So, the typical national media offseason Vikings disrespect is in full swing. A team that won 14 games last year AND swept the Packers and Bears AND shored up the trenches like no other team is expected to take a step back mostly because, "We don't know how J.J. McCarthy is going to do," is the national media mantra. Do we know how the Lions will handle new coordinators on offense and defense? Apparently, doesn't matter.
Do we know how Ben Johnson will transition from Lions OC to head coach because that move always seems to work out? Do we know how Caleb Williams will perform in Year 2? Do we know whether Jordan Love will be Jekyll or Hyde this year? None of that seems to matter. The other NFC North teams get a national media pass on their question marks. OK. Cool. But if the benefit of those doubts go positively to those teams, I don't understand the negativity for Minnesota based on McCarthy.
If I'm a defense attorney making the case, it's a lock. One of the first arguments against McCarthy is he's a first-year starter, basically a rookie, and traditionally they don't play well, a la Troy Aikman, Peyton Manning, et al. Counterpoint in 5 syllables: Ben Roethlisberger. His situation is a much stronger analogy to McCarthy than most first-year starters in that, Big Ben had a team around him ready to win. Peyton and Troy and many other first-round rookie QBs went to bad teams that needed more help than just QB. Ben went 13-0 in his first season precisely because he had a winning team around him. I could add Daunte Culpepper to the conversation. He sat his rookie year and went on to win 11 games in his first year as a starter. Similar situation. He had a team ready to win.
Further, let's not forget the chrysalis effect the Vikings coaching staff had on a QB who was proven but proven as a failure. Sam Darnold was written off as a bust with six years of proof. The national media would have me believe that a six-year bust has more potential than a virtual rookie with no basis for NFL regular season credentials. Seriously? That dog won't hunt. Finally, everything we have seen from J.J. trends in the plus column. He can make all the throws, and I believe he threw the fastest ball at his combine. Some 60+ mph. So the arm strength argument doesn't wash.
Finally, the negative argument that he didn't throw a lot in college counts against him for some reason. Troy Aikman with Dallas rarely ranked in the regular season top QB stats because he handed the ball to Emmitt Smith. But in the playoffs, teams had a better defense against the running game, and Aikman's arm came alive. His playoff passing stats were higher and better. McCarthy didn't have the stats in college because he didn't need to have them. But he has the talent, team and coaching to do what needs to be done in the aerial game in the NFL. He's had one chance to prove it in a preseason game last year, and that was a pure success. I rest my case. Add my name to the law firm partnership.
I'm not saying the media should anoint the Vikings. But to drop a 14-win team to the middle rungs of the NFL ladder on the basis I have laid out is ludicrous and frankly lazy. Yes. Lazy. Evidenced by several media types referring to McCarthy's "ACL tear" as a reason to question his potential. Basic anatomy people. A meniscus is not an ACL. A healthy Vikings team has the potential to win any game on its schedule and compete strongly for a ring. I'm keeping receipts, pundits. Let the national media be wrong about the Vikings. Again.
— Jeff K. in Sacramento, California
I understand mistakes can happen when people are trying to keep up with a fast-paced NFL offseason, but it is a little surprising how often McCarthy's torn meniscus from a year ago has been incorrectly reported as a different injury. The Vikings were very forthcoming about the injury, the procedure and the recovery.
It seemed like the people that were down on the Vikings this time a year ago were mostly basing their thoughts on the unknown of Darnold, who wound up thriving and now has a chance to continue that reversed trajectory in Seattle. For what it's worth, after seeing Darnold in the offseason program and training camp, I thought he was going to do better than his doubters expected.
The situation welcoming Roethlisberger into the NFL is one that I'm sure several of his contemporaries envied. He was able to compile the 13-0 mark as a starter in a season when he finished 196-of-295 passing for 2,621 yards with 17 touchdowns, 11 interceptions and a passer rating of 98.1. Those were respectable but not earth-shattering.