Inside The Vikings

More bulletin-board material for Vikings courtesy of Stephen A. Smith

Not that the Vikings need Stephen A. Smith to believe in them, but he's offered up some fresh bulletin-board material.
Joe Nelson|
Sep 15, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; San Francisco 49ers defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos (94) tackles Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) in the third quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images
Sep 15, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; San Francisco 49ers defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos (94) tackles Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) in the third quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images | Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

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Minnesota Vikings

This the kind of story the Minnesota Vikings should be emailing to every player on the roster ahead of Sunday's battle against the Houston Texans. Sure, we already know there's an awareness in the locker room of the Vikings being overlooked based on the viral video of players bouncing to 50 Cent's "Many Men" following last week's win over the 49ers, but additional bulletin-board material can't hurt.

"La-la-la-look, man," Smith began on First Take Thursday morning. "Hey, I know that what we seeing from Sam Darnold is impressive. I get it, I understand. But I'll remind y'all that Week 1 was against them damn Giants. That's like a bye week, OK...

"I'm not a believer (in Sam Darnold) as of yet. I'm not rooting against him. Nice kid, got a real big arm. I get all of that. But I'm not sold on what I'm seeing yet."

On Wednesday, Smith wondered out loud if the Vikings beating the 49ers was more about the 49ers having issues than it was Minnesota being legitimately good.

“I watched them beat the San Francisco 49ers. Is that really about Sam Darnold and Minnesota, or is that about Brock Purdy, and the 49ers, and what they ain’t? I don't know about that," Smith said Wednesday.

Now might be a good time to remind Smith that Darnold connected on three third-down passes for first downs to Brandon Powell and Jalen Nailor late in the fourth quarter to help Minnesota clinch the victory — and he made the big-time throws while Justin Jefferson was out with a quad contusion.

A lot of other national talking heads are sold on the Vikings being for real. On Wednesday,Good Morning Football analyst Akbar Gbajabiamila called the Vikings the NFL's biggest surprise — and predicted another win this Sunday.

"Bring the camera in over here, I've got something to tell you," he said. "The Vikings are gonna beat the Texans and they are really good. Yes, I really believe that the Minnesota Vikings are really good. All summer long, we were talking about the Packers and we're talking about Chicago Bears and the Hard Knocks life and all this other kind of stuff. Nobody really was giving the opportunity to that of the Minnesota Vikings."

Colin Cowherd went on his show and said Kirk Cousins is like a baker while Darnold is more like a chef, clearly suggesting that Minnesota's potential is higher with Darnold's ability to improvise on the field than it was with Cousins.

ESPN's Kay Adams thinks the national media, as a whole, might be underrating the Vikings.

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Joe Nelson
JOE NELSON

Joe Nelson has more than 20 years of experience in Minnesota sports journalism. Nelson began his career in sports radio, working at smaller stations in Marshall and St. Cloud before moving to the highly-rated KFAN-FM 100.3 in the Twin Cities. While there, he produced the popular mid-morning show hosted by Minnesota Vikings play-by-play announcer Paul Allen. His time in radio laid the groundwork for his transition to sports writing in 2011. He covers the Vikings, Timberwolves, Gophers and Twins for On SI.

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