EAGAN, Minn. — Veteran Carson Wentz and second-year pro J.J. McCarthy participated in Wednesday's practice, but Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell said the team is not ready to announce the starting QB for Minnesota's Week 7 home game against Philadelphia.
Both quarterbacks also participated in media sessions on Wednesday afternoon, as custom for the player starting the following Sunday.
Both are on the mend. Wentz is rehabbing his left, non-throwing shoulder after taking a big hit during a scramble in Week 5 against Cleveland. McCarthy has been rehabbing a high-ankle sprain he suffered at the end of a run in Week 2 against Atlanta.
"Those were a couple physical games overseas," Wentz said. "Not just for me, but for everybody. It was an earlier bye week than probably normal, but at the same time, I think we appreciated the timing of it."
The structure of coming back from the bye enabled a bonus practice Monday, as well as Wednesday's full session at Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center. Wentz was listed as a full participant, and McCarthy was listed as a limited participant.
Checking in with Wentz
O'Connell said Wentz is "excited about getting back on the practice field and having a chance to play this week.
"He's working through his own plan for the week as we lead into it," O'Connell added.
The Week 6 bye was welcome for rest, recovery and reinforcement of some basics.
Even though Wentz is in his 10th pro season, he's been with the Vikings for less than two months.
The team and QB have worked to mesh O'Connell's system with elements that have enabled Wentz's successes in the NFL, a run that began as the No. 2 overall pick of 2016 by the Eagles.
The Vikings improved to 2-1 in starts by Wentz thanks to a late comeback against Cleveland in London during which he went 9-for-9 with 71 yards, including a 12-yard touchdown to Jordan Addison with less than a minute remaining. Even so, there's plenty of things he wants to continue to improve.
"There's misses every single game that I'm like, 'Maybe I got too quickly through progression and missed somebody. … or not quick enough, some protection, things that I could have cleaned up, especially in that Pittsburgh game, that I could have helped myself avoid some hits, some things like that, that there's they're still learning to do within this offense, and I'm still always trying to learn, as well.
"There's some good obviously, coming back and winning that game. That's always fun," he added. "Finding a way to win is hard in this league, so getting that done. We came up short against the Steelers, obviously, but did some good things late in that game, as well. So definitely been some good things. Definitely a lot of things to clean up, both personally and as a team, and so a little extra time for the bye week to reflect on those things and just kind of hone in on, maybe things that the fans or people wouldn't recognize but just some smaller-detail things that I think I can be cleaner at that can help us."
When asked when he learned about the importance of small details, Wentz replied, "I would say day one, but it's always something we're continuing to learn and kind of focus on."
"For me, it's learning a new offense this quickly, those smaller details can kind of get pushed to the wayside because you're so busy thinking of all the other things, and so it's something that I don't want to lose sight of," Wentz said. "Obviously I'm learning so much as quickly as I can, but at the same time, there's some simple, basic, fundamental things, whether that's mentally or physically, that I've just got to continue to hone in on. And I've seen the value of those, I think, just throughout my journey every single year. It's usually sometime within the point of the season that you're like, 'Oh shoot,' whether it's the bye week or a little mini break, there's some little things here that we can clean up."
Checking in with McCarthy
McCarthy said it feels amazing to practice again: "It's one thing to be in the meeting rooms with [teammates], in the weight room and the training room, but when you're actually out there watching the ball spin, seeing it caught and calling a play, doing all those fundamentals and all that stuff – a lot of fun."
The near fortnight overseas felt like a "fall camp" for McCarthy, who didn't participate in Dublin or London practices but spent some time bonding with teammates off the field and prioritizing his recovery routine.
Initially, McCarthy didn't know what to think of the injury because this is his first experience with a high-ankle sprain. He was informed of a recovery timeline up to six weeks and is working to get to 100 percent. He's not there now, but he's "striving every day to get there as fast as possible," he offered.
The 22-year-old of course wants to play Sunday, but he recognizes there's value in getting fully healthy.
"I don't know what I'm having for dinner tonight," he quipped. "I just try to stay moment by moment. I trust that they're going to do the best thing possible for this team and for the longevity of my career."
O'Connell said he's been "having a blast" coaching McCarthy as he ramps back up, including during the bye last week in more of a 1-on-1 setting that the young quarterback likened to individualized training that "you don't really get at this level," he said. "Especially with someone like, Coach O'Connell and Coach [Josh] McCown. It was really awesome to soak all that in and just get back to the fundamentals. Everyone in this position and other positions and other professions, they're always working on perfecting that part of their craft, the fundamentals, the basics, so it was just awesome to get back out on the field and spin it – but get that wisdom and advice from those guys."
O'Connell noted the importance of sharpening McCarthy's skills as he approaches a return to action.
"I think the big thing is just getting him back on the grass, in uniform, practicing, getting real live reps of pass rush and taking drops and applying some of the things that he's worked really hard on as of late as he's kind of gotten to that phase of his rehab, applying it," said O'Connell, noting an element of immediate feedback has been helpful. "And then when he does that, instant dialogue about what he's able to do and what it felt like, [such as] 'Hey, let's log that away,' and then if he doesn't, the same thing."
Those interactions were particularly applicable during the off week when McCarthy stuck around.
"Just with the obligation of being the play caller, but also the head coach on normal practice days, I like to get around all the positions, and it did feel like that in a lot of ways, just the true 1-on-1 work and then being out there with Josh [McCown] and kind of being able to just kind of give real-time feedback after every throw, even before throws of 'Hey, see how your foot is here,' cite some plays that we had watched together, things where maybe we were overextended, or maybe we were allowing what was happening maybe in front of him on certain plays to kind of subconsciously have him extending some drops and reaching," O'Connell explained. "And with every reach, there has to be an equal and opposite commitment to come back to balance to be accurate. And he's an accurate passer.
"What I have learned about him is when he plays with that ideal base, balance and body position, you're going to see the ball come out with a lot of revolutions, and it's going to go where he wants it to go," O'Connell added. "It did feel like that [was very hands-on work] – definitely something I want to try to continue to do while wearing a few hats."
As far as what he's gleaned from watching Wentz, McCarthy has acted like a sponge.
"You could tell by his experience with the anticipation into windows, with the quickness of when the ball's getting out of his hand, just little things that he does pre-snap that he's been telling me about," McCarthy divulged about his different perspective over the past month. "Reading certain plays, seeing different leverages from certain secondary defenders and just the timing of everything is something that I've been really impressed with and took a lot from."
McCarthy's confidence remains "through the roof," he assured.
"He did some things in the Chicago game to help us win that game, demonstrating a lot of real positives, on the road in a pretty significant environment, crowd noise, first time out, a lot of really positive things," O'Connell recalled. "He's been [around the team learning] but that doesn't necessarily mean he's been on the grass, practicing, doing the things that help you build a layer of consistency, where you can not only take it to the game with you, but then the ebbs and flows of the position, whether it's the pocket breaking down, or maybe it's, once the injury happened, being firm on that back foot, and what the combination of a lot of those experiences can do to your fundamentals are a very, very normal thing for a young player, I think you can see examples of it around the whole league at a lot of different positions."
O'Connell on challenge of Eagles defense under coordinator Vic Fangio
Whether it's Wentz or McCarthy, the Vikings know they're hosting the defending Super Bowl Champion Eagles and Philadelphia Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio.
"He's a really good football coach — has been for a long time," O'Connell said. "They've got some really talented guys on their front, really good linebackers, and I really like their young secondary. They've got a really good mixture of instincts and ball skills, and then just flat-out good football players, so he's got the tools to do what he's always done in the league, which is difficult to play against, a variety of fronts that they can get to with the versatile pieces that they have, linebackers getting on the ball, forming five-down, six-down, structures that require you to have a pretty good understanding of the plan and the play, but then the adjustments that have to take place amongst the players out there to find success.
"Because really a lot of the defense, whether it's pre-snap and some of the things that they do stemming and moving around, it's similar to our defense in a lot of ways," O'Connell continued. "But then post-snap, similar to our defense, they're changing the picture. You think it's this coverage, and it ends up being a totally different structure of the defense, and that's what he's made so many teams and defenses so successful with, and they're doing the same types of things.
"We've got to have a good plan for it, and we've got to execute. We've got to have really good execution on the early downs to give us a chance to have some manageable situations throughout the drive, see if we can get momentum," O'Connell added. "And we've done well when we've gotten in the red zone. We've done well in the 2-minute setting. We've got to be better on third down and eliminate the things we've talked about, from a penalty or negative play standpoint, to be able to stack positives together."
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