Day 9 recap of J.J. McCarthy's performance at Vikings' training camp
The good, the bad and the in-between of McCarthy's day.
The Vikings practiced in pads for the fourth time in six days on Saturday, and, not surprisingly, things got a bit testy between the offense and the defense. Even J.J. McCarthy got involved. Here’s a look at the quarterback’s day.
The unofficial stats: McCarthy was 9-for-12 in 11-on-11 drills and is 66-for-89 in camp. He was 5-for-6 in seven-on-seven and is 24-for-37 in camp.
Leave Aaron alone: Aaron Jones was knocked to the ground on a hit from linebacker Brian Asamoah after catching a pass from McCarthy in an 11-on-11 period. That created a small scuffle as right guard Will Fries pushed Asamoah. The two were quickly separated. On the following play, Jones took a handoff from McCarthy and was driven into the ground by rookie linebacker Tyler Batty. McCarthy didn’t like it and shoved Batty to set off another skirmish that caused Kevin O’Connell to gather the entire team. O’Connell hates fights in practice and likely reminded his players of that.
Reaction to the action: O’Connell might not have been happy with the pushing and shoving, but he likely was thrilled by McCarthy’s reaction. McCarthy’s willingness to defend a teammate is the type of leadership that goes a long way.