Minnesota Vikings path to fixing QB J.J. McCarthy could be making one offensive change, and the same was true with Carson Wentz
It’s a very simple chance, but it could work immediately.
Quarterback play is the Minnesota Vikings’ biggest issue this season.
Neither quarterback has played well. Now, there have been some stretches of solid play from both J.J. McCarthy and Carson Wentz, but the lack of consistency has driven everybody crazy, both inside and outside the building.
Sunday afternoon’s loss against the Chicago Bears brought out the worst play we’ve seen in some time from the quarterback position in Minnesota, but it wasn’t all bad. In fact, we saw one element of his game shine, and it could be the blueprint toward immediate success.
Running the offense with tempo could minimize J.J. McCarthy’s issues
There are some interesting elements to McCarthy’s performance against the Bears. He was massively inconsistent, and his misses were arguably the biggest reason why the Vikings lost on Sunday.
Even with the issues being accuracy at just 50% completion and two interceptions, there were still good plays from McCarthy. He ripped the ball over the middle with beautiful passes to Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison (albeit dropped), and he read the field well. The most success for McCarthy came in the final drive of the game. What was the one thing that separated the final drive from the rest?
The Vikings used tempo.
Now, you can’t use a no-huddle strategy forever, as it’s not viable long-term. However, it can be a nice way to build up McCarthy’s confidence and, oddly enough, slow him down.
When examining McCarthy’s mechanics, it starts and ends with his lower half. His feet are all over the place. The game is too fast for him, and his feet get the brunt of it, especially with his base getting wide and back leg swinging like he’s throwing a 100 mph fastball (he is).
It’s still a little too fast for his processing, but the feet are the far bigger concern here. When he had to work faster on a play-by-play basis, his feet calmed down, and McCarthy was playing good football across the board. You can see how accurate and clean his football is when his base is underneath him.
“How can I remain poised, remain present, and just worry about the little things like my footwork and my fundamentals?” said McCarthy after the game. “Take it each play by each play, and we’ll see where we get at the end of it.”
He understands the issue at hand is his mechanics, and there are flashes of brilliance. Head coach Kevin O’Connell mentioned after the game that he had two great days of practice before the game.
“Whether it’s just the initial posture, where we’ve just learned that when he has great posture, you know, at the top of drops, he throws the ball really well,” said O’Connell. “He did it Friday. Did it Thursday. And I even referenced on Friday, the type of practices we had.”
If you end up having McCarthy run the offense with tempo and he builds up his confidence with a rhythm, that could completely shift everything with his development and the trajectory of this team.
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