It should come as no surprise that Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell isn't playing J.J. McCarthy in Minnesota's Week 2 preseason game against the Patriots.
O'Connell comes from the Sean McVay coaching tree, which is rooted in playing the preseason slate as cautiously as possible. But O'Connell and McCarthy are also rather encouraged by the results they've received from their first camp spent together as coach and QB1.
"To go out there and execute the way he did, it felt decisive," O'Connell said Thursday of McCarthy's performance in joint practices with the Patriots. "It felt incredibly -- an incredible amount of conviction to some of the decisions that he made, location of the football, a lot to build on."
McCarthy left the practice field feeling similarly optimistic. Not satisfied, but inspired by the offense's performance.
"The offense was humming as a whole," he said, via the team's official site. "I feel like the physicality up front really set the tone, and just the way we're able to execute and be precise; but it all starts with the boys up front. They did a tremendous job today.
"It was really a culmination of everything," McCarthy added. "I felt like we were running the ball really well. We're moving the line of scrimmage. Guys were detailed in and out of their routes. And, you know, I felt like the ball placement was a lot more accurate today than yesterday. … Still, a lot of throws that I want back and could put in better spots. But at the end of the day, I feel like we were just functioning very well, the 1s and 2s."
O'Connell could understandably feel pressured to trot McCarthy back out onto the preseason field for Saturday's game. The second-year quarterback is essentially a rookie in terms of game experience after playing just one preseason game last year before his season ended prematurely due to a knee injury that required surgery.
But as O'Connell explained it Thursday, he'd rather see positive signs from the practice field than require his quarterback produce them in a game setting. It's all part of his process as a coach that has -- at least to this point -- been proven as successful.
"We talk a lot about fast eyes, fast feet but ultimate conviction when the ball leaves your hands. It's something that's an acquired thing," O'Connell said of what he emphasizes when coaching McCarthy. "Look, I'm well aware of the eyes on a guy that maybe didn't get a lot of the visual work for everybody, but I operate under the pretense of a lot of confidence that if we coach things and we have the right kind of guys and we emphasize the right things that the results will come."
Vikings fans will likely have to wait until Week 1 of the regular season (against the Bears on Monday Night Football) to see McCarthy tested by an opposing defense in a game. By then, O'Connell believes his young signal-caller will be ready for the moment.
