So says the guy with damn near 800 posts since April/May (hah!). Umm... We all have. Sam Darnold is not some type of "best kept secret". Here at TGG (you wouldn't know though) but we've all loved Darnold since before his Rose Bowl performance. No you haven't. I actually have threads I created (written in stone) heading into 2017's NCAA season calling for one of only two players. Sam Darnold and Saquon Barkley. I streamed every game of USC live last year and since the drafting of Sam (months ago) I've watched a whole lot more than 4-5 (full) games from the year before. So. Nope. You haven't followed Sam closer than I have. And I have proof. You have none. And you joined 3 days PRIOR to the 2018 NFL draft. And those 3 days after your joining of TGG? You had zero posts talking up or even talking about Sam Darnold. Funny. Nice try though.
Sounds like someone who wants to proclaim himself the bestest Jet fan and bestest Darnold fan in the world. Lol
So says the guy who started off with... "and watched either live or on DVR every game Sam played last year and 4-5 games the year before". And... "I can assure you I’ve seen more of Sam than you have". Now who sounds like the self proclaimed "bestest Sam Darnold fan"? Too funny (within a hypocritical type of hypocrite way). Don't be so butthurt or jealous that many of us TGG members have stone cold proof of our support/following of Darnold over the past two years, all while you don't. Awwww. Poor baby has no proof. And life exists outside this forum, kid? Not from someone who has over 800 posts since late April/early May it doesn't (sad). But yea. Absolutely hilarious how you claim to be this "big Darnold follower" but yet after joining 3 days before the draft, you had a whopping zero (0) post's talking up Sam Darnold let alone even mentioning the kid 3 days prior to the draft.
Stone cold proof--lol. My daughter who is a bit younger than you (but not a bloviating windbag), who attended and watched Jet games with me for 20 years wouldn't watch games with me last year because I was rooting for the number 1 pick and Darnold. Every Darnold game last year--and every Mayfield, and as many Luke Falk, Rosen, Allen, Finley and Thorsron (who didn't even come out) and Lamar games as were televised. I'm a QB fan--not an ACC or SEC fan. I don't need to provide "proof" especially to you. It an internet fan forum. Go find my first post--you're good at researching "stats"--it was my ranking of the big 4. I had Sam first but because we were never getting him I was ranking my fall-back positions.
I think the following article is pretty interesting and gives us some insights into how our rookies are doing. The top 3 are certainly no surprise, but I found the rankings of some of the others and the comments about them interesting and encouraging. https://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2...w_do_sam_darnold_nath.html#incart_river_index Jets' rookie power rankings: How do Sam Darnold, Nathan Shepherd, others stack up entering 2nd preseason game? Posted August 14, 2018 at 07:30 AM | Updated August 14, 2018 at 07:34 Matt Stypulkoski | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com The Jets have 14 rookies on their training camp roster, with guys like quarterback Sam Darnold, defensive end Nathan Shepherd, tight end Chris Herndon and running back Trenton Cannon all fighting for jobs. So how have those players looked so far? Which rookies have impressed the most? Who has the biggest impact potential? Here's a look at how all the rookies stack up entering the second preseason game against the Washington Redskins on Thursday night at FedEx Field. 14. OL Dakota Shepley Acquired: Undrafted free agent Analysis: Shepley is pretty buried on the depth chart right now and has spent the majority of his time working with the third team. 13. DT Mych Thomas Acquired: Undrafted free agent Analysis: Thomas has an uphill climb to make the team at nose tackle, but is benefitting from a few injuries right now. Both starter Steve McLendon and depth man Deon Simon have been banged up. That's left Mike Pennel as the current starter, but is also giving Thomas a small opening. 12. WR Jonah Trinnaman Acquired: Undrafted free agent Analysis: Trinnaman has made a few nice catches during training camp and is a serious burner, but for the most part he hasn't really stood out among the Jets' deep wide receiving corps. 11. OL Darius James Acquired: Undrafted free agent Analysis: Making the roster could prove to be a challenge for James, who has mostly played at right tackle during camp. But a rash of injuries on the offensive line have allowed him some more reps. He has experience playing all along the line and that versatility may help him in the battle for a job. 10. S Brandon Bryant Acquired: Undrafted free agent Analysis: Bryant had a nice showing in the preseason opener, recording two tackles against the Falcons. But he'll likely have a tough time breaking through at safety; that's a position where the Jets' are pretty set toward the top of the depth chart. 9. LB Anthony Wint Acquired: Undrafted free agent Analysis: Wint assisted on a key tackle for loss on Friday night. The Falcons had third-and-one inside the Jets' 5, but Wint stuffed the run and forced a fourth-down attempt, which was ultimately unsuccessful and helped preserve the Jets' shutout. 8. RB Dimitri Flowers Acquired: Undrafted free agent Analysis: Flowers is in a battle with Lawrence Thomas for the fullback job and did a solid job of blocking during the preseason opener on Friday night. He also showed he can catch it out of the backfield with a 3-yard grab. He hasn't been a training camp standout by any stretch, but he's probably the slight favorite in the FB competition right now. 7. DE Foley Fatukasi Acquired: 6th-round draft pick Analysis: Fatukasi is currently working as a second-team defensive end opposite veteran Henry Anderson. He helped himself by recording a strip sack against the Falcons, but needs to show some more consistency in the pass rush to lock up a job. Staying away from penalties – like his facemask flag against the Falcons – would be helpful, too. 6. CB Parry Nickerson Acquired: 6th-round draft pick Analysis: Nickerson was making great progress and seemed like he was working his way into the Jets' top four cornerback spots before he got injured a little less than two weeks ago. Sitting on the sidelines can't help Nickerson's standing, but he still should be able to carve out a role on this team – assuming he comes back relatively soon and stays healthy. 5. LB Frankie Luvu Acquired: Undrafted free agent Analysis: Luvu has bounced in and out of first-team action during training camp practices of late; he was back in there with the starters on Monday during joint work with the Redskins. Entering camp, Jordan Jenkins and Josh Martin seemed to be the likely starters at outside linebacker, but the experimenting is good news for Luvu. 4. RB Trenton Cannon Acquired: 6th-round draft pick Analysis: Cannon probably would have been higher up this list before Friday night's preseason opener, but his punt-return issues raised some red flags. That said, he's still been terrific in the backfield all camp long and looks capable of grabbing the Jets' No. 3 running back role – at least until Eli McGuire returns from his broken foot. 3. TE Chris Herndon Acquired: 4th-round draft pick Analysis: Herndon had taken a pretty strong lead in the starting tight end battle, but he's been hurt for the past few days and missed Friday's preseason game. That hasn't helped his standing. But on the bright side, his closest competitor, Jordan Leggett, just returned from an injury of his own on Sunday, so Herndon hasn't really lost any ground in the competition by sitting out – yet. 2. DE Nathan Shepherd Acquired: 3rd-round draft pick Analysis: Shepherd looked terrific in Friday night's game, displaying good strength, some nice quickness and disciplined pursuit. He put up two early tackles and has been doing almost all of the first-team work opposite Leonard Williams throughout camp. At this point, he's likely to be a starter come Week 1. 1. QB Sam Darnold Acquired: 1st-round draft pick Analysis: No surprises here. The No. 3 overall pick has been quite good during camp and had a very strong preseason opener against the Falcons. If he grabs the starting QB job, no other rookie will be able to match the impact Darnold has on this team – or come anywhere close to it. Whether or not Darnold wins the Week 1 starting job will likely come down to his own performance over the next few weeks. By the looks of it, he's about to have every opportunity to prove he deserves the No. 1 role.
Flowers has a shoulder issue--kind of bummed--would really like to see him make the roster. He was great at OK.
Following is another interesting article about whether players' stock is rising or falling recently. Harrison has surprised me. He's much better than I thought. Qvale has been a little bit of a disappointment, but I never really saw him as being that good anyway. I'm disappointed in Hansen's play in practice. I wonder if Bertolet could surprise and win the kicking job? Santos better get healthy quickly. https://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2018/08/jets_stock_report_after_joint_practices_with_redsk.html Jets stock report after joint practices with Redskins: Who is rising, falling? Sam Darnold, Jordan Leggett, Chad Hansen, more Posted August 15, 2018 at 05:30 AM | Updated August 15, 2018 at 08:14 AM By Matt Stypulkoski | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com RICHMOND, Va. -- The Jets wrapped up their three days of joint practices with the Washington Redskins on Tuesday. Now, their attention will turn toward Thursday night's preseason game at FedEx Field. But which players head into that game looking better than they did a few days ago? And which players have work to do to make up for a rough week? Here are some players who helped or hurt their standing over the past three days of practice with the Redskins. STOCK UP: QB Sam Darnold No surprise here. Darnold looked good in all three practices with the Redskins. He got the bulk of the reps. He started working with the first team far more often. And he drew rave reviews from Josh Norman, the Redskins' star cornerback. All in all, a great week at the office for the rookie. STOCK DOWN: OL Brent Qvale Here's the bright side for Qvale: He's still working as the startling left tackle with Kelvin Beachum out injured. But unfortunately, he hasn't always looked great doing it. That was especially the case on Monday, when he was driven back about five yards by the Redskins' Preston Smith, then tipped over onto his rear end – seemingly with ease. STOCK UP: TE Jordan Leggett Leggett had one bad drop on Tuesday, but it came after a pair of nice catches on the same series. He also made a beautiful diving grab along the sideline on Monday, when he made his return after about a week off due to injury. STOCK DOWN: TE Chris Herndon Leggett's return and flashes of productivity came at a terrible time for Herndon, who has been out injured since missing Friday's preseason opener against the Falcons. Given Herndon did not practice at all this week, he's unlikely to play on Thursday against the Redskins. Missing two preseason games as a rookie competing for the starting job is a tough start. STOCK UP: OL Jonotthan Harrison Harrison had been working as the backup center and occasionally filled in with the first team when starter Spencer Long needed a break. But with starting right guard Brian Winters sitting out this week, Harrison got a chance to display his versatility and work heavily with the first team. Showing he can play multiple spots on the line competently should only help Harrison as he battles for a job and a meaningful role. STOCK DOWN: WR Chad Hansen Hansen's quiet camp continued for another three days. He did have one nice catch in team periods on Tuesday, but that isn't enough to redeem three practices during which he wasn't particularly noticeable. Those types of practices have become a trend for Hansen, too; he needs to start popping up and making plays far more often if he doesn't want to wind up on the roster bubble. STOCK UP: S Doug Middleton Middleton was a standout early on in camp, when Marcus Maye was standing on the sidelines due to injury. Since then, Middleton hasn't had as much work with the first team. But he did get some solid reps this week, spelling Maye from time to time and checking in when the Jets went with three safeties. And he looked good during those chances, too. Even though Maye is back and healthy, it looks like Middleton could still carve out a decent role for himself on this defense. STOCK DOWN: LB Lorenzo Mauldin Mauldin is fighting for a spot on this team, but didn't make the trip down to Richmond due to injury. Combine that with the fact that a few other depth linebackers – like Dylan Donahue – have looked good of late and Mauldin could be in serious trouble. The former third-round draft pick needs to get back on the field and impress in a big way to make this team. STOCK UP: K Taylor Bertolet Whether or not Bertolet will wind up as the starting kicker is still an open question – the Jets may consider going out and finding someone on the open market. But Bertolet at least helped his case this week by hitting 5-of-6 field goals during drills on Monday. His lone miss came from 58 yards, while he converted kicks of 40, 45, 54, 36 and 33 yards. All that came while Cairo Santos, the presumed frontrunner for the job, remains out injured. STOCK DOWN: LB Josh Martin The outside linebacker spot has been totally up in the air of late and a good chunk of the experiments with first-team reps have come at Martin's expense. He worked alongside Jordan Jenkins on Tuesday, reuniting what was assumed to be the Jets' starting duo coming into camp. But on Monday, he missed out to a Jenkins-Brandon Copeland pairing. Copeland and Frankie Luvu have been sent out there together at times, too. Martin could still very well win the starting job by showing out over the next few weeks, but the fact that he isn't getting the bulk of first-team reps at this point has to be a bit discouraging for him. Overall team stock? The Jets defense looked shaky – to put it charitably – at times against the Redskins this week. They struggled to generate pass rush and were carved up as a result. Offensively, though, the Jets generally looked pretty good. Darnold making progress is obviously encouraging. On the whole, it was probably a positive week, but we'll learn far more on Thursday night than we did over the past three days.
Yeah. I like Flowers and think he offers a lot more versatility than Thomas. I was disappointed in Thomas' play last season and according to practice reports he hasn't stood out in camp. With his size, athleticism, and experience playing FB in college, Thomas ought to have an edge and be better. Hopefully, Flowers' shoulder heals soon and he can still win the job. If not, hopefully he lands on the PS and can move up at some point.
I had already thought that we'd see a lot more involvement from the TEs this season under Bates, but the following article confirms it. It's also encouraging that Leggett wasn't injured this TC, but rather encountered swelling related to his surgery from his injury last season. He hasn't had any swelling after the last two days of practice. Hopefully, that's a good sign. https://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2018/08/jordan_leggett_his_knee_healthy_says_jets_te_invol.html Jordan Leggett, his knee healthy, says Jets' TE involvement will 'be 100 times better' than 2017 Updated 6:53 AM; Posted 6:00 AM By Darryl Slater dslater@njadvancemedia.com NJ Advance Media for NJ.com RICHMOND, Va. -- Jets tight end Jordan Leggett is finally feeling good physically -- and also feeling as optimistic as ever about how his team might involve his position group in 2018. After a season of inconsistent tight end usage under one-and-done offensive coordinator John Morton, Leggett expects more production and targets under Jeremy Bates. "I would probably say it's going to be a hundred times better than what it was last year, on how much we're going to get targeted this year," Leggett told NJ Advance Media on Tuesday. Leggett and rookie Chris Herndon are battling for the starting tight end job in training camp. The Jets on Tuesday held their third and final joint camp practice with Washington, in advance of Thursday night's preseason game No. 2 between the teams at FedEx Field. Herndon is dealing with bruising and might not be able to play. But Leggett will, at long last. Leggett on Tuesday practiced for the second straight day, after missing a week-plus due to swelling in his surgically repaired right knee. He wore a brace on the knee, but is pleased with how it responded to practice action. He expects to play a bunch Thursday, after missing the preseason opener against the Falcons. (Herndon also missed that game.) "It's going to be a lot of reps" on offense and special teams, Leggett said. Leggett, a 2017 fifth-round draft pick, missed all of last season due to that right knee injury. He hasn't played in a game since the Jets' 2017 preseason finale against the Eagles. After Leggett practiced in this camp for the first four days, his knee swelled up. He needed to have the knee drained and needed to sit out, in order to control the swelling. "I think that's beneficial for me," Leggett said of missing practices, despite being in a position battle. "We needed to try to give [the knee] as much time as possible, to go down a little bit." But after two straight days of practice against Washington, Leggett hasn't experienced swelling. "The swelling is still chilling, so we're good," he said. "I know it'll be fine [Thursday]. [This two-practice stretch] was a challenge for my knee, to see if it was going to swell up again or if it was going to actually back me up. It did very well. "I'm excited, man. I haven't played in an NFL game in a long time. Hopefully, I can go out there and make a couple plays, score a touchdown. I've got to go out there and just make up for the time I missed." With a starting job on the line as he enters Year 2 (though he is really still a rookie), Leggett knows he can't just catch passes. "I'm trying to do it all, man," he said. "Just be a four-down tight end. One of the things I most want to focus on [Thursday] is just being to that left [blind] side of all the quarterbacks and being able to have them encouraged enough to have me back there pass protecting." Could Thursday be Leggett's springboard game to winning the tight end job over Herndon, especially if Herndon continues to miss action? Or is Herndon, who had looked strong in practice before getting hurt, still the leader for the starting role? Either way, Leggett expects Bates to heavily involve his tight ends in 2018. "I'm loving it," Leggett said of Bates' offense. "They're giving us a lot of opportunities. J.B. kept telling us, 'We're going to let you run the route until we don't think you can run it anymore.' He has a lot of faith in us. He just sees the potential at the position." Darryl Slater may be reached at dslater@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DarrylSlater. Find NJ.com Jets on Facebook.
There is no way Darnold can start with this scrub taking first team reps. If Beachum isn't available WK1; Teddy should absolutely start.
I'd hate to even risk Teddy behind Qvale, but better him than Darnold. If Beachum's not well by then, I think I'd rather start McCown and let him take the beating.
McCown might help us win a few games against some subpar defenses early in the season (Lions, Dolphins, Browns). Teddy had to deal with a really crappy o-line the year the Vikings won like 11 games too. Teddy might be up to that challenge. Plus, when the games get tight, I trust Teddy far more then McCown.
