The Vikings’ Kid QB Spills the Beans on Dazzling MNF Moment
J.J. McCarthy began horrendously. He then finished tremendously. Can we already say that the Vikings’ kid QB has a signature moment?
If so, then one has to think that it was his touchdown run. Rather than hand the ball off to Jordan Mason — a runner who was having a good night — McCarthy decided to call his own number. Tight end T.J. Hockenson formed a mini convoy and McCarthy was happy to follow, muscling the ball across the goal line for a magical moment.
The Vikings’ Kid QB on His Touchdown Run
After the game reached completion, Mr. McCarthy stepped to the mic to handle the media’s questions. He was asked about his touchdown run, the one that coaxed a roar out of Kevin O’Connell.
“I was absolutely fired up,” McCarthy begins when asked about the play call. “It was like the perfect time to call it. Coach McCown actually brought it up in his little pregame speech at the hotel. And he was talking about how he was running ‘Wanda Bear’ — that’s what we call it — in 2013. And I was probably running it in 7th grade somewhere.”
The quarterback then praises the offensive line alongside Hockenson for their blocking effort. McCarthy concludes, “That was one of my favorites, for sure.”
Before going any further, look at the photo placed directly above these words. Look at McCarthy’s jersey. He’s going to need to spend some time in the laundry room, right?
The point is to reiterate that the game hadn’t proceeded smoothly for the whole night. The crowd sounded loud and the quarterback looked slow when making a decision. He got knocked around and had some struggles getting the ball snapped on time. His accuracy wasn’t perfect and excuses were being made among fans about how all of the factors — no Addison + Darrisaw, prime time to begin NFL career, poor field conditions on the road, and so on — coalesced to undermine the Vikings’ kid QB.
Apparently, J.J. McCarthy wasn’t particularly interested in continuing to play so poorly while hiding behind these excuses.
Instead, he showed off an ability to pull off multiple throws (something he worked on during the offseason). The Justin Jefferson pass came off of a fastball; the Aaron Jones touchdown was a change up. And then the run? Go ahead and check it out yet again:
McCarthy had the option to hand the ball off to Mason. Look at the trio of receivers at the bottom of the play. All pickup a Bears defender in anticipation of the powerful running back coming to their side. Look at Justin Skule walling off the defensive end, opening a hole in the B-gap for a runner who doesn’t have the pigskin.
J.J McCarthy pulls the ball away from Mason’s midsection, racing to the opposite side so that he can get behind Hockenson.
Watch #55 for the Bears. He turns his shoulder pads towards Mason, prepping to scrape down the line of scrimmage for a hustle tackle. Little does he know that he just sealed his fate, putting himself in a poor position to recover in time for someone with the wheels that McCarthy possesses.
The two defenders who could tackle McCarthy get sealed off by blockers. Look at Brian O’Neill climbing up to #49 while Hockenson pushes #9 back.
J.J. McCarthy sees all of this and adjusts accordingly. The coaching point in youth football is to “run to bums.” Basically, see when your teammate has inserted himself in between you and the tackler; the internal GPS then needs to do some quick calculations to ensure the proper route is taken. Doing so will lead to good things.
J.J. McCarthy will get his next test on Sunday, September 14th. The Falcons will visit U.S. Bank Stadium looking to avoid going 0-2 while McCarthy tries to push his squad up to 2-0.
McCarthy is 22.
You must be logged in to post a comment.