Drafting Darnold at #3 did one thing for sure....

Or the jets can let him sit until they are out of contention. At that point he can be inserted into the starting line up and allowed to get used to the speed of the nfl game.

Hopefully that will allow him to come to TC the following year and beat out the competition for the starting spot and his tenure as the jets FQB can begin.

I don’t see him beating out Mcown this year for the starting job, it’s just too much to overcome for a 20 year old with only 2 years as a starting qb in college.

We will have to endure another losing season before we see Sam.

 

I think your last point is a tad unfair.

As good as Darnold is (and I think he’s going to be truly great) it’s going to take a bit of seasoning to get him ready.

If Teddy is 100% healthy he’s a very good QB and as much as a waste it would be to play McCown even one snap this year, he is a professional QB with a full year in the system.

I don’t think Darnold is going to come in immediately and beat those guys out for the starting job week 1 and I don’t think we picked the wrong guy if he doesn’t.

Sam isn’t working with Bates all off season, practice and contact is severely limited in today’s game. Darnold isn’t getting an apartment next to Bates and meeting with him everyday to learn the offense.

And with our OLine, do you really want him out there week 1?

There is no rush. We’ve waited since 2004 (or 1969) for this guy. No need to coddle him but no need to throw him to the wolves either. Eli sat for what 10 games? Sam can sit for 6 or 7.

This isn’t Sanchez v Kellen Clemens.

 

You could have saved a lot of typing and just said "I'm going to be absurdly negative because I need to find the bad angle on everything that happens"

 

When was the last time Josh McCown finished a full year, 16 game season? He gets hurt, he's nearing 40 and he plays a type of style that while isn't Fitzpatrick like of running into defenders to get additional yardage, it's not friendly towards sustaining health either.

Then it comes down to Bridgewater's health which is so up in the air he might not even make the team. Even then, how effective can he be?

Darnold's gonna get his time, just a matter of when.

What I want to see if Darnold get some snaps with the 2nd team this preseason, Hackenburg does not deserve to steal snaps in the preseason over Darnold IMHO.

 

I don’t think Darnold means Bowles is guaranteed to be here past this season, I do think he means Mac is, as he should be.

Bowles and Bates come back next season only if they are not holding Darnold back. Look at the Rams as an example, it was pretty clear that Fisher was holding Goff back and he was let go in favor of finding a CS that can get the best out of Goff, same thing in Chicago with Fox.

As for Darnold, I’d say there is little chance he starts week 1 and no chance he sits all year. At most he will sit half the year but likely less than that.

 

No way, no how would I feel remotely comfortable seeing Ope straight out the box because of the supporting cast as it's currently constituted (OL). Way to get your investment murdered. I'd rather him soak in all he can for 2/3 of the season and see how the line plays out. There's no doubt in my mind that he will fiercely dedicate snd commit himself mentally. I'm feeling a playbook and tape watching animal. Anyway, I don't see any valid reason for baptism by fire here.

I've waited so many years, what's another year or three seeing as I actually - and realistically at that - have something to look forward to now? I honestly don't remember when I've been able to say that. Every season since practically time immemorial I feel a combination of excitement, hope, fear, dread, disgust, and then the inevitable: resignation. I'm not feeling the last four in anticipation as par for the course for a lifer. It really is a first for me since, er, since, er, since, er, I'm like Ronald Reagan. I don't recall. Yes, yes, I probably just jinxed the shit out of us. I'll stop talking.

 

As excited as I am for the Darnold era to start, I don't think his opportunity will come until Bridgewater has eliminated himself from contention.

MacCagnan and Bowles have both repeatedly shown they are patient (far too patient for our schizophrenic instant gratification fan base), and understand that getting a good season out of Bridgewater could increase the team's resources for putting more talent around Darnold. That is a valuable proposition and completely worth trying.

Once that experiment ends, the only other factor standing in Darnold's way, besides himself, is whether the offensive line is successfully adjusting to the new zone blocking scheme. If they are not, it is worth it to wait so as not to get him killed his rookie year. If the offensive line is playing competently, then he only has himself to blame if he doesn't get on the field.

 

If all we're waiting for is Teddy to eliminate himself, we'll be in good shape by week 1.

 

I think a case can be made for what both of us just said. I'm just a little nervous about our priceless china to totally side with you.

 

We are on the same ship. Hopefully not in The Bermuda Triangle.

 

Double post. My apologies. Don't know why that happened. Probably The Bermuda Triangle.

 

I tend to agree, but the team still has to try. If best case scenario occurred and Bridgewater netted us a 1st round pick, it would go a long way to making up for the 2nds we traded to get Darnold. Smart business, low risk.

That said, I'm skeptical he's even going to be healthy enough to try.

 

Taco Tuesday on the Titanic has always been a dream of mine.

 

Agreed all around. I'd love nothing more than for Teddy to win the job, net us at the very least a 3rd rounder and then move on to Darnold for the rest of the season. I just don't think he'll even make the roster. And realistically, is anyone giving up anything of value for a guy that will have played maybe 10 games at most off a MAJOR injury? Was he even worth a 3rd round pick pre-injury? I dunno, I love the strategy, I just don't think it will pay off because Teddy wasn't all that good to begin with.

 

I'll see you on Disco Night on the Lusitania!

 

If Darnold doesn't see the field this year something is wrong, either with his overall talent level or with the coaching.

With the Jets current cast of characters at QB there are several different options:

1. Darnold blows away the competition in camp, with the offense moving with some giddyup when he is on the field.

In this scenario Darnold starts the season on the field and stays there all season, even if his performance plateaus early on or he hits the wall in late November/Early December.

This is the Peyton Manning scenario if he stays steady or improves as the year goes along or the Mark Sanchez scenario if he gets the yips at some point.

2. Darnold has a good camp but is clearly still getting his feet on the ground.

In this scenario Darnold starts the season on the field but gets pulled periodically for McCown when he makes an obvious mistake. He never gets pulled from a game for the duration but McCown makes 3 or 4 appearances for up to a quarter to spell him when his head is clearly spinning as the defense throws something new at him.

This is the Terry Bradshaw/John Elway scenario with Bowles and Bates using their veteran options to give Darnold a cooldown when he needs it. Elway hated it when Dan Reeves did this to him his first year but it kept the year from spiraling out of control.

3. Darnold is still struggling with the speed of the NFL game in camp.

In this scenario McCown/Bridgewater starts the season on the field and the Jets monitor Darnold's progress and put him on the field when they feel he is ready to go with an eye on late October/Early November as the target.

This is the Eli Manning scenario.

4. Like option 3 only the Jets don't detect noticeable improvement over the first half of the season.

In this scenario the Jets either put Darnold on the field for the last 2-3 games to get his feet wet or they choose to mothball him for the year.

This is either the Chad Pennngton or the Christian Hackenberg scenario. The Jets better be winning some games next year for the sake of Mac and Bowles, because a terrible year in which Darnold does not hit the field will likely sweep the stable clean (again.)

 

It would take a miracle season for Bridgewater essentially. If he somehow managed to play a full 16 and play well in the process, some team would be desperate enough to take the chance that he'll continue to do just that.

 

The next course of action for me...

1) Cut the scrubs. There’s no reason for Petty and Hackenberg to take away any reps and coaching attention from Darnold, even in mini camp. All of the resources need to be funneled straight to him.

2) Let Teddy hang around until his knee becomes a clearer picture. If he isn’t a full-go by training camp, ditch him too.

3) Give McCown a very limited share of the reps. He doesn’t need them. We saw last year that the Jets gave 70% of the training camp reps to the kids and only like 3 series in preseason to McCown and he still came out playing well. Giving him the majority of the reps is a waste and encourages him to get injured.

4) Develop and evaluate. If Darnold takes all these reps and blows you away for week 1, start him. If he’s still got things to work on, start McCown. Not really rocket science there.

Bottom line is we need to cut down from 5 QBs ASAP and ideally get to 2 by the season. Third stringers only get scout team reps during the in-season practices and you can’t develop meaningfully that way.

 

I think we will see an Eli Manning type scenario. Darnold will show flashes during camp but they'll start the veteran and make the switch midseason.

Ideally, the vet (McCown/Bridgewater) keeps us in reasonable contention, something like 4-3 or 4-5 and then they start the Darnold era. It will give him experience with a late season playoff push and yet still protect him from having to stand behind this line for 16 games.

It's also a scenario in which he has nothing to lose. You make the switch at 4-5 and he starts out 3-1, then damn! we have a budding star here and at 7-6, lets try and get in the dance. OR he loses his first three games, and oh well, we weren't trying to make the playoffs anyway, at least the rookie is getting experience. Win/win.