Former Vikings head coach Bud Grant used to say throwing accuracy ranked very high among attributes for a quarterback. A big arm might dazzle but without being able to throw the football on target, a quarterback is in trouble.
In two games of J.J. McCarthy’s debut season as the Vikings starting quarterback, he has frequently missed open receivers. He has thrown passes short of receivers, landing the football in the ground. Despite having one of the NFL’s most explosive receivers in J.J. Jefferson, seldom have the Vikings asked McCarthy to throw long. An exception came last Sunday when McCarthy missed a wide-open Jalen Nailor on a deep throw.
And so McCarthy’s brief but collective work prompts asking whether the Vikings, including head coach Kevin O’Connell, trust his accuracy.
The 22-year-old former first round draft pick, who has thrown three interceptions in eight quarters, has a completion percentage of 58.5 that ranks near the bottom among NFL quarterbacks. His QBR, which measures not only passing but performance aspects such as rushing, turnovers, penalties and more, is 20.4 and that ranks last in the league, per ESPN.com.
With McCarthy out for multiple weeks with a high ankle sprain, the watch period on the McCarthy experiment is on hold. But in the weeks, months and perhaps years ahead the answer about whether McCarthy will become an on-the-money passer will be known.
Grant went to three Super Bowls with a quarterback who couldn’t match McCarthy’s 6-3, 220-pound physique and arm strength. Fran Tarkenton, listed at 6-feet and 190 pounds, couldn’t sail the ball with some of his strong-armed peers like Joe Willie Namath but Grant built a passing game around his accuracy and athleticism. The 1975 NFL MVP played 18 years in the NFL.
BTW, the legendary Grant used to say a good coach needs three things: “a patient wife, a loyal dog, and a great quarterback, but not necessarily in that order.”
Worth Noting
The Twins finish their home schedule for 2025 on Sunday and are expected to have the lowest season attendance in Target Field history. A likely total of under 1.8 million is in sharp contrast to the glory days of the first three seasons at Target Field.
From 2010 through 2012 the Twins attracted a total of 9,168,101 fans (an average of 37,729 per game). In 2010 the Twins drew a franchise record 3,223,640 fans, followed by season attendance of 3,168,107 in 2011 and 2,776,354 in 2012.
With an unattractive product expected on the field next season, a further decline in attendance seems likely. Season tickets (or season ticket equivalents) might total in the 5,000 range after being almost five times that much when the ballpark opened.
Those who buy tickets to games next season will come to see fan favorites like Byron Buxton and Joe Ryan (presuming he isn’t traded). Patrons will also come for the ambience of Target Field and the allure of outdoor baseball on a warm and sunny day or evening.
And some fans will come to see opposing teams and players. When the lowly Senators franchise moved to Minneapolis-St. Paul for the 1961 season, fans were so thrilled to have MLB status they turned out as much to see the opposition as they did to watch the home club.
It’s “back to the future” for the Twins.
Are you waiting for the day when a college athletic director fires the football coach after the first game of the season? UCLA had the “patience” this season to wait until after the second game.
The UCLA opening has already prompted speculation about Golden Gophers coach P.J. Fleck going to Los Angeles. A couple of sources told Sports Headliners that Fleck’s wife, Heather, would like living in Southern California.
Don’t back up the moving trucks anytime soon, though. First, Big Ten institutions have no history in the last 50 years of hiring another program’s head coach. Also, UCLA has woeful fan support and is believed to rank among the Big Ten bottom feeders in Name, Image and Likeness money.
And why would Fleck want to leave for a rebuild? More probable in prompting a move could be if a rare opportunity to lead a program with abundant tradition and resources surfaces. Notre Dame is an example, but that job won’t be opening after this year or next.
Dick Jonckowski turns 82 on October 22. Basketball hall of famer Ricky Barry has telephoned him for 26 years on his birthday. Jonckowski calls Barry each year on his March 28 birthday.
Jonckowski, the former Golden Gophers public address announcer in multiple sports, said he’s been cancer free for about 18 months. He will receive a check up in December. He has had battles with non Hodgkin’s lymphoma.