A key element to McCarthy’s maturation into Minnesota’s franchise quarterback will be his processing speed, which is something O’Connell believes he has been able to connect with watching Carson Wentz.
Wentz, the 2016 No. 2 overall pick, has gone 2-1 in McCarthy’s stead with a 99.5 passer rating, and owns the league’s quickest average Time to Throw among qualified passers per Next Gen Stats (2.55 seconds).
Conversely, McCarthy averaged 3.15 seconds from snap to pass in his first two tastes of a live defense.
“I think one of the things he’s taken away from these two or three weeks of watching Carson play was just the power of completions that maybe don’t necessarily always go to the first or second progression,” O’Connell noted. “It might be T.J. [Hockenson] helping out on a protection (and releasing into a route late) and it’s a critical 12-yard gain when all we did was really check the ball down. Or it’s being surgical with your accuracy when No. 1 is open. And you do that by getting to that foundation and then playing with great balance and rhythm from that point. It’s something that seems like ‘Quarterback Play 101,’ but I watched a lot of football yesterday and didn’t see it as much as you would think you should see it.”
“And that’s just the nature of playing a really difficult position with a lot of variables in front of you, down the field, different coverages and techniques and leverages, and we’re trying to give the best plays we possibly can,” O’Connell continued. “But within those plays, you have five eligibles for a reason, and finding that open eligible and putting the ball in play, and the power of preserving not only yourself, but the integrity of staying efficient as an offense ends up being the quarterback’s job a lot of the time when it’s not always fair based upon how things are around them, or the adversity around them, from a standpoint of some of the injuries that have hit us, and that’s just part of why the position is so difficult.”
That’s why the bye week lended a beautiful opportunity for McCarthy to make important progress.
“The beauty of the work last week was, ‘This is purely just about, let’s just work on the technique and fundamentals and break it down to a place where we can really take tangible [reflections] – wow, that felt different, that felt great, or that’s why we coach it like that,'” O’Connell explained of their work together. “And pretty soon he’s throwing the ball great. He’s got a smile on his face, and you’re stacking reps upon reps that will matter as now he gets to transition to actual real reps on the practice field.”
It’s too early for O’Connell to accurately gauge whether McCarthy will progress enough in time to play Sunday against Philadelphia, or if Wentz, who is dealing with a sore left, non-throwing shoulder, will make his fourth start for Minnesota and second in his 10-year career versus the team that drafted him.
But McCarthy back on the practice field is a positive step for everyone.
“I think there’s the decision that is the public one,” O’Connell said, “and I think there’s the decision with what we’re going to do for the game. And those two things can be on different timelines, although I know that’s not the most comforting thing to share with you guys. But there is a feel of making sure that we’re preparing the quarterback position for the game, knowing we’ve won games with two different guys this year, and we’ve found a rhythm at times on offense that as much as that quarterback plays a huge role in it, we’ve got to make sure our offense is prepared to play with that true all 11 mindset.”