I have pretty much supported the philosophy of letting McCarthy’s development play out. But I must admit, as I watched the game yesterday a pesky voice inside my head kept saying, “no.” Prove me wrong, JJ…
It did not seem ambiguous in Ham's locker room statement. He's decided 'it's time.' Thanks CJ. I think they will do something substantial at QB. JJ will be the backup next year.
Such a weird and bizarre year... And with JJ one can imagine him being a top 10 QB (assuming he fixes his mechanics and gets more reps) yet he could easily be just a back up (I think he has shown enough promise that he is not a Josh Rosen level bust..
Would like to see him tone it down a bit... Enough with the )... Settle down to 8 1/2.. That is more than enough
Even after a disappointing season, it's possible to feel that things are going in the right direction. Unfortunately and frustratingly, that's not the case here. This was a team with zero pro bowlers, and specialists aside, there wasn't a strong argument that anyone should have been.
There is reason to believe that Turner and Jackson will improve next year. Richmond made a leap this year, it might be too much to hope that there is another level for him. Everyone else is going to be a year older. . .
JJ is like a youth basketball player who can hit a cool step-back 3 but absolutely panics when the other team presses him, fires layups off the backboard, and has to come out of the game after every time he gets knocked to the floor. I LOL'd when the CBS broadcast flashed up a graphic early on that he'd completed 5 straight which tied a career high. Then he went completely frantic for the next two series and missed 4 in a row. There's maybe, possibly something there if he can stop getting hurt and if he can calm the hell down. But those two ifs are so colossal that they make any other discussion of him--mechanics, grasp of the offense, etc.--kind of pointless.
Really thought I’d be getting ready for a playoff game at this point and not procrastinating on watching back some Kirk Cousins tape to see how washed he looks. I know they don’t have a ton of picks, but they absolutely should draft another guy at some point in addition to bringing in a vet who can run the offense next season. Not saying first round necessarily, though I’d be fine with that as well, but throw another dart in the draft if it’s there to be thrown.
I've been watching Kirk in ATL this season, and he's decent. His play has certainly dipped from his peak in MN, but his best receiver is a TE not named George Kittle, so it's hard to say how much is him and how much is his lack of options. Kirk would be an excellent backup, or more likely a transitional starter for a team who's tired of drafting first rounders for other teams and wants to crawl back to relevancy.
I didn’t get a chance to watch him much this year, but would guess he has more left in the tank still than a Rodgers. I’d prefer them to go younger and bring in Murray or Mac Jones or even Malik Willis if they want to commit to somebody for more than a year, but having Kirk, JJ, and some guy they draft in the third round might be the best we can hope for if they’re still holding onto the dream that JJ will eventually turn it around.
With his experience and knowledge of the system. Kirk would be an outstanding backup to JJ. But I he'll have much better, starting offers, and if you're the Vikings it's unlikely you go to the same well twice.
In the end it all comes back to Kirk's quote about self development. Can he control the internal fire a little on the field to control the tempo both up and down? Can he improve mechanics to hit consistently hit those three to four big throws that KOC's proven offense relies on? I still believe McCarthy has it in him to be a great player, but the QB situation in the NFL is unforgiving. One thing I'm certain of, when he's on the field, the Vikings have a dynamic feeling I haven't seen here for a long time. But the performance floor of that dynamism needs to raise significantly.
I have pretty much supported the philosophy of letting McCarthy’s development play out. But I must admit, as I watched the game yesterday a pesky voice inside my head kept saying, “no.” Prove me wrong, JJ…
It did not seem ambiguous in Ham's locker room statement. He's decided 'it's time.' Thanks CJ. I think they will do something substantial at QB. JJ will be the backup next year.
Such a weird and bizarre year... And with JJ one can imagine him being a top 10 QB (assuming he fixes his mechanics and gets more reps) yet he could easily be just a back up (I think he has shown enough promise that he is not a Josh Rosen level bust..
Would like to see him tone it down a bit... Enough with the )... Settle down to 8 1/2.. That is more than enough
Even after a disappointing season, it's possible to feel that things are going in the right direction. Unfortunately and frustratingly, that's not the case here. This was a team with zero pro bowlers, and specialists aside, there wasn't a strong argument that anyone should have been.
There is reason to believe that Turner and Jackson will improve next year. Richmond made a leap this year, it might be too much to hope that there is another level for him. Everyone else is going to be a year older. . .
JJ is like a youth basketball player who can hit a cool step-back 3 but absolutely panics when the other team presses him, fires layups off the backboard, and has to come out of the game after every time he gets knocked to the floor. I LOL'd when the CBS broadcast flashed up a graphic early on that he'd completed 5 straight which tied a career high. Then he went completely frantic for the next two series and missed 4 in a row. There's maybe, possibly something there if he can stop getting hurt and if he can calm the hell down. But those two ifs are so colossal that they make any other discussion of him--mechanics, grasp of the offense, etc.--kind of pointless.
Really thought I’d be getting ready for a playoff game at this point and not procrastinating on watching back some Kirk Cousins tape to see how washed he looks. I know they don’t have a ton of picks, but they absolutely should draft another guy at some point in addition to bringing in a vet who can run the offense next season. Not saying first round necessarily, though I’d be fine with that as well, but throw another dart in the draft if it’s there to be thrown.
I've been watching Kirk in ATL this season, and he's decent. His play has certainly dipped from his peak in MN, but his best receiver is a TE not named George Kittle, so it's hard to say how much is him and how much is his lack of options. Kirk would be an excellent backup, or more likely a transitional starter for a team who's tired of drafting first rounders for other teams and wants to crawl back to relevancy.
I didn’t get a chance to watch him much this year, but would guess he has more left in the tank still than a Rodgers. I’d prefer them to go younger and bring in Murray or Mac Jones or even Malik Willis if they want to commit to somebody for more than a year, but having Kirk, JJ, and some guy they draft in the third round might be the best we can hope for if they’re still holding onto the dream that JJ will eventually turn it around.
With his experience and knowledge of the system. Kirk would be an outstanding backup to JJ. But I he'll have much better, starting offers, and if you're the Vikings it's unlikely you go to the same well twice.
In the end it all comes back to Kirk's quote about self development. Can he control the internal fire a little on the field to control the tempo both up and down? Can he improve mechanics to hit consistently hit those three to four big throws that KOC's proven offense relies on? I still believe McCarthy has it in him to be a great player, but the QB situation in the NFL is unforgiving. One thing I'm certain of, when he's on the field, the Vikings have a dynamic feeling I haven't seen here for a long time. But the performance floor of that dynamism needs to raise significantly.
Entertaining year of comments and insights from Matthew and all of you.