Minnesota Vikings NEARING full strength as Philadelphia Eagles game looms!

Minnesota Vikings NEARING full strength as Philadelphia Eagles game looms!

Purple Daily is daily Vikings entertainment. I just want the Vikings to win a Super Bowl before we die. I will ride with this group. Seriously, man. Please. And away we go. All right. He’s our guy Darren Doogie Wolson from the five Eyewitness News sports department. Here with some information and maybe some speculation about the Minnesota Vikings. uh you were out there with your own two eyes sort of witnessing which players are coming back healthy or not as the Vikings get back on the field. So, we’ll dive into uh we’ll look forward here to this Eagles game, Dukes. But how much how much weight are you down here in the last month from uh the Awaken 180 game plan? Uh oh, Doogie is muted. Are you you’re muted or can’t there? I can’t hear him. You guys got me. Okay, now you go. Welcome back to the show. There he is. Darren Joogie Wolson, media professor. You think after all these months, even in this Hubard broadcasting dungeon, I would know how to utilize the mute button, the on button, the off button. But hey, learn something new every time we do one of these. But I’m glad you guys got me. Now, Phil, I am down 17 pounds starting week six on my Awaken 180 weight loss plan. So, hey, even though it’s not a Thursday, it’s a Tuesday. I proudly wear my reckless speculation for the YouTube audience. Reckless speculation score north merch. But there’s nothing reckless about the Awaken 180 weight loss plan. It’s simple. It’s slow and steady. It’s gradual. That’s why I know it works. There are no quick fixes. I’m losing like two to three pounds a week. That is perfect. No calorie counting, no medication necessary. Exercise also not necessarily for me. More importantly is I feel energized. Phil, you’re one of those guys who sends text messages to people at 7:05 a.m. For me, the cut off is 8 a.m. I don’t text anyone all night long in the summer before 8 a.m. But Phil, you’re a texter at 7:05 a.m. Well, guess what? You knew this morning I a would be up and b energized enough, not groggy, but to be able to text you back immediately. That’s thanks to Awaken 180 weight loss. Awaken 180W weightightloss.com. Love their protein shakes. Love their chocolate pudding. It’s a simple plan. Protein at night, mixing veggies, when to eat, why to eat, what you’re eating, how to eat properly, all of that. What to eat. They educate you. free consultation. Schedule it. Awaken1180weightloss.com. Again, awaken1180weightloss.com. I’m telling you, if it works for me, it can work for you. My triple chin is now like a double. Like, I’ve actually lost a good amount of just skin in my face. That is a really good feeling. Awaken 180 weight loss. Awaken 180 weight loss.com. All right, let’s talk some Yeah. So, you were out there observing. Uh the Vikings are back at practice here and we’ll get the official first look at the injury report tomorrow because Wednesday is the first day when you play on Sunday that they put that out. So let’s just like who who do you think is tracking to be back healthy for this Sunday’s game against the Eagles based on just your early observations or what what did you observe yesterday? All right. And you still have me okay because this thing is getting goo. Oh uh it is muted again now. is going on. I just hit it. Now you have me right now. We got you. Yeah. Yeah. It is very weird. I promise I’m not touching anything. I’m really not. Maybe it’s like the Vikings gremlins. They don’t want me to to expose what’s going on. They’re trying to keep all these secrets. Okay, looks like I’m good. I will continue to watch this icon. Okay, so Donovan Jackson back. I mean, there was a reason strategically why he underwent the surgery in Southern California when he did. He was always tracking to be back for the Eagles game. Same goes for Blake Cashman. We’ve talked about Blake going back a number of weeks, hurt week one in Chicago hamstring. He spoke with a few of us after practice on Monday. He is tracking. Yeah. I mean, we need to see how he feels Wednesday, Thursday, specifically Thursday coming off a Wednesday practice. Friday coming off Thursday practice. But Blake Cashman tracking to return. Okay, the question marks JJ McCarthy, I saw him moving. You know, we had about eight minutes of of visual access, right? So, it’s not like I had a whole big sample size. Did not even see him throw one pass in those eight minutes that a few of us had access to on Monday, but watching him stretch, move around during stretching looked okay. But we need to see how he feels Thursday coming off a Wednesday practice. But he is going to practice this week. In fact, I won’t even be shocked if he’s a full go at some point this week. Then they will make a determination. I think by Thursday night, they will know. It’s a matter of when does it leak? When do we know who the starting quarterback is on Sunday? But I firmly believe by Thursday night after that Thursday practice. Internally, they will know. Brian O’Neal brace on his right knee, but encouraging to see him out there. Now, right after practice, he declined comment. He said, “Hey, he’s on a silent count.” Right? Like he can’t be talking to us, right? He’s been he’s been muzzled. He’s been silenced. He said, “I just I can’t provide any any injury updates.” Now, he did go into the weight room immediately after practice to continue it looked like his rehab. So, I still think he’s a question mark, big- time question mark. Like, I think he’ll be limited at best in practice this week. So, it still might be a little bit of time, but encouraging that he’s not far off. Andrew Van Ginkle, the neck, was working off to the side. From what I could gather, looked pretty good. He stayed here in town during the buy, received treatment throughout all of last week. Like, he’s not far away. It may not be Sunday, but we’re not talking about many weeks from now. Michael Jurgens, hamstring, I would put him in the same category as Brian O’Neal. Then there’s guys like Aaron Jones, who to me is tracking in a good spot. Can’t return for Sunday’s game, but could he be back as soon as a week from Thursday in LA against the Chargers? Wouldn’t rule that out. Okay, short week. So, if not that game, the Lions game, but Aaron Jones isn’t far away than Ryan Kelly, that is still going to be multiple more games. I imagine a little bit of reckless speculation here on a Tuesday, but I imagine there are bigger conversations being had when he’s had multiple concussions in such a short amount of time. And over the course of his career, going back to Alabama, now into the NFL, we’re talking what, five or six documented concussions. Those are larger conversations that are to be had or already being had. So, I can’t tell you anything about Ryan Kelly long term, but all these other guys, they’re all tracking to be back in the next couple weeks. Dukes, what did you uh read into or what was your personal synopsis of what Kevin Oonnell said about the quarterback situation and whether WZ or McCarthy starts on Sunday? Which did you which way did you feel he was leaning in his comments? Well, I mean last week I felt like like you’re like okay give us what you think. What is your opinion? If it gets aggregated, hey, so be it. That I said last week Carson Wentz against the Eagles. I guess I’m not wavering from that that I just I need to see more need to hear more from KOC. I mean he said a lot. I mean, he even admitted, I’ll give KFC credit at one point, one answer, he said, “Hey, this will probably be interpreted as some sort of word salad.” So, at least there’s self-recognition of the word salad. So, I got a chuckle out of KOC referencing his word salads. But, yeah, I am still leaning, right? Subject to change. And I’m telling you, I don’t think they know right this second. I wish they knew so maybe I could dig a little bit further and absolutely nail this thing down and find out. But if you’re asking me right now, five days out, yeah, I still lean what I said last week. I love the the word salad self. Derek Faly could be a little more self-aware with his word sal. I’d love to see a word salad off between Derek Falv and uh and you know, Quesy is probably the word salad master for the Vikings even more than Kevin. I’d love to see a word salad off between uh Minnesota sports executives. Let’s make it happen. Oh, that would be fantastic. Yes. Sign me up. John Hines. Jud, you’re around John a little bit more than me, but John at times, not that he’s like long- winded. Yeah, he’s not longwinded enough. He’s not offering a whole lot, so I guess it’s how you interpret word salad. But yeah, I mean, certainly Faly K referencing himself, you know, mixing in some word salads. Yes, a KOC Faly face off. Absolutely. Sign me up. Jud, do you feel differently? So, you weren’t there, but I’m sure you listened or watched. I watched I watched it. I watched it. Where do you stand? Wentzce went I I found it to be very interesting that uh I think it was to Kevin Seafford’s first question about it that that Okonnell went into pretty good detail about the fact that they spent a lot of time last week during the buy working on McCarthy’s mechanics and and basically going back to to square one. And I think part of that, Dukes, is is this I think J.J. McCarthy’s mechanics and practices are fine, but I think what they found is the first three quarters of the Bears game and more importantly the Falcons game that they start that they start to disintegrate when the pressure is on. And I don’t know if they were surprised by that, but it was definitely something that has to be fixed and clearly is not an issue necessarily on Wednesday and Thursday in practice. So what I interpreted was we are going to see Carson Wentz on Sunday. I don’t you know what on Thursday I have no clue after that. But um I ca I came away with I’m going to be surprised now if JJ McCarthy starts that game. Well and it was also interesting that once again Jud you brought this up a few weeks ago but now KC brought it up again how JJ’s only had one full-fledged practice after the Bears game, right? So miss some time birth of his child that week leading into the Atlanta game. And so yesterday was such a light day. Like that wasn’t any sort of like real practice. They were on the field for about an hour if that. So I’m not counting yesterday. So like are you throwing JJ out there after just a Wednesday and Thursday practice that he may not even be a full go both days? Like one of those days I wouldn’t be shocked. But him referencing just the one practice postbears game also just kind of steers me in the direction of I wouldn’t be shocked if it’s Wentz on on Sunday. Yeah, I think Dukes, we did a really deep dive into the the short and long term of the quarterback situation um on a second episode of Purple Daily today, which people can check out. But I think in the short like long term, I’m still buying stock. Give me your JJ Stock long term, but shortterm it feels like it’s less about the high ankle right now and Kevin Oonnell talking about getting back to the mea the base and the mechanics and the footwork that uh were part of his journey throughout the you know training camp uh process. It kind of feels like he’s saying yeah his footwork when the when the live bullets are flying and he’s trying to process his footwork’s kind of gone to crap is how I interpret that. So my question is, how can you sort of get him up to speed on the fly in the middle of a season where he has lacked a ton of practice time you without just throwing him into the fire kind of unprepared? I almost like if I could really panic and go out further. I would say a lot of the stuff that they’re looking at fixing is offseason stuff. you know, like how do you how do you if if you’re not if you’re not good with his footwork and it’s week seven and it’s the Eagles and the Lions and you’re trying to make the playoffs, uh, how do you fix that in season is my existential question here. Yeah, you have so much faith in KC, Josh Macau, others in Egan that it can happen on the fly, but I’m with you, Phil. Like I really truly believe if McCarthy was in a really good spot and just watching him move in that tiny amount of time on Monday that he plays on Sunday. So yeah, so there probably is a little bit more and hey, you know, it was pretty open-ended question and KC turned it in that direction. Yeah, KOC was asked directly about JJ, but it’s not like it was specifically about mechanics and all that, right? There was some corner turning there if I if I recall correctly. And so yeah, I’m buying what you’re selling there, Phil. Yeah, I mean I’m with you. I don’t know how you fix it on the fly, but I guess you just say, okay, McCarthy incredibly intelligent. Nobody would deny that, right? You talk to his people in high school and IMG Academy as well, Nazareth and and at Michigan and all that, right? and they just they speak to how intelligent this young man is that it can just click, but I’m with you. I don’t know how you fix it on the fly, but I also firmly believe we will see JJ McCarthy back in there. Like, I’m not wavering on that. And hey, it was a legit high ankle sprain, so this isn’t, you know, some sort of soft benching going back to the Pittsburgh or Cleveland games. Like, he wasn’t ready health-wise physically to play in those games. I’m just saying like when the injury occurred like this Eagles game was always the intended target and now just as we’re sitting here 5 days out you know like we’re wavering we’re saying we think at this point signs point to Carson Wentz. So why exactly did that timeline change? And so I think it’s it’s a worthy discussion. I really do. Hey, on the uh defensive side of the ball, you brought him up. Blake Cashman, uh they opened his 21-day window to practice, so a decision has to be made within the next uh 3 weeks or so. But do you think there is a chance that he plays on Sunday because clearly the struggles of the run defense, I don’t know they’d be fixed completely, but they would definitely be helped by his return. Yeah, I mean, he’s trending in that direction. He’s always been trending in that direction. Yes, I get it. We need to see how he recovers Thursday after the Wednesday practice, Friday after the Thursday practice. But yes, Jud, I mean, the target has always been postby. Missed the minimum four games much like CJ Ham, right? Activated, boom. Yes, 21day window opens, but immediately back in the lineup. Yeah, I anticipate Blake Cashman, Green Dot, quarterback of the defense, going back to being the communicator. We know how good the Vikings can be on defense when he’s in there. Like, yeah. Okay, we can debate one person. Does he make that much of a difference? But go back to last year. Like that’s the story of Blake Cashman. To me, unreal talent. Just find a way to stay healthy. But it’s every year you have to anticipate he’s going to miss some length of time. The talent is undeniable against the run, against the pass. To me, elite talent-wise linebacker, but like at this point, I just I don’t know how you can ever pencil him in for even 16, let alone 17 games. like you know he’s going to miss some amount of time but yeah he’s tracking I anticipate he plays on Sunday you know just uh totally totally different side street off the defensive conversation but uh as part of our state of the Vikings episode you know we go through kind of where they rank and here we are we’re getting to toward the halfway point of the season here in a in a couple weeks and the Vikings once again just like last year have like a top five scoring defense top 10 yardage defense so Flores has come in here and uh has has built one of the best defenses in the league, one of the best pressure defenses in the league. So, I think and and and there’s been some progression in his legal case against the NFL, but Brian Flores’s stock has gone up the last two or three years because he’s built another great defense and Tua continues to step in it over in Miami. whatever credibility Tua had like three years ago uh in sort of denigrating Brian Flores and saying he treats his quarterbacks poorly. We heard that Flores thought that Tua was uh soft. Let’s just put it that way, right? And now here’s Tua just exhibiting terrible leadership traits as the Dolphins quarterback. I think a lot of people now after three years are looking at Brian and saying, “Boy, that dude can build a defense.” And if we’re being honest, he was right about Tua. Maybe he didn’t handle it perfectly, but he was kind of right about Tua. So, I do wonder as this season continues to progress, the Brian Flores stock continues to rise here, what that will mean for him in the uh February March hiring period in the NFL. Yeah, I don’t know if it happens next February or March, Phil, but I do think eventually like I think he’s going to get he’s young enough opportunity. I still think there needs to be full closure on the litigation front, but yeah, resume-wise, yes, absolutely. Now, you start looking around like, okay, Tennessee is open. Well, I imagine they hire an offensive-minded head coach with Cam Ward, right? And so, like, who’s hiring now? The Jets did, but like who’s hiring a defensive-minded head coach? And I get it. if you hire the right offensive coordinator, get the right offensive staff in place, just find the right leader. But like of rejected jobs, I mean, I know you’ve been on the Cincinnati bandwagon for a bit that if they make a move on Zack Taylor, although I don’t know, are you letting Zack Taylor go when Joe Burrow goes down that early? But maybe Cincinnati potentially, but I don’t know if it happens in February or March. Maybe it’s Zack Taylor gets one more run at this thing with a healthy Joe Burrow next year and at that point February or March of 2027 if it hasn’t worked out maybe Florence to Cincinnati then makes more sense. I think it’s uh one of the most interesting things involving Brian is the fact that as of right now as far as we know and coordinators contracts aren’t talked about a lot but he is in the last year of his contract here. So I guess my question would be big on that though right Jud? I mean, I’ve tried Y question. I don’t know if you brought that up or not, but he radar. I’ve heard different things, but my point is if he is not resigned yet be because I’m with you. I don’t think he gets a head coaching job until this suit is done and this thing is carried on and on and on and he’s actually Brian has gotten favorable rulings in it. But as far as the coordinator position goes, would some team pursue him and try to break the bank? Now, I think the Vikings would probably match. But, um, he could be a very hot commodity if he has not signed an extension on the coordinator market. If he left as a head coach though, I wonder if he would try to take Macauen to be his OC. Now, I I think he’s got a good chance himself at a head coaching job. probably depends a little bit on how the McCarthy thing goes down here. But there’s definitely some interesting tentacles when it comes to the Vikings assistance and what could take place starting in probably March. Yeah, I mean to me that’s another guy, right? Like Josh Macau is interviewed for head coaching jobs. I think he’s going to get one eventually. I think he’s going to get one eventually. In fact, I could see him getting one before Florence. But I think over the next fiveish years, like I think both, you know, in Brian’s case gets another opportunity. Josh gets in opportunity. But yeah, like that’s the next evolution for Josh is calling plays. That’s not changing anytime soon here. Highly thought of enough. And so yeah, if he has an opportunity to go call plays, yeah, that makes to me a ton of sense. So yeah, I mean, heck, but like how does the rest of this year go, right? So, I saw the note that right now they’re projected to be an underdog in 10 of their 12 remaining games. Now, there’s fluidity to that. By the time we get to the game in Dallas, maybe the Vikings are favored in that game, but right now the Vikings would be an underdog in Dallas. We’re talking the home game against Chicago, the road game against the New York Giants. Otherwise, right now, the Vikings are looking at being a dog in 10 games. Are they a playoff team? Can they get to 10 victories? Are there seven wins to be had? I know you guys went up and down the schedule on Monday. Jud, I think you had them finishing at nine. Phil, you had them finishing, correct me if I’m wrong, at 10. But can they get to seven and five to finish 10 and seven? I think that gets you in. But then I’m looking at the landscape of the NFC. Like you think about this weekend, right? Like Atlanta beats Buffalo, NFC team beats AFC team. The Rams beat the Ravens, NFC team beats AFC team. The Seahawks NFC team beats Jacksonville AFC team. Outside of New Orleans, there’s 15 teams in the NFC with at least two victories. So, like, if the Vikings are a nonplayoff team, I don’t know. Like, are those guys super appealing? I still think enough, especially Macau being given an opportunity to call plays. Mardle’s another guy. They’re a wide receivers’s coach who’s interviewed for some OC jobs that to me the next evolution eventually for him is he’ll have an opportunity to call plays. I don’t think that’s far from happening. In fact, I wouldn’t have been shocked if it had happened this year in New Orleans or somewhere else, but it didn’t. Now, New Orleans went the Kell Moore direction, but there was some dialogue. Maybe it was two years ago, but Kell’s been in in the mix for for some play calling opportunity. So, I think that is going to happen. I just I don’t have a good feel on on how this season exactly is going to finish. I think I lean a little bit more toward your thinking, Phil, they can get to 10, but if it’s nine, like you’re thinking, Jud, I wouldn’t be surprised. I mean, I don’t think it’s eight, but I also don’t think it’s 11. I think it’s one of those two. I think it’s nine or 10, but it is interesting that right now they’re projected to be an underdog in all these games. Yeah. Let’s let’s actually talk more about the the landscape of the conference and even the division after the Bears won last night here in just a moment. But uh you can get these Justin Jefferson Pepsi souvenir cups that I’m holding right here for the YouTube audience. You can get these inside Buffalo Wild Wings locations. So all you have to do is go in go to a B-Dubz and uh get one of these little Josh Jefferson cups. Fill it with well they’ll do it for you. Uh they’ll fill fill some Pepsi up in there, maybe some ice or no ice if you want to maximize. And you can scan the QR code and enter to win Victor’s Ride, a Polaris 1000 ATV. And all you have to do is scan the code on the side of the cup. Excuse me. Need some Pepsi to wash down my fle here, apparently. And uh boom, you can be entered to win this thing. So stop into a B-Dubz. Limited supplies, by the way. So uh act now. get in there for lunch maybe today or uh sometime before the weekend. Pepsi is the official beverage of the Minnesota Vikings and again a shout out to Buffalo Wild Wings for carrying these cups here. Also, Park Dental, the official dentist of Purple Daily, or at least me. Anyways, I had a great appointment there a couple weeks ago. Who’s got two thumbs and no cavities? This guy right here, Park Dental. 50 years of caring for and cleaning teeth in Minnesota and western Wisconsin. They treat patients of all ages. So, if you’ve got kids, if you’ve got maybe your grandparents are in need of a dentist, whatever it may be, you can schedule a checkup at parkdental.com. Many practices open at 7 a.m. and a lot are open until 8:00 p.m. at least one night a week so that you can uh you can navigate pre and postwork hours. Again, schedule your checkup at parkdental.com. So yeah, Dukes, the division after the the Bears, the Bears are better than they were a year ago for sure. Clearly, like they’re better coached, better offensive system, all these things. And also, they were gifted that game with that fumble. The it was wet, raining, and then Jaden Daniels loses control of the football while he’s trying to hand it off. Oh, here’s a gimme. The Bears get the ball now at like the 50 yardd line. And they did what they had to do. But right now, the Vikings and Bears are tied at the bottom of the NFC North at 3 and2. And to your earlier point about the NFC in general, 12 of the 16 teams right now are at least 500. And the Cowboys are one of the teams below 500 at 23 and one. And they’ve got one of the best offenses in the league so far through the first uh six games. So this div I mean this division is everything we thought it was going to be in terms of a high floor. And then you got at least two or three teams that look like they could do something in the playoffs if the Vikings get their quarterback situation right. So it’s pretty loaded Dukes. I mean right now of the 16 NFC teams, Phil, how many can we definitively say right this second? Zero chance to make the playoffs. Okay. New Orleans. They all agree New Orleans. Cardinals feel like they’re pretty cooked at this point. Yeah, just about. Giants. I I mean it’s a long shot, but with Scataboo and Dart now Neighbors being out is a huge blow, but the Giants are kind of feisty. They’re kind of I I don’t think they’re making the playoffs, but if you’re saying, “Hey, the NFC is like it’s less topheavy and more just a fight among like 10 or 12 teams.” Would it shock me if the Giants won eight or nine games? No, it wouldn’t. No, but you’re probably right. Okay, maybe eight is the ceiling. So, okay, probably not this year making the playoffs. Not far away, but not this year. Carolina, Dallas. So, even if we grant all five of those, Carolina, Dallas, Giants, Saints, and Arizona, that still leaves 11 teams competing for seven spots. So, who are the four not making it among those remaining 11? I don’t know. It’s hard. It’s really hard. I thought the Vikings were a playoff team preseason. So, why should I waiver at this point? Although, so the Vikings have played what is it? I’ll do the simple math. So, five games times four quarters, 20 quarters. They’ve had what? Four good quarters against the Bengals, one against the Bears, the fourth quarter against Pittsburgh, and the fourth quarter against Cleveland. Is that where we’re at? So, what is that? Seven or eight of the 20 quarters where you’re like, “Okay, legit team offensively.” Yeah. Defensively, they’ve had they’ve had more good quarters defensively, but yeah. Sure. But like I don’t know. Is it much more than that? So, seven or eight quarters. Okay. Defensively, maybe it’s about half, but you know, they’re probably fortunate at this point to be three and two, frankly. But Dukes, the the thing is that there are in in the conference at least, if not the entire league, there are a ton of fan bases who feel like this one does. It’s the same thing. Like in watching the red zone on Sunday, like what’s happening with the Vikings to a te is happening to a ton of teams. Injuries are huge. I mean, the 49ers are decimated. You think the Vikings have it bad? The 49ers are decimated. Detroit had, I believe, four or five defensive backs out, defensive players out on Sunday. So, so like in a in a vacuum, if you look at the Vikings, it’s like, oh boy, McCarthy’s not working out. You got all these injuries. It doesn’t feel like our year. But then you look around the conference and you watch these games and man, it is permeating this league and which makes it fun and frustrating. But like if if we say right now, boy, I think the Vikings are in trouble. How many teams can we say that about? That’s what I find like Tampa Bay’s off to a great start and Bakers played lights out, but that’s the exception, not the rule. So that’s where I think the season is so interesting is you have so many teams, especially in the conference, that feel very identical to what the Vikings are experiencing. Might not be the quarterback is the same, but there’s something or there’s injuries that are definitely affecting them and and so they’re not as good as we thought or in some cases not as bad as we thought they were going to be. Well, even Tampa, right? Tristan Warfs and Mike Evans and their wide receivers at some point, but yeah, they’ve had their share of injuries. So, yeah, I mean, the NFL league office in New York is loving this, right? Like it’s even across the board. Like, you can’t feel good about anyone. Like two weeks ago, you felt really good about Buffalo on the AFC side of things. Now, you’re like poking all these holes in the Buffalo. Oh, Buffalo can’t stop the run. Ward, who do you feel really good about? Yeah. Yeah. Well, you know, you know who? Kansas City, actually. I know they’ve lost some games, but their offense is clicking more. They’re going to get Rasheed Rice back. And it kind it kind of felt like there was a couple different teams that had a real shot to dagger the Chiefs early when they were 0 and2 and were they one and three, whatever it was. And uh here they are. They’re they’re they’re three and three. the offense is getting going and their defense on the Vikings, I would say at 3-2 and a plus 26 point differential with half of your projected starters missing huge chunks of time in the first 5 weeks. I would say it’s a pretty incredible accomplishment to be 3 and two. Now, now you got to now you got to play this tough schedule and and win some games, get fully healthy, get your quarterback situation figured out, but now it’s time to go. All right, but you brought up the point differential. What is it? Plus 26, you said. Yep. Okay. skewed by week three, right? Like everything’s skewed by week three. Yeah. Where are they overall right now? You know, turnover differential wise, but then you think about the last two games, they didn’t even create one turnover. It just it seems like the Cincinnati game has skewed a lot of things. Okonnell talked about it off the top of his press conference on Monday, and I agree completely. If you clean up the fumble, if if you clean up the turnovers and the penalties, like those are things that you can pretty much control, right? Like you can’t control injuries. There’s a ton of things that are outside of of your purview. But when you look at the penalties, which I mean this team has taken I believe their lowest penalty total of the season came against Cleveland and was seven. And I believe they finished last season as a plus 12 in turnover differential and they’re a minus two right now. and they had two huge ones against the Browns that clearly cost them points. If you clean that up, I think you’re in decent shape. You might not be in great shape all the time, but I think you’re in decent shape. And I think you can clean that up. And getting some of these guys back will certainly help. So, you know, it’s not Joe Huber and Justin School committing some of these pre-nap penalties. It’ll also help. I mean, you know, we didn’t bring up the name Harrison Smith. My understanding is the pity wheels are about to come off. that whatever that looks like with his role like Theo Jackson leads the defense in in snaps so far this year. Who had that on the bingo card through five games? But Harrison Smith should be in a much better spot to play whatever more snaps looks like more snaps starting on Sunday against the Eagles. Christian Darasol, my understanding is in a pretty good spot. So, I’ve not been told he’s on some sort of pitch count again against the Eagles like he was against the Browns. I also think they can tackle better clearly. Like they didn’t tackle well at all week two. Not that anyone is tackling Bejian Robinson at this point. Man alive. Did he put on another show last night? But you know even Jkins and you know gain well and all that like they can tackle better. I also just think now, hey, we have the goofiness of the Thursday night game having to travel on Wednesday, but just getting back into some sort of semi- routine like it’s been a month since we’ve been at US Bank Stadium. It’s been a month since they’ve had a Sunday noon game. Yeah. Just some of that normaly like I don’t know how to quantify it exactly, but it does matter. That’s why I feel pretty good. Even if projections right now have them as an underdog in 10 of their remaining 12 games, I do feel good about them winning enough games to get into the playoffs to get to 10 victories. Darren Doogie Wilson, we’ll have more on Thursday and we will know more about the quarterback situation perhaps by then and certainly the injury report which will be officially out next time we podcast together here on Purple Daily Dukes. But great stuff, man. Sounds good, boys. On other note, the Vikings will have scouting representation Friday night. Huntington Bank Stadium. Gophers against Corn Huskers. It’s a big, dude. The The Huskers are they they they don’t play Ohio State. They don’t play Oregon. They do have Penn State who’s just a disaster. So, the Huskers are kind of hunting sneakily for the college football playoff if they keep winning. So, this a big quarterback’s intriguing. I know he threw a bunch of interceptions last week against Maryland, although played really well at the very end of the game, but they have enough interesting players. There’s a reason why Nebraska I mean the point spread opened at like five or five and a half. It jumped by a couple points. Snap of the fingers. Nebraska is now a pretty healthy favorite. By the way, I would take the Gophers in those points. Not saying they win on Friday, but right now the number’s too big whether it’s seven or eight. Will PJ Fleck be in the running for the Nebraska job when Matt Rule becomes the Penn State coach? which is my question. Wow, dude. Wow, dude. Wow. Cuz Matt Rule is going to Penn State. You can write that down. In fact, well, I feel confident saying PJ will not be in the mix for the Penn State job, whether it’s Matt Rule or someone else. I mean, his name was kicked about for the UCLA job. Now, hey, I don’t even know who the interim coach is, but clearly he’s doing a pretty good job. So, maybe UCLA doesn’t need to really do much. But, he was in the mix previously. UCLA. Although, you know, there’s a reason why the Midwest makes a lot of sense for PJ Fleck. And hey, he loves working for Mark Coyle. So, I think PJ is going to be here for a bit. All right. All right, folks. Darren Doogie Wolfson, we’ll see you on Thursday. Yeah. Purple Daily, 365 days a year just slinging Vikings takes. See you guys.

Doogie joins Mackey and Judd to discuss which key Minnesota Vikings players are set to return from injury against the Philadelphia Eagles. Plus, Brian Flores’ stock continues to rise, and the NFC seems wide open right now!

Subscribe to our channel for more Vikings content every day of the week!

Support our sponsors:

https://lucy.co/PD20 — Get 20% off Lucy Nicotine pouches

https://play.underdogfantasy.com/p-skor-north — Use promocode SKOR at Underdog Fantasy for a deposit match

https://crybabycraigs.com/shop/ — Get 10% off Cry Baby Craig’s Hot sauce with promo code PD10

https://pendletonwhisky.com/?&utm_source=skor_north&utm_medium=sponsorship&utm_campaign=podcast_2025&utm_content=directory — Grab a bottle of Pendleton Whisky!

https://seatgeek.onelink.me/RrnK/PURPLE10 — Use our code to get 10% off tickets! (Max $20) Restrictions Apply

https://renaissancefest.com/ — Get your tickets to the Minnesota Renaissance Fest!

https://www.standardheating.com/ — Contact Standard Heating & Air for HVAC services

https://gamedaymenshealth.com/minnetonka-mn/purpledaily/ — Find your maximal self!

https://www.parkdental.com/ — Schedule your next cleaning at Park Dental

https://minnesotarusco.com/ — Let Minnesota Rusco handle your next home remodel

https://www.roku.com/ — Elevate your television viewing with a Roku TV

https://FederatedInsurance.com — Where it’s Our Business to Protect Yours!

https://www.blackstackbrewing.com/ — Check out BlackStack Brewing in St. Paul.

https://OmahaSteaks.com — to get 50% off sitewide during their Red-Hot Sale Event. And use Promo Code PURPLE at checkout for an extra $35 off. Minimum purchase may apply. See site for details. A big thanks to our partner, Omaha Steaks!

WHERE TO FIND US:

Purple Daily on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/purple-daily-a-minnesota-vikings-podcast/id923544550

Purple Daily on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3gP5J0KGDpXRDMoUeGistO

The SKOR North app on Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/skor-north-mn-sports/id529143109

The SKOR North app on Google: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.espn.tc&hl=en_US&gl=US

Follow Judd on Twitter: http://www.Twitter.com/jzulgad
Follow Mackey on Twitter: http://www.Twitter.com/philmackey
Follow Mackey on Instagram: http://www.Instagram.com/philmackey
Follow SKOR North on Instagram: http://www.Instagram.com/SKORNorth

#MinnesotaVikings #NFL