JJ McCarthy Throws Terrible First Pitch, Sam Darnold Named Vikings Starter... | Pat McAfee Reacts

I'm old enough to remember the Sam Darnold / Trey Lance QB2 competition. Absolutely riveting.

It's not JJ's fault that the catcher ran the wrong route.

What’s crazy is Darnold was one of the highest rated QBs ever to come out of college and nobody thinks he has a chance to be the starter. If you look at his situations, he has had the worst combo of offensive line, offensive coaches, head coaches, and WRs of all time as the starter for a highly drafted/rated QB.

Why does everyone in the press seem so surprised JJ is the backup? KoC told us from the very beginning that he was going to sit for a long time. Does no one listen?

I think JJ not starting Week 1 is the best thing for his development. He has a very high ceiling but getting thrown to the wolves as a rookie could seriously stunt his growth. This is a smart move by the Vikings.

Darnold had 3 seasons with the Jets and 2 seasons with the Panthers. Let's see what he does with a not horrible team.

Love the joke about JJ throwing that pitch poorly on purpose. Comedy gold.

as a vikings fan, this is exactly what we wanted. actual development at qb 🔥

"if peeing your pants is cool , consider me Miles Davis"

We spent the last couple years talking about how these new talent QBs keep getting plugged in too early to unfavorable situations and then underperforming. Let's let this one play out a bit and see if having some build up and learning time can be helpful. Darnold isn't a Rogers, but the wait really helped Jordan Love.

This approach helps BOTH Darnold and JJ.

JJ sitting and learning from Sam is the best thing that can happen.

JJ mccarthy needs more development

Im a Michigan fan, during their whole last season including the championship, I also said JJ would make a good 3rd stringer.

Pac man got the dip lisp 😂

JJ is nearly 21.5yo. He was only the starter at Michigan for 2-yrs & elected to enter the NFL Draft after his junior year. He sat behind Cade McNamara his 1st year & watched him beat OSU, beat Iowa in the B1G Championship, & lose to UGA in the CFP semifinal. JJ really took it all in & beat out Cade for the QB1 position the next year. Sadly, they lost Corum, due to injury, & the team's scheme was run heavy so couldn't finish the job. The following year he was able to lead the team & win the Natty! He'll benefit from a year of sitting & observing, glad he isn't being forced to be QB1 as a rookie. Mac Jones had a decent rookie year w/ Josh McDaniels spoon-feeding him (likely how Saban got results from him at Alabama, along w/ a talented receiving corps), but he couldn't do it by himself. He was already mentally broken by the time Bill O'Brien came in. Don't need that happening to JJ.

Of course Darnold is the starter! They're not paying him $10 M this year to sit on the bench. It's the best situation for JJ to learn.

This isn't completely new info either. It's just official now, but they've been saying there is a plan for JJM to focus on learning and preparing him to be the future starting QB and not to throw him in the fire right away.

Not that it matters, but McCarthy was selected 10th overall, not 11th.

Good decision. Sam is a veteran. Let JJ learn from Sam. SF liked Sam. He has a good arm. Brock has said Sam helped him a lot. 😊