Episode 618

The Square and the Dig

Hosts	Arif Hasan, James Pogatshnik
Guests	Charles Starr
Type	Regular Season

Norse Code Episode 618: The Square and the Dig was a Week 5 preview episode ahead of the Vikings' home game against the New Orleans Saints. The show opened with brief celebration of the Cowboys' Thursday Night Football loss to Jayden Daniels before turning to the Odell Beckham Jr. signing and a discussion of the systemic issues hobbling the Vikings' passing offence without Justin Jefferson. The episode's centrepiece was an extended preview interview with Charles Starr of the CitySaintCountrySaint podcast, covering the Saints' catastrophic running game, their surprisingly functional offence under Tyler Shough, the injury-depleted state of their defensive front, and the mutual conclusion that the Vikings were likely to win. The mailbag covered Josh McCown's coaching tree, Kevin O'Connell's play-calling identity and his offence's deep intermediate route concepts, mouth guards and Guardian Cap scepticism, Drake May's moon-landing conspiracy theories, Crumble Cookie's slow commercial collapse, and a meditation on what forensic investigators would find in James and Arif's media archives. The episode title derives from Arif's explanation of the two signature pass concepts in the Kevin O'Connell offence — the square-in and the dig — and his description of the "second window" mechanic that he identified as the specific area where Kyler Murray most struggles.

Overview

The cold open celebrated the Cowboys' loss on Thursday Night Football to Jayden Daniels, with James noting that watching Jerry Jones leave the stadium visibly furious never gets old. Arif agreed, observing that Jones was "mad enough to throw a tantrum" despite, as Arif noted, being a billionaire whose tantrums carry real-world consequences.

Odell Beckham Jr. Signing and the Receiver Room

James introduced the news that the Vikings had signed Odell Beckham Jr., characterising it as the kind of signing that provokes a "why now, why not five years ago?" reaction. Arif described OBJ as straightforwardly washed: nine receptions for 55 yards for the Dolphins in the prior season, one target for zero catches in three games with the Giants. He noted the Giants had parted with OBJ despite themselves needing receiver help, and that the most plausible read on the signing was as a competitive incentive for Juwan Jennings, who had made a string of uncharacteristic mistakes in limited opportunities — a misalignment on a Caleb Tirenin play, a false start, a wrong route. Arif rated Jennings as the clear favourite over OBJ in a simulated head-to-head in roughly 90% of outcomes, but acknowledged OBJ could plausibly take snaps in specific situational roles. He also noted that both Jefferson and OBJ are LSU products, giving the Vikings two LSU receivers with iconic contested-catch plays to their names.

The broader discussion addressed the structural reasons for the Vikings' receiver production problems. Arif attributed these primarily to play-calling rather than individual receiver failure, pointing to Kevin O'Connell's post-Dolphins admission that there was "more shell coverage than we expected" as evidence the staff had been underprepared for two-high looks that are well-established in opposing game plans. He further noted that the Saints' defence leads the league in Cover 3 usage and ranks third in single-high, making the same preparation failure particularly costly going into Week 5. Jordan Addison was identified as playing below his capabilities — "drifting in his routes," which Arif observed becomes a larger problem specifically against zone coverage.

Saints Preview: Interview with Charles Starr

Arif conducted a recorded interview with Charles Starr of the CitySaintCountrySaint podcast — co-hosted with Erlon Mexico — and the No Homework podcast (described as "three guys screwing around" about shitty jobs and hardly working, with co-host Patrick Cosmos).

Saints Offence: Tyler Shough and the Running Game

Starr catalogued the Saints' injury losses across their first four weeks: Kelvin Banks (Week 2), Brian Briseé (preseason), Caden Ellis (between Weeks 3 and 4), Carl Granderson (Week 3), Travis H.N. (Week 3), and Pete Werner limited throughout. Beneath the injuries, he identified the running game as the core structural failure: two yards per carry against stacked boxes, zero explosive runs (10+ yards) in four weeks except a single draw play, tied for last in the league. He attributed this to Alvin Kamara's physical decline — describing him as having lost the "gumby joints" that let him absorb contact and re-stabilise, now falling at first contact and offering nothing in pass protection — and to the roster situation that left the Saints without functional blocking backs. Kamara and Kendra Miller were both characterised as useless in pass protection, forcing the staff to telegraph protection assignments by keeping undrafted free agent CJ Donaldson on the field.

The depth situation at running back was further complicated by an extraordinary sequence in which three players declined injury settlements to sign elsewhere: Audric Estime, Devon Neal, and Michael Heldman all said no to Saints IR offers, with Heldman landing on the Raiders. Arif noted he had never heard of three players simultaneously refusing injury settlements, and Starr framed it as the Saints being out-Belichicked when the Bears then cut their own long snapper and immediately reclaimed the Saints' pirated replacement off their own practice squad — the second in a sequence of three long snappers used in five weeks, one of whom drew an almost-unheard-of holding penalty that cost the Saints 30 yards of field position on a punt.

Starr pushed back on Arif's characterisation of Tyler Shough as a backup-quality ceiling, arguing the running game handicap and poor offensive line support were the primary statistical drag on what was otherwise competent quarterback play. He cited Devon Veley's emergence as a contested-catch threat at 6'5" and Kellen Moore's ability to design clean 8–15 yard completions through route combinations that exploit the space vacated by a Saints offence that operates effectively in 11 personnel despite not having a true vertical threat. The Saints rank 50th in third-down conversion rate (fifth-best in the league), which Starr attributed entirely to the running game never producing first downs, placing Shough in constant third-and-long situations where the passing offence's efficiency becomes the only relevant stat.

Arif noted that the Saints are 10th in points per drive despite historically bad field position and lead the league in drives ending in fumbles — strip sacks on Shough from a still-learning-to-hear-footsteps quarterback — suggesting both positive regression and a running-game explanation for the negative drive-ending rate.

Saints Defence and Matchup Assessment

Arif identified the Saints' defence as second-worst in the league by points per drive, EPA per play, touchdown rate allowed, and turnover rate acquired. Starr identified Kool-Aid McKinstry as a structural weakness at CB1 — oscillating between a large cushion (leading to completions underneath) and press coverage (leading to holding penalties), with two critical flagged plays in the Falcons game and a third where McKinstry fell down 20 yards from a completed pass interference. Alvin Sanker was noted as a strong blitzing safety who has been misused in the slot corner role. Chase Young was playing at a high level, and Christian Boyd — a sixth-round pick from Kentucky who Starr never expected to contribute — had been a positive surprise at defensive tackle.

The Caden Ellis question remained open: he had not practised all week, meaning Danny Stutzman would likely start if Ellis was out, which Starr described as adequate but below what you'd want starting.

Both Arif and Starr agreed the Vikings were likely to win. Starr noted the Vikings' number-one kickoff-return field position as a decisive structural advantage, and framed the matchup as "the immovable object meets the stoppable force" — a low-scoring, field-position game in which the Saints' best path was their demonstrated second-half adjustment pattern. Vegas agreed: Vikings favoured by two and a half points, 41-point over/under (down from 44.5 at season open). Starr's final prediction: Vikings win; Saints cover only if the score is something like 21–20.

The interview closed with Starr promoting his wife's zine, Apeshit: A Zine for Primates, released by Orr Books, featuring a long-form piece on the bizarre and sordid history of the helper monkey, available at apesht.org.

Mailbag

Travis (Josh McCown's Coaching Tree Corner) — Travis framed a question about Josh McCown as a workplace allegory: a department lead whose previous department became one of the best in the field immediately after his departure, and whose current department has become the worst, even after the "star of the future" hire flamed out and was replaced by a struggling industry veteran. Arif noted that McCown's only two NFL quarterback-coaching jobs — Carolina and Minnesota — have both produced notable underperformance, and that Bryce Young improved after McCown left the Panthers. He observed that McCown's elevation to passing-game coordinator/quarterbacks coach at Minnesota potentially increases his share of offensive blame, floated the improbable take that McCown's fingerprints might be on the play-calling decisions that misread opposing coverages, and concluded by calling for the Vikings to trade a second-round pick to Jacksonville for Grant Udinski.

Jordan Subtractison Corner — Is Kevin O'Connell a good play-caller? Arif drew a distinction between "getting from 32nd to 15th" — elevating a genuinely bad situation — and "getting from 10th to 3rd" — maximising a talented roster — suggesting KOC excels clearly at the former and may be less certain at the latter. He cited proprietary research indicating that the gap between a good and a bad backup quarterback is larger than between a good and a bad starter, making the ability to produce a top-15 passing offence with a Joshua Dobbs or Nick Mullins a genuinely elite coaching skill. He also addressed the widespread misconception that the KOC offence is a play-action offence: actual play-action usage is in the bottom third of the league, and the true signature is routes run deeper than in typical offences, with square-ins and digs breaking at 18–19 yards rather than 14, hunting for explosive gains through the middle of the field. He further noted Carson Wentz has statistically outperformed Kyler Murray in 2026, which he treated as a signal of fit or design problems rather than evidence that Wentz is the better quarterback.

Defense Nickname Suggestions — Listener submissions included Purple Lightning (etymologically related to Blitz), The Blitz, Flo Defense, and the Decepticons. Arif expressed a preference for something with a Norse or Viking connection, praised "Purple Rain" for its dual spelling and lineage from the Purple People Eaters, but found "Purple Lightning" didn't quite land despite making logical sense.

LeVar Bolshereef (Bronvinist Corner) — Are we massively overreacting to the Vikings' offensive struggles? Arif argued the situation is "not normal and fine," but that the balance of blame sits with the coaching staff rather than Murray. He identified Murray's specific weaknesses as: not getting through progressions quickly enough, difficulty getting the ball to outlet receivers in the flat, and most critically, not executing the "second window." Using the square-in and dig as examples, Arif explained that these routes in the KOC offence are designed with a first window (the receiver clearing the corner) and a second window (the receiver subsequently clearing the underneath linebacker), and that the quarterback must maintain eye discipline away from the receiver to prevent the linebacker from tracking the throw — a skill Murray has not yet consistently demonstrated. He expressed cautious optimism that Jefferson's return and the Saints' poor defence would help resolve the problem.

Alex (Receivers & Mouthguards Corner) — Why do receivers leave their mouth guards hanging? Arif confirmed players are required to wear mouth guards during play, citing a player penalised for not wearing one who successfully argued he had two guards (one always on his helmet), and pivoted to an extended commentary on Guardian Cap scepticism. He argued the NFL's internal 52% concussion-reduction claim is based on the NXT helmet model exclusive to the NFL, whose testing data has never been made publicly available, while all independent public testing has been done on the consumer XT model, showing no impact on rotational momentum or concussion incidence. He further noted that covering the air vents in certain helmets may actually increase force at the contact point, potentially worsening outcomes for some helmet models. The segment closed with Arif identifying the fitted mouth guard as the single most effective piece of equipment for concussion prevention, particularly for jaw-impact concussions where the secondary force of the jaw striking the skull causes the injury rather than the initial helmet contact.

Room Temperature (Conspiracy Corner) — Why are rookie quarterbacks questioning the moon landing, prompted by Drake May's public expression of moon-landing scepticism? Arif attributed it to quarterbacks being conditioned throughout their careers to believe they are uniquely intelligent — producing overconfidence in novel reasoning — combined with the current high-conspiracy-theory environment. His preferred moon-landing debunking: if the US had faked it, the Soviet Union, who had every motive to expose the fraud and the capability to verify it, would have said so immediately rather than conceding the race to the moon. The discussion extended to a riff on why conspiracism has increased generally — citing H Bomber Guy's video essays on flat-earth and vaccine conspiracy as useful frameworks — and a tangent about James's time at an academic conference in Las Vegas where he ended up on the highlight reel for responding to questions by rephrasing them as further questions, a performance appreciated by the organisers as exemplary academic engagement.

Mini-Apple Cinnamon Cheerios (Louisiana Purchase Corner) — Did the Vikings sign OBJ as spiritual warfare against the Saints? Arif confirmed yes — both Jefferson and OBJ are LSU products, and the Vikings also briefly signed former Saints players Audric Estime and Devon Neal (Neal quickly released). Full psychological warfare confirmed.

Ricardo (Embarrassing Music Corner) — Following James's prior mention of the Pickin' on the 90s bluegrass covers album, Ricardo recommended Pickin' on Taylor Swift and Take Me Home: A Bluegrass Tribute to Guns N' Roses, and asked what investigators going through their media archives would think. Arif described a long-standing OCD-rooted habit of deleting YouTube videos he would be embarrassed for posthumous reviewers to find — AI Shorts rabbit holes, random YouTube slop — while not deleting ten straight hours of Nile Red chemistry content or Damascus knife-forging videos. James described maintaining multiple YouTube burner accounts for this exact purpose, and confessed to thinking about what would be playing on his Spotify if he died in his car. Arif threatened to crash James's eulogy to announce he had been listening to the Little Nicky soundtrack, which they pulled up live: three POD songs, Van Halen's "Running with the Devil," Linkin Park, Filter's "Take a Picture," and Cypress Hill — the group judged it shockingly not bad, with the embarrassment attaching to the specific Little Nicky branding rather than the individual tracks.

Raul (Mentor Corner) — OBJ has said Justin Jefferson got half his game from him; where did James and Arif get half their game from? Arif: his brother (sappy answer), and H Bomber Guy (real answer — YouTube video essays, which he blamed for his writing style and fondness for tortured analogies). James: the bomb episode of Grey's Anatomy (Season 2, Episode 16 — "the Bazooka patient" — in which Meredith Grey holds an unexploded ordnance device inside a man's chest), for teaching him to push forward and focus under pressure. Arif immediately asserted the equivalent Stargate Atlantis episode was objectively superior, prompting agreement. The segment closed with a discussion of South Park episodes 200 and 201, which aired and were then removed from streaming due to their depiction of Mohammed — James observing that Comedy Central's decision to remove them effectively settled the free-speech question on their own terms.

Key Bits & Lore

The episode title "The Square and the Dig" derives from Arif's explanation of the KOC offence's signature deep intermediate routes and the "second window" concept: on a square-in or dig breaking at 18–19 yards, the quarterback must hold his eyes away from the receiver to allow a second throwing lane to open as the receiver clears the underneath linebacker — a skill Arif identified as one Kyler Murray has not yet consistently demonstrated.
Arif confirmed Carson Wentz has statistically outperformed Kyler Murray in 2026, framing this not as evidence Wentz is the better quarterback but as a symptom of fit or design problems with the KOC offence's deployment of Murray.
James briefly proposed "Best Snitch" as the episode title, derived from his Hell League kicker-hoarding enforcement initiative in which he is offering a free Hell League shirt to whoever snitches the most on opponents illegally carrying more than two active kickers; he described his goal as fostering "a culture of snitching."
The Saints used three long snappers in five weeks: the original long snapper was injured, his replacement was poached off the Bears' practice squad and immediately reclaimed, and the third long snapper drew what may be the first long-snapper holding penalty in recent memory, costing the Saints 30 yards of field position.
Arif expressed significant scepticism about Guardian Cap effectiveness, noting the NFL's 52% concussion-reduction claim is based on the proprietary NXT model whose independent testing data has never been released, while all available public testing on the consumer XT model shows no impact on rotational momentum or concussion incidence.
Three Saints running backs (Audric Estime, Devon Neal, and Michael Heldman) refused injury settlements and signed elsewhere rather than accept the Saints' IR placement offers — a simultaneously unprecedented occurrence that Arif had never heard of.
Arif plugged his wide-left.football article on the similarities between the 2016 and 2026 Vikings, Luke Braun's "10 F-Ups" piece on Kevin O'Connell's operational failures, and Matt Freese's article on the two-play sequence that sealed the Dolphins win.
James announced he would be attending a show by The Gore in Boston in December, describing the discovery as causing existential confusion given his already dense schedule of public speaking engagements.
Charles Starr's wife's zine Apeshit: A Zine for Primates, published by Orr Books, features a long-form piece on the bizarre and sordid history of the helper monkey and is available at apesht.org.