Friday Mailbag: Can JJ develop on the fly?

It looks like Carson Wentz will start the next two weeks. Then what?

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By Matthew Coller

Happy Friday, everyone! It’s been a long time since the Vikings played football, so let’s dive into what’s next for this squad…

Eldon…With Wentz having a banged up non throwing shoulder and McCarthy likely out this week does Max Brosmer get meaningful snaps in one of these next 2 games?

It’s certainly possible. Wentz is one bad fall away from Brosmer being in the game. I’m not convinced that Wentz is ever going to be able to control himself from trying to be a playmaker. When he senses pressure, his instant reaction is often to try to extend the play. That doesn’t just change because he’s older now so he’s probably going to take a few hits over the next couple weeks.

Kye B… I know there has been some Darnold grumbling, but with how quickly the offensive line has let defenses get to the qb this year would Darnold be doing nearly as well? He doesn’t seem like the short passing game kinda guy and the line’s ability to give time has been shaky.

And by nearly as well, I mean as he is doing in Seattle.

Darnold’s offensive line is 19th in pass blocking by PFF grade, the Vikings are 14th. The reason he’s been able to handle it better is because his average time to throw is 2.62 seconds, which is down 0.44 from last year. Nearly a half second quicker at getting rid of the football. If you recall, when Klint Kubiak was the Vikings play caller, Kirk Cousins had his fastest snap-to-release of his time with the Vikings (coincidentally, also 2.62 seconds, 7th fastest in 2021).

Darnold has been awesome under pressure, as well. He’s averaging 7.5 yards per attempt and has the fifth best PFF grade when pressured.

So he may have had more trouble if KOC’s offense was still asking him to stand in the pocket for a long time and push the ball downfield but let’s not forget the Vikings got mediocre offensive line performances in a bunch of wins last year versus the Cardinals, Falcons, Seahawks and Packers.

People let two bad games wash away a phenomenal season by a really good quarterback. He’s proving that this year.

Should there be grumbling? Well, if you can make $41 million out of failed signings that were supposed to make this roster untouchable, then the answer is probably yes. Would it have been better to chase a Super Bowl this year with Darnold and develop McCarthy behind the scenes more slowly? At this moment we can pretty clearly say yes. Does that mean we will feel that way by Week 18? Who knows.

Dermo Man…With the trade deadline approaching, depending on results, are you expecting Kwesi to make a move, if so I would expect O-Line or maybe safety. And What positions would you go for if you were GM.

If the Vikings get to 5-2, then I would expect them to look closely at their deadline options. One thing that might throw that for a loop is the sheer number of teams who are competing this year. It seems like 70% of the league either has 3 or 4 wins, which means a lot of clubs are going to believe that they shouldn’t give up and sell.

In terms of positions, O-line is possible if they have any other injuries. I’d be looking at outside linebacker. AVG’s health has been a question and Dallas Turner is still coming along. They could use more of a rotation there, even if AVG is 100%. It would be ideal if Greenard didn’t have to play 60 snaps per game all season long.

Cornerback is worth looking at. Jeff Okudah hasn’t been on the field much. It would be good to have a little more depth there. I’d also say running back depending on Aaron Jones’s outlook.

Patrick G… Did the front office and coaching staff show too much hubris in thinking that JJ would actually be ready this season to start even with a loaded win-now roster since he didn’t have the year of physical practice and running the scout team, and not making more of a push for a veteran presence/expected starter and make JJ win the starting job outright in training camp?

Well, this was the plan all along and they did see McCarthy for an entire training camp last year, so it wasn’t based on nothing. There is an argument that they saw what KOC and this supporting cast was able to do with Darnold and figured that if they could pump him up like that then they could make McCarthy into the best version of himself too. Maybe that was a bridge too far considering that he had so few passes in college. Darnold had years and years of NFL experience. It’s a lot different.

You are also right to point out the scout team stuff. It does make a difference because that would have been thousands of practice passes working on fundamentals. Instead he got none.

But I’m not sure we can really say it was hubris because this sport has economics. There is a massive difference in cap hit between McCarthy and what it would have cost to keep McCarthy. That matters a lot in the equation.

WinRank… I would love to see Brosmer. With the injuries it’s as likely as not. JJ isn’t ready..... Wentz WILL get hurt. Brosmer might surprise us all.

What’s the saying? The most popular guy on the team is the backup quarterback?

Everyone knows that I’ve been a Brosmer Buyer since minicamp. Go back and read the story I wrote with his college OC and his QB trainer. I’m totally in. I wouldn’t be surprised if Brosmer could go out there and perform well pretty quickly because he has great processing and throws with anticipation.

That said, you’d prefer that he has this year to work with the scout team and develop rather than be asked to save the season.

Pickle Enjoyer… I’m a little weirded out by the people who are writing JJ off already. I saw a NFL analyst I really respect call him “not NFL quality”. Is it possible that KOC and his staff just completely whiffed that badly?

Overreacting and quarterbacks go together like nothing else in sports. We didn’t know that Sam Darnold or Baker Mayfield could be excellent QBs until like 50 games into their careers. How could anyone try to call it after two — especially when one of them resulted in an exciting win? It makes zero sense to draw any conclusions right now but that’s not the type of analysis that sells. It’s all about big, bold takes that everyone will react to like crazy that day and then forget about a few weeks later if they are completely wrong.

Is it possible that they whiffed? Of course it is. Kyle Shanahan whiffed on a top pick and traded multiple draft picks for the guy. There are no guarantees in this world when it comes to quarterbacks.

But we certainly don’t have that answer after two games. It wouldn’t be any type of surprise if we saw McCarthy come back and play well. And then all the analysts will say that the Vikings nailed it.

Bottom line: I agree, it’s weird. So much praise for the former first-round QBs who have succeeded with no awareness that young QBs might need more time.

Robb… Who likely saves the season at Center ? Also should I start Prescott or Mayfield in my fantasy team this week ( craps and giggles )

It appears to be a pretty strong chance that Blake Brandel is going to be the center going forward. There’s going to be some ups and downs depending on matchups and how opponents scheme against them but his experience in KOC’s offense is a big deal. He was directing the guys like he’d been doing it for a long time.

Always start Dak in fantasy. Their defense is so freaking bad that every game is going to be a shootout.

Ryan… Is this the game for Taki to be activated?? Got to stop that tush push

I suppose it’s possible. It just doesn’t seem like it’s something they want to do. Everyone knew that the Browns were going to try to run over them last week and they still rolled with Redmond and LDR. They haven’t shown many signs of going with a true nose tackle type. Maybe this week will be the week for a fire hydrant to come to the rescue.

CJ M…Talk me OUT of my: “The Vikings are good but not compelling if JJ McCarthy isn’t playing.”-malaise.

I understand the disappointment that Vikings fans are feeling over this after months and months of buildup following the decision to let Darnold walk. But we only get 17 of these per year and the Vikings are right in the mix with every other NFC team. It just doesn’t compute to me when people want to bail on their own team if it isn’t going exactly the way it was supposed to go. Are you telling me that a win over the Eagles wouldn’t be great for Vikings fans to watch?

Brad L… Any chance of stopping, or at least slowing, Saquon this week?

Sure. Right now he’s 26th of 30 RBs with at least 50 carries in yards per attempt. They still have some good offensive linemen but I don’t see the same dominance without Mekhi Becton at right guard. That guy was an absolute monster. Landon Dickerson being banged up has also slowed them down. And Barkley was bound for regression after the 2,000-yard season. I think that takes such a toll on the body that it’s really hard to come right back and do it again.

It will be a good test case for the Vikings because you know the Eagles are going to pull out all the stops to try to get back on track. Having Blake Cashman back (presumably) will be huge.

Matt D… Do you think KOC will stick with the quick passing game this week, or will he try to bring back his deeper shot passing scheme now that some of the OL is back and Wentz has had a few weeks to get comfortable with the offense?