#505: Minnesota Vikings & NFL Officials defeat Tennessee Titans!

Speaker 1 (00:07):
There is a lot to digest after the Minnesota Vikings
advanced to eight and two, following they're twenty.

Speaker 2 (00:16):
Three to thirteen victory.

Speaker 1 (00:18):
Over the Tennessee Titans, and opposites attract because the Tennessee
Titans are now two and eight. I don't really know
how opposite attracts makes any sense right now, but the
Vikings are eight and two, four and one on the road,
and the Tennessee Titans are two and eight, one and
four on the road. These teams are the exact opposite

(00:39):
of each other, so opposite its attract Sam Donald in
this football game, twenty for thirty two, two hundred and
forty six yards, two touchdowns, zero interceptions. This game is
exactly what the doctor ordered for Sam Donald and the
Minnesota Vikings off They only put up twenty three points,

(01:02):
but they put up an effective twenty three points.

Speaker 2 (01:06):
Sam Donald had one error, and I.

Speaker 1 (01:10):
Don't even know if it was on Sam Donald when
he pitched it to Aaron Jones. The announcer said it
was like an inch behind Aaron Jones, but it went
right off his hands. That will be counted towards an
Aaron Jones fumble, just like the one earlier. In the year,
Sam Donald had a pitch to Ty Chandler and that
Jets game goes right through Chandler's hands. Doesn't matter because

(01:34):
then Van Ginkle intercepts it for a pick six and
biking score touchdown. Anyways, but that fumble was counted towards
Sam Donald, like I'm sure this one as well will
be counted towards Sam Donald. Won fumble one loss, even
though that was technically on Aaron Jones. So great game
for Sam Donald, especially after the wheels have started to

(01:55):
fall off.

Speaker 2 (01:56):
Three picks in the red zone against the Jaguars.

Speaker 1 (01:59):
And in this foot you saw intentionality from Sam Darnald. One,
you saw the escapability throughout this football game many times.
Two you also saw him take checkdown passes, which he
hasn't been doing in recent games.

Speaker 2 (02:17):
You could clearly.

Speaker 1 (02:19):
See the execution and the coaching, the adjustments, the flexibility
offensively for the Minnesota Vikings, particularly Darnald, because in recent
weeks he's just been trying to force the ball when
it wasn't there, and he took unnecessary sacks, he threw
unnecessary picks, and in this game you saw a lot

(02:41):
of checkdown passes and checkdown passes on first down, second down.

Speaker 2 (02:46):
You know, a checkdown pass on.

Speaker 1 (02:47):
Third down, you know he can live to survive another possession.
But a checkdown pass on first down and second down
to make a manageable third down makes a lot of sense.

Speaker 2 (02:57):
And we saw that a lot in this game.

Speaker 1 (03:00):
Josh Oliver three catches thirty four yards, Johnny Munt one catch,
thirteen yards, cat Makers two catches, eleven yards, Aaron Jones
one catch.

Speaker 2 (03:08):
Four yards. So you saw a lot.

Speaker 1 (03:10):
Of checkdowns from Sam Donald in this football game. And
that's exactly what you want Sam Donald to do. You
don't want him taking risky throws in every single possession
or every single throw. You want him to make timely
mid field passes like he did to Jefferson, like he
did to Addison. Addison three catches sixty one yards, Jefferson

(03:32):
six catches, eighty one yards. But when the play is
not there, don't force it. And that's what you saw
from Sam Donald in this game. Granted, it's the Titans.
They stink, they're two to eight, they have one of
the worst teams in the NFL.

Speaker 2 (03:48):
They have really no talent anywhere on the football field.

Speaker 1 (03:52):
But Sam Donald looked more like the first five weeks
of the season, sam Donald than he has in the
previous few games.

Speaker 2 (04:02):
And that is a major sign.

Speaker 1 (04:04):
Because the Vikings have the Bears next week, they have
the Packers again, they have the Lions again.

Speaker 2 (04:09):
Now is the time to get Sam Donald right. You know, he.

Speaker 1 (04:12):
Struggled against the Jacksonville Jaguars, and at the end of
the day, if you are gonna struggle against a team
this season, which Sam.

Speaker 2 (04:22):
Donald is going to, I'd rather have him struggle.

Speaker 1 (04:25):
Against the Jacksonville Jaguars than the Packers, than the Lions
than the Bears. Get that one out of the way.
Throw that one in the garbage can.

Speaker 2 (04:32):
They won.

Speaker 1 (04:33):
Anyways, look at the tape, figure it out, and it
looks like for the most part against the crappy Tennessee Titans,
Sam Donald made the necessary adjustments and found the underneath
pass when it was necessary to make the underneath pass.
So bravo to Sam Donald. The Minnesota Vikings defense they played.

(04:58):
They only give up thirteen points, so they played pretty good.
And in the game Will Levis seventeen for thirty one
two hundred and ninety five yards, one touchdown, one pick.
And here's the big difference maker. He was tackled for

(05:21):
five sacks for a loss of thirty four yards. Van Ginkel,
I think we saw Patrick Jones in there a few times.
We might have saw greenerd in there one or two times.
The Minnesota Vikings pass rush was effective and it bullied

(05:42):
the Tennessee Titans offensive line. I don't know how many
times it showed it on the replay, but several times
in this game they showed the right tackle number seventy
eight from the Tennessee Titans just getting obliterated, like he
had no chance. They put out like a tight end.
They chipped Van Kinkle, he went got through him, and

(06:04):
then they gave him the running back. He didn't even
block him, and then he went right around number seventy
eight and sacked Will Levis.

Speaker 2 (06:10):
So the Vikings defense was good.

Speaker 1 (06:13):
There was a few situations like the ninety eight yard
pass from Levis to whatever that rider's.

Speaker 2 (06:18):
Eier's name was.

Speaker 1 (06:19):
It must have been Nick Westbrook Echini since he had
two catches for one hundred and seventeen yards with his
long being ninety eight yards.

Speaker 2 (06:27):
Just an assumption guessing it was him. They had a
breakdown there.

Speaker 1 (06:31):
Mattellus made a bad read on the ball, but for
the most part, the defense played well.

Speaker 2 (06:36):
They also got bailed out in the second half.

Speaker 1 (06:39):
So this score, you know, it's a double digit win.
The Vikings were in control of this game the entire way.
I was never concerned for one minute that the Vikings
were gonna lose this game. But I don't know if
this score is truly indicative of how well the Vikings
were formed in this game. A lot of it was
because of how poorly the Tennessee Titans.

Speaker 2 (06:59):
Act secution was.

Speaker 1 (07:02):
It could run through a whole list of mistakes by
the Titans. The illegal formation on a Will Levis bomb
would have made it a one score game negated. You
think about the off sides defensively fourth and one Sam Darnold.

Speaker 2 (07:18):
They didn't really show.

Speaker 1 (07:19):
A replay on it, but by the looks of that
he did not get that first down would have been
the Tennessee Titans ball up three zero. The Tennessee Titans
had twelve penalties, and this football game out of ESPN
doesn't really show how many penalty how many penalties each

(07:39):
team had in the box score.

Speaker 2 (07:40):
Maybe it does in the team's stats. Oh yeah, here
you go.

Speaker 1 (07:44):
Thirteen penalties for ninety one yards so as good as
the Vikings were in this game, they were good. They
were solid. For the most part. It was mistake free football.
They had one error in the first half on the pitch,
but the Tennessee Titans just handed the football off to

(08:04):
the Minnesota Vikings to let them walk through this game
really without any pushback. There was no attension, there was
no worry because anytime the Tennessee Titans gave themselves a
chance to get back into this football game, the Minnesota
Vikings just put them away because of the Tennessee Titans mistakes.

(08:27):
You think about the possession the Vikings had in the
second half, and I.

Speaker 2 (08:36):
Don't know if you want to give more credit.

Speaker 1 (08:38):
To the Tennessee Titans, Minnesota Vikings, or the officials, because
here are Minnesota Vikings fans. If you're watching on YouTube,
this is Minnesota Vikings fans at officials.

Speaker 2 (08:51):
They see things through a one way less Oh.

Speaker 1 (08:55):
The Annathals out to get us. Oh my gosh. Roger
good Dal he hates the Minnesota Vikings. Oh my gosh,
I'm a poor victim of being a Minnesota Vikings fan
because the NFL officials hate us.

Speaker 2 (09:09):
Oh, they throw too many flags in the game. Just
let them play.

Speaker 1 (09:13):
Why do you throw so many flags on the field
so many times? Just let them play, Gosh, let the
players deside the game. There's never any perspective on any
of it. Did you see that game? Any potential call
that could have went against the Minnesota Vikings went for

(09:35):
the Minnesota Vikings.

Speaker 2 (09:37):
You think about the off sides play?

Speaker 1 (09:41):
Was the offsides Maybe a lot of officials don't call
that gave the Minnesota Vikings a free first down because
it was a fourth and one. Jordan Addison clabberd in
the end zone. Was it a defensive receiver as a
bang bang play? Did he hit him up high? Certainly
did not head to the chest. Is that defenseless? Tennessee

(10:04):
Titans coach sure was fired up about it. Let me
rephrase the question. If that happened to the Minnesota Vikings.

Speaker 2 (10:15):
Would you have agreed with that call? If Harrison Smith,
who is known for.

Speaker 1 (10:20):
Hard hits, delivered that hit on Titans receiver Calvin Ridley,
and the.

Speaker 2 (10:26):
Referees through that flag, would you agree with that call?
Do some intro perspective seeking? Huh? That makes sense, you guys,
get me, huh? Do some self.

Speaker 1 (10:46):
Seeking look deep down into your chest and say, would
I have agreed with that call if Harry the hit
Man delivered one of those hits on the Tennessee Titans
wide receiver or tight end, and I could almost guarantee
you you would not agree with that call. That was
a fourth down play free first down at fourth and

(11:07):
inch or you know, at the at the inch line
for the Vikings to score a touchdown, and they punched
it in with the Was that a Sam donald sneak?

Speaker 2 (11:15):
Is that what it was?

Speaker 1 (11:16):
I can't even remember. I think it might have been
a Sam Darnald sneak. But anyways, that's one number two.
The defensive hands to the face on Justin Jefferson, second half,
third and eleven, Sam Darnold takes a sack.

Speaker 2 (11:37):
This is still when it's a one score game. What
is it?

Speaker 1 (11:40):
Uh? The Titans just scored a touchdown, so it was
sixteen ten at this point, sixteen ten. Jefferson doesn't even complain,
doesn't even look at the officials for the flag.

Speaker 2 (11:54):
And you know wide receivers.

Speaker 1 (11:55):
In the NFL, they always look for the flag, always
looking at the rev look at me. They always flail
their arms because that's probably what they're taught to do.
Why wouldn't you You should probably do that. He didn't
do it at all, didn't make a single gesture. It
looked like a sack. And then they showed the instant
replay and maybe there was a little handsy, but Jefferson

(12:19):
was handsy too, and they gave the Vikings an automatic
first down. When Sam Donald took a sack, referees bailed
out the Vikings again. Wasn't there a third time in
this game? Was there a third time in this game?
I'm looking through my notes.

Speaker 2 (12:36):
Was there a third time in this game the referees
build out the Vikings. I'm not sure. I might have
only been two.

Speaker 1 (12:43):
But on those two plays, the Minnesota Vikings scored touchdowns. Okay,
the second one was I think Donald to Acres touchdown
to basically sealed the game. The first one was a
Sam Donald QB sneak. So in this game, the Titans

(13:06):
were terrible and it was and the officials were the
twelfth man on the Minnesota Vikings. So as bad as
the face mask were, as bad as the Rams face
masks on Donald. As bad as the face mask was
that the thing that Jaguars had one on.

Speaker 2 (13:24):
Them didn't call it either time.

Speaker 1 (13:27):
One, the Vikings were probably not going to beat the
Rams regardless of that face mask or not.

Speaker 2 (13:32):
And two it all comes back around.

Speaker 1 (13:36):
And for some reason on my ex feed, I did
not see Minnesota Vikings fans hammering the NFL or the
officiating calling it rig calling it stupid. The Minnesota Vikings
played solid in this game, but there was, without a doubt,
there's no question that they had a lot of help

(14:01):
from the officials. Those two penalties I focused on that
were given the Minnesota Vikings a break. You know, maybe
it's a fifty to fifty call either way, Well, the
Vikings got both fifty to fifty calls led to fourteen
points for the Vikings. It would have been a punt

(14:23):
and it would have been a turnover on downs. Officials
bail them out both times. I saw this posted by
Phil McKie of Scoring North throughout the game. I just
want to share this graphic because it is an impressive graphic.
This was shared I think by the CBS crew on TV.

Speaker 2 (14:41):
Look at this. Phil McKie posted it to Twitter. Twenty
twenty two.

Speaker 1 (14:45):
Head Coaching Class Kevin O'Connell the best twenty seven for
sixteen Mike McDaniel twenty three for twenty, Todd Bowles twenty
one for twenty three, Doug Peterson twenty for twenty four
is about to get fired tomorrow after the Lions clabbered them.
Brian Dables seventeen for twenty six and one, Matty Eberflus

(15:07):
fourteen for twenty nine. He's about to get fired after
the season. Dennis Allen fired, Josh McDaniels fired, Lovey Smith fired,
Nathaniel Hackett fired. Can we show some appreciation to the
fact that Kevin O'Connell has Sam Darnold QB one for

(15:28):
the Minnesota Vikings eight and two. The over under for
the season was six and a half for the Minnesota Vikings.
From on most sportsbooks, this guy can coach, And anyone
that says otherwise, that criticizes a single play and says

(15:49):
this guy can't coach is out of their mind. Because
I've criticized plays against the Jaguars. I said that reverses
Stu what what third and one and you're putting the
ball in Sam Donald's hands when he's throwing three pick what?
But I never went as far to say that this
guy can't coach. Go through the book of the worst

(16:12):
play calls by every single coordinator that's ever coordinated. These
guys ain't perfect, yet O'Connell is so good and gets
the most out of his players. Who would have guessed
that Donald would be eight and two? Who would have

(16:34):
guessed that Donald would be playing his best football of
his career? And the Minnesota Vikings, barring some late season
collapse where they lose seven straight games and fall to
eight to nine, are gonna make the playoffs. Who knows
what they'll do in the playoffs, but here to take it. Donald,

(16:55):
a guy who's on his fourth team to the playoffs
for the first time in his career and outside of
the forty nine ers as QB one, it's impressive stuff.
It's impressive stuff. Can't can't disregard just the job that
he is doing for the Minnesota Vikings because he is

(17:20):
so good and so elite at what he does. So
anytime I see people going after Kevin McConnell's head on X,
I see a lot of this. I see a lot
of that, a lot of people that have no idea
what they're talking about. And it's a shame because he's

(17:44):
good and people don't even want.

Speaker 2 (17:47):
To recognize it.

Speaker 1 (17:48):
Thank you for making this podcast part every day. Hit
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