6 days from a nationally televised preseason games against Las Vegas

[JR44]

I actually just looked up the preseason schedule.

I get that but I am sick and tired of hype and hyperbole. I have no expectations for this year. I am just going to sit back and have fun

I like the preseason, because personally I like the hype, hope and optimism of this time of year.  You never know how rookies or new free agents are going to work out or how the season is going to go, we could be pleasantly surprised or it could be  another down year, but I find the possibilities of something great exciting.

[purplefaithful]

There is a high probability this is the only chance local fans will get to see McCarthy play live. One and only home pre-season game.

[1VikesFan]

I actually just looked up the preseason schedule.

I get that but I am sick and tired of hype and hyperbole. I have no expectations for this year. I am just going to sit back and have fun

Same, any success they have will be a pleasant surprise.

[MaroonBells]

I like the preseason, because personally I like the hype, hope and optimism of this time of year.  You never know how rookies or new free agents are going to work out or how the season is going to go, we could be pleasantly surprised or it could be  another down year, but I find the possibilities of something great exciting.

Same. I'm actually more likely to watch all four quarters of a preseason game than all four quarters of meaningless regular season game. I want to see the Rouses and the Jurgens and the LDRs and the Gabe Murphys...players who might be the future of the franchise.

[StickierBuns]

Same, any success they have will be a pleasant surprise.

For 2024, this is exactly how I feel. My eye is on 2025. But I'm very much looking forward to seeing this team evolve, to see a Plan come together, and have real optimism for a window starting in September of next year. Not wishing the season away by any means, too many interesting and important things to watch here starting next month. And hey, maybe we'll be surprised with some wins we aren't expecting.

[MaroonBells]

Wow, can this be true? 

VikingzFanPage
@vikingzfanpage
The #Vikings haven’t won a preseason game since 2019. It’s been 5 years since their last win, and they are currently on a 10 game losing streak.
https://twitter.com/vikingzfanpage/statu...9329607773

[purplefaithful]

Wow, can this be true? 

VikingzFanPage
@vikingzfanpage
The #Vikings haven’t won a preseason game since 2019. It’s been 5 years since their last win, and they are currently on a 10 game losing streak.
https://twitter.com/vikingzfanpage/statu...9329607773

wow...I had no idea.

[StickierBuns]

lol, Flores' D getting this boy prepared!

Will Ragatz
@WillRagatz
·
18m
J.J. McCarthy on what he’s most eager to see in his first preseason game: “A vanilla defense, honestly.”

Finally not facing Flores on Saturday lol"

Good snippets below:

https://twitter.com/Vikings/status/1821256406965559658

https://twitter.com/Vikings/status/1821256616005489000

https://twitter.com/Vikings/status/1821257034299535845

[purplefaithful]

Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy prepares for his first NFL game, hoping for ‘a vanilla defense’

Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell has not said yet how much quarterback J.J. McCarthy will play against the Raiders on Saturday, but the preseason schedule could be valuable for the rookie.

Asked what he’s most eager to see in his first NFL game at U.S. Bank Stadium on Saturday afternoon, J.J. McCarthy needed little time to think of the answer.

”Just a vanilla defense, honestly,” he said.

When the Vikings took McCarthy with the 10th pick in the draft in April, the quarterback landed in the spot he said all six first-round QBs wanted to be: an offense filled with weapons, a coaching staff stocked with former NFL QBs ready to teach, a spacious home stadium and a six-year-old practice facility still viewed as the class of the NFL.

It also meant he would begin his NFL indoctrination facing a defense coordinated by Brian Flores, whose taste for eclectic coverage schemes and exotic blitzes would not be dulled to make things easier for a rookie.

“Every defense has their own individual tell, and their own player that will be a key for you to un-disguising their defense,” McCarthy said Wednesday. “But going against one that’s always moving and running a bunch of different coverage and blitz variations, it’s nice to get the 400-level training before you go down to the 100, 200 level. It’s gonna be a lot easier [on Saturday], I can already tell you right now, and it’s very fun watching film, just understanding the simplicity of it that’s coming my way.”

Coach Kevin O’Connell has not said yet whether McCarthy will start or how much he will play against the Raiders in the Vikings’ preseason opener, but the exhibition schedule could be valuable for McCarthy, especially if the Vikings remain committed not to rushing him into the starting job. He shares the No. 2 quarterback job with Nick Mullens, behind Sam Darnold on the Vikings’ first unofficial depth chart, and seems unlikely to take over the top job at the start of the regular season barring a four-week stretch that convinces O’Connell and the team’s offensive staff there’s no reason to wait.

The 21-year-old McCarthy has embraced the Vikings’ emphasis on process for now, turning to coaches for immediate feedback after a practice snap and critiquing film of himself to identify habits he needs to refine. He credited Flores with reminding him to use his pre-snap cadence “as a weapon” that can unnerve defenders or lure them into revealing plans, and has copied the tactic Mullens once taught Kirk Cousins, recording play names into his phone and listening back to voice memos so he can mimic hearing O’Connell‘s call in his headset.

McCarthy’s practice last Friday was his roughest of the Vikings’ camp; McCarthy said he was rushing through his footwork and reads, forgetting the advice Peyton Manning gave him before the draft to “respect the NFL, but don’t over-respect it.” To move on from it, he turned to the practice that started as an accident his freshman year at Michigan but has since become a habit.

“I have this thing whenever I have a bad practice: I keep my tights on the whole night,” he said. “It’s a little dirty, but it’s a good metaphorical way for me to let it go. Because at the end of the night, standing in front of the mirror, I’ll just kind of debrief how the day went, what I did in the morning, what was different from the [previous] days that were successful, and just the overall feeling and vibe of that day. And once I go through that, I look myself in the eye and say, ‘That’s all gone. We’re letting go and moving on to the next day.’ I take those tights off, and don’t think about it ever again.”

His fiancée, Katya Kuropas, ”actually never knew” about the habit, he said — “and never knew until now, probably,” he added with a smile at the news conference the Vikings were broadcasting on social media.

It’s become part of a routine McCarthy says he will lean on as he begins his NFL career. “I think the thing I’ve been most proud of is, that one bad day I had, it wasn’t an ideal outcome, but I learned so much,” he said. “And then I came out the next day and had a really good, solid performance.”

The defenses he faces on Saturday figure to be simpler than what he’s seen in camp. His task will be to manage the excitement he knows will come with his first game.

https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-vi.../600939875

[StickierBuns]

Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy prepares for his first NFL game, hoping for ‘a vanilla defense’

Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell has not said yet how much quarterback J.J. McCarthy will play against the Raiders on Saturday, but the preseason schedule could be valuable for the rookie.

Asked what he’s most eager to see in his first NFL game at U.S. Bank Stadium on Saturday afternoon, J.J. McCarthy needed little time to think of the answer.

”Just a vanilla defense, honestly,” he said.

When the Vikings took McCarthy with the 10th pick in the draft in April, the quarterback landed in the spot he said all six first-round QBs wanted to be: an offense filled with weapons, a coaching staff stocked with former NFL QBs ready to teach, a spacious home stadium and a six-year-old practice facility still viewed as the class of the NFL.

It also meant he would begin his NFL indoctrination facing a defense coordinated by Brian Flores, whose taste for eclectic coverage schemes and exotic blitzes would not be dulled to make things easier for a rookie.

“Every defense has their own individual tell, and their own player that will be a key for you to un-disguising their defense,” McCarthy said Wednesday. “But going against one that’s always moving and running a bunch of different coverage and blitz variations, it’s nice to get the 400-level training before you go down to the 100, 200 level. It’s gonna be a lot easier [on Saturday], I can already tell you right now, and it’s very fun watching film, just understanding the simplicity of it that’s coming my way.”

Coach Kevin O’Connell has not said yet whether McCarthy will start or how much he will play against the Raiders in the Vikings’ preseason opener, but the exhibition schedule could be valuable for McCarthy, especially if the Vikings remain committed not to rushing him into the starting job. He shares the No. 2 quarterback job with Nick Mullens, behind Sam Darnold on the Vikings’ first unofficial depth chart, and seems unlikely to take over the top job at the start of the regular season barring a four-week stretch that convinces O’Connell and the team’s offensive staff there’s no reason to wait.

The 21-year-old McCarthy has embraced the Vikings’ emphasis on process for now, turning to coaches for immediate feedback after a practice snap and critiquing film of himself to identify habits he needs to refine. He credited Flores with reminding him to use his pre-snap cadence “as a weapon” that can unnerve defenders or lure them into revealing plans, and has copied the tactic Mullens once taught Kirk Cousins, recording play names into his phone and listening back to voice memos so he can mimic hearing O’Connell‘s call in his headset.

McCarthy’s practice last Friday was his roughest of the Vikings’ camp; McCarthy said he was rushing through his footwork and reads, forgetting the advice Peyton Manning gave him before the draft to “respect the NFL, but don’t over-respect it.” To move on from it, he turned to the practice that started as an accident his freshman year at Michigan but has since become a habit.

“I have this thing whenever I have a bad practice: I keep my tights on the whole night,” he said. “It’s a little dirty, but it’s a good metaphorical way for me to let it go. Because at the end of the night, standing in front of the mirror, I’ll just kind of debrief how the day went, what I did in the morning, what was different from the [previous] days that were successful, and just the overall feeling and vibe of that day. And once I go through that, I look myself in the eye and say, ‘That’s all gone. We’re letting go and moving on to the next day.’ I take those tights off, and don’t think about it ever again.”

His fiancée, Katya Kuropas, ”actually never knew” about the habit, he said — “and never knew until now, probably,” he added with a smile at the news conference the Vikings were broadcasting on social media.

It’s become part of a routine McCarthy says he will lean on as he begins his NFL career. “I think the thing I’ve been most proud of is, that one bad day I had, it wasn’t an ideal outcome, but I learned so much,” he said. “And then I came out the next day and had a really good, solid performance.”

The defenses he faces on Saturday figure to be simpler than what he’s seen in camp. His task will be to manage the excitement he knows will come with his first game.

https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-vi.../600939875

He's got a process for handling the mental aspect of the game, good for him. Lots of pressure playing for a high profile program and a national championship, then the NFL. He needs another bad practice to learn from, I'm sure he'll have them....in fact, I think yesterday was a lesser-than practice for JJ.