06-06-2025, 12:50 PM
Kwesi has a high level of self-awareness of what a good situation they have with KOC's QB University / QB Incubator.
And I'm certain that the Wilf's investment in facilities and staff and advancement of a solid player culture (as voted on by the players), was also done intentionally.
Q: What were your expectations for McCarthy before the injury last August?
A: It’d be hard for me to talk about that alone because when you have a QB Ph.D or a QB Nobel Laureate in your building, you lean on [O’Connell] often. So, we had constant dialogue and conversation about what we wanted for J.J. that year and he started exceeding them pretty quickly. We were pretty clear, I think, publicly that we didn’t want him to play. We just thought for the kind of better success of his career, it’s better to sit and watch. He kind of pushed. He was pushing a little bit to maybe even becoming the backup or different things like that, but just the day-over-day growth he would show, he was so coachable. ... And you really saw the arm talent and different things like that, the ability to move in the pocket. He was on the come. We were excited about it. ... If people remember, the Raiders played their first-team defense while he was in the [preseason] game. So, we did get a little glimpse of seeing him against regular season NFL-type players. We just loved it. Not only just the play but how he played. He threw the interception as people remember. You talk to the coaches, there was just a positivity and a joy that he played with that he was going to come back and he had that great recovery. Those are moments that matter. Not necessarily that he completed the passes, but he didn’t go in the tank, he came over on the sideline, got his coaching point, took it and went out there and played with his teammates. That was an exciting time for us. What was so amazing about the injury was how he handled it, the maturity with how he handled it. I remember him saying, “Well, this will give Sam [Darnold] just the platform he needs,” and obviously Sam went on to have the year he had.
Q: How much time did you spend looking for comparable situations before deciding to roll with a 22-year-old quarterback taking over a team ready to contend for a Super Bowl?
A: I don’t know that there’s a great comp for this. ... A lot of the bet we made — I talked a lot about J.J. the person, but let me talk a little bit about what’s in this building. I think we have maybe the best QB incubator in the NFL. So, when you put a person in the QB incubator with all that ability and all that mindset, I just feel so confident about what’s going to come out the other end. ... Ultimately in this job, you have to make bets, you have to believe something before other people see it. So that’s a lot of what gives me confidence. I wish there was more of a cleaner comp to give me that extra confidence, but it’s the belief I have in this building and the belief I have in this player.
And I'm certain that the Wilf's investment in facilities and staff and advancement of a solid player culture (as voted on by the players), was also done intentionally.
Q: What were your expectations for McCarthy before the injury last August?
A: It’d be hard for me to talk about that alone because when you have a QB Ph.D or a QB Nobel Laureate in your building, you lean on [O’Connell] often. So, we had constant dialogue and conversation about what we wanted for J.J. that year and he started exceeding them pretty quickly. We were pretty clear, I think, publicly that we didn’t want him to play. We just thought for the kind of better success of his career, it’s better to sit and watch. He kind of pushed. He was pushing a little bit to maybe even becoming the backup or different things like that, but just the day-over-day growth he would show, he was so coachable. ... And you really saw the arm talent and different things like that, the ability to move in the pocket. He was on the come. We were excited about it. ... If people remember, the Raiders played their first-team defense while he was in the [preseason] game. So, we did get a little glimpse of seeing him against regular season NFL-type players. We just loved it. Not only just the play but how he played. He threw the interception as people remember. You talk to the coaches, there was just a positivity and a joy that he played with that he was going to come back and he had that great recovery. Those are moments that matter. Not necessarily that he completed the passes, but he didn’t go in the tank, he came over on the sideline, got his coaching point, took it and went out there and played with his teammates. That was an exciting time for us. What was so amazing about the injury was how he handled it, the maturity with how he handled it. I remember him saying, “Well, this will give Sam [Darnold] just the platform he needs,” and obviously Sam went on to have the year he had.
Q: How much time did you spend looking for comparable situations before deciding to roll with a 22-year-old quarterback taking over a team ready to contend for a Super Bowl?
A: I don’t know that there’s a great comp for this. ... A lot of the bet we made — I talked a lot about J.J. the person, but let me talk a little bit about what’s in this building. I think we have maybe the best QB incubator in the NFL. So, when you put a person in the QB incubator with all that ability and all that mindset, I just feel so confident about what’s going to come out the other end. ... Ultimately in this job, you have to make bets, you have to believe something before other people see it. So that’s a lot of what gives me confidence. I wish there was more of a cleaner comp to give me that extra confidence, but it’s the belief I have in this building and the belief I have in this player.
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