By the time the Minnesota Vikings traded J.J. McCarthy to the New York Giants in late September, the relationship was over. McCarthy needed a change of scenery if his NFL career was ever going to get any traction, and the Vikings were done waiting for him to figure things out.
After an excellent fourth quarter in Week 6 against the New Orleans Saints, McCarthy made his first start for the Giants in Week 7 against the Houston Texans and performed well. Amid Kyler Murray's struggles, the idea that McCarthy was given up on too soon is easy.
Of course, it'll take far more than five good quarters for McCarthy to fully set his career on an upward track. But so far, so good, and it surely could've gone worse thus far.
Murray's current struggles have brought questions about Vikings' head coach Kevin O'Connell's failure to adapt his offense to the strengths of his quarterback. It has been a repeat of what happened with McCarthy last season, though multiple injury absences didn't help.
Broader questions about O'Connell as a play caller are nothing new. He has consistently invited questions about adaptability and being able to alter a game plan when something is not working. Games have surely been lost due to a stubborn marriage to his offense.
J.J. McCarthy takes unsubtle shot at Kevin O'Connell's offensive acumen
However expected on some level, the Giants have been heaping praise on McCarthy from the time he arrived. Coaches have highlighted his maturity and calm demeanor, which he didn't show nearly enough in either respect during his injury-truncated season as the Vikings' starter.
As the Giants come out of their bye week and get ready to take on the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 9, McCarthy was asked what he thinks is working for him regarding the offensive scheme and what offensive coordinator Matt Nagy is asking him to do.
"I absolutely love his playcalling and how he adapts with the flow of the game.
He has a beautiful idea and vision going into the game, and most of the time, it carries out.
But there's times where he's gotta pivot, and seeing him pivot in the last month that I've been here, it's been really exciting to see."
Pivoting and adapting with the flow of a game would not be things at all attached to O'Connell as an offensive play caller. Nagy, who would not be regarded by anyone as one of the top offensive minds in the NFL, being described that way by McCarthy is interesting.
McCarthy probably didn't intend to criticize his former head coach by praising his current offensive coordinator. But when prompted to offer what's working for him so far in New York, that is absolutely how it landed. He also wasn't wrong to highlight a noted difference he's experiencing firsthand.
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