Welcome to a brand new episode of The Real Forno Show with your host, Tyler Forness. As you know, we’re all about football and today’s episode is no different. We’re taking a deep dive into the upcoming Christmas Eve match-up between the Minnesota Vikings and the Detroit Lions, and trust me, you don’t want to miss this!
This isn’t just any ordinary game. It’s the second winter whiteout at the U.S. Bank Stadium, and the stakes couldn’t be higher. The outcome of this game could potentially decide the NFC North crown. If the Vikings manage to secure a win, they’ll be in the running for the title. On the other hand, a victory for the Lions would secure their first division title since it was the NFC Central back in 1993. The tension is high, and the excitement is palpable.
Joining us on the show today is our special guest, Dan Alter. Dan is a true-blue Lions fan hailing from Michigan. He’s not only an avid supporter but also has a wealth of knowledge about the game. We’ll be picking his brain about the upcoming game and discussing the critical aspects that might sway the game in favor of one team or the other.
One of the main topics we’ll be dissecting is whether Jameson Williams could turn out to be the dark horse who tips the scales. We’ll also be breaking down strategies that could potentially stop Jared Goff in his tracks. And of course, we can’t ignore the Lions’ impressive year-over-year growth. What has been their secret sauce? We’ll try to unveil that mystery with Dan’s keen insights.
But it’s not just about offense. The defense is going to play a crucial role as well and leading the Vikings’ defense is none other than Brian Flores. His unit was exposed by the Cincinnati Bengals with dig routes over the middle. Adjusting to counter that will be key, especially with Ben Johnson’s offense for the Lions thriving upon crossing routes. Can they slow down the dynamic duo of Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison? That’s the million-dollar question.
There’s a lot to unpack and discuss, and we’re thrilled to have you join us as we explore all these and more on this episode of The Real Forno Show. So sit back, relax, and let’s talk Vikings football!
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Guest Dan Alter @dan_dan_dad_dan. Tyler Forness @TheRealForno of Vikings 1st & SKOL @Vikings1stSKOL and the Vikings Wire @TheVikingsWire and Dave Stefano @Luft_Krigare producing this Vikings 1st & SKOL production, on the @RealFornoShow. Podcasts partnered with Fans First Sports Network @FansFirstSN and Fans First Sports Network’s NFL feed @FFSN_NFL.
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Can Brian Flores lead the Vikings defense to a victory over the Detroit Lions yeah we know that Brian Flores isn’t the head coach but let’s be real they’re going to ride the cailes of this defense as far as they can possibly go to potentially win the NFC North and in
Their way the Detroit Lions who are one win away from clinching their first ever NFC North title and their first division title since 1993 we’re going to talk all about it here this afternoon with my special guest Dan Dan Dan Dan Dan Dan Welcome to the Real for Show Welcome to the Real Forno show hosted by Tyler fores the managing editor of USA today’s Vikings wire writer for the college football network publisher of substack run in shooter host of The Good The Bad and The Hungry on the voices of wrestling podcast Network as well as a founding
Member of Vikings first and SC in the words of the great Brent musberger you are looking live welcome ladies and gentlemen to another episode of the real Forno show I’m your host Tyler foros moving down to the bottom right corner he is producer Dave and to
My left one of the biggest lions fans I’ve ever met and a football offici in AO his name oh yeah is Dan Dan Dan Dan Dan Dan or Dan alter Dan Dan certificate that’s what it says how are you doing my friend I’m good man how are you how are
You life is good life is life is pretty good and we are just a few days away from Christmas and we are a few days away from I don’t know if you know this the winter white out where the Vikings it’s the second annual winter white out
They did it last year against the Giants on Christmas Eve and they’re doing it again against the Lions full white jerseys white end zones white logo in the middle it should be a fun time oh I I got I I love like an all-white look um especially because I really do
Like the Vikings colors like I’m a I’m a fan for purple purple’s a cool color man so it’s like the white and purple always looks really good and I like like the road jerseys too but like a whole white out the only thing they haven’t done yet is
They have not Whited out the the face masks I’m guessing that may come down the line but it’s it’s going to be about as NFL as you can get for a Penn State white out because there’s there’s nothing I like it like a Penn State is
So cool that’s so cool to watch every year and I like that recently they haven’t put my Buckey on the white out they’ve done the moon so I don’t have to deal with it yeah uh it’s not smart to put uh like one of your best Rivals at as the white
Out except the one year where Michigan went in and literally the first play of the game they had to call a timeout because the crowd was just so Bonkers I hopefully US Bank Stadium gets that way but it’s it’s an absolutely special hopefully not I hope not don’t don’t
Throw that at me you know what let’s let’s jump right into it Dan um absolutely start with it kind of a a whole worldview because obviously we keep tabs on the Lions being that we share the same division and when we look at the Lions we see I see a team that’s
In flux they’re not quite 100% confident yet but when they are confident they play some really really good football and what what is the sense um in Michigan because that is where you reside you were lifelong Lions fan what’s the sense among the fan base and amongst yourself as to like what this
Lions team really is it’s such a strange thing because it’s like my whole life I I’ve gone with the the moniker so same old liance has just been like what I grew up with so now it’s so strange because it’s like I’m watching a team where like this is the best that the
Detroit liance has been in my life like and I’m not talking about like a single season success they’ve had a couple like really good single Seasons like that uh the year I think they played like New Orleans where they had Calvin and a burles and Matt Stafford
Doing his thing like just throwing it around with no regard for anything else um but I think this is sort of the one time I’ve seen where you are really seeing like not just the fact that they are having a great year not just the fact
That they are potentially on the cusp of like winning the division for the first time in my entire life it’s the fact that they actually have a regime that is like actually building towards something where in previous regimes it’s been a lot of like okay like you hit the
Big ones but we would always look back and be like okay well you can’t keep Calvin and you can’t keep Stafford you can’t keep Sue like I remember that was a big conversation uh in that sort of era where it was like you couldn’t keep the stars and then between Mayu and Quinn
They never drafted in like rounds two through like seven six sevenish to like actually build a team so a lot of the issue is like it was always oh well you had so because it was like well they’re going to look good they have they have players inevitably
They’re gonna have players but now all of a sudden for the first time in my life I’m watching a team that’s like oh wow this is a team that’s well built this is a team that they have an identity they have the players to back up that identity and then even when
Injuries hit they still have depth to actually still continue to go do what they want to do yeah yeah and I just want to yeah I want to give a shout out to Lefty for that that Super Chat talking about how US Bank needs to be loud on Sunday and
We completely agree Dan I I want to touch on this because you kind of mentioned the whole idea of um what uh Quinn and mayew really didn’t do um in trying to build up this team they didn’t really focus on trying to actually build a solid roster whereas with Brad Holmes
And Dan Campbell and you know Dan Campbell is one of my favorite coach in the league that dude may have started off as a meme but you can tell that he is just one of the more genuine people in the entire league and he doesn’t just
Like talk it he is what he says and I think that’s really cool and it’s showing with this football team even that first year where there were games I remember the Rams game uh where they they faced Stafford for the first time and they had no business even being
Competitive in that game they lost by nine but they had a lead going into the fourth quarter in that game because that’s what this team was they were a fighting team and now took a lot of flak because they drafted a running back and inside linebacker to start the draft and
Then they got a tight end and a in the second round it’s like well if you if you reverse it it feels pretty good well they all feel pretty good right now like yeah what is it about Dan Campbell and trying to kind of put this team forward on that proper path
The fact that they haven’t really strayed off of it at all I think is a really really impressive thing considering as you mentioned same old Lions we’ve we’ve seen the Lions my entire life just like poop down their pants and I remember Barry Sanders last game a playoff game against Washington
Poop down their pants it’s just been a constant why does it feel different now like it is it really Dan Campbell is he that guy and he’s really fixed everything I think to an extent it is like you have a coach who he is committed to the culture where and I I
Think Schwarz was all right with that um with calwell I think they did a good job just like hey he’s a veteran coach he knows how to deal with adults kind of thing like that and then Patricia was an absolute dumpster fire yep um so coming off
Of just like I I I don’t know how Matt Patricia is allowed within like 30 speed of a football field at this point like he he and the fact if the fact that the eagle said like we’re gonna let this guy call defense it’s just it was ridiculous that
Guy should not be like buddy go go back to NASA go get a go get a job application go to NASA get away from this great game um but it’s like coming off of such a bad I mean culture wise um like building Talent accumulating Talent the whole thing was
A mess so coming in off of such a poor culture to now a guy who like gets it culture-wise Dan Campbell is he’s gonna coach a team where he doesn’t want you there unless you’re gonna fight he doesn’t want you there unless you’re going to work hard I mean
I’ll look at the way that like CJ Gardner Johnson has gone about like his rehab like he was talking about today because today he came back to practice and a big thing that he mentioned was he wanted to get back he wanted to get back for his team he had
Said that like oh yeah if we win on Satur or on Sunday I’m gonna ball out crying because I’m so happy for this team and I want to be there for this team and saying that he was working out like 7 AM to 900 pm to try and get
Himself right to be back for this team and you just you see a team full of people who they want each other to to succeed they want the best out of their teammates and it’s an unselfish team where they don’t care if they’re making the play they just care that the play is
Being made yeah and I I gotta say it’s it’s it’s really refreshing to see that from the Lions as as much as it pains me as a Vikings guy you know I cover the team I’ve been a lifelong fan and I really don’t I really don’t wish the Lions
Anything of any positivity but it’s it’s good to see a fan base that is arguably more tortured than we are in a different way because the Vikings will will give you hope and and it’s it’s like that Meme with the with the the fisherman in the story he like oh yeah you’re almost
Di that’s how we’ve been tortured whereas you it’s just like you are an ouse and everybody comes in to see you like it’s it’s just a whole different kind of torture um I want to transition to the offense here because and I think we have to talk about the elephant in
The room and his name is Jameson Williams um he’s going to be forever linked to the Minnesota Vikings in his career he only has 18 receptions for I believe is 294 yards and and five touchdowns not exactly what you would call a great statline it it it deserves
To be mentioned he’s only played in 16 games so he essentially has a full season under his belt where the Vikings traded down and they ended up getting louen and then they obviously got a couple other guys in that package but it’s really going to be Jameson Williams
Versus Louis Cen and cen’s done 10% of Jack squat I think he’s played a total of two defensive snaps and you have Jameson Williams who’s really hasn’t been able to quite figure it out yet what is going on with Jameson Williams is it as simple as some of the stat
Sheets will tell you that he’s just not producing or is it just a factor if he’s not a focal point in the offense I’m gonna say a little of both and actually a point that I would I do want to make is this last week against
Denver he had a career high in targets and catches um I think he had I want to say like six or seven targets and I think four catches um and it’s one of those things where I think there is a little bit of he him getting acclimated and him
Learning like this is what it takes to be an NFL player this is what it takes to get on the field and then also him and Jared G sting get getting on the same page where you’ll still see um like there was a play against Denver where
Gof threw like an over shoulder ball where like had Williams just kept running he would have had a nice like lean catch into the sideline but because go or J Mo like it looked like he held up a little bit and then as he’s running the ball was just outside his reach and
I’m like well you know I I would understand why he would hold up a little bit because the quarterback that’s throwing it to him has a borderl noodle arm but at the same time it’s like you see G starting to get more confidence in him and just like some of the passes thr
To him like you’re seeing titer Windows you’re seeing them look to j a little bit especially and I’m gonna keep bringing up that this last game against Denver because it was his best game and it was the game where he was far in away the most
Involved but you sort of started to see like hey like maybe they’re looking to bring him along a little more um my personal thought on it I wish they would get him involved in more fun ways uh I keep looking at the the Saints game where they had that
Like double reverse to him and just gave him an alley and said hey you’re faster than everyone go and I wish they would do more stuff like that they would do like more mesh Slants screens things to just get him the ball in space and say go
Right so that’s sort of how I’m looking at J Mo a little bit is it’s like he’s coming along he’s coming along he’s coming along he’s learning he does a lot of the other things that I think they really like you like Ben Johnson has said it multiple times this year that
It’s like hey he blocks he wants to block he’s out there throwing blocks like he had one I think it was the Carolina game and the Chargers game where Monty had like a really nice run like long touchdown and you saw J like get out there and
Like lay a little bit of wood on a Defender and really open up a lane for Monty downfield and I think doing things like that he’s getting the trust of his teammates a little more and then as he gets more involved in the offense I think you’re gonna see the Lions add a
New dimension to it which will be cool because they have no speed outside of him and the Gibbs yeah that’s is something that’s really G to help take that offense to another level when when he starts figuring it out and an element that they had last season that they end up trading
The Minnesota Vikings with TJ hackinson well they kind of have their own TJ hackinson in a different form in Sam leapor leapa in my view is more Noah fan than TJ hackinson a little bit more of the pass catcher and not quite as good of a blocker as hackinson was but in
This offense like that’s okay the offensive line has been so dominant what has made lorta so special uh this season because like when I’ve been watching a lot of his touches have been kind of manufactured but they’re also trusting a rookie tight end to continue to get
These little four and five yard routes where and then eventually they start hitting him downfield but they’re trusting him to do all these things as a rookie and that’s a pretty impressive Fe for the position yeah so the big question I then will rebut rebuttle is is the cure to
Male loneliness just Sam leaport um that Meme gets thrown around Lions Twitter a lot um it was I think gof said it the first day of training camp when they all on the field he’s throwing passes to a lot of these guys and he immediately like I think it was I want
To say like Colton pouncy or like one of those L speed rers had asked him like hey what do you think of Sam lorta and G was just like I trust him immediately like I throw him a ball and he’s getting it and like that
Immediate trust that g had in him is Big because it’s how you sort of did mention he’s not like a run blocker when he’s getting on the field they are trying to throw throw him the football I think Brock Wright does a lot more of the actual like run blocking or inline stuff
That they like to do where leapa they’re moving him around a little bit they’re getting him favorable matchups and then he’s really just he’s doing the work he’s really just doing the work it is what it comes down to is it’s like you
Know a lot of times we see like a lot of tight ends come into the league and they have like a learning curve like I I always remember like Brandon pedre Eric Ebron these guys who it’s like they came in and strugg L immediately and then
Like as they went you sort of Saw okay well hey they’re figuring it out a little bit they’re looking a little better leor is immediate he came in he has the trust of his quarterback and it’s like hey we trust him to go make the play when we need
Him that’s pretty impressive that that gof is like yeah I trust this guy day one and let’s transition into Jared Goff one of the weirder quarterbacks in the National Football League his Arc has been fascinating to watch first overall pick stunk his rookie year but everybody stinks under Jeff Fischer and then he
Gets with McVey year three he’s in the Super Bowl has a chance to win they lose 13-3 to the Patriots in one of the weirder Super Bowl games we’ve seen in a long time gets the big contract and then he just kind of Fizzles out a little bit
They make the trade they get gof and two first round picks from the Rams for Matt Stafford and that helps them rebuild this team but gof has almost seen a Renaissance too where he feels a lot more comfortable and a lot more uh I I don’t know what the right word is
But he he felt like almost like an aimless robot when at the the latter end of his time in Angeles and he feels really revitalized with this with this Lions team where where are we at with Jared Goff are we at a position where we can really count on him are we talking
Extension because I’ve seen that banded around a little bit like what’s the status of goth um my personal feelings on golf are conflicted because I see a guy who when things are well he can he can elevate your team a little bit like if
You have I forgot what the stat was um I someone saw I saw it on Twitter where they basically said when all five linemen play for Detroit I think they’re like five or six and0 and when not all five play I think they’re like four and four I want to
Say um and I think that comes down to how it affects golf he is a guy who if he’s given time he can make plays like he can he can make plays he can make some really nice throws and then you have those short to intermediate demons on this
Detroit offense between St Brown and between lorta we just talked about Brock Wright Mak some nice catches Josh Reynolds is really good on the short to intermediate stuff they like to get the like Monty and Gibbs out of the back field so it’s like when they have that
Offensive line good and when they have that offensive line moving they like golf plays well I think it was last who was it I want to say Mina kimes brought it up where she had mentioned that like there is just this gigantic disparity on Jared goth when he’s clean
And when he’s pressure now a distinction I do want to make on that because I know that Brian Flores loves to Blitz is it’s not if they’re blitzing it’s if that Blitz is getting home because I think Detroit does a good job generally picking up the blitz they do a good job
Generally pass blocking they’ve had a couple like bumpy games here and there like the Green Bay game was just an outright bad game from this offensive line but it’s like when gof is given time he can make throws he can make plays now to the extension portion of
That discussion that’s where a lot of my conflicted feelings come in is because it’s like if they extend them they extend them like I think he’s shown enough to where you can potentially trust him to be the guy of this franchise my issue is do I trust Jared gof
On 45 to 48 million doar a year when you’re probably going to have to sacrifice some of that really nice infrastructure that he operates in do I trust him that because like if you sign him to that extension you’re probably gonna have to see one or two of these
Offensive lineman move whether it be like Jonah Jackson who’s up for an extension out this year or next you have Taylor Decker you’re gonna have to sign penac well to a new contract ragnow is in an extension right now Glasgow I think is a free agent after this year so
You’ve got to like figure out if you are going to give him that money are you going to continue to just purely invest in offense and then hope you can make it work on defense or do you trust him enough to where hey we’re gonna give you
Your money but we can’t give you as much on this in offensive infrastructure and that’s where my personal conflict comes in because I sort of see it where I don’t see gol as like a modern-day NFL quarterback because like when he has to move off of his platform he’s really bad at
It and that’s where I think I brought it up to um Garrett Garrett Greenley and then the NFL Stock Exchange I brought up to them a couple times where I said like I wouldn’t hate if they tried to draft another quarterback who can fit modern NFL times where you can sort of say
Hey we got a rookie contract let’s give St Brown and lorta and Sewell that money while this kid’s on a rookie contract but that’s the sort of like the team building conflict I always run into with Jared gof because he’s sort of like a paradox with that I’m
Like you know I’d like him but I don’t know if I like him at $45 million a year congratulations welcome to Kirk Cousins this is this is what we’ve been dealing with since 2018 is It’s Kind they’re in the same bucket and like I I don’t want to get into the discussion of
Hey a goof is better cousins is better but yeah overall they’re in the same bucket where they’re relatively limited but when they’re on they can really move an offense and they can they can really take things to another level and I think you’re seeing that with G and I want to
Lay it out like this Ben Johnson’s probably gone after this year let’s just be real about it and would you trust anybody else with gof having any extension because I feel like if Johnson was going to be there for four years and you knew he was going to be there for
Four years you would feel a lot more comfortable giving Jared G that extension because of who’s going to be working with him and calling the plays but with that being such a uh an unknown right now do you are you willing to act are the sorry not you we heard your thoughts
Are the Lions gonna actually be willing to make that commitment I think they will and my big thing is um I listen to like how Brad Holmes spoke last off season when I was doing my best Tomy DeVito um when they were talking about because they had the sixth
Pick and there was a lot of talk around hey is that a spot where you can find yourself moving up because there are a couple like stray mocks here and there where people are like hey like if a team is looking to jump maybe to three if you like Anthony Richardson
Maybe you stay at six if you like will Levis and there there was a lot of that quarterback talk and a thing that Brad Holmes said is he said I think the exact quote was it’s a lot easier to get worse at quarterback in this league it’s a lot harder to get
Better so I think and it sort of kills me because I feel like there could be some complacency there just like hey we have a guy here let’s not screw with it um but like it does feel like they believe in him to be the guy um now with the Ben Johnson
Thing it’s I I he’s probably gonna be gone after for this year there’s the NFL is going to call he’s going to get a head coaching like multiple head coaching interviews at the very least MH my thing is I think Campbell is because remember like Campbell came up under the Shawn pton
Offense and like that offensive tree yeah I really wonder if and I mean like Mark brenell is the quarterback’s coach remember like excuse me former backup quarterback to I think Drew Brees and I wonder if they feel good enough about like Mark Brunell where they can sit back and say
Hey you know the offense you know the system you’ve played in the offense that we like to run you know how it works here’s a continuity hire um the only other thing I would imagine is like maybe if Campbell tries to like diversify a little bit and like get outside and
Bring in some new ideas but I also look at like the Anthony ly hire as OC when he first got hired and it was like that sort of felt like he was trying to go outside of what he knew offensively and then halfway through the season he stripped play calling from Anthony
Ly um so that’s where I think some of my curiosity comes in uh because it’s like I feel like Campbell can if they just made the continuity higher I feel like play calling combined with Campbell’s General aggressiveness could work but I’d have to see it to believe
It kind of thing like I I would go into it with some skeptic completely understood and we got a interesting comment from Delton in the chat uh when I think of Goff I think of Charli batch and it’s a very interesting comparison um obviously Charlie Batch being uh from Yips salani and Eastern
Michigan it’s it’s a little bit of a different comp uh I I I found that one interesting I thought I’d share it with you yeah I saw that one pop up and I thought that was pretty interesting um I would say golf is like a little more
Than batch because batch just sort of felt like a career backup where it was like okay well he’s here um but I mean I could be wrong batch played when I was a lot younger so I I may not 100% know his career no you’re right he he basically
Was a career backup uh it things didn’t go very well in those Charlie bash years but then again the lion just could not figure out the quarterback position to save their life they I mean they gave a big contract to yeah the the lion have not been able
To figure out quarterback until Matthew Stafford walked in that door and then even then I think they struggled to figure out the things around a quarterback because they were like well this guy’s a freak he’ll just throw things around we’ll figure it out and it’s like brother no your quarterback’s
Getting killed on a week-by-week basis I’ve watched him get sacked six times today what are we doing here well they’re trying to get him to retire at 31 like they did with two of their other big stars but I I won’t be yes no I think it’s warranted though
Because it’s like it really did feel like when and I don’t mean to cut you off there but it really just felt it did did feel like when Stafford was in the building they were just like he’s gonna make us right and it’s like you know in
College like a quarterback can make you right like I look at I’m G show my my spirit a little bit but you know as for the fans to know I’m a buckeye fan as well I watched CJ St for two years I watched CJ sh for two years make Ryan
Day right make that offense right and it sort of felt like that’s something that can happen in college it doesn’t happen in the pros you can’t have a quarterback make you right and I mean that’s something I think we’re seeing in Kansas City right now is it’s like if you don’t
Surround your quarterback with an infrastructure to allow them to succeed no matter how talented they are they’re not just gonna be able to correct all of the issues so I think that was sort of how they looked at Stafford unfortunately okay I get that and before
We kind of move on because I want to ask some questions about this Vikings defense and how the lions are going to attack it I just want to thank everybody for joining here um don’t forget while you’re here like comment subscribe do all the fun things those are all free to
Help us out and if you want there also is premium subscriptions as well where we just had the subscriber only video join with Connor Rogers of NBC Sport to the NFL Stock Exchange joining the show to talk about NFL draft prospects there’s going to be a lot more of that
Those videos will be free to subscribers right away and then they will be available to the general public so those are the easiest ways to help us out and as you saw earlier um Lefty did give us a Super Chat which is very very kind all that money goes to paying for
Our wonderful equipment and sending me to the Senior Bowl remember that that’s how you get all the good stuff for me so like comment subscribe fun things same on the podcast feed uh that helps us out as well and those are those are free things you don’t have to do much
And it makes a big difference for us and Dan denil Hunter is a game wrecker he signed a modified contract to give him a raise and then he hit all three of his bonus plateaus and made an extra $3 million he had multiple sacks against the Bengals
Last week and he is just a for uh an absolute freak of nature a wrecking force on the defensive line he’s going up likely against pan Su because he likes to play on that right right side and he likes to go up against the right tackle it’s just it’s more of
A comfort thing for him because when Everson Griffin was here that like he always played on the left Hunter played on the right and they’ve just kind of continued that are you worried about Hunter because we talked about the offensive line and especially those tackles those tackles are a pretty stout
Group are you concerned about the offensive line protecting Goff especially with guys like Hunter and as we mentioned Brian Flores is a tendency to Blitz in really creative ways yeah uh denil Hunter has kept me up and given me nightmares for years now um he is an awesome player and I have hated
Him for years because he just consistently kicks the ass of the Detroit Lions like just beats us up um I think this year it’s like part of me is still like hanging on to Old Habits when it comes to the Detroit Lion sometimes where I’m like I
Look at Den Neil Hunter and I’m like he’s gon he’s gonna he’s gonna beat us he’s gonna kill us and then I sit there and I I watch Pac well like pregame like yelling and getting like very fired up and I watch him on the field and I’m like you
Know that I think that’s going to be like one of the matchups of the game if not for the fact that like it may help decide like how Minnesota can defend Detroit but just because it’s two awesome football players going at each other like that’s going to be such a
Cool matchup to watch pan has been awesome ever since he got to Detroit um I will take the L on that draft uh because I think me and you were texting that draft where I really wanted for Homer reasons Justin fields and Honolulu BL and then they draft should
SE well and I was like oh great like Justin Fields is going to run all over the league or run all over Detroit for the next like 12 years and I mean he sort of has but like not thrown the ball well against Detroit so that’s one or
The other um but it was like you know they drafted pan and I was like this guy’s awesome but I really want Fields but damn it P is awesome um so I think that’s going to be such a cool matchup just to see how it goes
Out yeah it’s it’s going to be one that once I get the all 22 here um next week it’s going to be a real fun one to watch and I I cannot wait um th this Lions defense Aaron Glenn the defensive coordinator growing up I remember
Watching him with the Jets and he was one of my favorite Corners because he was just he was just this little guy that would just beat the piss out of you and I think the mentality of this defense kind of has a little bit of Glenn in
Them and but they haven’t been the most consistent last year they were the only team work from the Vikings in yards allowed per game and this year they’ve improved significantly they’re 18th and being able to improve by 13 spots is a testament to one talent and two the ability with coaching and development
And I think that’s really taken um a step forward here with the lions like how comfortable uh are you with Aaron Glenn as a defensive coordinator and are things TR trending in the right direction with this group again I’ll say conflicted um because my thing with Glenn is I feel like there
Are games where he just sort of sits on his hands a little bit and like yeah some of the earlier games that worked because in the early part of the season they were playing you know early season Jordan love and they were playing you know this this team in
Carolina that is attempting to play football and you’re playing like Eric or Arthur Smith in Atlanta and their his absolute terrorism on the fantasy football Community I will say as a bejan Robinson holder um and it’s like it it felt early in the season it was like okay like they
May actually have just an awesome defense I feel like down the stretch a little bit they have had issues um but then last week it felt like they made some adjustments so what I’ll say like you know they had a stretch I want to say it started
With baltim I mean the Baltimore game was just an outright disaster um there was a stretch in there where they like really just it they struggled man like they had game by game I was watching them and I’m just like like you I couldn’t even like really
Reliably think that they were going to get a stop but then last week they I don’t remember like the actual amount of points that they gave up to Denver but it was like in reality like a lot of those points were like garbage time it
Felt like at the end of the game it was like okay like Denver tried to throw a couple hail Mar’s while they were down on the ground um and some of the adjustments that I saw first off they they made a change at their second Corner Spot I have
Been I and I hate being a hater to an extent depends on who I’m hating against if it’s Michigan football I’m hating all day if it’s Green Bay football I’m hating all day I I don’t know if you realize this Harbaugh got some new allegations today oh oh brother I
Saw um that’s not even the uh that’s not even the uh the Conor Stelling addition of those allegations that’s just the co stuff um so but with Aaron Glenn and this defense it’s like the one guy who it feels like I have picked on a lot because other
Teams pick on pick on him a lot it was Jerry Jacobs number 23 opposite cam Sutton it just felt like he was a ticking Time Bomb of Defense would make a couple plays and then he would blow a coverage and this last week against Denver they made a change um khil dors
And oh my goodness I cannot remember the other young man’s name um but they signed him like from the practice squad in Chicago and they were just like hey you want to come play Corner K VOR um yeah yeah then um they got both of them
On the field instead of Jacobs and I thought they looked pretty good uh dorsy made a really nice tackle for a loss on a screen where he just he flew up and smacked the hell out of a receiver um and then the other big adjustment they made it was almost like without
Gardner Johnson these safeties have struggled to cover and it was almost like Aaron gled said hey you can’t cover so I’m just gonna blitz so he just brought malafu he brought Branch he just brought these dudes on blitzes all night and there was a really cool I think Kyle
Mkey I want to say is his name uh put a really cool clip on Twitter where melow was lined up like 20 yards down field and they brought him out of Blitz right up the middle and he flew like it was it legitimately impressive to watch him just cover that
Ground because he ends up making a play on Russell Wilson as Russell was like rolling up to his right and it was one of those cool things where I was like oh hey look an adjustment because there were so many times this year where it felt like they’re just trying to sit
Back and actually like I made a note about this where it felt like I said I the note I made was it feels like this defense is relying on individual players making top end plays instead of like good scheme so like this defense is hey Hutch hey Branch hey anzalone Sutton
Oim mcneel who’s hurt hey guys go make a play instead of us setting you up to make a play and then you being able to make it because you are a good player and that’s been a lot of issue especially with this pass rush because it’s like I think in hutchs only has
Like four sacks this year but it’s like every replay teams are just doubling them they are sliding protection to him because there hasn’t been another like reliable pass rush piece with Houston being hurt and honestly just the rest of the defensive line not playing up to the
Way that they played last year because last year it felt like hey these guys they started the season bad but uh like as the end of the season came around it’s like you sort of felt that defensive line a little more and now this year you don’t like you don’t like
You know like I just said he’s hurt McNeil’s been in and out of the lineup um the rest of these tackles like Isaiah bugs has been on a mil carton um John Kaminsky hasn’t really popped the way that I sort of thought he would so that’s been another big issue is it’s just
Like these individual players aren’t making plays and they aren’t allowing them scheme-wise to like set them up to go make a play so that’s been some of my issue with this Aaron Glenn defense is it’s like hey man like you gotta you got to scheme it up a little bit sure you’re
A defense but you got to scheme it up and now last week it sort of felt like they were like making some scheme adjustments which was cool let’s talk about Aiden Hutchinson because he’s obviously a PFF darling I don’t think PFF has ever loved a play more than they love Aiden
Hutchinson how actually good is aen Hutchinson Aiden Hutchinson is a really really good player that I feel like puts himself out of position a lot because it feels like it feels like he knows like hey these other guys aren’t gonna get like that pressure that they
Want so it feels like he’s trying to do it all instead of just staying in a rush Lane instead of like trusting that hey I have good technique and if I stay in my Rush Lane and I do what I know how to do even if he’s not getting to the
Quarterback he can change a play a little bit by getting into Back Field and it feels like this year a lot more he is like he he does this really annoying inside spin move and he had one against Chicago it was the one where Fields broke out and scored a touchdown right
There was that want to know there’s another one where I think it was like Fields completed a deep pass where like a buddy of mine texted me he’s like why is that not a holding where Hutch like very poorly set it up outside and then tried to spin back but then in spitting
Back he just like you almost felt like he was either trying to post up a player like post up an offensive tackle or they were at a nightclub where it was just like he ended up back directly into the tackle and the tackle just sort of like
Grabbed the back of his pads because it was like well he’s directly in front of me and he does this spin move a lot where he tries to like instead of hitting the initial move he’s trying to counter too much almost and because of that he’s leaving
A lot of room on the outside because then you had the one against field where Fields broken out for a touchdown where he just hey I don’t have a he’s like he almost felt it almost felt like he’s that I don’t have a responsibility I’m going to do just do something and it’s
Like brother no you you playing a four3 running quarterback you need Lane responsibility come on man um so that’s been sort of like the frustration I’ve had with Hutch I still think he is like far and away their best definitely their best defensive lineman probably their best player in the defensive front more
Than likely the best player on this defense but it’s just like there are the small detail things that like when you’re going from an awesome rookie season to like building on it that it’s like he needs to clean some of those things up but but I also feel like cleaning it
Up will come from them having better players around him like it may not be something that like it happens this year but like if you see them add another good pass rusher opposite him where now the whole offense isn’t just going to slide to him automatically you may see better
Performance and you may finally get that with James hon coming back which is going to be a really big positive him and Gardner Johnson um couple more questions Dan and we’re going to kind of wrap it up uh the Vikings offense is a really unique Enigma this year because
With Kirk Cousins look cousins was arguably playing at an MVP level and then of course he actually gets hurt for the first time in his life which is just the most Minnesota Vikings irony of all time but they’ve been able to relatively keep that momentum going over the course
Of the last six weeks playing without him it hasn’t been the most consistent but they have put up some pretty big Point totals How concerned are you facing this Vikings offense which is obviously loaded with uh two really good wide receivers including arguably the best one in the NFL top five tight end
And a really good offensive line something we haven’t been able to say since Steve hson played for the franchise it’s it genuinely brings me concern because it’s like without El mcneel I think the interio like played well last week like I think last week was the first game
Without him um they played relatively well but I don’t think Denver is an offensive line to run home about but man like if excuse me if whoever lines up opposite cam Sutton is not on their aame it’s it brings me concerned because it’s like so I actually a question I do have
For you where does Jefferson line up a lot is he like a primary slot guy or they they put him all over the place okay all over the place one of the things they like to do it’s kind of the same thing with Cooper cup they do a lot
Of tight splits and they really don’t have anybody designated to play slot they don’t have anybody designated as the uh X Y or Z it’s we’re just going to line up the way we want to line up and we’re just going to line you up wherever
We choose and Jefferson a lot of times will uh align inside the numbers but where inside the numbers is um a little tricky um I I can pull those numbers up here via PFF here in just a moment but yeah they don’t really have any I have
To line him up as the X like he would with a DK maaf he is a I call him Gumby uh he is the Gumby of the National Football League he’s just incredible that that concerns the hell of me I’m gonna be straight up with you
That concerns the hell of me because I don’t know if like I think cam Sutton has had a relatively good year um I think he has been a relatively good quarterback I don’t know if I mean but then again like is anyone good enough to consistently stop Justin Jefferson no
Let let’s be honest with ourselves no um I I think you know I’ll Echo your statement he’s probably the best receiver in this football league right now like he’s incredible but my thing is it’s like less about is Jefferson going to get his my concern’s going to come from Jordan
Addison and T.J hackinson T.J hackinson especially because my thing is is Detroit going to like allow Brian Branch to just like hey just follow Hawk around and try and do something with them or are they gonna rely on like linebackers to cover them because Detroit’s linebackers in coverage is so like just
One of the most putrid things I have seen and heaven forbid if Derek Barnes finds himself on a football ball field he is not going to cover anybody um so that brings me concern because it’s like those are the kind of things where I feel like in like we’re
Watching football and enjoying football it’s like you know your top the top guy is gonna sometimes just he’s gonna have games that just happen it’s just gonna be a thing I mean I I saw that for years watching Calvin Johnson like hey you know what sometimes he’s just better
Than whatever you’re going to throw at him but it’s going to be a lot of those guys where if Detroit can I think relatively keep I don’t know if I want to say like a cap but like not allow them to consistently slice and dice them a little bit like
Between Addison and Hawk that’s where I would look and say I think that’s going to be the big matchup between Detroit’s defense and Minnesota’s offense is can they keep those two from blowing this game open because if those two blow those blow this game open and
Then you have Justin Jefferson on top of it I don’t see a realistic place where Detroit can get a lot of stops they just they concern me on defense they concern me when they’re going against competent offenses so it’s like that’s a thing I’m going to keep an eye out for is is
Addison and haw doing a bunch of stuff yeah and that’s that’s kind of where I’m looking too Jefferson’s great and I think he is the best receiver in football but the addition of Addison just makes things so much more lethal um couple questions here uh to close out
Dan what uh if you had to pick CJ strout or Justin Fields I’m gonna put you on the spot you what am I picking him for am I picking him for like the starting NFL franchise kind of thing you’re you’re picking them who do you like better oh
My goodness that one’s hard because they’re both awesome um you didn’t think you were gonna get out out of the show easy did you oh heavens s um if I’m picking a guy to start an NFL franchise I’m picking CJ Stroud 10 times out of 10 CJ shroud is the cleanest most accurate
Like the the stuff that he does as a quarterback is just insane if I’m if I’m talking about the college game there is a point I’m probably I may take Justin Fields because it’s like sure he may not bring the level of like enough to say Fields
Is like dumb or not accurate but CJ Stout’s like acumin for the position and his accuracy is just like better than any quarterback I’ve ever seen in my life to the to this point like it’s ridiculous but like if I’m throwing him in a college game I
Might throw St or Fields because it’s like I know if all else fails he’s going to scramble around and make a play and so sometimes with stoud unless they’re playing Georgia he’s not going to scramble out make a play so that’s sort of my Catch 22 there
I don’t know what’s the context I’m picking them in I’m gonna make my own context I don’t know there we go two more questions both incredible players yeah that’s true uh who you got winning this game um I’m still trying to figure it out the Lions
Uh just jumped up to three and a half favorites on BET MGM and if if Kurt Cousins was the quarterback the Vikings would probably be two and a half for three-point favor because he is he’s worth almost the touchdown on the spread yeah this oh buddy how
About I’m gonna look at a couple like keys to Detroit that I have written down because I had two keys that I wrote down about times that they lose that the times in this season that I have watched Detroit lose a football game is the
Other team I jump jumps out for the most part I’m going to ignore the Seattle one because the Seattle one was its sort of own Enigma of just Detroit refusing to get a pass rush but the other games that they’ve lost I look at like Chicago I
Look at Green Bay and I look at Baltimore it’s at some juncture in that game the other team just builds a lead that’s too big and for some reason I don’t know what like last game was the first time all year that they just didn’t do this
But like for some reason coming out of halftime it’s like it takes a full quarter for them to like actually get into the game out of halftime so I’m gonna say I think Detroit’s gonna be able to run the football I think they’re actually that’s another question I did have for you what
How is Minnesota’s defense against like a run team like how do they play against the Run they’re pretty good against the run the only team that’s had an exorbitant amount of success in the running game was in week two with the Philadelphia Eagles ran for like 250 yards but the
Vikings were still trying to kind of figure out how they wanted to implement the scheme and they said Jaylen Herz you’re not beating us you’re going to beat us by running DeAndre Swift for 200 yards do it and they did yeah that’s the thing that’s sort of
Curious to me because it’s like I see like I think Philly has one of the top like handful of offensive lines in the league and I think Detroit does as well and if Detroit’s line is healthy and so far I haven’t seen anything about any of their line missing potentially
Missing this game it looks like they’re going to be all healthy up front if they’re all healthy up front I think Detroit should be able to for the most part be able to establish a little bit of a run game enough to where they’re able to like open their offense the way
That they want to but I think both teams I think it’s so hard because I want to just say like hey like Detroit’s going to win like 21 to 17 is what this game sort of feels like but at the same time I just like I look at matchups and I’m
Just like man Minnesota still has a couple things here and there that like if things don’t go right I could see it like Minnesota winning the football game is what I what I would look at so it’s like I’m gonna I’m gonna try and let go
Of some old uh habits and I’m gonna say Detroit 21 Minnesota 14 all right all right last question for you we’re talking about those damn cookies today those bu sugar cookies with the crappy frosting that you get at Walmart what is your opinion on those cookies oh my I actually had this
Conversation with my manager at work today because uh so we did like an adopted family thing for the holiday and we had the families come in to get some of their gifts for it and we had those cookies and I grabbed like three of them
And walk back to my desk because I was like oh yeah oh yeah buddy we’re eating we are eating good today well good is relative at least it can be considered food because that’s about all you can consider those cookies are disgusting I love them I love them so
Much in the comments you know those cookies the sugar cookies that are like extra fluffy with the the thick frosting and sprinkles you get at at a grocery store in the bakery section what’s your opinion on those cookies do you like them do you hate them it’s been a
Contentious argument in one of our group chats for the better part of five years let us know in the comments we want to hear what you have to say Dan can’t tell you how much I appreciate you coming on it’s always a good time talking to you
Where can the people find you to find your your Lion’s takes and takes on life in general uh I’m on Twitter I think still let me think yeah I’ve got it danor danor dador Dan uh you’ll just find the guy with the um the obnoxious
Amounts of Dan in their name uh I just I talk a lot of just just talk a lot there um that’s pretty much the only one I’m really active on um I’ve I’ve tried other social media and for some reason I keep coming back to that absolute Wasteland that is Twitter it’s because
Twitter is meth oh yeah see see look at that picture that sport coat is is a thing of beauty that was I mean that was my graduation in 20 was that 2019 I think it was 2019 because yeah and that was about like 40 pounds ago as well but that’s a good
Coat I like I still have it somewhere in my closet I have to get it out and see how poorly it fits hey trust me I know the feeling I I put on about 70 or 80 pounds since you last saw me and Matt so I need to I need
To hit the gym but B I greatly appreciate your time let’s bring in producer Dave to finish out the show he will appear back in that bottom right hand corner at some point hopefully he’s there he is I’m here just sit back here drinkable with whiskey talk with folks in the
Chat that it good show we have a good football game on F on Sunday and then we get to do it again in two weeks hopefully with both teams still playing for something and that is that is going to do it here today we will have Dave Dave we’re gonna
Have to figure out what we’re going to do for Monday because we’re not doing a live show but we should have something for the people and then we should have something but I may have something special tomorrow I’m going to ask everybody I don’t know if you saw there
Was a person in the chat that was uh I called Foster MB Foster um he’s part of who will be king the NFC North Roundup normally we record on Wednesday and I was all hot and bothered got ready for it and realized no we postponed it today
It’s going to be tomorrow my question I had to get my all my stuff you early today and I didn’t have to come on that is correct but I appreciate it anyways I didn’t figure it out till this afternoon when they told me Dave it’s not till you know I sent
Out the link a little bit before 4 and I go Dave it’s not till tomorrow and I said oh you’re right but anyways tomorrow who would like to see that production live I’m willing to broadcast it live and it’s a blast we’ve got Foster and June from Detroit bleachers
To speakers podcast we have pay from the bearclaw podcast and unfortunately we have no uh Green Bay Packers representative to pick on personally so we pick on them in absentia hey at least you don’t have to talk to them like we get it’s okay but it puts for a fun show and this
Week we do have the in divisional rivalry game where the Detroit Lions come to US Bank for the white out game and did you know Dan the last time Detroit Won in US Bank was 2017 was it really yeah because last year was the game-winning field goal
Yeah that would make sense yeah you yeah you tore dvin Cook’s ACL in that game I I’ll never forget that game I didn’t get to watch yeah I was I was moving into my new apartment that was about a month before I met my wife wow oh the 2017 one okay I thought
You talking about last year yeah it’s because what was that one the Golden Tate one that flipped into the end zone I no that would have been I think 2016 where he flipped into the end zone um 2017 that game but he had one of his Bozo plays that
Tyler likes to talk about ah yes the case kingom boo jeene I love that for all that interested uh who will be king will be at 4 o’clock Central time tomorrow afternoon so if you’re work excuse yourself step outside and watch join the program it’ll be good that is
Our show here tonight for Dan Dan Dan Dan Dan Dan Dan Dan Dan and Dave I’m Tyler much love to all of you the one thing we always say to finish the show skull Vikings SK vings Go Lions go lions like subscribe and ring the bell to get
Notifications it helps us grow this community that we all love our Minnesota Vikings and on behalf of Tyler fornes and myself Dave Stefano thank you so dearly for watching the real Forno show sko everyone
