Trust the Kevin O'Connell school for players who can't quarterback good

Before J.J. McCarthy struggled behind a patchwork offensive line in Minnesota's loss to Atlanta Sunday night, former Vikings quarterbacks Daniel Jones and Sam Darnold were leading their teams to victories.

Jones and Darnold were in the mix to return to the Vikings this season, but Minnesota elected to go forward with McCarthy. Through two weeks, McCarthy and Minnesota's offense has been flat out bad in seven of eight quarters. His three-turnover performance against the Falcons erased the positive feelings created by his magical fourth quarter against the Bears, leaving fans bewildered and wondering if Minnesota made the right decision.

But now is not the time to panic. Nobody should panic when O'Connell has the classroom in his school for players who can't quarterback good (that's a Zoolander reference, obviously).

Patience is a must in his school. Tom Brady completed 12 of 24 passes for 86 yards in his second career start and followed up the next two games with 566 passing yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions. Then Brady threw four interceptions in his fifth career start.

A quarterback's path is not linear. Especially when the quarterback is the youngest starter in the NFL and playing behind an offensive line without All-Pro left tackle Christian Darrisaw and standout center Ryan Kelly, who left Sunday's game in the second quarter with a concussion. It got worse as the night progressed when backup left tackle Justin Skule was concussed, meaning third-string tackle Walter Rouse had to play.

Quality protection is also a must in the school for players who can't quarterback good. Just ask Jones and Darnold. Both were high picks like McCarthy and both were punted out of New York after suboptimal results. They were labeled busts, but opportunities to learn under O'Connell and McCown in Minnesota set them both up for success.

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Darnold went from bust to top-10 MVP vote-getter by throwing for more than 4,300 yards and 35 touchdowns in his first season with O'Connell and a decent supporting cast. On Sunday, Darnold led the Seahawks to a road win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he overcame two first-half interceptions and tossed a pair of touchdowns while throwing for 295 yards.

Jones, who signed with the Vikings in late November last season, has the Colts off to a 2-0 start and he's performing like the player the Giants thought they drafted sixth overall in 2019. He's completed 71.4% of his passes for 588 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He's also rushed for three touchdowns.

Just last week, Jones credited his few months in Minnesota for some of his growth.

"I think just being around Kevin (O'Connell), being around Josh McCown, Grant Udinski there. I learned a lot from them," Jone said on The Pat McAfee Show.

"The biggest thing I took away from there was the preparation and how detailed they were in the game plan, how much they prepare for certain looks, checks they had, motions to undress the defense," Jones continued. "I mean every little thing they were going over they were walking through. It was very, very detailed, high level, 'Here's what we're expecting. Here's what we're going to do to it.' And the preparation, day-to-day throughout the week, was really impressive to me."

Aaron Rodgers, who was allegedly drooling about the idea of playing for O'Connell and the Vikings before Minnesota decided to move forward with McCarthy, said it best when reporters pegged him with questions after the loss to Darnold's Seahawks on Sunday.

"It's Week 2," Rodgers said. "I mean like, it's good for us. Last week, probably there was some people feeling pretty good because everybody outside the building was talking about how great we were on offense. ... That's the league. You can't ride the highs or the lows."

There are going to be growing pains with McCarthy, just like there were with Brady in his 2001 season. Nobody is saying McCarthy will turn out like Brady, who threw for 2,800 yards with 18 touchdowns and 12 interceptions before leading the Patriots to the Super Bowl following an 11-5 regular season, but patience and protection will be required.

Darnold was pressured relentlessly by the Lions and Rams in the final two games last season and the Vikings got smoked. McCarthy dealt with similar heat against the Falcons, but that's largely due to Atlanta, who drafted two pass rushers in the first round and signed Leonard Floyd, taking advantage of a banged-up Minnesota offensive line.

It was unfair to judge McCarthy after his first game and it's unfair to judge him after his second game, just as it'll be unfair to judge him after he faces the Bengals in Week 3. But we'll learn along the way, and with Darrisaw's return nearing and Kelly hopefully not suffering from a long-term head injury, the pieces around McCarthy will solidify and so will his play.

McCarthy deserves a patience fan base, and O'Connell has earned the right to be trusted.

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