J.J. McCarthy Got Praise From an Unlikely Source
Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy has not received many kind words from Vikings fans or viewers around the league. In fact, the first-year passer — or his alter-ego Nine — turned into a viral social media meme.
J.J. McCarthy Got Praise From an Unlikely Source
It took him only a handful of games for some folks to be ready to move on from him. Granted, McCarthy didn’t play well enough to prevent those talkers from surfacing.
His struggles went so far that franchise legend Cris Carter took some shots at the sophomore. At first, he used social media. Then, he went on the radio.
During Sunday’s game, Carter shared some optimism, though.
McCarthy was looking sharp early in the game. For the first time in his career, he didn’t turn the ball over. The young passer scored three passing touchdowns and was in total command. That’s the McCarthy that haunted Carter’s Buckeyes for years.
Ultimately, McCarthy connected on 16 of 23 passes for 163 yards and three scores. He added another 19 rushing yards. His decision-making was improved, and he didn’t toss any passes multiple feet over someone’s head.
When Carter was interviewed by KFAN-FM 100.3’s Dan Barreiro three weeks ago, he said, “He’s a quarterback that has some athleticism, but [on Sunday], none of that was utilized. I see a guy that the game, sometimes, is faster than him. I see a guy that, sometimes, he shortens his drop and doesn’t get deep enough and patient enough that, then he’s trying to catch up and throw the football, and typically it makes the ball sail. Sometimes his elbow is too low. The fundamentals in the pocket, all those things are real. I do enjoy watching quarterback play, but right now, he looks like almost any other first-rounder to play five games, start in five games.”
There’s no denying that McCarthy was overwhelmed by the NFL for the majority of his first six games and that his mechanics need work. The former appeared to be better on Sunday; the latter was not, but the passes still got where he wanted them to go.
“Because, at this point, even on your fifth start, there are some simple things that you should be able to do and not struggle. Yesterday, [Kevin O’Connell] was trying to give him some easy things to do, and he couldn’t even do those. It’s not only J.J. I compare J.J. to every other quarterback, every other journeyman that’s been in KOC’s system… the quarterbacks, all of them have performed at a higher rate, completion-wise, than J.J. All of them. Josh Dobbs.
All of them. That plays a role, but [for] the good players, the game slows down. The game has not slowed down for him. At some point, the game will slow down, or at some point, he won’t be that good. One of those two things is going to happen.”
O’Connell further simplified things against Washington, and the training wheels seemed to have a positive impact. Who could’ve guessed that an easier offense would help the inexperienced quarterback?
McCarthy’s seventh career game was a step in the right direction. It doesn’t entirely erase the bad taste left by the Packers game a couple of weeks ago, but he showed some progress. The final five games of the season will be crucial for McCarthy to prove that he can be The Guy.
His next opportunity to show Carter his growth will come Sunday when the Vikings will travel to Dallas. It’ll be the third nationally televised game for McCarthy.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.