EAGAN, Minn. — Kevin O’Connell wants J.J. McCarthy to have fun playing football Sunday.
Not in the sense of dismissing a desire to win. Quite the contrary. Get back to his roots and the game he loves, get the ball to his teammates and move down the field.
“I don’t want him overthinking or worrying about if the fundamentals need to be changed, if they need to be adjusted,” O’Connell said Wednesday. “Let’s just make the throws. Let’s just throw and catch. Let’s just play with rhythm and understanding of the plan, and then the ultimate plan of our team on what it’s going to take to win a game involves not giving the ball away to the other team.”
McCarthy is slated to start against Washington Sunday after being sidelined last weekend while in concussion protocol. He spoke with media members Thursday afternoon and acknowledged the overthinking O’Connell referenced, as well as noting his mentality has changed since playing the Packers in Week 12.
“I was just too focused on doing every rep perfect and making sure every little detail was crossed and checked off,” he said. “Coach O’Connell and Coach [Josh] McCown [talked] to me about, ‘Hey, let’s worry about that stuff in the offseason. Go out there, play your ball. Just, execute the plan at the end of the day.’
“That frees up a lot of space mentally to be instinctual, react and respond to what the defense has given me,” McCarthy added.
