Rookie quarterback JJ McCarthy says the hardest part of stepping up to NFL speed isn’t the play call or the pre-snap read, it’s when the rush and back-end disguises collide after the snap. “I think it’s the rush. That rush, it gets to you quick. And they’re doing so many things on the back end that, yeah, you could figure out it’s Cover 2, but by the time you figure out it’s Cover 2, you’re on your back,” McCarthy told reporters , summing up why processing quickly after the snap matters more than ever.

Defenses these days mask looks from the line and mouths of secondary players, then flick the switch post-snap. That combination forces young signal-callers to confirm what they thought they saw before the pocket collapses. The Vikings have responded by simplifying the offense at times,

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