When I flip on the game tape of Sam Darnold, the thing that continues to pop off of the screen in a huge way is his ability to move inside/outside of the pocket and avoid sacks. This guy is extremely difficult to grab a hold of. I am not necessarily talking about breaking out of sacks like Big Ben, but his ability to elude defenders, reset his feet, and fire down the field accurately. I know there are a lot of Sam Darnold threads, but I really don't think we talk about this trait enough. Before he even has hit the field, he legitimately could already be in the top 5 of QBs as far as avoiding would be sackers. In addition to being able to avoid the sacks, he is also REALLY good at throwing from all types of platforms and angles. The article written about him being a cow on ice skates is obviously hyperbole, but I think that this is something that makes him an even better prospect. If he can correct his ball security (two hands on the ball) and improve his footwork, I really think this guy could ultimately be a top 10 QB or better in the next 2-4 seasons. What say you? It would also be really cool if we used this thread to share some of his game tape. I know we spent weeks doing this leading up to the draft, but there wasn't much tape shared on Sam. Insert your best stuff! This throw is just ridiculous! Steps up and avoids the sack, keeps his eyes down field, JUMPS INTO THE AIR, throws the ball accurately into the only spot there his guy could catch it. Avoids the rush, eyes down field, hits the receiver as he is going out of bounds. More of the same...
He does have a lot of the Elway traits if not the polish that 4 years as a college starter brings. If he hits his ceiling we're going to be happy for a long time.
He’s very aware of defenders and extremely good at sliding around in the pocket to find open spaces without completely abandoning it Darnold = good
Tell you what, the kid has a ton of excellent trades with the ability to make plays out of nothing being one of his better assets. He is very, very smart and has an enormous amount of field presence. He tried to do way too much last year and carry the team on his back, causing him to take a lot more chances because he needed to. If people think his tendency to fumble while on the run, more so than interceptions, can not be corrected, well, they are simply wrong. Not to mention his leadership, temperament and commitment to the team. Let's keep our fingers crossed.
I could do a darnold film breakdown if people wanted. I didn't do it before the draft because i felt he had almost no chance of being a jet
Takk McKinley, former DE UCLA, drafted #26 overall by the Falcons, caused quite a stir when he tweeted this, under a photo of Sam... "Can someone on the UCLA football d-line please knock him out 11-18-17" He wanted a Bruin D player to do something he was incapable of doing himself.
I'd be thrilled with an Elway like career only with a Super Bowl win or two coming early in his career.
We talk about it. It's one of my favorite qualities of his. It separates him from Rosen, in my opinion. I don't mind if we keep talking about it though!
Matt Ryan had 22 turnovers his senior year in college. I would say he is a good example that shows you can fix turnovers if you have the tools to work with. Let's not forget Sam is only 20 years old. He will have 2 years of pro grooming by the time he gets to Mayfield's age. All the comparisons made between the top 5 qbs tend to forget the age difference between them. Sam is considered to Be the best of the bunch and he has the least experience as a starting Qb. Hell, I'm 63 & he may be the starting Qb till I'm 80. I started liking the Jets when NAMATH was drafted and it took my whole lifetime to finally find our next FQB.. I'm not saying the other Qbs aren't going to be good, I just feel we landed the cream of the crop with the most upside.
USC might run a spread offense, but Darnold plays BEYOND the play-book. He finds the open receiver and throws a very good ball on the run, left or right. Defenders inches away and he gets away. He has to protect the football, 2 hands on the ball. He had a lot of fumbles in college. The 2nd GIF shows that lack of ball protection.
Unless Mac does something major next offseason between FA and the draft, we'd better hope that being elusive is one of his best traits; otherwise, he might get killed.
yup the draft is an unpredictable thing i'll try and get one done sometime next week. probably work on it here and there with good docs before posting. it takes a good few hours of writing things up and snap shooting and hours of sifting through videos on youtube
Here are a few that I thought were pretty good. For every good play, there are also gifs out there of some bad decision-making. He's a REALLY young guy and has a lot to learn. Let's not anoint him the second coming of Elway just yet. I so, so want him to succeed, so can we please just be a little patient with this guy for once?
