J.J. McCarthy on Preparing for Week 1 vs. Bears, First NFL Start, Being Voted a Team Captain & More

J.J. McCarthy on Preparing for Week 1 vs. Bears, First NFL Start, Being Voted a Team Captain & More

How we doing y’all? Uh, just want to say it’s always a blessing to be able to talk to you guys and extremely thrilled for game week. You know, I know Coach Johnson and Dennis Allen are going to have a great game plan for us. You know, they’re tremendous coaches, DA’s, you know, one of the best defensive minds in this league and, uh, it’s going to be, you know, a tough road environment versus a great divisional opponent and I can’t wait to go out there with the guys and be out there. So, it’s going to be a lot of fun. Open it up to any questions. Do you anticipate they’ll do do you got to be careful not to think too much? In other words, you start anticipating they’ll do this to try because they’ll try to show me something they’ve never seen before. Do do you try not to get too caught up in that and seeing ghost and just see what they’ve done? That’s a great question, Max. I feel like, you know, everything about the way coach Okonnell talks about playing the quarterback position is success in the simple. You know, just following your reads, doing your job in that each individ individual play and the rest will take care of itself. you know, you could get, you know, overthinking, you know, is it a two high shell? Are they going down to one high? But at the end of the day, if you stick to the reads and, you know, do your job, then it’ll be a good outcome for that play. What is your earliest memory of being at Soldier Field? Earliest memory was probably I don’t know how old I was, but it was my first game and I was coming out of the stadium and I feel like what are those called? programs. Yeah. Yeah. I someone was selling the programs and uh my dad was like, “Yeah, we got to get one. You know, it’s your first game.” And you know, that’s you know, the first first time I was there and I think it was against the Vikings and the Vikings won. So, you know, it was just really cool to be from there. But at the end of the day, it’s all about, you know, executing football plays and going out there and doing my job. How do you feel like you try to get your mind up just the moments before you take the field, especially a game like this? I just try to be completely present. You know, at the end of the day, there’s going to be, you know, anxiousness, excitement, and, you know, whole lot of adrenaline, but at the end of the day, that’s completely normal. And, you know, accepting those emotions. You know, you’re able to let go of them a lot quicker than trying to deflect them and avoid them. So, you know, I know I’m going to be amped up, but at the end of the day, I know that, you know, Coach McConnell is going to put me in a great position, and my teammates around me are going to, you know, do everything they can to make sure we’re successful each and every play. But yeah, it’s just stay present, stay calm, and centered. JJ, one more thing about going home. What was that support like in Lraange Park growing up? And what do you think it’ll be like on Monday night? The support was amazing. you know, just being from Lraange Park, it’s uh really special because, you know, there’s not too many guys that, you know, go to the league out of there and, you know, and really a lot of sports, but just being there and growing up there, I’m really thankful, you know, thankful for all the family, friends down the block, thankful for all the schoolmates and, you know, teachers and everyone who helped shape me to who I am. So, a lot of gratitude and uh grace, but ready to go. What was your reaction when uh you heard about Adam coming back? Absolutely thrilled. You know, just everything that that guy’s about. You know, he’s he’s a leader. He’s a technician. He works his absolute butt off. And, you know, at the end of the day, he’s probably one of the greatest guys I’ve ever been around. So, just adding that addition to our team is, you know, extremely invaluable and it does a lot for our room and our offense. What did it mean to you to be voted a captain? It it meant the world. You know, it’s a tremendous honor that just being on this team and you know, KO said it the other day, there’s been 27 guys that were voted captain and that’s a record for, you know, where coach Okonnell’s been. And you know, just because I have a C on my chest, you know, that doesn’t change anything. You know, just because you know, guys like CJ Ham don’t have a C on their chest, that doesn’t change anything. We have so many leaders that, you know, it’s an abundant of captains, but you can only choose eight. And you know, it’s means the absolute world cuz at Michigan I wasn’t allowed to be one. You know, high school co happened. You know, I was one at IMG, but I wasn’t one with my boys. And yeah, it’s it means a lot. JJ, what are you most uh proud of kind of over the last calendar year since you got injured? I would say I’m most proud of just the growth in this offense and really, you know, hearing a play, seeing it in my mind, and going out there and executing it. and you know, say we’re in a sticky situation, just making it right, not making a bad play worse. Um, but at the end of the day, you know, that comes with chemistry with the guys, chemistry with uh, coach O’Connell and I. And I feel like, you know, just where we’ve been growing, you know, we’re not even close to hitting our peak, but we’re in a really good spot right now. JJ, in camp, you and Aaron Jones connected a few different times. Just what does it mean to have a running back with the type of hands and ability to catch the football as Aaron does? He’s a special running back. you know, he could really be out there in slot and run routes and catch balls and, you know, make people miss, but he’s so intelligent. You know, it takes a lot for a running back to be out there and learn, you know, new formations, new route concepts, and he’s handled it so well, and it just speaks dividends to who he is as a person and how he is as a pro. With all the preparation that you’ve put in coming off the injury, going through camp, and now getting this first opportunity to start, how prepared do you feel? How much confidence do you have that you’ll be able to go out there and have some success on Monday night? Extremely prepared. You know, most prepared I’ve felt in my life. Uh, obviously we still got to get, you know, third down, red zone, all that stuff in, but I feel like, you know, just talking with, you know, Coach Wentz, uh, Carson, uh, just like he’s breaking down like, you know, when he was going through his first start and when he was playing at Soldier at night and just like, you know, first games, you never really know what you’re going to get. So, you could prepare as much as you want, but they could do a completely different thing. So, the most important thing is, like I said earlier, just staying, you know, locked into the simple things, locked into what my job is that play and then reacting to what the defense is giving me. But very prepared and very confident. Is it at all like Michigan in your first start? Do you remember that? And does it feel the same? It really doesn’t to be honest with you, Max. I feel like, you know, that was pretty intense. You know, this is very intense as well, but just playing so many big games at Michigan. And obviously it’s a different level here, but just having those reps of those emotions that you feel and how you handle them and how you manage them. Um, but this one there’s just pure excitement, pure confidence, and you know, I absolutely can’t wait to get on the plane with my boys and get out there, but at the end of the day, we got a lot of work to do before then. So, is there anything from last year watching last year’s QB room prepare for games that you’ve taken into your own game prep this year? For sure. you know, just the way, you know, Sam was able to balance the workload and the recovery mode. You know, I feel like that’s something I struggled with. It’s always been work, work, work. But, you know, Sam did a really good job of just aligning different things like his, you know, recovery routine in terms of his shoulder health, his hip health, um, you know, just not being in the building 24/7. Little things like that that I feel like pay dividends down the road because it is such a long season. And uh yeah, there were a lot of things that I picked up on my own, just you know, how am I going to compartmentalize all this information and chunk it into ways that I could go out there and you know, play free with a clear mind and you know, play fast. I’m sure that uh lots of people have offered different advice to you. Is there uh any advice that you have taken this week to heart maybe or that you’ve appreciated? I would say the best advice I received was just go be you. You know, at the end of the day, uh it’s just, you know, the confidence uh and belief in myself at the end of the day, that’s going to be what is most piv pivotal and uh profound for the outcome of my performance. And yeah, just the belief in myself and you know, belief in my abilities and yeah, the rest can take care of itself. Last couple for JJ. DJ, how much will you let yourself like enjoy the moment of it being 30 minutes from home or will you have to kind of just ex that out of your mind on Monday? I feel like home is in Minnesota. So, at the end of the day, you know, it’s just a business trip. We’re going to go down there, execute some football plays, and see what happens. What are you looking to uh accomplish with Justin now that he’s back fully practicing again? Just more reps. More reps, different routes. um just feeling different uh body languages from a safety or a nickel and you know just the more times I could throw that the guy the ball the better and you know I feel like coach Okonnell’s just had a great plan for you know just catching up with that but you know he’s the greatest receiver in the world so just being out there and you know putting up the ball in his vicinity makes it easy to have some good chemistry everybody appreciate you guys have a good

Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy addressed the media from TCO Performance Center on September 3 ahead of the Week 1 matchup against the Chicago Bears.

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