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Kevin Seifert
EAGAN, Minn. — Amid a national discussion about his accuracy and overall aptitude as an NFL quarterback, the Minnesota Vikings’ J.J. McCarthy offered a metaphor Wednesday.
«I kind of make the analogy of just a cork about to come off a bottle,» said McCarthy, who will make his sixth start of the season Sunday against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. «Just understanding that it’s one to three little things that I need to change about my game that is going to make a huge difference in the outcome of every single drive in the game. So yeah, I feel like it’s really close, but it all comes down to the consistency of the fundamentals.»
Coach Kevin O’Connell has been talking about the process of rebuilding McCarthy’s mechanics for much of this season, connecting them with the accuracy issues that have plagued his initial foray at the NFL level. McCarthy has completed only 52.9% of his passes, lowest among the 48 quarterbacks who have made at least one start this season. His off-target rate is 22.1%, which ranks No. 47.
O’Connell has spoken most recently about getting McCarthy to have a consistent posture at the top of his drops and to focus on the connection between his feet and eyes. On Monday, O’Connell praised McCarthy for his work pre-snap but added a level of urgency to the rest.
«We just have to find that when it comes to the post-snap,» O’Connell said, «and sometimes it’s not even reads and progressions, it’s simply just the fundamental foundation that we need to start seeing the concrete kind of dry a little bit on the work that’s put in.»
McCarthy said Wednesday the Vikings’ approach is «very different» from what he experienced prior to arriving in the NFL, which he said was «expected going into the league.»
But after a torn right meniscus cost him his entire rookie year in 2024, and a high right ankle sprain sidelined him for another five games this season, McCarthy said he is looking for creative ways to make up the missed practice time.
«It was really just the injuries that I felt kind of took away all those reps,» he said, «in the constant repetition to make those a habit and make them concrete like [O’Connell] talks about. But yeah, I feel like it’s just the repetitions. How many times could I go home, and every time I take the dogs out, I’m getting 10 drops each time. Little things like that where I just keep getting the reps.»
Ultimately, McCarthy admitted, the process of creating consistent mechanics is «really hard.»
Although he believes he’s getting closer to the level of consistency he needs — of pushing the cork to the end of the bottle, so to speak — he also said he has always known it would take time.
«You’re rewiring neurological pathways,» he said, «and that’s not something that happens overnight. So just understanding in giving myself that grace, that patience that I might not have it today, but it’s something I’m going to continue to strive after day after day, rep after rep and get to the place where we all want me to be.»
