Bill Johanesen
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While KOC is all over the map, it doesn't sound like he is fast-tracking JJM's return:
To me, at this point in a very young career, his mobility is one of his weapons that has clearly already shown to be something that's a positive for him, so we want to make sure he's healthy and allow this to be something that we can put in the rearview mirror and continue on with where he's at," he expressed.
"He responded well to treatment early on," O'Connell continued, adding that McCarthy is out of the boot he wore last week to provide stability and limit mobility. "Now it just becomes the phase of high-ankle kind of rehab that we're gonna hopefully be able to get him back up to speed pretty quickly."
After the health hurdle is cleared, O'Connell said the Vikings would not "just throw him out there and say, 'Hey, go figure it out.' "
"I think we saw, as phenomenal as he was getting prepared for the Atlanta game, he did miss practice that week (for the birth of his first child a few days after the win at Chicago), and when you're in the phasing of building up the 10,000 reps and 10,000 hours of what it takes to play the position at a very high level, which we know J.J. McCarthy is going to do, you can't cut corners on that," O'Connell said.
O'Connell tied the progression time to the bedrock of playing quarterback.
"It's what allows players to play with poise and conviction," O'Connell said of deciphering things a mile a minute. "And when you couple that with firm and repeatable fundamentals, normally within the lower half of the quarterback's mechanics, you tie those things together, and then you have a system. Then you have rhythm. Then you have the ability for – it's very difficult for a defense to take away all five eligible [receivers]."
The late-night texts between coach and quarterback are symbolic of McCarthy's fire to become the best version of himself. If Week 3 was any kind of sign, studying an accomplished veteran like Wentz may help McCarthy spin an injury situation into a silver lining – a chance to grow and advance his game.
Syncing up, from bottom to top, O'Connell implied, is essential to playing quarterback at a high level.
"Sometimes it's the reactionary ability to still consistently play with the rhythm and the poise and the decision-making, and all that becomes much easier when you're taking the right footwork and you're balanced throughout the drop and reading with your feet," he stated. "Whether they've played 20 years or they've played two games – that is an incredible weapon. And I think there's value in J.J. seeing that."
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