McCarthy to stay in Eagan mostly over the next 5 weeks

Montana Tom wrote:


I am pretty sure that he was under quite a bit of media scrutiny as QB of the #1 ranked and eventual National NCAA FBS Champion Michigan Wolverines.  Especially coming off the playoff loss to TCU the year prior.

He had scrutiny and doubters. Didn't blink. If he doesn't succeed in the NFL, it won't be because the lights are too bright.

JimmyinSD wrote:


I have feeling him and Nix will end up being the only 2 that get remembered in a decade.  I think Penix will have a quick burst and unfortunately have that injury thing come back to hamper his career,  Williams will just never have the mental game, Maye will just never figure it out, and Daniels will ultimately get broke,  like most undersized players do in this league.  I think the last 2 taken may have the best pro careers.

I do wonder about Caleb Williams. I'm not sure he'll ever be NFL accurate and might be a turnover machine. Nix is with the right coach and offense to cater to his maturity and skill set, as much as I hate Sean Payton. I think HC and QB are a very good fit in Denver. If Brock Purdy can succeed with the a strong team surrounding him, it's possible the Broncos can build and win with Nix as well in the same fashion. But the margin for error will need to be less and the ceiling won't be as high. 

My concern will be greatly reduced if McCarthy can sit at least 10-12 games. I think he can be the Man if he can just sit and learn for a bit.

In what will be a hotly debated topic for the #Vikings this summer, when/if JJMC will be QB1, @AlbertBreer brings perspective from two coaches on both sides of the debate.

From #Packers HC Matt LaFluer in favor of holding off starting your rookie QB, “What happens is these guys, in a lot of situations, get thrust into situations where there’s not a lot of talent around them, and they lose confidence. I’ve seen it happen too many times, and it’s hard to recover from that. I do think that we would be able to develop more quarterbacks if guys were given a couple of years to sit and learn the game, and then go out to play.”

On the other side, starting them, you have #Titans HC Brian Callahan, “I think you do a disservice to guys, particularly if you’re drafting them, and you make them compete for a job. Guys need to play, they need to be put in a position where they are the quarterback. There’s something about that that matters to a team and a locker room. If you’re going to do it, do it." 

Callahan continues,

“The problem is, if you’re competing for a job, you’re not going to be willing to make the mistakes you need to make in order to improve at a rapid rate. You’re more worried about the perception of the mistake than actually learning from the mistake. I think that does guys a disservice, and I think it stunts growth when you have to be constantly worried about it."

Former #Vikings QB Daunte Culpepper on JJ McCarthy:

“He’s definitely a baller. He’s a rock solid young man, and he’s going to be an even better QB. He has a lot of upside and ability.”

purplefaithful wrote:

There have been ups and downs for McCarthy since the Vikings selected him with the No. 10 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.


J.J. McCarthy is a true perfectionist. He doesn’t run from that. It’s a character trait that has fueled him throughout his life.

It’s also made his transition to the NFL rather challenging at times over the past month and a half.

There have been ups and downs for McCarthy since the Vikings selected him with the No. 10 pick in the 2024 NFL draft. He’s showcased his incredible arm talent throughout organized team activities and mandatory minicamp. He’s also struggled with accuracy as a result of trying to improve his footwork.

How would he assess his growth with the Vikings with spring work finished and the team not set to reconvene until the summer?

“I know growth is not a straight line,” McCarthy said. “It goes up. It goes down. It goes up. It goes down. I’m trying to just maintain that trajectory of going up and I feel like I’m on that. Just attacking every day with a growth mindset and it’s been doing me well so far.”

That’s sometimes easier said than done.

“I definitely get down on myself,” McCarthy said. “You’ve got to learn from those little dips and not be attached to them.”

That mentality is something coach Kevin O’Connell has tried to impress upon McCarthy on a daily basis. He doesn’t want him feeling like every throw is a referendum on where his career is headed. He wants him to take some chances in practice while feeling comfortable enough to make some mistakes in the process.

“That’s the only way they’re going to really learn the trial and error aspect of playing the position,” O’Connell said. “That’s what makes this time of year so special for us.”

You can see it slowly starting to click with McCarthy. He has so much raw ability, and when it looks good, it looks really good. There was a slant route McCarthy threw on Wednesday afternoon at TCO Performance Center, for example, that whistled through a tight window and hit receiver Jalen Nailor squarely in the numbers.

“I feel like every day it keeps getting better and better,” McCarthy said. “The reps are helping me progress.”

None of those reps have come with the starters. Not with the way Sam Darnold has seemingly put himself in the pole position to be the starter. Though he emphasized that the Vikings haven’t released a depth chart, O’Connell made it pretty clear that Darnold is the ahead of his peers at the moment.

Not that McCarthy is too worried about where he’s at in the pecking order right now. As much as the competitor in him wants to be the starter, he’s focused on learning as much as he can from Darnold, Nick Mullens, and Jaren Hall.

“They’re just phenomenal human beings that are sharing their wisdom with me,” McCarthy said. “I can’t thank them enough for that.”

Asked about his expectations for himself with training camp coming up next month, McCarthy listed a few items, including knowing the playbook front to back, being the best teammate he can possibly be, and working harder than everybody else in the building.

The latter is evident in how McCarthy plans to spend his break between the spring and the summer.

“I’m going to be facility as much as I possibly can and focus on building habits that I can rely on when it starts getting hectic,” McCarthy said. “Just going to be here working my butt off.”

Spoken like a true perfectionist.

https://www.twincities.com/2024/06/12/where-does-vikings-rookie-j-j-mccarthy-stand-now-that-the-spring-is-over/

So just my opinion from here, but.....this kid is the one. He's going to figure it out and flourish in time. He'll put the time in. KOC has a plan for him. His locker is next to Justin Jefferson. His time is coming and he knows it will take a little bit of time. And when he gets comfortable, man he's going to be special. His quote about 'when it gets hectic' is because he knows that's where the rubber meets the road. 2 championships under your belt give you that perspective.

purplefaithful wrote:


Its a great point MAroon...

KOC has created an environment where the kid can curate w/out too much public scrutiny or hand-wringing (yet). Those days will be here for sure, but hopefully not this year. 

KOC/JJM is right as rain, peanut butter and chocolate. 

I have some empathy for Maye and Daniels. Their situation as you point out is vastly different than JJ's.

I think those teams are trying to curate Maye and Daniels as well, but the talent level surrounding them isn't there. And as you mention, their situation is different and they'll be playing sooner (I would imagine) than JJM. Is that a bad thing? IMO, more often than not it is, but not always. It will be very interesting to watch it unfold.

JR44 wrote:

I think it depends more on the player and not the coaching philosophy.  CJ Stroud was a 21 year old rookie when the season started last year, he threw for 384 yards in his 2nd game and didn't have an interception until game 6, 1 in his first 8 and only had 5 all year.  Imagine if his coach had a no QB rookie philosophy, what a waste of a year it would have been.  The NFL is not a one size fits all.  Stroud is someone who McCarthy has drawn a lot of comparisons to.  With the offense he played in and with him mental make up, I think if he looks the part this pre season, then start him.  Darnold was signed to be a bridge and not the future and maybe it ends up being a really tiny bridge.

CJ Stroud threw for 8100+ yards his last two years in college and McCarthy threw for 5700.....so although I do agree that one size doesn't fit all, JJM is a more raw product than Stroud and needs the time to sit and learn in that comparison. Its not so much the fans saying it, KOC has said it from Day 1 of drafting him.

Quite the first pitch JJM threw out for the Twins game last night, lol. Turner airmailed his as well. Bust?

The Purple Persuasion
@TPPSkol
Per @TimRacki
(J.J. McCarthy’s high school coach at @NazarethLGP via @KFAN1003)

He says that McCarthy “adapts to the offense” and does whatever it takes for the TEAM to win:

“He adapts to the offense. He is all about, what am I required to do in order for the team to succeed? It's not about, I need to throw for 400 yards, if I do great, but what do I need to do with what I'm surrounded with in order for this team to succeed? He did that at Nazareth, he did it at Michigan, he's gonna do it with the Vikings.”