Enough Said: Vikings next test, Anthony Edwards injury and midterm elections

Look at the bigger picture and understand that you know we're six and over winning games and what we're doing right now is working. Obviously there's things to do better and things to you know kind of fix on the offensive side of things but all in all it's coming together and we're doing things to win games. Why do football players all have their hands up high? I need that question answered during today's edition, or tonight's edition, of the Enough Said program. Welcome back. My name's Dan Barrero, joined as always by Justin Gard and Lori Fisher as well. Is it comfortable? Very comfortable. Do we know the answer to that question? They don't have pockets, so they don't have to put their hands up here and just feel like this. That makes sense. Very comfortable. I might do the whole show like this. I'm glad I asked. I don't want to mess up my mic. Very comfortable. Good to know. Did we ever think that the Vikings would be 6-0 right now? Oh, Dan and I believed every step of the way. And the only undefeated team. We believed every step of the way. Kyler Murray, we knew would be brilliant. We knew the defense would be unbelievable. We believed every step of the way. You don't remember that show? The preview show? Minicamp, OTAs, we talked about it constantly. Well, they play the Detroit Lions this Sunday at noon. The Vikings coming off a win against the Colts. The Lions coming off a win against the Packers. But when it comes to this weekend's matchup with the Lions and the Vikings, a lot of the headlines are the Vikings are going to be put to the test. Is it their biggest test yet? Is it their toughest test yet? Do you agree, Dan? Well, we're starting a stretch of games against more challenging opponents, for sure. Detroit is weird because their defense has not been very good, although their defensive line is starting to come together. But their defense overall has been, against the past, one of the worst in football. Then they've got a great offense, though. Buffalo, great offense, right? San Francisco is coming. So we're going to learn a lot more. I'll ask both of you a question. Is it possible I need a bit of an attitude adjustment? And I bring this up because, Mark, maybe that's too general a question. Let me get more specific. Mark Craig from the Star Tribune, we call him the wise old owl, longtime reporter, he's been there forever. And he's trying to kind of put a halt to all of this negativity about 6-0 because the offense hasn't been great. He does remind us of a couple stats that we probably have not paid enough attention to. Last year's Vikings team had 30 turnovers. Yep. This year, four through six games, correct? Minus nine in the turnover rate a year ago, plus seven this year. J.J. McCarthy in 10 games, 14 times he turned the ball over. Guess how many times Kyler's turned it over? Two. So, I do think it's fair to say, when it comes to old-fashioned football, that revolution largely contributes to why they're sitting here at 6-0 when in other areas it doesn't make any sense. The question, again, is how sustainable is it? A lot of people in the analytics guys, Justin, say you're going to start turning it over. That tends to even out over the course of a season. But it is the one saving grace for a team that obviously has had a great defense and great special teams that you can argue... You're going to hang in every game, even against better opponents, if you continue to not give up the football. There's a reason why my guy, P.J. Fleck, says the ball is the program, right? If you don't turn it over, you have an opportunity to win. And thinking about those turnovers, two of them were in the New Orleans game for sure. One of them was at like the 10-yard line, right, when Aaron Jones fumbled. They're about to break that game open. I agree with the wise old owl. I do believe some of that stuff is sustainable. I'll give you the Ron Rosenbaum but, though. So at some point. They do have to start winning, maybe not in a different way, but in an altered way, where the offense is going to have to be a part of it. I do think it's unrealistic, as great as this defense is, that they're just going to lock down everybody, shut down everybody. I know they just did that against the Colts again. They gave up a touchdown on the first drive. Really nothing after that, right? The offenses that they're about to face are really, really good. And really, if you want to start thinking big, which is when you're 6-0, you want to start thinking big, right? Even though they're not in these trade markets right now and they haven't made any big moves. You're thinking you can make a run once you get to the postseason. It's hard to believe that you can win this way in the postseason because what does everybody have in the postseason usually? A really good quarterback, right? Those are usually the best teams. You're going to have to at some point, maybe not win a shootout, but hold serve long enough to where you're not asking your defense to go out and work miracles every single Sunday. I still think They're navigating a lot of things on the offensive line that are making things difficult. Kyler has been obviously very up and down. And then it also seems like, Dan, whenever he has a good play, like that pass to Addison the other night, for example, the other day. Great play, great move, great pass, great finish. I think there was a holding penalty, right? Or there was something. Like there's always like a yeah, but or an amendment on almost every explosive offensive play. So I do agree. You've got two of the three phases playing really well. That's good. That's probably sustainable in its own right, but at some point they do have to get, I'm not saying a lot more, but a little bit more, at least a little bit more consistency. But with the offensive line stuff, I don't know how realistic that is. Well, that's probably another whole segment, because I think some of it's offensive line, I think some of it is. What some of the insiders say is there's been some holes, but the runners haven't always taken full advantage of it, too. I don't know. But unless, look, if this is an 85 Bears defense or a 2,000 Ravens defense, maybe you can get away with it. But is that likely at this point? As you say, as soon as this Sunday, the chances are your offense is going to have to take some pressure off of your defense, which means even you don't want to start giving up the ball a lot. But you're going to have to make a more consistent number of plays. And I thought Kyler took actually a step back against the Colts. I got to see a lot more. I also wish we could see... You know, the trade deadline, every other legitimate NFC team has been able to add a significant piece. We are still waiting for the new guy, the new general manager, to make that kind of impact because I think that is part of the obligation if you're sitting at 6-0. Even if you don't love your team, you can't skip a year. If you've got something going on, I'd like to see, and there's still time, but so far we have not made a high-impact move like the Bears. Like the Seattle Seahawks. Like the Niners. And like the San Francisco 49ers. Why do we remember the years of those defenses that you brought up? Because they were historic, right? Yes. And rare. Right. I'm glad you mentioned attitude adjustment because you had one today, Dan, and you did a great job. We had our photo shoot for our holiday card. Now, why would you bring that up? We were doing well. We had moved past it. And now you're putting him right back in square one. Why are you restarting that fight? No, I'm saying he had a great attitude adjustment. The audience didn't need to know that, that we were at each other's throats. And now you're bringing us both back to square one. That's the sort of thing. And we're four minutes into the show. That's the sort of strategy that creates a locker room schism. Yes. That's it. You want there to be tension. That's what you're telling us. Tough news this week, though. Timberwolves superstar Anthony Edwards expected to miss up to two months. He did have a successful right knee surgery on Thursday at Mayo. The Wolves have lost their last two games. They play the Spurs Saturday night. But just, oh, you know, it's like just when we thought, Justin. Yeah, I mean, Dan mentioned, does he need an attitude adjustment? I know we always think we need an attitude adjustment. Or people from the outside always go, why are Minnesotans always waiting for something bad to happen? What's with you people that you just can't enjoy things as they come? I've asked myself that question for 40 years. Exactly. And every, you know, gopher coach that comes and goes that I work with, they're always like, why is everybody so negative around here? Wouldn't you... It can't be exhibit A, B, C, or D, but it's in the discovery file, right? For why we are the way that we are. Because it was all going too good, wasn't it? The wolves, the giddiness over the moodiness. Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball were having fun. They were trash talking. They were beating every team by 20. Even the night before we learned about this. Anthony Edwards had 47 points on the road in Cleveland. He was ridiculously good. We're seeing some of that right here. I think this is the opener against Miami. But look at that. That was like a week and change ago. Looks kind of explosive here. But this is why we're always waiting. Because unfortunately, something bad like this happens. Now, in the grand scheme of things, it's two months. I didn't love what I saw the first night they didn't have him. We'll see how they do. No, I didn't either. Obviously, tonight against the Clippers, we're talking about this on a Friday. That's not a very good team. Hopefully, they figured some things out because you could tell the team was kind of like, what do we do now? Who's our guy? Well, Melo's not a true alpha. Even like a Julius Randle would have been a year ago, or even a Naz Reid, who's got his own problems right now in Charlotte. So, this is where Finchie earns his money, right? And they've got to figure out a way. To hold serve for the second time, I'm using that phrase. Stay relevant because the signs were very good that this thing was going to work offensively. Really, defensively, it was going pretty well as well. So it's a buzzkill, and hopefully it's closer to the two months as opposed to longer than two months that we've heard whispers about as well. We may have already learned that LaMelo might need Ant. Even more than Ant needs LaMelo. I think it's a great point. Because, you know, obviously we all agree that what LaMelo represented is a guy who could liberate Anthony, doesn't have to handle the ball as much, and can just go score and defend. But I also think watching LaMelo a little bit, he isn't, I agree with you, he's not an alpha in that sense. He's not the 1A. He can be on a given night, I think, if the shooting's going good. But he almost needs someone else to feed to, to play off of, to get the best out of him. 30. So they're going to have to redefine themselves, and that's where it gets tricky. Because then they're going to get used to playing the way they play for two months, hopefully better than they did that first game. And then when Anthony comes back, they're going to have to readjust. Now, they'll gladly do that. The other thing that lingers with me, we've all been told this is going to clean up whatever's wrong with the knee and he's going to be as good as new. Do we ever believe that anymore? I don't know that you can seven years into his career. Exactly it. They do definitely have to find better rhythm, and they've got to protect Rudy Gobert maybe from a couple of the players. Enough said. Because he's had some offensive issues again at the wrong time, adding a little bit of early season tension as the new guys figure out that he's not a real good finisher at the basketball. Well, here's the problem. LaMelo is best in what? Pick and rolls. Charlotte ran more pick and rolls than anybody a year ago. Rudy's a great screen setter. That's good. But with the roll? Not great, right? Not at all. So, what LaMelo's great at, Rudy's not. I don't know how that's going to work. And if Edwards is out for two months, he can't be up for any awards, right? That is correct, right. Okay, real quick, the Brewers did it. They won the World Series Wednesday night against the Tampa Bay Rays. It's Milwaukee's first ever World Series title. The parade going on today in Milwaukee, Dan. The best thing I think about this team, about the Brewers, is they seem to be a repudiation. ...of the direction baseball had gone in for a long time, which was what? We don't care how many times you strike out. Right. Just hit home runs. We're not even that concerned about your defense. Just do, and just throw hard. This seems to be, based on everybody who has hailed them, because I haven't watched a lot of them this year, but enough, that they're a throwback. They do believe in moving the runner along. They don't mind bunting. They value singles and doubles. They are not constantly trying to hit home runs. I hope it starts a counter-revolution. And you know what it also tells me is? When people say, well, no, it was going that other direction because all of the analytics indicated it had to. Nonsense. It doesn't have to because it depends on who you have on your team. I think what we're learning again from the Brewers is there's lots of ways to win. And the notion that, nope, there's only one way to win, that's where you have to go forward, just isn't true. I love that a town like Milwaukee, we just saw that, can celebrate it. Because you know this as well as I do. We've all been to games over there. We had Cato Kaelin on yesterday. He was losing his mind. AmFam Field, formerly known as Miller Park, that was like a safe haven for outdoor baseball when we had the Metrodome. It is a town. That has loved its team, even when they weren't very good. And I just, I love that, that a fan base like that can be rewarded. It's a very Midwestern story, no question. Welcome back to Enough Said. As we know, midterm elections are this Tuesday. Voting for governor, U.S. senator, U.S. representative, state lawmaker. I voted. A lot of, you're not alone, Dan. Historic record setting. Actually, I didn't. You get your pin? You already have your pin? I have not voted yet. Oh, you have not voted. If we all vote before election day, can we stop with the ads earlier? Like, if they get everybody, hey, everybody's done. Hey, and we need the money, right? We'll take it. TV and radio, we'll take it. It's all fine. But, man. Yeah. Lori, are you an accomplice, by the way? What does that mean? I mean, I know what an accomplice is. How do you feel about data centers? It's one of those ads that's running online. Oh, no. Yeah. Is that like your gotcha moment or something? But you know what? This is very interesting, as we know, as we've talked. Discussing the state of politics, according to the New York Times and other sources, Mary Patola, who is the Democrat running for U.S. Senate in Alaska, recruited another man with the same name as her opponent, very similar, to screw people up and to siphon votes. So there's a couple. It's like Daniel and Dan. Dan? Well, the thing, the story itself, very well reported, I think, by the New York Times, is disturbing, right? But what has fascinated me and actually angered me is a lot of the reaction I've heard in various places on the Democratic side has been, I'll give you an example. Here, I'm going to show you a graphic of, do you remember January 6th? Yeah. That's the comeback. And it's, look, at the top of my list. The most corrosive thing in our politics, right, for me, is Donald J. Trump, period, full stop. I have no problem saying that. I've said it before. But this tribal nonsense is stupid and is a destructive big second because it's the old, well, yeah, we probably screwed that up, but I can't give much sustenance to that or momentum to it because that's my tribe and that lets the other guy and the other party off the hook. It doesn't have to leave anybody off of the hook. But for those of us who are bored with parties and tribes, this is why. We should be able to cover several things at the same time, call them out, and not be afraid to do so. Like, what about Trump? This story, again, the Times did a great job with it. It's a very disturbing story. By the way, it's not unprecedented. No, apparently it happens a lot. I think it happened once in Minnesota on the other side of the aisle. But the idea that we have to run from it because what's... It's my tribe. I've got to protect my tribe no matter what. How can we be taken seriously politically if that's what we're left with? Well, I don't think they're trying to be taken seriously politically. That's probably true. And I think their comeback would be. It's hard for them to hold anybody accountable when the feeling is, the guy you mentioned, President Trump, has been held accountable for nothing, right? Nothing sticks to this guy going all the way back to 2016. I mean, you go all the way back to Billy Bush on the bus. Like, that should have ended it right there probably, right, for any normal person. So my feeling is there's a frustration that, yeah, we can hold our people accountable, Al Franken, for example, or others, but it never happens to the guy on top. So that's probably why I'm not excusing it. But it's now. This is a new story, so we're supposed to then ignore it? No. To me, you lose the high road if you don't have the ability to continue to hold accountable the guy you just mentioned over and over again. Yeah. But to pretend this isn't happening, this is a bad political move to make that to me leaves me cynical about the whole process. I get worn down by the idea, well, we can't go down that road because Trump. Yeah. They would argue the high road's gotten them nowhere. That's the problem. And I'm not disagreeing with you. I'm just, that's kind of what they would argue. This story, though, man, it made me depressed more than anything. Mostly because it shows how little politicians think of their actual voters. Correct. But it also. It's all a game. But they also, in some cases, might be right. Okay, next up, we've got to keep going. That was – I would encourage people to read it because it's pretty brazen, some of the stuff that they were doing. Just asking people with the same name, hey, would you mind running? I think that you were talking – Sharon Anderson, I think, was the name. Sharon Anderson? Way back when, because remember there was also Sharon Anderson for a good campaign, wasn't it called? Well, Eddie Murphy won an election in the Distinguished Gentleman by running as Jeff Johnson, who had passed away. We've talked about that. The name you know. Yes. Vote for Johnson, the name you know. The Wild, first in the Central Division, but they broke their three-game winning streak, losing to the Islanders Thursday night. Brock Faber, though, has cleared concussion protocol, so hopefully he'll be back in the mix soon. We're just not sure of the timetable. But there's a couple of others still injured that were waiting on Jared Spurgeon and the Flea North. Lino Brothers, Wild play Washington Capitals on Sunday, Dan. Well, they are, you know, they played really well. They had a good finish to the road trip. They ended up with a point, what, last night, I guess. They were not able to win the game. I mean, if you look at their first month overall, given the injuries and given, you know, what we're all trying to figure out, which is, is there going to be a trade? Is there going to be a contract extension? Overall, they've played really well, and the big knockers, the people that they're paying the most money to, are playing very well. So I think overall... Even with this cloud hanging over where this is going in terms of moves, they should be very pleased with the position they're in, especially about their goaltending. Yeah, I think they should be given a lot of credit for the position they're in. Second most points in the West right now, I think. And you mentioned it, their stars have done what they needed to do. Kaprizov has been great. Minnesota, Quinn Hughes, even though we're both annoyed with him because this thing keeps getting dragged out over and over and over again. He's been unbelievable and probably showing why he's worth the wait and do whatever he wants to do in terms of the timetable. I did love this quote from him last night because it does kind of speak to what they've been dealing with injury-wise. It's hard with Spurgeon and Brock out, and it'll be nice to get the Folinos. Like, he's just naming multiple people on the top couple of lines that have just been irrelevant. And Spurgeon's going to be out for a couple of weeks, it sounds like. Laurie mentioned we don't really know. About Brock Faber, it's good news that he's cleared to start kind of doing some stuff, but I don't think they're expecting him back anytime soon, right? So I think they deserve a lot of credit for what they've done, how they've kind of stemmed off all of these different injuries and played some pretty good hockey. You mentioned the goaltender. He's been unbelievable, which is part of the reason why I think you and I were in alignment on this. We didn't really want to deal him when all this stuff was coming up the last couple of years. In a sense, they couldn't because of the injury to Gus Bus, He's been spectacular, and like you say, every week it seems like now we just wait. Now we wait for the Dylan Larkin thing, which he's quit on his team now. He's been fined and not suspended because he stopped, but we'll see if there's any movement there, and then we'll see what happens with Quinn. Okay, for the first time, how many times have you heard this this week? For the first time since 1978, the Gophers have in their possession the Little Brown Jug, Michigan win, Floyd of Rosedale, Iowa win. And then they still have the Paul Bunyan axe from the win against the Badgers last season. They take on the Badgers at the end of November. Yep. This after beating the Hawkeyes for homecoming. Fun, right? The Gophers play the Hoosiers in Indiana on Saturday, so the vibe is really, really great right now, Justin. Yeah, it was great. It's great this week. Two weeks ago, it wasn't great. Three weeks ago, it was great. It's been that kind of deal. They shocked their season. I said last Friday, I thought Saturday was the biggest game of the season. I thought it was one that they had to win just to get this thing back going. Every college football Saturday apparently is going to be crazy, the last three or four have. But you've got to find a way to beat Iowa at home, especially because for the first time that I can remember, It wasn't your normal Iowa team in that they were the team that was begging you to beat them. Usually it's the other way around. They wait for you to make the mistake. And by the way, Gophers almost did. They almost threw the interception that would have put them in field goal range. They never could extend what was a seven-point lead for much of the second half. I mentioned the Vikings offensive line stuff. The Gophers are going through the same thing. I think that's messing with the quarterback, Drake Lindsey. Their offensive line has all kinds of injuries, and Lindsey has not been the same player. since the first half of the Washington game where they took control of that game from the jump and was very, very good. But the way Iowa played on Saturday, you got the gift that you never get with them. You had to find a way to do it, and thankfully this judge in Louisiana ruled the kicker eligible because he banged through a 46-yard field goal with no problems. To me, for the Gophers to have a chance against Indiana, it's kind of on the Minnesota defense. Indiana's offense has only scored 48 points total. the last three weeks. It is not a great offense at this point. They seem to make the plays they have to to win or to stay close as they did against Ohio State with a chance to win one foot out of bounds, preventing them from knocking off the Buckeyes. But to me, I think the Indiana defense is going to make it hard for Minnesota to score much. Probably the best they've played. Correct. And they've played some good ones. You're going to have to, you know, your defense is going to have to be huge against an offense that has been frustrated at times this year. I think that's their only chance.