The question seemed to momentarily stop head coach Kevin O’Connell in his tracks earlier this week as the Vikings were already deep in preparation for their matchup with the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.
Was the work he put in with young quarterback J.J. McCarthy during the bye the most hands on O’Connell has been with the position during his time with the Vikings?
“It did feel like that,” O’Connell said. “It’s definitely something I want to try to continue to do while wearing a few hats.”
That’s how invested O’Connell is in making sure McCarthy succeeds in spite of some of the struggles he’s faced to date.
The foundation McCarthy built up through training camp has seemed to slip already at times. Some of that was due to the circumstances around him. Some of that was due to the high ankle sprain that has left him still feeling less than 100%.
After finally getting back on the grass last week during the bye, however, McCarthy was able to get back on track by working alongside O’Connell in real time. The main focus during the bye was on the fundamentals required to be successful.
“It was that 1-on-1 quarterback training type session,” McCarthy said. “It was really awesome to kind of soak all that in.”
The feedback covered everything from basic stuff like having a sturdy base before releasing the ball, to more advanced stuff like tying the feet and eyes together in order to play with rhythm and timing.
That wasn’t always on display from McCarthy in the win over the Chicago Bears and in the loss to the Atlanta Falcons. His alignment occasionally got out of whack when he was under pressure, which, in turn, contributed to him only completing 58.5% of his passes for 301 yards over two games.
“Maybe we were allowing kind of what was happening in front of him on certain plays to kind of subconsciously have him extending some drops and reaching,” O’Connell said. “There has to be an equal and opposite commitment to come back to balance.”
That is the key to accuracy for anybody playing the position.
“He’s an accurate passer,” O’Connell said. “What I have learned about him is when he plays with that ideal base, balance and body position, we’re going to see the ball come out with a lot of revolutions, and it’s going to go where he wants it to go.”
That importance of getting the ball where he wants it to go was illuminated when O’Connell talked about McCarthy getting to see “the power of completions” by watching the way quarterback Carson Wentz played.
Essentially, if the offense can continue to move forward in some way, shape or form, it puts stress on the defense. That has an effect over time. It’s an area in which Wentz seemed to lean in his opportunities.
“He’s found ways, whether it’s the first progression or he’s got to work through something, to get the ball in guys’ hands and alleviate some of the tough rushers that we’ve faced,” offensive coordinator Wes Phillips said. “He’s bought into our system, our offense, our game plan and executed it well, and he’s shown a lot of toughness throughout that.”
It’s been valuable for McCarthy to see.
“You could tell his experience by the anticipation in the windows and the quickness of when the ball’s coming out of his hand,” McCarthy said. “That’s something I’ve been really impressed with and I took a lot from.”
Meanwhile, as McCarthy has worked his way through the recovery process, he has been instructed to put his body in situations that might feel a little bit uncomfortable.
“It’s all about stressing it and making sure we put it in a situation where it’s like, ‘Oh, I felt that,’ and I know I’m fine after doing that,” McCarthy said. “You constantly just keep pressing that bandwidth of pain tolerance.”
All the pieces matter as McCarthy continues to refine his mechanics.
“This is a unique real injury where sometimes the hardest part is that trust level of getting that final stage of game-like movement,” O’Connell said. “What we were able to do is kind of break it down to really start in the foundation of the base that we’re looking for, and then kind of work backwards from the drop mechanics and things like that.”
The results have already been positive as McCarthy returned to practice as a limited participant. As he continues to work his way back to 100%, McCarthy will be the emergency quarterback when the Vikings play the Eagles.
It’s only a matter of time before he’s back out there applying everything he’s learned since taking a step back.
“There’s a bigger picture to playing quarterback,” O’Connell said, “and how I view the position.”
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