'ManningCast': Vikings insights, Aaron Rodgers and a good time

The TV broadcast scenario for almost any major sport is this: a play-by-play voice describing the action as it happens, an analyst taking you inside the plays or providing other insights and a sideline reporter providing updates from field level.

There needs to be a certain amount of chemistry for it to work, but mostly it's just a buttoned-up formula designed to appeal to a mass viewing audience.

Younger audiences and shorter attention spans have not eliminated that approach, but they have spawned a series of alternative broadcasts aimed at those who want something a little different.

ESPN's "ManningCast" — a secondary "Monday Night Football" broadcast shown on ESPN2 featuring brothers Peyton and Eli Manning — might be the best example of how and why such a thing can succeed.

Now in its third year, the "ManningCast" featured a Vikings game for the first time Monday and did not disappoint with insights into the Vikings' 22-17 victory over San Francisco — a game covered extensively on Tuesday's Daily Delivery podcast.

I watched the main broadcast featuring Joe Buck and Troy Aikman in real time, then watched a recording of the "ManningCast." Here were some highlights that I noticed, along with some reader observations:

* The "ManningCast" feels like it's mostly about the game, but it has space for Peyton and Eli to rip on each other like any good brothers would — let alone former Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks.

The best running dig all night was Peyton bragging that he talked to three players involved in the game during his prep work — including quarterbacks Kirk Cousins and Brock Purdy — while Eli only talked to Vikings safety Harrison Smith.

Essentially it feels like you're watching a game with multiple analysts and no play-by-play person, which works really well because the Mannings know football so well.

* The free-form setup, too, seems to allow for a loose exchange of information. Peyton, for instance, mentioned that Cousins told him the Vikings have a specific package of plays designed to take shots downfield when 49ers pass rusher Nick Bosa is off the field. Sure enough, when Bosa exited, the Vikings hit a chunk play to T.J. Hockenson off play action.

It was also interesting to hear that Cousins asked if he could turn the tables and interview Peyton about blitzes.

* I groaned when I found out Aaron Rodgers was one of three guests on the "ManningCast," and I was skeptical when readers suggested he was one of the highlights. But Rodgers was totally in his element talking football and blending into the conversation instead of being the center of attention.

Rodgers even handled the inevitable questions about a potential comeback from his torn Achilles in a measured way. "I'd love to come back this season," Rodgers said. "You always have to set a goal, otherwise you'll go crazy. The goal is definitely to come back."

Other Rodgers highlights were praise for Smith, a fun story about Smith and Anthony Barr fooling the Packers with a surprise blitz several years ago, a breakdown of what he prioritizes during two-minute drills, a critique of Cousins for throwing a check-down pass without timeouts late in the first half — right before Jordan Addison's game-changing 60-yard touchdown bailed out that drive — and the assertion that the Metrodome was the loudest place he had ever played indoors and that "part of that was that they pumped in some sounds."

* The second half fell a little flatter, with Golden State Warriors star Klay Thompson and comedian Tiffany Haddish obviously offering far fewer football insights and lacking the same chemistry as Rodgers during what turned out to be a very entertaining game.

Other likes and dislikes from readers:

True, but Thompson's dad is former Gophers center Mychal Thompson, and, hey, Peyton and Eli are honorary "Ones of Us" because they lived here as kids when dad Archie quarterbacked the Vikings in 1983 and 1984.

Overall, that was the longest I've watched a "ManningCast." I'm not sure if it's the best way to watch a game if you're heavily invested in it, but you'll definitely learn something and be entertained.