So, the typical national media offseason Vikings disrespect is in full swing. A team that won 14 games last year AND swept the Packers and Bears AND shored up the trenches like no other team is expected to take a step back mostly because, “We don’t know how J.J. McCarthy is going to do,” is the national media mantra. Do we know how the Lions will handle new coordinators on offense and defense? Apparently, doesn’t matter.
Do we know how Ben Johnson will transition from Lions OC to head coach because that move always seems to work out? Do we know how Caleb Williams will perform in Year 2? Do we know whether Jordan Love will be Jekyll or Hyde this year? None of that seems to matter. The other NFC North teams get a national media pass on their question marks. OK. Cool. But if the benefit of those doubts go positively to those teams, I don’t understand the negativity for Minnesota based on McCarthy.
If I’m a defense attorney making the case, it’s a lock. One of the first arguments against McCarthy is he’s a first-year starter, basically a rookie, and traditionally they don’t play well, a la Troy Aikman, Peyton Manning, et al. Counterpoint in 5 syllables: Ben Roethlisberger. His situation is a much stronger analogy to McCarthy than most first-year starters in that, Big Ben had a team around him ready to win. Peyton and Troy and many other first-round rookie QBs went to bad teams that needed more help than just QB. Ben went 13-0 in his first season precisely because he had a winning team around him. I could add Daunte Culpepper to the conversation. He sat his rookie year and went on to win 11 games in his first year as a starter. Similar situation. He had a team ready to win.
Further, let’s not forget the chrysalis effect the Vikings coaching staff had on a QB who was proven but proven as a failure. Sam Darnold was written off as a bust with six years of proof. The national media would have me believe that a six-year bust has more potential than a virtual rookie with no basis for NFL regular season credentials. Seriously? That dog won’t hunt. Finally, everything we have seen from J.J. trends in the plus column. He can make all the throws, and I believe he threw the fastest ball at his combine. Some 60+ mph. So the arm strength argument doesn’t wash.
Finally, the negative argument that he didn’t throw a lot in college counts against him for some reason. Troy Aikman with Dallas rarely ranked in the regular season top QB stats…
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