Minnesota Sports Forum

Wolvesfan21 wrote: ↑Sun Sep 21, 2025 2:22 pm

FNG wrote: ↑Sun Sep 21, 2025 1:38 pm

Wolvesfan21 wrote: ↑Sun Sep 21, 2025 1:29 pm The Rodgers game will be remembered.

Sure will...and he just caused another fumble after running two back! Not the smartest guy...was suspended for a year for placing bets on his own team. But he's been sensational today.

Wentz is seeing a lot of pressure, but is doing just what we want him to do. JJ is our QB of the future, but this team needs a veteran at QB for this season I think...we have to be in "win now" mode if our defense is going to be this dominant.

He's been fine so far. Really with the defense scoring a couple TD's and the OLine run blocking well, he hasn't had to do much. That's what we need though. Not have to put too much on the QB like last week.

I need to see more games to see though. I'm still a JJ should play guy when healthy unless Wentz proves to be very good and we keep winning.

Wentz was fine. Early on he did have a couple plays where he did a nice job avoiding the rush. Other than he was solid. I'd be cool if they kept Wentz playing another game to make sure McCarthy was healthy. Ideally Wentz gets better as he plays more. Wentz is gonna have to do more than he did yesterday to keep McCarthy sstanding around with a earpiece as the backup.

Meanwhile it was kinda cool to see Brosmer get a few snaps in garbage time.

JJ is traveling to Dublin with the team, but he'll still be inactive against the Steelers and probably the following week also. I'm all in on the Wentz bandwagon, so I'm okay with that. Wentz had the advantage of having most of his snaps with CD playing. But he was also hampered by having to play behind an inexperienced center. In fact the play in which the backup center airmailed the snap almost over Carson's head is what sold me on him...Carson caught the ball with one hand rather than bobbling it. I don't think that play would have turned out as well if JJ had been the QB. it appears we have an elite defense...we just need a QB we can count on to control the offensive flow and not turn the ball over. JJ's time will come...just not right now.

FNG wrote: ↑Mon Sep 22, 2025 9:31 pm JJ is traveling to Dublin with the team, but he'll still be inactive against the Steelers and probably the following week also. I'm all in on the Wentz bandwagon, so I'm okay with that. Wentz had the advantage of having most of his snaps with CD playing. But he was also hampered by having to play behind an inexperienced center. In fact the play in which the backup center airmailed the snap almost over Carson's head is what sold me on him...Carson caught the ball with one hand rather than bobbling it. I don't think that play would have turned out as well if JJ had been the QB. it appears we have an elite defense...we just need a QB we can count on to control the offensive flow and not turn the ball over. JJ's time will come...just not right now.

I'll point out that Jurgens while making his first NFL start did have the advantage of being 3rd year in the system and it seems clear to me the coaching staff has some confidence in him as they didn't bring in another vet with experience at that position. Meanwhile McCarthy played what like a half of a football game with a backup C in Jurgans and at least a quarter with a 3rd string LT Rouse?

I'll also point out that the Vikings ran for more yards in this game than the previous 2 games combined if you take out McCarthy's 50 yards rushing in the 2 games which was more than the Vikings starting RB Aaron Jones. Scoring on that first drive was big. Did they have to overcome a penalty? If I remember right that hurt at least one drive in the first couple games.

It's weird that you are willing to jump on the bandwagon for Wentz when he didn't exactly do anything that fantastic while you were willing to be plenty skeptical about McCarthy.
I'm personally keeping my expectations fairly low for Wentz. Like I've said before the defense is likely good enough the QB situation doesn't have to be amazing to get some wins and the defense will only be better going forward if everyone stays healthy. Wentz has had his own problems winning/not losing games in the past. This might be different and I do have a lot of confidence in O'Connell and the talent on offense if healthy but at some point we need to see if McCarthy is the guy they had so much confidence in just a few days ago or he isn't.

Meanwhile Daniel Jones is doing well which is good for the Vikings comp pick and reputation as a QB reclamation destination. Darnold seems to be doing OK at least so far.

Monster wrote: ↑Tue Sep 23, 2025 2:04 pm

FNG wrote: ↑Mon Sep 22, 2025 9:31 pm JJ is traveling to Dublin with the team, but he'll still be inactive against the Steelers and probably the following week also. I'm all in on the Wentz bandwagon, so I'm okay with that. Wentz had the advantage of having most of his snaps with CD playing. But he was also hampered by having to play behind an inexperienced center. In fact the play in which the backup center airmailed the snap almost over Carson's head is what sold me on him...Carson caught the ball with one hand rather than bobbling it. I don't think that play would have turned out as well if JJ had been the QB. it appears we have an elite defense...we just need a QB we can count on to control the offensive flow and not turn the ball over. JJ's time will come...just not right now.

I'll point out that Jurgens while making his first NFL start did have the advantage of being 3rd year in the system and it seems clear to me the coaching staff has some confidence in him as they didn't bring in another vet with experience at that position. Meanwhile McCarthy played what like a half of a football game with a backup C in Jurgans and at least a quarter with a 3rd string LT Rouse?

I'll also point out that the Vikings ran for more yards in this game than the previous 2 games combined if you take out McCarthy's 50 yards rushing in the 2 games which was more than the Vikings starting RB Aaron Jones. Scoring on that first drive was big. Did they have to overcome a penalty? If I remember right that hurt at least one drive in the first couple games.

It's weird that you are willing to jump on the bandwagon for Wentz when he didn't exactly do anything that fantastic while you were willing to be plenty skeptical about McCarthy.
I'm personally keeping my expectations fairly low for Wentz. Like I've said before the defense is likely good enough the QB situation doesn't have to be amazing to get some wins and the defense will only be better going forward if everyone stays healthy. Wentz has had his own problems winning/not losing games in the past. This might be different and I do have a lot of confidence in O'Connell and the talent on offense if healthy but at some point we need to see if McCarthy is the guy they had so much confidence in just a few days ago or he isn't.

Meanwhile Daniel Jones is doing well which is good for the Vikings comp pick and reputation as a QB reclamation destination. Darnold seems to be doing OK at least so far.

Monster, just to clarify my Wentz bandwagon position: I liked Wentz a lot coming out of college (might be a little midwest homerism involved) and was not surprised that he was the #2 pick in the draft. But he struggled in his first season with Philly...16 TDs and 14 interceptions as the Eagles went 7-9. But he clearly learned a lot his rookie season, because he led Philly to a 13-3 record his second season while throwing 33 TD passes and only 7 interceptions. And he followed that up with 2 more excellent seasons. Who knows what impact his torn ACL, foot surgery and back issues have had on him, because since 2019 his only very good season was 2021 with Indy. But he says he is healthy now, and he also might have the best supporting cast and head coach of his career. He looked confident and capable to me Sunday, and I expect more of the same from him this season.

As for JJ, although I wasn't high on him coming out of the draft, I like his makeup and leadership...he's grown on me a little despite not performing well. I think he has a chance to be our QB for a long time. But the question is this: if the Vikings are in win now mode, which QB is more ready to lead them this season? And I think Wentz is the clear answer. The NFL game is much faster than the college game, and rookie QBs are often going to have that "deer in the headlights" look...Wentz did his rookie season, and JJ certainly did in 7 of his 8 quarters so far. 2 TDs, 3 interceptions and 9 sacks in his first two games does not mean JJ isn't going to be a good NFL QB. But it certainly is a strong indication that he's not the right guy for a team that has championship aspirations.

I just listened to Kevin Seifert and Barreiro talking about our QB situation. While they acknowledge that CDs absence didn't help, they also pointed out that the deep analytics in Pro Football Focus concluded that the biggest factor in JJ's poor stats is that he held onto the ball way too long. And that's to be expected for a rookie QB...NFL defenses are naturally going to be confusing to a rookie. Even a poor Atlanta defense that gave up 30 points to Carolina Sunday.

So do I think Carson Wentz is going to have an all pro season? Not at all. But I'm quite excited about the Vikings' prospects this season with the offseason acquisitions they made, and I'm 100% convinced we have a much better chance of success with a veteran QB under center than a rookie.

By the way, even it's not something that is typically desired by a team, you can't ignore the fact that our squad very much has a QB controversy right now. Today's StarTrib lays it out very clearly. As for me, I've taken a clear stance as to what I think is best for a team with playoff aspirations...go with the veteran over the shiny new toy. But make no mistake...if Wentz leads his team to a 4-1 record with two wins in the UK and KOC elects to go with a healthy JJ after the bye week, I'll be on board. KOC has forgotten more about football than I've ever known, and if he thinks JJ is our best option for success this season, I'll fall in line. It's a lot like the Wolves situation. Many of us wanted to see Rob get more run, but Finchy deemed him not ready. Rob was the more fun choice, but i agree that Mike was the better one.

Monster wrote: ↑Mon Sep 22, 2025 7:06 pm

Wolvesfan21 wrote: ↑Sun Sep 21, 2025 2:22 pm

FNG wrote: ↑Sun Sep 21, 2025 1:38 pm

Sure will...and he just caused another fumble after running two back! Not the smartest guy...was suspended for a year for placing bets on his own team. But he's been sensational today.

Wentz is seeing a lot of pressure, but is doing just what we want him to do. JJ is our QB of the future, but this team needs a veteran at QB for this season I think...we have to be in "win now" mode if our defense is going to be this dominant.

He's been fine so far. Really with the defense scoring a couple TD's and the OLine run blocking well, he hasn't had to do much. That's what we need though. Not have to put too much on the QB like last week.

I need to see more games to see though. I'm still a JJ should play guy when healthy unless Wentz proves to be very good and we keep winning.

Wentz was fine. Early on he did have a couple plays where he did a nice job avoiding the rush. Other than he was solid. I'd be cool if they kept Wentz playing another game to make sure McCarthy was healthy. Ideally Wentz gets better as he plays more. Wentz is gonna have to do more than he did yesterday to keep McCarthy sstanding around with a earpiece as the backup.

Meanwhile it was kinda cool to see Brosmer get a few snaps in garbage time.

Like FNG said, the plan I think from KOC seems to be to have JJ sit out till after the bye, or longer? But right now looks like Wentz will be playing both games in the UK or whatever, Ireland whatever, unless he somehow shits the bad or gets hurt. Then I think we see Brosmer. JJ will likely be inactive for both games I think.