Editing Episode 618 (section)

=== 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.