J.J. McCarthy's Injury Concerns and Impact on Vikings

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00:00We have pretty much the most, I feel like one of the more straightforward reports as

00:04it pertains to J.J. McCarthy.

00:07It's a high ankle sprain, all the reports from various NFL reporters suggesting that

00:12he could be out for two to four weeks, and I want to say, Joe, I am not in any way saying

00:18that anybody is faking an injury, but when I first saw this, you know how in Major League

00:23Baseball when a pitcher doesn't have it going, they end up on the IL for 10 days?

00:26When I first saw this, that's what I was thinking.

00:30Now, I think ultimately his ankle is injured, but you take this injury and add on top of

00:35it that J.J. McCarthy, from seven of his first eight quarters to start this year, it's not

00:41that he's struggled, he's looked terrible.

00:44He has looked terrible, not like the guy, and the difference for McCarthy, you know, who's

00:50playing in his first two starts in the NFL, the expectations are mighty, because everybody

00:55believes in Kevin O'Connell, and we saw all of the wins this team racked up last year,

01:00with Sam Darnold as their quarterback.

01:03What's the concern level now for Minnesota?

01:05I think it's a big concern, because to your point, eight and a half win total was the

01:10preseason market on Minnesota, right?

01:12And we see teams like, you know, Green Bay racing out to a 2-0 overall record.

01:17Jordan Love in that offense looks much more consistent this year than they did last year.

01:22Detroit bounces back with a dominant effort.

01:25If you're now Minnesota, and you have basically a rookie quarterback, even though second year

01:29guy, he's only making his third career start next time he gets under center.

01:34And when you look at that performance yesterday, he looked inept.

01:37Didn't know, like, where he wanted to go with the football.

01:40Couldn't push the football down the field to Justin Jefferson and some other of the playmakers.

01:45Outside the fourth quarter against Chicago was basically like a raw, young quarterback

01:50that you say, you know, is this guy worthy of a first-round selection?

01:54And that's where we're at for the Minnesota Vikings.

01:56And if you're Kevin O'Connell that dealt with Kirk Cousins, you ship him out, you had

02:01all this optimism last year with Sam Darnold, and you moved on from Sam Darnold that threw

02:06for 35 touchdown passes.

02:09I don't know if JJ McCarthy, at this rate, even if he was healthy, can get you to 20 this

02:14year, Kevin.

02:15The reality, when you watch these Minnesota games, listen, maybe it depends, you know,

02:23how you tint the glasses.

02:25But for me, it is clear through these lenses that they don't trust JJ McCarthy.

02:31The opening drive of the game, they went for a fourth down opportunity.

02:35They tried to go for a little tush-push type of situation.

02:37Didn't work out.

02:39They fumbled the football, right?

02:40But it's fourth and one.

02:41Let's be aggressive.

02:42Let's set the tempo.

02:43Oh, we had, you know, a lot of things went right for them the prior week.

02:47So it seemed like the right decision.

02:50Then in the fourth quarter, down nine, under 10 minutes to go on a fourth and one, they

02:58punt.

02:58They punt.

03:00And Kevin O'Connell's like, well, you know what?

03:02We didn't get it early in the game.

03:04So you lost confidence.

03:05You lost confidence in your quarterback in the fourth quarter of game number two.

03:09And it's confidence that I don't think has necessarily been there.

03:13From the start, I've talked about it.

03:15I don't know how much the injury has shaped the situation, Joe, but this team giving the

03:20job to Darnold early in camp, this team flirting with, are they going to bring in an Aaron Rodgers?

03:26Are they going to bring back Sam Darnold throughout the offseason?

03:29I'm not sure they've been the guy.

03:30And now it just becomes more difficult because it could be a month.

03:34He's going to be out and people are going to laugh at what I'm about to say.

03:37And that's fine.

03:38What if Carson Wentz plays great?

03:40Yeah.

03:40What if Carson Wentz plays great?

03:42And people will think that that's impossible.

03:43But Sam Darnold played great under Kevin O'Connell.

03:46If Carson Wentz, over the next two to four weeks for Minnesota, Joe, in games against

03:51Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Philly, the Chargers, that's their next four.

03:55If he's three and one, are we sure J.J.

03:58McCarthy takes this job back?

03:59No.

04:00Because I think O'Connell made it very evident that he'll go with the hot quarterback.

04:04Did it last year, right?

04:06And he stuck with Sam Darnold.

04:07I think when you look at this offense, too, 78 rushing yards, four of 12 on third down

04:12conversions.

04:13If the rushing attack isn't there with Jordan Mason and Aaron Jones, that's long third down

04:17situations.

04:19And the difference is, when you look at Sam Darnold last year and what he was able to

04:24do, spread the football to Addison, that's obviously out with a three-game suspension.

04:29Hawkinson got involved.

04:30He's not spreading the football around.

04:33Maybe one or two targets to Naylor and one target to Hawkinson.

04:38That is where the success for Minnesota lies.

04:41They have playmakers at every level.

04:43When you're able to stress the defense from a passing perspective and you have to worry

04:48about the underneath routes, worry about Justin Jefferson and when Addison comes back on the

04:54post-pad, that's where they become lethal.

04:56And they haven't had that now in back-to-back weeks.

04:58Even though they were able to pull the game out in the fourth quarter, half of that was due

05:02to the, just the, I want to say the inexperience of Ben Johnson in coaching his first game and

05:08how Caleb Williams played the second half.

05:11And the other part was that finally it clicked for one quarter for J.J. McCarthy, but clearly

05:16against an overactive and very good front seven, because with Pierce in that lineup, that front

05:21seven is much improved with Atlanta.

05:24It's going to be very difficult for Minnesota with McCarthy, even healthy, I believe, to get

05:29to eight wins this year.

05:30That's why Joseph today Silverman's original free were pointed on, to six hundred and eighty

05:36tens of near the final arguments and efforts, it kind of went to be very all the moving

05:40side.

05:41And a few years later, how did we get to the �' stopped beating him?

05:42And a half a minute ago they traveled into thatastically in our world it was about ten years

05:44and 10 two years ago.

05:46That means so sorry, we will be recuperating it for this magic ship that she was inside.

05:48Well, we're going to let go talk around in a new kitchen beforeonder

05:53about the next year, and I'll be in a little hurry for this.

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