Kevin O’Connell’s Eyebrow-Raising McCarthy Quote Looks to be Bang On
The Vikings are 3-2 largely due to injury and shaky quarterback play. The roster health appears to be trending in a positive direction; can the same be said about the quarterback spot?
Back in the summer, Kevin O’Connell talked about his young quarterback, doing so in a manner that may have raised a few eyebrows. The head coach insisted that becoming a strong game manager was what McCarthy was working toward. Some may have scoffed at the descriptor — the No. 10 selection should ascend higher than mere managerial duty — but the sentiment from O’Connell appears prescient.
Kevin O’Connell on J.J. McCarthy Being a Game Manager
First, go back to what was said.
Managing a game well involves understanding what a specific moment demands. O’Connell’s description: “I do think that there’s a layer now where you start having real conversations about managing situations. What does a 1st & 10 decision look like versus a 3rd down gotta-have-it type situation? And the situational aspect of football itself.”
The Vikings’ skipper would expand on his thoughts.
O’Connell’s thinking about the importance of being a strong game manager: “People want to talk about the game manager position of the quarterback. All 32 guys better manage the game or your team is going to lose. The best quarterbacks that have ever played this game and the best guys in the league right now do a great job managing their decision making throughout games. And it can change from the ebbs and flows of a game.”
Unpack some of thoughts, doing so by shifting the focus away from J.J. McCarthy.
Carson Wentz has led his Vikings to a 2-1 record largely due to being a strong game manager. After the Week 3 Bengals beatdown, Kevin O’Connell referred to Wentz as being a point guard. The suggestion is that Wentz distributed the ball to his playmakers rather than being a playmaker himself.
The numbers corroborate the idea of Wentz being a game manager and/or a point guard. The veteran passer has completed a sizzling 69% of his passes for 759 yards. There have been 5 touchdown passes alongside 2 interceptions. The 99.5 passer rating is solid but no reason to throw a parade.
The numbers from Mr. McCarthy aren’t nearly so promising.
The sophomore has an eyesore of a completion percentage, a number that’s sitting at 58.5%. That’s unsustainably low, a reality that would often lead to a quarterback being benched for performance issues. And then there’s the 301 passing yards across two games with 2 touchdowns and 3 interceptions.
Nowhere near good enough.
The good news? Simply that McCarthy doesn’t need to be Superman. Rather, replicate some of what Wentz has been capable of doing.
Currently, the special teams are very strong. Ryan Wright has been excellent; short of a camera cable snafu, Will Reichard has been offering exemplary play, too. One then thinks of Brian Flores’s defense, a group that has been slowed by injury but has nevertheless found a way to get to 5th in the NFL by allowing an average of just 19.4 points against per game.
The cherry on top? Just that Jordan Mason has shown promise. He’s averaging a hearty 4.7 yards per carry while earning 323 yards and 3 touchdowns. Everyone knows that the pass catchers are fantastic, arguably the best in the NFL. Seeing the o-line get back to full strength as well as Mason continuing to progress would lead to good things.
All of these factors can coalesce to create a situation where McCarthy can generate wins if he can elevate to being a game manager.
In the long term, Kevin O’Connell wants J.J. McCarthy to be more than a mere game manager. For 2025, however, the goal is to play rock-solid football while occasionally sprinkling in brilliance.
McCarthy, 22, has a chance of starting in Week 7.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference helped with this piece.
