Daily Norseman
The Defense Looks Very Promising!
Hall of Fame game is Thursday! Unbelievable! We are 9 days away from seeing some action! I am loving seeing the defense give it to the offense and making it very hard for JJ. He needs to see as much of that as possible in preparation for the real games. There are going to be some ups and downs but I expect there will be more ups.
Minnesota Vikings News and Links
Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy chasing ‘constant improvement’ during rough patches in training camp
“Honestly, constant improvement,” McCarthy said Wednesday, via The Minnesota Star Tribune. “Learning every single day and when the periods don’t go your way, you’re always asking why. It’s never a loss. You’re always learning from it. ... Those periods where they really get you, I feel like that’s where we learn the most about ourselves and our offense.”
The Vikings defense, which can make veteran quarterbacks wet themselves at times, has reportedly been in McCarthy’s face quite a bit the past several practices. In Tuesday’s red-zone session, the QB struggled, completing a reported 3 of 11 attempts in the restricted area.
“Missing by inches,” McCarthy said of the red-zone drill. “That’s what happens when you’re down in the red zone. You got to be detail-oriented and really specific with where you’re putting the ball. But there were a lot of good things on tape ... just more great reps to put under my belt.”
It must be noted that we’re just over a week into training camp, Justin Jefferson isn’t practicing, and star left tackle Christian Darrisaw is just returning from an ACL tear. Overreacting to a few practices is a fool’s errand. This is the time of year for growing and learning, particularly for a player who missed all of last season.
“Not having those reps last year, that’s something you miss out on when you take a substantial amount of time off from throwing the football,” McCarthy said. “You got to find that touch again. There were a lot of throws in OTAs where I felt I could’ve had a better outcome if I had that touch. Just learning from failures and trying to get better.”
Vikings training camp recap, Day 7: Defense keeps cooking, Darrisaw back
Should we be concerned about the offense? Or is this defense so good that most offenses would look like this?
I lean toward the latter. I don’t think it’s worth overreacting to the Vikings’ offense — not with some new offensive linemen and a young quarterback and injuries to their two best players. I think the takeaway continues to be that Brian Flores’ defense is going to be a major problem for just about everybody on the schedule in 2025.
*In one period later in practice that was best on best, the Vikings’ offense went nowhere. Byron Murphy Jr. raced off the edge and swatted down an attempted screen pass. J.J. McCarthy was under pressure on the following play...
