I think your losing your shit, bud. FWIW, Geno tossed 3 TD’s to no interceptions and went 20/25 for 358 in the season opener that year. Darnold hasn’t had a game like that yet.
1. Nobody brought up Geno's 158.3 day until YOU did. That's not even relevant. 2. You had the nerve to claim "Darnolds play has arguably been the worst we’ve had in years." when fact says otherwise. Even when we limit the scope to the past 4 years, we get Geno's 3 pick start. Darnold's play has been inconsistent, but it's nowhere near Mark Sanchez, or Geno Smith kind of bad. And that's just a start. We can go on and on with piss-poor display of QB play of the years past; I just picked 3 pick start. [Mark Sanchez even threw 5 picks against the Bills once. Sam never had more than 2. Just so you know.] 3. Am I losing my shit? For pointing out the obvious? All right - tell me who ISN'T losing his shit, except you maybe.
I guess I just don’t see it on the field yet. His stat line sure as hell doesn’t reflect it, and neither do the offensive stats or the teams record. I mean, is it his 55% completion percentage? His near 1/1 TD to INT ratio? Less then 200 yards a game? What’s been so much better about Darnold on the field so far then everyone else? Edit: your right, Zach, Darnold hasn’t been the worst. I should have phrased it differently. “Some of the worst” probably would have been the right way to say it. No matter which way you cut it, it’s hard to say the guy is playing well, and if he is, then the team has low standards.
So you are saying 1:1 TD to INT ratio is worse than 12 TD/21 INT performance, right? Trust me. Darnold is inconsistent, like any rookie is supposed to be. Is his performance comparable to the "worst we've had in years?" Not even half way close.
Let’s go through the stats for the hell of it. Darnold through 5 games: 7 TD’s 6 INT’s 55% 1066 yards 0 rushing TD’s 2-3 record McCown first 5 2017: 5 TD’s 4 INT’s 74% 1020 yards 1 rushing TD 3-2 record = ADV McCown Petty 4 games last year: 1 TD 3 INT’s 49% 544 yards 0 rushing TD’s 0-4 record = ADV Darnold Petty 6 games 2016: 3 TD’s 7 INT’s 56% 809 yards 0 rushing TD’s 1-5 record = ADV Darnold Fitzpatrick first 5 2016: 5 TD’s 10 INT’s 57% 1267 yards 0 rush TD’s 1-4 record = ADV Darnold Fitzpatrick first 5 2015: 9 TD’s 7 INT’s 62% 1177 yards 1 rush TD 4-1 record = ADV Fitzpatrick Smith first 5 2014: 6 TD’s 3 INT’s 57% 1066 yards 0 rush TD’s 2-3 record = ADV Smith Smith first 5 2013: 4 TD’s 3 INT’s 55% 819 yards 3 rush TD’s 3-2 record = wash Sanchez first 5 2012: 2 TD’s 9 INT’s 48% 1043 0 rush TD’s 2-3 record = ADV Darnold Sanchez first 5 2011: 8 TD’s 7 INT’s 56% 1171 3 rush TD 2-3 record = ADV Sanchez Sanchez first 5 2010: 2 TD’s 6 INT’s 55% 902 yards 0 rush TD’s 2-3 record = ADV Darnold So if you compare like body’s of work from a statistical standpoint, he’s clearly out performed Petty, and clearly started better than 3 out of 8 other season opening QB’s this decade with a couple that are debatable. Not the best, not the worst. Reason enough to be optimistic.
Here's Joe Namath's career stats: Comp. % - 50.1 Yards - 27663 TDs - 173 INTs - 220 W/L/T - 62/63/4 Regardless of his w/l record, his Comp %, his TD/INT ratio, when Namath was in the game the Jets almost always had a shot at winning. That's what a FQB gives you. It's too soon to say for sure whether Darnold can be that guy, but from what he's shown so far, despite losing 3 games, is that he has the ingredients. Yesterday's game was Namath-like: sub .500 Comp %, but 3 long TDs and they won. I'll take games from him like that every time.
I would as well. Stats definitely don’t tell the whole story, but they can provide a frame of reference. I think we’re all optimistic about Darnold at this point. All 3 of those TD passes were beautiful yesterday.
wow....with all due respect to Joe Willy, when you look at career stats like that, you can kind of understand why there have been some football writers who have said that he doesn't belong in the HOF....not saying they are correct, but those career stats aren't exactly in the same category as a Johnny Unitas or even a Sonny Jorgensen.
I don't know how old you are, or if you saw him play, but he might be the textbook definition of the phrase "Stats aren't everything". As I said in my earlier post, whenever he was in the game, you always felt you had a chance. And isn't that what every fan wants of their team, to have a chance? And of course these stats don't give any indication of his arm - his release was maybe the quickest I've ever seen to this day. They also don't give any indication of the fact that he called his own plays, he didn't rely on coaches in the press box, instant video replays, radios in headsets, etc. And finally, the Colts would've beaten any other team they played, but they couldn't beat the Jets with Namath and that was no fluke. And what Darnold did yesterday reminded me of Namath, and while he's not brash and outspoken like Namath, his self-confidence and competitiveness are just as strong IMO. If he stays healthy, and gets the weapons the coaching, he's going to be FQB we've been looking for for 50 years.
^^^I respect your opinion,and I have no beef with you, ColoradoContrails. ColoradoContrails, did he have a quicker release than Marino? I don't know if you remember or not, but Marino could launch the ball with literally a flick of his wrist....in the blink of an eye that ball was gone!
I wasn't trying to be argumentative or condescending, I just didn't know if you were old enough to have seen him play. But yes, his release was quicker than Marino's - I can still see him with the ball by his ear and then it was delivered. And you mention Marino...what a shame they didn't take him! MArino was cut from the same cloth as Joe Willie - big arm, cocky, and could back it up. It's amazing that he never won a SB. Anyway, I enjoy your posts, and appreciate that you've "adopted" us as your 2nd team.
Namsth didnt play in the same NFL as Darnold does or Marino did. The rules were a lot different so comparing stats really doesn't present an accurate portrayal of their careers.
While stats are fun to analyze, they are pretty pointless when evaluating a rookie QB. There is one area, imo, that we need to analyze week after week: does he progress in growth? Sundays game against Denver proved that stats are not always a good measure on a players game. Darnold had a VERY GOOD game against Denver. He made outstanding throws, had 2 QB sneaks on third downs, and added 5 yards to a drive catching the defense with 12 men on the field. He was accurate, smart, and efficient. He had a huge part in winning that game. Anyone watching Darnold has seen his game consistently progress week after week. If that continues, the stats mean shit. By the end of this year he will be very much improved and poised for an excellent second year.
It’s all good. Had a bad a week and I think I’m looking for arguments where there are none. Not ready to buy ‘Darnold farts in a bottle’ from eBay just yet but like most others here, I’m hopeful.
If I am Darnold, I am thanking the heavens I made it through the first 4 games. Media will nuthug Mayfield, but I love what Darnold brings to the table despite an OC that can't get the guy in rhythm to save his life. Awful playcalling to start games. LOL Eli Manning tho
Oh, no, not this again. Different game, different era, practically no QB protections, 14 game seasons, apples to oranges. Every QB from decent to elite in the modern era would never have survived (I'm talking to you, Tom Cheat). Opposing defenses sole objective was to maim and destroy the QB, especially if he had an arm. Holy Hell, if Namath had good knees, I can't even imagine. A lot of times he had to improvise to make up for lack of mobility. He also threw in a wind tunnel. Anyway, I'm not defending appearances on paper, but there was a lot more to Joe Namath than what appears on paper. I'm just glad that I got to see him play. When he was on, he was electric. He threw one hell of a pure ball, and everyone else on here who saw him play as well would be more than happy to substantiate that and back me up. And of course, there was also the merger. As much as I grew to dislike - more like detest - stage father Archie Manning after Peyton came out, I used to have a little bit of a soft spot for the Saints back in the day (really moreso the fans). The Saints were consistently terrible year after year, their fans pretty much patented putting paper bags over their heads, and I could empathize with their pain (Jets fan). Plus they were NFC, so no real harm there (however, all these years later, I feel sorry for no-one). Anyway, Manning got called a bum all the time, but the fact of the matter was that he used get the shit and piss beat out of him every single Sunday. Aside from the legal assault and battery committed against Joe Namath, I almost never saw anything like it. Oh, and loopy Joe absolutely deserves to be in the HOF. EDIT & P.S.: nyjunc would argue until he was blue in the face that Joe Namath absolutely does NOT deserve to be in the HOF. And neither does Joe Klecko. OK.