00:00 So regression is probably going to come, but how much regression, Renere, do you see for
00:08 Kirk Cousins and Minnesota this season?
00:10 Well, it's not just Kirk Cousins.
00:13 I, you know, I think the offense will do what the offense does.
00:17 And of course, Kirk Cousins at the worst times will figure out a way to give the ball back
00:21 to the other team and make life extremely difficult for the defense, which is where
00:26 I think the problem lies for this team.
00:29 New, the new DC there, Brian Flores, this is a challenge for him.
00:34 Make no mistake about it.
00:35 I mean, knows Adarius Smith, right?
00:39 We've got all sorts of turnover now at the linebacker position and in the secondary.
00:44 This is a tough ask for Flores to come in and try to hobble together a decent enough
00:50 defense in order to be able to give Minnesota a chance to take down his division.
00:54 I don't see it.
00:55 I just don't see it happening.
00:57 I think Minnesota is going to have issues this year, and I think all of those issues,
01:02 the focus is going to be on the defensive side here.
01:05 They're going to have to score there, Ben, in order to be able to stay in games.
01:10 And unfortunately, they're not going to be as fortunate as they were last year in those
01:15 games.
01:16 Joe, let's keep it on the Minnesota Vikings here, because I found it interesting the offseason,
01:20 which meant getting rid of Dalvin Cook and Adam Thielen.
01:22 Now, sometimes you do that to retool your franchise because you have a runaway freight
01:26 train like Kansas City in your division going, "Hey, look, we've got to shed some payroll.
01:29 We've got to pick up some extra picks and maybe go at this in about two or three years
01:33 when maybe Mahomes is starting to come back down."
01:35 But the fact of the matter is, Minnesota resetting after that season they had last year, and
01:39 now not even the favorites in the division.
01:40 Did you agree with retooling, which meant losing a couple playmakers on offense, which
01:44 really helped out Kirk Cousins last year?
01:47 I don't think they had a choice.
01:48 I mean, listen, they are trying to keep Kirk Cousins relevant while trying to build around
01:53 him, right, offensively.
01:55 I don't think you can say that's a bad thing.
01:58 I mean, Dalvin Cook looked out of gas last year.
02:01 It remains to be seen what he's going to look like this year with the Jets, but he looked
02:04 out of gas.
02:05 Thielen, you know, it's been a long time since he's been able to stay healthy, stay on the
02:11 field.
02:12 So you've got some options there now.
02:15 They got a little bit younger.
02:16 They got a little bit more athletic.
02:18 So yes, I mean, the problem is they're married to Cousins, right?
02:22 With the contract they gave him, they got at least, what, this last year here.
02:26 I think next year is going to be very, very interesting as far as the direction of this
02:31 franchise.
02:32 But for this year, you got a quarterback, good or bad, and you did everything you could
02:37 to put some younger, more athletic weapons around him.
02:40 I just don't think ultimately it's going to work out in the end.
02:43 It's just a matter of time.
02:44 It's just a matter of time.
02:45 It's just a matter of time.
02:45 (upbeat music)
