Daily Norseman
If you have been following my writing, you know that I have been a staunch supporter of J.J. McCarthy and trusting the process this season. I have tried to stay positive, even in the face of adversity, but my hope has not been rewarded. Hindsight is 20/20, and if the intention was to compete in 2025, the Minnesota Vikings made the wrong decision at quarterback.
Sam Darnold was not the long-term answer, and neither was Daniel Jones, but we know now that McCarthy was not ready to start this season. The prevailing logic seemed to be, if he can keep improving, we can chalk it up as a success. Unfortunately, we have recently seen regression from the second-year signal caller. For success in 2025, the franchise tag on Sam Darnold may have been the best option for the Vikings, especially considering the low impact that some of the high-profile signings have provided. They could have afforded him. If that was the case, the Vikings would have been better positioned to be in the hunt for the NFC North title.
However, I think the ending would have been a familiar story: one in which the Vikings show promise in the regular season, only to completely collapse when it REALLY matters. I, for one, will accept the current reality if it can upend the trend of stinking it up in the playoffs. I am willing to suffer through a couple of lost seasons, as long as that light is at the end of the tunnel.
I have also said before that Kevin O’Connell has a vision for what he wants his offense to look like, and it doesn’t matter who the quarterback is, he won’t change his approach. We saw it at the end of last season with Darnold and this year with McCarthy. Many fans, including myself, were absolutely perplexed as to why KO wasn’t making playcalling adjustments. It’s because he believes the best way to win is by executing his offense as is (or at least that is my theory). You can call it ego, or hubris, and I don’t think you would be wrong. As much success as we have seen from this team in the last three years, you have to wonder how much of it was riding on the coattails of the previous front office.
For all of his flaws, Rick Spielman did hit on multiple cornerstones of this team, including, but not limited to: Justin Jefferson, Harrison Smith, Adrian Peterson, Christian Darrisaw, Brian O’Neill, and Danielle Hunter. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s drafts have garnered a few every-down starters like Jordan Addison and Donovan Jackson. I will give him credit for drafting the best kicker in the NFL, but the track record is not all that impressive, especially considering how terrible his first draft as the Vikings’ GM was. KAM did find a diamond in the rough in undrafted free agent Jalen Redmond, for which I will give...
