Forum The Longship Analysis: Vikings’ Kyler Murray-J.J. McCarthy QB c...

Analysis: Vikings’ Kyler Murray-J.J. McCarthy QB competition becoming a race against time

StickierBuns
Joined May 2013
9,462 posts
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https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7504067/2026/08/11/vikings-kyler-murray-jj-mccarthy-qb-competition/

“As I tell our guys every night and every chance I talk to them, we’ve got time, but not that much time,” O’Connell said Sunday evening.

😂🤔

"It’s also worth noting that former Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold, who won a Super Bowl with the Seahawks last season, struggled until the second day of joint practices during training camp in 2024.

But even this hits on the overarching point. McCarthy’s torn meniscus allowed Darnold to take 100 percent of the first-team snaps from Aug. 14 through the end of training camp. Deploying a similar timeline would require the Vikings to finalize their quarterback in four days — a declaration that would require extensive explanation."

Give......QB1......all....the....reps. Name a guy on Friday or Saturday. Not sure how many times I can say it. It would be prudent that KOC admit conceptual failure on this 'competition' and just name K1 the guy ASAP.

edited Aug 11, 2026 5:45 AM
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#1 · Aug 11, 5:40 AM
purplefaithful
Joined May 2013
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100% Sticky. I posted similar sentiment on another thread...KOC is not going to admit conceptual failure on this nor should he, nor do I really want to debate it. I am weary from the QB talk already.

But yah, start polishing the first team offense asap, GB aint that far away.

We need to win that one, going to soldier field wk2 and then to Tampa wk3 is not an easy next two games.

What happened to our easier schedule lol!

edited Aug 11, 2026 10:04 AM CT

Hurry-up Vikings, we ain't getting any younger! 

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#2 · Aug 11, 10:03 AM CT
medaille
Joined Mar 2014
919 posts
Rep: 1,150

Obviously, you guys have a differing opinion than the NFL coach, but what does the evidence say?

What is the league typical amount of snaps that a starter gets vs a backup vs 3rd string?

What are the better teams doing?

What was the snap breakdown between Favre-Rodgers, Rodgers-Love, Smith-Mahomes?

Edit ... Sounds moot.

edited Aug 11, 2026 11:39 AM CT
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#3 · Aug 11, 11:23 AM CT
Zanary
Joined May 2013
1,181 posts
Rep: 737

StickierBuns wrote:

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7504067/2026/08/11/vikings-kyler-murray-jj-mccarthy-qb-competition/“As I tell our guys every night and every chance I talk to them, we’ve got time, but not that much time,” O’Connell said Sunday evening.😂🤔"It’s also worth noting that former Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold, who won a Super Bowl with the Seahawks last season, struggled until the second day of joint practices during training camp in 2024.But even this hits on the overarching point. McCarthy’s torn meniscus allowed Darnold to take 100 percent of the first-team snaps from Aug. 14 through the end of training camp. Deploying a similar timeline would require the Vikings to finalize their quarterback in four days — a declaration that would require extensive explanation."Give......QB1......all....the....reps. Name a guy on Friday or Saturday. Not sure how many times I can say it. It would be prudent that KOC admit conceptual failure on this 'competition' and just name K1 the guy ASAP.

...ok, everybody back away from the panic buttons for a moment. How can it be a "failure" when the actual litmus test - week 1 against a real opponent - is still 33 days away? How is it a failure until we actually see some actual costs from the approach? The bobbleheads seem to have their own "declare by" dates that they consider to be ironclad, but none of them are coaches and frankly don't matter one f*** in the locker room.

Yes, I want as many reps as our QB1 can get, but I also think...given the "Kyler good day, JJ better yesterday" results of the competition thus far (and against a rabid Flores defense), that both QBs are being pushed to better every aspect of their respective games. Wasn't that the point?

Getting close to Vikings Football time...!!!

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#4 · Aug 11, 11:36 AM CT
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