CBS Sports.com doesn't like our QB situation

I still can't get over the bashing of McCarthy. It's hard enough for rookies, but it's even harder when you've played almost zero football for two years and in the head coaches infinite wisdom doesn't get him a single snap in the preseason. He gets thrown in right away, the coach refuses to adjust the offense to better suit where McCarthy was at the time as a player, and then he's in and out of the lineup the remainder of the season due to various injuries. He'll have a full offseason to get better without having to rehab the knee, he's already been working out and throwing to Jefferson, and there is no way in hell he is just going to give that spot up to the midget. I still believe McCarthy is going to play this season at some point, and once he's in there, he's going to make it very difficult to get him out of there. I also believe a healthy and better McCarthy is what's best for this franchise. I'm pulling like hell for JJ McCarthy to be the starter.

supafreak84 wrote:

I still can't get over the bashing of McCarthy. It's hard enough for rookies, but it's even harder when you've played almost zero football for two years and in the head coaches infinite wisdom doesn't get him a single snap in the preseason. He gets thrown in right away, the coach refuses to adjust the offense to better suit where McCarthy was at the time as a player, and then he's in and out of the lineup the remainder of the season due to various injuries. He'll have a full offseason to get better without having to rehab the knee, he's already been working out and throwing to Jefferson, and there is no way in hell he is just going to give that spot up to the midget. I still believe McCarthy is going to play this season at some point, and once he's in there, he's going to make it very difficult to get him out of there. I also believe a healthy and better McCarthy is what's best for this franchise. I'm pulling like hell for JJ McCarthy to be the starter.

It’s tough because there’s this belief that KOC is a QB whisperer, which people take as a fact.  So if he truly is a QB whisperer AND the supporting cast is so great that can only mean that JJM sucks.

I still like KOC, but I think we have to be realistic about which QBs he’s actually whispered and which QBs were failed projects.  I think KOC is much better at taking a veteran QB and elevating their game than taking a raw rookie and molding them into a franchise QB.  The 2025 QB plan wasn’t a good one and it was combined with bad injury luck both at QB and at Oline.  I think with a healthy Darrisaw/Kelly, a JJM that didn’t miss so many games, and some basic things you do to help out a young QB like running the ball, JJM would have had a much less damning looking first starting season.

I think there’s a very real chance that Murray looks better than JJM and he should, but I also think JJM will grow far beyond the narrative that has surrounded him to this point.

The wins will need to come with this pivot to Murray, its that simple. Everyone knows how I feel about McCarthy, nobody needs a refresher on this board about that subject from me and probably no one wants to hear it either. It has to come from other posters as well, as Supa did in this thread. KOC certainly speaks in a tense that insinuates a starter and that is Kyler. If this moves the needle in a significant way, awesome.....if not, well that's a discussion for down the road. Again, its simple:

Well I don't think we have our QB on the roster yet so I expect a middling sort of year. That said, Murray is a MAYBE he can be the guy? I just don't have a lot of faith in that. My stance on JJM is that he is not ready to be an NFL QB. And I don't even think he is ready to cut his teeth either. I think he is a guy that needed time to develop and learn how to be an NFL QB. And I don't think he has/had the maturity for the role either. He may eventually turn out to be a good NFL QB. I jus tdon't think it will be soon nor with the Vikings. He may actually end up taking the Darnold path. Eventually.

I hope McCarthy doesnt have to travel a Darnold path...Certainly lucrative, but it'll take years off your life and leave a psyche bruised and maybe damaged. I like the kid too much to see that happen.

I'm just going in extremely open minded...Part of me feels like we're on the precipice of 2009 again (happier ending?) but who the hell really knows.

Not me...

StickierBuns wrote:

The wins will need to come with this pivot to Murray, its that simple. Everyone knows how I feel about McCarthy, nobody needs a refresher on this board about that subject from me and probably no one wants to hear it either. It has to come from other posters as well, as Supa did in this thread. KOC certainly speaks in a tense that insinuates a starter and that is Kyler. If this moves the needle in a significant way, awesome.....if not, well that's a discussion for down the road. Again, its simple:

^Me too, 100%.

In regards to the article here, it can be taken two ways and neither side would be wrong:

1. Hey, 8th worst is better than dead last so that's something!

2. We benched our QBOTF '24-25 and all we get is 8th worst?

I think and hope Kyler will have a solid year, and that JJM will improve too. League average QB play feels like a reasonable goal and one that the team as a whole should be able to make work. The "silver lining" is that if we do wind up hovering around 8th worst QB play, I imagine we'll all get a long look at multiple QBs and the offseason hemming and hawing will be for naught.

purplefaithful wrote:

I hope McCarthy doesnt have to travel a Darnold path...Certainly lucrative, but it'll take years off your life and leave a psyche bruised and maybe damaged. I like the kid too much to see that happen.
I'm just going in extremely open minded...Part of me feels like we're on the precipice of 2009 again (happier ending?) but who the hell really knows.
Not me...

Holy kool aid batman! Man I was so fired up about the Favre rumors and was convinced it would happen when many on PT were saying snowballs chance. When it finally did happen and it worked (for a while) that was so much fun. I don't have any of those vibes around the Kyler signing at all, to be honest. This feels a lot more like the Darnold year where if it's special that's fantastic, but my expectations aren't anything like they were in 2009.

pattersaur wrote:

Holy kool aid batman! Man I was so fired up about the Favre rumors and was convinced it would happen when many on PT were saying snowballs chance. When it finally did happen and it worked (for a while) that was so much fun. I don't have any of those vibes around the Kyler signing at all, to be honest. This feels a lot more like the Darnold year where if it's special that's fantastic, but my expectations aren't anything like they were in 2009.

JMO but this isn't anything like Favre and 2009.....he was a Hall of Fame QB and the overall team talent was better. Kyler Murray is not a Hall of Fame QB. Yet there is potential upside, maybe decently so? I can only hope as that's the direction for this season.

The bigger question is: where were Kyler Murray and the Cardinals ranked on these same lists a year ago?

Murray literally lost his job to Jacoby Brissett in 2025...Jacoby Brissett!! Yet somehow people are acting like bringing him in automatically raises the ceiling of the franchise. Now, if the argument is simply that his contract in Minnesota makes the situation more manageable financially, fine, then yes, that absolutely changes and elevates the discussion. But that’s very different than pretending his recent play alone solves everything.

I like Carson Wentz and thought he could be a solid backup last year, but whether it’s age, accumulated injuries, or the aftermath of the injuries earlier in his career, he looked completely washed in this offense. He looked more like a veteran mentor ready for the clipboard than someone capable of leading a contender.

Meanwhile McCarthy, as flawed and raw as he looked at times, still showed flashes in his rookie season. He beat Chicago (basically twice), beat Detroit, beat Dallas, and won 4 straight games played to close his season. He also set rookie marks along the way while dealing with chaos around him: key injuries/suspensions, 26+ offensive line combinations, nonstop criticism from fans/media, and not having played competitive football in over 600 days.

He finished with a winning record in his first 10 starts while looking exactly like what he was: a young QB learning on the fly after missing significant time. Add in becoming a new father at and battling through injuries he’d never dealt with before, and the context matters even more.

And honestly? Brosmer looked worse than all of them, so....

At this point I’m surprised CBS didn’t just rank the Vikings dead last for clicks.

From what other people have said, not going to pretend that I’ve watched the tape or anything, but it sounds like Murray of recent years is not the same as Murray from his golden era.  It kind of seems like the injury bug has bitten him hard enough, that he’s changed some of his mechanics for the worse to avoid injuries and it affects his performance (down field accuracy, etc.).  I also don’t think AZ did him any favors, scheme-wise.  But from a pure facts perspective, AZ shitcanned him and would prefer to burn a bunch of money and jump on the “We don’t really have a QB at all” train, and no one stepped up and said, “We’ll trade for him”.  The Vikings don’t feel so confident in him that they are all-in and building a short window roster around him.  It might be the Wilfs having a cash flow situation, rather than a lack of desire, so who knows.

He’s going to be a reclamation project.  God willing, the supporting cast he’ll have here will be healthy and much better than what he previously had.

If it works they'll sign Murray to a fat contract. If it doesn't I think KOC is out of a job. New g.m. will want a new direction, off of the no playoff wins KOC QB carousel, with a rich 2027 QB draft class on deck and plenty of hungry HC candidates looking for a shot.

Unless the "new" g.m. is Brez. Then all bets are off, the Good Ship .500 likely sails on in perpetuity 😅.

Kyler Murray was more successful earlier in his career because Kliff Kingsbury was the coach and designed an almost college style offensive system around him that utilized his strengths, which was Kingsbury's background anyway, so it was a great match up between player and coach. I struggle to find that same type of compatibility between Murry and the OConnell offensive system. We certainly know OConnell is averse to bending his system to better fit the player and give them a better chance at being successful. Sooo, how this works out is anybody guess. I ultimately still believe McCarthy is the better fit for the OConnell system long term

supafreak84 wrote:

Kyler Murray was more successful earlier in his career because Kliff Kingsbury was the coach and designed an almost college style offensive system around him that utilized his strengths, which was Kingsbury's background anyway, so it was a great match up between player and coach. I struggle to find that same type of compatibility between Murry and the OConnell offensive system. We certainly know OConnell is averse to bending his system to better fit the player and give them a better chance at being successful. Sooo, how this works out is anybody guess. I ultimately still believe McCarthy is the better fit for the OConnell system long term

The kid just sucked air last year...But I sincerely hope he wows all of us with the chances he gets

supafreak84 wrote:

I still can't get over the bashing of McCarthy. It's hard enough for rookies, but it's even harder when you've played almost zero football for two years and in the head coaches infinite wisdom doesn't get him a single snap in the preseason. He gets thrown in right away, the coach refuses to adjust the offense to better suit where McCarthy was at the time as a player, and then he's in and out of the lineup the remainder of the season due to various injuries. He'll have a full offseason to get better without having to rehab the knee, he's already been working out and throwing to Jefferson, and there is no way in hell he is just going to give that spot up to the midget. I still believe McCarthy is going to play this season at some point, and once he's in there, he's going to make it very difficult to get him out of there. I also believe a healthy and better McCarthy is what's best for this franchise. I'm pulling like hell for JJ McCarthy to be the starter.

And the coach was trying to redo his mechanics midseason. I am sure that discussion started long before, but it was still a focal point.

I think it is fair for anyone to be critical of our QB situation. There is evidence available for them to justify the stance. I believe there is a good chance that one of the QBs is going to step up, have a great year and quiet the critics.

I also think the QB who no one is talking about could potentially be that guy in Wentz. He fits the system, he was pretty banged up last year, but I thought he showed flashes and think KOC really likes him and that is why they brought him back. With the injury history of both of the top 2, it is not inconceivable that Wentz could see the field at some point. My feeling is it will be Murray and he will have a great year, but I do not count Wentz out of the equation.

JR44 wrote:

I think it is fair for anyone to be critical of our QB situation. There is evidence available for them to justify the stance. I believe there is a good chance that one of the QBs is going to step up, have a great year and quiet the critics.
I also think the QB who no one is talking about could potentially be that guy in Wentz. He fits the system, he was pretty banged up last year, but I thought he showed flashes and think KOC really likes him and that is why they brought him back. With the injury history of both of the top 2, it is not inconceivable that Wentz could see the field at some point. My feeling is it will be Murray and he will have a great year, but I do not count Wentz out of the equation.

Maybe you missed it, but I literally was talking about Wentz in my post earlier in this thread...

"I like Carson Wentz and thought he could be a solid backup last year, but whether it’s age, accumulated injuries, or the aftermath of the injuries earlier in his career, he looked completely washed in this offense. He looked more like a veteran mentor ready for the clipboard than someone capable of leading a contender."

We all know you have completely given up on McCarthy for the Vikings, but whether Carson fits the system or not, he is not unseating Murray or McCarthy unless both are injured. He is not the future for this organization and he was simply signed for backup duties. If you are saying you expect him to see the field this season, then that's only for two reasons:

1) Murray and McCarthy get injured at the same time and the Vikings still have a chance to make the playoffs

2) The Vikings have won first place in the division with only one or two games left and want to sit their starting QB [Murray or McCarthy]

If the Vikings stink it up this season, then I would go as far to say that Brosmer plays over Wentz for two reasons, A) he needs game experience and B) the Vikings are hoping he gives them the best chance to lose to get a higher draft pick.

The two best scenarios for the Vikings this season is 1st, Murray play lights out. Vikings win the Division and make at least the NFC Championship game; OR

Murray plays rotten, the team tanks and are in a great position to draft in 2027 of one of the QB's coming out.

The absolute worst case scenario, is Murray plays...ok. He misses 2 to 4 games. Vikings go 9-8 to 11-6. McCarthy comes in and plays "better" but not enough reps to know if you truly have a QBOTF. Maybe he wins 3 of 4 games. Now what do you do? Murray is going to want 50 million a year. Is he worth that if he is just average? Is the 16th best QB worth 50 million? What if you try again with McCarthy? You again won't have enough information to make a sound decision.

I have been around Vikings football enough to know that the worst case scenario here is the most likely. We have set ourselves up to be right back to where we are today, which is no where.

I see two (or more) scenarios with forks in the road for both.

1. Murray plays lights out with a stronger supporting cast than he had in AZ. He wants a multi-year deal for big bucks (because the QB Whisperer revitalized his NFL career).

   1. Fork in the road: Vikings either sign him to a long-term extension for $100mm+...or they let him walk.

   2. If they let him walk, either JJM or Wentz are the next man up (or a QB in 27

2. Murray is average to below average...or gets injured (more likely).

   1. Fork in the road: if he gets injured and JJM is #2 on depth chart, JJM gets his starting chance

   2. If he gets injured or plays average to below average and JJM shows positive signs, we have our 2027 QB who has learned on the job

In either case, KOC has a stronger backup plan than he did going into last season (Sam Howell? WTF?)

Well considering the bastion of knowledge that CBS Sports.com exudes on a daily basis, I guess we’re screwed…! 😏