Morning Joes

Minnesota Vikings fans woke up on Monday morning, October 17, 2022, and realized again their favorite team was tied for the second-best record in the NFL. It was true, no matter how much we rubbed our eyes, and shook our heads like a disbelieving cartoon dog. Just win, baby! The Vikings aren’t very pretty, but they are 5-1 going into the bye week, so perhaps it’s time to just “Enjoy the season!”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Minnesota Vikings came home from London and played a very good half of football against the visiting Chicago Bears until (presumably) the jet lag kicked in—forcing them to hold on for a 29-22 victory. The win vaulted them to 4-1 and solo possession of first place in the NFC North. That is great news, no mistake, but there is plenty for us to be concerned about given the Vikings’ penchant for close, one-score football games. So, we (myself, Joe Oberle from VikingsTerritory and purplePTSD, and Mark Craig from the Star Tribune and startribune.com) are here to break it down for you. The VT Breakdown podcast fellas will point a sharp-focused lens on the current Vikings situation. Tune in and check out where we think the Purple will go next.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You have to win these kinds of games in the NFL, because the Vikings have certainly lost them. They need to get better quick, however, or the games will all be like this—two of them already have. So, what must do next? Joe Oberle from Vikings Territory and purplePTSD.com and Mark Craig of the Star Tribune will be on hand to do just to discuss it. Tune into the Vikings Territory Breakdown podcast and get the latest.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen to the Star Tribune’s Mark Craig and VT's own Joe Oberle on this week’s Vikings Territory Breakdown podcast as they talk about another Vikings game on Sunday and another head-scratcher for the Purple faithful.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Vikings move to 1-1 and into a tie for first place with every other team in the NFC North Division, with the Detroit Lions coming to town next week. And the Vikings Territory Breakdown podcast dudes (Joe Oberle from VT and purplePTSD.com and the Star Tribune’s Mark Craig) are on hand to break it all down. For those fans not having a breakdown of their own (or not) after this big-time letdown of a game can tune into the podcast. It’s only week 2 of this NFL season, so there is plenty of football to be played and dissected. We’re here to help figure out where the Purple is heading next. Stop by!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There were a lot of purple-helmeted heroes in such a solid and dominating victory—but too many mention them all here. Joe Oberle, senior writer for vikingterritory.com and purplePTSD.com and Mark Craig, Vikings writer and NFL Insider for the Star Tribune and startribune.com will be on the VT Breakdown Podcast, attempting to talk about them all. (One of those guys picked the Vikings to win and the other did not—so you will want to check that recap out.)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Joe Oberle, senior writer at vikingsterritory.com and purplePTSD.com and Mark Craig, Vikings writer and NFL Insider for the Star Tribune newspaper and startribune.com are ready for some football. They are here each week on the VT Breakdown podcast to preview the games, breakdown the action and then analyze the results. Don’t miss the preview of this big game on VT Breakdown this week. This one sets up the whole season for Minnesota and it will tell us a lot about them going forward. Tune in and check it out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On cutdown day in the NFL, the Minnesota Vikings made some moves (in fact they made “moves like Jagger” to quote a popular song). The Vikings were tasked with paring their roster down to the 53-man limit by 3 p.m. Tuesday, and general manager Kwesi Adolfo-Mensah took that journey along a most circuitous path. Kwesi cut at least one starter, traded away a potential starter and acquired another with some fast and furious cutdown-day moves. He waived defensive end Armon Watts, who had a decent season last year but might not be the right fit for the new 3-4 defensive scheme. Watts had reached incentives in 2021 which raised his base salary to a number that didn’t appear to be tenable for this cap-tight roster. The Vikings then traded a 6th-round pick to the Houston Texans for their former second-round draft pick Ross Blacklock (and a 7th rounder), saving them more cap money. Later in the day, the Vikings traded Jesse Davis (the odds-on-favorite to start at right guard when he was signed as a free agent this sprin

Wake me up when the season starts. After two weeks of second and third-stringers, it is time to either get the starters in the game to knockoff the rust or go watch the Twins. The Vikings' offense was under whelming against the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday at U.S. Bank Stadium. After a week of hearing about fireworks and some great plays (and fiery words from one Kirk Cousins), we didn’t get to see the starters and the Vikings lost 17-7. Talk about a buzzkill. Nick Mullens joins the Vikings so we can skip talking about the regression from second-year quarterback Kellen Mond, who had some flashes but then threw two bad picks. Sean Mannion was more of the same, some moments bracketed by less than stellar play. (Although a nice throw up the seam to Zach Davidson, who dropped it on his way to a huge gain, could have changed our impression of Mannion.) And rookie corner back Andrew Booth, Jr., left the game limping badly on an injured ankle. The defense played well and several of them distinguished themselves:

The Vikings travelled to Las Vegas this past weekend, not to bet on themselves to win the Super Bowl (they can’t do that, the betting part, I mean), but to face the Raiders in their first preseason game of the 2022season. There was good, there and was bad and there was not so pretty, but the Vikings although losers on the scoreboard, were winners in that the team finished the tilt fairly healthy (let that be the first healthy mention of the show). They also gave us plenty to talk about on the Vikings Territory Breakdown podcast with VT senior writer Joe Oberle and Star Tribune Vikings and NFL writer Mark Craig. Some of our early perceptions were realized(Lewis Cine is fast, active and a hard hitter) and some of them demand more consideration(Kellen Mond played well enough at times to make us think that maybe, just maybe, the new regime can salvage him from Zimmer’s scrap heap). There is now a new running back battle going as Kene Nwangwu and rookie Ty Chandler both splashed, flashed and dashed against the(adm

Week 3 of Vikings training camp is underway and the story lines keeping popping like the pads of a running back running off tackle. Head coach Kevin O’Connell spoke about his center Garrett Bradbury saying that he has been good against the run but not as good in pass protection. His starting position for the Purple in 2022 is not guaranteed and that will continue to be a storyline to follow throughout camp. Which we, Joe Oberle and the Star Tribune’s NFL Insider Mark Craig are most certainly following on the Vikings Territory Breakdown podcast. As the line goes, so goes the offense and the a big question mark right in the center of that unit is growing by the day at TCO Performance Center in Eagan. Another big storyline is the tight end position, which became a problem shortly after we taped out podcast last week. Starting tight end Irv Smith, Jr. left practice with an injury and the next day had surgery on his thumb. He was projected to be available for the Vikings opening regular season game against th

It’s Week 2 of Vikings Training Camp at TCO Performance Center in Eagan, and it’s time to let the hitting begin. The Vikings put the pads on for the first time this season and it wasn’t a moment too soon for rookie corner back Andrew Booth, Jr., who had already been mixing it up with his new team’s wide receivers last week in camp.   Booth covered Justin Jefferson last week and made a couple nice plays (including a diving interception) and this week he angered wide out Bisi Johnson, who is battling to make the team, and the pair had to be separated, according to training camp reports. Mark Craig NFL Insider and longtime Vikings writer for the Stat Tribune, has already come out and declared Booth to be a standout at camp and the odds-on favorite to grab a starting corner position. It will be interesting to hear what Craig has to say about Booth after seeing him in pads for the first time. Craig will let us know (and what other players are getting a lot of first team reps and garnering a lot of steam on the Vik

The Vikings are here! The Vikings are here! Well, they’re at TCO Performance Center, anyway, for the 2022 Training Camp. It is finally time to start looking toward the coming season, and the Purple story lines are beginning to pop. There have been some minor roster adjustments coming out of camp (WR Blake Proehl and LB Ryan Connelly were put on the physically-unable-to-perform list to open training camp and a camp body was signed at TE); LB Jordan Hicks was not at the first practice and Troy Dye took his reps; Kellen Mond was seen splitting second-team reps with backup QB Sean Mannion at the first practice—be still our collective heart; CB Nate Hairston’s missed for a non-covid, non-injury, oh and Justin Jefferson made some comments on Kevin O’Connell’s previous stud receiver Cooper Kupp--and more. Mark Craig, NFL Insider and Vikings writer for the Star Tribune is at his weekly post on the Vikings Territory Breakdown podcast to offer the inside scoop. Craig has a press credential out at TCO and will breakdown

Mark Craig and Joe Oberle talk Vikings. The rubber is about to meet the road (and in this heat will likely melt), but it is time for the 2022 Minnesota Vikings Training Camp at TCO Performance Center in Eagan and we are all here for it. The off-season of change and massive expectations and speculation is over. Camp beings and it is now time to shut up and put up. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark Craig, NFL Insider and longtime Vikings writer for the Star Tribune newspaper and startribune.com is also a HOF elector and has a vote on whether or not Marshall should finally get the call. Craig will be with us on the Vikings Territory Breakdown podcast to discuss the  election process for HOF inductees and perhaps give us an inkling on how difficult it is to make it from the Senior Division. While Craig is sworn to secrecy about much of the process, he has been there before and knows plenty about what Marshall is up against. Craig and I will discuss Marshall and even Vikings’ former star running back Chuck Foreman, who deserves consideration for the Hall, as well. Don’t miss Craig’s thoughts on that. In addition, the current Vikings are closing in on the 2022 Training Camp when things start to get real. And with a new head coach and general manager on board the biggest questions for the new regime is are they ready? There are some potential free agents still out there, some who have been linked to t

July 4th is behind us. The fireworks are past (at least my dog hopes that is the case). And now it is just a matter of surviving a hotter than hell July and waiting for the Vikings training camp to start. TheVikings will start reporting to TCO Performance Center during the last week ofJuly, with the first practice open to the public taking place on July 30thin something called: Back Together Saturday. I am not sure if that kind of moniker is for the benefit of the players or the fans, but we are all looking forward to the Vikings getting back onto the field. There are so many questions to be answered by the team this season, which will be the first under new general manager Kwesi Adolfo-Mensahand head coach Kevin O’Connell. If you have been following along here at theVikings Territory Breakdown podcast, we haven’t always embraced the touchy, feely kumbaya approach of Kwesi and KOC, but hey, if it works, how are you going to knock it? We just won’t know for a while if it works. One would presume that the new

So, with Cousins being the card, we decided to rank him here on Vikings Territory Breakdown podcast. Mark Craig from the Star Tribune and startribune.com joins Joe Oberle from Vikings Territory.com and purplePTSD.com and weigh in on where we think he should be ranked and what other think. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Actually, we are a bit early. Camp, which begins on July 25 (players report) is still more than a month away—it’s only the summer temps that are a tad bit early. So we will have to wait, and speculate. And there is much to speculate on. Last week on the Vikings Territory Breakdown podcast, Joe Oberle, senior writer for VikingsTerritory and purplePTSD and Mark Craig, NFL Insider and Vikings writer for the Star Tribune newspaper and Startribune.com speculate on the depth of the Vikings defense. There were a lot of changes to the defense this off-season, so depth could become an issue. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark Craig of the Star Tribune isn't a big kumbaya kind of guy, so he will be on the Vikings Territory Breakdown podcast to douse the grill and shank a seven-iron out of bounds. Craig will also address the acquisition of new linebacker Andre Mintzie, who the Vikings picked up from Denver. Another Ed Dontell disciple in the house. The linebacker unit is going to change this season for Minnesota, and Craig joins VT senior writer Joe Oberle to discuss if it will be better than in the past. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

They say Kirk Cousins is a smart dude—just look at the contracts he has secured in Minnesota. Well, if reports we’re getting out of TCO Performance Center are valid, perhaps the Vikings need a refund. The Star Tribune’s NFL Insider Mark Craig has been at Vikings minicamp this week and so far he reports that Kirk is confused by Ed Donatell’s defensive scheme. (Please tell me Kellen Mond is picking it up . . . ). Craig says the defense is ahead of the offense at this point, and the result has been a confused Cousins. Craig has seen several plays in 11 on 11 in which Kirk was throwing the ball away or holding on to it long after he would have been sacked. It’s early. No need to panic, Purple Nation. Maybe Kirk is still seeing Zimmer-disguised blitz ghosts and needs to clear his head. And then maybe the defense is always ahead of the offense—particularly when the unit is learning a new offense—because a lot of the D’s job is to react and the offense needs time to get things tight. Or is it the other way around?