Forum The Longship KOC: Murray mentally ahead of where I thought

KOC: Murray mentally ahead of where I thought

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https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/kevin-oconnell-kyler-murray-mentally-ahead-of-where-i-thought

Kevin O’Connell: Kyler Murray mentally ahead of where I thought

The Vikings’ quarterback competition has not reached the finish line yet, but one of the aspirants is impressing head coach Kevin O’Connell with his grasp of the offense.

Kyler Murray joined the Vikings this offseason and has had less time in O’Connell’s scheme than J.J. McCarthy, but O’Connell said on Sunday that Murray is further along than expected when it comes to his mental processing.

“I think mentally he’s definitely probably ahead of where I thought,” O’Connell said, via Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com.

Murray has been seen as the favorite to wind up with the job and that assessment would seem to help his chances, but O’Connell gave no indication that a decision is imminent.

“Nothing has really changed from a standpoint of the timeline and things like that,” O’Connell said. “So we’ll see how the reps continue to go and when we feel like we’re at that place, we’re going to make sure we communicate that both in house and internally and obviously to you guys as soon as possible.”

The Vikings open the preseason against the Giants on Saturday and the quarterback play in that game could push things closer to a conclusion in Minnesota.


LIVE WELL ~ LOVE MUCH ~ LAUGH OFTEN

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#1 · Aug 10, 8:41 AM
StickierBuns
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Propping up his boy….hope he knows what he’s doing. 🙏

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#2 · Aug 10, 8:44 AM CT
Canthony
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StickierBuns wrote:

Propping up his boy….hope he knows what he’s doing. 🙏

Same

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#3 · Aug 10, 9:16 AM CT
supafreak84
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According to Judd, who has been at every practice, Kyler Murray has not looked great and was "awful" in last nights practice. JJ has looked better recently but, he hasn't done enough or been consistent enough to grab the starting job.

Come on whisperer, start whispering!!!

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#4 · Aug 10, 9:26 AM CT
pattersaur
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Begs the questions... so then why has Murray looked ass lol

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#5 · Aug 10, 9:27 AM CT
StickierBuns
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supafreak84 wrote:

According to Judd, who has been at every practice, Kyler Murray has not looked great and was "awful" in last nights practice. JJ has looked better recently but, he hasn't done enough or been consistent enough to grab the starting job.
Come on whisperer, start whispering!!!

"Pssst.....JJ....c'mere. It doesn't matter WHAT you do, dude.....we've got a bangin' clipboard for you to hold though bro" - The Whisperator

edited Aug 10, 2026 9:29 AM CT
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#6 · Aug 10, 9:29 AM CT
supafreak84
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StickierBuns wrote:

"Pssst.....JJ....c'mere. It doesn't matter WHAT you do, dude.....we've got a bangin' clipboard for you to hold though bro" - The Whisperator

I hate to even put this into the atmosphere, but could you imagine if both of these guys just suck (possible) and neither play well..ala every quarterback we had on our roster last year? What excuse will the all talking heads in the media think up for OConnell then? Lol. I mean we've all been told for years that he's this offensive genius and quarterback guru, right? Well, if there was ever any shred of truth to that, nows the time to show it, because things are not going well

edited Aug 10, 2026 9:40 AM CT
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#7 · Aug 10, 9:39 AM CT
StickierBuns
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supafreak84 wrote:

I hate to even put this into the atmosphere, but could you imagine if both of these guys just suck (possible) and neither play well..ala every quarterback we had on our roster last year? What excuse will the all talking heads in the media think up for OConnell then? Lol. I mean we've all been told for years that he's this offensive genius and quarterback guru, right? Well, if there was ever any truth to that, nows the tike to show it, because things are not going well

Could very well happen. I really don't take too much from camp yet, but its unfortunate that online its impossible to get any sense of unbiased opinions about the QB play because they are almost always in one of two camps. X is a cesspool of shit takes. The biggest whine is those fanboys bubbling in their beers because they can't record video and post in online to monetize it. Stick to your day jobs. I don't want smoke blown up my ass on either QB.

edited Aug 10, 2026 9:52 AM CT
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#8 · Aug 10, 9:43 AM CT
purplefaithful
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We've said it 1,000,000 times now...

Teasley is the big unknown and how he handles whats about to unfold remains to be seen.

The train is rolling towards GB and this thing is going to play itself out one way or another.

Lets have a good year

Hurry-up Vikings, we ain't getting any younger! 

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#9 · Aug 10, 9:56 AM CT
pattersaur
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supafreak84 wrote:

I hate to even put this into the atmosphere, but could you imagine if both of these guys just suck (possible) and neither play well..ala every quarterback we had on our roster last year? What excuse will the all talking heads in the media think up for OConnell then? Lol. I mean we've all been told for years that he's this offensive genius and quarterback guru, right? Well, if there was ever any shred of truth to that, nows the time to show it, because things are not going well

None of this should even be a secret though. The media coverage around the Vikes has been somewhat delusional this offseason IMO. Last year by most accounts the Vikings were a good team without a good QB. Until Kyler in a new system and/or JJM in Year 2.5 step up, nothing's really changed.

It's kind of surprising that national media members with a hard-on for Kyler or JJM haven't been more critical of our outlook. Seems like the low-hanging fruit they usually pounce on. Maybe the World Cup shifted the timelines on some of the preseason bad takes this year.

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#10 · Aug 10, 9:58 AM CT
Vikesrock
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StickierBuns wrote:

Could very well happen. I really don't take too much from camp yet, but its unfortunate that online its impossible to get any sense of unbiased opinions about the QB play because they are almost always in one of two camps. X is a cesspool of shit takes. The biggest whine is those fanboys bubbling in their beers because they can't record video and post in online to monetize it. Stick to your day jobs. I don't want smoke blown up my ass on either QB.

One thing that gives me a level of hope is that Flores doesn't let up. If you recall, I think it was 2023, Cousins was bitching about the defense and how relentless Flores was. He said something to the affect of they wanted a break to work on the offense and Flores told him to pound sand. Come the start of the season and Cousins looked All-Pro.

I think a lot of this is propaganda to make it seem like Murray "wins" the competition. Like I said earlier, it's seems to all be theater.

The true telling of where the QB's are won't even be in the preseason games. It's the joint practices where they face actual competition.

edited Aug 10, 2026 10:01 AM CT
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#11 · Aug 10, 10:00 AM CT
comet52
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purplefaithful wrote:
Teasley is the big unknown and how he handles whats about to unfold remains to be seen.

He might have, strike that, definitely has a list in his head of possible guys he'd want to fill the HC position if we get there.

Kevin could be burying himself not giving Murray enough work to really be ready. And Nolan might be thinking let him bury himself, then I can hire who I really want.

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#12 · Aug 10, 10:06 AM CT
StickierBuns
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Vikesrock wrote:


The true telling of where the QB's are won't even be in the preseason games. It's the joint practices where they face actual competition.

It won't be that, either. Remember when JJ outplayed Drake Maye in the New England-Minnesota practices? And this came from the national media.

Nope, unfortunately we'll only know when the bullets get live. Big game right out of the gate against the team's hated rival. Win that and K1 will have the hearts and minds of Viking Nation.

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#13 · Aug 10, 10:11 AM CT
supafreak84
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StickierBuns wrote:

Could very well happen. I really don't take too much from camp yet, but its unfortunate that online its impossible to get any sense of unbiased opinions about the QB play because they are almost always in one of two camps. X is a cesspool of shit takes. The biggest whine is those fanboys bubbling in their beers because they can't record video and post in online to monetize it. Stick to your day jobs.

Agreed, I do tend to listen to what Judd has to say though because he'll call it like it is and doesn't sugarcoat things. All I can say is, either one of these guys would likely do better by taking all the practice reps because they need them. JJ to find consistency, and Kyler to build familiarity and learn the playbook. However, how do you call a winner when both have had their struggles in camp? To me, you carry the "competition" into the scrimmages and into the first two preseason games, with each of them getting a half running with ones and twos on offense and may the best man win. When neither has grabbed the starting spot, you have to put them up against each other real in-game competition. OConnell's going to have his work cut out for him. Good thing he's a whisperer

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#14 · Aug 10, 10:12 AM CT
Vikesrock
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StickierBuns wrote:

It won't be that, either. Remember when JJ outplayed Drake Maye in the New England-Minnesota practices? And this came from the national media.
Nope, unfortunately we'll only know when the bullets get live. Big game right out of the gate against the team's hated rival. Win that and K1 will have the hearts and minds of Viking Nation.

True, but again Drake was facing the Flores defense there, so I mean to be the glass half full guy here...maybe Flores is just that bad ass! :)

edited Aug 10, 2026 11:53 AM CT
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#15 · Aug 10, 11:52 AM CT
JR44
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supafreak84 wrote:

I hate to even put this into the atmosphere, but could you imagine if both of these guys just suck (possible) and neither play well..ala every quarterback we had on our roster last year?

Not hard to imagine considering what we are seeing seems to show it going in that way with daily videos of really poor throws and decision making. It is Teasley's team now and he has no ties to either guy, so will be interesting to see how he handles it. I do not think he will be one to stick it out if they do not perform and will not hesitate to go in another direction.

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#16 · Aug 10, 12:24 PM CT
purplefaithful
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Vikesrock wrote:

True, but again Drake was facing the Flores defense there, so I mean to be the glass half full guy here...maybe Flores is just that bad ass! :)

He is...

If u want to know how this team rattled off 5 wins in a row:

  • Commanders 0/Vikings 31 McDaniels passer rating: 35.0

  • Cowboys 24/Vikings 36 , Prescott passer rating: 84.0

  • Giants 13/Vikings 16, Dart passer rating: 27.4

  • Lions 10/Vikings 23, Goff passer rating: 64.9

  • Packers 3/Vikings 16, Tune passer rating 60.4

Only real "shoot-out" was @ Dallas...

Hurry-up Vikings, we ain't getting any younger! 

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#17 · Aug 10, 12:41 PM CT
StickierBuns
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#18 · Aug 10, 12:51 PM CT
RS
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Sooooo.... about those 2 INTs last night, Kevin? Kevin? *crickets*

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#19 · Aug 10, 1:53 PM CT
SurfnRide
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RS_Express wrote:

Sooooo.... about those 2 INTs last night, Kevin? Kevin? *crickets*

1st Int was tipped at the line so I'll consider that 1.5 Int's ;)

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#20 · Aug 10, 2:33 PM CT
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