Kevin O’Connell on Week 1 Game vs. Bears, J.J. McCarthy’s First Start, Injury Updates, Quarterbacks

Kevin O’Connell on Week 1 Game vs. Bears, J.J. McCarthy’s First Start, Injury Updates, Quarterbacks

Good afternoon everybody. Um, you know, obviously you put a lot of time and energy into the offseason program, the training camp we were able to have, which was a really a really positive one. Our team grew a lot and and there was a lot of improvement across the board. Um but you do it all for game week which we are now in and uh very much looking forward to continuing our preparation that’s already started but continuing that um as we get some really good days of work um this week. You know going to be a challenge um expecting uh great energy uh you know and excitement for for the home team there and NFC North game to to kick off the season and the most competitive uh division in football. uh every team um feels really good about their organization and where they’re at and every time these teams play, including Monday night, it’s it’s uh you know, it’s going to be, you know, competition at, you know, at the highest levels of our league, I think. So, we’ve got to prepare our team um to go on the road and and try to find a way to win a football game against a really good team. Um just finished up walk through. Uh every everybody participated uh in the walkth through uh outside of u you know Harrison Smith participated in the walkthrough. He will not practice today, but the hope is we can ramp him up. He’s back um in the building and meetings and and and building up his workload uh for the week. So we’ll see where he’s at uh throughout uh the remainder of the week. But with that, I’ll turn it to you guys. Kevin, how do you prepare a quarterback to face what JJ’s going to see Monday, prime time game, his hometown, first time rolling out there as a starter? Yeah, I mean, like those are a lot of things that, you know, don’t really necessarily have to do with him doing his job. Um, and you know, we’ve tried to build a a world where, um, running the offense and playing quarterback is a, you know, a collection of really small things. Some would even consider them routine things and can we do the routine things routinely. Um and then as the the clear, you know, obviously it’s different than, you know, the the Egan practice fields here. Um any, you know, anything he’s experienced at least in the NFL. I think he’s got a lot of really good experience, you know, at the collegiate level in front of 100 plus thousand people. Um but it’s still Monday Night Football. everything you said. Um, all of that like we don’t just start talking about playing quarterback in the NFL this week. Uh, for him, it’s about doing a lot of the things that make up playing quarterback for us and our offense uh with the guys in the huddle with them who were really excited about that group. Um, and then just, you know, locking in on the nuances and subtleties of the game plan uh that hopefully by Monday night we can make them as routine as possible. then the ball gets kicked off and and he knows it’s he’s definitely not going to be alone out there from a standpoint of uh the coaching staff and myself, you know, right there with him. Maybe me too much sometimes in his ear uh via the coach the quarterback system, but uh I know those 10 guys in the huddle regardless of who’s in the game. Um those guys are excited for number nine to come in and call that first play. Kevin, what did you see during training camp from the running game and just how much different that might look with uh Jordan and Aaron as a duo? Yeah, I think it starts with the guys up front and and and J and and TJ and and uh Ben and just the way we were able to against, you know, a pretty physical uh front with the additions we made on on the defensive line. um really feel like we were, you know, starting to understand uh the the why and the what behind what we want to do. But then ultimately, it’s a it’s a fundamentals, technique, and play style thing to to want to win the line of scrimmage and move people and and then you’ve got to have, you know, above the neck. You got to understand good NFL defenses, which, you know, any defense that Dennis Allen coaches is going to be a really good one schematically uh challenging to go against. So, we’ve got to be able to, you know, play pre- snap the right way, communicate, and then be ready to play with the right footwork, great first step, hand usage, all the little details that um very similar to kind of what we talked about with JJ. Each guy has their own job within uh plays and our run game throughout training camp really felt like we were really starting to uh grasp that. I think even on some days where maybe you know from the outside looking in or in that comfortable 10 up on the hill, it might have been more about uh a lot of the things involving JJ, but you know on a daily basis I was seeing some really good things in the run game as we built up and uh now we’ve got to go do it for real and against a you know super talented front. They added some pieces. They’ve always been uh a really hard front to run the ball against just because of not only personnel on the front, two really good linebackers, safeties that love getting involved in the fit and corners that that know how to tackle as well. So, you know, from a standpoint of the personnel, then you throw in, you know, a guy as experienced as Dennis Allen is running a scheme, you know, practicing against a really good offense every day, they’re going to be prepared and we’re going to have to play well to move the football for sure. When you have rookie offensive lineman Monday football, Dennis Allen, defense. What’s the conversation like with Donovan Jackson this week of of coaching points just to make sure he’s ready to take all that on? Yeah, I think there’s a couple things, you know, when I think about it, one of the reasons we it’s been so seamless for him uh is the transition from you when he first got here to his first reps in training camp and then the days that followed of constant improvement, rep overre improvement, sometimes in the same period, in the same drill. you know, he might, you know, get beat on something or or be more overaggressive and a veteran player like John Allen or Hargrave uses that against him and kind of uh, you know, he learns, you know, how to improve many times without having to go upstairs, watch the tape and, you know, have a fundamentals and and indie period to fix it. And that’s what is really encouraging. Uh, I also think it’s encouraging the guy he’s playing next to, Ryan Kelly, and just the steadiness that he brings across the board. uh for all the young players that are in the huddle with him. Did you see what you needed to see from Christian Darasaw uh throughout this course of training camp and in the past couple weeks to feel like he’s in a good spot? Yeah, I think I know, you know, I know he’s um he had a great camp, you know, checked every box from a workload standpoint building into this week. Uh he’ll practice today and and we’ve always with CD uh just with how committed he’s been to taking the daily approach, we’ve done the same with him. Um, so we’re, you know, going to progress as forward and and be smart, but we’re going to give him every opportunity to to practice and then see how he feels and then ultimately um, in regards to his availability, we’ll make that decision as the week progresses. Kevin, how do you, uh, feel these days about the the third emergency quarterback destination and do you feel that continue to be useful to you this season? I think it’s I think it’s a really good thing we did, you know, as a league. And I think Max is the perfect example of uh the guy that, you know, although he’s maybe the third guy and can only play under certain circumstances, um he’s in the building yesterday uh with JJ and and they’re going through the game plans as they’re being kind of finalized and we’re presenting them with information that they can go then take on their own and and kind of get a head start before we can have them today. Um, and then knowing just a lot of the things that Max did throughout training camp with limited reps in case that’s why they call it the emergency if it was a situation like that. I can tell you right now I would have a lot of confidence that Max could go in and and do and do the things required to move the team. Um, and that’s why our quarterback room looks the way it does. That’s why Max clearly earned the right to to be a guy on our 53 we’re really excited about. How have you felt about Carson Wentz kind of just getting caught up to speed on the offense in the time he touched? Yeah, it’s been impressive. Just I knew how smart he was. I knew he, you know, there would be some kind of connect connection points for him with some of the places he’s been, specifically LA. Um, but then also just his year in Kansas City, uh, with with Pat and Coach Reed there. Um, he’s just been coached really well and he’s a smart guy. And then when you apply just learning new things, the beauty of it is like before when we’ve had guys uh come in um you know in a short amount of time, there’s a game plan. There is a certain amount of things we’re asking our guys to do. We want to have a menu. Uh we’ve got some things that are kind of you know quote unquote always in um in every phase of our offense. and and you make sure that he knows those things. And then just like everybody else, uh just with a little less, you know, kind of time on task, he’s learning the game plan as we go. And and I think that’s uh one of the things that made Carson so intriguing was the idea of he’s smart, he’s experienced, he’s played at a really high level in this league. Uh specifically, you’re thinking about Monday Night Football. Like he’s played uh in in Monday Night Football plenty of times and had some of his best games. you know, I I remember a couple against me uh when I was coaching in Washington, but um the thing about it is the comfort level that he gives everyone with his poise at which he’s able to learn and absorb the information. And then ultimately, it’s about figuring out the things as we do through the process every week with all the quarterbacks, even Max, you know, hey, what plays do you like? what plays uh do you maybe scratch your head out a little bit and and which ones do you want to feature if you were to go in the game and it’s it’s it my experience with it is it normally it’s a lot of those plays are the same plays then I get the red pen out and they they go to the graveyard to be back next week or in three weeks with a new name and a new formation that hopefully they don’t remember but that’s that’s the that’s the that’s the honest truth there what do you expect from Dallas Turner in 2025 Yeah, I think uh you know he’s been one of those guys that I know I’ve tried to talk about a lot throughout the offseason um not only with you guys but with our team even of um the the improvement, the comfort level, uh his natural physical ability is, you know, is is clearly easy to see every single day. Uh Jonathan Gennard and I talk about all the time just how physically talented he is. And now he’s got time in the system. He’s got really uh some great reps logged, you know, from last year where he can build on that into the offseason program, into training camp. Um he’s been a guy that time and time again has shown up. So, we really do feel very fortunate to have that three starter feel to that edge position with those three guys. Kevin, this will be the first game that you’ve coached without CJ Ham. I mean, what kind of adjustment is that on offense, special teams, and just throughout? Yeah, I mean it’s CJ’s been such a rock for our organization for so long, long before I was fortunate enough to be here. Um, the best thing about CJ in this time is if you’re not on the practice field, seeing the fact that he’s not practicing, you would never know uh that he’s not he’s not out there. Uh, how he is in meetings. I mean, even today, um, dur, you know, when we’re talking about plays and installing things, he’s, you know, voicing some things to the other running backs, to maybe the tight ends. Um, and then he is clearly a player that his teammates look to uh to give them confidence to solidify what we’re all about as an organization and and uh, you know, I can’t wait to get him back and he’s he’s on the road to coming back healthy 100% and helping us sooner rather than later. Kevin, if you look at the records of the teams that JJ has been on going back to high school, I mean, they’ve won almost all of their games. Um, I know it’s there’s a lot of things that always go into that, but what do you think it is about him that what part do you think he plays in that kind of extended success, whether it’s his personality traits or just the way he plays or the way he is or just happen to be on a lot of great teams? Yeah, I you know I I I would not discount the fact that a lot of the times when you know JJ, whatever team he’s been on, um tends to be a good version of himself on game day. And there’s a lot of guys that are talented. There’s a lot of guys that can um you know, light up the practice field every day, but the guys that can either take it to the game or maybe even be a better version of themselves in the game, you know, have those, you know, the gamer, whatever tag you want to put on it. I think he’s got that trait. Um I think it’s important he doesn’t just solely rely on that trait um showing up to Soldier Field. I think he’s going to he pairs that with the work that he puts in throughout the week so that he’s comfortable. And then, you know, it’s going to be, you know, it’s going to be his first start, you know, in the NFL. I’m very much aware of that. He’s aware of that. We’re all aware of that. Um and but that doesn’t mean we put a ceiling over him. And at the same time, that doesn’t mean because of all that success throughout his football journey, we raise the floor either. Um, it’s I want him focusing on the little details of doing his job against a really good defense. We’re going to make some plays, they’re going to make some plays, the es and flows of the game. Um, you know, it’s just, you know, on to the next snap and and and start banking some of this experience and and using it um for your benefit moving forward. Kevin, is is Terasaw 100%? Does he look like he was before the injury? Yeah, he looks I mean, you know, he looks really good. Um, he’s consistently I think he’s surprised even himself early on in training camp as we began that kind of really crafted plan by Tyler and the doctors and Christian himself. Um, you know, I think in the moment he is, you know, had some really really good progre progression days where uh we’ve been able to stack it up and we’re in game week now and he’s going to take a lot of reps today, uh, if not all of them. him and then we’ll see how he feels and we’ll see ultimately Christian’s such an important player to our team. Um that uh we want to make sure that that we’re smart about the plan but also you know I think he’s earned the right to uh by all the things he’s done Mark that you know we there there’s no reason to make the decision for any other reason than what’s best for CD and he’s going to be heavily involved in that. So evaluating like you said to Kevin’s question, it’s just a matter he’s getting more reps in practice and you have to be I think reps are f it’s more so just about knowing we’ve got 17 games um including a short week next week and and then ultimately you know our our trip overseas like there’s just a big there’s got to be a big picture mindset to um a player of Christian’s caliber where this game all that matters is this game to the Minnesota Vikings Monday night in Chicago but uh you know So, our jobs are to make sure we’re doing what’s best for the team um for the greater the greater, you know, duration of 17 plus games. And what that means for Monday night, I you know, I don’t know as of right now. I just know what my eyes have shown me, what Christians demonstrated, um have have given us uh through a really, you know, calculated plan uh a good possibility of Monday night. Is there anything you’ve gleaned from the rebuild of your interior offensive and defensive line that helps prepare for another team that did quite a bit of work on both those sides? Yeah, I think the one thing we’ve seen is we had a lot of really good work, competitive work against each other. And that’s not just in the competitive 11on 111s. That’s doing crossover work with each other. That’s uh you know working one-on-one pass rush every day. That’s working um the inside run drill. that’s, you know, seeing the physicality and the play style of those guys come to life while me emphasizing it to our whole team on a daily basis, uh, has been fun to to see guys that we really targeted for purposeful reasons. And and then the best part’s been just seeing it come together. Um, but we haven’t seen that whole group out there on either side uh yet. um you know this uh this uh this season even in the preseason um we saw it a little bit in the joint practices and and liked what we saw but this is going to be real football and I’m very much looking forward to it. Last one. What’s the sense you get on how eager Justin is to kind of get back rolling after missing so much time. Yeah, he’s had you know speaking specifically to the last few days and and week and a half or so. He’s had some great work and he’s he’s what what what I love the best about where he’s at right now is I think he really capitalized on that time. Um it wasn’t just in recovery mode and getting back to a certain baseline. He elevated uh that baseline by getting stronger by really focusing in on some of the things that would allow him to have a fast transition back and that’s what he’s done. Um, I don’t want to speak for him, but you know, conversations that him and I have had have been very positive about how he feels. And then also, it’s, you know, he’s one of our more experienced players in the system, you know, since we arrived here. And so much of it is, uh, you know, is about Justin and where he aligns and how that affects everybody else and and how it affects the other 11 on the other side as well. Um, which gives us, you know, confidence. We’ve, you know, week one a lot of times is about, you know, it’s a lot of times it’s fundamentals over scheme. It’s play style over scheme because of the unscouted looks. Specifically to Justin, every week feels to me whether we’ve scouted or not, um, which we tend to try to do, there’s unscouted looks and we know that, we’ve seen that and and we’ve experienced that. So, I think Justin at this point, you know, just feels great about being back out there with his teammates full and and running and moving and catching the way he’s been. It’s been really encouraging. Thanks everyone. Thank you. I think.

Minnesota Vikings Head Coach Kevin O’Connell addressed the media from TCO Performance Center on September 3 ahead of the Week 1 matchup against the Chicago Bears.

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