Kevin O’Connell is always on the hunt for teaching moments, and Saturday’s padded practice in front of the fans at TCO Performance Center was the perfect backdrop.
Quarterback J.J. McCarthy and the entire Minnesota Vikings offense experienced some well-documented struggles this week at training camp. Brian Flores’ defense had been dominating 11-on-11 reps since the pads went on, enough that O'Connell used Friday's media session to challenge his offense, which is still breaking in a bunch of new pieces.
It’s a “tremendous challenge for not only our young quarterback, but our whole offense, to respond in the moment,” O’Connell said, “and I’d like to see a little more of that.”
The good news for Vikings fans? McCarthy and company got the message.
J.J. McCarthy turns things around in Saturday's practice at Minnesota Vikings training camp
Per multiple reports, the Vikings’ offense enjoyed a bounce-back practice on Saturday, and McCarthy was right in the middle of it. Per Will Ragatz of On SI: “Today was a very good J.J. McCarthy practice, I thought. Has probably had his two best days on the two Saturdays with big crowds. Sharp, decisive, throwing with both zip and touch. Encouraging stuff.”
Added Alec Lewis of The Athletic: “J.J. McCarthy has been veryyyyyyy crisp so far. Early in the practice, but just progressed from right to middle, round Jordan Addison, and Kevin O’Connell leaped in and gave him a high five.”
The response from McCarthy in particular was massive, as there was plenty of noise surrounding his start to training camp entering the weekend. ESPN’s Kevin Seifert detailed a Vikings offense that could barely move the ball against Flores’ defense. During one eight-play sequence, Seifert reported, the offense gained positive yardage only twice.
If Saturday’s practice was a test to see how McCarthy would handle similar adversity during the regular season, the young QB passed it with flying colors.
McCarthy’s strong performance Saturday reportedly included some brownie points.
The big storyline will be multiple skirmishes that broke out following hits by linebackers Brian Asamoah and Tyler Batty — both on running back Aaron Jones. McCarthy reportedly jumped in the scrum following the Batty hit and delivered a shove before things calmed down and practice resumed.
O’Connell definitely wanted to see more fight from his offense, but that’s probably not what he had in mind. The coach has a strict no-fighting policy and, per Seifert, let his team hear it.
Don’t doubt for a second, though, that Minnesota’s head coach won't be smiling when his head hits the pillow tonight. It’s definitely starting to feel like football season again in Eagan, and Saturday by all accounts was a good day for the team as a whole.