MVP: Harrison Smith and Emmanuel Acho Break Down The Vikings Fast Start - Episode 291

Hey, Vikings fans, Ben Lever here. I'm so excited to be a new Lifetime member, and so are my kids. They love the tennis, the pick a ball, the basketball, and of course the yummy cafe. Check them out at Lifetime dot life to find a club nearest you.

You're not listening to the Minnesota Vikings podcast. Football finally back in the Twin Cities after almost a month since the last home game. The Vikings face the four and one Lions, their second divisional matchup of the season, and we're so lucky to be joined by Vikings veteran safety Harrison Smith, still out there proving he's the hit man each and every game. And I wanted to ask you first off the top, how much fun are you having right now?

Playing in year thirteen.

It's just a group of guys. We got the whole staff feeling in the building. It's a lot of fun, especially what we're doing on defense. You know, from my role individually, it's a lot of fun. So I've been around long enough to know that these kind of situations don't always come up every year, So definitely take advantage of the opportunity for sure.

And I mean, you're surrounded a bunch of guys who you know.

I'm sure you had the early bye week, but it was easy to walk back into the building. What was it like to be reunited after, you know, a week off.

Yeah, it's the early buye.

But I was talking to Jonathan Bullard and he was like, man, I was kind of ready for the buye to be over with.

So I think that is that goes along with the kind.

Of the joy that we're having, like we want to get back to work, we want to get back to it.

So that's a good sign.

Recently in the Jets game, you were you joined an elite group of people, a Hall of Fame style if you want to say that, you're only the seventh dB in NFL history to have twenty plus sacks thirty plus interceptions. And on the sideline in London, I heard a lot of the guys being like twenty piece, like you got this side they did? They know, like what numbers you're at?

Yeah, just because last year I got to nineteen and a half early in the year and kind of know that that's like I wrote down like twenty twenty, twenty picks, twenty sacks in like probably twenty fourteen.

I probably wrote that down, So I've been waiting for it for a while.

Yeah, but it was it was cool and you know, all the guys being excited for me, that's that's fun. That's part of football. So it's a yeah, it's pretty cool club to be a part of.

So now that it's twenty twenty four and you've hit that mark, do you make new marks? Is there like a new number you have in your mind you like want to end on.

I've always got some things written down, but it's always team goals and then it kind of trickles down from there. So whatever we can do to keep winning is all that matters for sure.

For what it's worth, though, as a defensive back, how hard is it, like putting it into a perspective for fans to be able to reach that thirty twenty mark.

I mean, you're only the seventh to do it. Just how difficult is it?

I mean, you definitely have to be a multiple type player, a guy that can be trusted playing and coverage in getting after the passer. It also has a lot to do with the schemes that you play in. You know, we know that flow Flow likes to be aggressive in certain spots so it's it's not just an individual thing. It's it's this games I've played in. It's the players I've played around, and then when the opportunities arise, take advantage of them.

One of those players that you're playing around who's having a really great start to the season is Andrew van Ginkoll, with his second pick six of the season. I have a trivia question for you, and I see a s mark. I feel like you probably know where this is. My idea is, do you know who the last Vikings defender was who had two pick sixes in a season?

It's probably me in twenty twelve.

Ingo.

Yeah, yeah, There's only been ten of you guys in Viking's history to be able to do that.

If he beats you, I mean, yeah, that's okay. That's okay though.

Yeah.

I told him I think I'm I think I'm like the franchise leader and pick sixes as a Viking with four, and I was like, gink you're going to beat me in one season, man, Let's.

Keep it going.

Let's keep it going at this rate for sure. What do you think Van ginkle has added to this defense?

Yeah, he's you know.

Kind of like I was saying with the interceptions and sacks and stuff like, he's a he's a multiple type player that can rest the passer, you know, beat tackles, beatbacks, He's really good in games. He can play off the ball. He has a really great feel for coverage and dropping and finding where the ball is.

Going to go. He's just to me, he's just he's just a football player.

Like if you played him on offense, he'd figure out how to help the team. And if you got you got a few guys like that, you can do something with it.

It feels like there are several players like that on the team who positional flexibility is so important in what Brian Flores is running. So how can you explain to those who maybe don't know the ins and outs of what you guys are doing how critical it is to have players like that who can be flexible in their positions.

I mean, you can't do it without not just one guy like that, but a handful or more. And you got to have depth because just the reality of the NFL season, guys are going to miss some games here and there, and that's that's like the physical requirements, but then there's mental requirements too, as far as being able to like be flexible and recognize things and play at.

A high IQ level.

You know, when you watch it unfold, it doesn't always look that complicated, but to get to that point is normally a few steps, and to be able to do it collectively is another thing. So we're always practicing and trying to get it right, and luckily we have a coaching staff that trusts us and players that can get it done.

So before week six, this defense ranked first and hurries knockdowns and pressures second in sacks. However, you guys are blitzing at a little rate than you were last season under Flores.

How are you able to blitz a little bit less but still get.

Enough pressure on the quarterback to affect them more this year?

Yeah?

I think that's it's, you know, credit to the guys up front, different ways that we're doing. It's not always just sending more than they can block. And then obviously being in the right calls that stresses what offenses are doing. You know, that starts with Flow and Deronte and Swerve and the coaching staff and we just try to try to execute there their plan. You know, we're just the pieces on the board and every now and then we can, you know, kind of go outside of our of our

Yeah, I have the analogy written in my notes that it just feels like Brian Flores is playing chess out there and everybody else is playing checkers.

I mean, you've made a bunch of.

Quarterbacks look like rookies out there, or at least as much as you can. For a second and third, your players look looking to be back to their rookie seasons. As you're watching the defense affect the way that their game is going. How does that feed you guys as a unit? You know, because you're seeing them go through their mind, They're like, I can't.

Figure this out.

Then you see a guy like Aaron Rodgers and he has the same problems.

We definitely take into account who the quarterback is an experience level, and what they're going to recognize and what we can maybe make harder on them. It's really just about trying to make it harder on them. They're going to make their plays here and there, but if we can if we can add anything to their thought process pre snap, post snap, and just make it a little a little harder to tell exactly what's going on. That's, uh, that's what we're looking to do.

How do you do that to Jared Goff on Sunday?

Same plan as far as you know the ideas of what we're trying to get done. He's obviously a veteran guy with a lot of success, a very good, very good player, can make a lot of big throws, and has a lot of a lot of good players, a lot of offensive skilled players, good o line, good running backs, so they they do a really good job over there, and and and Goff is a huge piece of that.

So just trying to make it hard on him like we do on everybody.

Yeah, And Brian was really funny this week saying that he likes to fight fire with fire when asked about the Lion's aggressive play, calling, in your eyes, what's fire going to look like?

I mean, it's not it's not far off from what you've seen before.

But they it doesn't seem like they can figure it out though.

Well.

I mean, you know, normally in the NFL, there's enough good coaches and players out there that people are going to figure some stuff out. And you got to adjust and Ben Johnson their offensive coordinator. He's fantastic and he's you know, kind of like you mentioned fire with fire like it's similar they do. They do some things that are aggressive and can be tricky for defenses, so it should be a good matchup.

Recently, you were in tell Us with Mattelus with Josh and we notice that you're not really a phone guy. You got the blank background screen. It's just for communication. So just to let you know. On social media right now, everyone's talking about, you know, the Vikings and they're one of two undefeated teams left in the league. There's other guys on the team that are looking at their phone,

As a leader and a veteran on this team, it's human nature.

You'll hear good things about you and react a certain way, or negative things about you and get caught up in that, and everyone operates a little differently. Like some guys can handle seeing it, some guys should probably just stay away from it. So just kind of figuring out how you operate and keeping your eye on like the things that really matter, and those things are typically the things in the building, you know, your family at home. But there's no reason to be affected by it at this point.

Speaking of family at home, you've got two little ones on a the age of three.

If I'm not mistaken, you were.

What I've noticed though, that one of you and your wife's favorite months is October. It feels like you've got some pretty epic Halloween costumes over the years. Has it been fun to include the kids? Like, are you guys family brainstorming on what to do each year?

Yeah?

Now it's it's become you know, my wife kind of kind of runs the show with the costumes, but now like the focal point is the kids, and then we we kind of fill in where we need to. So we've got a few different ideas.

I like that.

So, I mean the holidays, I think having children probably changes that a little bit. What's been the best part about, you know, seeing them experience Halloween or Christmas time?

Well, this is kind of the first year that our daughter will like really get into it.

She's just getting old enough.

She was just kind of a prop last year, and our son will be still kind of a prop. But it's fun to it's it's definitely fun to see our daughter get into it. She likes she likes us stuff too. She's like her mom, so we'll definitely have fun.

She cracked me up the other day when I was on the field she before one of the games.

She was just flat out laying on the turf and the.

Grass, like totally comfortable being there and being herself.

Which is so awesome to see.

What's it like as a father to be able to give these unique experiences to your children, who are, you know, growing up around such a different world.

Yeah, it was.

Something I didn't think about for the majority of my career, but seeing my teammates who had kids kind of old enough to enjoy the experience of the NFL and the team and everything. So now that now that I get to do it with my kids, it's I realize how special that is. And hopefully they'll remember some of it.

Yeah, I think you might be playing a little bit longer they'll be able to remember. I'm sure they will be in attendance on Sunday, the noon kick against the Lions. The crowd there is always something that is really special. It's been almost a month since we've had a home game, and last time we were there it was the Texans game and it really affected what the Texans were able to do on offense. How much does that crowd noise actually play into what you guys are able to do defensively?

Yeah, it's a big deal.

It's a legitimate home field advantage, which I don't think is the case everywhere in the NFL, but it's a.

Big advantage for us.

It also you normally don't think about it from a defensive standpoint, but it kind of makes it harder for us too. But we're okay with that, like we've done it enough. We'll figure it out. And then the road games on the flip side are like completely silent when we're out there, so it does.

It's normally not how fans.

Think of it from a home field away a standpoint, but we preferred as loud as possible.

I love it. Well, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate your time.

Best of luck this season, and uh let's go six and oh right, that's the point.

Thank you.

Another big thank you to Harrison Smith for joining the first half of the Minnesota Vikings Podcast. We still have another half to go and we will be joined by Fox Sports's Emmanuel Acho with his take on why the Vikings are one of the best teams in the league.

There is a spaalan close to you. Visit online at Spallan dot com.

Unveil is back with their limited edition Vikings drop head to unurl dot com for more details. Welcome back into the Minnesota Vikings Podcast. My name is Tatum Everett and there's a big old game looming. On Sunday, the undefeated Minnesota Vikings take on the four and one Lions at US Bank Stadium. To help us preview this matchup, I had a chance to catch up with Fox Sports's Emmanuel Acho, and while he had some great insight on what's to come in that game, I also asked him why he

We appreciate it. It's a television experience.

I try to tell people, not just the TV show, but it's the only show on daily television that's all athletes, and so we really want fans, We want viewers to experience TV differently. We don't just want to debate, we want to discuss. We think that debating has been played out. I think the fans are educated enough to understand the game. And so when you got all athletes thirty nine years of NFL experience, four Super Bowls sitting at one desk, there's nothing like it.

Yeah.

No, I love that discussion versus debate that we could have a whole other side conversation about that.

But we're here to talk about the Minnesota Vikings.

And in your Monday morning pressers, you've alerted fans NFL fans for weeks now that you got to believe in this Vikings team. Why did you feel so passionately about that from the jump?

Really, I believe the Vikings have a top three coaching staff in football. I spent a few days with Kevin O'Connell last year at Mark Sanchez, a close friend of mine's wedding. We were in Mexico. I got some time to just pick his brain. But even more than picking Koc's brain, I got some time to get to know him the man, him, the human.

Incredible leader of men.

He can get along with and galvanize any group. So realizing that he is the leader at the Helm. But then obviously Brian floor As being a defensive wizard outside of Andy Reid and Steve Spagnola, I don't think there is a greater offensive defensive mind currently combination in the game of football. So when you look at those minds and then you look at what they're putting on tape, it's breathtaking. You got two savants out there, two wizards

A high level.

Well, you mentioned Sam Donald and your conversations with Kevin O'Connell. What do you think he's been able to elevate in Sam's game? Or really, I mean, I'm sure he's had it all along, but what has he made it work? For Sam to be so confident this early on in this system.

The first and foremost he's believed in an individual. Oftentimes you just need somebody to believe in you. Sam Donald has always been talented, and I was a college analyst before an NFL analyst at USC.

Sam Donald was incredibly talented.

But when you don't have offensive coaches around you, and you don't have that belief in you will never be able to see your talent. So the first thing is he believed in Sam Donald, which is an unherlded coaching trait. We only talk about exes and o's, forget x's and o's. Do I believe in you as a player, because if I believe in you, you'll begin to believe in you. That's the first thing. The second thing we have to

Liking that tastes of success.

And beyond that, I think schematically, Kevin O'Connell does a really good job with pre snap motions, does a really good job with pre snap shifts.

He does a really good job telling.

Sam Donald where to throw the football formationally, so he doesn't have to tell him in the headset.

Well, it's also very helpful for Sam Donald to have such.

An amazing defense on the other side of the ball.

And you've mentioned Brian Flores and his wizardry so far, I think it was this week that you recently said the Vikings defense could be a generational defense at taking.

The ball away.

Why do you think this group is executing that at such a high level.

Well, I think it's what you got to go back to nineteen eighty eight to find a Vikings defense allowing this few points per game plus eleven I think eleven interceptions something along those lines. Eleven interceptions, maybe twenty takeaways. Truly, it is the trust and the scheme married together. What I mean by that is you have defensive backs that are playing zero coverage. I will talk as though people

You know, they put five games on tape by now how sustainable is this way of play as you go into now what is going to be a twelve plus game stretch.

There are weaknesses to Brian floor as a scheme. I know some of the weaknesses to the scheme, but I think it would take Andy Reid to expose it. Like not everybody like I'm waiting for one coach to simply do what I'm like, Dude, this is all you have to do.

Well, don't tell us.

I'm like, I'm like, I'm not saying what I'm and it'll get But I think it would take Andy Reid. Okay, I don't know that many coaches who can expose it.

Maybe Sean McVay, maybe Kyle Shanahan.

But you need a coach, and you need the players, and then you need the execution again, just to nerd out real quick. Those that are listening and watching, go back and look at the Mike Williams drop. I think it was the twelve minute fit fifty four second mark of the Jets versus the Bills game most recently. The Bills ran the exact same defense as the Vikings, and the reason they did so was because the Vikings had so much success with it against the Jets.

It's a copycat league.

So just because you know what the Vikings are doing, and just because you practice against what the Vikings are doing, can you execute it?

I think it would take Andy Reid to do it.

All right, Well, now that we know that you're officially an encyclopedia of football, I do not know how you keep it all in.

Your brain enough.

So.

The Lions will be playing in Viking at the US Bank Stadium against the Vikings this weekend, and obviously they have an offense that even Brian Flores said, it's hard to find a weakness on.

So what do the Vikings need to.

Do to I guess disrupt what the Lions do.

Keep them behind the sticks. The Vikings' best attribute is when they get a team in third and six or longer. If you get a team in third and six or longer, you can zero pressure. And that's really what makes the Vikings defense great. The Vikings defense is cool, but it's the zero pressure scheme that makes them next level. But you can zero pressure on third and two or third and three, or third and four or third and one.

You got to play straight. Simply put, you just kind of kind.

Of call basic man the man, you know, even cover ones, even jet cover ones, even one robbers.

I'm just giving all different play calls.

But if you get them in third and six or third and seven, or third and eight or third and nine, that's when you get to have fun. That's when you get to bring out your prowler package, or you get to bring out your fun package. You can do the stuff that the Vikings did where you got nine players standing up and only two players' hands in the ground. The problem is the Lion's gonna run that football. They gonna run, they're gonna get in third and two, third

Lines, well, thank you so much, Manuel for sharing your time today.

We really appreciate it.

If you're not following him on x or Twitter or whatever it's called these, you definitely should. He is a wonderful follow You can also catch him on the facility on FS one every morning or weekday morning at nine am Central time. And if college football is your jam, you're still doing that too.

Again, I don't know how you do it all, Tatum, thanks so much, no, thank you, appreciate you.

Thank you again so much to Emmanuel Acho and our first interview this Minnesota Vikings podcast, Harrison Smith. If you miss that one, be sure to go to our podcast channel or check out Vikings dot com for our conversation with the hit Man.

There is a game on Sunday. It's gonna be a big one at US Bank Stadium. Kickoff is set.

For noon against the Lions. You can catch that on Fox. You can also hear it right here on kfan. Thank you again so much for listening to MVP. I'm Tatum Everett and let's watch these vikings go six and