The Athletic: What's next for JJ McCarthy?

[SurfnRide]

I am also ready for our OL to be "shit" again,  holding calls will be up, and Murray is going to take hits and likely get injured because blocking for those guys is damn hard when you have no idea what they are going to do back there.

Can I ask why you think this?   Darrisaw will be healthy and Oneill also.  Jackson has looked legit at LG.

We can bring in FA Centers like Mays or Biadasz if Brandel or Jurgens are not looking solid.  Or draft one.

Fries is a problem.  Granted Kelly was out a lot.  But he underperformed pretty bad coming in as the 41st our of 79 eligible guards... And were locked into a 5 years 88 Million contract with him.  He needs to massively improve this year...

So I feel pretty comfy with that OL especially with a scrambling QB.  If we had a pocket passer I would be more concerned.

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The Vikings tepid approach to spending in free agency this year is much more due to last year’s misses, and the dollars tied up in that, than clearing the books for Kyler Murray a year from now.

This x 10.  We spent soooo much money on Kelly, Fries, Hargrave and Allen and none of them did jack shit.  And were stuck with Fries for 4 more years.  3 of the 4 are gone now...  

My biggest concern is the Darnold experience is going to lead us into massively overpaying a frequently injured QB (KM) if he just gets 10 wins due to fear of a Darnold 2.0 moment.

[purplefaithful]

So here's what a buddy of mine always says....'would you put a $100 on it?'. Anyone willing to do that saying JJM will be QB1?

Not asking anyone to bet, just saying putting it thru that prism adds a little clarity IMO.

It's a good prism lol! 

I will say this; I think the odds are pretty, pretty good JJM starts a game or 2 (maybe more) in 26. 

I dont think he wins a TC battle, but he will play and have a chance to show the franchise he's worthy of consideration in the future. 

Maybe he never comes off the field when given a chance? It's up to him and what he does with whatever chances he gets. 

It's on him. 

We gotta let this play out some of course and I'm still rooting for him to be that QBOTF.

[SurfnRide]

So here's what a buddy of mine always says....'would you put a $100 on it?'. Anyone willing to do that saying JJM will be QB1?

Not asking anyone to bet, just saying putting it thru that prism adds a little clarity IMO.

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Someone has faith!

[pattersaur]

So here's what a buddy of mine always says....'would you put a $100 on it?'. Anyone willing to do that saying JJM will be QB1?

Not asking anyone to bet, just saying putting it thru that prism adds a little clarity IMO.

Yeah the most likely outcome is McCarthy is done in Minnesota. It is what it is. That can change in a snap but the team that was gung-ho about him (publicly) at this time last year, is anything but right now.

Something something McCarthy's mental health, KAM's paternity leave, Flores and a staffer... all of these very bizarre murmurrings from behind the scenes that have come out lately make me feel not great about where this team is at.

This will probably be contrarian but I think the smartest and safest thing they can do at this point is draft defense defense defense. Load up that unit to prevent any slippage from last year. If Kyler proves he's the guy then pay him and stack the offense next year. If not well at least we still got a good defense.

[MaroonBells]

Can I ask why you think this?   Darrisaw will be healthy and Oneill also.  Jackson has looked legit at LG.

We can bring in FA Centers like Mays or Biadasz if Brandel or Jurgens are not looking solid.  Or draft one.

Fries is a problem.  Granted Kelly was out a lot.  But he underperformed pretty bad coming in as the 41st our of 79 eligible guards... And were locked into a 5 years 88 Million contract with him.  He needs to massively improve this year...

So I feel pretty comfy with that OL especially with a scrambling QB.  If we had a pocket passer I would be more concerned.

In terms of pedigree, the Vikings have one of the better offensive lines in the NFL. Will the football gods allow them to stay healthy this year?  Who the hell knows? But that's true for every team in the NFL.

I think center will be a competition between Brandel and a day-two draft pick. Fries was massively overpaid for a guard with a 5-game sample size. He's got to improve, and I'm not especially confident he will. The good news there is that the Vikings can get out of his contract after this season with zero dead, so it might be a good idea to draft a guard on day three, depending on what the Vikings think about Joe Huber.

Huber was terrific in the preseason last year, earning a spot on the 53. But when he got into a real game against Cleveland, he struggled. But he's still a punk-ass kid. If he sees the typical year-one to year-two bump, he could be a factor.

[comet52]

My only main gripe with KOC is that it appears he's walking away from a talented young kid in JJM. I don't understand how the org can't build momentum and development with McCarthy when they've seen him make some throws that maybe 5 QBs in the NFL make. I get it, his bad play has sucked out loud. But what about the last 3-4 games he played? Marked improvement. Whatever. He needs reps and he's not going to get them. So the KR Experiment better work in spades.

I think you've correctly judged the appearance.   The last 3-4 games required him to dumb it down and were played against weak defenses.  You could see the pained expressions on his face on the sidelines quite frequently despite the outcomes.   I don't think any of it made him think this was all going to work out.

He's maneuvered the one guy who could try to force the team to try JJM for another year out the door and essentially taken control of the org.
He's been backhanding JJM in pressers for months - particularly about him skipping a day of game prep early in the season to be with his baby mama.

And during those 4 games he watched the kid griddy into the end zone then brag to the media about how the HC said don't do that so he did it anyway.  You wanna piss off a football coach?  That's like piss-him-off-101 stuff.

And he watched the kid truck a guy on the sidelines for a pointlessly stupid 15 yard penalty, during a time when I'm sure he was trying to get him to be smart about his play and protect his seemingly fragile body.

And it was reported that JJM came to the sidelines in games talking about stuff he was doing that the HC never asked him to do or talked about.

And since he started driving the organizational bus, KOC has said the "timeframe" has changed, and then spearheaded the acquisition of KM.  

I mostly don't judge the org by the word salad coming from the terminally long-winded podium sessions.  You can sometimes pick out a nugget or two there but for the most part, I watch what they do not what they say.  KOC showing his displeasure with JJM and getting a replacement says it all to me. They talk about competition, yada yada, but if they sign Wentz to be QB2, and JJM becomes QB3, it would not surprise me if he and his agent asked out.  

Is it the right move?  Well I don't own a crystal ball.  I know that some guys just can't cut it in the league.  His stats are mostly terrible and he acts like a head case.   He's shown some flashes in 2 minute drill which is nice.   But he throws the same line drives into traffic that I saw him throwing at Michigan where he was asked to do way less than what the KOC offense asks a QB to do (which is also part of the issue - the fit isn't really right imho).  He's developed an accuracy issue that he mostly didn't have in college which is weird, but seems to be part of the mental issues.    Is that KOC's fault?  Maybe; it's become clear he works well with vets but this process of developing a young guy doesn't seem to be his bag, baby.  It doesn't help that JJM has been injured most of the time.

Objectively I don't think the odds of career success are high.  It's a judgement call for the Vikings.  With the Wilfs emphasis on short term results and feels and total objection to any immediate pain for long term gain, it seems like Kevin talking them into jettisoning Kwesi and letting him roll with a vet QB was not a stretch for the lisperer.  So here we are.  TBH if a guy is a bust then the sooner you move off of him the better.  I'm not saying I know that but time might prove the team right for once.

They can talk all the talk about how they still want to develop him (with a HC who can't really do that) and whatever, but JJM sitting and hoping for Kyler to have an injury or suck really bad doesn't seem like a positive career arc for him.  Again, if there's another vet brought in for QB2, he should imo be looking to get out and make a fresh start somewhere where there isn't any of the bumpy history that's occurred here, and there's no pressure from being the #10 overall with a fanbase full of angst and expectations.   Just my opinion as always.

[StickierBuns]

I think you've correctly judged the appearance.   

Wait until you read the Albert Breer article, lol. Apparently its one of the few things I've judged correctly with a QB because my take on McCarthy when drafted was profoundly wrong. 

[CFIAvike]

Wait until you read the Albert Breer article, lol. Apparently its one of the few things I've judged correctly with a QB because my take on McCarthy when drafted was profoundly wrong. 

Yep….I just came to post this. Here’s the quote:

{what O’Connell said to Murray did stick with him—that he was the one guy on the market that they could see as a potential longer-range answer, rather than a one-year Band-Aid. The idea of growing with Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, Christian Darrisaw and O’Connell and his staff was already wildly attractive to begin with. The chance to, perhaps, put down roots only made it more so.}

https://twitter.com/albertbreer/status/2...45426?s=46

[comet52]

Wait until you read the Albert Breer article, lol. Apparently its one of the few things I've judged correctly with a QB because my take on McCarthy when drafted was profoundly wrong. 

That was a good read, especially the delineation of how it ended for him in Arizona.  A lot of folks tossing off one-liners like "he was benched for Jacoby Brissett!" aren't really looking at what actually went down.  And Brissett was 1-11(!) aka the team decided to tank.  It is what it is.

[MaroonBells]

The Breer article mentions something that not many are talking about. Arizona had one of the NFL's worst defenses during Murray's tenure there. This relates to that....