Vikings Camp Journal: Joint practice, Day 2

The Vikings had a very impressive showing against New England on Day 2

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By Matthew Coller

EAGAN — The Minnesota Vikings and New England Patriots got together on Thursday at TCO Performance Center for the second day of joint practices. Here was the biggest takeaways…

What I heard

Following JJ McCarthy’s most accurate practice of the year — quite possibly of his career — the young quarterback talked about his two strong days of practice against the Patriots’ defense.

“It was really a culmination of everything,” McCarthy said. “I felt like we were running the ball really well. We were moving the line of scrimmage. Guys were detailed in and out of the routes. I felt like the ball placement was there a lot more accurate today than yesterday. Still, a lot of throws that I want back and could put in better spots, but at the end of the day, I feel like we were just functioning very well ones and twos.”

McCarthy’s throwing has been under the microscope since the beginning of training camp. His accuracy on a day-to-day basis has varied at times as he shakes off the rust from missing an entire season. That was the case during Day 1 of joint practices but Day 2 featured nothing outside of precision passing, including a stretch where he completed 13 passes in a row.

“I think I'm one of the most accurate guys out there and just being able to take it day to day and really hone in on just every single throw,” McCarthy said. “It's not just the ball was completed. It's did I give him a runner's ball? Did I put it on the right pad for him to turn a certain way? Just being able to really lean into that as one of my strengths is something that I always have to be extremely hard on every single throw.”

McCarthy said that one of his reasons for success on Day 2 was because he was able to study the Patriots’ film from Day 1 and make adjustments. He went into the joint practices with knowledge of how New England played defense in their first preseason game and then realized on Wednesday that the schemes were totally different.

“It switched my mindset into this day with just: hear the call, play the call, focus on my fundamentals, and go through the pure progressions and play it from there,” McCarthy said. “I feel like I was able to be more decisive and quick and really focus on my feet, which is the foundation for the rest of the play…I was talking to [Justin Jefferson] the other day in the locker room and telling them the same situation. He's like, ‘dude, there's going to be a lot of teams this year that are going to show one thing on film and then when they come play us and they play me.’ They're going to show a different thing. It was just great to get exposed to that early on.”

Where McCarthy was the most impressive was the two-minute drill. The situation was 27-21 score with one minute left on the clock. McCarthy drove the Vikings into scoring position and threw a touchdown pass to Jordan Addison in the back of the end zone.

While other parts of his practices have gone up and down, the two-minute drill is where McCarthy has consistently been in command.

“The mentality, the different mindset you have to step into,” McCarthy said. “But I feel like just treating it like it's a game. These are valuable, valuable reps…just being able to put yourself in that uncomfortable situation, go out there and execute the simple things. Because the noise could get loud. You could be thinking, I've got to make this play right here.”

After such a strong performance by McCarthy, it was hard for head coach Kevin O’Connell to hide his excitement.

“It felt decisive, it felt an incredible amount of conviction to some of the decisions he made, location of the football, and a lot to build on,” O’Connell said. “Another checkpoint for us as a team and I'm really proud of the work the guys put in, and like I said, far from perfect, it never is, but joint practice gives you the chance to see some game-like situations.”

Yeah, I think everything happens faster in the red zone, so I think there's going to be some

“[There were] throws where maybe you got to squeeze it in a window, put it away from a defender one way or the other, but then there was also some throws where he threw it up and over some guys and found the open grass with the ability to throw the football in some different ways,” O’Connell said. “All things we've been working on, all things he's talented and capable of doing, but to do it in this setting should give him some confidence moving forward.”

Speaking of confidence, nobody is walking out of the joint practices with their head held higher than the Vikings defensive line. They completely dominated the two days, repeatedly pressuring Patriots QB Drake Maye. Boston Globe’s Doug Kyed counted at one point 15 drop-backs for Maye during 11-on-11s and seven of them were sacks or scrambles.

The player who set himself apart during both days of practice was Jonathan Greenard, who has had a tremendous camp. Following Day 2, Greenard talked again about raising the bar for everyone on defense.

“We can have a good play but it’s not enough,” Greenard said. “That just comes with where we’re at in our careers and what we see in this team and what we’re capable of. Doing good, it’s just not enough. No matter what, we’re not going to be satisfied. That’s the standard that’s being built around here, period… if you got a sack on that play, why didn’t you get the ball out? If you were there for a PBU, why didn’t you get a pick?”

Another player who has looked like a man on a mission was defensive tackle Jalen Redmond. He was repeatedly involved in the pressure and run stopping of the second-team defense vs. New England.

“J-Red has been a dawg since last year, I knew he was a dawg when he got thrown out of practice last year,” Greenard said. “From that day forward, he came back dominating guys. Even to see it during the season and to see him continuously build — everybody knew he had another gear but when you bring in guys like [Allen and Hargrave] you’d think [Redmond] gets put tossed by the wayside or gets behind. Nah, that brother is right there making the same plays he was last year if not more…there’s no drop off if those guys need a breather.”

Dallas Turner got a ton of work over the last two days and stood out in some of the biggest situational drills. Jonathan Allen sounds impressed with what he’s seen.

“I think it’s very exciting for him to play beside Gink and JG is incredible for him, he’s developing so great, I think he’s the next superstar pass rusher,” Allen said.

What I saw

— Before the action got started between the offense and defense, special teams took the field. We saw Tai Felton and Ty Chandler as the first kick returners on the field with Silas Bolden, Myles Price and Zavier Scott mixing in. Bolden, Price and Lucky Jackson were the main punt returners on the field.

Saturday’s game will be enormous for the return units. There isn’t much experience between all the players in the mix. If they can prove to the coaches that they belong, then we may see rookies at both spots. If there are struggles, the front office will have to get on the phone about bringing in more experienced return specialists.

— It was pretty clear from the outset of practice that McCarthy was on his game. In the opening 7-on-7 drill in the red zone, he hit Thayer Thomas with a touchdown pass from the “high” red zone area. Then in the “low” red zone, he had another impressive throw to Hockenson for a TD and then found Lucky Jackson in the back of the end zone but the receiver could not toe-tap and bring it in.

The red zone has been inconsistent for McCarthy throughout camp but he was very sharp on Thursday.

— When the 11-on-11s began, McCarthy really kicked into high gear. In the red zone, he rolled out to his right and showed all of his athleticism and arm strength by ripping a pass to the back of the end zone for a touchdown to Lucky Jackson. He followed that up with another accurate TD pass to Thomas.

— Outside of the red zone, McCarthy hit his favorite throw of the day: A bomb to Aaron Jones. The running back ran a wheel route and got behind the linebacker. McCarthy floated the ball high in the air up over his shoulder and dropped the ball in the bucket.

That was just the beginning of a run for McCarthy that looked like a 10-year veteran QB. He connected with Hockenson on an anticipation throw where the TE was breaking toward the sideline. After that, Jordan Addison made an outstanding catch for a big gain on an accurate throw into coverage. McCarthy didn’t miss again for a while, totaling 13 completions in a row.