ESPN NFL LIVE | Dan Orlovsky STUNNED, Minnesota Vikings Have Looked BETTER With Carson Wentz

ESPN NFL LIVE | Dan Orlovsky STUNNED, Minnesota Vikings Have Looked BETTER With Carson Wentz

In Minnesota, Carson Wentz was banged up in the win over the Browns and has a sore left shoulder. According to coach Kevin Okonnell, he left the game and came back into the game. Okonnell also said that JJ McCarthy, who has a high ankle sprain, will return to practice this week. So, let’s talk about the Vikings offense. Marcus, how should they approach JJ McCarthy’s return from injury? Boogie, I look I, you know, we talk a lot on this show and we break down a lot of football. I just don’t see how you can go away from Carson Wentz with the success that you’ve had. And I know he had the two interception game, but he show used his legs in this last game against Cleveland. Cleveland defense is really good. And for this team to be able to pull a win out, I think was significant, especially with Carson Wentz being that QB. We saw the day that Justin Jefferson had as well. And look, I know that they drafted JJ McCarthy to be the future of this football team. But I also don’t believe you can watch and think that you have a better opportunity to win with Carson Wentz and just throw caution to the win and put JJ McCarthy back in if he’s not ready. Remember these performances after the Chicago game by JJ McCarthy were not good. This he did not look good. He did not look ready as the quarter as to be the starting quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings. I think Kevin O’Connell and this staff has much more to think about than just they took JJ McCarthy in the first round and we reinsert him once he’s ready to go based on what they’ve seen from Carson Wentz. Yeah, it’s a difficult decision and I’m shocked to say that after three or four weeks. It’s really the what do you want versus what do you want right now because you obviously want JJ McCarthy if you’re in Minnesota to be the future, but Carson Wentz played pretty good football and there’s a difference with how they’ve played. Like I think the fundamental question, can you can you play faster than you did? Because that was the big thing for JJ was he just was playing slow. And just look at like the the metrics. Carson Wentz plays significantly faster on early downs. He plays relatively faster on third down. He plays significantly faster in their play action game. In the drop back game under center, two seconds faster. And so my thing with um JJ in this situation is like does Minnesota think that those numbers will have been sped up when he’s been rehabbing? You know, it’s not like they gave him a break for three or four weeks. He’s been rehabbing an ankle injury. Did he get did he speed up his pace of play while rehabbing an ankle injury? That’s the question. I think they have to figure out, can he speed up his pace of play through playing or is it something that he’s needing that they feel like he has to work out on his own? And he, this is a young man who spent an entire year not playing. So, I think he has to play. I think he has to play because you’re not going to give him enough reps. And I would do it for two reasons. One, developmentally, it would be helpful. Actually, three reasons. Two, you have a coach with absolute job security and Kevin O’Connell. This is not like that we got to win now. Obviously, this is a contender of a team if they get decent quarterback play, but I don’t think there’s that pressure on him. Uh, and then the third thing is I think when he returns to play, the situation is going to be better than what we saw in those two weeks when he did struggle. I think having Addison back, I I was thinking about this watching the Browns is massive. The Brownsuge once, you know, he didn’t play the first quarter. I think he was benched. Once he was on the field with him and Jefferson, you saw them playing way more covered, too. I think that’s going to open up things for the run game. You’re getting Donovan Jackson back on the interior. We’ll see when Brian O’Neal comes back. Regardless of who’s playing quarterback, I think this is a football team that has to run the ball and run the ball better than they did in the early part of the season. And I think that’s going to happen. To me, it provides a better infrastructure for J.J. McCarthy once he does return. Here’s the reality. Carson Wentz is just ready to play and ready to win right now and can be more resilient in any of the other variations and situations that a football team can unfold. Whether you’re missing this lineman, missing that lineman, this receivers’s playing this not, whatever it may be, can’t get the run game, can get the run game going. Carson Wentz is going to be infinitely more resilient. And of course, he’s playing at a faster pace because he is a seasoned veteran. JJ McCarthy is figuring all this stuff out now. And when we say, “Oh, well, there’s no pressure on Kevin Oonnell and stuff like that because of job security. Okay, guys. The pressure is on from the team itself. You owe it to the locker room. You owe it to the roster. You owe it to the coaching staff. It’s not Your job security isn’t always just about are you going to get f is the owner going to fire you?” Justin Jefferson is not here to develop a quarterback. He’s here to win. He’s here to win. And every day that you see Sam Darnold absolutely balling, yeah, the temperature gets turned up even more. And so this is the way the NFL works. And yes, in the long term, you want JJ McCarthy to be the guy. No question about it. And like Orlovski said, it’s very much kind of like a short-term versus long-term thing, and you have to kind of figure that out. This team can win right now. That’s always been the problem with entering a young rookie/for firstear starter quarterback because it’s just like we don’t got time to go through the growing pains. We can win now. And when the roster knows we can win now, they want to win now. They want to win now. And so, you know, Carson and McCarthy played under similar circumstances and Carson Wentz played better, which makes sense. He is a seasoned veteran. He made some special throws. And JJ McCarthy can be that guy, but can he be it right now? And it is it is a massive decision and a massive risk to try to figure it out with JJ right now. It just it just is. I’m not saying that they shouldn’t do it. Let me be very clear. I’m not saying that they shouldn’t do it, but I’m telling you, you’re looking at this team, you’re looking at the Jeffersons of the team and whatnot, and you’re like, man, this decision needs to be the right decision. There is no margin of error. There is no margin of error here. And it’s just it’s just not easy. It’s it’s just not. You also have to remember that Carson Wentz will continue to get better as well, just like Sam Darnold continue to get better. Now, can JJ McCarthy continue to get better? And can you afford to potentially lose some games during that process? You know, I don’t know. Before we get any deeper into it, uh Minnesota Vikings fans, want to thank you guys so much. It’s like you and a couple other teams have absolutely risen to the occasion of watching the full length of the videos, subscribing, literally added thousands of Minnesota Vikings fans. Literally added thousands of subscribers for Minnesota Vikings fans. It’s been absolutely amazing. Uh when you guys do that as the graph that I always keep showing you, like it just it just goes like this. When you watch the full length of video, when you guys subscribe, it creates this avalanche effect of being able to just build build so we can firmly root ourselves in the sports talk world so we can create the best possible Minnesota Vikings content. A place for us to all share our voice to have real actual grounded conversations. So, all I can say is thank you so much and please keep going so we can so we can just keep going. Um, but back to Carson Wentz and JJ McCarthy. It’s a tough situation. Anyone who wants to pretend like it’s not then you’re just you’re just not paying close enough attention because it is. It’s a tough one. And I’m telling you, you’re you’re not thinking about your job security like, “Can I get fire?” you’re thinking about the team and and and and that’s really what um you know he was talking about before where he’s just like it’s just you know a quarterback who’s being successful. It’s one thing if Carson Wentz was just some random backup but he’s not. He was also a top pick in the NFL in the draft. He he he was also had tremendous success in the NFL. He was also a hall uh excuse me, an MVP front runner until he got injured. Make no mistake about it, Carson Wentz has had a lot of success in the NFL. A lot of he’s gotten injured, he’s got banged up, he’s been to bad teams. But anytime he has a legitimate team around him with a legitimate coach, he has succeeded. So, this is not just some random guy where you’re like, “Oh, okay. Do is looking pretty good right now.” Like, that’s not the case. In fact, Carson Wentz had way more success than Sam Darnold ever did in the NFL prior to getting to uh Minnesota. Just a fact. Now, the biggest problem with Carson is that he’s 32. And that’s what I keep saying in all my Minnesota Vikings videos. Like, he is showing he is a 32-y old. You see it. He is not a young, you know, 27year-old who’s just like ready to get after it. like he he is an older quarterback, but you obviously can win a lot of games with him. And he obviously knows how to get the ball to the receivers. He knows how to get the ball to Justin Jefferson. And he’s getting the ball out quick. Okay. With JJ McCarthy, four catches on seven targets, 44 yards. Okay. Three catches on six targets, 81 yards with Carson Wentz. Five catches. Immediately more catches. Immediately more catches. 75 yards against the Steelers. 10 catches on 11 targets. 10 for 11,26 yards. And then against the Browns, seven catches on 11 targets, 123 yards. The production instantly instantly better. If you don’t think that matters again, then we’re I’m telling you, you got to hit the reset button. That’s Justin Jefferson, okay? That’s that he’s he’s pretty important to your team. And when you have a quarterback who can reliably get him the ball, feed him the ball in really big important moments, you have a quarterback that’s doing that, that means something. And you can tell Carson Wentz is focus. He’s like, I’m getting Jefferson. I am getting Justin Jefferson the ball. I know what to do in this situation. I am getting this man the ball. I am targeting him again and again and again. He had back-to-back games with 11 targets. 10 catches. I mean, he immediately in all three games that Carson has played with Justin Jefferson, he’s had more catches and more targets in every single game. Every single game. And every single game would have been more yards. One, if they had to throw the ball more uh against the Bengals and if he didn’t have that one 50 yard play um against the Falcons, which was obviously a not a good game. So, this this is real. This is definitely real. Um, and again, it’s not to say that that JJ McCarthy won’t improve, won’t get better, won’t succeed, but if you have some games where there’s a feeling of like, ah, we’re not quite there yet, and then Justin Jefferson’s not getting the ball and Addison and whatever it may be. I’m I’m I’m telling you, man, people get antsy. No one I I I I get it. on one side the organization’s like we want to develop JJ but the roster it’s like you know I’m sure they’ve even had conversations with Justin Jefferson where they’re like hey you know we got a young quarterback here we’re moving on from Sam you know like this is not you know it’s it’s it’s not going to be just an easy flawless trans transition he’s going to be a rookie he’s going to make mistakes I promise you Kevin Oonnell had conversations like that and as the receiving coaches and whatnot they’re like listen this isn’t this isn’t going to be perfect we’re going to have some issues you know and I we’re going to need you to support him. We’re going to need you to be there for him. We’re going to need you to talk him up. Like, you know, you’re crucial part of JJ’s development. You’re crucial part of this. They’ve had those conversations. And he’s like, “Yeah, yeah. I’m going to be a great soldier.” And he is, and he has been, and the things that he’s been saying, but once the season starts going, once the reps are real, once the stakes matter, once you’re in front of the crowd, once you’re having some success, man, you’re just like, I just want success, man. I I just want to win. I want to play great. I want to get after it by week five, six, seven, eight. Like, you’re Justin Jeff’s not like, I’m just here to help a young quarterback out. He’s like, I’m I’m here to play, man. That’s why you actually paid me the money. I I’m here to win. I’m here to ball. I’m here to get after it. I’m not here for anything else but that. And you know it. I’m not some 31, 32y old wide receiver who’s just like happy to be here right now trying to hang on. I am in my prime. I am a monster. I’m a beast. I’m one of the best wide receivers to do it. Get me a quarterback who can get me the ball. That’s what we’re here for. That’s what we’re here for and the whole team knows it. And so that’s why it’s like JJ McCarthy does not have some room to kind of struggle or to wiggle that say maybe a Drake May had with the New England Patriots, a Boone Knicks had with the Denver Broncos, A Caleb Williams had with the Chicago Bears. JJ McCarthy just does not have that luxury. And it’s unfortunate for him, but it’s also fortunate for him because it’s because he has a great team and a great coaching staff already around him. And you saw what this team could do already with a quarterback in Sam Darnold, which I hope Minnesota Vikings fans now can see. Hey, Sam Darnold is is a great quarterback. He’s playing awesome. He’s playing awesome. So, you know, it’s it’s it’s a tough one, man. It is a tough one. And Orloski was incredibly high on JJ. He was convinced they are going to be right back where they were last year, the Minnesota Vikings. He’s like, I think they’re going to be top in the NFL, etc., etc., etc. And now he’s like, I’m shocked to say this. This is a much harder decision than I would have guessed. And I think, you know, I I I don’t think Orlovski relies on on the hot takes or the or the big grand language. So, I would I would take him at his word there that he’s very much like, “Yeah, man. This is a lot harder of a decision than I than I really ever thought it was going to be.” And it’s just like, “Ah, I don’t know what you do here right now.” It’s a tough situation. It is a genuinely tough situation. So, I’m excited to see how it unfolds and see what it looks like. Um, the problem is this is definitely also shaping up to be a damned if you do, damned if you don’t. Carson went throws an interception and it’s like, “Ah, get him out of here.” You know, you lose a game. Oh, we need JJ. and you put JJ in and JJ throws an interception, takes a sack, fumble, you know, whatever it is. Ah, JJ’s not good enough. Bring in Carson Wentz, right? And like that that is also a huge problem. You need to feel like no matter what happens because Patrick Mahomes just threw a pick six. Could you imagine if Carson Wentz or JJ McCarthy did that? Throw a pick threw a pick six. Uh Josh Allen threw the red zone interception. Like right now, unfortunately, for both these quarterbacks, Carson and JJ, it’s like they don’t have the room to do that. They do that, everyone immediately is thinking the other quarterback should be in right now, right? Carson wouldn’t have done that. JJ wouldn’t have done that. This is why JJ needs to be in right now. This is why Carson, you need a seasoned veteran. And it’s like, we just saw Patrick Mahomes threw uh an interception on on the three- yard line that was returned for a 99 yard uh touchdown. Like, so like those things happen. those those those things happen. And so it’s just man, it is a microscope on a microscope on a microscope. So it’s a tough one. This is where you absolutely positively just have to trust the leadership and the the remove all the emotions for Kevin O. It has to just be like you just have to make the right decision. What that decision is, I don’t know, but it just has to be just grounded in reality. No emotion, nothing to do with money, not where you drafted, not the fact that you know that Carson’s 32 and JJ’s 23 or whatever the heck he is right now. Like it just has to be the right decision. You have to really figure out what’s right for the team right now and what’s right for the team tomorrow and do they cross paths? H h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h how how do we balance this? I’m just a GM. I’m just an owner. I’m just a guy who like knows numbers. Kevin, this is why we pay you all this money. This is up to you to make the right decision. And this is why you have to also trust that the Minnesota Vikings are a well-run franchise. And it really does fall square on the shoulders of Kevin Oonnell. Can’t be anyone else’s decision. This is why you pay him millions of dollars to be the expert that he is to be the head coach to run this team in the best possible way. That’s where it has to be. So, this is a lot more dramatic of an unfolding than I, like I said, than I think people really understand because I think the stakes are real because we’ve seen what this Minnesota Vikings team can achieve. We’ve seen the makeup of the NFL right now. The Bills, the Chiefs, the Eagles, the Broncos, uh the Line, you know, all these teams. It just all seems like anyone can win this year, man. The Ravens are injured. The Bengals are injured. Like the doors just open. The Rams, I think they’re a great team. They’ve had some tough losses, two tough losses. The Bucks, yeah, they’re 4- one, but like they struggle to beat the Falcons and the Texans. Like, like everything’s just on the table. Everything’s on the table right now. The Steelers are leading the division. The the AFC North and Aaron Rogers is 57 years old right now. Okay. Like, it’s just like I don’t know what’s happening. make it’s there’s a lot at stake. There’s a lot at stake. But those are just my thoughts. I’d absolutely love to hear yours. What do you guys all think about the Minnesota Vikings? Who you got? Who you got between Carson Wentz and JJ McCarthy? How do you balance this out? How do you decide? How do you figure out what is right? Do you look for short-term versus long-term? Do you think JJ can just develop very quickly? Just has to go through some growing pain like, you know, what’s the story? Let me know in the comments below. I read every single comment. It’s whether you agree with me or disagree with me. Either way, let’s get in some discussions. Let’s get in some fights. But ultimately, let’s just have some fun. And please do consider subscribing. 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ESPN NFL LIVE | Dan Orlovsky STUNNED, Minnesota Vikings Have Looked BETTER With Carson Wentz
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