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This offseason the expectation was that McCarthy would usurp McNamara, that a full year of seasoning would make it inevitable his ascension.
I’ve always bristled a bit at the notion of “arm talent” because far too often that’s just a synonym for “arm strength” and nothing else, but McCarthy can make those NFL-type throws that McNamara struggles with, and on a team that wants its QB to be able to keep teams honest on the ground and uncork bombs downfield if the situation presents itself, McCarthy unlocks that potential for Michigan.īut there’s a difference between potential and practice, and for all of Cade’s struggles last year McCarthy was clearly a step behind him, prone to making freshmen mistakes and generally being best utilized in specific packages with limited responsibilities. He’s simply more athletic, has a “bigger” arm, and by all accounts is a smart, diligent QB who can learn an offense quickly and make it work on the field. And that makes a certain bit of sense, as a fully-operational McCarthy is going to be better than a fully-operational McNamara. Now, on the one hand this felt inevitable – basically since JJ McCarthy signed to play at UM there’s been a contingent looking to give him the ball and lead Michigan to heights of success they hadn’t experienced…until 2021. Yes, it’s a bit melodramatic to frame McNamara’s fall from title-winning QB to shell-shocked backup as a Greek tragedy, but to see his “fall” from grace these past couple of months has been jarring. Worst: You Either Transfer a Hero or Play Long Enough to See Yourself Become the Villain But the sky really is the limit for this team if McCarthy plays like he has these past couple of games. But with the starter role firmly his own I expect the focus will be on getting him prepared for that game, and he has the benefit of playing a great defense in practice. Iowa will be a test for him, one he hasn’t faced before, and my guess is he’ll struggle and people who are prone to getting mad at the starter for everything will start grumbling.
I don’t expect we’ll learn much about McCarthy against UConn or even Maryland, as the prior is awful and the latter doesn’t play a lick of defense. Again, nothing back-breaking but definitely some areas where we’ll have to see how he performs against defenses inside the top 120 of SP+.
Again, against a better team that might have been trouble, though when you’re up 21 taking a risk isn’t as big of a concern. The other throw that probably won’t work was the long bomb to Johnson – he was looking for that throw from the snap and left the ball a little short with two defenders in the vicinity. By comparison, the crossing route to Bell on the subsequent play was better because it was a tough spot to be in and was the safe throw (even if it had little chance of converting). His lone incompletion to Bell in the first half wasn’t a great throw or a great decision – he stared down Bell from the snap and the Hawaii linebacker read it and was closing in try that against Iowa or PSU and that’s likely a dangerous deflection or a pick. But Hawaii really is bad at football right now and there are some throws that McCarthy made that he probably can’t/shouldn’t try to make against better teams. And I’m less bothered by some expected growing pains than some – having to call TOs twice in the first half due to miscommunications or confusion about the playcall will (hopefully) ease over time, especially as the first-year starter at QB and first-year OC get on the same page. Yes, some of these plays were opponent invariant – a great QB making a great throw isn’t going to be stopped by Georgia any more than the Rainbow Warriors. Now, are there areas where McCarthy still has to improve? Absolutely. McCarthy finished the day 11/12 for 229 yards and 3 TDs, and his numbers would have been even better had the running game also not been largely unstoppable against a bad Hawaii defense. This throw to Donovan Edwards was a stark contrast to last week’s game where Cade failed to throw to a similarly wide-open guy Edwards. Compared to McNamara’s performance last week the offense looked much more fluid and dynamic, and its hard to overstate how “plays were made” when the defense gave it to them.
He threw with touch, with strength, and guided the offense up and down the field with aplomb. This will be short because there’s not much to talk about – JJ McCarthy played amazingly in this game and solidified his hold on the starting spot.
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