Sam Darnold: I think that was the mindset that we came in with, and that’s always been our mindset, or my mindset personally, is to pass the ball, and I feel like if we can stay efficient and do everything we need to do to pass the ball, we’ll be OK.
Kathy Wurtzer: Wally Longfellow and Eric Nelson, hosts of the radio and TV sports talk show “10,000 Takes,” join us now to talk about the Vikings’ success and the latest sports news in Minnesota. How are you?
Wally Langfellow: Good, Kathy. How are you?
Kathy Wurtzer: It’s okay.
Eric Nelson: Happy Monday, Cathy.
Cathy Wurtzer: Eric Nelson, I wish you a good Monday. Thank you. To be honest, I didn’t watch the game. I’m very sorry to admit that to you two. But I want to ask Wally, obviously the Vikings won. What went well for the Vikings yesterday?
Wally Langfellow: Well, first of all, let’s talk about Sam Darnold and Aaron Jones, the running back the Vikings acquired from the Packers in the offseason. Both of them definitely played good games. But I think the defense was better. They kept the New York Giants out of the end zone all day. They only allowed two field goals. If you play well defensively, if the other team doesn’t score, especially if they don’t score a touchdown, I think you have a pretty good chance to win a football game.
Darnold was good. Efficient is probably the best word. 19-of-24 for 208 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also threw an interception. So, looking at the other side of things, what do they need to get right? Honestly, the New York Giants are a mess. They’re not going to be one of the better teams in the NFL. In fact, they might be the worst team in the NFL this year.
So what do they need to fix? The Vikings had two turnovers. They had seven penalties. I think the thing that really hurt the Vikings last year was the penalties. And the turnovers early last season is what got them in a big hole. If they fix those things, and these things will happen early in the season, because the starters don’t play in the preseason. So in a way, this is like a preseason game.
But if they fix those things, and those things can be fixed, I think they’ll be OK. But again, let’s be a little conservative. It’s an overreaction on the Monday after the first game of the season. Don’t print your playoff tickets yet. But they played well yesterday.
Cathy Wurtzer: But Eric, that doesn’t happen, does it? Fans get so excited about this. So do you agree with Mr. Langelow’s assertion that we have to be careful?
Eric Nelson: Yeah, that’s right. When Week 1 finally wraps up, and we close with the Jets and 49ers game, there are 16 fans who want a new quarterback. The other 16 think they’ve found the quarterback who’s going to get them to the Super Bowl and win the Lombardi Trophy. Either way, it’s always a knee-jerk decision. Same thing with Sam Darnold. He went back to the stadium where he played with the New York Jets, and there were a lot of failures there. Not all of it was his fault, but some of it was his fault. And he played really well yesterday. I thought he played very calmly and surgically, cutting through the Giants defense with precision. That must have been a good feeling for Sam Darnold.
But next up is his team from last season, San Francisco. The Vikings’ home opener is at noon Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. Darnold was Brock Purdy’s backup last season. If you’re a Vikings fan and want to see the 49ers, tune in tonight on ABC to watch them take on the New York Jets. The game will be in Santa Clara, California. You can tell who the Vikings will be facing because San Francisco was in the Super Bowl last season and took the Chiefs to overtime. They almost beat Kansas City. The 49ers are that good. They have a chance to win now. So it’s going to be a big test for Minnesota.
But the good news for the Vikings is that the 49ers play tonight. The Vikings are on short time this week, losing two hours when they switch from Pacific to Central on Sunday, which gives them a shot at an upset. But I don’t think San Francisco will overlook Minnesota, as they came here on a Monday night last year and lost 22-17. But with a defense led by Christian McCaffrey, Brandon Aiyuk, Brock Purdy and Fred Warner, the 49ers will certainly be a tough opponent for the Minnesota Vikings. But for now, their attention is on Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets, who play in Northern California tonight.
Cathy Wurtzer: Yes, I watched the Goffs game and I thought they played a good game this weekend, Wally.
Wally Langfellow: Do you have Peacock?
Kathy Wurtzer: Yes, I know. I actually paid for it. I know.
Wally Langfellow: Thank you.
Kathy Wurtzer: I know, I’m not as stingy as you are.
Eric Nelson: I don’t think you would think that because of the Olympics.
Wally Langfellow: No, I watch Peacock. I’m surprised you’re watching. It’s great. I’m happy that you’re paying to watch Gopher football once every 10 weeks or whatever game they show up there. But if you’re playing a team like Rhode Island, that’s where you’re supposed to be. Watching it on Peacock without anybody watching is where you’re supposed to be.
They won against a much weaker opponent. We call it a body bag game. Rhode Island gets a big check for coming here and getting beat by a Big Ten team. And that’s exactly what happened. But the good news for the Gophers is that Max Brosmer looked very good and threw for 271 yards. He’s the new quarterback for the Gophers and he threw two touchdowns.
Again, this is a similar tactic to the Vikings. I’ll repeat what I said about the Vikings: The Gophers defense played well. They got a shutout. They didn’t allow Rhode Island to score. And if you were to pinpoint a reason why the Gophers lost against North Carolina in Week 1, I definitely don’t think it was the defense. The defense allowed a couple of field goals, but they didn’t allow North Carolina to run in and get in the end zone.
Now, North Carolina was basically without a quarterback. But I thought the Gopher defense played well. This is what we can expect from them going forward. They play Nevada this week at Huntington Bank Stadium. And then they’ll be in for a tough fight when Iowa comes to town. Iowa did lose at home to Iowa State, though, so some Hawkeye fans have been very unhappy lately.
Cathy Wurtzer: That’s OK. Eric, I’m wondering here, I’m a little concerned about the Twins. Should I be concerned?
Eric Nelson: Well, they had a big blunder in Kansas City over the weekend. It was a big series, a showdown in the Show-Me State. And it was all won by the Royals. They won all three games. The Twins only scored two runs total in the three games. They were shut out yesterday. So the Twins are currently in third place in the American League Central. If this season ended today as the last wild card, they’d still be in the playoffs.
But Detroit, Seattle and Boston are history. Those teams are slowly catching up. So the Twins have cause for concern. And, to be honest, I think a lot of people in the Twins camp are not happy. First, yesterday, third base coach Tommy Watkins tried to send Jose Miranda home, and Miranda was about 10 feet away and got out. That’s happened before with the Twins. And then Rocco Baldelli. I was watching the game on Saturday night. Bailey Ober pitched seven scoreless innings. He was pitching well against the Royals. Rocco replaced him and brought in Johan Duran, but the bullpen literally fell apart.
| The City will score four in the eighth and go on to win. If the Twins start to falter and the Royals play really well, which they might, then I think that’s when we can look back and say things really changed. It might sound a bit dramatic to say that after 162 baseball games, but the Twins missed by one. Even Eric Karros, who broadcast the game on national TV on Fox, said Rocco shouldn’t have taken Bailey Ober out of that game.
Cathy Wurtzer: Now, before we go, the Minnesota team in the Professional Women’s Hockey League, today they announced the name of the other team in the league. I think it was the Minnesota Frost. Not bad. Not bad, Wally. No? Yes?
Wally Langfellow: I actually like it.
Cathy Wurtzer: I agree.
Wally Langfellow: That was one of the names that I suggested. No, I like “The Frost.” It’s a little-known nickname that’s similar to Wilde, but without the S at the end. “The Frost.”
Kathy Wurtzer: I loved it.
Wally Langfellow: Yeah, I think the purple and everything is just right. It’s perfect. I’m glad we finally have a nickname. I don’t know how we went a year without one, but I think we missed out on selling a lot of jerseys and hats. But Frost was good. The St. Paul girls hockey team now has a name.
Eric Nelson: But, Cathy, can I just give my opinion?
Kathy Wurtzer: No, we don’t have time. We’re running out of time. The music’s out. I have to go. I know. I’m sorry. See you next time. I’ll talk to you later. Wally Langfellow is the founder of Minnesota Score Sports Magazine. Eric Nelson is the co-host with Wally of the sports talk show “10,000 Takes.” Thanks for listening.