July 29, 2025 • 14 mins
In this episode of 'The Grind,' Tim discusses the challenges of being a Minnesota sports fan, particularly focusing on the Minnesota Vikings and their quarterback JJ McCarthy. He expresses his concerns about the Vikings' decision to play McCarthy in preseason games, arguing that the risks outweigh the potential benefits. The conversation delves into the implications of this decision for the team's season and the importance of player safety.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Grind, a Minnesota sports podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Welcome into the Grind, a Minnesota sports podcast where the
Minnesota Twins or any Minnesota major sports team hasn't won
a title since nineteen ninety one. It's not just a
grind being a player, but it's also a grind being
(00:27):
a sports fan of one of these four major teams.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
So welcome into the show. My name is Tim.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Hit that subscribe button if you're watching on YouTube, and
follow button if you're listening somewhere else, and rate and
review the show. Hit that leg button on the YouTube
if you're willing to do that as well. We've got
some major news to cover about the Minnesota Vikings this morning,
revolving around none other than JJ McCarthy, the story that
(00:58):
will really never stopped being a story from the day
he was drafted until the day he's actually done being
a Viking. JJ McCarthy plays the most important position in
any sport and will be analyzed and examined because he
(01:24):
does play the most important position in any sport. And
there's some news by thorn Nystrom on X He says this,
I can confirm.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
Something about JJ McCarthy that.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
Is that the Vikings have strongly hinted at JJ McCarthy
will play in the first preseason game versus Houston August ninth,
but the plan is to sit him out in the
last two versus the New England Patriots August sixteenth and
(02:06):
aunt Tennessee August twenty second.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
I'm gonna dive into that and react to all of.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
That, and I'm gonna explain why I disagree with the
Vikings approach with JJ McCarthy. But first I need to
tell you about five Star Bath Solutions of Minneapolis, because
they transformed our bathroom in forty eight hours, a full
(02:36):
bathroom ra model. The before pictures are up on YouTube.
Before we had a blue floor, a step going into
the shower, we had mold in our shower, handrails, an
outdated sink and vanity and mirror that we're disgusting, a
single sink, and in forty eight hours, it's like magic.
(02:58):
A new floor, a new around, the mold was gone,
a new tub, a new shower head. We went from
a single to a double stick, a new vanity, mirror,
all in forty eight hours, done by Five Star Bath
Solutions of Minneapolis. That's their guarantee forty eight hour bathroom remodels,
(03:24):
five Star Bath Solutions of Minneapolis, Free Consultations, Affordable payment plans,
five Star Bath Solutions of Minneapolis. All right, let's react to.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
This report by Thor.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
Nystrom because there's two different sides of me that are
coming out in this.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
News.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
There's a part of me, the fanboy part of me
that's so excited to see J. J. McCarry perform. The
podcast part of me is also excited to see J. J.
McCarthy perform because it's another topic. You can analyze the
(04:10):
way he threw, you can analyze the way he played,
you can share what he what you liked, what you
didn't like. You can overreact if you want to, but
this podcast never overreacts because this podcast is objective and smart.
Not saying I'm objective and smart, but this podcast is
objective and smart.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
Huh, I really don't know what he said at the
end of this. I don't think he knows what he
said either.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
And after McCarthy plays against the Houston Texans a week
from Saturday, Minnesota Vikings fans are going to be locked
into their televisions because everybody wants to watch him play
because we have not seen him play in a competitive
(04:55):
atmosphere in over a year since he played again as
the Las Vegas Raiders. Now here's where the objective side
stands above the fanboy podcast side. I completely disagree with
(05:17):
the Vikings approach to play J J. McCarthy in any
preseason game because the risks of what could happen on
any given play in a meaningless preseason game does not
(05:40):
outweigh the experience of playing against a vanilla defense that
really isn't trying to throw.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
You off your game.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
The Minnesota Vikings organization has decided that playing McCarthy in
a meaningless game against a defense that is not preparing
to play against him is more important than guaranteeing his
(06:16):
health in Week one against the Chicago Bears on Monday
Night Football. If JJ McCarthy gets injured against the Houston Texans,
that is a fireable offense.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
Because you are.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
Risking your entire season if McCarthy gets injured. Because reports
out of training camp have not been favorable for Sam Howell,
the Vikings backup QB option, and last year, McCarthy did
(07:12):
not exit the preseason game against the Raiders because he
was injured. They didn't know he was hurt until the
following day. So just because he leaves unscathed against the
Houston Texans.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
Doesn't necessarily mean anything.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
Yet, we have to make sure that his knee or
any other areas that he takes a hit in remain
under control for forty eight hours. And when I look
at this objectively, McCarthy, what are you trying to get
(07:57):
out of him?
Speaker 1 (07:58):
Are you trying to get a quarter? A half?
Speaker 2 (08:01):
Definitely not more than a half? Are you looking at
one series? Two series? And let's say he plays good
in a series or two, does that experience.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
In a preseason game going to carry all the way over.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
A month later into Week one against the Chicago Bears.
If McCarthy plays well against the Bears in Week one,
are we really going to look back on preseason game
(08:51):
number one and say, yep, because he played against the
Houston Texans a defense that was vanilla, a defense that
was giving nothing.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
In a meaningless game, That's why he played well.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
Does two series against the Houston Texan defense really going
to give McCarthy enough competitive feel to transfer that over
to the Chicago Bears on Monday Night football in Week one?
(09:30):
I think this whole idea is preposterous every way.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
I look at it, and one thing that is really.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
Mind boggling is what college football has on the NFL.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
You've got.
Speaker 2 (09:56):
Young adults nineteen twenty twenty one years old, I'm eighteen
years old, playing and going to school sort of, and
they don't have any preseason games, and they have to
practice less. They just got to show up ready to play.
(10:17):
And you've got professional athletes that have been playing the
game of football their entire lives, that have joint practices,
that have all of these exhausting physically and mentally practices,
(10:38):
and they need three preseason games to get ready for football.
The NFL has changed over the last few years, and
you hardly.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
See any starters playing.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
At all, especially at the QB position, because every NFL
team knows that the risk of losing your starting quarterback
in a preseason game does not outweigh the reward of
him getting a series or two of experience.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
That you hope could carry over to a regular season game.
A preseason.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
Game is not comparable to a regular season game. Week
one in the preseason against the Houston Texans is not
going to deter or alter McCarthy's performance in Week one
(11:53):
against Chicago.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
For the good or for the bad.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
If McCarthy plays good against the Bears, I'm not gonna
look back against the Houston Texans and say that's why
because of that experience, and I'm and if he plays bad,
I'm also not going to look back on that outcome
(12:20):
against the Houston Texans and say you should have got
one more time. He should have played week two or
week three in the preseason, but he did not play enough.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
I do not see.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
In any way because I'm truly, really, really really trying to.
I do not see in any way. There's not a
single part of me that thinks a series or two
of preseason experience is going to be valuable experience for J. J.
(13:00):
McCarthy going forward. The Vikings are risking their season because
if he goes down, then you're screwed.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
And if he.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
Goes down again, then lingering questions about McCarthy's health are
going to be factored in and considered.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
So don't do it.
Speaker 2 (13:32):
Change your mind, take him out. Can't believe this is
a conversation, and I know the fanboys are gonna come
at me.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
I don't give a shit my opinion. Thanks for joining
the show.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
Appreciate you hit that subscribe button on YouTube, follow button
wherever you're listening. Thanks for making this podcast part of
your day, a podcast that is unafraid to fight your
opinions one hundred percent honest, one end of the time, ever,
and I hope you have a good day.
The Grind, a Minnesota sports podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Welcome into the Grind, a Minnesota sports podcast where the
Minnesota Twins or any Minnesota major sports team hasn't won
a title since nineteen ninety one. It's not just a
grind being a player, but it's also a grind being
(00:27):
a sports fan of one of these four major teams.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
So welcome into the show. My name is Tim.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Hit that subscribe button if you're watching on YouTube, and
follow button if you're listening somewhere else, and rate and
review the show. Hit that leg button on the YouTube
if you're willing to do that as well. We've got
some major news to cover about the Minnesota Vikings this morning,
revolving around none other than JJ McCarthy, the story that
(00:58):
will really never stopped being a story from the day
he was drafted until the day he's actually done being
a Viking. JJ McCarthy plays the most important position in
any sport and will be analyzed and examined because he
(01:24):
does play the most important position in any sport. And
there's some news by thorn Nystrom on X He says this,
I can confirm.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
Something about JJ McCarthy that.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
Is that the Vikings have strongly hinted at JJ McCarthy
will play in the first preseason game versus Houston August ninth,
but the plan is to sit him out in the
last two versus the New England Patriots August sixteenth and
(02:06):
aunt Tennessee August twenty second.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
I'm gonna dive into that and react to all of.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
That, and I'm gonna explain why I disagree with the
Vikings approach with JJ McCarthy. But first I need to
tell you about five Star Bath Solutions of Minneapolis, because
they transformed our bathroom in forty eight hours, a full
(02:36):
bathroom ra model. The before pictures are up on YouTube.
Before we had a blue floor, a step going into
the shower, we had mold in our shower, handrails, an
outdated sink and vanity and mirror that we're disgusting, a
single sink, and in forty eight hours, it's like magic.
(02:58):
A new floor, a new around, the mold was gone,
a new tub, a new shower head. We went from
a single to a double stick, a new vanity, mirror,
all in forty eight hours, done by Five Star Bath
Solutions of Minneapolis. That's their guarantee forty eight hour bathroom remodels,
(03:24):
five Star Bath Solutions of Minneapolis, Free Consultations, Affordable payment plans,
five Star Bath Solutions of Minneapolis. All right, let's react to.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
This report by Thor.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
Nystrom because there's two different sides of me that are
coming out in this.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
News.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
There's a part of me, the fanboy part of me
that's so excited to see J. J. McCarry perform. The
podcast part of me is also excited to see J. J.
McCarthy perform because it's another topic. You can analyze the
(04:10):
way he threw, you can analyze the way he played,
you can share what he what you liked, what you
didn't like. You can overreact if you want to, but
this podcast never overreacts because this podcast is objective and smart.
Not saying I'm objective and smart, but this podcast is
objective and smart.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
Huh, I really don't know what he said at the
end of this. I don't think he knows what he
said either.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
And after McCarthy plays against the Houston Texans a week
from Saturday, Minnesota Vikings fans are going to be locked
into their televisions because everybody wants to watch him play
because we have not seen him play in a competitive
(04:55):
atmosphere in over a year since he played again as
the Las Vegas Raiders. Now here's where the objective side
stands above the fanboy podcast side. I completely disagree with
(05:17):
the Vikings approach to play J J. McCarthy in any
preseason game because the risks of what could happen on
any given play in a meaningless preseason game does not
(05:40):
outweigh the experience of playing against a vanilla defense that
really isn't trying to throw.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
You off your game.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
The Minnesota Vikings organization has decided that playing McCarthy in
a meaningless game against a defense that is not preparing
to play against him is more important than guaranteeing his
(06:16):
health in Week one against the Chicago Bears on Monday
Night Football. If JJ McCarthy gets injured against the Houston Texans,
that is a fireable offense.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
Because you are.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
Risking your entire season if McCarthy gets injured. Because reports
out of training camp have not been favorable for Sam Howell,
the Vikings backup QB option, and last year, McCarthy did
(07:12):
not exit the preseason game against the Raiders because he
was injured. They didn't know he was hurt until the
following day. So just because he leaves unscathed against the
Houston Texans.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
Doesn't necessarily mean anything.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
Yet, we have to make sure that his knee or
any other areas that he takes a hit in remain
under control for forty eight hours. And when I look
at this objectively, McCarthy, what are you trying to get
(07:57):
out of him?
Speaker 1 (07:58):
Are you trying to get a quarter? A half?
Speaker 2 (08:01):
Definitely not more than a half? Are you looking at
one series? Two series? And let's say he plays good
in a series or two, does that experience.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
In a preseason game going to carry all the way over.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
A month later into Week one against the Chicago Bears.
If McCarthy plays well against the Bears in Week one,
are we really going to look back on preseason game
(08:51):
number one and say, yep, because he played against the
Houston Texans a defense that was vanilla, a defense that
was giving nothing.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
In a meaningless game, That's why he played well.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
Does two series against the Houston Texan defense really going
to give McCarthy enough competitive feel to transfer that over
to the Chicago Bears on Monday Night football in Week one?
(09:30):
I think this whole idea is preposterous every way.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
I look at it, and one thing that is really.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
Mind boggling is what college football has on the NFL.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
You've got.
Speaker 2 (09:56):
Young adults nineteen twenty twenty one years old, I'm eighteen
years old, playing and going to school sort of, and
they don't have any preseason games, and they have to
practice less. They just got to show up ready to play.
(10:17):
And you've got professional athletes that have been playing the
game of football their entire lives, that have joint practices,
that have all of these exhausting physically and mentally practices,
(10:38):
and they need three preseason games to get ready for football.
The NFL has changed over the last few years, and
you hardly.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
See any starters playing.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
At all, especially at the QB position, because every NFL
team knows that the risk of losing your starting quarterback
in a preseason game does not outweigh the reward of
him getting a series or two of experience.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
That you hope could carry over to a regular season game.
A preseason.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
Game is not comparable to a regular season game. Week
one in the preseason against the Houston Texans is not
going to deter or alter McCarthy's performance in Week one
(11:53):
against Chicago.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
For the good or for the bad.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
If McCarthy plays good against the Bears, I'm not gonna
look back against the Houston Texans and say that's why
because of that experience, and I'm and if he plays bad,
I'm also not going to look back on that outcome
(12:20):
against the Houston Texans and say you should have got
one more time. He should have played week two or
week three in the preseason, but he did not play enough.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
I do not see.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
In any way because I'm truly, really, really really trying to.
I do not see in any way. There's not a
single part of me that thinks a series or two
of preseason experience is going to be valuable experience for J. J.
(13:00):
McCarthy going forward. The Vikings are risking their season because
if he goes down, then you're screwed.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
And if he.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
Goes down again, then lingering questions about McCarthy's health are
going to be factored in and considered.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
So don't do it.
Speaker 2 (13:32):
Change your mind, take him out. Can't believe this is
a conversation, and I know the fanboys are gonna come
at me.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
I don't give a shit my opinion. Thanks for joining
the show.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
Appreciate you hit that subscribe button on YouTube, follow button
wherever you're listening. Thanks for making this podcast part of
your day, a podcast that is unafraid to fight your
opinions one hundred percent honest, one end of the time, ever,
and I hope you have a good day.
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