J.J. McCarthy’s Preparation, Quarterback Room & Bears Preview | X’s and O’s with Kevin O’Connell

J.J. McCarthy’s Preparation, Quarterback Room & Bears Preview | X’s and O’s with Kevin O’Connell

How how long have you guys worked on this Bears game? And uh by the way, it’s great to have you back. Good to see you again. It’s great to see you guys. Yeah, we uh you know, we had a really good training camp, you know, but we you know, we started transitioning um to uh this really good Bears team and and with what Ben’s got going on and and DA on the defensive side, we’ve we’ve tried to transition and get our work in, you know, methodically here basically since right before uh the Tennessee game. So, we’ve been we’ve been at it for a while. You want to make sure you don’t go in with a thousand plays. We want to have great execution and and uh excited for our guys. And this is X’s and O’s with Kevin Oonnell and I’m Paul Allen. Vikings and Bears shortly after 7:00 on a Monday night season opener, Monday Night Football, Vikings at Bears. Uh, now I it always fascinates me and whether it’s your your response or response that I hear when coaches are going against teams that have new coaches and I’m sure somebody talked about you coming from the Rams and McVey and middle zone and just a bunch of different things. But Ben Johnson, head coach of the Bears, Dennis Allen, defensive coordinator for for the Chicago Bears. What fascinates me is they’re going to be set in things they know are tried and true for them, but the personnel is different. So therefore, I it does it come to meshing like their will versus what’s best for the players. No, this is the scheme. We’re going to do it this way or putting the players in the best position to succeed. That’s all coming at you, ma’am. Yeah, and I think you know the important thing for week one and really the early part of the season is you’ve got to prepare your team. You you you have plans for um what you may see, but so much of it is you got to be ready for unscouted looks as well. I mean, nobody is really um especially, you know, new coaching staffs that that are are just starting fresh. Nobody’s showing uh their hand in any capacity in the preseason. And and rightly so. I mean, you want to you want to try to have any element of an advantage schematically you can have. And a lot of times in week one, there’s there’s things on all sides that players will have to react to and play fast. So what have you done uh to prepare those guys for the different answers that you may need regardless of what you are anticipating maybe getting and you try to work through it from there and and you make sure that ultimately u you’ve the things you’ve been practicing the things you’ve really worked on the principles of how you want to play uh maintain no matter you know schematically where you maybe have to go with the es and flows of the game on Monday night. What uh what are you liking about JJ McCarthy up to the season opener? Yeah, I think he had a a really good training camp where there was some um there were some real competitive moments where he, you know, he responded really well. The joint practice he had, you know, some some great work there and and really kind of the day overday uh seeing him grow in a in a really quick uh timeline there. And then I I just like the way he’s handled it from really the spring until now. But as we know, it’s going to be, you know, a big moment for him. We know that and we want to basically surround him uh with, you know, the best guys we can in the huddle. We feel like we’ve done that. Uh we feel like the other side of the ball is going to play good football defensively for us as well as in the kicking game. And then it’s just going to come down to uh a lot of really boring things that probably don’t uh you know, fill a lot of great time, you know, 9 to noon or in the pregame show, but are required. It’s going to come down to, you know, footwork and and and his comfort in doing the things that he’s done a lot now on the practice field and throughout uh this off seasonason really since we got going in in April and and how consistent can he be despite u you know it being Monday night football and and a road start. We know the place is going to be rocking there. They’re excited about their team and uh we’re excited about ours. So what what that means is we need we need to make it about execution. We need to make it about play style. We need to make it about the things that we talk about as a team. And that’s got to come to life. And if it doesn’t, then um you know, we’re going to, you know, we we didn’t do a very good job preparing the team. And I just believe that it’s a it’s the Minnesota Vikings versus the Chicago Bears. It’s one of 17 uh this season. It’s a divisional opponent on the road. They’re very important games. Um, obviously, but I think it’s it comes down to a lot of really uh minute details of of how comfortable all of our guys are, not just our quarterback going in executing that, playing fast, the physicality of it. Uh, and all the things that makes our game so great, you know, come to life on Monday night. How how how did you feel into your first game as head coach of the Minnesota Vikings? I mean, you’re at home. It’s the Green Bay Packers, so I mean, it’s a big game. They’re all big. But I’m just trying to figure out like how he’s going cuz because you can program and train and raise. But when he runs out there at Soldier Field for the first time and Montes is over here and this is, you know what I’m saying? He’ll be ready for it. But nevertheless, it I think I got to get you ready for it. It sounds like What do you mean? This the excitement level. If we didn’t have you buckled into that chair, I’m gonna be honest with you and I’ve said at 9 to noon before. I mean, I’ I’ve done this many years. This is the most excited I’ve been for a season opener since 2009 with Brett Favre and and it’s not like the last three with you. Yeah, I’m excited for all of them. This is so compelling with the kid at quarterback uh the the the guy coaching them and what everybody’s seen and said about him and and it’s on the road. It’s standalone. I’m ready to go for this thing right now, man. No, I I hear you. And you just go But how’d you feel into that game? Yeah, I I think you you can quiet a lot of nerves and and some of the things that you can control by your preparation. Uh when I look back on that, uh not only our team, but I felt really prepared for that moment. And then, you know, the first time our offense goes down and scores and I want to jump and look at the surface tablet like I have done for my whole career and I’m not watching the defense and somebody’s screaming challenge the play and I haven’t even seen it. I realized no matter how much I prepared, you’re then going to uh react in the moment and and and strive to be the best version of yourself that day that you can become. Um I think a big thing is I I’m very much excited to see our team play. I’m very much excited to see JJ uh take the field and and play. But at the same time, um, you know, I have to have a little bit bigger, uh, picture mentality towards things and maybe just the lead in and then, uh, you know, uh, the es and flows of the game. We’ve got to be prepared for that. And we’ve got to coach our way through the football game against what, uh, I believe is going to be a really good team. Uh, really, you know, I I’ve got all the respect in the world for Ben, uh, for DA, just for how they’ve, uh, you know, how they’ve built that thing up from the from the top down. And, and, uh, we’re going to need to play good football to win the game. And we know that and that’s going to be the case. We play in the hardest division in football. Uh there’s no questioning that. I don’t I don’t really believe so. Every time you play a divisional game in the NFC North, you’re going to have to play well. You’re going to have to do uh simple principles of winning football to give yourself the best chance to win. Uh how frequently are McCarthy, Wentz, and Brosmer peppering you for information given there’s just so much new to your quarterback’s room? Yeah, I think uh those guys have it’s been really cool to see that group come together. Uh Carson’s been awesome since we since we brought him in here. And uh Max obviously everybody saw Max, you know, take a good amount of reps in in the preseason games, but it’s been what he’s done every single day u really uh to to not only solidify uh his current role, but just we think Max has a really bright future and and then obviously JJ I already said had a a really good camp and the way those three guys have come together with Josh and Jordan in the room. Um, and now it’s about routine, you know, now it’s about the routine, both the time we have with them, what are they doing on their own time as they digest uh the game plan officially here as we as we’ve kind of already gotten into it uh this week. Um, you know, what are they doing to make sure they’re doing everything in their control to be totally prepared? And it starts obviously with JJ, but Carson and and Max being ready to go as well. and and with Brosmer and the and and the reason I bring him up is it’s so infrequent that college free agent quarterbacks make a final 53. I mean, it’s college free agents will always make teams. Quarterbacks, that’s not generally the case. Yeah. But with with Bromer and his stark improvement ever since he got here and he was good at for for PJ, but the the the practices are now designed to beat the next in line. So, how does Max improve during the season? Yeah, I think uh you know people have to understand there wasn’t when you’re trying to get as many reps for JJ as you can and we were you know trying to give you know both uh Sam and Brett you know opportunities as well there there just weren’t a lot of physical real reps early on especially uh in camp going back to the offseason program. So what you’re seeing is a guy that is taking some of the traits that you look for beyond before you’ve ever seen him step foot on the field in those preseason games and run the show. So, you’re seeing uh traits that that correlate, meaning he’s not taking the rep, but you can see him um you know, either physically taking the rep from behind the drill and taking the footwork and you see him going through progressions. And then you get in the meeting room and you hear unbelievable questions and uh just overall awareness to uh this isn’t just another undrafted free agent rookie just trying to kind of survive his way to the practice squad. It it did not feel like that from day one. And then I think you know Gopher fans can probably attest to this as well, but it’s the presence that he had in the actual football games uh in many cases with uh guys that also didn’t get a lot of reps and and his uh factor that ultimately was always on display in those games was he had a make it right factor to him which is some people call it figure it outness, some people call it make it right. He found a way to move the team. He found a way in some very difficult circum circumstances sometimes to make a throw the throw the only one required on that play which you know wasn’t always uh you know 95 mph fast ball right down the middle at some he had to change the way he threw the ball he had to anticipate he had to do things that you’re checking a lot of boxes even though uh I know our fans have been anticipating Monday Night Football against the Bears but uh hopefully we didn’t overlook some of the things and performances that not only Max, but a lot of the young players that ended up making our team. Uh, lastly, with the quarterbacks for Kevin Okonnell, coach of the Vikings on X’s and nos’s with Wentz, uh, you you won’t you I’m sure you know this, but I you won’t find a better person to add to the culture covenant. Uh, but what’s the process of getting him up to speed in a very short amount of time? Yeah, I think uh, the good thing is he’s he’s got some exposure to some of the the base core things we do. He spent a year uh in LA with Shawn and and there’s enough carryover there where you can kind of work backwards from um you kind of you you kind of ask him a little bit to uh bring some principles because I think Andy Reid’s one of the best in football at what he does not only as a play caller but just overall coaching offense in the quarterback position. You don’t want him to, hey, those principles that you’re coming off of, uh, you know, in a quarterback room with Patrick Mahomes and and that type of uh, organization. You want to make sure that, you know, you can allow him to apply some of those things. This guy had some unbelievable performances early on in his career. He was, you know, third in the MVP voting at one point for a reason. He’s big, he’s strong, he can see, um, and he’s very smart. And I’ve been really pleased with how he’s thrown the football. you know, there’s going to be some things. Maybe it’s not exactly footwork fundamentals and uh that uh you would coach over a long period of time like you would with maybe JJ or Max, but at the same time, what’s it like uh getting to the the position at the top of the drop regardless of uh maybe how he gets there? Can we get him playing with great base, you know, great balance to his uh his fundamentals regardless? and and then on top of that, the guy was, you know, a first round pick, top five pick for a reason. He’s got physical ability both on schedule and off schedule, uh, that we’ve already kind of seen come to life in practice. So then it’s about as we get closer to the game and we’ve had more time uh than say we did with Josh Dobs, you know, pre-atlanta in 2023, we’ve got some time now to really allow Carson to absorb the information, see where he’s at, and then he might not necessarily go in with the same menu of plays uh that we have for our, you know, for JJ or or that first group of guys, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s not far off with with his capacity and his ability to uh come in here and apply all of his experiences into being a guy that’s one snap away. We feel really good about to the Minnesota Vikings defense uh with Kevin Oonnell. And uh let’s begin that with our weekly talkback for the head coach. It’s a talkback Tuesday. He’s Kevin Okonnell and I believe this man’s name is Jimmy. And here they are. Hey coach, this here is Jimmy. Question for you. How how involved do you get on the defensive side and how involved does our illustrious defensive coordinator get involved on the offensive side? Do you guys have a pretty good collaborative relationship there? I’m just curious on how it works internally. Thank you. Thank you, Jimmy. God bless. Yeah. Thank you, Jimmy. Bless you. Um it’s a great question. Um it’s been probably um outside of seeing our defense play at a really high level, one of the best things uh that happens each and every week is Flo and I spend um a good amount of time together. just overall uh you know he’s not only a former head coach but you know we both come from the same um initial kind of farming grounds of of Foxboro where you learned a lot from uh coach Bellich on the things that it’s going to be required what’s it going to take to win the game what are the things that we need to make sure we emphasize as a team and then how those puzzle pieces fit even though the offense is never on the same on the field at the same time as the defense there is such thing as a complimentary nature to everything you want your team doing. How are they going to play? How are my decisions going to be tied on fourth down or uh you know how valuable are points versus uh you know field goals versus touchdowns and and what type of plays are we going to do uh to limit exposure maybe you know have the risk for uh some negative plays but the the reward of explosive plays uh might be out there. You’re always balancing that. And then how does that tie in with what Flo’s plans are? We spend, you know, we’ll spend a good amount of time later today where uh you know, his game plan at least initially here is is uh you know, has been brought to life and and and I’ll talk a little bit about the offensive side. There could be some questions. Some of the best plays we’ve had on offense, the the final touch is, “Hey, Flo, what do you think on this? Here’s what I’m trying to do. What kind of a response do you think that’s going to elicit from this hook player? Or maybe uh maybe it’s a a formational thing of of how they would treat it. Uh whether there’s a similarity to our defense to somebody else or not, there’s just good principles of defensive football that I know uh Flo is going to bring another layer of information to me. And and we do the same thing on offense. There’s quite a few systems around the league uh really including the one we’ll play Monday night that have some uh foundational kind of pieces that uh there’s some similar aspects of it because you know I obviously was with Jared Goff in LA. I think Ben and Jared did some unbelievable things together in Detroit, but a lot of that was a collaboration between those guys to build, right, what Jared was comfortable with and and dipping, you know, dipping into his background and and a lot of that is kind of fast forward now to obviously really really great years for Ben in Detroit. Now he’s running his own show there in Chicago. So, I think there’s some things that you can kind of uh look at. Now, Flo obviously has experience uh going up against Ben as the offensive play caller here. So, he’s got a lot to, you know, carry over from previous wins, losses, you know, the ability to understand what worked, what didn’t, and and what’s the next layer. I think what makes great coaches in this league, um, regardless of offense, defense, or even in the kicking game, is what are the layers to how you play? And some people call them wrinkles, some people, whatever you want to call them. Uh but you’re just applying uh minute tiny little things, change of technique, fundamentals, alignments, assignments, uh that, you know, we like to call it easy for us, hard for them. Um make it seem uh to be things that are are massive things that need to be talked about by the opposing side and have answers for, but yet our guys can seamlessly do it and play as fast as possible. Uh defensive tackle, defensive lineman Jonathan Allen. Um, how is he expected to help? And what are you liking about your Dline depth? Yeah, I think it’s it’s JA and and it’s Hargrave. Um, those guys have brought a level of playmaking to the interior where it’s not just uh it’s not just the assignment, you know, it’s one of them is going to find their way into uh some one-on-one matchups, you know, both in the run and pass game. some one of them is going to find their way maybe working together in the interior of you know some some different stunts and games that you can do uh all while knowing we’ve got those edge players ripping off the edge where we feel like obviously JG Gink and and Dallas have all been phenomenal. I mean all three of those guys I know Gink, you know, working his way back here. He’s doing really well and and and we’re in a situation where we really feel like we’ve got three starters on the outside. We feel like we’ve got depth players behind those guys. And then the same goes for that uh interior of the D line with versatility and youth behind two really impactful players that we felt very strongly about adding to our team. And those guys have brought all of that and more. I’m excited to see those guys get to truly turn it loose um and go play and try to change the game because I think we’re going to be different defensively purely on what some of this personnel up front uh can can bring to the table in regards to just good oldfashioned, you know, physicality and playing the game a certain way. What um uh what what are Jeff Okuda? Uh what what are some keys to him having success for you as an outside corner? because you’re like defensively I think people are going to understand inside it’s just not I think alignment or assignment uh focused or whatever they’re you know whatever leads to that but with Okuda he’s so strong at the line of line of scrimmage that that’s where it starts with him right yeah I mean you know Jeff has uh he’s done a really nice job uh throughout training camp and really solidifying what we believe his role is going to be for us but it also goes back to uh what many envisioned for him coming out of Ohio State was this guy is big. He’s strong. He’s got elite athletic traits of of being able to kind of tie it all together. It’s just consistency and it’s just trusting in the confidence level we have in him. He has in himself and and and how many snaps can you go out and allow your the best parts of your game to help you play consistent and and rely on those things. And certainly uh the physicality at which he plays with PA at the line of scrimmage, disrupting the timing and rhythm of not only the guy he’s defending, but how that player then fits into the concept for uh these good offenses that are truly reading full field and have five potential eligibles. And then I think he’s uh got some physicality traits in the run game as a tackler and a guy that’s willing to, you know, add to your one of 11 from a play style and physicality standpoint as a tackler and going at the football and and and creating more opportunities for our defense to pick up right where they left off, which is forcing turnovers and causing havoc uh as much as possible for the opposing side. And and Kevin’s defense sacked Caleb Williams five times last year. He quarterback for the Bears. He was sacked a league high 68 times last year. Um, are you expecting more of a quick game from them maybe starting Monday? Well, I I just think you’re going to you’re going to see good principles of offense regardless. I think you’re going to see some um yeah, definitely some plays where the ball’s coming out trying to get the ball in the hands of their playmakers. They’ve got some really good players really across their entire offensive unit, backfield, tight end, receiver clearly. and and I think it’s going to be how many times um can they put the ball in play and and find positive success and give their guys a chance to make some yards after catch. And then there’s going to be uh as you know any really good offense that wants to run the ball and then obviously the play action game is going to be critical for them. And uh you know obviously Caleb’s a very very talented player. He can make every throw. uh he clearly can play on schedule, he can play off schedule, but what are the things that you can do um to try to either have your your matchups be what they want across the board, uh to allow that kind of rush and coverage to work together to make him uncomfortable in the pocket and then as we learned, you know, many times last year, he is dangerous as any player in our league when he gets out on the perimeter as a run pass threat. He keeps his eyes up and he can touch every blade of grass on the run, moving deep, short, you know, really you you have to defend through the duration of the down regardless of uh you might have had the perfect call on, you might have had a free runner, you might have had uh everybody locked down in coverage, but how do we tie it all together to li, you know, really try to limit? You’re never going to eliminate all of those plays, but can you limit them uh so that that can’t be the driving force why they’re able to move the ball consistently? How much um how deeply are you sweating your injuries up to the season opener? Is it like a week-long sweat or you think things will get squared away? No, I think our guys are all everybody’s got their individual um situations and everybody’s doing you know the best they can to make it back and we’ll get our team prepared. Uh we feel like we have a very deep team. Um you know across the board with the guy the performances that we’ve seen um not only with the reason why certain players are here but also how they fit within our schemes um to to allow us to know we can anticipate and have confidence with how we’re going to coach the team and the execution we’re going to get from that. And and lastly, I promise, how how much does the actual surface at a place like Soldier Field? Like h how much Well, it matters when you get out there and you might step on it and be like, “Oh, gez, you know, um equipment is going to have to figure out what studs to use, blah blah blah.” But I seem to be the only one that’s a little wrapped up in this right now. And granted, we’re six days in front of the game. They had five consecutive concerts at Soldier Field. Last one last night. Oasis had 50 to 60,000 people there. Every blade of grass, as you would say, has been trampled. So WGN reports they’re replacing their sod in Well, does that mean the whole field, patches of the field? Because I mean, seriously, it there could be seams it like how much do you pay attention to that? Yeah. I mean, this is professional football, so our anticipation is the, you know, the surface is going to be Got it. I’m the only one. It’s going to be good enough to play on. I would say this, at some point, um, you know, the guys in in purple and white aren’t going to be the only ones playing on the surface. So, we’ve got to do our best to establish, uh, through a lot of different people once we arrive, once we’ve had a chance to step foot. Got to have our players prepared um to to play on whatever surface is. And truly, Monday Night Football, NFC North, if they want to clear out some space in the parking lot, we can play out there, too. I mean at this point I would say that is not incredibly high on a priority list but Roma this Bermuda grass that right but I would say it’s it’s clearly you know we’ve we’ve seen you know maybe at a at a at another uh location here in the NFC North that happens to have grass in a in a unique climate. Um we’ve seen that surface play a major role before. So uh we want to make sure that uh we’re doing our part to prepare our players. It’s something I will talk about with the guys. We’ll have the equipment available and we’ll go play football. So, Lundine, Peterson, or Martin are not flying out Friday, sneaking in, grabbing a chunk, coming back before you leave Sunday. Knowing those guys, they might have been at Oasis. So, maybe they got a head start here. You’re awesome, man. God bless you. Good seeing you. Thank you. Great seeing you. Kevin Oonnell, head coach of the Minnesota Vikings. That’s weekly X’s and O’s 9 to noon. back after this.

Minnesota Vikings Head Coach Kevin O’Connell joined Paul Allen to talk about a variety of topics, including previewing the Week 1 matchup against the Chicago Bears.

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