Wheeling will let it fly from about his own forty miles Price heals on the ten end over end production by Wheeland.

Price is going to let it sail over his head.

Nice bounce for green Bay.

At the sixth, Price ran in there and touched it.

What are you doing?

It's bouncing about at the five.

It all depends on who it touched first.

Right, But why is Miles even by the ball?

I have no idea to get them out of the Are you kidding?

That's ridiculous?

I mean, that's just so ridiculous.

Seriously, after the special teams l on Devin Dupern a last game, what.

Is it better ridiculous that ridiculous or this ridiculous.

Has to be a flag on that.

That's ridiculous.

A lot of ridiculous coming out of Minnesota right now.

Man, But what do you say?

We mention all of it's and bringing that guy the best there ever was, is and ever will be.

His words, by the way, not mine.

The legendary voice of the Vikings nine to noon on kfa N, the voice of Canterbury Park Racetrack in Minnesota.

My friend our pal Paul Allen with us on the radio program Pa How are you.

Man, Well, David Softing, have I told you how lately how great your radio show is and I listen to it every day on the pre iHeart Audio app.

And just what you do for the iHeart family and how important and vital you are, and the endorsements and the advertising revenue for your station.

I mean, you just do you guys do an unbelievably good job man, And quite honestly, we give thanks for you this Thanksgiving week.

I don't know if our team wasn't four and seven on a three game losing Threek, if I would have said all that.

Yeah, but I'm ready to take my medicine, Softy, so give it to me.

Well, I don't know if there's much medicine to give.

I mean, there's a big part of me that feels badly for what's happening out in Minneapolis.

I've told you forever that if the Seahawks can't be the team to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, I would gladly root for the Minnesota Vikings.

And then I see this video, this archival footage b roll from the end of last year, with Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones standing on the sideline and now Sam is starring in Seattle and Daniel is ripping it up in Indianapolis.

I mean, for lack of a better question, man, how is that all being received back home in Minneapolis.

Well that's a very good question.

Now you frame that up, because you know McCarthy Week number one, twenty two years of age.

All right, first National Football League start.

We're at Soldier Field, Monday night football.

It's terrible for three quarters and we're not going to win.

And then McCarthy, who does have the clutch gen legitimately has that clutch.

Gene catches fire, throws two touchdown passes, runs one ind and single handily wins the game.

Well, then the next week we don't have a touchdown against Atlanta home opener, bad for business.

So then he hurts his ankle.

Fast forward after that, we're at Ford Field, big underdogs like we are this weekend.

We win the game.

McCarthy had a lot to do with it against the Lions at Ford Field, holy out, so you know, but then it's just been so up and down, and now he has a concussion and and I don't know if he's going to play this weekend.

So that that's kind of what we have been through this year in a nutshell.

All right, Well, Sam, the man who used to be on the van, well, now he's lighting it up in Seattle.

But then we get to that Rams game.

Okay, his in my estimation, his most pressure filled, biggest moment as a quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks, and we got the four picks and they lose.

Okay, So now that's that's part of the narrative until it's not so.

But but with one hundred million dollar deal and trying to fortify things here and re signing players, you know that that never was going to happen, all right now with Daniel Jones, you know, just just quite honestly, and I'm hoping this is public, but it is not.

Now it is.

You know, I think the Vikings offered Daniel Jones more money than Indianapolis gave him, But Daniel didn't want to play the game of I don't need to compete with the kid you took in the first round.

So I'm going to roll the dice that the Richardson kid in Indianapolis that there are problems, and I'm going to start there.

Great move by Daniel, and he bet on himself and he won, So the Vikings made a strong attempt to get Daniel Jones back, not necessarily the.

Case with Donald.

Here we are with a McCarthy.

You might get undrafted Gopher Max Brozmer this weekend, and we'll see how the whole thing shakes out.

The softy Yeah.

Well, Paul Allen's with us on the show, and I got to go back to the Donald thing for a second, right, And I really hate I don't want to rub it in.

I really hope you don't feel like I'm doing that.

I'm trying not to.

But you well, you said something there about how it was never gonna happen with Sam.

There were other players that had to be re signed.

And I guess my question would be what player, what position is more important.

Than the one that Sam Darnald plays?

What could have been possibly more important than then bringing back Sam Darnald?

And I wonder how much of their lack of interest in bringing him back, Paul was the fact that they were concerned that twenty twenty four was a aberration versus we drafted this kid in the first round.

We have to see what he's all about.

Well, I should not have said never, okay, because that meant that means I'm speaking for the team, and I can't say it was a never.

I was just riding my vibe, but it it, you know, it's I always felt McCarthy would be the quarterback in twenty twenty five, so therefore never's too strong a longer shot.

May it may have been wrong, okay, but really, I mean it's and I have nothing against Sam Man.

I mean, Donald was nice to me when he was here.

You know, I'll do these little drive by interviews in the locker room after they win where I go player to player to player to player.

Sam doesn't even know me, super cool with it.

So I have nothing against Sam Darnald.

But and I was the one when the Vikings signed him, and I knew he was going to.

Start first game against the Giants, and.

It never was going to be anybody else, including McCarthy.

You know, I would say, guys, I mean there's a reason he was third overall picking the draft.

His skill set's fantastic.

And if you think, if you think setting up offense to Robbie Anderson with the Jets and tight Endie and Thomas with Carolina, yep is what O'Connell does here with Jefferson, Addison and Hawkinson, you're out of your mind.

And that went to burying its fruit.

And you know, so Sam, in a great situation, really came through.

Then we got to week eighteen in the Lions game, and if you watch it back, I'm telling you I've said this to you before.

There were four or five opportunities for touchdowns in a game that would have led the Vikings to becoming the one seed that Sam just missed.

Man.

I mean, the receivers ran the right routes, they protected it nicely, and he blew it.

He missed them.

Next week against the Rams with the nine sacks.

I can't put all that on Sam, but if you look at the past performances, and I'm racetrack raised.

So therefore we got all all these task performances in that Lions game and in that Rams game it didn't work.

We'll just stop it there.

So now you get all these wins in Seattle, which is great.

It's fantastic, man, Clint Kubiak, Andrew Jenoko, Rick Dennison, Leslie Fraser, Jeff Howard.

There are a lot of people on that staff that I've known for a long time, and I love Andrew Jinoko, Leslie Fraser, and Clint Kubiak.

I've known him forever.

I hope you guys win at a high level, man, because we ain't gone anywhere.

So with that said, I'm pulling for you from afar.

Nothing against Sam, but I was watching closely that Rams game this year because that is the most pressure filled moment that he's faced wearing those colors and we had the four picks.

Okay, again, nothing against Sam, but until you guys are going to the playoffs and you might have a really good seed and you might have a home game.

So let's just get through that before we fully determine what the Minnesota Vikings lost and what the Minnesota Vikings gained.

Well, and we have to let McCarthy play this thing out for a while.

I mean, the kid is basically a rookie, for God's sakes, in his first year in the NFL.

So I think you're right on both counts, and you're also right about the narrative about Sam.

I mean, there's not a lot of data of big games to go back and see how he performs.

The problem is, you know, we have three of them in the last year that we can point to.

Two of them against the division arrival and one of them against the Lions.

But that narrative is not going to go away.

You're exactly right until the guy steps up and delivers when the lights are the brightest.

My question though, to you call out going.

Let me sorry to be a human clipping penalty, but let me lay it out like this.

Say I'm the owner of the Minnesota Vikings.

Yes, and the general manager and the head coach, and the head coach is the coach of the year.

They come to me and they implore me to give him the deal that he got, maybe even a little more.

And McCarthy's not going to start.

He's going to be the guy.

If I'm the owner of the team, I look at somebody and I'm like, okay, I'm going to sign off on this.

But I also remember week eighteen in that first playoff game, as do you.

So if that happens again, that's on you, and that's how people get fired.

Man.

So plus plus they have the first round pick, you know who.

It's going to take some time raising this kid and everything.

So it's a tricky talker.

I understand the stance that you've taken.

I've heard it before, but my stance has to be respected until he pushes through it.

And I'll just be straight with you, softy, I hope Sam Donald pushes through it.

I don't care if you guys win the Super Bowl, man, and if Sam Donald's the super Bowl MVP, that doesn't eed at me.

Stuff like that doesn't eed a me.

Okay.

I want that staff I mentioned, and for you and for the fan base.

I like the Seahawks man, I always have.

So I hope he pushes through the playoff related pressure, yeah, and is able to do things at a high level.

Paul Allen, longtime voice of Minnesota Viking Football nine to noon host on Kfan, the Jaggernaut, the flame Thrower in Minneapolis, voice of Canterbury Park as well in Minnesota with us on the radio program.

But the four and seventh start after eleven, Paul, for you guys versus nine to two a year ago, is it all about Sam Darnold not being there and all about the quarterback play?

Because I'm looking at a defense, dude.

If I'm in my exhaustive research to prepare for this conversation, I noticed that you led the league in interceptions a year ago with twenty four and now you've only got three after eleven games, so what gives.

Okay, in fairness, now you're starting the twenty two year old quarterback and then he gets hurt, so now you go with Wentz and then he gets hurt, and now McCarthy's hurt again.

Okay, that's a problem.

Ye, that's just a problem right there.

And when macarthy gets hurt, it keeps taking place in game for nobody exactly knows where it is, and that kind of bugs me.

Loki.

Secondly, before last week when the Vikings lost at Lambeau and it was just a bad loss, man, they just didn't look good at all, that was the first time all year the preferred offsive line from left tackle to right tackle had been together.

Well.

Of course, in the second half the left tackle and the left guard both leave Donovan Jackson, rookie from Ohio State and Christian Darisol one of the best in the game.

But before that they had eighteen different offensive line combinations during the season.

Who in the hell is going to win consistently with that?

Now we go to the defense.

I've watched the defense all year hold this team in games to the best of its ability.

We keep getting killed in the time of possession.

Man, I mean the Packers had it like thirty eight minutes.

Man, we had it twenty two.

Wow, We're leaving games running forty five to forty nine plays.

That's absurd.

So defensively they're mostly holding it together.

But from an interception standpoint, well, just I mean we have three interceptions.

Okay, that is so by far.

The fewest through eleven games in the history of Minnesota Vikings football.

It's a problem.

Were minus like twelve in the take give the only team below us is the Jets.

Well that's bad for business.

So you got those things.

But there have been injuries defensively too.

Our two best defensive players are Jonathan Garnard and Andrew Van Ginkle, and they both have missed at least well for Gernard a handful of games, maybe a little less.

Van Ginkle missed like a month and change.

Okay, hopefully Gernard can play this weekend.

It's super super key there.

So I just sent the defenses.

Wearing down a little bit because the.

Offense just like our first three.

Possessions in the second half at lambeau Field, Man we went three plays minus twelve.

It took two minutes three plays minus twelve yards, it went two minutes, three plays one yard, or it went to and a half minutes.

So we've just seen a lot of that this year.

Yeah, yeah, well, Paul Allen's with us.

I think this conversation is going great.

It's the exact opposite of that podcast that you and I did together a couple of years ago during the crack and wild Game.

Are our bosses have both had every now and then a good idea that was not one of them.

And I could have been, yeah, I could have been, Okay, put the what's the guy's name, Stephanopolis or Picadopolis.

Petros Papadocus.

Yeah, yeah, you put us three together.

And and now see I'm not I'm not a team employee with the Minnesota Vikings, all right, I'm a hired gun that gets like one of the worst ten ninety nine humanity ever can see.

So therefore I'm like gray Area when it comes to talking about gambling on podcasts or Softy Show or my show, I'm gray Area there.

But if you, myself and.

Petro ever get the opportunity, well, first.

And foremost gambling would have to be legalized in this in this, in this foolish state.

I don't know if it is out there or not.

It is not here and it ain't close.

So if that ever happened, you, Petros and I for iHeart spotting up on money line couts.

Yeah, let's put it this way, it wouldn't be a podcast to which people were listening.

It would be supplemental income for them.

Well as the kids like to say, we would kill it with that podcast, no doubt, so, no cap.

Let's see maybe one day when all three of us are looking for a little more freedom in our careers, maybe when we're not shackled, you know, by the bonds of iHeartMedia.

Maybe one day we'll go down that road.

But Paul Allen's with us, the voice of the Viking.

Be careful, be careful with this weekend, okay, because the Vikings are a talented bunch.

There is a different form of pressure coming on your quarterback this weekend, given the defense, the defensive coordinators and coordinator, and the players on the other side.

I'm not offended.

The Seattle's a nine ten point favorite.

I completely undernderstand that, and I respect the season, but it's just astounding to me, man that that team is eight and three and they're minus seven and the take gift, I can't say I've ever seen that in my life.

So you know, we have twenty one turnovers and Seattle is twenty and the quarterback has given the ball away fourteen times.

So I just would be careful with you know, with this whole trash talking equation here.

Well, I don't think anybody's really talking trash.

It's it's hard.

It's hard to talk trash to a guy that's representing a four and seven football team.

I'll be totally honest with Williams.

If this was seven and four versus eight and three, I think we might have a little more fireworks on the radio show.

But I will tell you and you can feel free to use this on your program out there.

But I know you've done a lot of research yourself, so you probably already know this that Mike McDonald Paul in a year and a half in Seattle is twelve and two on the road.

He's six and eight at lumen Field.

He's under five hundred at lumen Field.

And they're two things to that number one.

There's gonna be a lot of Viking fans, I'm certain in the stands on Sunday and then number two.

I wouldn't bet on that.

Okay, Well, at some point we think that sixth and eight's gonna turn around and this team is gonna start winning games on the road.

My question to you and to wrap this up, and I'm not trying to be a smart ass here.

I know nothing about Max Brosmer.

You saw him play at Minnesota with the Gophers.

Brosmer, sorry, you saw him play while he was rowing the boat at at at you know, Minnesota for PJ.

Now he's the number two guy behind McCarthy.

Do we a Sea Hawk fans, honestly, do we want to see Brosmer versus McCarthy or do the Vikings maybe still have a better shot of winning this thing with JJ.

Okay, first and foremost, you're gonna need to know his name just in case he beat you.

It's Brosemer.

I thought I said Brosmer.

You kept saying Brosmer.

Well, that's okay.

Ever Brosmer a million times?

You know what, I'll tell you what.

I'll tell you what if he starts, If he starts on a Sunday afternoon, I'll have it nailed down by then.

How's that?

Well?

The kids would say, I just don't want bros murketching strays.

So with that said, uh, I'm just gonna I'm just gonna leave it with a couple of things for you.

Okay, A I'm guaranteeing you.

They hit on an undrafted quarterback.

Okay, to what level, I don't know, but they hit on one.

Uh.

This kid is not afraid.

He processes things very quickly.

And we saw that in the preseason and training camp in the joints with New England, and you can't teach coool and he has it.

This kid is not afraid.

And and he will give absolutely every single thing Kevin O'Connell wants in this game.

Hopefully it's good enough.

I'm starting to work on your defense today.

Wow, all we cow with all this speed?

Wow?

I mean there's like like the Ernie Jones bit.

I don't know if he's gonna play or not, but I mean rieke Willan's a backup.

Are you kidding me?

I mean with Witherspoon.

Witherspoon is so good at what he does from what I watched this morning.

So yeah, man, and DeMarcus Lauren with the touchdown.

So it's it's a tall task.

That's a reason Brosmer in the Vikings if Brosmer plays, are ten point underdogs here, and you know what, I guess, I guess we probably shouldn't even show up the way you made this conversation sound until they unleash Grenard and or Van Ginkel, assuming Grenard plays, and you better hide the women and children.

My friend Brosmer, Max Brosmer, He's.

Might not even play, but if he does, you got to get it right.

He's not your Brosmer, he's your Brosmer.

There's a and I you know, I call game for a team that employs Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, and Jefferson has gone six games without a one hundred yard game.

I mean that's so by far the longest stretch of his career.

He's frustrated, understandably, So yeah, I can argue Justin Jefferson, Jamar Chase.

Those guys best two receivers in the NFL, maybe for the next ten years.

Jackson Smith and Jigba is unfreaking believable.

How he runs his routes and that full speed thing in the shoulder shake and the break it at the top of the route.

What a freaking handful he's become.

Nobody can stop him.

It's unbelievable.

We keep waiting for it, Paul, Honestly, every single week, we keep waiting for someone to shove an elbow right in his mouth.

We wait for someone to put a forearm into his chest.

Press this guy, knock him off his route, get him at a sink.

Nobody can do it.

It's unbelievable.

And now he's on pace to break Calvin Johnson's record, by the way, with like thirty five less targets than Calvin Johnson got when he was running around playing for the Lions.

So yeah, Jsn's gonna be a problem because he's been a problem for everybody.

All right, you're the man.

Can't wait to see you this weekend.

Travel safe, enjoy Turkey Day Thursday, and we'll talk soon, My man, appreciate it.

And happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

I and we back here give thanks seriously for your friendship and helping with the radio sh and just how seriously you take your craft.

And may God bless you and your family and go Huskies against those ducks this weekend, and know that matters to you.

And I hope, I hope I get a chance to see you this weekend.

Okay, yeah, you bet, Buddy, Paul Allen.

Always great to have him on the show, Love having him on.

He's he's a great broadcaster, but he's an even better dude.

Really honestly mean that.

Always fun having him on the show.