Episode Description
Minnesota Tim discusses the potential of J.J. McCarthy as the starting quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings. He emphasizes the importance of managing expectations, drawing parallels with other quarterbacks' early careers, and the challenges McCarthy may face in his first season. Tim urges listeners to consider the complexities of transitioning to a starting role and the potential pitfalls of assuming immediate success based on limited preseason performance.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
Welcome into the show today. Thank you for making this
podcast a part of your daily routine. If not, hit
that subscribe button right there in the lower left or
right hand corner of the screen. And if you're listening
it out or Spotify, hit that follow button. So this
podcast shows up in your feed six times a week
Monday through Saturday. There will not be an episode tomorrow
(00:28):
because I will be out of town and will be
unable to record. So this week it's five times a week.
But forgive the man. It's February. There's nothing happening and
we're still delivering content. My producer Tim over there, Hey,
what's up to You know, it's been working hard and
doing a lot of work behind the scenes to put
(00:51):
this thing together. So grateful for him and all of
his hard work. So Tim, shout out to you. Hope
your family is listening, So appreciate you. All Right, the
topic today that Tim and I were discussing earlier, and
it's a topic that's going to be a topic all
off season, and why not start diving into it right now?
(01:15):
And the ultimate question is this, It's a very simple question,
but it's also a question that pushes back against our
natural inclined instincts, And the question is this, are we
sure that we are so sure that ja Jon McCarthy
(01:38):
is a sure thing, Because the conversation right now is
the Viking should get rid of Sam Darnold have that
cap space for McCarthy to step in as QB one
to start the twenty twenty five season. He had an
impressive training camp, he had one good preseason game against
(02:01):
the Las Vegas Raiders. But do we really think that
McCarthy is going to step in in the twenty twenty
five season and have a seamless transition and the Minnesota
Vikings are gonna pick up right where they left off
last season. I don't think it's gonna be as simple
(02:24):
as that. The Vikings have the pieces around the quarterback,
they've got free agency money to spend, a draft pick
to select the guy that they need, and they've got
the best wide receiver duo in the NFL, including a
(02:46):
great tight end and a solid wide receiver three. But
is it always as easy as all? Vikings are gonna
be even greater next year because they have free agency
money to spend and they've got a draft pick to select,
which means you think about the roster last year and
(03:09):
basically almost the entire State roster is coming back. It
only should be better because of the money that they
have spent. It never actually works out that way. If
it did, the Minnesota Vikings wouldn't have gone fourteen and
three this past season because of what they did the
(03:29):
year before. So I think we just need to be
careful about our expectations with McCarthy and where he is
going to end up with the Vikings. Because I'm excited
about him, I'm pumped about him. I want to see
him be the QB one on the Vikings next season. However,
(03:55):
are we sure that one preseason game I guess the
Las Vegas Raiders is enough for us to declare that
McCarthy is going to lead the Vikings to at least
a wild card berth and potentially an NFC North title.
(04:19):
Aaron Rodgers one of the all time great quarterback talents
of this generation. He was looking for a team. Maybe
he'll retire. My prediction is he'll retire his first year
starting with the Green Bay Packers in two thousand and eight.
We're talking about multi MVP great arm We know who
(04:43):
Aaron Rodgers is. His first year starting in the league.
His overall record was six and ten. That's Aaron Rodgers
on the Packers his very next season eleven and five, ten, five,
fourteen and one, eleven and five, sixt and three, twelve
and four, ten and six, ten and six. Almost every
(05:05):
single season Aaron Rodgers had a winning record with the
Green Bay Packers, but his first year starting, he went
six and ten, twenty eight touchdowns thirteen picks. Very Aaron
rodgers S numbers, high touchdowns, good touchdown to interception ratio.
(05:27):
But there had to be growing pains for Rogers. He
didn't just step in and replace five and then the
Packers are super Bowl contenders right away. There was a
year where they needed to wait for Rogers to develop
as these starting quarterback. And I think it's gonna be
(05:48):
the same for the Vikings. I don't expect McCarthy to
step in and the Vikings are automatically super Bowl contenders.
In fact, I would not be surprised if McCarthy held
the Minnesota Vikings back from success that they could have
had with Sam Darnold or let's say even a Daniel Jones.
(06:14):
This first year with McCarthy, If he is going to
be allegedly the starter as QB one could be a
year of growing pains, could be a year of maturity
understanding defenses, because, let's face it, McCarthy missed his entire
(06:35):
rookie season practicing and playing. I do think virtual reality
will help him develop more than a quarterback that was
injured in two thousand and five, just because of the
technology that has come so far. But it's still not
practice reps, he still said on the sideline all year long,
(06:58):
in practice and in games, so there are valuable physical
reps that he was not able to get, even though
he was able to take mental reps with virtual reality.
And you think about quarterbacks that get to the Super
Bowl Mahomes, Tom Brady, Jalen Hearts. How many times does
(07:23):
a first time starting quarterback reach the big game his
first season? Hardly ever, how many rookie quarterbacks have started
in the conference championship game. The list is Rock Purty
in twenty twenty two, Mark Sanchez in two thousand and nine,
(07:44):
Joe Flacco in two thousand and eight, Ben Roethlisberger in
two thousand and four, Sean King in nineteen ninety nine.
And people are going to point to the success that
Jade and Daniels had and think McCarthy could achieve that
level success. Jayden Daniels is more the exception than the rule.
(08:06):
There's no way that I expect McCarthy to performed to
the same level as Jade and Daniels did his first year.
It's probably more likely that McCarthy performs to the level
of Caleb Williams his first year starting with the Vikings
than Jaye and Daniels because you look at what Jayde
(08:29):
and Daniels did for the Washington Commanders, and the things
that he was doing on the football field are things
that you do not see from rookie quarterbacks. Bow Knicks
made the playoffs with the Denver Broncos. They lost first round,
got annihilated by the Buffalo Bills. So I guess maybe
there's a case that McCarthy could do what bo Nicks did.
(08:50):
But I do believe that McCarthy is more likely to
hold back the Minnesota Vikings from achieving the ultimate success
then he is to lead the Vikings to the big Game.
(09:11):
I hope Jajon McCarthy is the guy, and he seems
to have the leadership qualities, even the physical traits to
be that guy. But are we so sure that McCarthy
is going to step in in twenty twenty five and
(09:32):
pick up where the Minnesota Vikings left off. I would
not be so sure because sometimes our minds get ahead
of ourselves and think, Oh, we got McCarthy in his
first preseason game, and we got this free agency money,
and we got a first round pick, and Dallas Turner
will be better. We're just gonna bring in guys and
Jefferson at Hodson and at Naylor, and we're gonna get
(09:54):
a better offensive line. We're going to the super Bowl.
It's not how it works. Sometimes we we fast track
success when it's not a linear line. It's not a
straight line. It's bumpy. It's bumpy, bumpy, And that's what
it's gonna be like for McCarthy his first year starting
(10:16):
for the Vikings, to the point where we might be
analyzing the Vikings next season and think, what were the
Vikings doing letting Sam Donald walk? They made a massive mistake.
Look at what he's doing with the Titans or the Raiders,
or think about what he could have done again in
a Vikings uniform. He proved it once. Now McCarthy Vikings
(10:40):
are five and nine and a McCarthy is supposed to
be the guy we might be thinking, quess is on
the hot seat. What was Cavin O'Connell thinking. I thought
he was the quarterback whisperer. This could all be the
narrative next season, that could be real life analysis. So
I just want to to pump the brakes, take a breath,
(11:03):
understand that there could be bumps on the road. Most
likely there will be, and that McCarthy, as good as
the Vikings roster is right now, will take time to
develop into the quarterback that hopefully we all expect him
to be in two to three years. He's practically a
rookie quarterback starting now. It's different than being Aaron Rodgers
(11:27):
and backing up far for the first few years of
your career because you're still getting practice reps. You're still
QB two when you get in and blowouts or whatever
the case may be. McCarthy didn't get any of that.
You know, in the NBA, if you miss the entire season,
like chet Holmgren did, if you miss your entire rookie season,
(11:50):
you're considered a rookie the following year in your first season,
and the NFL should apply the same rules. J McCarthy
because of an injury, will practically be a rookie quarterback
for the Vikings next season. Just be careful about our expectations.
(12:11):
That's all I'm saying. Thank you for watching this episode
and for making this podcast a part of your day.
Hit that subscribe button and follow button wherever you are
watching and listening. Thank you all,