The Minnesota Vikings may or may not have J.J. McCarthy available for the Week 13 game against the Seattle Seahawks. While the second-year quarterback is in concussion protocol, there are takes flying in from all directions on his situation in Minnesota.
McCarthy completed 12 of 19 passes for 87 yards, tossed two interceptions, and took five sacks as the Vikings dropped a 23-6 decision to the Green Bay Packers on November 23.
Since returning from injury, the national NFL media has heavily scrutinized McCarthy. Furthermore, his struggles against the Packers have only intensified the attention.
On the November 25 edition of “The Pat McAfee Show,” former NFL head coach Bruce Arians gave McCarthy honest advice because he believes that the Vikings’ signal caller can succeed.
“The alter ego thing, it needs to be AP,” Arians told Pat McAfee. “Accurate passer. We don’t need snot bubbles and tears. You play quarterback, not linebacker. We don’t need all this hyped-up [ __ ]. Just go [ __ ] play quarterback and be relaxed and throw the damn ball to the right guy because you got the talent… Just relax. Get rid of ‘9’ first thing. Let’s get rid of ‘9’ and let’s get J.J. in there and play.”
Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy Didn’t Come Into the NFL Prepared
Despite the tough love and words of encouragement, Arians did express concerns over the mechanical issues that McCarthy is having, something that shouldn’t be a problem at the NFL level.
“I go back to his senior year, what he throw 45 passes in the entire fourth quarter, his entire senior year?” Arians added. “I mean, that’s not NFL-ready. Then you miss your rookie year. He has had no development as a passer.
“And like mechanically, you can’t think about mechanics in the NFL. You [have] got to be thinking about where the hell am I going with this ball in two point seconds… It’s like that’s a bad combination, brother. Really bad.”
Does J.J. McCarthy Need to Hit the Reset Button?
NBC Sports NFL insider Mike Florio believes the Vikings would be better off starting someone else at center, likely Max Brosmer, given the struggles he’s seen from him, even if he clears concussion protocol in time for Week 13.
“[McCarthy] needs to take a step back,” Florio said on the November 25 edition of “Pro Football Talk Live.” “He’s trying too hard; I feel like he’s thinking too much, and he’s gotten himself into this cycle that he can’t break out of.
“I think it’s useful for him at this point to get a break from playing because it just feels like you can just feel that whole demeanor and the body language and the look on the face. I feel like everything about J.J. McCarthy is [that] he wants to go out there, and on the very next play he wants to make the play that wins the Super Bowl.”
It will be interesting to see if the Vikings decide to give McCarthy a week off so as not to risk him with a concussion and see what they have in Brosmer, since this offseason, it seems Minnesota will have to be in the QB market.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Bruce Arians Makes Feelings Clear on Vikings’ J.J. McCarthy appeared first on Heavy Sports.