
17:02
price they asked for to get Mackenzie Gore, who's a good
17:06
pitcher, didn't have a great finish to his season as they
17:08
just said they wanted Matt Shaw, Kate Horton and Jackson Wiggins.
17:14
That's it. Not too bad, right?
17:16
Right, so I'm giving you in his first year of being in the big
17:21
leagues, Matt Shaw, who they believe is going to really, I do
17:23
too, be a really good player. Kate Horton is going to be the
17:26
rookie of the year. Oh, and you want my #1 pitching
17:28
prospect. The Cubs thing will be impacting
17:31
their team at some point. Next year's like 22 or 23 years
17:35
old. Yeah, No thanks.
17:36
No thanks. Cap final thing for you is we're
17:38
getting ready to flip the calendar to winter sports
17:41
season. Doesn't look like it's going to
17:43
be a real strong one in the windy season.
17:45
The city I see the Blackhawks have the longest odds to make
17:48
the playoffs again. Got.
17:49
Beat last night. Bulls Over Under is what, 33 1/2
17:53
in terms of wins? Not going to be a fun one in the
17:55
Windy City. No, it's going to stink.
17:59
I mean, the Blackhawks have some good young players.
18:02
I thought they showed I watched the game.
18:04
They are they. Got you right.
18:06
It's coming. Good compete level yesterday and
18:08
they're coming and they're battling against the best team
18:11
in hockey, but they lost three to two.
18:13
But the Bulls, I got to love their coach.
18:16
I'm a huge Billy Donovan fan, but he's got no shot.
18:20
That's like having you, me and Trent out there.
18:23
They have zero chance of being anything other than a losing
18:29
foray to maybe get to the plan again and that's it.
18:33
I don't I don't get it. I don't understand how you own
18:36
two teams in town, the White Sox and the Bulls, and neither one
18:40
of you trying to win. Brutal.
18:42
You're the best capper. Thank you, buddy.
18:43
We'll talk to you in a week's time.
18:45
Look forward to it. See you buddy David Kaplan as we
18:48
check in on Chepsy on Chicago sports.
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Dane Mazatan 20 next Miller and Condon on the Iowa Sports Radio
20:43
Network 130 Miller and Condon welcome back Iowa Sports Radio
20:47
Network flag shipped out of Des Moines Sports station one O 6.3
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KXNO trends Plays of the day still to come top of the hour
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off the bench, Sean and Lucas let's head north of the Twin
20:58
Cities. Dane Mazzutani back in the USSA
21:02
after what? Being over in the UK to watch
21:05
the Cleveland Browns and the Minnesota Vikings.
21:07
Dane Trenton Ken, thank you for finding time for us.
21:10
I I love the picture of you that you sent to a when you're out to
21:13
covering practice. Seemed like you were on a grassy
21:16
Knoll and you were kind of, you know, hide behind bushes or
21:20
something. But then I realized, you know,
21:21
everybody that was the walkway to get down there.
21:24
That's really cool. The where, where the Vikings
21:26
were practicing and where the median some of the fans were
21:29
allowed to watch from. So logistically, what was it
21:32
like for you, Dane being over there?
21:34
What was it like? Was a pretty cool experience.
21:37
Yeah, it was it was really cool and I'm grateful to be a part of
21:40
it. Also very grateful to be home
21:42
and a long trip. But I I think the coolest part
21:46
was just, you know, everything that went into this trip,
21:48
watching it kind of come to fruition for the Vikings.
21:51
Obviously I think they would have wanted to come back with
21:54
two wins instead of 1, but it was a pretty big undertaking and
21:58
to kind of watch it happen in real time and watch it the way
22:02
they executed it, I thought it was really impressive.
22:05
The setup was a little weird because you, you think, oh, the
22:07
Vikings are playing in London, They must be staying in London.
22:10
Well, they're not. They're actually staying an hour
22:13
and a half bus ride up north along the English countryside.
22:18
Because ever since the UK adopted international games,
22:22
basically 2 hotels have volunteered, have set themselves
22:26
up to host. And it's not just you don't, you
22:30
don't just need a hotel, you need facilities with the ground
22:35
with, with the ability to have a weight room with the locker
22:37
room, with practice field. So it's a lot of that goes into
22:41
it. And then they so they stay on
22:43
this basically a state an hour and a half away from London.
22:48
And that's kind of where they they make home base when they're
22:51
there. So that was something that I
22:52
don't think really clicked to me until I was there until I was on
22:55
that bus. And I think for the players,
23:00
that may be why it got to be a little taxing times.
23:03
You're pretty far away from, you know, if your family was there,
23:06
they were staying in London, they're an hour and a half away.
23:09
Again, all things that are part of the job.
23:12
But I thought it was just interesting kind of the entire
23:14
set up and kind of watching it, being a part of it, you kind of
23:19
seeing it all happen. Dana want to go to quarterbacks.
23:22
And I thought just popped into my head because I put my, I
23:27
don't know, fork in the ground and said this is going to happen
23:29
this way. Daniel Jones is going to be the
23:30
starter in 2025. When he was part of the roster.
23:33
He was going to be the latest reclamation project for KOC.
23:36
And then he departs and we've seen what happens.
23:39
Is there been conversation about, man, what could have been
23:43
Daniel Jones, another year of tutelage under O'Connell, that
23:47
this thing could look a whole lot different at quarterback?
23:51
Yeah, I think there's probably some people doing that with,
23:54
with Daniel Jones, with Sam Darnold.
23:56
You know, I say some people kind of in the abstract, I don't
24:01
think the organization is saying, oh man, we really should
24:06
have held on to Sam Darnold. Oh, man, we really shouldn't
24:08
have let Daniel Jones walk out the door.
24:10
I think the organization made a bet on JJ McCarthy and they're
24:15
still wholeheartedly in, you know, chips in the center of the
24:18
table understanding the bet they made.
24:21
But yeah, I think when you see the way Sam Darnold has
24:24
performed, the way Daniel Jones has performed, it's hard not to,
24:26
you know, as someone who follows the team say, what could it have
24:31
looked like if if either of those guys were here?
24:34
What I will say is I think regardless of if you know, we
24:38
could go back and and replay the way it all played out, say we
24:43
bring Sam Darnold back or you bring Daniel Jones back.
24:47
At a certain point you have to find out what you have in JJ.
24:50
So I think that's what the Vikings are invested in doing.
24:55
They made a bet on this guy when they took him ten overall when
24:58
they did not sign Sam Darnold, when they did not sign Daniel
25:01
Jones, when they did not sign Aaron Rodgers.
25:04
But that was we think this is the guy and I know it was up and
25:08
down for those two games that he played.
25:09
I know he got hurt and now it hasn't played in three games,
25:13
but I still think this season and kind of the fate of the
25:15
franchise moving forward hinges on if they were right about the
25:19
bet they made and they have to find out if they were right
25:22
about the bet thing. You know, and I don't want to
25:24
linger on this, but you brought up Aaron Rodgers.
25:26
So some let me ask you do was there something there?
25:30
The fact that Rodgers seemingly waited until the last minute and
25:33
then I don't know, settled for Pittsburgh doesn't have a lot of
25:36
options at that point. Do you think that he was waiting
25:40
for the Vikings final decision? Is that part of it, is your
25:43
reporting LED you to that or is is that kind of what's still
25:47
lingering out there, Dane? Yeah, I think he, I think if
25:50
Aaron Rodgers had a choice, he probably would have played for
25:52
the Vikings. And I think that was kind of
25:55
just evident reading the tea leaves in that he did not sign
25:59
with the Steelers until the Vikings made it very clear that
26:02
that JJ McCarthy was their guy. So I think in a vacuum, Aaron
26:06
Rodgers understood the teams that were interested in him or
26:10
the teams that his his representation had conversations
26:14
with or what those conversations look like.
26:17
How far and serious did they get?
26:19
That's something the intricacies of those those talks would
26:22
probably never fully come to the surface.
26:25
But I think Aaron Rodgers understood the Vikings were
26:28
probably better suited, better equipped, at least on paper, to
26:33
chase a Super Bowl. And now we're seeing maybe they
26:37
maybe they weren't as close as they think.
26:39
And then injuries have played a big role in that.
26:41
But I think Aaron Rodgers, if he had his choice, would have
26:45
played for the Vikings. The Vikings, while I think there
26:48
was conversations that took place, I think it was pretty
26:52
clear early on that they were content to roll with the 22 year
26:56
old kid. And again, the whole fate of the
27:00
franchise kind of hinges, or at least in the short term on
27:03
whether they were right or wrong.
27:05
But we still need more time to figure out if they were right or
27:07
wrong. And then I think that's the
27:08
biggest thing. We'll see what they do coming
27:11
out of the pie. But JJ McCarthy needs to play.
27:14
And and that's, that's the, the reality of the situation and,
27:18
and part of it that they kind of made their bed back in, in the
27:22
spring. The offensive line was supposed
27:25
to be improved. Injuries have derailed,
27:27
certainly that throughout the course of this whole season and
27:30
things not sounded very good with Kelly dealing with that
27:32
concussion again as that's happened multiple times
27:34
throughout his career. Is a bye week enough to, hey,
27:37
maybe they can piece together the semblance of a defense
27:40
decent offensive liner. Is this going to linger for a
27:42
while, Dane? Yeah, I think it's probably
27:45
going to linger for a while because Ryan Kelly's on IR now,
27:47
so he has to miss four games, I guess three more after he missed
27:51
Cleveland. I'm speculating, and this is by
27:55
no means reporting, but when you have two concussions over the
27:58
course of three weeks and you have 5 documented concussions
28:01
for your career and probably a few more that were undocumented,
28:06
I don't know that four weeks is just going to be enough.
28:09
He returns from IR and is ready to play again.
28:13
What that looks like long term for Ryan Kelly, I'm not sure,
28:15
but he's not coming back anytime soon.
28:18
What I will say is Donovan Jackson sounds like he will
28:20
practice after the bye. So you get your starting left
28:24
guard back, you have your starting left tackle and
28:26
Christian Daresaw, you have your starting right guard and Will
28:29
Fries. If you get Donovan Jackson back
28:32
for practice, he plays well. Then you have three of the five.
28:35
You're probably not going to have Ryan Kelly and you're
28:37
probably not going to have Brian O'Neill with his sprained MCL.
28:41
But the good news for that is it wasn't torn.
28:44
It wasn't a ligament tear. So he's coming back probably
28:47
sooner rather than later. They'll be able to piece meal it
28:51
together and in in the next two, 3-4 weeks.
28:56
I don't know if it's going to be the strength of this team that
28:59
they thought it was going to be. I think it will probably not be
29:03
a weakness that it has been all season.
29:06
I think eventually when they get healthy, when they're able to,
29:09
you know, put all, well, maybe maybe all five guys at at once,
29:13
we'll see what happens with Kelly moving forward.
29:15
But you think about it, it's been a big weakness for the
29:18
team. But the five guys they had
29:19
penciled in as the projected starters have not played
29:22
together at any point because Christian Darrisaw was working
29:24
his way back. By the time he was back, there
29:26
were injuries across the board. So I think it'll end up being
29:29
closer to something that helps them win rather than hinders
29:33
them from doing it. But it's it's, I don't think
29:35
it's going to be pretty, at least in the short term, just
29:38
with the injuries they have. I want to go the post the post
29:41
game press conference and where I'm going is will Rikers and and
29:44
his kick. They clearly hit a a camera wire
29:47
and how the NFL missed it. But did the Vikings also miss
29:51
it? Did did that get brought up at
29:52
all in the in the post game? Because it seemed like it was a
29:55
few hours later that social media really grabbed a hold of
29:59
that, and soon everybody knew. Did they know at the time that
30:02
something went awry on that kick?
30:04
No, I don't think so. I think from the angle.
30:06
On the angle on the sideline, like if you are Kevin O'Connell
30:11
standing on the sideline, for example, you don't have like the
30:16
correct angle to see a ball hit a very, very thin wire.
30:19
In the same way that when we go back and we clip it on Twitter
30:23
and we say like, yes, definitely it went right because of that.
30:27
So I don't, I mean, I don't think the Vikings on the
30:28
sideline could notice that in real time.
30:30
And I think the one player that might Reichert notice that is
30:35
Reichert. Kevin O'Connell brought this up
30:37
in his press conference yesterday.
30:39
It was on Monday with Bill Reichert.
30:43
It's kind of akin to a golf swing, like you're a kicker,
30:47
You're not looking up, you're you're following through with
30:50
your ball, foot on foot, following to the ball and your
30:54
head still down. Because if you lift your head,
30:57
similar to a golf swing, if you lift your head, you yank it.
31:00
So will Reichert following through.
31:03
He said he felt like he hit it good.
31:05
And I think sometimes kickers feel like they hit it good and
31:08
it goes right or it goes left on them.
31:10
And I think in that moment, he just thought, Dang, I thought I
31:14
hit it good and it went right on me.
31:16
But now I think you go back and you look, the NFL got it wrong.
31:21
The Viking, I guess in their part of it also got it wrong.
31:26
But that's something that I feel like the league has to have to
31:29
have an eye on. But certainly very, very weird,
31:34
wonky situation. I don't think I've ever seen
31:36
anything like. Dane final thing, full circle
31:39
back to where you were their NFL fan.
31:42
Doesn't have to be a Vikings fan, but just any team that's
31:44
making the trip across the pond. Would you suggest it?
31:47
I mean, it's probably going to cost you a little bit, but is it
31:50
worth the trip? The Vikings fans that you talked
31:52
to that enjoyed their time over there and and something they do
31:55
again or for first timers, should they make that trip?
31:58
Yeah, I think it's, I mean it's expensive.
32:00
So if you've got disposable income.
32:03
Or business expenses. Yeah, or you could find a way to
32:07
work in an industry where you your work will pay you to do it.
32:11
Then I would suggest it. I think it's it's a very cool
32:15
thing the NFL is doing, trying to globalize the game.
32:19
And I know people will say it's a money grab, that they just
32:22
want more money and that's why they're doing it.
32:24
And while that might be true, I think they've done a good job
32:27
kind of globalizing the game, you know, starting in the UK,
32:31
but it's it's really expanded from there.
32:33
But speaking just specifically about Dublin and then also
32:37
London, like both of those cities, I think there was a
32:40
clear hunger for for American football.
32:43
I think the people there were excited to have people from the
32:47
States come over and kind of experience their culture while
32:51
also kind of sharing and then the love for for this sport.
32:55
So it's cool. I loved London.
32:58
I've been a couple times just in my adult life.
33:02
And you know, you compare it to New York a little bit and it's
33:05
easy to get around via the subway.
33:07
They call the tube out there. There's a lot to do.
33:11
It's an expensive trip, but I think if you can plan for it, if
33:15
you can budget for it, if you just have the disposable income
33:18
to do it, I don't think you would regret going.
33:21
It was a really cool vibe there and the stadium was awesome,
33:25
everything about it. Again, like I said at the
33:27
beginning, I feel very grateful to have been able to go, but
33:31
man, I am excited to be back home.
33:33
Hey, last thing in final 30 seconds, and I'm not saying Adam
33:36
Thielen was Adam Thielen was the missing piece, right?
33:39
He was going to put him over the top.
33:40
I just thought it would be he would be more prominent at this
33:44
point. I know his catches were coming.
33:45
Two years ago, he was north of 100.
33:47
Those numbers fell off last year, but bringing him back to
33:49
Minnesota, clearly this is his last year in the league.
33:53
I just thought maybe he would have been a bigger part of the
33:56
offense at this point. Is it been a disappointment so
34:00
far, do you think? I think numbers wise, yeah, I
34:03
think even Adam Thielen would agree that the numbers, if you
34:07
would have thought when the trade was made, I think a month
34:11
in, you'd think he has more catches, more yards, more
34:13
touchdowns. But I will say also, like we
34:16
talked about the offensive line and it's the same with the tight
34:18
end, same with TJ Hawkinson and Josh Oliver.
34:20
Adam Thielen falls into this equation too.
34:23
These guys are being asked to chip, they're being asked to
34:25
stay in, they're being asked to be in line blockers a lot of the
34:28
time because they're trying to get help to that that broken 5
34:31
up front. So the numbers haven't been
34:33
great, but I think he's done some things probably that go
34:38
beyond the stat sheet that the coaches notice.
34:40
We'll see if Adam hits a stride at some point.
34:42
I know he's a competitive guy. I think still got some juice in
34:45
him. I would be surprised if his
34:48
production is lacking the whole year.
34:49
I think we're going to see and make some sort of an impact and
34:53
whether it's a game, whether it's a month stretch or or
34:56
beyond that, he's going to have an impact at some point.
34:59
But yes, I think he probably would have expected more kind of
35:02
right out of you. Thanks for what you do for us,
35:04
Dane. Glad you were able to make the
35:06
trip. We appreciate you coming on with
35:08
Trent and I and sharing that experience and we'll talk to you
35:10
down the road. Thank you, Dane.
35:12
Yep, anytime guys. Yep, good to talk to you.
35:14
Dane Mazatani, St. Paul Pine, Your Press
35:16
twincities.com You want to go? Follow your bears.
35:20
They got to get better. So OK, you want to see win,
35:23
you're going to go all that way. You don't want to.
35:25
See, I'm not going to spend it on a crappy product.
35:26
Yeah, I got you 145 Trent's plays of the day.
35:29
Our next circus sports sponsor those Miller and Condon on Des
35:33
Moines Sports station one O 6.3 KX and O on the Iowa Sports
35:36
Radio Network. Hi Miller and Condon, welcome
35:38
back. Final couple of minutes on a
35:40
busy, busy Wednesday. 4 divisional games in MLB, first
35:47
one getting underway in about what, 18 minutes?
35:50
10 minutes? Somewhere in that area.
35:52
Cubs play at 408 and the Yanks and the Jays at six, and at 8
35:57
the Phillies and the Dodgers. What a great day of baseball.
36:01
Quadruple header. Yeah, I love baseball.
36:03
I like it. We both do during the 162.
36:06
It's a long season, but man, once October gets here, it just
36:09
goes to another. Level and I'm going to be
36:11
jumping aboard and got plays in three of those four games.
36:14
Which one don't you have? The Yankees, Blue Jays leaving
36:19
that one to the side, right? We're going to play the Tigers
36:22
-1 O 5, coupling it with Casey Mize over 3 1/2 strikeouts plus
36:27
1/16 the number on that one, like Mize in the spot.
36:31
And I like the Tigers in this spot.
36:33
I will grab them minus one O 5 and Mize over 3 1/2.
36:37
I'm with Cappy. I'm going to take the Cubs today
36:39
minus the 110. Like the pitching matchup
36:41
mentioned, Priester hasn't been great against the Cubs this
36:44
season. Dodgers tonight, minus the 174
36:47
as they Polish it off. And how about this Aaron Nola?
36:50
Now he's going to have a quick hook.
36:51
We know that sure over under hits allowed.
36:53
What do you think that is? 7. 2 1/2 that's how quick of a
36:59
hook they're going to have on him, his out total.
37:02
Is well, if it's if it's 2 1/2, his out total has got to be 10.
37:06
8 1/2 Wow. But I'm doing the hit total.
37:09
I'm going over 2 1/2 hits allowed for Aaron nola -174 on
37:12
the Dodgers. Plus we got two more.
37:15
Well, here we go. We're going to lay the four.
37:18
Give me the Mercury to bounce back and make it 2.
37:20
One against the Aces. We'll lay the price there with
37:24
the Mercury. And Oh yes, the beginning of 49
37:27
consecutive days with football. Well, we got a fire at it.
37:31
Give me UTEP. I've been a long time minor fan.
37:35
Plus 1 1/2 against Liberty. Utah plus one you, you know,
37:38
there's a hockey, but there's four games in the NHL tonight.
37:41
Do you really? You thought it's underway?
37:43
Baby, I didn't. Honestly, I'm not.
37:46
Bsui did not know that. No, started last night, got
37:49
Toronto in Montreal in the Battle of Alberta, and I'm going
37:51
to watch baseball and you're going to hear Sean Roberts and
37:55
Lucas Strain coming up. Yes, they're coming off the
37:57
bench to take you until 5:00. By the way, where are you on
38:01
Friday for high school foot? Three regular season weeks left.
38:04
We're down to the wire 2/3 of the way through big 1/3 time
38:08
defending state champion SE Folk Place host to #1 Waukee
38:13
Northwest. Should be a fun one and out and
38:15
runnels. And that'll be heard on the
38:17
Bullet Course. Joe Stacy and Nathan Fisher and
38:19
company Tyler Allen have you covered on football Friday
38:22
night. Glad you're with us.
38:23
Miller and Con to talk sports with you Monday through Friday,
38:25
noon to two on the Iowa Sports Radio Network in Des Moines.
38:28
Sports station One O 6.3 KX&O.