J.J. McCarthy on Cowboys Defensive Scheme, Reading Coverages, Justin Jefferson, Ryan Kelly’s Impact

J.J. McCarthy on Cowboys Defensive Scheme, Reading Coverages, Justin Jefferson, Ryan Kelly’s Impact

Hello everyone. Obviously a tremendous opponent coming up this Sunday night. Uh the boys and I were coming off a great win, but you know, there’s a lot of things that we need to fix. A lot of ways we can get better and continue to grow as an offense, defense, and special teams, and we’re excited to attack these uh this film and get ready for tomorrow to get better. TJ, how do you build on what do you take from last week’s game that you want to keep going forward? You know, I feel like, you know, there was a point in the game where the defense took the ball away and we weren’t able to capitalize. You know, going three and out there is something that, you know, sits with us, uh, as an offense, me personally, and, uh, just making sure we capitalize on those turnovers because that changes the momentum of the entire game. What does Dallas’s defense look like? Obviously, you know, they they made the trade before the year for Parsons, and they’ve done some different things, gave up a lot to Detroit. When you see them, what do you see? Athletic, gamble, a lot? what do they do uh from an overall scheme standpoint? You know, I fluence has been doing this for a while. Tremendous respect for him and the way he calls his game, calls the game and, you know, coaches those players, but obviously, you know, really good in the interior. You know, with those two guys up front, those two additions, it’s going to be, you know, a test for us up front. You know, they got, you know, maybe Trayvon back. Uh the linebackers are extremely athletic, extremely physical, and uh, you know, we’re going to have our work cut out for us. So, we just got to continue to work and, you know, execute this game plan and see where we end up Sunday night. Does it mean much to play in that big grandio stadium and all that goes with the, you know, Cowboy Nation and the Cowboy aura? Uh, it’s amazing. It’s an honor. You know, it’s every kid’s dream growing up watching NFL football to play in that stadium. I’ve been fortunate enough to play there twice for seven on seven and then practice there when I was at IMG Academy and we’re playing Duncanville that weekend. So, it’s a tremendous stadium and can’t wait to get back there. Having the type of game you did Sunday, like confidence-wise, how does that kind of springboard you into the next week? That’s something I expect every week, you know, to go out there and execute at a high level. But, you know, it’s about being consistent. You know, that’s the true measure of performance is consistency and making sure we could do it over and over again. And we know it as an offense. You’re only as successful as your last successful act. So, every single drive, every single play, we just got to focus on that next one and execute that. JJ, we’ve talked quite a bit this week with with coaches about career progression offenses. From your perspective as a quarterback, how has that worked for you? And and what are the the ways that it helps you work? What are the challenges to it? What’s your sense of how to operate that way? I feel like in every single offensive scheme, there’s so many different types of read. Peer progression, coverage base, squeeze reads, all these different ways of just finding the open receiver. Peer progression is a great way to have an answer against every single coverage. You start one, two, three, four. uh coverage base reads, it’s kind of like, okay, I gotta make sure I diagnose and process this coverage in the right way at a quick enough time to be on time for that concept on that specific side. But, uh, yeah, every single offense has them. It’s just a, you know, how much do you have in terms of each read? But yeah, when you’ve got defenses that get as as deceptive as you see around the NFL these days, what is the challenge of trying to read coverages as opposed to saying we’re just going to go pure progression and not worry about trying to figure out exactly what the coverage is? I think it’s the rush. You know, that rush, it gets to you quick and you know, they’re doing so many things on the back end that yeah, you can figure out it’s covered two, but by the time you figure out it’s covered two, you’re on your back. So, just being able to, you know, process quickly post snap and gather the information that you gathered pre- snap to help you uh make that conclusion. Just when you’re talking about the timing, last week was your quickest from uh snap to release. Uh why why do you think that that kind of worked for you timing wise with some of the receivers last week? I feel like the emphasis me personally on just watching the tape and self scout. How many times could I put it in play as quickly and efficiently as possible because that’s just stacking positive plays and that’s continuing the m momentum of those drives and I think you know the offensive line did a great job of protecting great job getting their hands down. Coach McConnell called them at great times and you know generated a great flow. So I feel like it’s just putting it in play. That’s the number one way to you know keep completions going and keep the drives going. just you’re you’re always complimentary of of Justin Jefferson. I feel like we ask you every week, how are you guys growing uh and your relationship, but what are you guys working on to just continue to grow your your chemistry together so that maybe your connection could be a little bit deeper on on game days? I think the more experience versing certain looks, you know, he sees the game completely different than I do from his perspective. And being able to see what he does on tape on the back side of things and me coming to the sideline and seeing something on the iPad and saying, “Hey, you know, maybe if we throttle this down right here and he calls it again, that’s going to be, you know, a nice void right there for you to sit and catch that ball.” But it’s just, you know, growing along the way. We’re seeing new defenses going against new players, new coaches, and there’s going to be more obstacles that come and it’s just how good is our relationship and communication to be able to overcome those and, you know, prepare us for future obstacles. Just uh getting Ryan Kelly back, what has that meant for you? Meant everything. You know, he’s such a tremendous human being and has such a you know, father presence to him. like you just feel good when he’s in the huddle and uh you know just his ability to recognize the fronts, recognize the pressures, know the tendencies, you know he’s a tremendous guy to have and it’s an honor to play with him every day. What’s that look like? Like can you think of a time when he’s been out there when it’s just like a specific time which has reassured you or he said something that like got you where you needed to be or got the team where it needed to be schematically? Uh specific examples, there could be, you know, a run play that has a can criteria of Sam on the ball and, you know, he sees it right away. He says, “Can it, can it?” And it’s just like I don’t have to do any thinking. All I have to do is just focus on, you know, the next steps from there. So, it takes a lot off my plate in terms of stuff like that. Thank you, guys. We don’t want

Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy addressed the media from TCO Performance Center ahead of the team’s Week 15 Sunday Night Football game against the Dallas Cowboys.

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