Vikings Message Board.Com

VikingLord wrote: ↑Tue Sep 23, 2025 3:52 pm

CharVike wrote: ↑Mon Sep 22, 2025 10:59 pm I know JJM hasn't looked good in 7 of 8 quarters he's played. I agree the accuracy was off both games. I give him credit for coming out of his funk and scoring enough for the win. That showed me something. But Wenz was signed to be the backup and he did his job. He certainly didn't take the beating JJM did and I give that to Darrisaw. He was dominate. He makes the G next to him better. They ran behind him. That's a huge help for any QB. KOC made it perfectly clear JJM will play when healthy. I agree with this.

Hang on a second. Wentz was sacked 3 times for 19 yards and was under pressure on other throws. Most of that pressure occurred early in the game with Darrisaw on the field, and on most of the sacks it was because Wentz held the ball too long.

I'm not saying McCarthy wasn't under pressure in his starts, or even that Darrisaw wouldn't have made a difference, but the implication that McCarthy is not at all responsible for his poor play because he wasn't adequately protected is a stretch for me. Wentz, like McCarthy before him, was part of the problem, at least early before he settled down a bit. At least Wentz has the excuse of not having a lot of reps with the offense coming in. McCarthy had the entire offseason and preseason.

I'm telling you, if the offense hums with Wentz the decision on whether to put McCarthy back in will not be that simple. That is a huge risk for KOC and if the offense goes in the tank again he's going to be in a really bad spot. He'll either have to swallow his pride and pull McCarthy back out or grit his teeth and ride his conviction out to the bitter end. In a way he'd better hope Wentz pulls a Dobbs and starts to struggle a bit, although as a Vikings fan I find that thought repugnant.

This is already one of the more interesting seasons I can remember.

I'm just going by what KOC said no more than that.

VikingLord wrote: ↑Tue Sep 23, 2025 3:52 pm

CharVike wrote: ↑Mon Sep 22, 2025 10:59 pm I know JJM hasn't looked good in 7 of 8 quarters he's played. I agree the accuracy was off both games. I give him credit for coming out of his funk and scoring enough for the win. That showed me something. But Wenz was signed to be the backup and he did his job. He certainly didn't take the beating JJM did and I give that to Darrisaw. He was dominate. He makes the G next to him better. They ran behind him. That's a huge help for any QB. KOC made it perfectly clear JJM will play when healthy. I agree with this.

Hang on a second. Wentz was sacked 3 times for 19 yards and was under pressure on other throws. Most of that pressure occurred early in the game with Darrisaw on the field, and on most of the sacks it was because Wentz held the ball too long.

I'm not saying McCarthy wasn't under pressure in his starts, or even that Darrisaw wouldn't have made a difference, but the implication that McCarthy is not at all responsible for his poor play because he wasn't adequately protected is a stretch for me. Wentz, like McCarthy before him, was part of the problem, at least early before he settled down a bit. At least Wentz has the excuse of not having a lot of reps with the offense coming in. McCarthy had the entire offseason and preseason.

I'm telling you, if the offense hums with Wentz the decision on whether to put McCarthy back in will not be that simple. That is a huge risk for KOC and if the offense goes in the tank again he's going to be in a really bad spot. He'll either have to swallow his pride and pull McCarthy back out or grit his teeth and ride his conviction out to the bitter end. In a way he'd better hope Wentz pulls a Dobbs and starts to struggle a bit, although as a Vikings fan I find that thought repugnant.

This is already one of the more interesting seasons I can remember.

One thing I found pretty interesting when looking at the pressure numbers between the two QBs. First, McCarthy was pressured a lot more in week 2 than Wentz was. Over half of his drop backs (53.3%), versus 38% for Wentz is a big difference, but digging in further McCarthy and Wentz's time to throw when pressured was nearly identical. When not pressured Wentz got rid of the ball in under 2 seconds, which is incredibly fast, while JJ was getting rid of the ball in over 3 seconds on average. That probably means if Wentz held the ball as long as McCarthy, he would have been pressured just as much as McCarthy.

This is a prime example of why I have always found all the complaints over the Oline all these years mostly overblown. Most of the time it isn't the Oline that is the problem, it is the QB. Not all of the time, but most.

StumpHunter wrote: ↑Wed Sep 24, 2025 7:26 am

VikingLord wrote: ↑Tue Sep 23, 2025 3:52 pm

Hang on a second. Wentz was sacked 3 times for 19 yards and was under pressure on other throws. Most of that pressure occurred early in the game with Darrisaw on the field, and on most of the sacks it was because Wentz held the ball too long.

I'm not saying McCarthy wasn't under pressure in his starts, or even that Darrisaw wouldn't have made a difference, but the implication that McCarthy is not at all responsible for his poor play because he wasn't adequately protected is a stretch for me. Wentz, like McCarthy before him, was part of the problem, at least early before he settled down a bit. At least Wentz has the excuse of not having a lot of reps with the offense coming in. McCarthy had the entire offseason and preseason.

I'm telling you, if the offense hums with Wentz the decision on whether to put McCarthy back in will not be that simple. That is a huge risk for KOC and if the offense goes in the tank again he's going to be in a really bad spot. He'll either have to swallow his pride and pull McCarthy back out or grit his teeth and ride his conviction out to the bitter end. In a way he'd better hope Wentz pulls a Dobbs and starts to struggle a bit, although as a Vikings fan I find that thought repugnant.

This is already one of the more interesting seasons I can remember.

One thing I found pretty interesting when looking at the pressure numbers between the two QBs. First, McCarthy was pressured a lot more in week 2 than Wentz was. Over half of his drop backs (53.3%), versus 38% for Wentz is a big difference, but digging in further McCarthy and Wentz's time to throw when pressured was nearly identical. When not pressured Wentz got rid of the ball in under 2 seconds, which is incredibly fast, while JJ was getting rid of the ball in over 3 seconds on average. That probably means if Wentz held the ball as long as McCarthy, he would have been pressured just as much as McCarthy.

This is a prime example of why I have always found all the complaints over the Oline all these years mostly overblown. Most of the time it isn't the Oline that is the problem, it is the QB. Not all of the time, but most.

Good LTs are paid a fortune for a reason. I don't see to many teams pushing through the playoffs with a junk OL. Eagles? Do you think that OL sucks? The Cheifs always make sure their OL is good. Even Mahomes crumbled in the SB when the blocking was bad. Blocking is an extremely important part of the offense. Getting Darrisaw back changed our O. Hock was finally able to run a route downfield. That opens things up. Wentz will get more chances and I hope he plays lights out. We will win and that's all I care about. Not every team is as bad as the Bengals front on both sides. Flores run D was great. The week before he couldn't stop it. The Falcons blew huge gaps at the LOS and nothing was done to correct it. Once we get past the next 2 cream puff games, which are must wins, things will get tougher. We have the Lions, Ravens, Eagles and Chargers. We better block well or it will be lights out for either JJM or Wentz. We need to come out of that stretch 2-2 / 3-1 or it's the same old story. There was a video posted of the 6 sacks JJM took and the blocking was atrocious. Free runners. That makes it impossible.

CharVike wrote: ↑Wed Sep 24, 2025 11:05 am

StumpHunter wrote: ↑Wed Sep 24, 2025 7:26 am
One thing I found pretty interesting when looking at the pressure numbers between the two QBs. First, McCarthy was pressured a lot more in week 2 than Wentz was. Over half of his drop backs (53.3%), versus 38% for Wentz is a big difference, but digging in further McCarthy and Wentz's time to throw when pressured was nearly identical. When not pressured Wentz got rid of the ball in under 2 seconds, which is incredibly fast, while JJ was getting rid of the ball in over 3 seconds on average. That probably means if Wentz held the ball as long as McCarthy, he would have been pressured just as much as McCarthy.

This is a prime example of why I have always found all the complaints over the Oline all these years mostly overblown. Most of the time it isn't the Oline that is the problem, it is the QB. Not all of the time, but most.

Good LTs are paid a fortune for a reason. I don't see to many teams pushing through the playoffs with a junk OL. Eagles? Do you think that OL sucks? The Cheifs always make sure their OL is good. Even Mahomes crumbled in the SB when the blocking was bad. Blocking is an extremely important part of the offense. Getting Darrisaw back changed our O. Hock was finally able to run a route downfield. That opens things up. Wentz will get more chances and I hope he plays lights out. We will win and that's all I care about. Not every team is as bad as the Bengals front on both sides. Flores run D was great. The week before he couldn't stop it. The Falcons blew huge gaps at the LOS and nothing was done to correct it. Once we get past the next 2 cream puff games, which are must wins, things will get tougher. We have the Lions, Ravens, Eagles and Chargers. We better block well or it will be lights out for either JJM or Wentz. We need to come out of that stretch 2-2 / 3-1 or it's the same old story. There was a video posted of the 6 sacks JJM took and the blocking was atrocious. Free runners. That makes it impossible.

I didn't say Oline doesn't matter at all, I said it the complaints about the Vikings Oline were overblown. Even in that 2nd game, the QB has opportunities to get rid of the ball and just holds it too long. A better Oline holds up better sure, but a better, more experienced QB gets the ball out on time and makes it so his oline doesn't need to hold up. Which is exactly what we saw Sunday.

StumpHunter wrote: ↑Wed Sep 24, 2025 12:57 pm

CharVike wrote: ↑Wed Sep 24, 2025 11:05 am
Good LTs are paid a fortune for a reason. I don't see to many teams pushing through the playoffs with a junk OL. Eagles? Do you think that OL sucks? The Cheifs always make sure their OL is good. Even Mahomes crumbled in the SB when the blocking was bad. Blocking is an extremely important part of the offense. Getting Darrisaw back changed our O. Hock was finally able to run a route downfield. That opens things up. Wentz will get more chances and I hope he plays lights out. We will win and that's all I care about. Not every team is as bad as the Bengals front on both sides. Flores run D was great. The week before he couldn't stop it. The Falcons blew huge gaps at the LOS and nothing was done to correct it. Once we get past the next 2 cream puff games, which are must wins, things will get tougher. We have the Lions, Ravens, Eagles and Chargers. We better block well or it will be lights out for either JJM or Wentz. We need to come out of that stretch 2-2 / 3-1 or it's the same old story. There was a video posted of the 6 sacks JJM took and the blocking was atrocious. Free runners. That makes it impossible.

I didn't say Oline doesn't matter at all, I said it the complaints about the Vikings Oline were overblown. Even in that 2nd game, the QB has opportunities to get rid of the ball and just holds it too long. A better Oline holds up better sure, but a better, more experienced QB gets the ball out on time and makes it so his oline doesn't need to hold up. Which is exactly what we saw Sunday.

One game with Wentz. It was a blowout. Bosmer looked relaxed. I think we all know that's not norm. Let's see some playing when a play needs to be made. I'm not knocking Wentz either. He's lacked something his entire career. What that is I don't know. But the opening drive was great. We looked better than at any point. As usual the QB gets the credit or blame. It's usually deeper than that

StumpHunter wrote: ↑Wed Sep 24, 2025 7:26 am One thing I found pretty interesting when looking at the pressure numbers between the two QBs. First, McCarthy was pressured a lot more in week 2 than Wentz was. Over half of his drop backs (53.3%), versus 38% for Wentz is a big difference, but digging in further McCarthy and Wentz's time to throw when pressured was nearly identical. When not pressured Wentz got rid of the ball in under 2 seconds, which is incredibly fast, while JJ was getting rid of the ball in over 3 seconds on average. That probably means if Wentz held the ball as long as McCarthy, he would have been pressured just as much as McCarthy.

This is a prime example of why I have always found all the complaints over the Oline all these years mostly overblown. Most of the time it isn't the Oline that is the problem, it is the QB. Not all of the time, but most.

Thanks for sharing that Stump.

My main concern with McCarthy isn't how long he holds the ball - it's his accuracy and decision-making when he does throw it. He seems very inaccurate to me. I don't know if it's his footwork, arm mechanics, confidence or what, but many of his completed passes are off the mark and force the receiver to contort or stretch just to have a chance to snag them which virtually eliminates any chance of getting yards after the catch. His INTs have been pretty bad as well. The one that was returned for a TD in the first game against the Bears was telegraphed all the way, and the other one was pretty easy as well. When he scrambles I can't tell what he's looking at either. There have been a few times where it looked like he could have kept his option to pass open and he just tucked it and ran.

He is a young QB, but the accuracy thing really bugs me because by this point the mechanics at least shouldn't be a major cause of that problem. Inaccurate QBs and QBs who struggle with timing are invariably unsuccessful as pros. It's not something that is easy to coach out of someone, and for the pro QBs who had those issues as rookies or first-year starters, nearly all of them had some physical traits that compensated for those issues while they were worked out. McCarthy really doesn't tick any of the unique physical traits boxes. If McCarthy is going to succeed as a pro QB it will be because he has exceptional intangibles - he can diagnose the field quickly post-snap, anticipate guys coming open and get the ball out on time and accurately.

He seems to possess none of those skills, and the offensive production with him under center reflects that so far.

The real risk with McCarthy from my perspective is KOC's hubris affecting his ability to objectively evaluate McCarthy at the position. KOC drafted him high, trading up to make sure he got him. KOC may have some pride invested in the outcome of that decision as a result. He might tell himself things about McCarthy's development and capabilities that aren't necessarily true, which in turn might lead him to make poor decisions that hurt the team's chances of success. NFL head coaches have been successful. They may overestimate their own capabilities and competence as a result and that can lead to bad outcomes for everyone. So I really hope KOC can objectively watch the film when evaluating McCarthy, or at the very least enlist the help of others who don't have anything riding on McCarthy's individual success to help him objectively evaluate it. Because the last thing KOC can afford is to hurt the team's chances just so he doesn't hurt his reputation as a QB guru.

He's in a tricky spot, and that spot will only grow trickier the longer Wentz performs well.

CharVike wrote: ↑Wed Sep 24, 2025 2:01 pm

StumpHunter wrote: ↑Wed Sep 24, 2025 12:57 pm
I didn't say Oline doesn't matter at all, I said it the complaints about the Vikings Oline were overblown. Even in that 2nd game, the QB has opportunities to get rid of the ball and just holds it too long. A better Oline holds up better sure, but a better, more experienced QB gets the ball out on time and makes it so his oline doesn't need to hold up. Which is exactly what we saw Sunday.

One game with Wentz. It was a blowout. Bosmer looked relaxed. I think we all know that's not norm. Let's see some playing when a play needs to be made. I'm not knocking Wentz either. He's lacked something his entire career. What that is I don't know. But the opening drive was great. We looked better than at any point. As usual the QB gets the credit or blame. It's usually deeper than that

Other than one throw that was behind Nailor, for the most part Wentz was accurate and on-time with his throws.

I will fault Wentz for the early sacks he took, but I wasn't all that surprised by them either. He's had precious little time with the offense to reasonably expect him to hit the ground running, but he recovered nicely as the game went on.

But you're right - one game doesn't make a trend. Josh Dobbs came in for a few games and made some plays before he regressed, and Wentz has bounced around the league to this point for a reason. He'll get at least one more chance to show what he can do and likely two more before the Vikings hit their bye. KOC should have enough tape by that point to decide how he wants to proceed coming out of the bye, because the schedule gets a lot harder at that point.

VikingLord wrote: ↑Wed Sep 24, 2025 6:22 pm

StumpHunter wrote: ↑Wed Sep 24, 2025 7:26 am One thing I found pretty interesting when looking at the pressure numbers between the two QBs. First, McCarthy was pressured a lot more in week 2 than Wentz was. Over half of his drop backs (53.3%), versus 38% for Wentz is a big difference, but digging in further McCarthy and Wentz's time to throw when pressured was nearly identical. When not pressured Wentz got rid of the ball in under 2 seconds, which is incredibly fast, while JJ was getting rid of the ball in over 3 seconds on average. That probably means if Wentz held the ball as long as McCarthy, he would have been pressured just as much as McCarthy.

This is a prime example of why I have always found all the complaints over the Oline all these years mostly overblown. Most of the time it isn't the Oline that is the problem, it is the QB. Not all of the time, but most.

Thanks for sharing that Stump.

My main concern with McCarthy isn't how long he holds the ball - it's his accuracy and decision-making when he does throw it. He seems very inaccurate to me. I don't know if it's his footwork, arm mechanics, confidence or what, but many of his completed passes are off the mark and force the receiver to contort or stretch just to have a chance to snag them which virtually eliminates any chance of getting yards after the catch. His INTs have been pretty bad as well. The one that was returned for a TD in the first game against the Bears was telegraphed all the way, and the other one was pretty easy as well. When he scrambles I can't tell what he's looking at either. There have been a few times where it looked like he could have kept his option to pass open and he just tucked it and ran.

He is a young QB, but the accuracy thing really bugs me because by this point the mechanics at least shouldn't be a major cause of that problem. Inaccurate QBs and QBs who struggle with timing are invariably unsuccessful as pros. It's not something that is easy to coach out of someone, and for the pro QBs who had those issues as rookies or first-year starters, nearly all of them had some physical traits that compensated for those issues while they were worked out. McCarthy really doesn't tick any of the unique physical traits boxes. If McCarthy is going to succeed as a pro QB it will be because he has exceptional intangibles - he can diagnose the field quickly post-snap, anticipate guys coming open and get the ball out on time and accurately.

He seems to possess none of those skills, and the offensive production with him under center reflects that so far.

The real risk with McCarthy from my perspective is KOC's hubris affecting his ability to objectively evaluate McCarthy at the position. KOC drafted him high, trading up to make sure he got him. KOC may have some pride invested in the outcome of that decision as a result. He might tell himself things about McCarthy's development and capabilities that aren't necessarily true, which in turn might lead him to make poor decisions that hurt the team's chances of success. NFL head coaches have been successful. They may overestimate their own capabilities and competence as a result and that can lead to bad outcomes for everyone. So I really hope KOC can objectively watch the film when evaluating McCarthy, or at the very least enlist the help of others who don't have anything riding on McCarthy's individual success to help him objectively evaluate it. Because the last thing KOC can afford is to hurt the team's chances just so he doesn't hurt his reputation as a QB guru.

He's in a tricky spot, and that spot will only grow trickier the longer Wentz performs well.

IMO McCarthy looked like he was lost in the moment during that Falcon game. The game almost appeared to much for him. Down at the goal line bobbling an attempted pitch is nerves. The early fumble on the sneak again nerves. Then the missed deeper ball to Nailor was the killer. The blocking was fine on that play and should have been made. Wentz looks to be miles in front of him. That first drive he was smooth. That got us into a rhythm. The ball he threw to Theilen in the end zone seemed long but I also think a younger Theilen gets that. It crazed one hand and the ball was lofted nicely. It's KOC call and whoever he chooses I'm ok with. To keep us in the hunt he needs to win these winnable games. We already lost one to the Falcons. Last year we didn't do that. We just didn't have enough for the few teams that were better than us that we played. Our team reaching out to Wentz seems like a weird deal. Did KOC notice something in JJM that made him do it? Or do you think the other guy didn't fit. One last point. JJM hasn't played live football in a long time. Could that be impacting him? Year 1 for him was mainly a rehab. Maybe I'm way off on that.

CharVike wrote: ↑Wed Sep 24, 2025 11:39 pm Did KOC notice something in JJM that made him do it? Or do you think the other guy didn't fit. One last point. JJM hasn't played live football in a long time. Could that be impacting him? Year 1 for him was mainly a rehab. Maybe I'm way off on that.

It's hard to say what KOC was evaluating when they moved up to draft McCarthy. A few things might have factored into that. First, I think KAM and KOC had already set their minds to drafting a QB with their higher 1st round pick and they weren't going to get a shot at the top 3 players at that position, so they had to choose among the 3 lower tier prospects at the position. Then nobody expected the Falcons to take a QB with their 1st pick and when they took Penix that reduced the pool of prospects to 2 players and might have caused them to panic a bit. The Vikings obviously liked McCarthy more than Bo Nix, although in retrospect Nix has played really well.

As to what the Vikings liked about McCarthy it was probably a combination of things. He's young and would have a lot of time to lead the team if he panned out. He played on winning teams even if he himself wasn't a primary reason why those teams won. He seems like a high character person with a good work ethic. And most tellingly I think KOC figured he could develop him despite any immediate shortcomings. KOC constantly talks about the 10,000 reps a QB needs to play the position at a high level (or something along those lines), and KOC up to this point has had a reputation as a guy who can squeeze the juice out of QBs even if up to that point in their careers they hadn't had a lot of success.

But KOC is not infallible, and it is possible he just runs an offense and a system that has the overall talent that makes it easier to play the position, making it possible for guys like Darnold and Wentz to thrive despite their shortcomings. 1st round QBs are notorious for being over-valued in drafts and flaming out or falling far short of expectations even under optimal conditions. It is a hard position to evaluate.

It's possible having a year off and then not playing a lot in the preseason could be impacting him to some degree. I personally don't think that is an excuse, though, because he had a full offseason and preseason and if he's worked as hard as the Vikings PR guys want us to think he has he should have the offense down pat by this point. Heck, KOC played him like he was a seasoned vet in the preseason. I think he had like 2 total offensive drives in the first preseason game? So he's being treated like he's established himself.

I also don't think the accuracy and timing issues are a result of being injured. Accuracy is more an inherent trait of a QB. It comes from attention to the fundamentals, mostly footwork and focus, and an inaccurate QB is generally going to remain inaccurate at this point in his career. The post-snap processing of routes and coverages is something that can be developed and generally improves with experience, but that is also an inherent ability that some QBs naturally have. Being able to "see it-throw it" on time might be the most valuable skill a QB can possess at the pro level. I'm not entirely sure where McCarthy is looking on many plays. On some, he just locks on to a receiver. On others he seems to process the route tree, but he's slow doing it which I think leads to some of the accuracy problems because he's trying to compensate with his arm. On scrambles I don't see him looking to preserve the passing option. He wants to tuck and run. Very common among rookie QBs to do that but the better ones will scramble to throw rather than to run.

I just hope KOC is honest about what he sees on tape and if McCarthy isn't ready he isn't afraid how it will make him look if he decides to stick with Wentz. Maybe McCarthy just needs more of those 10,000 reps (off the field) before he's ready to take the reins. No need to force it, and with Wentz's injury history there is a very good chance McCarthy would wind up back under center at some point this year anyway.

VikingLord wrote: ↑Thu Sep 25, 2025 1:47 am

CharVike wrote: ↑Wed Sep 24, 2025 11:39 pm Did KOC notice something in JJM that made him do it? Or do you think the other guy didn't fit. One last point. JJM hasn't played live football in a long time. Could that be impacting him? Year 1 for him was mainly a rehab. Maybe I'm way off on that.

It's hard to say what KOC was evaluating when they moved up to draft McCarthy. A few things might have factored into that. First, I think KAM and KOC had already set their minds to drafting a QB with their higher 1st round pick and they weren't going to get a shot at the top 3 players at that position, so they had to choose among the 3 lower tier prospects at the position. Then nobody expected the Falcons to take a QB with their 1st pick and when they took Penix that reduced the pool of prospects to 2 players and might have caused them to panic a bit. The Vikings obviously liked McCarthy more than Bo Nix, although in retrospect Nix has played really well.

As to what the Vikings liked about McCarthy it was probably a combination of things. He's young and would have a lot of time to lead the team if he panned out. He played on winning teams even if he himself wasn't a primary reason why those teams won. He seems like a high character person with a good work ethic. And most tellingly I think KOC figured he could develop him despite any immediate shortcomings. KOC constantly talks about the 10,000 reps a QB needs to play the position at a high level (or something along those lines), and KOC up to this point has had a reputation as a guy who can squeeze the juice out of QBs even if up to that point in their careers they hadn't had a lot of success.

But KOC is not infallible, and it is possible he just runs an offense and a system that has the overall talent that makes it easier to play the position, making it possible for guys like Darnold and Wentz to thrive despite their shortcomings. 1st round QBs are notorious for being over-valued in drafts and flaming out or falling far short of expectations even under optimal conditions. It is a hard position to evaluate.

It's possible having a year off and then not playing a lot in the preseason could be impacting him to some degree. I personally don't think that is an excuse, though, because he had a full offseason and preseason and if he's worked as hard as the Vikings PR guys want us to think he has he should have the offense down pat by this point. Heck, KOC played him like he was a seasoned vet in the preseason. I think he had like 2 total offensive drives in the first preseason game? So he's being treated like he's established himself.

I also don't think the accuracy and timing issues are a result of being injured. Accuracy is more an inherent trait of a QB. It comes from attention to the fundamentals, mostly footwork and focus, and an inaccurate QB is generally going to remain inaccurate at this point in his career. The post-snap processing of routes and coverages is something that can be developed and generally improves with experience, but that is also an inherent ability that some QBs naturally have. Being able to "see it-throw it" on time might be the most valuable skill a QB can possess at the pro level. I'm not entirely sure where McCarthy is looking on many plays. On some, he just locks on to a receiver. On others he seems to process the route tree, but he's slow doing it which I think leads to some of the accuracy problems because he's trying to compensate with his arm. On scrambles I don't see him looking to preserve the passing option. He wants to tuck and run. Very common among rookie QBs to do that but the better ones will scramble to throw rather than to run.

I just hope KOC is honest about what he sees on tape and if McCarthy isn't ready he isn't afraid how it will make him look if he decides to stick with Wentz. Maybe McCarthy just needs more of those 10,000 reps (off the field) before he's ready to take the reins. No need to force it, and with Wentz's injury history there is a very good chance McCarthy would wind up back under center at some point this year anyway.

The post snap is critical and as you posted experience certainly helps. Wentz's head moves. He looks one way and then comes back to the other side If that's needed. He also gets the TE involved more and I read he has a tendency to do that maybe too much. The TE typically is a huge body which I think helps. On offense we are close to our original projected lineup with only Jackson out. We have an experienced guy to take his place and now Addison is back which allows Nailor to play the slot and run some of those deeper post/sideline routes which he seems to be good at. I'm not to concerned with the switch. Wentz's has proven he can play good ball. We'll see how he goes and then we'll see what KOC does. If we rattle off 5 or 6 wins out of the next 7 it will be tough to make a switch. If it goes the other way then it won't really matter much.

CharVike wrote: ↑Thu Sep 25, 2025 11:34 am The post snap is critical and as you posted experience certainly helps. Wentz's head moves. He looks one way and then comes back to the other side If that's needed. He also gets the TE involved more and I read he has a tendency to do that maybe too much. The TE typically is a huge body which I think helps. On offense we are close to our original projected lineup with only Jackson out. We have an experienced guy to take his place and now Addison is back which allows Nailor to play the slot and run some of those deeper post/sideline routes which he seems to be good at. I'm not to concerned with the switch. Wentz's has proven he can play good ball. We'll see how he goes and then we'll see what KOC does. If we rattle off 5 or 6 wins out of the next 7 it will be tough to make a switch. If it goes the other way then it won't really matter much.

I'm looking for Addison to have a huge game. He was lights out all camp. Getting him on the field with JJ, Nailor and the tight ends the Vikings have is something I think the Steelers are not capable of defending with the personnel they have. I expect Tomlin will be blitz happy in this game and try to rattle Wentz. It might work, or it might result in a lot of big plays down the field. It would be nice to see the Vikings offense finally perform at the level their talent would suggest they can.

VikingLord wrote: ↑Fri Sep 26, 2025 5:47 pm

CharVike wrote: ↑Thu Sep 25, 2025 11:34 am The post snap is critical and as you posted experience certainly helps. Wentz's head moves. He looks one way and then comes back to the other side If that's needed. He also gets the TE involved more and I read he has a tendency to do that maybe too much. The TE typically is a huge body which I think helps. On offense we are close to our original projected lineup with only Jackson out. We have an experienced guy to take his place and now Addison is back which allows Nailor to play the slot and run some of those deeper post/sideline routes which he seems to be good at. I'm not to concerned with the switch. Wentz's has proven he can play good ball. We'll see how he goes and then we'll see what KOC does. If we rattle off 5 or 6 wins out of the next 7 it will be tough to make a switch. If it goes the other way then it won't really matter much.

I'm looking for Addison to have a huge game. He was lights out all camp. Getting him on the field with JJ, Nailor and the tight ends the Vikings have is something I think the Steelers are not capable of defending with the personnel they have. I expect Tomlin will be blitz happy in this game and try to rattle Wentz. It might work, or it might result in a lot of big plays down the field. It would be nice to see the Vikings offense finally perform at the level their talent would suggest they can.

The 3 WRs we have are about as good as it gets. I expect Wentz to play well. For a guy a few weeks in he found the open receiver. No throws in danger.