00:00:00
Speaker 1: The Minnesota Vikings 53-man roster is set, if you want to call it that. It is one of the strangest constructed rosters that I've ever seen the Minnesota Vikings put out when they needed to put it out. Keeping four quarterbacks while they have several noticeable holes. around their roster makes me think that this is not the final roster. How can you feel comfortable keeping Kyler, Wentz, McCarthy, and Brosmer when you don't have an established center hiking them the ball, who struggled throughout training camp snapping the ball? How can you feel comfortable With those quarterbacks in the QB room, while knowing you only have four edge rushers.
00:01:08
Speaker 2: This seems odd.
00:01:12
Speaker 1: And it seems like there's something more coming. Because there has to be. Are the Minnesota Vikings secretly trying to get Max Brosmer to the practice squad? So they're waiting a few days for NFL rosters to take shape? Are they secretly trying to trade J.J. McCarthy and not willing to just give him away for nothing? There's got to be more. Because this is a silly roster construction. And you look at the.
00:01:52
Speaker 2: Kevin O'Connell reasoning.
00:01:54
Speaker 1: And all training camp, all offseason really, He's talked about, oh, we've got to have quarterback depth. And the reason that he points to is, well, Darnold, we won 14 games. Kirk Cousins, we won 13 games. And when I've had an established quarterback.
00:02:16
Speaker 2: We win.
00:02:17
Speaker 1: And when I don't, when we've played quarterback roulette, we've won nine games somehow.
00:02:26
Speaker 2: And we've managed to win eight games. Somehow.
00:02:29
Speaker 1: So if I have an established quarterback room, we're going to win. But at some point, you take that thought and it just becomes insane. Because here's the truth about the situation. If the Vikings are on quarterback three or quarterback four, it doesn't matter at that point. Your season is over. most likely toast. Sure, there is the occasional Case Keenum year where QB1 goes down and somehow everything comes together for a magnificent season. But the reason why those are so memorable is because they are so unusual. If Kyler and Wentz go down, The season is over.
00:03:29
Speaker 2: You can try to spin it any way you want.
00:03:32
Speaker 1: Quarterback depth here. Oh, we love McCarthy there. When in reality, JJ couldn't beat out a quarterback who's in his 30s and has bounced around the league for quite some time. And he couldn't beat out another quarterback whose organization is paying him $ 36 million to leave. So... So much of this quarterback situation of keeping four of them makes no sense. It's ridiculous, especially considering what else is happening on your roster right in front of you. In fact, the person who the quarterback gets the ball from is your emergency center last year. So much of NFL success is experienced veteran players fulfilling our role. Look at all Super Bowl teams, and there's experience. There's chemistry. There's legitimate skill. And the Vikings are entering out of their 53-man roster with an emergency starting center from last year. Right now, their holder for field goals is either one of their backup quarterbacks or their punter, Thorsen, who had never ever done that in his NFL or college football career before.
00:05:15
Speaker 2: He's a rookie.
00:05:17
Speaker 1: So, like, the Vikings are saying, hey, we are taking A massive gamble by having two positions with inexperienced players. If something goes wrong and it looks like something easily could, it is going to be absolute chaos. And let's not forget how important the first two weeks of the season are. This isn't a situation where, oh, Blake Brandl and Thorsen can be established by Week 9 or Week 10, and then the Vikings are going to finish the season strong. They need to be ready Week 1 and Week 2 and Week 3 to have Green Bay up first. I know they're without two players that are really good, but they're still going to be hungry.
00:06:17
Speaker 2: They're going to have.
00:06:19
Speaker 1: The mentality of trying to prove that they can win without them. So they're going to be hungry. then at Chicago, then at Tampa Bay. There's no time to get Blake, Brandel, and Thorsen up to speed in the first few weeks of the year. They need to understand now. So it makes me wonder. It makes me got to believe that this roster is not the final roster. There has to be major changes coming. Is it a JJ trade? Is it a Brosmer release to the practice squad? If it is one of those things, even if you trade JJ for somebody who an organization doesn't want, are you really going to get anything back That you want? Like, let's say the Vikings do find a trade partner for JJ.
00:07:25
Speaker 2: Nobody wants him.
00:07:26
Speaker 1: His value is at an all-time low. So if JJ's value is at an all-time low, how are you going to trade him for a center, for an edge rusher? What is the reasoning behind some of these Vikings' moves? Because there has to be a bigger picture. You cannot go into the season with this. It just blows my mind. It's like the Vikings have four spare tires, no engine, and they went out of their way to get another spare tire. It's like you already have four of them. You already have four tight ends. You already have four quarterbacks. I get the depth thing. But you get to quarterback three, quarterback four, your season is over. The reason why the Vikings had successful seasons with Darnold and with Kirk Cousins was not because of quarterback depth. It's because their QB1 remained on the field. So pretending that quarterback depth is the difference, it's not going to matter.
00:08:41
Speaker 2: You know, you release.
00:08:46
Speaker 1: brosmer or mccarthy and you fulfill a major need somewhere else what are you scared of are you scared of another organization picking up jj picking up brosmer and then rotting on a different bench are you scared of losing one of these guys you've worked so hard to develop to be your quarterback three your fear is in the wrong place the vikings fear should be in Our center is an emergency center. And he struggled all training camp to snap the ball to Kyler. The guy who touches the ball is responsible for the first second of every single play in the NFL. Is a guy that has limited experience doing it. There are some cool stories coming out of this, though. Like the Vikings signing undrafted free agents, Dylan Bell and Jacob Thomas and Thorsen as well. And now they're on the 53-man roster. Dylan Bell is an athletic freak people have loved him in training camp and he's made big plays my biggest question for Dylan Bell isn't Dylan Bell's ability or his athletic freak of nature it's opportunity Will there be opportunity for Dylan Bell? I don't think there's enough football to go around. You know, you don't go into a game plan and start thinking, yeah, we've got to get Jefferson as in Hawkinson, Juwan Jennings the ball, and, well, we really like Dylan Bell, so I'm going to give one of Jefferson's chances to him. That's not going to be how it works. You know, running backs need the ball. Kyler's going to run. I just don't think there's enough opportunity to go to Dylan Bell, although he is a very good, athletic, young wide receiver. Jacob Thomas is undoubtedly not only one of the best stories on the Vikings, but one of the best stories in the entire NFL.
00:11:09
Speaker 2: He goes undrafted. He goes not recruited. out of high school.
00:11:17
Speaker 1: He walks on at James Madison University. He goes there, becomes a starter in year two, goes undrafted, and the Vikings get him.
00:11:31
Speaker 2: And now he's taking.
00:11:34
Speaker 1: Snaps with the first team defense all throughout training camp. And not only that, Brian Flores is using him in a.
00:11:41
Speaker 2: Similar way to Harrison Smith.
00:11:43
Speaker 1: So this undrafted guy that nobody wanted out of high school, that nobody wanted out of college, is establishing a role for him and a spot that the Vikings need. He found an opportunity and he's capitalizing on it.
00:11:57
Speaker 2: And these are stories that you love.
00:12:00
Speaker 1: Guys that are underdogs that put their head down and grind and play take an opportunity when nobody knew his name in college, in high school, even when the Vikings signed him as an undrafted player.
00:12:16
Speaker 2: Nobody knew who Jacob Thomas was.
00:12:19
Speaker 1: But because of his play in training camp and in the preseason, he has made a name for himself, and that is really cool. Now, there are still some reports that Harrison Smith might come back. And if Harrison Smith might come back, you're going to take Harrison Smith coming back. And what better situation than for Harrison Smith to train his eventual replacement, Jacob Thomas, in a mentorship role? I mean, if Brandon Flores wants to use Jacob Thomas in a similar role as Harrison Smith, who better to mentor Jacob Thomas than Harrison Smith? So this really could be a perfect situation for the Vikings at the safety position. Harrison Smith could teach him how to be a professional, how to disguise the timing, the communication, the leadership aspect. And Harrison Smith is one of the most loved players in Vikings history. And if you're Jacob Thomas, you welcome the idea of Harrison Smith.
00:13:26
Speaker 2: Becoming your mentor.
00:13:27
Speaker 1: You don't look at it as thinking, darn it, now I'm not going to be taking the reps of the first. You look at it thinking, I'm about to be mentored by one of the best safeties in the history of the NFL and the history of the Vikings organization. That is really cool. So what would make this situation even better is if Harrison Smith chose to return. But the 53-man roster is set for now, but there's got to be more coming. Congratulations to the undrafted players that did make it. And thank you for choosing to make this podcast a part of your day.
Speaker 1: The Minnesota Vikings 53-man roster is set, if you want to call it that. It is one of the strangest constructed rosters that I've ever seen the Minnesota Vikings put out when they needed to put it out. Keeping four quarterbacks while they have several noticeable holes. around their roster makes me think that this is not the final roster. How can you feel comfortable keeping Kyler, Wentz, McCarthy, and Brosmer when you don't have an established center hiking them the ball, who struggled throughout training camp snapping the ball? How can you feel comfortable With those quarterbacks in the QB room, while knowing you only have four edge rushers.
00:01:08
Speaker 2: This seems odd.
00:01:12
Speaker 1: And it seems like there's something more coming. Because there has to be. Are the Minnesota Vikings secretly trying to get Max Brosmer to the practice squad? So they're waiting a few days for NFL rosters to take shape? Are they secretly trying to trade J.J. McCarthy and not willing to just give him away for nothing? There's got to be more. Because this is a silly roster construction. And you look at the.
00:01:52
Speaker 2: Kevin O'Connell reasoning.
00:01:54
Speaker 1: And all training camp, all offseason really, He's talked about, oh, we've got to have quarterback depth. And the reason that he points to is, well, Darnold, we won 14 games. Kirk Cousins, we won 13 games. And when I've had an established quarterback.
00:02:16
Speaker 2: We win.
00:02:17
Speaker 1: And when I don't, when we've played quarterback roulette, we've won nine games somehow.
00:02:26
Speaker 2: And we've managed to win eight games. Somehow.
00:02:29
Speaker 1: So if I have an established quarterback room, we're going to win. But at some point, you take that thought and it just becomes insane. Because here's the truth about the situation. If the Vikings are on quarterback three or quarterback four, it doesn't matter at that point. Your season is over. most likely toast. Sure, there is the occasional Case Keenum year where QB1 goes down and somehow everything comes together for a magnificent season. But the reason why those are so memorable is because they are so unusual. If Kyler and Wentz go down, The season is over.
00:03:29
Speaker 2: You can try to spin it any way you want.
00:03:32
Speaker 1: Quarterback depth here. Oh, we love McCarthy there. When in reality, JJ couldn't beat out a quarterback who's in his 30s and has bounced around the league for quite some time. And he couldn't beat out another quarterback whose organization is paying him $ 36 million to leave. So... So much of this quarterback situation of keeping four of them makes no sense. It's ridiculous, especially considering what else is happening on your roster right in front of you. In fact, the person who the quarterback gets the ball from is your emergency center last year. So much of NFL success is experienced veteran players fulfilling our role. Look at all Super Bowl teams, and there's experience. There's chemistry. There's legitimate skill. And the Vikings are entering out of their 53-man roster with an emergency starting center from last year. Right now, their holder for field goals is either one of their backup quarterbacks or their punter, Thorsen, who had never ever done that in his NFL or college football career before.
00:05:15
Speaker 2: He's a rookie.
00:05:17
Speaker 1: So, like, the Vikings are saying, hey, we are taking A massive gamble by having two positions with inexperienced players. If something goes wrong and it looks like something easily could, it is going to be absolute chaos. And let's not forget how important the first two weeks of the season are. This isn't a situation where, oh, Blake Brandl and Thorsen can be established by Week 9 or Week 10, and then the Vikings are going to finish the season strong. They need to be ready Week 1 and Week 2 and Week 3 to have Green Bay up first. I know they're without two players that are really good, but they're still going to be hungry.
00:06:17
Speaker 2: They're going to have.
00:06:19
Speaker 1: The mentality of trying to prove that they can win without them. So they're going to be hungry. then at Chicago, then at Tampa Bay. There's no time to get Blake, Brandel, and Thorsen up to speed in the first few weeks of the year. They need to understand now. So it makes me wonder. It makes me got to believe that this roster is not the final roster. There has to be major changes coming. Is it a JJ trade? Is it a Brosmer release to the practice squad? If it is one of those things, even if you trade JJ for somebody who an organization doesn't want, are you really going to get anything back That you want? Like, let's say the Vikings do find a trade partner for JJ.
00:07:25
Speaker 2: Nobody wants him.
00:07:26
Speaker 1: His value is at an all-time low. So if JJ's value is at an all-time low, how are you going to trade him for a center, for an edge rusher? What is the reasoning behind some of these Vikings' moves? Because there has to be a bigger picture. You cannot go into the season with this. It just blows my mind. It's like the Vikings have four spare tires, no engine, and they went out of their way to get another spare tire. It's like you already have four of them. You already have four tight ends. You already have four quarterbacks. I get the depth thing. But you get to quarterback three, quarterback four, your season is over. The reason why the Vikings had successful seasons with Darnold and with Kirk Cousins was not because of quarterback depth. It's because their QB1 remained on the field. So pretending that quarterback depth is the difference, it's not going to matter.
00:08:41
Speaker 2: You know, you release.
00:08:46
Speaker 1: brosmer or mccarthy and you fulfill a major need somewhere else what are you scared of are you scared of another organization picking up jj picking up brosmer and then rotting on a different bench are you scared of losing one of these guys you've worked so hard to develop to be your quarterback three your fear is in the wrong place the vikings fear should be in Our center is an emergency center. And he struggled all training camp to snap the ball to Kyler. The guy who touches the ball is responsible for the first second of every single play in the NFL. Is a guy that has limited experience doing it. There are some cool stories coming out of this, though. Like the Vikings signing undrafted free agents, Dylan Bell and Jacob Thomas and Thorsen as well. And now they're on the 53-man roster. Dylan Bell is an athletic freak people have loved him in training camp and he's made big plays my biggest question for Dylan Bell isn't Dylan Bell's ability or his athletic freak of nature it's opportunity Will there be opportunity for Dylan Bell? I don't think there's enough football to go around. You know, you don't go into a game plan and start thinking, yeah, we've got to get Jefferson as in Hawkinson, Juwan Jennings the ball, and, well, we really like Dylan Bell, so I'm going to give one of Jefferson's chances to him. That's not going to be how it works. You know, running backs need the ball. Kyler's going to run. I just don't think there's enough opportunity to go to Dylan Bell, although he is a very good, athletic, young wide receiver. Jacob Thomas is undoubtedly not only one of the best stories on the Vikings, but one of the best stories in the entire NFL.
00:11:09
Speaker 2: He goes undrafted. He goes not recruited. out of high school.
00:11:17
Speaker 1: He walks on at James Madison University. He goes there, becomes a starter in year two, goes undrafted, and the Vikings get him.
00:11:31
Speaker 2: And now he's taking.
00:11:34
Speaker 1: Snaps with the first team defense all throughout training camp. And not only that, Brian Flores is using him in a.
00:11:41
Speaker 2: Similar way to Harrison Smith.
00:11:43
Speaker 1: So this undrafted guy that nobody wanted out of high school, that nobody wanted out of college, is establishing a role for him and a spot that the Vikings need. He found an opportunity and he's capitalizing on it.
00:11:57
Speaker 2: And these are stories that you love.
00:12:00
Speaker 1: Guys that are underdogs that put their head down and grind and play take an opportunity when nobody knew his name in college, in high school, even when the Vikings signed him as an undrafted player.
00:12:16
Speaker 2: Nobody knew who Jacob Thomas was.
00:12:19
Speaker 1: But because of his play in training camp and in the preseason, he has made a name for himself, and that is really cool. Now, there are still some reports that Harrison Smith might come back. And if Harrison Smith might come back, you're going to take Harrison Smith coming back. And what better situation than for Harrison Smith to train his eventual replacement, Jacob Thomas, in a mentorship role? I mean, if Brandon Flores wants to use Jacob Thomas in a similar role as Harrison Smith, who better to mentor Jacob Thomas than Harrison Smith? So this really could be a perfect situation for the Vikings at the safety position. Harrison Smith could teach him how to be a professional, how to disguise the timing, the communication, the leadership aspect. And Harrison Smith is one of the most loved players in Vikings history. And if you're Jacob Thomas, you welcome the idea of Harrison Smith.
00:13:26
Speaker 2: Becoming your mentor.
00:13:27
Speaker 1: You don't look at it as thinking, darn it, now I'm not going to be taking the reps of the first. You look at it thinking, I'm about to be mentored by one of the best safeties in the history of the NFL and the history of the Vikings organization. That is really cool. So what would make this situation even better is if Harrison Smith chose to return. But the 53-man roster is set for now, but there's got to be more coming. Congratulations to the undrafted players that did make it. And thank you for choosing to make this podcast a part of your day.
