Daily Norseman
Getting My Head Around the Doomerism
I’m sure everyone is aware that Colin Cowherd is not a fan of J.J. McCarthy. He even went so far as to compare him to…Danny Wuerffel.
Yes, it’s easy to dismiss Cowherd. Bloviators gonna bloviate. The guy collects atrocious takes like my nephew collects Pokémon cards. The opinions of sports talk hosts are a lot like worked shoots in professional wrestling – there’s a genuine, real element at its core, but adding bells and whistles while playing it up for the audience is where the engagement is (and the money made). There may be some of that in Cowherd’s shenanigans. And if it gets traction online? You hit the gas. That’s how the game works. It was also clear he didn’t do his homework, either. He knows McCarthy is doomed to fail because he saw the highlights. Whatever, pal.
I place the views of pundits who played in the NFL on a higher level of credibility, so that’s why I was perplexed when Ross Tucker essentially echoed a lot of Cowherd’s ridiculousness a week or so prior. To be fair, there are others, most notably ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky, who have been bullish on McCarthy’s prospects.
This comes on the heels of various reporters allowing wishes to father their thoughts regarding Aaron Rodgers in a Vikings uniform. Indeed, it was their white whale since February when the N.Y. Jets made it official that they were moving on. Dianna Russini and Michael Silver at The Athletic may have been the most prominent offenders, but they certainly weren’t alone. Rodgers finally dashed their dreams for good by signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers earlier this month.
Then there were the Kirk Cousins reunion rumors. Even with the trade for Sam Howell during the draft, they persisted. ESPN’s Dan Graziano and Seth Walder were still fanning the flames just two weeks ago. It now appears that Cousins himself has essentially closed the door on the possibility.
The collective theme has been, “The Vikings aren’t sold on J.J. McCarthy and are actively keeping their options open.” This is tedious for the simple reason that, you know, it’s BS. Ralph Waldo Emerson quipped that common sense is as rare as genius. He never saw the nonsense coming out of a healthy contingent of the national sports commentariat.
The Minnesota Vikings could have extended Sam Darnold, or in the worst case, slapped the franchise or transition tag on him. They could have kept Daniel Jones in-house for insurance. He left because he knew the prospects of being a long-term starter in Minnesota were between slim and none – and slim just left town. Aaron Rodgers did everything short of showing up outside the TCO Performance Center with a boombox blasting “In Your Eyes.” He signed with the Steelers for a $13 million base salary ($10 million guaranteed). If he hits the performance incentives, it can reach $19 million. The Vikings currently sit at $21 million in available cap space. Unrequited love is...
