Kevin O’Connell on J.J. McCarthy Entering Concussion Protocol, Max Brosmer, Preparing for Seahawks

Kevin O’Connell on J.J. McCarthy Entering Concussion Protocol, Max Brosmer, Preparing for Seahawks

you know, looking back at the tape, uh, you know, was proud of the way our team competed in the first half. And that’s kind of how we saw the game going with with how we went into it schematically and kind of, um, you know, trying to play good defense, run the football and and see if we can make some plays in the pass game and and, uh, thought we’d come out and play a better second half and we didn’t. You know, our our uh, play declined and there were some catastrophic plays in there um, that I’ve got to get fixed. starts with me and and our coaching staff and we’re going to go uh we’re, you know, right back to work and and and try to solve some of those uh issues that have kind of kept us from winning um some games here and given us a chance to win um some games. But injury-wise, just wanted to touch on, you know, Christian Daraw, Donovan Jackson, and Matelis. Um, updated you guys as much as I could yesterday and and really, um, outside of coming in for treatment and early evaluations, don’t have an update at this time, but like I said, I will, um, as we get a little bit more clarity about what their availability looks like um, for the week. Try to get that to you guys as we as we push on this week. And then did want to update uh JJ McCarthy um you know over the course of our travel home. Um reported some kind of symptoms and uh in regards to you know his head and and uh we wanted to get back here once we you know kind of heard that he was evaluated last night. Um and after completing those tests our training staff and doctors and medical team um have decided that the right place for him is to put him into the protocol for now. Um and he’ll go through that process uh this week and uh didn’t uh you know didn’t have any uh you know any early updates other than that he’s in the protocol now. He’s been in meetings and and uh you know here today in the building and and we’ll update you guys as we go. Is there a hit that he took that you guys know what happened on Yeah. We uh you know obviously with the independent you know a couple independents and and the medical staff and everything there was not one particular um you know we’re you know looking looking into it as as I know we all will um it had to be late you know based upon kind of how the game went um but uh but no there wasn’t one where I think even JJ can can pinpoint as of right now. Kevin, I know you have to go through the week kind of figuring out how things go for JJ, but do you go in assuming Max Bromer gets ready to start? Yeah, I don’t think it’s I think it’s probably too early um to tell that Ben, you know, as far as, you know, with the quarterbacks not really taking contact in practice in the different phases of the the protocol. I think we got to just take it a day at a time and uh leave it to the medical professionals and the protocol that’s in place for a reason. we’re, you know, by the book all, you know, every step of the way on that. And and I’m a huge proponent of the protocol and the and the procedures in in place for the betterment of the most important thing, which is player health and safety. Until he comes out of the protocol, who would run out? Yeah, Max would Max would take those take those reps. But but like I said, Kevin, there’s um you know, with h how the practice week is going to go and Thanksgiving and things like that, um there’s a timeline there where um you know, I think first and foremost, we’ll make the decision. Um you know, through the eyes of the medical professionals and the not only our staff, but the independent folks um and it’s a medical thing first and foremost. And then I do think um you know then at that point you know once you know we see where we’re at in the week and what it’s looked like preparationwise then we um can make a football decision. But until then you know I look at look at it clearly as a medical decision. Is your week much different schedule-wise because of the holiday or uh we’ll just have a little bit shorter day on Thursday maybe a little longer day on Wednesday and Friday um to make sure we give time for the players to have Thanksgiving with their families in the afternoon. We you’ve talked in the past about the importance of full weeks for him just giving lack of reps. How much does that I mean how unfortunate is that that you know that’s something you guys are going to have to monitor. Yeah, it’s it’s it’s definitely not ideal. Um and and really you know there’s that phrase can be applied to several, you know, stops on the journey so far early on for him and and it’s unfortunate because all you want to do is go back to work and um I thought there was some progression, you know, early on in the game. um called it a little bit more conservatively, but wanted to run the football in the game, but we were able to hit a a few, you know, hit hit a pass to Jets and um you know, a couple things in the movement game just kind of pairing the running pass together and we were able to stay really efficient on some of those third downs um where I thought there were some real moments of some of the progression footwork-wise we’ve talked about and then, you know, you get into too many third and 10 plus third downs where um we just didn’t have enough plays. 44 total. Um, every single one of our P and 10s in the first three drives of the second half, quick game call on the first one, we take a sack and the next two are runs for negative runs. So, um, we didn’t do anything in any way, shape, or form to help ourselves even though, you know, we were trying to stay true to what the game plan was at that point. You know, the the big message at halftime was defense is going to get a stop and we’re gonna put a drive together and we’re going to get back to running the football and and maybe get some play pass and some ways of trying to generate some explosives to pair with some of the quicker game ball out kind of plays we were coming into the game with and and and obviously the the turnover there essentially between the turnover and the fourth and one where you know we just missed a single block on the play otherwise we probably convert there and and uh thought we needed some touchdowns to beat that team and and ended up being accurate in that assessment. Kevin, obviously you have to still wait for the process to play out, but if Max did have to start on Sunday, what is your confidence level with him? A ton of confidence in Max. all he’s done since he’s um been here is is show up every single day and respond and answer the bell. Whether it’s stepping in, you know, for some reps when when guys were dinged up previously uh this year with the first group or, you know, if you look at it from a standpoint of, uh, what his absorption of the offense was and throughout his first day here all the way through training camp, playing in some of those games, playing against the Titans first team unit, you know, in that preseason game defensively and moving the team and getting the ball out and and seeing things at a at a, you know, a veteran level type of eye progression. And I think, you know, we all have a lot of confidence in Max. Ideally, you’d love to, you know, have a, you know, a bunch of road, you know, runway for him to continue on his journey, but I know Max will prepare uh like crazy like he does every week. You know, he’s been a snap away here since Carson went on IR and and I know he feels uh very much prepared if if called upon and he’s going to go about the week as as he’s been doing, which is important for a guy that is one snap away as a young player. how many reps can we steal? You know, pre-practice, postpractice, he does all the little things um to try to get himself ready, you know, if he were to call be called upon. And uh that may be indeed this week. We don’t know yet. But uh we’ve got to prepare our team for sure. With the Seahawks, I know it’s early in the week from a prep standpoint, but what’s high level what has stood out to you with the way Sam’s played? Yeah, to me, you know, Sam has has uh continued on with a lot of the things he did last year for us. you know, they’re very explosive. Uh they’re he does a great job, you know, getting uh you know, getting the playmakers involved. I think Smith and Jigba is one of the best receivers in football and they’ve got some good tight ends and some good some between Cooper and um they make a trade for another, you know, skilled player at the deadline and uh you just feel, you know, some momentum of that offense and and uh you know, they’re able to move it as well as anybody in the league with Sam running the show. they’ve, you know, had, you know, really what’s gotten them, you know, at times has just been turnovers, but that’s any any team in football, but as explosive as they’ve been and the amount of points they’ve put up, uh they’re absolutely going to be a challenge. And then you look at their defense, I think Mike’s doing a phenomenal job with that defense. All the acquisitions that they’ve made, young uh veterans, um they’re flying around and it it it is going to be a challenge for us. We have to play good football. We have to play, you know, physical. we have to do a lot of the little things just a little bit more consistent and um you know we’re going to get another week to prepare and and and try to you know find different avenues to schematically to help our players as much as we can and and uh you know give our give our guys a good plan to go play aggressive and physical road environment. We were able to get a win there uh last year, but we know how difficult of a place that can be to go in and play. Kevin, as you look back through the sack yesterday, how much did you see those being an issue with protection up front versus the quarterback holding a ball? I mean, where did those kind of shake out in terms of where the responsibility came? Yeah, I think there was a couple where, you know, you know, in some good on good matchups, we just got beat um where I don’t think JJ had much of a chance. Um, and then as you look forward like later on in the game where we became a little bit moreed one-dimensional, you know, down a score, down two scores, down 17. Um, yeah, just some zoning coverage looks where I think we, you know, it’s a combination of, you know, are we using the help up front when we when we try to give those guys the help to maximize the chances of having a clean pocket to get a couple hitches off? And then for JJ, just the efficiency of understanding that, you know, even in a game like that, it’s still about completions. It’s still about putting the ball in play. It’s still about, you know, trying to find a way to continue to stack completions together and then the ops will come. Um, but, you know, I thought we had some chances and, you know, early on in the game there was a first and 10 play um where we end up kind of fumbling the exchange and getting tripped up a little bit where, you know, that that play had a chance to really express itself. And then even in the second half, you know, Justin’s on a double move. um you know on one of the very few chances he didn’t you know have a double team on him you know in their shell coverage stuff and and uh you know we we take a loss on the interior and end up taking a sack there. So, it was just kind of like, you know, it would just teeter totter back and forth and and all in all, it wasn’t good enough in any way, shape, or form. Does um with with Sam, does he have some advantages, do you think, in being familiar with your defense and vice versa? Might you have some insights on him, knowing him as well as you do and working with him so much? Yeah, I think I I think there’s going to be a little of that probably on both sides. you know, he obviously has a good amount of reps logged against our defense over the course of training camp last year and the offseason program. Um, and and we know Sam really well and and what I would say about knowing him really well, we know how talented he is, we know he can make every throw and if and if we’re not airtight in our coverages, uh, they’ll be explosive. And uh when they’ve been able to make those explosive plays, that offense, pair that with uh you know, the ability to, you know, almost marry the explosive pass with the run game in a lot of ways, a little bit reverse, but uh you know, I think Clint does a really good job putting together a scheme that that tests your edges and and challenges you and how you’re defending the run, and then they marry that to attack players roles in the defense with their run fits. and then they can play action and do some different things with the screen game to put guys in conflict where it becomes uh you know kind of pitch and catch to some really good players and and a and a trigger man that can make all the throws. So I think there’ll be some back and forth with that but at the same time there’s much much more to it than than just that. Your impression of the perception of the way the players in the locker room are handling quarterback who’s gone through the struggles that JJ has. Yeah, I think, you know, I think guys are, you know, behind him. I think they support him. I think they understand that, um, you, you know, you probably ask a lot of our guys, which I’m sure you do, and you get a lot of, you know, how can they be better and and they be at their best for the greater good of not only JJ, but our but our whole offense, defense, or special teams. Um, you know, that’s just the type of building we have here, the type of players we have, the type of leadership we get from our captains. But at the same time, you know, our our guys, you know, have an expectation to win as do I. We’ve, you know, won a lot of games around here, but, you know, these stretches, uh, where, you know, we’ve fallen on some some difficult circumstances in many cases, you know, playing good teams, but also doing a lot of things ourselves that, uh, I look at as my job to fix. And, and, uh, we’ve got to do that. we’ve got to play good football and give ourselves a chance to win these football games by not doing the things that lose uh games, whether that’s, you know, protecting the football. Um no matter what we’re going to try to do, we’re going to try to protect the football and and then we’re going to continue to press onward to see if we can generate um some turnovers, which were obviously a huge part of our team a year ago. And then in the kicking game phase, we’ve been better in the return phase with I think Miles deserves a ton of credit for that. We’re playing a lot of young guys uh on the special teams phase uh of our team and we’ve had really really bright shining moments and then we’ve had some critical critical plays um that that I know we’ve talked about um that are incredibly impactful and one-sore games at the time tight games when those things happen um just can’t happen with JJ just emotionally I mean he’s never really lost as much over the course of his playing life. Where is he in your mind just from an emotionally emotional standpoint handling what this has been? Yeah, he’s a competitive guy and wants to win. Um, but I think he also understands the big picture for for himself and how important, you know, every moment is right now for not only in the present but for time that’s been lost, you know, in some time on task side of things. And um I think it’s very important that we just continue to the principles of of of him playing the position the right way and the way that you know uh we all see him included as the best way for him to progress forward and upward in his journey. Um we just got to see it as consistently as possible. And then when there’s factors that are outside of his control, that’s that’s part of it as well. It’s not always going to be seen like that and and and we understand that. He understands that. But what am I doing? me being JJ of making sure I did take the right footwork. I did, you know, have my eyes in the right spots. I progressed, you know, trusting the progressions to be able to timely get the ball out of my hands and and just can continue to press forward. Pairing that with hopefully running the ball efficiently and and, you know, hopefully popping a couple explosive runs in there to to kind of make up for the fact that maybe we’re not having the type of volume in our pass offense to to generate the explosives that have kind of been a staple of our offense. But that’s okay. That’s how we play and how we schematically try to uh attack people is is what we think is best for for not only JJ but for our offense and our team at the time. And then it’s how do the other two phases play into that because when you’re going to play that style, it truly needs to be complimentary football. I know a lot of people throw that out as a term, but I think we’re experiencing right now, you know, when even in one or two play oneoff circumstances, how hard it can be um when you’re trying to play that style um to to find a way to win a football game. And um as the growth and progression continues and um we make a couple of those plays, we talked about the you know play in the first half or maybe a play in late in the game to to possibly um kind of break the seal of uh lack of plays in the passing game. You know, many times all you need is one, all you need is one or two. Uh flip the field, get some momentum, see if you can maybe keep uh staying in attack mode. And we just haven’t quite gotten to that. I know yesterday we never really felt like outside of cons sustaining a little bit on a few drives in the run game, um it never really felt like we we got the foot to the pedal like like you want to. Just to be super clear, did was JJ diagnosed with a concussion? Uh he is in the protocol. Um and that that results from him, you know, kind of reporting those things over the course of our our travel home and then getting back here and and uh you know, getting him through the the testing and evaluations. I believe uh that would be you know the case at least el eliciting some symptoms um that he reported you know and then was confirmed when we were able to get the full evaluation process the degree or the level of which uh I don’t want to get into the certainly you know the symptoms levels and all that stuff that’s that’s really not my job more so than just to defer to the medical folks and and uh now we’ll go through the steps and phases of it I you know I’m not ready to make any sort of um designation for the game or or anything like that. It’s, you know, we’ll we’ll let the process play out, but at the same time, I do think um it’s important for everybody to know like there is total transparency. I’m going to uh totally um you know, totally defer to the medical medical staff and the professionals on that one as well as JJ. Kevin, do you think you look at adding a quarterback this week for depth just to for no other reason practice? Yeah, I think you know we’ve got John on the on the practice squad with some elevations available. We’ll take a look at that. I know uh you know depending on where we’re at at some other spots, you know, hopefully, you know, getting a guy like JG back, you know, as he works through the week, we’ll see how he does. Uh but we’ll take a look at our practice squad, see where the depth is at other spots. There’s really not, you know, we’re going to want to get John as many reps as possible running the look team. Um that maybe Max would have been taking a big meat me a big chunk of those. um if Max is indeed taking the excuse me the reps with the first team offense. So um definitely something that we’ll discuss and I know Quy and his his group are are probably working through some of that right now. Thanks everyone. Thanks guys.

Minnesota Vikings Head Coach Kevin O’Connell addressed the media from TCO Performance Center after the team’s Week 12 loss to the Green Bay Packers.

#MinnesotaVikings #Vikings #NFL #MN #Football #Skol

Subscribe to the Minnesota Vikings YT Channel: https://goo.gl/VTGqAS
For more Vikings videos: https://goo.gl/f9Ppj3

For more Vikings action: http://www.vikings.com/
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/minnesotavikings
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Vikings
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vikings/
Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@vikings
Get the App: https://apple.co/2uPFQkP
Subscribe to our podcasts: https://apple.co/36BX1on