Enough Said: Kirk Cousins returns, Wolves winning streak and Gophers vs. Penn State

I was hoping they were going to come with me, but I said, what are you thinking, Julie? I know it was her call, and she said, I don't think we can pull the boys out of school and baseball and their friends, and she picked them up from school, and she said, here's the situation. Dad got traded to the Minnesota Vikings. What would you guys want to do? And they looked at her, and they said, let's go. So they're across the street, and they're ready and excited for the next several weeks. You can't tell Lori Fisher produces this show, can you? I love that. It's all about the family. It's a very special studio audience live edition of the Enough Said program. You can see how raucous they are. Yeah, they're fired up. Please try to keep it down, ladies and gentlemen. Good to have you here with us. We don't make them fake clap like other shows do, pretend like you're having a great time. It's not like the State Fair. They're just sitting here like, oh, there's a television show. I can already hear them chuckling, though, so that's cute. That's pretty good. The fake TV laugh. TV chuckling. Fake TV laugh. You're very familiar with Laurie. Enough said is the name of the program. My name's Dan Barrero, Justin Gard, and Laurie Fisher, who... I mean, you knew I was going to pick out that sound bite because it was the best sound bite of the day. No, it wasn't the best sound bite of the day. It actually wasn't the best sound bite of the day. Okay, for me it was. We'll debate that later. Have you followed up with Jules? Have they found a house? I mean, have you gotten to the bottom of it on all day? Are the kids back in school? Have they gone back to their basketball team? But I will say it only took about 10 minutes before I was already sick of the Kohl's Cash jokes, the who's going to shovel his driveway jokes, Yep. The Kirko chain. videos. Yeah. I mean, you're done with them. God bless them. But I'm done with some of those jokes. Well, anyway, just in the nick of time before the NFL trade deadline, the Vikings did announce they got Kirk Cousins, 38 year old quarterback. So he's grateful. And as we heard, he has his family support. The Vikings traded a third round pick to the Las Vegas Raiders for Cousins. Dan, what do you think? Well, I'm thinking about, again, how we're reminded with this story. About the rich stories that this sport, certainly sports in general, but this sport in particular can reveal. And I'm going to need Justin's help on this. Okay. Okay. Let's try to list the number of ways in which we were all, many, bored with Kirk Cousins, right? First time around. One. The joke, we made jokes about his comment. It's not about the money, but it's about what the money represents. Didn't we roll our eyes on that one? We did. The COVID stuff. He missed a game because of the COVID controversy. You want to go way back? Yep. The check down Charlie approach sometimes where it just looked like he was throwing just to be safe. He really wasn't trying to rip it open. He's too robotic. Didn't we hear that? Can't move. He presided over the worst playoff loss. Well, there's only been two. He's only had two. In the KOC regime, right? The home game against the Giants, he gets outplayed by the other quarterback. And that's what fascinates me about this story. The guy that most people are ready to move on. It's over. We had a moment or two with him. We don't want anything to do with him. That's the guy who now we're asking, the Vikings are asking, to save the team and the organization from all of its own sins trying to navigate. This difficult position known as quarterback of the National Football League. You can't make up the richness of him being back after all that and him being the guy we're saying, save us, Kirko, from ourselves. I'm pretty sure I said this last week. I know I've said it a lot this year. Just another week as a Minnesota Vikings fan. Just another week as a Minnesota Vikings fan, and I'm completely desensitized to all of it. As someone who grew up watching it, we've chronicled all the different quarterbacks that they've used in my entire life. And this went from... Last week, we were all very curious about Carson Wentz, right? We're like, I think it'll look better. I think it'll be okay. We just need an adult in the room. We just need simple passes. And it couldn't have gone any worse. Our expectations were low. I wouldn't say anybody had ridiculous expectations for Monday night, and they weren't even close to meeting them. So then it became almost a panic. And I do love how Nolan Teasley, the GM, basically said, just trying to improve our club. Like we do with the practice squad, you guys have seen me moving guys in and out, and we're always looking in three weeks. They didn't call the Raiders until Tuesday morning. Gee, what happened on Monday night that was just a complete disaster? But this is the move they had to make, though. They had to find somebody because this defense is too good. This defense is too explosive. This defense is too old. They're not going to be around here forever to wait around anymore. They absolutely had to do something. And the fact that, like, look at this pass right here. That told you everything you needed to know about how the night was going to go. The easiest pass you can possibly make. Ends up being a fumble to your best player. And the thing about Kirk, what will be interesting is he's played pretty good football. I know he didn't play good well last week, but he's played pretty good football. He's played pretty good football in this system going back to the couple of years here with KOC. So if he doesn't play well. Eventually, because I don't expect him to play awesome on Sunday. I think that's probably asking a little bit too much. Then it is all going to go back to the head coach and the offense and everything that goes with it on what exactly are we doing here. But to bring it full circle, just another week as a Vikings fan, man, you mentioned all those things, why people were ready to move on from him, and now he's our guy riding in on a wave of Colts cash. Well, you've articulated why so many people are willing, at least for a week, to look at him differently because of the backdrop Of the monstrosity of a game that the nation saw Monday night. We're doing stuff as an offense for a team with a good record that hasn't happened since 1925 in professional football. So you're suddenly saying, well, yeah, there's all these issues with Kirk, but compared to what we just saw? He might end up being our savior, and I mentioned this during the week. He doesn't have to part the waters. No, he doesn't. He just needs to calm them for a while. Make a play here. Make a play there. Give this defense a chance to think that. Wait a minute. We're going to have to be on the field for how many plays? 44 minutes. Because the offense can't stay on the field? So that's what he represents, and you're exactly right. It's a move of desperation, but it was the right move. Because you have to take a shot at it. There's no guarantee, but you have to take a shot at it. And basically, realistically, given how little they gave up, this was probably their best shot at salvaging a season. Which sounds preposterous given their record is 6-2, but that's how it feels right now. Well, there weren't a lot of options that were legitimate options. No, not realistic. Right? Because Daniel Jones I don't think is legitimate. Mac Jones, I don't know if he was. Justin Herbert, that sounds good, but that's not realistic. Like, this was the move. Because quarterbacks are not available in the middle of the season. Well, let's keep going. All those other guys, by the way. Let's keep going. For this moment. ...are more broken than Cousins has been this year. Because he's had a very good season. The Vikings play Green Bay on Sunday afternoon on Fox 9. The Vikings 6-2, as you said. Green Bay 6-3. Blake Cashmore in a concussion protocol. And then Green Bay's running game has not been good. Josh Jacobs was back, but now he's gone again, Justin. Well, you want to talk about stories. Where did the Kirk Cousins-Vikings story end? It ended at Lambeau Field. And I remember vividly... The Vikings were putting it on Green Bay that day, if you recall. I think Metellus had an interception in the next play. They go up top to Jordan Addison. It's early in the year, early-ish in the year, and you're thinking, oh, my gosh, this thing is rolling. Kirko's unbelievable. Look at this defense. It was all kind of clicking. You know what happened? He tears his Achilles. He was playing top five in terms of the numbers at that point. A lot has happened since then. Right. I got to be honest. I mean, you know. You know how I feel about the Packers quarterback situation. The complete opposite in my lifetime of what they've dealt with with the Vikings when you just go from Favre to Rodgers to now Jordan Love. I love watching Jordan Love play now. Hard not to. I mean, he is fun to watch. And the way they've been rolling here. See how the Flonami, how the Brian Flores defense kind of handles this thing. We obviously know the biggest story is going to be the offense for the Vikings. Does it look different? Is it different? Can it just be functional? But the Packers offense, even though as Lori said, they haven't run the ball very well, it hasn't mattered a whole lot because they are slinging it around and Jordan Love has been a big part of that. They got to him in that first game. There were a couple of turnovers. Obviously the sacks that we're seeing now, that was kind of Dallas Turner's coming out party. We just see him right there. But this, um, the way that The way the offense has been rolling for Green Bay, this is going to be an interesting test. There is not a division in football that has more depth. At the starting quarterback position, you mentioned Love is ascending and has had a terrific – and the long ball, nobody's throwing – it's like Aaron Rodgers, basically, in his prime. We know about Caleb Williams. We know how solid Goff can be. And that's another reason why getting something, even if this is a short-term solution at the position, to where maybe you're not as good as any of those other three, but you're not a distant, like, eighth in a four. A four-team division, that's what they hope Cousins represents because it shows up in this division just how important the position is. We already knew it, but it feels even more crucial given the other talent that seems to be either in its prime, ascending in the case of Caleb Williams, and even in the case of Goff, he's a little older, but nevertheless is about as accurate as any quarterback in the league. They had to narrow the gap. They had to narrow the gap, and that's what they did. So, I mean... Can the Flonami slow them down? Isn't that the biggest question or one of the biggest questions? Because, like we said, their running game, I know they just rushed for like 125 yards. The Iowa running back, I think, has had a decent day. You think about what the Packers did since the last time the Vikings played them. They went and found a couple of offensive linemen basically on the street, right, because of injury. They were in crisis. They were, and they have done a good job of navigating that whole situation and actually playing some pretty good football. Football. So. I'm excited about the defense, of course, and I'm also curious what Kirko looks like. And I think I will just call him Kirko for the rest of time. I think we've now transitioned from Kirk. I think we'll just call him Kirko. AI tells me the win probability, Packers 59%, Vikings 41%. Oh, enough said. A little disrespect. What else do we need to hear? AI said that. We have the Timberwolves on fire, five in a row now for them. They beat the Dallas Mavericks at home on Thursday night. They play Chicago Saturday and actually don't hit the road again until November 25th. So it's the longest homestand in franchise history. So if you want to go see them, see them now. are putting up good numbers without Ant, Dan. Well, we've kind of kidded this whole, before the season began, that people were predicting how much fun this team might be because of LaMelo and because of Anthony Edwards, who was healthy. And I would just roll my eyes and say, I'm over fun. I'm more interested in, can they be good? Well, what's better than being one or the other? Being both. All of them. Because they are fun. To watch right now, it is a crowd-pleasing approach, even without Anthony Edwards, which we never thought we would say. But they're also really playing well. They've not hung their heads without Anthony. They've found a way to sort of reinvent themselves. Various players kind of settling into important roles with this team. But let's be clear about something. Ball is the story. Yes, he is. LaMelo Ball is the story on both ends of the court. He can make the occasional mistake. That can, you know, have you a little bit like, okay, LaMelo, come on, let's tighten it up. But the activity, the energizing nature of the approach that he takes, it is revolutionizing everything they're doing. Not to mention the fact that he continues to guard at a very high level as well. He's emerging early as one of the biggest stories in the NBA. Now the hard part is whether Anthony Edwards, when he comes back, will accept being the sixth man. Because we might not need him as a starter anymore. Or having to run the floor as often as they do. That's a great point. Because this team is relentless in pushing the pace right now. And that's what I think has been fun. Which has never been the case for this franchise. No, certainly not, especially recently. You mentioned LaMelo Ball. There was a possession last night on defense. Because that, to me, has been the most fun part, if we want to use that. How relentless and consistent the defense has been. Not just from LaMelo, but everybody else. And Chris Finch has even said, I know what I'm getting from my group every night. How often have we heard that? Even when the Timberwolves were good, good, the last three or four years, we hadn't heard that, right? They were a roller coaster. They were moody. They were up and down. We joked about surge prices for tickets on how moody the team was going to be that night because the effort wasn't consistently there. That has completely changed. But there was a possession last night where LaMelo, on defense, I don't know if you saw this, was scrambling around in the half court. The whole team was in scramble. I don't think LaMelo scrambled to the proper person one time. But he was in like seven different... He was trying, is my point. He was putting the effort in. He wasn't just standing there letting somebody else do it. I think they ended up getting a stop. It was a hilarious possession, but it speaks to just this relentless defensive effort that we're seeing from everybody. They are flying around. They're rebounding much better than I think anybody thought they would because of the effort piece of it. And you have to love how people have stepped up in Anthony Edwards' absence. Obviously, the Melo Bones Highland has emerged as a very reliable player as well. Kaminga, I think, has been a godsend. I think that was the word for Finch, one of the phrases that Finch used for it. So it is the best of all worlds right now, and Laurie's right. You've got six more opportunities in the next two weeks to go watch them. Here's the other thing that does occur to people, I think, is Edwards is out, we assume, we think probably until January, right? Yep. Maybe early January, maybe mid, we'll see. And then there's still this murmuring that DiVincenzo might end up Being available sometime later in the season. Yeah. Now, I don't know if that's going to happen. They could by Christmas, some people think. You add those, well, we know Edwards is coming back, but you add those two pieces. To this group, the depth of this group, that's pretty dazzling and definitely should open some eyes around the league. Speaking of open eyes, did they fall asleep, our guests? At least two of them are dozing, I think. Man, we shouldn't have given them that turkey before the show. You're supposed to fake your end of this like nothing you've ever seen before. Raucous enthusiasm. Mesmerized. Yeah. Yeah. Hypnotized. The whole bit. Hypnotized. Get them a neck pillow. Welcome back to Enough Said, a seven-game winning streak while on the road for the Wild. Matt Boldy with a hat trick last night against the Maple Leafs. The Wild are first place in their division, and there's hope that we might see Brock Faber play against the Bruins Saturday night in Boston. That was still iffy. He was medically cleared about a week ago, but we've seen him on the ice at practice, Dan. Well, you know, we just finished the last segment with who? The Wolves, the Timberwolves, right? And pretty high praise from both of us in that sense, and a lot of high praise around the league. Now we're going to the Minnesota Wild. Again, off to probably as good a start as they've ever had. We know the issues that are still hanging over the franchise. Is this the dawning of the age of Aquarius for our winter teams? Oh, man. It's almost too much to hope for. It may be eventually too much to hope for. I know you don't like thinking that big because you've had your heart broken so many times. I'm used to it. But I will say, in all seriousness, these are two teams that have a chance to make the whole winter stretch that we haven't even begun, really, winter hasn't even started here, maybe it won't this year, interesting throughout. These are, I mean, in the case of the Wild, they're clearly top drawer and off to that kind of start. Their best players are playing really, really well. And in the case of the Wolves, they're also looking like they intend to try to be a factor in this thing, even with the way they were reconfigured. In the case of the Wild, it's kind of bringing back the same people, right? And just having them get a little bit better. And then there's the elephant in the room question about what happens to your guy, Quinn Soda, Quinn Hughes. Which is why I would say we better just enjoy this season because I'm not feeling good about it anymore. We had the general manager on this week. He's kind of in the dark. We had Mike Russo, who's been on this show before. He basically said the writing might be on the wall. So I'm now in full enjoy-em-while-you-have-em mode, which is annoying because I do think he should just sign here. But it's not my life. Every time I say that, I'm told it's not my life. The team is so solid. And they've really been solid from the jump. I like – it was like the first week of the season. They were talking about how they were winning and going about things the right way. It's just a professional group, and I think that's what's fun about it is we talked about the consistency of effort with the Timberwolves last segment. The Wild, too, know what they're getting seemingly every single night, and you hit on the key thing, and Bill Guerin said this as well. Sometimes it's as simple as our best players are the best players. It doesn't have to be any more complicated than that. It doesn't have to be any more nuanced than that. You saw Boldy with the hat trick the other night. They needed all three of them. They were down at the time. He's obviously emerged, started emerging a year ago. The Olympics stuff into a superstar in this league. It's true, as cliche as it is. If your best players are going to be your best players and... Kirill's been unbelievable. Quinn Hughes has said this is the best I've ever played, which again leaves me confused why he would want to leave this situation. And Lori mentioned they're getting one of their other best players back on Saturday, who happens to be from Maple Grove, right, Lori? I know you always like to mention that. Brock Faber, which would be a nice addition and really a surprising addition. Only the best from Maple Grove. Given what he was dealing with earlier in the year when there were people that thought he might miss the entire season. 30. All good things. I didn't even mention the goaltending. It's just ride it out. It's been great. And again, it's becoming an interesting team. Again, they're pleasing to the eye, right? Especially when that top line's been absurd. They still haven't been on the ice five on five for a goal against, correct? Enough said. It's a stunning stretch. So they're both off to good starts, and they're both fun to watch. Yeah, I agree. Let's just enjoy it. Until the bottom drops out. Thank you, Reese Witherspoon. Quite the philosopher. Another big test, though, for the Gophers football team this weekend. They were playing Penn State on the road Saturday night. The Gophers have had back-to-back losses to Indiana and then UCLA last weekend, Justin. Well, the music's been playing for the whole show, right? Like, Lori's Instagram reel's been hot. I know the dude from the Backstreet Boys was just here, and every middle-aged woman in the Twin Cities is taking a picture with them, so we've got that out of the way. That's terrific. Terrific. What was I talking about again? The music. You don't want to talk about the Gophers. Well, no. The point I was making was the music just stopped. The music has stopped for the last couple weeks for the Gophers, and as of two weeks ago, they're two seconds away. From maybe the biggest win in P.J. Fleck era here, knocking off Indiana at home, or on the road, I should say, when they're ranked in the top five. Still ranked, I think, in the top five or six, although I know Cignetti's mad about their playoff positioning, which he probably should be. And then they have a defensive meltdown a week ago against UCLA. Another winnable game, another beatable team. And you're sitting here now completely on the grind to try to get bowl eligibility in the next three games. This Penn State game is not going to be easy. Wisconsin's not going to be easy. Northwestern's not going to be easy. And the biggest problem they have is kind of like what we've talked about with the Vikings. They have not been able to get what we're watching right now, explosive plays in the passing game. You saw UCLA do it a couple of different times. They have not been able to get anything going offensively. And that, to me, is the biggest challenge coming down the stretch. The defense, I have a hard time ripping too badly because of some of the positions that they've been put in here. But this is obviously inexcusable, and it happened two plays in a row. The offense has just been... It basically evaporated since late September. There's just still too much weirdness, right? I mean, they've played some good teams, obviously, very close, including the Indiana game. But then they get blown out at Purdue. They're in a close game with UCLA. They've put themselves in the perfect position at home to finish the thing out. And then it's over. In a minute, it's over. And, you know, again, I think part of what is hurting P.J. is the symbolic stuff. I think when you... punt in the situation he punted with, what was it, I think 240 to go, whatever the time was, down 14. You're conceding in a way that I don't think, everybody's already in a bad mood because of what's already happened in some of those games, not finishing games, playing badly at Purdue. And you add to that, I don't think it puts him in a very good position. I hope this is not a year he gets a contract extension. I know you're supposed to get him every year. I don't think he should get one this year. What will be interesting is if anything changes after the season. In terms of his philosophy. That's what I'm wondering. Right. Because I do think we're in a different place in college football where everybody has good players. And I do think the way that he likes to win and a lot of coaches like to win, I think it's really hard, maybe harder than ever, to do it that way. He would argue that's the only way they can do it. I would say let's maybe try something different philosophically. Limiting other teams' possessions means less if you can score on one 75-yard play. That's true. Welcome back to the lightning round for Enough Said. A Texas A&M study of more than 10,000 workers found that people who use standing desks are more productive. So I thought we could stand. I guess researchers say you should do the 28-2 rule. Every half hour that you sit down, you have 20 minutes standing, 8 minutes. No, 20 minutes sitting, eight minutes standing, and then two minutes talking. No better at math than we are. Can you repeat that? What study is this? We're going to just stay on the rest of the show. Can we start over? Somebody paid for that. A new study. We don't want to talk about it. This is why we're doing it. We just moved on to the next item. Yeah, I'm just saying, that's why we're standing. Yes, for the health benefit. A lot of people in our office, they go back, they do, they go, they stand for a while. And then they sit, that sort of thing. It actually makes some sense to me that I've never done it. Do you? Do you have a standing desk? What do you think? No. Good, good, good answer. How many minutes again? Can you give us the breakdown? How many treads do people at home really want to go? Okay, it's the 28-2 rule. 20 minutes sitting, 8 minutes standing, 2 minutes walking. What about a slow walk on the treadmill while you're standing? That sounds good, too. Okay, let's do another survey. The rudest cities in America. Miami, Florida takes number one. Minneapolis, 49th. And for our Madison friends in our audience, 67th. So they're nicer in Madison and Minneapolis than Miami. I think we're way too low. I think we should be higher. We're ruder than people think. Well, I think we're passive-aggressive. The Minnesota nice, right? The sneering niceness. What's going on in Miami? I know, right? What's there to be upset about? Traffic to the beach, the bridges. Starting today, this one's for you. You can fly. You like MSP. This one's for you, too. MSP Delta now flying directly to Maui. So I figured it has your MSP and your Maui. Would you guys take up on that? Let's play. Yeah, it's a great idea. That's accurate. And I'm sure very reasonably priced. Well, I was going to say, yeah, this is completely irrelevant to me. MSP to Maui direct. That sounds fun. I'm going to need a little bit more money. And then finally, I'm wondering when you think is the right time to start listening to holiday music. Oh. I checked. You're obsessed with holiday. I am. Top 40 right now, your girl, your gal, Mariah Carey is in the top 40 and Wham! Last Christmas is back in the top 40 and I've been hearing it sprinkled in now in different stores and stuff. When do you guys think is the right time? Now, after Thanksgiving. For me it's after Thanksgiving. I've lost that, that battle's been lost for me. Yeah. After Thanksgiving is the right answer. The day after Thanksgiving to me is perfect. Do you know some people already have put up their decorations? Yes, I do. Some people. I'd say most people. Yeah. There's no pressure. If you go to a Christmas tree lot now, there's no trees left. It's all peer pressure. It's like if you've got to keep up with the Joneses now, instead of just standing tall and saying, no, we don't have to participate in this madness. How long can we leave up the lights after Christmas? Oh, at least a month. Yeah. Have we stood long enough? Can I sit down now? No, it's not eight minutes. It's not eight minutes. How long were we standing? Only about two and a half.