Amid some struggles from J.J. McCarthy and the Vikings’ first-team offense this week, Kevin O’Connell said on Friday that he wanted to see that group respond a little bit more to what the defense was doing. He also made sure to note that the sky was not falling. McCarthy talked about improving every single day and learning from every practice period, good or bad.
Saturday’s practice was an encouraging one on that front. This was perhaps McCarthy’s best day since last Saturday (maybe there’s something about a big crowd at TCO Performance Center that gets him ready to rock). He was decisive and he was accurate, delivering balls with both zip and touch to just about wherever he intended to put them. There weren’t many incompletions, and two of them were balls that were batted down at the line of scrimmage. The fans in attendance had plenty to cheer about.
McCarthy got going in the first 11-on-11 period with a perfectly-placed throw to Jordan Addison with touch. Those two would connect a number of times over the course of a lengthy practice. McCarthy then really got going in the first 7-on-7 period. He hit Addison, who held on through contact from Byron Murphy Jr., on a comeback route. He hit T.J. Hockenson on an out-breaker. He went through his progression and found Jalen Nailor for a chunk gain near the sideline.
After rotating back in, McCarthy delivered a strike up the seam to Josh Oliver, who couldn’t hold on when Kahlef Hailassie punched the ball out. McCarthy rifled one low to Addison, where only he could get it. Then he launched a ball deep for Nailor, who couldn’t come down with it against coverage from Jeff Okudah that probably should’ve drawn a pass interference call. All six throws from McCarthy in that period were good ones.
And he wasn’t done. He threw a few more completions in the next 11-on-11 period and wrapped up his day with a solid showing in the red zone. McCarthy hit Josh Oliver, then was hurt by drops from Oliver and Nailor. One of the highlights of the day came when McCarthy found a leaping Addison in the back of the end zone for a touchdown despite tight coverage from Dwight McGlothern. For good measure, McCarthy connected with Addison one last time (albeit on a play that was probably a sack).
It was a strong day from the Vikings’ 22-year-old QB1. Sunday’s practice is believed to be a lower-intensity one, but McCarthy will look to keep up this momentum and put on a show for an even bigger crowd during Monday’s night practice at TCO Stadium.
This was the fourth practice in full pads and also, without question, the most physical and intense practice of training camp thus far. It got chippy in a way we hadn’t seen up to this point. In an early 11-on-11 period, Harrison Phillips threw Walter Rouse to the ground. Jordan Mason, who continues to look really impressive in camp, trucked several defenders on a run up the middle, which led rookie Donovan Jackson to let out a primal scream afterwards.
Later in practice, it went up another level when linebacker Brian Asamoah II popped Aaron Jones after a play. Asamoah went to offer Jones a hand, but guard Will Fries took exception to the initial hit and shoved Asamoah pretty hard. In return, Asamoah threw a punch at Fries. On the very next play, rookie Tyler Batty got through the line of scrimmage untouched and leveled Jones in the backfield. That set things off again. McCarthy got in the mix with a bit of a shove on Batty, and players from both the offense and defense came together and jawed at each other.
After that, O’Connell stopped practice and gathered the entire team in a huddle, presumably telling them that a line was crossed. He’s had a pretty strict no-fighting policy in previous camps, particularly in joint practices with other teams. Practice then resumed for the final red zone period.
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