https://www.vikings.com/video/

VikingzFanPage
@vikingzfanpage

“Everything is more efficient because you’re driving the ship. You’re doing great, I’m so f*cking proud of you.”

#Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell to JJ McCarthy mid/late game on Monday night

This may or may not resonate truthfully for you. Its from my media eco-system..

I thought it did a good job of just trying to articulate the state of the country at this time. Its not about fixes or pointing fingers. 

Havent seen anything like this in the country since I was a kid in the 60's...Vietnam, RFK, JFK, MLK, Nixon, Civil Rights etc..

Is the track we're on sustainable? What are the consequences?

I dont have the answers..

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The governor of Utah struggled to find the right words to describe the question so many have been asking: What is happening in America?

The silence lasted nearly 10 seconds. He looked down. He opened and closed his mouth.

‘’Our nation is broken,’’ Spencer Cox finally said, hours after the public killing of Charlie Kirk. The governor described violent attacks on both Democrats and Republicans, including the killing of Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, two assassination attempts on President Donald Trump and the firebombing of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s official residence.

His words stood out not just for the stark language about America’s troubles, but for his sober acknowledgement that the violence reaches across the political divide.

It can be hard to remember all the scenes of political violence in just the past few years: Butler, Pennsylvania, the Minneapolis suburbs, San Francisco, New York City, West Palm Beach. And more. Taken together, they are enough to make Americans wonder: Is there a way forward? What might it look like?

‘’Nothing I say can unite us as a country,’’ said Cox, a Republican. ‘’Nothing I can say right now will fix what is broken.’’

Many people, of course, feel America is broken. You can hear about the country’s many troubles — its ideological divides, its anger, its lack of civility — from conservatives and liberals, from socialist firebrands and evangelical preachers, from Democrats and Republicans. It is, perhaps, one of the few beliefs that unites Americans right now.

So many seem to genuinely want those divides to be mended, for the country to be knitted back together. But the question of why America is broken, and who is to blame, and how to repair it? That’s where things get complicated.

Because no matter what you believe, today — in both the myriad reactions to Kirk’s violent public death and in general — you can pick the America you want. You can pick the America that you believe exists.

You can see a president who is systematically removing the rights of Americans, or a president who is standing up for a forgotten middle class. You can see signs of fascism in the masked immigration agents hauling people off the streets, or an administration that is finally enforcing immigration laws for the good of all citizens.

In Charlie Kirk, you can see a polite, boy-next-door type with a captivating debating style who loved America, the church, his family, and the resurgence of conservatism across the country, especially among young people. Or you can see a political hybrid of the social media age, a powerful political operative who was willing to exploit America’s racial divide in search of support and who insisted, falsely, that voter fraud cost Trump the 2020 elections.

When Cox spoke mournfully about America’s predicament, he clearly hoped Kirk’s death could help bring America together. More likely, though, the killing could drive the wedges deeper.

The country’s politicians strive to balance it all. Online, of course, it’s easy to remain anonymous, and it can be impossible to distinguish true praise for political violence and vigilantism with adolescent trolling. It’s different for politicians, who can’t stay anonymous — and who are often looked to in moments like this to help show their supporters and constituents the way.

Former Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama said they were praying for Kirk’s family. George W. Bush called for divine guidance to move the nation to civility. Their statements sounded, unsurprisingly, like many of the things they said during their presidencies.

That kind of message took root in some places. In Connecticut, College Republicans and College Democrats issued a joint statement decrying violence. 

And on Wednesday, Cox — a Republican politician thrust into the limelight by tragedy, like so many public servants before him — spoke emotionally about a belief in free speech that goes back to America’s founding, and about how hatred can lead to violence.

‘’Is this it?’’ he asked. ‘’Is this what 250 years has wrought on us?’’

‘’I pray that is not the case.’’

Damien Woody
@damienwoody

Uh boy…these almost never work

Adam Schefter
@AdamSchefter
·
14h
The Dolphins held a players-only meeting on the team's off day Tuesday in the wake of their 33-8 loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Week 1 to make sure they remained "on the same page."

Players only meeting....before Week 2...lmao. Its over.

Vikings not surprised by J.J. McCarthy's eye-opening NFL debut:

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/4622...j-mccarthy

As a result, McCarthy said he didn't enter Monday night looking to prove himself to the team.

"I feel like it was more proving it to myself," he said, "because I feel like this team, their belief in me is something I tremendously appreciate. ... Being able to really show who I am in the biggest moment was something that was really cool, but it was more just about proving it to myself."

Many games to be played, many things to prove for JJ. Areas for clean up for sure. One game at a time.

Chad Graff
@ChadGraff

“I’m not sure New England believes that salary-cap management is a strategic area,” one exec said.

@SandoNFL dives deep at every team’s cap usage and spending.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6577082...ed_article

This would be an interesting one for those that know how to get past the paywall.

How an officiating blunder put Vikings kicker Will Reichard in Soldier Field’s record book

"Will Reichard’s maximum was set at 57 yards. The kick he faced was 53, maybe 54. Amid haste — hey, there’s a halftime show to start — officials set it up at 59. He kicked it anyway."

https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-vi.../601470880

Per Strib.

Out at least the next 4 weeks. They bring up WRer Tim Jones and TE Nick Vannett to the regular roster.

Should be a hell of a game...

I'm a big Daniels fan

Hoping 1/1 for GB after tonight.

TV cameras zoomed in on J.J. McCarthy’s face for a closeup as he walked off the field. His helmet did nothing to hide the inferno taking place underneath.

His eyes could’ve stared directly into a person’s soul. His mouth was pursed into a snarl. He was a quarterback in job title but a heavyweight fighter looking for a knockout in appearance.

“That’s kind of how I roll,” he said.

Vikings players, coaches, fans and NFL observers all got a first glimpse of McCarthy’s blistering intensity as a game-day competitor in Monday’s 27-24 victory over the Bears in Chicago. His debut as a starting quarterback at age 22 revealed intangibles that cannot be measured by statistics or Pro Day metrics.

He showed resolve when things looked bleak. He didn’t get rattled by mistakes, including his pick-six interception that might have buckled the knees of young quarterbacks. He displayed fieriness reflective of someone who isn’t used to losing and had no intentions of losing that game.

Forget the historical stats that McCarthy recorded in the final quarter at Soldier Field to completely rewrite the narrative of his first NFL game. The best part — other than the win, of course — was the demeanor that a young quarterback exhibited in a performance that turned from dud to dynamic in a blink.

“Game day, when the lights are shining,” Justin Jefferson said, “he knows how to have that ‘dog’ mentality.”

Competitors earn that form of flattery by how they perform when things aren’t operating smoothly.

McCarthy has lost three games as a starting quarterback across high school, college and NFL. Three losses combined at those levels. Winners find ways to persevere when negative situations occur.

The first three quarters of his first start were a mess. Nothing went right. McCarthy looked antsy at the line of scrimmage and in the pocket. Coach Kevin O’Connell saw “sloppiness” from the entire offense.

The response was most impressive. McCarthy didn’t get rattled by the circumstances, which would have been understandable given all the attention on his debut, his return to his hometown and legitimate expectations of a veteran team built to win now.

That’s a lot of pressure on a young leader. And when things started poorly, particularly after his errant pass that was intercepted and returned for a touchdown in the third quarter, one couldn’t help but think “Uh-oh.”

McCarthy didn’t flinch. He continued to project confidence and positivity.

“I always [say] he’s different up here,” veteran running back Aaron Jones said, pointing to his head. “It’s just his mentality. He’s a special guy.”

Coaches and teammates have raved about McCarthy’s maturity and makeup for months. But it’s one thing to show it in the relatively low-stress environment of practice and something entirely different to be trailing by double digits on the road on “Monday Night Football” in the season opener when all eyes are fixated on the new guy who holds the keys to the organization in his hands.

“We all believe J.J. is made of the right stuff and we all believe he would respond in those moments,” O’Connell said. “But that’s an accurate statement to say we hadn’t actually seen it.”

McCarthy’s response to that predicament should be the biggest takeaway. His first season will have more tough moments, more youthful mistakes, more adversity. He seems well-equipped to handle rough spots emotionally and mentally.

He credits meditation for giving him the tools to “control the controllables” and not get derailed by whatever has happened previously in a game, good or bad.

“Stay present, stay calm and really just worry about operating the next play,” he said. “It’s really simple [concept] but hard to do.”
In sports, this is called having the “It” factor. Impossible to define, easy to recognize in competition.

McCarthy gave a snapshot of it when he walked into the huddle during a TV timeout with his team trailing by 11 points, looked at his teammates and delivered a quote that is destined to get printed on T-shirts: “Is there any place else you guys would rather be?”

“A smile goes a long way,” he said. “There were a lot of smiles after I said that. Just a little bit of a perspective shift. Yeah, things weren’t going our way, but we’re here doing this together.”

The snowball was gaining steam at that point. McCarthy made clutch plays to engineer a spirited comeback. Emotions poured out of him, resulting in emotions pouring out of his teammates and coaches.

His debut was a wild ride. The young quarterback remained undeterred by all of it. In his words, that’s how he rolls.

STRIB