TC Day 7 ~ Aug. 5th ~ Padded

“Football looks hard for him.”

- Anonymous offensive coach on #Vikings QB JJ McCarthy in @SandoNFL recent poll ranking quarterbacks around the NFL pic.twitter.com/I8gGoFg8gY

— VikingzFanPage (@vikingzfanpage) August 5, 2026

Get used to this 👀

(Via Vikings IG) pic.twitter.com/moi6Eg3kv4

— VikingzFanPage (@vikingzfanpage) August 5, 2026

Corner Charles Demmings

The Vikings rookie looks long. He’s tall and has long arms, a great attribute for the position. So, too, is he fast. Again, that’s excellent. But then there’s something intangible that nevertheless shows up in a physical way. The kid is willing to get over top of the receiver’s toes before the snap, lining up directly across from the player he’s covering.

Essentially, Demmings is saying, “I’m covering you and am not at all concerned about hiding that basic fact. Good luck trying to catch the ball.” The NFL is a workplace where actions speak louder than words. Demmings says much in those moments.

Vikings Rookie Keeps Upping the Ante at Training Camp https://t.co/uERKEimLZA #Vikings #NFL #Skol

— Vikings Territory (@vikingterritory) August 5, 2026

Cricket wrote:

https://x.com/vikingzfanpage/status/2084983704229728505?s=20

Let the kid hone is craft in peace. Who's the pos coach throwing out stuff w/out a name attached?

It's F'ing training camp...I know it's all we got right now, but this tally day to day of qb stats is just grating and wearisome.

Zulgad is the worst of the bunch.

2 things will make or break McCarthy, processing time and accuracy. It’s that simple I think. He has plenty of physical talent.

purplefaithful wrote:

Let the kid hone is craft in peace. Who's the pos coach throwing out stuff w/out a name attached?
It's F'ing training camp...I know it's all we got right now, but this tally day to day of qb stats is just grating and wearisome.
Zulgad is the worst of the bunch.

It's not very likely this was a Vikings coach.

purplefaithful wrote:

Let the kid hone is craft in peace. *Who's the pos coach throwing out stuff w/out a name attached?
It's F'ing training camp...I know it's all we got right now, but this **tally day to day of qb stats is just grating and wearisome.
Zulgad is the worst of the bunch.

*If there really was one.

**I totally agree with you

Cricket wrote:

https://x.com/vikingzfanpage/status/2084983704229728505?s=20

Football looks hard for him? Its hard to watch. lol

Im off any JJM wagon. Belongs in the league as a back up journeyman. He is not some freakish athlete or does him seem to have the emotional or mental abilities to be leading a team to victories for the next 6-10 years. For this reason Im out!

The quarterback competition rages in Minnesota, and stats are calculated each practice.

I don't use them when quantifying each practice, and I explained why for @AtoZSportsNFL https://t.co/vjqkdsFtKG

— Tyler Forness (@TheRealForno) August 5, 2026

“When the team signed Kyler Murray, it was pretty clear he would be the overwhelming favorite to start… through 6 practices, there has been nothing I seen that would shift me from that being the perspective that I have.”

- @alec_lewis via @wakeupbarstool pic.twitter.com/j4ypsKmOPH

— VikingzFanPage (@vikingzfanpage) August 5, 2026

Cricket wrote:

I'm not sure how you can really make a judgement between the two with statistics like that. Especially considering most of those throws are against air or 7 on 7's thats not real football. IMO the competition should carry into the joint practices and preseason games before making a final decision. Whoever plays better in real game action should be the starter.

Cricket wrote:

https://x.com/vikingzfanpage/status/2085002277039874496?s=20

I wouldnt be ready to call off this QB comp yet, if it were me...But I wouldnt be waiting much longer either.

Qb1 needs to get some #1 reps vs NYG and for sure by Ravens scrimmages and pre-season game.

==========================================

8/15 - NYG

8/22 Ravens (scrimmage earlier that week)

8/28 Broncos

That last pre-season game has typically ZERO starters. I expect that to be the case this year too.

purplefaithful wrote:

Let the kid hone is craft in peace. Who's the pos coach throwing out stuff w/out a name attached?
It's F'ing training camp...I know it's all we got right now, but this tally day to day of qb stats is just grating and wearisome.
Zulgad is the worst of the bunch.

I agree the daily tallies are a bit tedious but I believe QB passing stats by practice have been reported in the past. Ultimately, we'll see an aggregated total of passes and completions that gives a data point for comparing our top two QB's. I don't have a horse in the race and know the coaches will make a choice based on their more complete evaluations. I hope, when it is said and done in the 26 season, we have a known starter for 2027.

My latest for Vikings On SI: who won and lost the day at a slower practice from TCO Performance Center. https://t.co/VQEZyF7bD7

— Jason Harmon (@JasonHarmonNFL) August 5, 2026

Today is set to be a long padded practice. Here’s what I’m looking for from each QB on a day with a lot at stake:

- Kyler: Murray has been inconsistent since a stellar Saturday performance that gave him the chance to run away with the job. If he wants to prove he’s the guy…

— Jason Harmon (@JasonHarmonNFL) August 5, 2026

As the #Vikings gear up for a long, fully-padded practice today, here's what i'm keeping an eye on:

-McCarthy needs a "breakout" day to keep this battle alive. We'll see if he rises to the occasion.
-Will Demmings continue his trajectory? The rookie has been a pleasant surprise…

— Vikes\/erified (@VikesVV) August 5, 2026

"Are you clearly better than Carson Wentz? That's what I'd like to see here."

-@PhilMackey on the #Vikings QB battle pic.twitter.com/mWkypqJriU

— SKOR North - Minnesota Sports (@SKORNorth) August 5, 2026

MaroonBells wrote:

It's not very likely this was a Vikings coach.

My thought as well. Probably some low level coach out there that Judd has as a "source" that is willing to say stupid shit.

As BRob once said in his 96 question segment, At the end of the day, he is playing in the NFL. This was in regards to a starting guard we had that didn't look the part and was the "last person to be picked on the playground" in that segment. Same with JJ. Started and won games in the NFL. He has much to improve upon, but "football is hard for him" makes no sense.

greediron wrote:

My thought as well. Probably some low level coach out there that Judd has as a "source" that is willing to say stupid shit.
As BRob once said in his 96 question segment, At the end of the day, he is playing in the NFL. This was in regards to a starting guard we had that didn't look the part and was the "last person to be picked on the playground" in that segment. Same with JJ. Started and won games in the NFL. He has much to improve upon, but "football is hard for him" makes no sense.

It doesn't come from Judd though. In his QB tiers article, Mike Sando interviewed 100 anonymous NFL execs and coaches. It was one of them who said that about JJ. Sando clarified that it was an NFL offensive coach. That's all we know.

But it wasn't the only thing said about JJ...

• People are curious to see how he handles this,” another exec said. “His toughness was the thing that really jumped out to me watching him play. If you have that, you always have a chance.”

• “He has tools,” a former GM said, “but he was coming out of that Michigan offense, and as an NFL passer, he needed development even though he had arm strength, was athletic, could run. There was the body, too. He’s not a big guy.”

• “Going into Year 3, is knocking down the expectation a little bit more fair to the player?” an exec asked.