#493: Minnesota Vikings potential DEVASTATING INJURY

Speaker 1 (00:06):
We need to address something that could become a big
problem for the Minnesota Vikings moving forward, and all of
the details are not out yet, but it is something
that should concern all Minnesota Vikings fans, and that is
the missus and the potential long term injury status of

(00:31):
none other than Minnesota Vikings Phenom, Minnesota Vikings young Superstar,
Minnesota Vikings strong man, Minnesota Vikings come over killer. He's

(00:55):
a thriller, Will Richard, because following the game, we learned
that he was injured or was dinged up, did something
to his squad during the week of preparation for the
Indianapolis Colts game, and he went out and missed two kicks.

(01:21):
One a fifty three yarder game fine happens, and then
another thirty one yarder poinked it off the upright from
thirty one yards and he was perfect thirty four for
thirty four extra points and field goals up into that point. Now,
it wasn't the fact that he missed them short, he

(01:42):
was just off. He missed them both to the right.
And this is something that I think is more concerning
than meets the eye, because field goal kickers never get
the right respect from NFL, from fans, from organizations, because

(02:06):
the game is typically one or lost on their leg
final seconds, who do you call in? Bring in the
kicker and the dude is either a hero or he
is a bump. There is more pressure on a kicker

(02:29):
on an NFL team than almost any other position on
an NFL team. Wide receiver three they have no pressure.
Wide receiver two maybe a little bit of pressure. Wide
receiver one has some pressure. Jefferson has some pressure, but
I would still argue that Will Richer. There is more

(02:50):
pressure on Will Reicher to make kicks than for Justin
Jefferson to haul in touchdown catches. Because Jefferson was phenomenally
as the Colts. What did he have? I got the
numbers right here. He had seven catches for one hundred
and thirty seven yards, but he didn't score a touchdown.
No pressure, I mean, yeah, he has pressure to deliver

(03:13):
catch passes, have yards, but some of that is on
the quarterback position. Can he get Jefferson the ball? So
the only position that I would argue has more pressure
on them than the kicker position is the quarterback position
because everything goes through the quarterback. Can they play, can

(03:35):
they complete passes. Can they not throw interceptions? Can they
throw touchdown passes? Can they pick a part of defense
while also reading pressures, escaping the pocket? All of those things.
So there's no position that has more pressure on them.
I would argue in any sport than the quarterback position.

(03:56):
They have the most pressure everywhere because they control the game.
But kickers have more pressure than a cornerback, defensive tackle, linebacker.
They either leave the hero and are praised, called amazing things,
get a game mall, or they leave as the scapegoat

(04:20):
and they are being harassed online by idiotic fans that
do those kinds of things. Just look at college football,
Look at a guy missing a kick, death threats everywhere.
Look at the NFL. Look at players that miss kicks.
They miss too many, they get released and then they
bring in another guy. Green Bay Packers are an example.

(04:43):
The Minnesota Vikings are an example throughout years of years
of horrible kickers on their roster. So the fact that
will Riitscherd missing time is a possibility is a big
deal because for the first time in a long time,
the Minnesota Vikings have a guy that is knocked down

(05:07):
from anywhere. The Vikings were gonna consider they weren't considering it.
They were going to do it. They were going to
kick a sixty eight yard field goal for the win
against the Detroit Lions. If the Minnesota Vikings did not
have an illegal formation when they spiked the ball with
one second left, they were gonna send Richrod out there.

(05:30):
But seventy three was a little bit too far. In
O'Connell's opinion, I still wanted to see it. I still
wanted to see little Richerd kick a seventy three yard
field goal. You just got to believe that the adrenaline
is there and that's gonna give him an extra five yards.
But the fact that he could miss time for the
Minnesota Vikings, which means that they need to bring in
a replacement kicker, which who knows who that's going to be.

(05:54):
It's just they're just trying to get lucky and find
a guy that can knock down kick for a few
weeks until hopefully he returns. Apparently, this isn't the first
time that will Richard has had this situation happen to him,
which is all the more concerning because Will Richard, when

(06:16):
he played for the University of Alabama, had a similar
quad injury, and I think he missed time because of
that quad injury. So this is a big deal for
the Minnesota Vikings because you need him back because it's

(06:38):
a big important position. And I am forever on the
belief and I don't think I could be convinced otherwise
that kickers should be selected in the third round of
NFL drafts. Maybe not the first two rounds. That might
be a a little high, But you look at some
of these guys that are selected mid round. Think about

(06:58):
like a Brian osmoa an A calb Evans. I always
struggle with this for his name. These guys are but
mid round picks by the Minnesota Vikings, and they're on
special teams. They don't even play on defense in their
respective positions. Yeah, well, Richard over here knocking down sixty

(07:19):
something yard field goals, and you've got Brian Osimola, who
the Minnesota Vikings might trade today because he doesn't see
the field. And I just don't believe that kickers get
their respect that they deserve. You know, who has the
most points in NFL history is always a kicker. I

(07:39):
should look that up right now, because who has hang
with me for a second, who has the most points
in the NFL because you know it's always a kicker.
But of course Google doesn't give it to me. It's

(08:03):
always a kicker, though said who has the most? Oh,
I tell you who has the most in the NFL points.
That's why I screwed up all right, NFL all time
scoring leaders. Look at this, Look at that. Let me
share the screen with you. These guys are undrafted. A
lot of them are. These guys get selected in the
sixth and seventh rounds. A lot of them are. Adam

(08:25):
Vinterio more than Anderson, Gary Anderson, Jason Hansen, I don't
know who John Carney is, Matt Stover, George Blanda, Jason Elam,
Robbie Gold, Mason Crosby, Sebastian Jenakowski, Steven Goskowski. Look at these.
These are the leading point getters in the NFL, all kickers.

(08:51):
The disrespect on kickers needs to stop, and the Minnesota Vikings.
If this Will Richerd thing becomes a little bit long term,
I think it's scarier than anybody is actually talking about
because Will Richard has been absolutely phenomenal for the Minnesota

(09:11):
Vikings this season. Besides two kicks that he had on
an injured quad and they still went out there after
The Vikings scored and kicked some field goals in despite
the injury. But you think about like the Packers game,
the Vikings went down, had a game seiling drive and
it was sealed by Will Richard. Against the Jets, the
Vikings up twenty seventeen, went down big time. Field goal

(09:37):
by Will Richard gave them a touchdown lead. Same thing
against the Niners. Vikings go down Will Richard, Vikings are
up twenty to fourteen. Will Rcherd kicks a field goal,
go up twenty three to fourteen. So Will Richard has
a massive impact on the Minnesota Vikings, and kickers have
a massive impact on their team everywhere. That's why teams

(09:59):
release them if they that's a few in a row,
because they know how vital they are to the team's success.
So his injury could be the massive problem for the
Minnesota Vikings moving forward, and hopefully he heals up fast.