NFL Network’s Kurt Warner: What Game Tape Says about JJ McCarthy’s Struggles | The Rich Eisen Show

All right, let’s jump in uh on JJ McCarthy because there’s a full-on fullon happening in Minnesota right now and it does not look like he’s going to answer the bell because his bell was rung. There’s already conversation about it’s the same thing that happened with his ankle earlier that he just needs a break again. What are you seeing from JJ McCarthy on film, Kurt? Um yeah, you know, I I did actually a breakdown, so it’s on QB Confidential for people that want to go a little bit more in depth. Um and you know kind of talking about some of the issues. You know I mentioned it when we had a little conversation on game day morning um last week. And I think the first thing is that you know sometimes you just come across what I call natural throwers that it’s just it’s just natural for them to pick up a football and sling it. You know guys like Aaron Rogers and Patrick Mahomes. And then there’s other guys that aren’t necessarily natural throwers. You know that they’ve worked at it, they’re good at it, but they’re not natural throwers. And I believe that’s where it starts with JJ McCarthy. I don’t believe he’s a natural thrower, athletic type thrower. And so the first thing that you’re seeing is is a lot of inaccuracies when he throws the football. Coming out of Michigan, everything was a fast ball and it was either hit or miss. And that’s something that he has to work on. He’s got to get better at. So it starts there, I think, with the physical. And then what I talked about in in the piece is the is the mental side of things. And it’s it’s a fascinating thing because I don’t know um the background. I don’t know the full details, but you’ve heard me talk a lot about pure progression type systems. And pure progression type systems, again, for those that that aren’t familiar, is a play where coach basically designs a play and says, “It doesn’t matter what coverage you get. Doesn’t matter what you see. You’re going to read this the exact same way. One, two, three, four, five. That’s how you’re going to read it no matter what.” And when that happens, you because I’m a believer there’s sometimes when you come up and you can have a pure progression play, but I know without a doubt one and two aren’t going to be open against this coverage. Like I know it, you know, it’s just bad coverage for that concept. For me, I’m I’m wiping those things out and I’m going right to three, four, and five. Um, but in some systems, they don’t really allow you to do that. You know, three, four, and five have a certain timing. So, you do have to look at one and two or at least have to take that same amount of time before you can get to three and four. And so, I, you know, I I’m always talk about how I think pure progression can hurt quarterbacks more than it can help them. And so, what I’m seeing a lot of times on tape is I believe JJ’s hanging on routes way too long. So, by the time he gets back to these other routes, uh, he can’t see it. He doesn’t have a time to verify it or he’s late on those particular routes. And so my question becomes, is JJ slow at processing things? Is he, you know, taking too long to see and determine whether he wants number one or number two before he gets to number three? Or is the system dictating him to you got to see one, you got to see if one comes open, you got to hang here until it gets to the top of the the route before you can move on to the next one. And is that causing him to go through things slowly? And so that to me is the big question I have with what’s going on with Minnesota is is it JJ, is it the system? Is it a combination of both of them um that’s causing him to play slower than he needs to play? He has got to speed up the processing and get to places quicker. So um you know if he is wants to take a little bit more time to throw the football and and wants to be more accurate and wants to slow down his body or his arm, he has the ability to do that. But right now, uh, that is the biggest issue that I’m seeing is that the processing part of it or at least getting to where he needs to be is slow. Is it system related? Is it player related? That to me is a question that I’m going to continue to to look forward to um, you know, as he continues to play throughout the season and and in his career. Um, but I think it’s a valid point because I see a number of systems built that way where you can’t really speed up your process because these other guys aren’t quite ready in their route yet. And it causes a quarterback to play a little bit differently, play a little bit slower, um, you know, and miss things that, uh, you know, personally, if I was building an offense, I’d say, “Hey, if you don’t like this coverage, we’re getting off of that. We’re getting right back to this. I’m making it fast. I’m letting you play fast. get the ball out of your hands and be able to play a little bit more successfully. So, that to me in a nutshell um is what I’m looking at when when I see the Vikings play. Well, is that why he’s taken a lot of sacks or is it because the offensive line is just not as good as previous years and they would been banged up. They just had all five of them uh together for the first time. This time around, unfortunately, was against Micah and Green Bay. What about that part of this equation? Well, I mean, I would say it’s it’s still a combination. I mean, there’s times where the offensive line struggled, especially this past week, but yeah, I mean, the longer you take to process information, like if if you can get back there and read it and get the ball out on time, um that’s always going to help your offensive line. So, yes, I I do believe when he’s hanging on something too long on one side and then we’re asking him to come all the way back to the other side of the field and try to verify what’s going on coverage-wise back there before you can throw it. that all takes longer and taking longer obviously is going to put more pressure on the guys up front. So, I don’t think it’s one or the other. I I think there’s different times where uh you can point to the offensive line and other times you can point to holding the football too long as well. And so, again, to me, this game is played so fast that you have to speed it up any way possible. Um and that’s where pure progression or that’s where some young quarterbacks struggle. We saw Caleb Williams last year talked about it so much that that he held the ball too long and he was the most sacked quarterback in the NFL last year because he didn’t get through his process fast enough. Um, that to me is where JJ is right now for one reason or another and it has to get better. Hey, you made it all the way to the end. Thanks for that. Check us out every single day streaming live on Disney Plus and the ESPN app 12 to 3 Eastern.

Pro Football Hall of Famer/NFL Network analyst Kurt Warner tells Rich Eisen what the game tape says about the struggles of Minnesota Vikings QB JJ McCarthy.

Tune in to the Emmy-nominated Rich Eisen Show live weekdays from Noon to 3PM ET on Disney+, ESPN+, ESPN Radio, and streaming on SiriusXM channel 80.

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41 comments

  2. Vikings are awful.
    The coaching staff is not protecting JJ!Play calling is awful! Allow JJ to get the ball out of his hands!
    The line is awful!
    Can’t run the football.
    JJ was promoted to captain is ridiculous.
    JJ doesn’t show any toughness.
    The whole situation is bad!

  3. Rich keeps trying to use the offensive line as an excuse for JJ.

    JJ is just not good and was asked to not do a lot in college. Makes sense he would be slow at progressions and is behind

  4. Why did they take him so high, when his greatest attribute in college was handing off the ball?

    Then the dude makes himself even more pitiful by adapting some cornball alter ego. It's just not there. The ball gets snapped and this guy might as well be at the bottom of the ocean. ZERO awareness.

  5. My only counter argument about the progression system is that Darnold played in I'm assuming the same offense last year and went nuts. So to Kurt's point, it might be a processing issue because the only delta is the QB from last vs this year.

  9. Let's not forget the guy had a game in which his receivers were allergic to catches. And another one where the oline went for the false start at home record.

    I have seen him make absolutely elite throws in the basket and in tight windows. I have also seen him throw his receivers open.

    Then again he overcompensates for some of his mistakes when he forces throws or simply won't throw it away. He is 22, time will get him there, but geez, get him some help and give him time.

  10. KO has had the system for 3 years before McCarthy. & when we’ve had a competent QB, there’s been a lot of explosives & chunk plays, & the marriage between run & pass has been better. JJ can’t process at this level yet. & may never be able to in this system. I think Brosmer is going to play well this Sunday & take the job. Or I hope he does. Sorry, Rich

  12. I wonder, when JJ actually earned the starting position.
    It can't look completely different during practice.

    They should have let him sit behind a veteran, untill he's actually ready.
    Jordan Love sat for 3 years and when he finally started, he was ready and looked, like he belonged on the field.

  13. Very good info. We have a 22 year old playing under tremendous pressure that the franchise added to through their QB turnstile development approach. Also, did they really fix the O line and are they really Super Bowl ready and all they need was the QB? The GM said “building competitive” has anyone really looked under that hood?! The team strategy is not lining up with what they decided to do at the QB- IF they are Super Bowl ready how in the hell do you choose to go the route of a development position at QB?????!!!! Also, the maturity factor of JJ is in doubt- he is engaged I think, and they just had a baby! He is a 22 year old father- what does that have to do with the QB position- judgement! Ever since the investment tanked w/ Cousins somehow this team lost sight of their division and the 3 teams that pulled away in level of competitiveness. Really bad decisions by the GM and coach has assembled a unit that at best may hold for a year or two! JJ plays the rest of the year and the Vikings have a losing season. JJ won’t be where Caleb of the Bears is this season until maybe 2027!

  16. JJ is working with his private coach Greg Holcomb, his coach since 7th grade. JJ wants Holcomb hired on as an assistant for the Vikings and JJ aka Nine gets what he wants.

  17. I think its crazy that people are being so hard on JJ. He is a young kid who duznt have a lot of experience coming in to the NFL like Joe Burrow or Jayden Daniels did. Also he came from a program that was cheating and there were prolly lots of games where the OC knew what the defense was running so he was able to call the right play for JJ to have an easy read(even if JJ didnt know that the coaches were cheating and knew the defense) and after the cheating got shut down Michigan started running the ball even more than they did before so JJ wasnt getting nearly the amount of pass attempts as other prospects. I love Kurt but the "natural thrower" thing bothers me cuz they always look at qbs who are good and say they are a natural thrower and if they arent good they say they arent a natural thrower so what duz that even mean other than trying to find another way to analyze a qb that is kinda redundant.

  18. The Vikings oline has been a straight up disaster this szn. JJ has been bad but it’s not just him, there are so many things going wrong there. When he does hit a rcvr in the hands they are dropping them at a literally unbelievable rate, even Jefferson. The whole thing is a sh show.

  20. If the Vikings need a QB I live in MN, 6’4”, I can throw a ball exactly where I want it and can throw it 80 yards. Also can run. I know I’m better than JJ.

  21. You have a little more than 2 seconds to decide what you are going to do. It's that quick. It's the reason why I don't think Justin Fields has ever worked out anywhere he has been, just 3/4ths of a second too long and you need to scramble, which everyone is impressed with his ability to run, but, remember, it was a pass play that failed.

  27. Other then jis lousy play this 'nine' stuff isi nsane…is it his splot personality? Get him a shrink…is it his nickname he gave hjmself? Qbs who dont wjn don't get nkcknames…not good ones anyways 😂

  28. JJ has not had a chance to learn how to be an NFL QB. Harbaugh wasnt prepping him at Michigan and his injury last season prevented him from properly learning from Darnold. Its baffling they didn't go for a bridge QB so JJ could properly learn from him on the sidelines and in practice.

  33. KOC's system is top 10 in sacks every year since he started in minnesota in 2022. And cumulatively, it is top 10 in sacks taken since 2022. It's one of the most consistent traits of the offense, regardless of QB (8 different starters).

  41. KOC has made duds into studs several times but when one is still playing bad koc doesnt know how to coach? B.S. JJ is bad right now and was a major reach for a guy who wasnt asked to do much in college besides handing it off. People seem to forget that there were a reasonable number us calling out his miraculous post college predraft ascension. He never was good. This is a scouting problem. Not coaching one.

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