Minnesota Vikings News and Links: This Isn’t the Super Bowl, Man, This is Detroit

Good morning, folks! I get to cover the Open Thread for Brandon this morning, so let's see what we've got for news stories around the ol' interwebs about our Minnesota Vikings , shall we?

Vikings Radio Announcer Paul Allen Says He Almost Quit After 2021 Season

"I'm telling you right now, at the end of the 2021 Minnesota Vikings season, I was all done with this job," he said. "I didn't want to be at the facility that much anymore. I'm not paid by the Vikings to call games, I'm on this awful mercenary 1099 to call preseason games and do appearances and advertising, just be there when they need me. It's cool that they do that, but the 1099 part of it stinks. So therefore I'm not super attached to it like that, even though they give me unlimited access, born of trust. At the end of the 2021 season, I didn't like the building, I didn't like some things that were transpiring with people in there, and I'm like 'I don't need to do this anymore. I just don't want to do it anymore, and my mental health counts too.'"

The Story Behind the Vikings' 5-0 Start: Between Chemistry and Scheme, It's Just "Different"

Poetically, the beginnings of the Vikings' 5-0 start in 2024 were birthed in the final hours of 2023.

Late into the night on Dec. 31 in the bowels of U.S. Bank Stadium, coach Kevin O'Connell gripped a lectern with both hands like he was squeezing two stress balls. His Vikings, sputtering to the finish without quarterback Kirk Cousins, had just been embarrassed 33-10 by the rival Packers . For a few brief seconds, he refrained from making eye contact with members of the media. His facial expression evoked the emotions of a person who had just experienced three hours of something he never wanted to experience again.

This Vikings Defense the Lions and QB Jared Goff Will Face? 'Night and Day' Different

Lions quarterback Jared Goff has been Ginked before.

You know, the difficulty that befell Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers in London. The one that hit Giants quarterback Daniel Jones in East Rutherford, N.J.

In November 2020, Vikings edge rusher Andrew Van Ginkel — then a member of the Miami Dolphins — ran 78 yards for a touchdown during a Dolphins win against the Rams, Goff and then-Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O'Connell.

It was the first of Van Ginkel's five NFL touchdowns in six seasons. He has scored two touchdowns off interceptions in five games with the Vikings this season.

Report: Vikings Asked About Bears' Khalil Herbert Prior To Cam Akers Trade

"Prior to the trade for Cam Akers, I'm led to believe the Vikings preferred Khalil Herbert of the Chicago Bears ," Wolfson said on SKOR North. "100 percent confirmed, not reckless speculation: the Vikings had dialogue with Chicago. Absolutely had interest in Herbert. So it wasn't Cam Akers or bust. Now clearly, the Bears wouldn't do the parameters of the deal the Vikings worked out with Houston. My understanding is the Bears were looking for a little bit more, maybe like a fifth (round pick)."

Again, we all know the rules, but in case someone is new: