A team's general manager tends not to talk often — and when he or she does, frequently not much is said.
Both of those things are true about Vikings GM Rick Spielman, the latter of which got the supreme Patrick Reusse treatment on Monday's Daily Delivery podcast.
If you don't see the podcast player, tap here to listen.
But as someone who watched almost all of the Vikings' third and final preseason game Friday — yes, I did that just for you — I was interested in Spielman's in-game comments. He spent the entire third quarter in the TV/radio booth with Paul Allen and Pete Bercich, opining on and reacting to a wide range of things.
I went back and listened to it again Monday morning — again, just for you — in an attempt to glean five takeaways from Spielman's on-air comments.
1) The roster is top-heavy, and Spielman knows the Vikings are largely dependent on their high-end players: The Vikings trailed 21-3 at halftime, so highlights were at a minimum. Spielman was asked about the opening drive led by Kirk Cousins, which ended in a field goal after it stalled deep in Kansas City territory.
"A lot of young guys out there still playing and learning. They're getting better every week," Spielman said about the end of the drive. "But you saw Irv Smith get a chance to get a couple plays his way. The offensive line did some good things. We're down to our third running back with Ameer Abdullah so we have a lot of young guys playing. … There are a lot of growing pains going on right now, but once we get our main guys out there we will be definitely ready to go."
The biggest thing the Vikings have going for them right now is that a lot of their best players didn't play much (or at all) in the preseason. Conversely, the Vikings might be relying on those "young guys out there still playing and learning" if injuries hit. Case in point: Smith is now reportedly going to miss the start of the season.