I noticed a few bizarre statistics I want to pass on and a few bizarre takes by "experts."

First, three bizarre statistics:

1. Let's assume fumbles have a 50/50 chance for recovery by either team. I'm not sure if that is actually true or not, but it seems like a fair approximation. In the Eagles game the Vikings fumbled 4 times. They lost all four. The odds of that? 1 in 16. The Eagles fumbled once but did not lose it. That's another 50/50. The odds of all 5 fumbles going badly for the Vikings was 1 in 32. Now go back to the Buccaneers game. The Bucs did not fumble. The Vikings fumbled twice and lost them both. (Once on a bad snap and once on a LG Ed Ingram forced fumble -- What the? How many guards in the NFL force fumbles from their QB?) That is 7 fumble outcomes, roughly 50/50 odds, that all went against the Vikings. The odds of that? 1 in 128.

2. By traditional QB rating, guess who the top 3 QBs in the NFL are. 1. Jordan Love. 2. Kirk Cousins. 3. Jared Goff. Incredible, right? The top 3 QBs, by rating, are all in the NFC North. Their combined team records? 2-4. That is also incredible.

3. I know there are many ways to rate QBs out there. QBs are sometimes #3 on one list, #9 on another, and #17 on a third. Pick your preference. I guess I'm old school because I just go along with the tried and true traditional rating. But maybe I shouldn't. Take a gander at this: Kirk-O Chains has an 8 yard per attempt average this year. Jordan Love's is 7.6 Average yards per pass is important. One of Love's passes was to Aaron Jones 3 yards behind the line of scrimmage and Jones took it 52 yards thanks to blocking. So Love's yards per attempt is highly deceptive but that's what you get on a two-game sample size. The point is, Cousins is significantly better, so far, than Love at yards per attempt. They have the same number of TD passes. Completion percentage is night and day. Elite 72.7 for Cousins and miserable, third string rookie QB 55.8 for Love. (Remember, the #1 factor for QB success is accuracy) Sooooo... how the heck is Love the higher rated QB? Only two reasons. One, fewer attempts and that makes his TD percent higher even though they have the same number of TDs. Two, Cousins has one interception and Love has none. Never mind that Love threw highly interceptable passes versus the Falcons and Cousins' one intercept was really more of a KJ Osborn fumble. So, yeah, the old rating system is deeply flawed. Anyone watching Love and Cousins in the first two games would quickly and easily conclude Cousins is a greatly superior to Love.

Bizarre expert take #1: I forget who but someone is claiming the reason the Vikings are 0-2 is entirely because Cousins is so awful. I have to think they are claiming that to try to produce clicks because it would be mean to think anyone was that stupid.

Bizarre expert take #2: Mike Florio was asking an NFL analyst if there is any chance that Cousins might be able, this late in his career, to up his game enough to make it into the Top 5 QBs or even at least into the Top 10 QBs. Uh, Mike? Cousins has been Top 5 three times in his career at year's end and Top 10 several other times. Of passers passing for at least 2000 yards, here are Cousins' results = 2015: 5th. 2016: 7th. 2017: 11th. 2018: 10th. 2019: 4th. 2020: 8th. 2021: 4th. 2022: 14th. Mike Florio was asking if Cousins might possibly EVER do something he has already done SIX times! So Mike, a so-called "expert" and a so-claimed "diehard Vikings fan" does not even know really basic things about the QB? It is his job to know football and his fun to watch the Vikings in particular and yet he never noticed the QB ratings? And he did not research them? Either Florio was intentionally talking deceptively or he is not who he claims to be. He is not an expert and he is not a Vikings fan.

I think it is hilarious that Courtney Cronin, the Bears fan, first claimed the Vikings tried to trade up for Justin Fields and lost out to the Bears and then went on to claim the Vikings wanted Ryan Poles as GM and lost out to the Bears. Both false. I guess it is a compliment when they try to make it seem like the Vikings wanted someone but they got them instead. We had the ammo to trade up and get Fields had we wanted him. We did have trade talks to move up but we were trying to get ahead of the Chargers and the target appeared to be Rashawn Slater. We ended up with Darrisaw. Worked out great. Can you imagine if we had Fields at QB + no Darrisaw + missing various other draft picks? What a disaster. As for Poles, c'mon, who would take the destitute, draft pick drained Bears over the Viking's GM spot with a playoff caliber team and draft picks and a state of the art facility? Oh, Courtney, we are not as dumb as you think.

It's funny, none of the anti-Cousins crowd ever does or ever can offer an alternative. Like, "If I was GM, then back in 2018 I would have gotten so and so to be our QB and we'd have a Super Bowl title." Who? Who??? Just last year a bunch were saying they'd have taken Fields. Well, they aren't saying that now, are they? And Fields was not as good as Cousins before this year either. Others, at one point, suggested a trade for Watson. That would have gutted us financially and of draft picks and also spiritually -- all to severely downgrade at QB! Anyone who cannot supply a viable, logical, clear-cut better alternative needs to be quiet and learn to cheer the guy who actually is our guy and who actually does kick butt.

I love the additions of Risner and Akers. The money and the future pick are nothing. Just doing this signing and this trade sends a great message to the team and the fan base well worth the cost. If they do anything on the field it is all bonus points.