Could Carson Wentz be QB2?

comet52 wrote:

“They knew they couldn’t bring him back as the starter and keep that locker room together,” one GM noted this offseason.

Failed to build on-field chemistry with the club’s highly paid playmakers.

IF this is indeed true, it provides a clearer picture of why K1 is here .

And why McCarthy is getting more time to mature and fine-tune his game.

The sentiments of trading McCarthy or starting over next year by drafting another quarterback, then Adams gets hurt and people want Smith back who is not really in football shape. People are looking for instant gratification due to it being years of not winning a playoff game and appearing in a Super Bowl since 1977.

Right now, Wentz is better than JJM. I finally watched the preseason game and JJM looks the same as last year. That's not a compliment. He still rifles the ball all the time. He still processes slowly and doesn't anticipate throws. Having said that, I thought Darnold was a bust and never again would be an NFL starting QB. However, JJM failed with a better receiving core than Darnold did with the Jets. I hope JJM can have a Darnold-like resurrection, but I'm not holding my breath.

purplefaithful wrote:

IF this is indeed true, it provides a clearer picture of why K1 is here .
And why McCarthy is getting more time to mature and fine-tune his game.

I just don't understand any of that. How do you expect a guy to build chemistry with anybody when he plays zero preseason snaps (coaches decision) despite not having taken a live game rep in two years and he is in and out of the lineup all year with freak injuries? Or how can you expect him to be successful behind a sieve of an offensive line? People who did not pay attention can throw blame at McCarthy all they want, but every, and I mean EVERY quarterback who took a snap for the Minnesota Vikings last season was doomed by two things;

• Offensive line injuries. How many combos did we have again last season?

• Playcalling by the whisperer. It was chuck and duck or be damned. Almost got Wentz killed. OConnell refused to establish any kind of run game and made zero adjustments or consessions on offense until we were eliminated from the playoffs around Thanksgiving and he was getting called on his bullshit by the media. Only then did he make any changes and tried to establish some semblance of a run game. Not coincidently, McCarthy plays better and we win out to end the year. Instead of continuing to develop. McCarthy and build on the progress from last season, he pivots to the rent a vet cycle fearing that going into year five, if he doesn't make the playoffs and actually do something when he gets there, all bets are off when it comes to his job.

I mean, how are these blatantly obvious facts routinely lost when it comes to the McCarthy discussion? Everybody too busy slinging mud at McCarthy that facts don't matter? I've never seen a coach or media narrative turn on a kid (and that's what he is) as fast as I've seen this play out.

supafreak84 wrote:

I just don't understand any of that. How do you expect a guy to build chemistry with anybody when he plays zero preseason snaps (coaches decision) despite not having taken a live game rep in two years and he is in and out of the lineup all year with freak injuries? Or how can you expect him to be successful behind a sieve of an offensive line? People who did not pay attention can throw blame at McCarthy all they want, but every, and I mean EVERY quarterback who took a snap for the Minnesota Vikings last season was doomed by two things;
Offensive line injuries. How many combos did we have again last season?
Playcalling by the whisperer. It was chuck and duck or be damned. Almost got Wentz killed. OConnell refused to establish any kind of run game and made zero adjustments or consessions on offense until we were eliminated from the playoffs around Thanksgiving and he was getting called on his bullshit by the media. Only then did he make any changes and tried to establish some semblance of a run game. Not coincidently, McCarthy plays better and we win out to end the year. Instead of continuing to develop. McCarthy and build on the progress from last season, he pivots to the rent a vet cycle fearing that going into year five, if he doesn't make the playoffs and actually do something when he gets there, all bets are off when it comes to his job.
I mean, how are these blatantly obvious facts routinely lost when it comes to the McCarthy discussion? Everybody too busy slinging mud at McCarthy that facts don't matter? I've never seen a coach or media narrative turn on a kid (and that's what he is) as fast as I've seen this play out.

Obviously, KOC would disagree with you and he has seen and knows way more than any of us. Right now, JJM is far from a starting caliber QB. Hopefully he can improve/develop and get another shot, but not until then. You don't get to start and play QB terribly in this league just to develop more.

supafreak84 wrote:

I just don't understand any of that.

I wouldnt risk QB1 right now if I were coach, owner or GM...

The Minnesota Vikings' total 2025 cap allocations were approximately $270.87 million (ranking 26th in the NFL), with total cash spending reaching about $345.84 million, and adjusted top-51 cap liabilities around $247.13 million according to financial trackers like Spotrac and Over the Cap. [1, 2, 3]

LOL,

so now that the media's dead horse topic of the QB competition has officially be buried, we now move to JJ can't even make the team clickbait.

Yawn.

PurplePastor wrote:

Obviously, KOC would disagree with you and he has seen and knows way more than any of us. Right now, JJM is far from a starting caliber QB. Hopefully he can improve/develop and get another shot, but not until then. You don't get to start and play QB terribly in this league just to develop more.

I just get the feeling more and more that O'Connell is just a shinier and taller Brad Childress, so until he proves otherwise or wins something of substance, I'll hold off on anointing him the "all-knowing." He should be held most accountable in any McCarthy discussion being that he was heavily deferred to on the drafting and development of McCarthy. Any criticism of McCarthy should be equally shared with the whisperer.

purplefaithful wrote:

I wouldnt risk QB1 right now if I were coach, owner or GM...

The entire premise of everything we've done over the last four years has been centered on the "competitive rebuild" and building around a quarterback on a rookie contract. We were tired of the "rent-a-vet" cycle at quarterback and understood that its gotten us nowhere when it comes to winning a Super Bowl. So the head coach signs off on the drafting of this quarterback and investing a top 10 pick on him, and ten games in, we are scrapping that plan and everything we've been sold as a fanbase for the last four years....all so we can go back on the "rent-a-vet" cycle at quarterback without ever really knowing what we have in McCarthy? It's just more mediocrity and stupidity by this organization and why I say, I'd rather go 4-13 with McCarthy starting all year so we can know definitively what he is than Jefferson getting 10 TD's or the head coach winning just enough games to save his job. OConnell should have been made to sink or swim this year with McCarthy after the whisperer giving the stamp of approval in drafting him.

We will all of course root for whomever is playing quarterback, but that doesn't mean we have to like or agree with the organizations handling of McCarthy

supafreak84 wrote:

The entire premise of everything we've done over the last four years has been centered on the "competitive rebuild." I'd rather go 4-13 with McCarthy starting all year so we can know definitively what he is

The competitive rebuild doesn't go on forever. At some point they're trying to win a title now not someday.

People who are paid to evaluate QBs might already have enough definition about McCarthy to know what he is, the wishes of his adoring fans notwithstanding.

Lastly, 13 losses might be your idea of how to execute the 2026 Vikings season, but nobody in the building and I'm sure 99% of the fans would prefer that option. You're kinda standing on an island shouting at the ocean there.

supafreak84 wrote:

I just get the feeling more and more that O'Connell is just a shinier and taller Brad Childress, so until he proves otherwise or wins something of substance, I'll hold off on anointing him the "all-knowing." He should be held most accountable in any McCarthy discussion being that he was heavily deferred to on the drafting and development of McCarthy. Any criticism of McCarthy should be equally shared with the whisperer.

I saw a tweet the other day along the lines of-- "Nevermind QBs, have any offensive players leveled up while on the Vikings under KO? " and it kind of stopped me in my tracks.

I'd say Nailor for sure. Maybe some of the down-roster linemen? Regardless this is probably less a function or knock on KO and the Vikings than it is evidence that if players aren't flashing in year 1 or 2, it likely won't ever happen.