Just a gentle reminder....

[JR44]

JR wanted to keep Uncle Sammy, so he's not a big JJM fan. And spot on: the manufactured outrage is because they don't like the kid, which I don't get but I've been around long enough to understand fans are going to fan. The 9 thing is SO overblown I can't even....but again, its content for the X-heads.

That is not accurate, I would have kept Darnold as I thought we already knew what we had in him and it would have been a safer pick.  However, my evaluation of JJM is not slighted in any way because of it as I was also on board with going with JJM as I really thought he would be a great QB as well.  I really liked what I had seen from him in the one pre season game and he was a fan of the way he carried himself and thought he would be a great leader and would bring a great energy to the team that was lacking at the QB position. 

I get it, you have been a huge fan and followed him through college.  I wouldn't expect anything less than you sticking up for him and I really hope you are right.  I felt the same way about Caleb Williams since I followed him in college and defended him when others were on his case.

[pattersaur]

I could be wrong, but I think Vikergirl does this professionally. I'm not going to get too far into his brain, but I do think his mental and emotional makeup is a big part of who he is...and isn't yet. 

The weight loss is the thing I keep coming back to. It was blamed on an inability to workout after surgery. Man, that just doesn't compute for me at all. He was said to have lost 25-30 lbs. One report suggested as much as 40 lbs. For a kid who weighs 219, this is unfathomable to me. And all because he missed a few months of leg days? I don't buy it, and I wonder if it might have had something to do with his history of depression. 

And now all the offseason upheaval on the team is just more shit he has to deal with. So likely more social media posts from JJ about ignoring the haters, which obviously means you're not ignoring them. Jim Rome placed most of the blame for Kwesi's dismissal on the shoulders of JJ McCarthy. Rome's a knob and this is an obvious oversimplification, but man I don't envy the kid and all he's having to go through.

Brother I'm 99.9% it was Sticky and you who were downplaying the weight loss thing last year lol. I posted about it a few times on this board and was told by many, "nothing to see here". Guy looked like a waif. It was extremely odd. I'm a huge fan/apologist of JJM's but that was just strange.

READING THE TEA LEAVES AND MOVING AHEAD-

I continue to think the Vikings are gonna be extremely aggressive in 'upgrading' the QB position and I'll keep repeating it. Burrow, Hurts, maybe Prescott ?? Dallas been doing weird trades..., yes Kyler too I suppose even though I really don't want him. The Vikings are gonna aim as high as they can and then move down the list at QB I think.

Not that McCarthy has earned it, but the owners and coaches certainly haven't gone out of their way to say JJ's still our guy over the past few days.

Plus, the Vikings fired their GM for a reason. They didn't like how and where the team was going. McCarthy could definitely be our Day 1 starter next year and frankly, I really hope he is, but I'd say the odds of it are less than 50%.

[purplefaithful]

Brother I'm 99.9% it was Sticky and you who were downplaying the weight loss thing last year lol. I posted about it a few times on this board and was told by many, "nothing to see here". Guy looked like a waif. It was extremely odd. I'm a huge fan/apologist of JJM's but that was just strange.

READING THE TEA LEAVES AND MOVING AHEAD-

I continue to think the Vikings are gonna be extremely aggressive in 'upgrading' the QB position and I'll keep repeating it. Burrow, Hurts, maybe Prescott ?? Dallas been doing weird trades..., yes Kyler too I suppose even though I really don't want him. The Vikings are gonna aim as high as they can and then move down the list at QB I think.

Not that McCarthy has earned it, but the owners and coaches certainly haven't gone out of their way to say JJ's still our guy over the past few days.

Plus, the Vikings fired their GM for a reason. They didn't like how and where the team was going. McCarthy could definitely be our Day 1 starter next year and frankly, I really hope he is, but I'd say the odds of it are less than 50%.

I'm not totally there...BIG NAME Qb's rarely hit the mkt and our last one was Kirk Cousins who had an up/down career here. 

I still think it's going to be someone more in the Mac Jones level - and we'll all be humming Fine Young Cannibal songs this spring (an ode to M.Bells.) 

While cap is always manageable, the Vikings are not currently in a strong cap position. It's in a fix mode. 

I dont see them having the flex (or stomach) to take on something as big as a Dak/Burrow/Murray type acquisition. I really think they want to get younger and have better depth. That takes sheer # of draft picks. Hell, how long has it been since we picked in the 2nd rd now? 

Just my own opinion, now we get to watch. 

Never a boring off-season with this franchise.

[pattersaur]

I'm not totally there...BIG NAME Qb's rarely hit the mkt and our last one was Kirk Cousins who had an up/down career here. 

I still think it's going to be someone more in the Mac Jones level - and we'll all be humming Fine Young Cannibal songs this spring (an ode to M.Bells.) 

While cap is always manageable, the Vikings are not currently in a strong cap position. It's in a fix mode. 

I dont see them having the flex (or stomach) to take on something as big as a Dak/Burrow/Murray type acquisition. I really think they want to get younger and have better depth. That takes sheer # of draft picks. Hell, how long has it been since we picked in the 2nd rd now? 

Just my own opinion, now we get to watch. 

Never a boring off-season with this franchise.

I hope you're right. That'd be my preferred approach for them to take.

I'm glad KO is back. Glad Flores is back. Glad we got a new O-Line coach. Glad ownership is making changes to the draft room.

The timing and the drama and the Darnold make for popcorn fodder but from 1,000 feet up I'd say we're having a solid offseason.

[StickierBuns]

Brother I'm 99.9% it was Sticky and you who were downplaying the weight loss thing last year lol. I posted about it a few times on this board and was told by many, "nothing to see here". Guy looked like a waif. It was extremely odd. I'm a huge fan/apologist of JJM's but that was just strange.

Nah, if I remember right, MB was worried as well....but I wasn't so your memory of me on that is correct. You might be thinking of MadGainz. And it was a big nothing burger, he easily put the weight back on. Was the organization probably unsettled? Probably. But as I mentioned in another thread, that was JJ's first major injury and he took the rehab advice very seriously and kept that leg immobile and lost a bunch of muscle mass being sedentary. But like I said, fans are going to fan. Its inevitable as the sunrise. They'll glom onto any kind of conspiracy theory, etc. or manufacture something based off nothing for drama. Hence the name 'fanatic'!

[MaroonBells]

Brother I'm 99.9% it was Sticky and you who were downplaying the weight loss thing last year lol. I posted about it a few times on this board and was told by many, "nothing to see here". Guy looked like a waif. It was extremely odd. I'm a huge fan/apologist of JJM's but that was just strange.

READING THE TEA LEAVES AND MOVING AHEAD-

I continue to think the Vikings are gonna be extremely aggressive in 'upgrading' the QB position and I'll keep repeating it. Burrow, Hurts, maybe Prescott ?? Dallas been doing weird trades..., yes Kyler too I suppose even though I really don't want him. The Vikings are gonna aim as high as they can and then move down the list at QB I think.

Not that McCarthy has earned it, but the owners and coaches certainly haven't gone out of their way to say JJ's still our guy over the past few days.

Plus, the Vikings fired their GM for a reason. They didn't like how and where the team was going. McCarthy could definitely be our Day 1 starter next year and frankly, I really hope he is, but I'd say the odds of it are less than 50%.

No, I was definitely among those that were alarmed when we found out how much weight he lost. My point at the time was that 340 lb linemen can and maybe should drop 30 lbs when recovering from surgery, but not 220 QBs. The idea that the weight loss was "prescribed" in order to recover more quickly didn't make a lot of sense to me. I played at the college level and have been watching the NFL for 50 years. I don't recall that ever happening. I mean the kid lost somewhere between 25 and 40 lbs. That's insane at his weight. 

I think we already know it was not supposed to happen. That's been confirmed by a couple of sources. Privately, and later on I posted about it, I wondered if his history of depression might not have something to do with it.

[IceRatz16]

No, I was definitely among those that were alarmed when we found out how much weight he lost. My point at the time was that 340 lb linemen can and maybe should drop 30 lbs when recovering from surgery, but not 220 QBs. The idea that the weight loss was "prescribed" in order to recover more quickly didn't make a lot of sense to me. I played at the college level and have been watching the NFL for 50 years. I don't recall that ever happening. I mean the kid lost somewhere between 25 and 40 lbs. That's insane at his weight. 

I think we already know it was not supposed to happen. That's been confirmed by a couple of sources. Privately, and later on I posted about it, I wondered if his history of depression might not have something to do with it.

It definitely didn’t seem natural.  It’d be different if he grew up as a wrestler cutting weight every offseason and not a hockey player.

IMO, I see him as a guy who loves to play sports, physical activity, and is used to winning.  He hadn’t dealt with serious injuries prior to his NFL career, and I can’t imagine how that would hit any young player.  That’s also part of what I think makes him great.  I see passion, work ethic, determination, and leadership.

From what little we did see during rehab, McCarthy did look sullen at times.  He looked dejected and a bit off, and I don’t think that’s some red flag the way people want to spin it.  If anything, it tracks with who he is.  He feeds off being around his teammates on the sideline, in the huddle, lifting guys up and playing with emotion.  That’s how he’s always competed.

Being separated from that, watching instead of participating, had to be brutal for a player whose energy comes from connection and momentum.  Rehab is isolating by nature, and for someone wired like McCarthy, that isolation probably hit harder than the physical pain itself.

Being injured sucks.  I can relate.  Like McCarthy, I was never injured growing up, playing hockey all my life at a fairly high level.  I picked it back up this past summer after 26 years away in a men’s league.  Mentally, nothing skipped a beat as the instincts and movements came right back.  Physically, my groins had other ideas.  I was black and blue, dealing with pain I’d never experienced before, and missed 3–4 games.

I was livid.  Angry at my body.  Frustrated that all I wanted to do was play and couldn’t heal fast enough.  And that’s in a beer league, not under NFL lights. So I can sympathize with what he went through during his rookie season.  Those thoughts creep in: your body let you down, and in your mind, you let down everyone you committed to.  In his case, that’s teammates, coaches, and an entire fanbase.

That doesn’t scream weakness to me. It screams competitor.

[pattersaur]

It definitely didn’t seem natural.  It’d be different if he grew up as a wrestler cutting weight every offseason and not a hockey player.

IMO, I see him as a guy who loves to play sports, physical activity, and is used to winning.  He hadn’t dealt with serious injuries prior to his NFL career, and I can’t imagine how that would hit any young player.  That’s also part of what I think makes him great.  I see passion, work ethic, determination, and leadership.

From what little we did see during rehab, McCarthy did look sullen at times.  He looked dejected and a bit off, and I don’t think that’s some red flag the way people want to spin it.  If anything, it tracks with who he is.  He feeds off being around his teammates on the sideline, in the huddle, lifting guys up and playing with emotion.  That’s how he’s always competed.

Being separated from that, watching instead of participating, had to be brutal for a player whose energy comes from connection and momentum.  Rehab is isolating by nature, and for someone wired like McCarthy, that isolation probably hit harder than the physical pain itself.

Being injured sucks.  I can relate.  Like McCarthy, I was never injured growing up, playing hockey all my life at a fairly high level.  I picked it back up this past summer after 26 years away in a men’s league.  Mentally, nothing skipped a beat as the instincts and movements came right back.  Physically, my groins had other ideas.  I was black and blue, dealing with pain I’d never experienced before, and missed 3–4 games.

I was livid.  Angry at my body.  Frustrated that all I wanted to do was play and couldn’t heal fast enough.  And that’s in a beer league, not under NFL lights. So I can sympathize with what he went through during his rookie season.  Those thoughts creep in: your body let you down, and in your mind, you let down everyone you committed to.  In his case, that’s teammates, coaches, and an entire fanbase.

That doesn’t scream weakness to me. It screams competitor.

The strangest and most concerning thing I've heard from the post-Kwesi fallout was on the Judd and Mackey pod the other day. They were talking about McCarthy's rehab last year and that during the season, outside of his weekly hourlong meeting with KO, the coaches really didn't check in with him much. I understand they had games to win and Darnold to get up to speed, but that is gross malpractice with your rookie QB if it's even partly true. This team paid Mannion millions to be Kirk's buddy but they couldn't find an assistant coach to hang out with JJM?? I'm skeptical on this rumor for obvious reasons but IF TRUE- the Vikings are dumber than I thought.

[purplefaithful]

The strangest and most concerning thing I've heard from the post-Kwesi fallout was on the Judd and Mackey pod the other day. They were talking about McCarthy's rehab last year and that during the season, outside of his weekly hourlong meeting with KO, the coaches really didn't check in with him much. I understand they had games to win and Darnold to get up to speed, but that is gross malpractice with your rookie QB if it's even partly true. This team paid Mannion millions to be Kirk's buddy but they couldn't find an assistant coach to hang out with JJM?? I'm skeptical on this rumor for obvious reasons but IF TRUE- the Vikings are dumber than I thought.

McKown would have filled that role, I would think? But I dont know what % of his time was dedicated to Sam either. 

Not having Udinski here didnt help the situation, thats for sure