Kevin O’Connell Is Done with the “Nine” Shenanigans
It was supposed to be J.J. McCarthy’s time this season, but a couple of injuries and the growing pains on the field have prevented him from taking the league by storm. His alter-ego “Nine” has meanwhile taken social media by storm, but not in a good way.
Kevin O’Connell Is Done with the “Nine” Shenanigans
At this point, every struggling quarterback is getting the meme treatment. McCarthy’s infamous post-game locker room picture is photoshopped to make fun of that quarterback. Instead of leading the Vikings to the promised land, he has become a laughingstock.
The good news is that he might be on a redemption path, given last week’s solid performance against the Washington Commanders. This week, head coach Kevin O’Connell chatted with the voice of the Vikings, Paul Allen. Allen took a shot at McCarthy’s alter-ego, saying the “Nine bit sucks” because it’s not who McCarthy really is, referring to his experiences with the 22-year-old.
O’Connell didn’t disagree.
“You better have confidence and you better have a comfort in who you are to be in certain roles. I think being the starting quarterback of an NFL team is one of those things. All I’ve asked J.J. to do is just be authentically himself.”
McCarthy’s numbers now show 11 touchdowns (nine passing, two rushing) and ten interceptions. For the first time in his career, McCarthy stayed turnover-free on Sunday.
O’Connell continued, “I think at times, guys try to — and maybe it is the moment, and if it’s authentic in the moment, fire away, have at it — but we don’t need to exhaust any energy. Our jobs are hard enough already. Trying to be somebody else, or trying to play to some sort of persona, whatever it may be, let’s just go back to work, man. Let’s just go back to work and try to get better every single day.”
“When we do have moments like Sunday and we can take a step back like J.J. and I were able to do —and I told him, I was proud of him. I was proud of the way from the moment (he) showed up on Wednesday all the way through to flipping (him) that game ball afterwards — it just felt like the guy that he can be for us, and it felt like it’s repeatable.”
McCarthy’s early-career experiences have been pretty strange. He missed all of last year with a knee injury and had a horrific first three quarters to start his career in year two. In quarter four, he turned it around in historic fashion.
A game later, he fell apart on national television, followed by a month-long absence with an ankle injury. Once he was back, McCarthy led the Vikings to an improbable win over the Lions, and in the post-game locker room, he delivered what we now know as the “Nine” meme. He then revealed that his alter-ego, Nine, always shows up when it’s time to play ball.
In the next three games, he tossed six interceptions.
Because of his early struggles, there has already been chatter about a competition for the QB1 gig next summer. He’ll have four more chances to show that he’s undoubtedly the guy for the franchise moving forward.
His next opportunity to get some valuable reps will come on Sunday in Dallas.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.