David Levine
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Joined: 7/14/2007
From: Las Vegas
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McCarthy’s day
McCarthy set the tone early on for what was maybe his best practice of camp so far. In a half-field drill with 2 receivers and 2 defensive backs (and then 3 vs. 3), he threw a good intermediate ball that hit Myles Price in stride. McCarthy ripped one to Jeshaun Jones, then connected with Justin Jefferson on a semi-deep ball that featured a nice adjustment from Jefferson against Zemaiah Vaughn.
In the next period, the Vikings worked on transitioning from offense into punts or field goals. McCarthy threw a dart to Price on the right sideline to set up a long Will Reichard field goal. Later, after a couple less-clean reps, McCarthy hit Bryson Nesbit on a seam ball before another Reichard make.
In a more standard 11-on-11 period, McCarthy’s first throw was an accurate ball over the middle that was dropped by Tai Felton, who has had a good camp outside of a few drops. He added a few other short completions. In a low red zone period, McCarthy found Jordan Mason open underneath for a touchdown. In 7-on-7, McCarthy went four for four with a couple short throws and then two darts to Jefferson (at the left sideline) and Ben Yurosek (over the middle of the field).
Back in 11-on-11, McCarthy threw a good ball to Dontae Fleming, who went up and high-pointed it on an out-breaking route to the left. He hit Jones on another out route to the same side. Lastly, he couldn’t quite connect with Gavin Bartholomew on a fairly deep ball down the right side. The throw may have been a touch long, but it seemed catchable.
Overall, McCarthy looked more decisive and comfortable than he has on other days, which is encouraging. Even if he doesn’t win the starting job, he could easily be needed over the course of a 17-game season.
Murray’s day
Murray has had some very good days in camp and some shakier ones. Friday’s practice, which came on his 29th birthday, falls into the latter bucket.
It started well enough with some good throws in the 3-on-3 portion, including a pass to Jefferson that was fit into a tight window with Byron Murphy Jr. in coverage. But Murray’s first rep in the special teams transition period saw him get “sacked” by Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins, scramble out to his left, and get flagged for throwing the ball while beyond the line of scrimmage.
Another nice connection with Jefferson was followed by a ball that was too high for Jones and nearly picked off by rookie safety Jacob Thomas. Then Murray threw a ball too far in front of Jefferson. His next rep was a floated wheel route for Aaron Jones that resulted in defensive pass interference on Josh Metellus, whose early contact made it difficult to judge the pass’s accuracy.
In the next period, Murray was sacked by Dallas Turner, who has had a good camp. He connected on a deep ball to Felton, who was all alone due to a coverage bust. He then had a scramble go nowhere. There was a heavy focus on rushing plays throughout the day, which limited the reps for both quarterbacks even in a fairly long practice. In the red zone, a Blake Cashman blitz resulted in another would-be sack.
Murray’s 7-on-7 period was a mixed bag. He threw perhaps a tad high for Yurosek, who got his hands on it but couldn’t bring it down. He connected with Fleming against coverage from breakout rookie Charles Demmings. Murray then was easily picked by Murphy on a throw that seemed to be a result of a miscommunication between Kyler and Jefferson, who turned the opposite way of the ball at the top of his route. Murray closed out the period with completions to Jefferson and T.J. Hockenson.
Back in 11s, Murray threw a good deep ball to Jefferson, who couldn’t bring it in. A flag was thrown for pass interference on the play, but it was unclear if Jefferson or the defender committed the infraction. Murray wrapped up his day nicely in a second red zone period with a floated touchdown to Josh Oliver and then a completion to an open Felton in the back of the end zone.
Overall, it wasn’t a very good afternoon for Murray, who is still looking to stack great performances on top of each other. He’ll try to bounce back this weekend.
https://bringmethesports.com/vikings-training-camp-recap-day-8-j-j-mccarthy-gets-a-win-but-does-it-move-the-needle
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