August 11, 2025 • 15 mins
Tim discusses the challenges faced by Minnesota sports teams, particularly focusing on the Vikings and their rookie quarterback, JJ McCarthy. He reflects on McCarthy's preseason performance, the expectations placed on him, and the implications for the Vikings' Super Bowl aspirations. The conversation also touches on the dynamics of backup quarterbacks and the overall state of Minnesota sports.
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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. Welcome into the Grind.
This is a Minnesota sports podcast because it's been a
grind being a sports fan in Minnesota since nineteen ninety one,
when they won the World Series and their last major championship.
(00:24):
I know the Links are playing well, I know the
Golden Gophers have won ice hockey championships before then, but
I'm talking about the Wild Timberwolves, Twins, and Vikings nineteen
ninety one. It's been and it's also been a grind.
Being a professional sports athlete in Minnesota. Lost to talk
(00:49):
about today J J McCarthy's first preseason game, why he
looked like a rookie. But first, let me tell you
about five Star Bass Solutions of Minneapolis, because they transformed
our bathroom, our entire thing in forty eight hours. Originally,
we had blue floors, mold in our shower and ugly
(01:10):
stepped going into the shower and handrails everywhere. Our bathroom
was designed for a ninety year old couple. Nothing wrong
with that, but that's not what we want. And Five
Star Bath Solutions of Minneapolis came in and organized our bathroom,
reshaped it full bathroom model, and forty eight hours. We went
from a single to a double, a new mirror, vanity floor,
(01:31):
mold was gone, new shower head, bathtub, surround everything floors.
It's amazing. Five Star Bath Solutions of Minneapolis will remodel
your entire bathroom or a part of your bathroom if
you don't need a full model in just forty eight hours.
Free consultations are available and affordable payment plans are also available.
(01:55):
Five Star Bath Solutions of Minneapolis, give them a call today.
All right, maccar the first preseason game plays one series,
and oh my goodness, I'm so grateful that he played
one series because if he didn't play one series and
throw the ball seven times, he wouldn't have been ready
against the Chicago Bears in Week one. It's all about
these reps. He needs these reps. Seven plays of passing
(02:19):
the football, seven throws is going to be the difference
between McCarthy having a successful regular season and not. McCarthy.
Participating against the backup players of the Houston Texas is
huge for the development of J. J. McCarthy. I'm speaking
tongue in cheek because throughout these past few weeks have
(02:43):
been so vocal that playing in one series in a
preseason game one month before the regular season begins is
not gonna make the difference between McCarthy being a successful
player in year one as QB one or not. But
it does enhance the injury risk of McCarthy, considering last
(03:08):
year he missed the entire season against after suffering an
injury against the Las Vegas Raiders in a preseason game.
But let's talk about something else. I've been pretty vocal
about that. Let's play. Let's talk about how you play
four for seven thirty yards, had some nice passes, had
(03:29):
some overthrows, had some throws behind him, had a nice
little movement in the pocket and found Addison on the side,
and then he had a nice little scramble on fourth
and five for a first down, which I talked about
last week. He's deceptively fast because he's white, and that
is a skill set if used correctly, the Vikings can
(03:52):
really really utilize. I think it's a mistake to put
McCarthy and run pass options, but it's more so a
skill to utilize on a fourth and five, on a
third and twelve. You need to use it organically, not
necessarily select plays for McCarthy to get loose and run
(04:16):
the ball more. But McCarthy looked like a rookie, and
there's nothing wrong with that. He had some overthrows, he
had some underthrows, he had some nice throws, and for
a player that hasn't played a football game in three
hundred and sixty four days, it looked exactly how you
(04:39):
would anticipate a quarterback looking. And there is no problem
with that from the perspective of J. J. McCarthy, But
from the perspective of the Minnesota Vikings, this can become
a problem because the Minnesota Vikings have a different trajectory
(05:06):
as an organization as JJ McCarthy does the player. The
Minnesota Vikings made all of the moves this offseason to
be a Super Bowl contender, but the issue with that
theory is that the starting quarterback of the Vikings is
(05:28):
legging behind. And that's to no fault of McCarthy. McCarthy
played like a rookie because he is essentially a rookie
quarterback and his timeline is of a rookie quarterback. Last year,
Bo Knicks did not throw a quarterback touchdown until Week four.
First three weeks of the season no touchdowns, and then
(05:51):
he caught fire later on in the season, but at
the beginning of the season, rookie quarterbacks struggled on almost
every team. Caleb Williams struggled, Drake May struggled, bow Knicks struggled,
even Jade and Daniels struggled at the beginning of the
season last year. And most people are putting him as
(06:13):
a top five quarterback in the NFL. So the biggest
obstacle the Vikings are going to have moving forward is
how do how do you play for a Super Bowl
with a Super Bowl roster while your quarterback is legging behind?
(06:39):
And there were some throws in his first preseason game
that sailed that would have been picked off in an
NFL regular season game. He missed a guy going wide
open through the middle of the field, and then he
had a scramble on fourth and five. And the easy
(07:01):
consensus of McCarthy's first game in a year is that
he looked like a rookie quarterback. But the Minnesota Vikings
are not on a rookie quarterback timeline. They're ready to
win now and after winning fourteen games last year, and
the reason why they struggled late in the year, well,
(07:24):
Darnold was inaccurate, but the Vikings were severely undermanned in
the trenches, so what do they do. They're bringing Jonathan Allen,
Javon Hargrave, Ryan Kelly, Will Fries and become a team
that's dominant in the trenches while also remaining and adding
(07:47):
Aaron Jordan, Mason, keeping Aaron Jones, and keeping Iron Murphy Jr.
Resigning Josh Mntella's keeping the best wide receiver in the
league to go along with a great one b and
Jordan and Addison when he returns from his suspension. TG
Hockinson's healthy at the beginning of the season. My point
(08:10):
being is that it's not McCarthy's fault that he's on
a rookie timeline. He was injured last year and is
essentially a rookie this season. Justin Jefferson said the same
thing a few weeks ago in training camp. He's basically
a rookie. But the Vikings do not have rookie expectations.
(08:35):
The Vikings have Super Bowl aspirations, and if the Vikings
are not a successful team this year, then a finger
is going to largely be pointed at the quarterback position
of McCarthy. And it's really unfair because it's not his fault.
(09:04):
Especially when you look at the amount of quarterbacks that
have won a Super Bowl on a rookie contract, it's
not as often as you would think. Patrick Mahomes did it,
Russell Wilson did it. That's the list in the last
ten to fifteen years. Tom Brady did it twenty years ago.
(09:25):
So this concept of a quarterback being on a rookie
deal so that you can build around him is a
great idea in theory, and it has worked for a
few teams in the past. But what largely wins the
big game, the Super Bowl as a quarterback being experienced,
(09:51):
having years under his belt, losing, failing and coming back
and winning. And I don't know if the Minnesota Vikings
are designed to win a Super Bowl this season or
even next season because of the fact that their quarterback
(10:15):
is legging behind in his developments to no fault of
his own. You can't speed up a rookie quarterback to
be an eight year NFL veteran overnight, even if you
have a quarterback who whisper like Kevin O'Connell. So just
(10:38):
watch out for that. Sam Howell played well eleven for thirteen,
one hundred and five yards, zero touchdown, zero picks, one
hundred point three passer rating, and he will be the
Vikings back quarterback despite struggles in training him, because he
gives the Vikings the biggest upside after JJ McCarthy. It
might be just as good as Jaj McCarthy right now,
(11:02):
but if McCarthy goes down, you can largely keep the
same playbook if you put in Sam how you probably
have to change the playbook if you put in Brett
Rippen or Max Brosmer. But Sam Howe gives the Minnesota
Vikings the biggest juice as backup quarterback if something were
(11:23):
to happen to McCarthy, Brosmer. Rosemer played well five for eight,
one touchdown on a fourth and goal, zero interceptions, one
hundred and eighteen point two passer rating, and he played
really good and he does look like an NFL quality
(11:46):
quarterback backup quarterback. And the biggest obstacle facing Brosmer as
being a Minnesota Vikings back quarterback it's his age and
the fact that McCarthy has zero years of NFL experience
under his belt. If Brosmer was a five year veteran
(12:11):
and put up these numbers, he would be competing with
Sam Howe for the backup quarterback spot, but he has
a zero percent chance of being the backup quarterback because
of his limited experience. But he does throw an ice
ball and he is accurate. I will say this, if
(12:33):
McCarthy goes down and Sam Howe is unworthy of playing
because he stinks it up so poorly, then there's the
possibility that we could see Brosmer, probably not Brett Rippon
would get the nod most likely, But if McCarthy gets hurt,
(12:58):
Sam Howe stinks up the joint to a point of
no return, then that's the only chance Brosmer gets to
participate with the Vikings regular season team. He's a stash,
a guy in the practice squad player. Now, the Vikings
could be concerned because he's played so well in training
(13:23):
camp and in the preseason that another team could come
looking for the services of Max Brosmer, and that means
he could look elsewhere for the same backup position he's
fighting for with the Vikings. But we loved the story
(13:44):
because he went to the Gophers and had a successful
career with the Gophers. But he's from Georgia. He has
ties to the Gophers, but not ties to Minnesota. So
if another team comes calling, it's not like Max Brosmer
is gonna say no, no, no, thank you. I love
Minnesota because I'm from here. I went to college here.
But he's not from here. Big difference. So we lost
(14:08):
to like about the Vikings preseason and a lot to analyze.
But remember the take that I said about McCarthy, to
no fault of his own, he's lagging behind where the
expectations are because of their Super Bowl roster around him,
(14:29):
But he plays the most important position in football, the
quarterback position, and the team can only go as far
as the quarterback takes you. In twenty twenty five, this
ain't Trenton Dilfer's Baltimore Ravens defense where you can rely
on them solely to win the Super Bowl. Ray Lewis
(14:50):
and Ed Reid aren't playing defense for the Vikings. They
have a good defense, could be top five defense, should
be top five defense, But we got to keep a
reality check on the Viking super Bowl chances because of
where McCarthy is at in his NFL progression. Thanks for watching,
(15:15):
thanks for listening. Hit the subscribe button and appreciate you
making the Grinde a part of your part of your
podcast routine.
The Grind, a Minnesota sports podcast. Welcome into the Grind.
This is a Minnesota sports podcast because it's been a
grind being a sports fan in Minnesota since nineteen ninety one,
when they won the World Series and their last major championship.
(00:24):
I know the Links are playing well, I know the
Golden Gophers have won ice hockey championships before then, but
I'm talking about the Wild Timberwolves, Twins, and Vikings nineteen
ninety one. It's been and it's also been a grind.
Being a professional sports athlete in Minnesota. Lost to talk
(00:49):
about today J J McCarthy's first preseason game, why he
looked like a rookie. But first, let me tell you
about five Star Bass Solutions of Minneapolis, because they transformed
our bathroom, our entire thing in forty eight hours. Originally,
we had blue floors, mold in our shower and ugly
(01:10):
stepped going into the shower and handrails everywhere. Our bathroom
was designed for a ninety year old couple. Nothing wrong
with that, but that's not what we want. And Five
Star Bath Solutions of Minneapolis came in and organized our bathroom,
reshaped it full bathroom model, and forty eight hours. We went
from a single to a double, a new mirror, vanity floor,
(01:31):
mold was gone, new shower head, bathtub, surround everything floors.
It's amazing. Five Star Bath Solutions of Minneapolis will remodel
your entire bathroom or a part of your bathroom if
you don't need a full model in just forty eight hours.
Free consultations are available and affordable payment plans are also available.
(01:55):
Five Star Bath Solutions of Minneapolis, give them a call today.
All right, maccar the first preseason game plays one series,
and oh my goodness, I'm so grateful that he played
one series because if he didn't play one series and
throw the ball seven times, he wouldn't have been ready
against the Chicago Bears in Week one. It's all about
these reps. He needs these reps. Seven plays of passing
(02:19):
the football, seven throws is going to be the difference
between McCarthy having a successful regular season and not. McCarthy.
Participating against the backup players of the Houston Texas is
huge for the development of J. J. McCarthy. I'm speaking
tongue in cheek because throughout these past few weeks have
(02:43):
been so vocal that playing in one series in a
preseason game one month before the regular season begins is
not gonna make the difference between McCarthy being a successful
player in year one as QB one or not. But
it does enhance the injury risk of McCarthy, considering last
(03:08):
year he missed the entire season against after suffering an
injury against the Las Vegas Raiders in a preseason game.
But let's talk about something else. I've been pretty vocal
about that. Let's play. Let's talk about how you play
four for seven thirty yards, had some nice passes, had
(03:29):
some overthrows, had some throws behind him, had a nice
little movement in the pocket and found Addison on the side,
and then he had a nice little scramble on fourth
and five for a first down, which I talked about
last week. He's deceptively fast because he's white, and that
is a skill set if used correctly, the Vikings can
(03:52):
really really utilize. I think it's a mistake to put
McCarthy and run pass options, but it's more so a
skill to utilize on a fourth and five, on a
third and twelve. You need to use it organically, not
necessarily select plays for McCarthy to get loose and run
(04:16):
the ball more. But McCarthy looked like a rookie, and
there's nothing wrong with that. He had some overthrows, he
had some underthrows, he had some nice throws, and for
a player that hasn't played a football game in three
hundred and sixty four days, it looked exactly how you
(04:39):
would anticipate a quarterback looking. And there is no problem
with that from the perspective of J. J. McCarthy, But
from the perspective of the Minnesota Vikings, this can become
a problem because the Minnesota Vikings have a different trajectory
(05:06):
as an organization as JJ McCarthy does the player. The
Minnesota Vikings made all of the moves this offseason to
be a Super Bowl contender, but the issue with that
theory is that the starting quarterback of the Vikings is
(05:28):
legging behind. And that's to no fault of McCarthy. McCarthy
played like a rookie because he is essentially a rookie
quarterback and his timeline is of a rookie quarterback. Last year,
Bo Knicks did not throw a quarterback touchdown until Week four.
First three weeks of the season no touchdowns, and then
(05:51):
he caught fire later on in the season, but at
the beginning of the season, rookie quarterbacks struggled on almost
every team. Caleb Williams struggled, Drake May struggled, bow Knicks struggled,
even Jade and Daniels struggled at the beginning of the
season last year. And most people are putting him as
(06:13):
a top five quarterback in the NFL. So the biggest
obstacle the Vikings are going to have moving forward is
how do how do you play for a Super Bowl
with a Super Bowl roster while your quarterback is legging behind?
(06:39):
And there were some throws in his first preseason game
that sailed that would have been picked off in an
NFL regular season game. He missed a guy going wide
open through the middle of the field, and then he
had a scramble on fourth and five. And the easy
(07:01):
consensus of McCarthy's first game in a year is that
he looked like a rookie quarterback. But the Minnesota Vikings
are not on a rookie quarterback timeline. They're ready to
win now and after winning fourteen games last year, and
the reason why they struggled late in the year, well,
(07:24):
Darnold was inaccurate, but the Vikings were severely undermanned in
the trenches, so what do they do. They're bringing Jonathan Allen,
Javon Hargrave, Ryan Kelly, Will Fries and become a team
that's dominant in the trenches while also remaining and adding
(07:47):
Aaron Jordan, Mason, keeping Aaron Jones, and keeping Iron Murphy Jr.
Resigning Josh Mntella's keeping the best wide receiver in the
league to go along with a great one b and
Jordan and Addison when he returns from his suspension. TG
Hockinson's healthy at the beginning of the season. My point
(08:10):
being is that it's not McCarthy's fault that he's on
a rookie timeline. He was injured last year and is
essentially a rookie this season. Justin Jefferson said the same
thing a few weeks ago in training camp. He's basically
a rookie. But the Vikings do not have rookie expectations.
(08:35):
The Vikings have Super Bowl aspirations, and if the Vikings
are not a successful team this year, then a finger
is going to largely be pointed at the quarterback position
of McCarthy. And it's really unfair because it's not his fault.
(09:04):
Especially when you look at the amount of quarterbacks that
have won a Super Bowl on a rookie contract, it's
not as often as you would think. Patrick Mahomes did it,
Russell Wilson did it. That's the list in the last
ten to fifteen years. Tom Brady did it twenty years ago.
(09:25):
So this concept of a quarterback being on a rookie
deal so that you can build around him is a
great idea in theory, and it has worked for a
few teams in the past. But what largely wins the
big game, the Super Bowl as a quarterback being experienced,
(09:51):
having years under his belt, losing, failing and coming back
and winning. And I don't know if the Minnesota Vikings
are designed to win a Super Bowl this season or
even next season because of the fact that their quarterback
(10:15):
is legging behind in his developments to no fault of
his own. You can't speed up a rookie quarterback to
be an eight year NFL veteran overnight, even if you
have a quarterback who whisper like Kevin O'Connell. So just
(10:38):
watch out for that. Sam Howell played well eleven for thirteen,
one hundred and five yards, zero touchdown, zero picks, one
hundred point three passer rating, and he will be the
Vikings back quarterback despite struggles in training him, because he
gives the Vikings the biggest upside after JJ McCarthy. It
might be just as good as Jaj McCarthy right now,
(11:02):
but if McCarthy goes down, you can largely keep the
same playbook if you put in Sam how you probably
have to change the playbook if you put in Brett
Rippen or Max Brosmer. But Sam Howe gives the Minnesota
Vikings the biggest juice as backup quarterback if something were
(11:23):
to happen to McCarthy, Brosmer. Rosemer played well five for eight,
one touchdown on a fourth and goal, zero interceptions, one
hundred and eighteen point two passer rating, and he played
really good and he does look like an NFL quality
(11:46):
quarterback backup quarterback. And the biggest obstacle facing Brosmer as
being a Minnesota Vikings back quarterback it's his age and
the fact that McCarthy has zero years of NFL experience
under his belt. If Brosmer was a five year veteran
(12:11):
and put up these numbers, he would be competing with
Sam Howe for the backup quarterback spot, but he has
a zero percent chance of being the backup quarterback because
of his limited experience. But he does throw an ice
ball and he is accurate. I will say this, if
(12:33):
McCarthy goes down and Sam Howe is unworthy of playing
because he stinks it up so poorly, then there's the
possibility that we could see Brosmer, probably not Brett Rippon
would get the nod most likely, But if McCarthy gets hurt,
(12:58):
Sam Howe stinks up the joint to a point of
no return, then that's the only chance Brosmer gets to
participate with the Vikings regular season team. He's a stash,
a guy in the practice squad player. Now, the Vikings
could be concerned because he's played so well in training
(13:23):
camp and in the preseason that another team could come
looking for the services of Max Brosmer, and that means
he could look elsewhere for the same backup position he's
fighting for with the Vikings. But we loved the story
(13:44):
because he went to the Gophers and had a successful
career with the Gophers. But he's from Georgia. He has
ties to the Gophers, but not ties to Minnesota. So
if another team comes calling, it's not like Max Brosmer
is gonna say no, no, no, thank you. I love
Minnesota because I'm from here. I went to college here.
But he's not from here. Big difference. So we lost
(14:08):
to like about the Vikings preseason and a lot to analyze.
But remember the take that I said about McCarthy, to
no fault of his own, he's lagging behind where the
expectations are because of their Super Bowl roster around him,
(14:29):
But he plays the most important position in football, the
quarterback position, and the team can only go as far
as the quarterback takes you. In twenty twenty five, this
ain't Trenton Dilfer's Baltimore Ravens defense where you can rely
on them solely to win the Super Bowl. Ray Lewis
(14:50):
and Ed Reid aren't playing defense for the Vikings. They
have a good defense, could be top five defense, should
be top five defense, But we got to keep a
reality check on the Viking super Bowl chances because of
where McCarthy is at in his NFL progression. Thanks for watching,
(15:15):
thanks for listening. Hit the subscribe button and appreciate you
making the Grinde a part of your part of your
podcast routine.
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