""It really kind of started to show up this year," he said, "and it came about last year during IR. Just never had a full season, where you want to be out there so freaking bad, but you can't. It was just this built-up anger that was kind of ready to just explode, and I chose to harness it instead of letting it go into a self-destructive kind of way.""
"Speaking Wednesday with reporters in Minnesota, McCarthy acknowledged his new gameday persona. He referred to it by a name -- "Nine," a reference to his jersey number -- and said it is a product of the anger built up over missing 23 of his first 25 NFL games because of injury. McCarthy missed all of his rookie season because of a torn meniscus in his right knee"
J.J. McCarthy adopted a gameday persona called "Nine" to channel anger accumulated after missing 23 of his first 25 NFL games due to injury. McCarthy missed his entire rookie season with a torn meniscus in his right knee and missed five games this season with a high right ankle sprain. The Vikings have won two of McCarthy's three starts this season, and McCarthy accounted for three touchdowns in each of those wins. A viral postgame locker-room moment captured McCarthy staring intensely at coach Kevin O'Connell, and O'Connell responded to the persona with humor.
Read at ESPN.com
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