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Vikings Discussion & Random Thoughts
What a disappointing game, that score of 19-17 was as boring as it sounds.
The offense spit and sputtered its way through most of the game. J.J. McCarthy seemed amped up and was air-mailing missles 10 feet over his targets, and on the passes where he WAS accurate, his receivers were dropping passes.
The running game was working, but of course Kevin O’Connell leaned heavily on the passing game that wasn’t working, they threw 32 passes opposed to 22 runs. The offense DID decide to put a drive or two together later in the game and eventually take the lead, the kick return unit crapped the bed and gave the win away. The way the offense played, they didn’t deserve a win anyway.
The defense did their job, and the special teams was spectacular until that last kickoff return by the Bears, which ultimately lost the game. The defense had to be gassed, the time of possession was basically 23 minutes to 37 minutes, I applaud them for performing as well as they did.
The offense needs to wake TFU, and O’Connell needs to learn how to lean on the run when the run is working. Take some of the pressure off your young QB and get some damn wins, this season isn’t over yet.
Takeaways
J.J. McCarthy is a young quarterback, and young quarterbacks make mistakes like we’re watching him make right now. It’s part of the growing pains of having a young quarterback. You hope that patience will yield results like the Colts had with Peyton Manning when he struggled in his early years, young quarterbacks tend to struggle. I think McCarthy is pushing too hard, and needs to relax and just play football. Enough with the soundbites and dumbass talk of alter-egos, just go play football and have fun.
I just want one championship before I die. In years past, I said that jokingly, I’m 51 and am no longer joking. SKOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Bright Side
In good news, we got a talking plush Hecklefish.
Vikings and NFL News
Stats from Sunday’s crap-fest between the Vikings and Bears from ESPN.
From Vikings.com, hear KOC address the media yesterday, and full highlights from Sunday’s game. That highlight video should be very short.
CBS Sports hands out NFL week 11 grades around the league. Below is Mr. Hand giving the Vikings’ passing offense their grade.
Media Selection
Here’s another great one from A.J. and Hecklefish at the Why Files.
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Good morning and SKOL. Read somewhere that our season is already over, and it’s time to completely scrap the team, the coaching staff, and the GM, and start building a winning unit around McCarthy.
Had to chuckle at that.
FTP!
Gonna go fish again now that kiddo’s home.
Have fun.. stay away from bike ramps…
Leave some for everyone else.
Sure
Nice haul!
Today was a good day.
Cookies and fresh fish.
Meanwhile, I worked and had too many meetings….
Oh yeah
Nice!
Just pulled it from the oven
Yum… wife is making pork chops for dinner tonight with her fried potatoes, apple sauce, and salad.
One good thing about MN.
I made applesauce with HoneyCrisp apples.
U of MN did a good thing with those….
Great. Love applesauce. My sister used live on the Eastern Shore in Maryland near Chestertown. She had 5 apple trees with different kinds of apples. We would go pick them, and the wife would make pies, cobbler, and applesauce with them.
I am so jealous!!! My wife is preparing fish for our evening meal as well, but it isn’t fresh out of the lake.
Neither is this, caught it in the river.
Nice!
Chip Kelly…
The Raiders are paying Chip Kelly $6 Million a year, making him the highest paid coordinator in the NFL…
His offense currently ranks 31st in scoring.
https://twitter.com/Underdog/status/1990636154484330962?s=20
Sounds like a good investment to me.
About as good as the Falcons investment in a QB2
Not his fault.
He needs better players to be good.
And yet their QB1 has never played as well as their QB2… never had a 500 yard, 4 TD game, huh? Never had a passer rating in back to back games with a 145.9 and 144.8 rating. Also “QB2” had 17 TD’s in his first 9 games before being injured in week 10. QB1 this year has 9 TD’s in 9 games. QB1 is ranked 38th in the league in completion percentage, 28th in the league in passer rating, and 26th in the league in TD’s.
QB2 is way better than QB1 and the Falcons head coach is an absolute moron.
He’s more allergic to running than KOC
Hmmmm… OBJ anyone?
Odell Beckham Jr. has been reinstated from his 6-game suspension
OBJ is a free agent and is eligible to sign with any team
https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1990835493987025206?s=20
hell no
Too short – JJ would miss him by a mile.
Laughing…
Now that is funny!
I knew I was right to buy that purple #11 jersey!
NFL Insider Shares Update on Carson Wentz’s Future in Minnesota
he is one tough SOB for sure. Gave it his all.
I think the QB2 is kind of important since McFragile is normally running for his life.
I hate it when I lose $200,000 worth of stuff lying around my house.
Even if they took our 2 cars and everything from my house I do not believe they would get to 200,000.
I would be short as well.
If I had a Tesla I might get close, Of course getting a Tesla would cost me elsewhere, way more that it is worth IMHO.
Yep.
They’d be lucky to get $75,000 including the two newer cars.
I really hope one day say five or six years from now there will be discussions about some up and coming QB having a rough time and the topic will be “yeah remember how JJ struggled those first couple of years but look at him now” We had that discussion to many times. When he gets amped up on the field maybe they should call a running play for him to settle down can’t see that it would be worse than throwing 10 feet over WRs head or 100 mph bullets.
One can only hope that happens.
Hope is what we have today. The last few years have been bereft of hope.
JJ could improve and become good or even great. I expect good to be the floor, and great to be the dream scenario.
Kirk still sucks 🙂
I have to pick up Kirko in my other fantasy league.
Daniel’s out.
Rodgers out.
JJ sucks.
Laughing… that must be killing you… now you’ll have to pull for him.
If I play him, he will suck.
Thats my fantasy luck.
He’ll probably suck either way, so don’t blame yourself.
Laughing… well unfortunately, it was the Saints who wrecked Cousins throwing arm in week 10 last year, effectively ending his season.
You’re screwed. Atlanta has one good WR and he’s hurt. the rest are taxi squad guys. He will have terrible numbers.
They’re also missing their starting LT and LG. Both on IR, and another O-lineman is questionable for the game. Pretty thin and sketchy. Cousins will be tested for sure.
Yes indeed, Kirko is forecasted to have more fantasy points than JJ. How sad is that given the weapons they each have???
I just hope the Vikings can get some old washed up has been to be QB1 next year.
Flacco?
I heard the Vikings are re-signing Wentz for 10 million.
glad it is not my money they are throwing away
Trump said he thinks we’ll get to $21T in new investments in the country by the end of the year. Couple that with hundreds of billions of dollars a year in tariff revenue, and he’s really making unheard of moves economically beneficial to the country.
Crazy how much he’s done in such a short period of time to make the country more prosperous.
But he’s rude, so he is a bad president. Haven’t you heard?
Yes, the snowflakes feelings that he hurts are much more important than the financial health of the nation.
He is a great president…but he is unnecessarily rude.
If he and congress do nothing to pay down the national debt, it’s a waste.
Just my take.
Hmmm… Trump is fixing the debt the right way. Decreasing spending by cutting unnecessary Government programs and entities, and dramatically increasing revenue. The only President that has addressed the problem this way in my lifetime.
All true, but should they get to a surplus(never happen) they will find some worth while endeavor to spend it on.
Yeah, like DON’T DO ANY TARRIF STIMULUS CHECKS!!
Use all of that to pay down the debt….
Agree. Just buying votes like the other party tries to do.
You are right, but it ain’t going to happen.
Agreed
Amen
We’re still running a deficit. Until that changes, it’s politics as usual.
And how do you stop deficit spending???? You spend less, and take in more, just exactly what Trump is doing. The Dems are fighting him hard though in the courts on everything. Supreme Court is trying to decide if his Executive powers under Article Two allow him to impose tariffs. If they say he can’t then what? Hundreds of Billions of dollars a year are lost because a judge doesn’t think a President should be in charge?
Hey GF, noticing my twitter posts won’t imbed now.
I think he went fishing.
Probably… no biggie though.
I think there was a cloudfare issue earlier today, something I know nothing about, heard some nerds saying something about it.
Hmmm…
https://twitter.com/SeifertESPN/status/1990834411693039830?s=20
https://twitter.com/SeifertESPN/status/1990834411693039830?s=20
Might be something to do with the outage this morning.
That’s what I’m thinking Bow.
It’s snowing pretty hard this morning. Here’s a good winter meal that warms ya up and hits the spot:
Creamettes
Ingredients
· 1# elbow macaroni
· 4 Tbsp butter
· 4 Tbsp chicken bouillon
· 2 Tsp pepper
· 1 gallon milk
· 1# smoked sausage ring
Directions
· Boil the sausage ring, set aside to cool
· Boil macaroni in large pot, drain, return to pot
· Add about 1/2 to 3/4 gallons milk
· Add butter, bouillon, pepper, mix well
· Dice up the sausage ring, add to pot
· Top up with milk to desired thinness
I have a really good one, I made this the other day when it was cold outside.
Ingredients
Directions
Here’s a question for all the QB experts.
Reading JJ has some mechanical issues causing inaccuracy.
How long has JJ been here – all last year, full training camp and this is just now being. noticed and hopefully addressed.?
Wondering if it isn’t lapses on his part, trying too hard to put the team on his shoulders….
Causing bad footwork, and firing missiles when a touch pass would suffice.
Hard to work on mechanics after knee surgery and it sounds like he is fine in practice but it’s not translating to Sunday, yet.
I just find it kind of strange as KOC said from day one when he got here, he placed a premium (requirement) on throwing the ball accurately.
So he saw enough accuracy to be happy with what he deemed fixable problems. Just takes time and reps to fix mechanical issues. Your trying to change how he throws a football, something he’s been doing one way his entire life. What is it, like 100,000 reps to become muscle memory?
I think it may be like swinging a golf club. Tiger always said it took a lot of reps in competition to make a swing change permanent. No one ever tried to change my throwing motion or footwork much when I played, so no idea how difficult it is. I will say when I play golf, no matter what I’m trying to change or address, my old swing returns quickly when I get on the course.
It could be applied to all sorts of things. How many times did you practice reloads, transitions, or malfunction drills with an empty gun?
Good point.
there’s a difference though with golf ( and baseball too). There are and have been a lot of great golfers( and pitchers) who have flawed mechanics. But the key is repeatability and the ability to do it under pressure.
To me, if JJ can throw just fine in practice, but not under pressure, maybe getting him more comfortable under pressure is the real answer.
I’ve been quoted 1800, so he’s slacking.
Yeah, I’ve seen quotes of 1800, 3000-5000, and up to 100,000, depending on complexity of the task.
I’ve also seen quotes of only a few reps to make a bad habit……..
He does, but I’m thinking that Rodgers has sort of spoiled the coaches when it comes to footwork and mechanics. He throws the ball from all sorts of angles and “platforms” and still drops the ball perfectly into a receivers hands. Some folks think (because of this) that maybe mechanics isn’t as important as some people think. Maybe a great athlete doesn’t need good mechanics to succeed. So if a player is making some impressive throws in practice with poor mechanics, maybe we don’t need to work on them too much initially. But now, KOC has raised this as an issue. In a real game, McCarthy is missing throws by a wide margin. So… let’s work on his mechanics. That will fix it. We hope.
That sort of makes a point I believe in and was trying to articulate earlier with Allen.
The Mahomes, Rogers, Allens are not great examples to use as the “norms” to follow.
Exactly, they are exceptions to the rule as it were, not a norm to follow.
So I think it was a known, from the start. I only watched McCarthy in the National Championship game and really my first thought was, he has a long way to go with his footwork and mechanics. Same with Penix in that game BTW. Neither guy impressed me as a really polished passer.
I will say, there is a LOT of work that young QB’s have to do when they get to the NFL, and most of it is between the ears, so naturally coaches go to work on that immediately. They highlight things like mechanics in drills, but they mostly have to teach the game from scratch to a QB.
McCarthy is kind of a crash course in QB mechanics. I am actually learning a little bit about it by reading analysis.
Now that his footwork is being pointed out, it is hard not to see when it happens.
You would of thought Harbough would had someone teach the kid proper mechanics at Michigan.
The stock market has been taking a bath the last few days. I refuse to check my 401k balance
Surely it’s way up for the year though?
Haha yeah, up for 90 straight days, then we get a couple down days and everybody is worried. It will continue to skyrocket as is the trend the last 5 years.
So not to ruin anyone’s love for chocolate here, but I recently stopped eating it altogether. I was having issues with lesions on my skin (hands mostly, and my scalp), which I was told were two separate “auto-immune” diseases. Having had these things for years, and recently hearing about all the contaminants in pretty much all chocolate (lead and cadmium in particular, among other things), I stopped eating chocolate. I was having it a couple times a day (a cookie, twix or butterfingers, etc.), and now for a month or so, I’ve eaten none. The lesions are gone, after having been there to some extent (they wax and wane in severity) for literal years. Interesting at the least. I’m hoping it keeps up.
Give me chocolate or give me death!
You’re killing me. I live with the allusion that a piece of dark chocolate and a glass of red wine are the key to a good life.
If you can’t drink wine and eat chocolate what is the point of living longer??
Exactly, along with a few beers and a good steak.
You can’t ruin my love for chocolate. It is my Prozac.
Haha. It appears to be more dark chocolate (which is the kind I like) and organic being the worst, actually. You can look a bunch tested here if interested.
https://www.asyousow.org/environmental-health/toxic-enforcement/toxic-chocolate
Me while posting a Tuesday Kirk Cousins article.
I now have butter, so I can make cookies.
Yum, cookies…
Sitting at work with no cookies.
That is actually pretty similar to my cookie recipe. I could make them.
house selling/housing buying/moving update you ALLLLLLLLLLLL have been waiting for.
the freeze household is officially in their new house. i commented to my wife last night that it will take a while before it feels like “our home”, but we’ll get there. Still feels like we are staying at an airbnb or something.
the stress of trying to get everything OUT of the old house, 3 days before we could move IN to the new house was met with poise and ease by myself.
And the bonus was, when packing up, i found a ken griffey jr autograph card that i sold on ebay this week and that paid for my moving truck and my storage unit. thanks ebay. and thanks “the kid”
NICE!
Holy cow that’s a pricey baseball card.
Nice!
Also, I really like the curtains you went with.
OK the crazies are coming out of the woodwork…
https://twitter.com/TPPSkol/status/1990795746665500689?s=20
Kids, don’t do drugs and type.
Indeed.
Fishin’ buddy just called, he limited out in an hour, heading down to where he is to go fishing.
I absolutely will.
lowkey major crush on Alexis.
That always means you’ll be too late. Don’t fall for the hope. A Vikings fan (and fisherman to boot) should know better.
Fish like the wind!
Re picture up top. Monster Cookies are my favorite.
Also – Kirk Cousins What a guy!
Cousins offers support for Raheem Morris despite previous benching | Yardbarker
so obvious that Kirko will make a great politician once he is done milking the NFL….
So you blame him for saying team-friendly things, instead of being a diva or a jerk? Okay…
I blame him for lying every time his lips move when discussing contracts, teams he wants to retire on, and “It’s not about the money” bullshit.
He never lied about anything Surly. He has been very up front in every way. Seriously.
Live in denial and irrationality if you wish.
Again, what do you want him to say? I hate this organization, my coach sucks, they don’t want to pay me what I’m worth…. Being media-friendly is probably why he’s gotten some of the contracts he has. I would say that is being smart. You may call it “lying”, but it’s no worse than anyone like KOC does to “protect” his QB or whatever when saying his media speak. You’re not going to get negatives from some people – you’re going to get the positive spin, the nice things, etc. Sometimes that’s just being cordial and polite in public, like when someone comes to your house and says your food is good but they hated it. Would you rather they lie, or say “your food sucks, dude, I’m not coming back here”.
I am stealing this quote; “Some people will say I am the nicest person they met, some people will say I am an absolute asshole. They’re both right”
This is exactly my point.
JJ could become another Vikings failure, but I still have hope.
Especially when you look at things like Josh Allen even improving the last few seasons. Guy is working on his game, even on Tuesdays….
Since I try to stay away from extemes in comparisons. are we to compare all young QB’s who have accuracy problems to Josh Allen?
Congrats on the Reductio ad absurdum argument.
Kirk still sucks.
JJ could suck, but since he is young, maybe we can wait and see.
Obviously every QB drafted ever that has accuracy issues will not become a very good QB like Josh Allen. It is an example of what could possibly happen with JJ.
But go ahead, paint with the broad brush. It is the internet. No rules.
Have no idea what the Latin means – been too many years from class.
In Atlanta penix has accuracy problems and they are comparing him to Josh Allen . In Denver Bo Nix has some accuracy problems and they are comparing him to Josh Allen. Last year Caleb’s issues were being compared to Josh Allen.
Josh Allen seems to be quite the stocking horse.
But the Josh Allen story is interesting. Believe he went to ‘knowwhere u’ and was ver raw coming into the pros – had had very little quality coaching. But what is not known Allen was actually hurting his shoulder with every throw. After every game or practice he had a sore shoulder. They fixed him with a kinesiologist and a PT specialist. Most of his accuracies was caused by throwing with pain.
And it is the internet and hardly ever paint with a broad brush unless I’m talking about progressive and socialists. And seldom to I pose a personal insult to other posters. But it’s the internet right.
I did not insult you. I pointed out that reducing an argument to the absurd is not really an accurate way to put forth a position.
Every team with an inaccurate QB could use Josh Allen as the poster child for their hope. We know it will not work for all the QBs.
I have said that Drake Maye looks to be the most complete QB from that draft class. JJ has not played enough yet to see where he is.
Penix is probably done. I am thinking injuries will end his career early.
Williams will be dangerous if he ever becomes an accurate passer.
Jayden Daniels is also an injury concern. They were in the NFCCG last year, and will miss the playoffs this season.
Football is hard. JJ could suck, he could be good, he could be great.
My point was simply the comparisons to Josh Allen were not realistic. Have no idea why that is an absurd thought.
I have no idea about JJ but an surprised about accuracy issues. Thought his problems would be more the mental type not the physical part.
Playing QB is indeed hard.
Yes, I am surprised at how inaccurate he is.
Nobody is saying that JJ is going to turn out like Josh Allen. The meme is simply saying not to abandon JJ because his stats are bad, or his accuracy is bad. If the Bills had said they are not going to give Josh Allen a chance after his first year, we may never have known his potential.
That was not the point at all!
Two thoughts. First, whatever happened with Josh Allen has nothing to do with what may happen with JJ.
Second, given how KOC feels about accuracy from his QB’s and JJ just didn’t drop in, I’m surprised his accuracy issues are this big.
And neither of those items have anything to do with giving up on JJ.
That is exactly the point. Not that JJ will be Josh Allen, but that he can get better. Overall, I think his biggest issues are actually quite similar to rookie Josh Allen, mainly throwing too hard all the time. Lamar was in the same boat his first couple of years. Pretty sure another guy that won a SB and should have won one in 2009 had the same issue when he was younger, but that worked out alright too. That gives me hope for JJ.
I have hope for JJ and believe all he needs to do is calm down and play with a cool head.
He doesn’t have Josh Allen throwing problems.
You’re right, you and NLNVF are the only ones that can say anything about a QB. The rest of us just have to sit back and listen.
That’s a rather sorry assed thing to say. Period!!!
I was responding to surly and you jumped in.
I’ll try to ignore every comment you make going forward.
McCarthy in no way shape or form, is comparable to Josh Allen. He is not in Allen’s league, at all.
according to the stats above, he is very much in his first year playing league…league
Gotta love the overkill analysis of a 22-year-old first year starter.
Yeah it sucks to watch now, but be patient.
I got some time I think. We don’t have any choice but to be patient though, because the organization has hitched its wagon to McCarthy.
So we have this going for us…
Surefire way to doom the team to failure, but I do have a good feeling about Sunday.
Course, I’ll be stuck watching the game from the deer stand.
Today is the first day I’ve had to relax in a long time. I’m all caught up on my first half work, and my second half stuff doesn’t start until the 20th.
I may go try to shoot a pheasant or two, either that or go fishing, there’s really not a wrong answer.
What is a plush hecklefish?
Beat me to the question.
This
watch the media selection. Hecklefish is a very funny tin foil hat wearing goldfish.
perfect gif is….well….perfect
You don’t see the picture?
Picture does not explain what it is.
a plush toy is a stuffed animal, so a plush hecklefish is a stuffed animal hecklefish.
if you don’t know what Hecklefish is, you have to watch the Why Files.
So I need to know about some obscure show to understand your ref to some obscure toy related to some obscure feature of that show?
Well, there IS a picture of it up top where I mentioned it.
MT doesn’t look at pictures unless he is able to gouge someone.
LOL
blob:https://skoloholics.com/9e30f3a0-4b32-41af-80d6-cb3d228cc7a9
This one even talks
Cute cousin to the Dorkfish.
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSMIN6PCawyMEy-x3AnmXVBq3NSmuJiR2xl8w&s
“I just want one championship before I die. In years past, I said that jokingly, I’m 51 and am no longer joking. SKOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
My thoughts exactly and I have 12 yrs on you.
64 years old here….counting the days…
Just one before I die!
I think we all want that! Grin. I’m 70. I don’t have much time left.
You guys are kids!
My wife says I am
Always good to be a kid at heart.
Childlike is good.
Childish is not good.
62 and feeling the same.
Not going to happen this season, and I have said repeatedly that the Feb 2027 or 2028 is the window for a first championship.
Or the team has to “rebuild” again.
Now I want to make cookies tonight. I need butter, though. Off to the grocery store at break!
We made peanut butter blossoms last week.
I like a chocolate chip oatmeal cookie dipped in milk. It satisfies all my requirements of a cookie.
I am still fully on board with JJ as the QB of this team. I was on board with Ponder until he proved he could not play at this level. I was on board with Teddy until his knee betrayed us all. JJ has a better arm than both Teddy or Ponder. Accuracy can be improved upon (see Josh Allen).
15 year QB history imo
Darnold > Kirko > Case Keenum > Daniel Jones > Teddy > Ponder
For the dollars paid, Kirko never produced what was expected. Sam is getting paid now, but showed Sunday why he is not the answer. Daniel Jones will collapse. The rest have been backup caliber.
JJ can improve. At the start of this season I expected 9-10 wins and was hoping for at least one playoff win. Now the playoffs seem like a dream, but it still could happen. I really want to see JJ develop. I figure we have this season and next for him to prove he is the QB for this team. To me, he still has the most upside of anyone they have drafted since “Tiny Hands” Culpepper…
If special teams does not fuck up and they win that game last Sunday, JJ, while still struggling, would have a 3-2 record as a starter and there would be less gnashing of teeth.
I can be patient.
Also, Happy Tuesday, Kirko still sucks.
I fully expect their to be a learning curve with young QB’s. The game at this level is faster requiring quicker processing and decision making, Defenses are more complex and can fool a young QB. So it’s to be expected that a young QB is going to get fooled and throw some balls in bad places.
But what totally surprises me about JJ is his accuracy throwing the ball. Further, KOC has indicated many times he puts a premium on accuracy from a QB.
Patience is your domain. That said, you should really look at Bryce Young. He came in as the #1 pick in the draft. He came in with very good throwing mechanics, and what most people considered an accurate arm. He came in with a good head on his shoulders, and good athletic ability. He was a two year starter at Alabama and had some very good passing stats coming into the NFL. His first two years he played below average football, but better than McCarthy has thus far, on a far worse team. Now in his third year as a starter in the NFL he is playing better. Not off the charts great, but better.
This is the road I foresee for McCarthy. He has a long way to go, because first, he has to relearn how to throw a football according to KOC because his mechanics are bad.
I HOPE I’m wrong in this regard. I HOPE suddenly McCarthy learns how to throw a football well, learns to read defenses, learns to set his protections, and learns to process at light speed. My rational mind tells me that isn’t gonna happen though and we’ll see a long development process ahead.
All his “intangibles” mean nothing in the NFL. It’s the ability to process, and play the QB position at a high level that matters.
Makes sense to me. JJ has shown enough arm strength to make all the needed throws, but his accuracy has been terrible way too often.
Either he gets fixed in the rest of this season and next, or they will be drafting a QB in 2027 again.
Yep, his arm strength and velocity are great. Jeff George could throw a football through a phone book though.
Agreed.
Man, that guy was a head case for sure…..
I still have some hope and patience for JJ. However, frustration is definitely seeping in. The inaccuracy is very surprising.
If we back into the playoffs, we would be murdered in the wildcard round and drafting in the mid 20’s. No thanks. Why would anyone want to watch us get buzz sawed by the Eagles or Rams and remain mired in mediocrity? Did you watch the Lions-Eagles game? Eagles defense is so deep, their backups are better than our starters. 6-11 sounds just right, that’s a Goldilocks spot right there.
JJ just needs to show fairly consistent improvement. The scoreboard means nothing. Maybe Jefferson will get frustrated and demand a trade, that could net us some good pieces as well.
A top ten pick would make for some nice trade bait. We could get a new Center and DB, or possibly a safety that doesn’t need a walker.
I believe our biggest need is a BIG FAST LB, followed by an athletic safety.
That too, I would take a dominant RB as well.
Greenard is big & fast, we need a safety.
I disagree, though, I think this team would be dangerous if they backed into the playoffs. When/if McCarthy becomes consistently competent, this team could be dangerous
Monty Python Auto Rec.
We just played the Eagles with a banged up backup playing and we hardly got “murdered.”
There is a difference between regular season Eagles and playoff season Eagles. Just like there is a difference between regular season Vikings and playoff season Vikings. I refer you to week 18 Vikings and wildcard round Vikings 2024-2025.
However, it is clear you want the Vikings to win out and pick up the wildcard #2 slot at 11-6 which they will parlay into dominating road wins on the way to the Super Bowl and draft 32…or get murdered and draft mid 20’s.
I choose the easier path…get a couple of gritty wins (on the road, this team is not winning at home) and finish 6-11. That’s just fine for a “rookie” QB as he gets coached up.
Yes, I prefer winning – every single game they take the field.
And yes, I understand there is a difference in playoff football.
But We have a solid roster and many experts said it was talented enough for a SB run, even QB with a rookie QB.
We’ve had a lot of injuries but are getting healthy. And unlike the past, we actually have a defense.
So if our QB learns to throw the ball (I’m hopeful) believe we can win playoff games.
How about that Cloudflare! Couldn’t do any work for about 1/2 hr this morning.
Yeah, couldn’t get on this site, or Twitter, or a lot of places. PITA.
Yea, I’ve been blocked from seeing this site for a couple of hours. WTH.
Same here, I was
One guy was very consistent, and played at a high level almost every game, and one has never played at a high level for a single game.
I think you hate JJ as a QB almost as much as I still hate Kirko chainz as a QB.
My guy (JJ) still is young and has time to get better. Kirko is over.
everytime i see this gif, i can’t help but think there is a player that the kid is looking at and doing that to, but the player isn’t looking at the kid, but the woman behind the kid, she’s making eyes at him and the player is trying to get HER attention, and the kid just is in the way
This sounds strangely autobiographical, is this a re-enactment of when you met your wife for the first time, tapping your cleats with a Louisville Slugger, flexing your guns?
He won over the wife with his battery changing skills.
He’ll never live that one down.
I don’t hate McCarthy at all. I just tell the truth about things.
I know that with the game on the line in the 4th quarter, I would rather see JJ at QB than anyone else the team has rostered the last decade….
Even if he fails, I still say he can improve. All the rest of the QBs, you knew the outcome and they had reached their ceiling.
Really you hate Kirk (as noted above) but how many fourth quarter winning drives did Cousins have?
How many of those 4th quarter comebacks were due to poor QB play, for the first 3 quarters?
^This^
I don’t know but who cares about that. And it is totally irrelevant to Surly’s post.
If we are going to explore in detail every nuance of every possible factor of an event, every post is going to be like a chapter of a book.
MT Viking is salivating
Ohhhh yeahhhh…
But it is not irrelevant to your comment.
Surley said game on line in fourth quarter and I responded to that. That was the relevant question.
Now, your later question. about prior QB play to the fourth quarter, I have no idea.
You’re right
I’d say more often extremely poor line play, and bad defense. But sometimes, that was correct. That being said, I bet everyone here misses Kirk’s accuracy and durability after what we’ve dealt with so far with JJ.
Several.
Kirko melts when it matters most. Same with Sam.
I am hoping JJ is better. Time will tell.
If he melts when it matters most, how’s he have so many fourth quarter comebacks?
Exactly. They will inevitably say “4th and 8”, but that doesn’t describe the rest of the game and the garbage defense that led to that point. Kirk was accurate, durable, and played very well most games. Much better than the trash we’ve watched this season.
Statistically, Cousins plays better in big games, actually. Someone did a deep dive on his play in primetime etc recently, and discovered that little nugget. On the other hand, his teams tend to play more poorly in big games.
Maybe you don’t remember Cousins leading the game winning TD drive to beat the Eagles at the end of the game on Monday Night Football last year, with a minute left in the game and no timeouts? Down 6 points, and threw beautiful passes, and finished up with a perfect toss to Drake London in the end zone.
Yeah… Cousins doesn’t wilt in the big games, or big moments. If the throw is there, he’s gonna make it.
I agree, I think a lot of his issue is he is overthinking during the game. When it comes down to just playing football, like he has in the 4th quarter, he looks good. He needs to just settle in and play the QB position.
I could swear I saw a clip of Justin Jefferson on the sideline telling McCarthy to “just relax”
I think the best thing the coaches can do at this point in the season, is tell him to go play football.
They should have a designed run or two early. He seems too hesitant to run. Granted, I don’t want him to be rookie Lamar running, but I think an RPO or two early might calm him down.
He really should run more on those 3rd and 2’s, etc. when KOC inevitably calls a pass play….
My belief as someone who knows nothing about football is that the plays in the first 7/8ths of the game are more nuanced, calling out protections, routes, multiple reads, etc. When it is go big or go home time, the plays are simplified to get the ball out of his hands quickly to the primary route. I base this on the observation of his hoppy feet in the first three quarters as he hangs on to the ball way too long, versus decisive darts with 5:00 left on the game clock.
I will take a red-shirt rookie with accuracy issues over a veteran, who wilts under the pressure of the “big game”.
You got your wish. Enjoy.
Finally, it is frustrating, but at least there is a chance he will improve. The last 50 retreads, we all new what to expect. A lot of smoke and mirrors and in the end failure.
Agreed. Accept the growing pains & ride the wave
Gonna be a long ride and wait I fear, GF.
We don’t know yet, impossible to tell with a first year quarterback.
We have watched first year QB’s for decades GF. Trevor Lawrence and Bryce Young are perfect recent examples. It takes a lot of time.
I would rather wait a few years and possibly start over, then have 50 years of mediocrity.
Well that’s where we’re headed IMO. Couple years hoping McCarthy “gets there”. If he does, great. But I think he’s the next Bryce Young/Trevor Lawrence type.
Both of whom are in the playoff hunt.
They are, but Bryce is in his 3rd year, and Lawrence is in his 5th, and neither are playing the best in the league. They’re playing OK, not great. In fact, I just looked at their passer ratings for the year and both are pretty low. Well below average.
I disagree with that assessment, as Cousins was a top 10 QB pretty much every year and owns a ton of franchise records. He was arguably the most productive QB in Vikings history over a six season stretch. The next time we have a QB that has an average passer rating over 101 across 6 seasons, let me know. But I digress.
McCarthy wasn’t the “answer”. He’s a huge question mark that currently is the worst passing QB in the NFL. He has a long way to go before he’s average.
Exactly. “Chance” to improve, but we all know that chance is fairly low that he will be the caliber of Cousins in his career. But we can hope.
I certainly hope McCarthy develops. I want to win games, get in the playoffs, and have a chance at a Super Bowl.
Good news for us… but I don’t like injuries.
Good morning all and SKOL. Wife has a new bodybuilding client who wants to do his training sessions at 5 a.m. Soooo “we” are up at 4 a.m. Bother.
Anyway, we have a consequential, must win game this Sunday. All hands on deck, and can’t hold anything back now!
So FTP, and let’s go!
Oh yeah, first!
Good morning, SKOL!
FTP!!
FTP Auto Rec.