I wouldn't say it is homerism. I thought so highly of Darnold coming out of college that I didn't even consider him dropping to the Jets at #3 overall. I focused on Rosen, Mayfield and Allen. I thought Darnold was the sure #1 overall pick. Then showing the maturity Sam did in 2018 at age 21, despite being on a roster with no talent and coached by a terrible coaching staff, he has given me confidence in him. The sky is the limit. You are right though: no guarantees.
I actually preferred Rosen over Darnold. I feel I was wrong about, Darnold. I liked him as a player but all those turnovers scared me away the most. I didn't like his release and throwing motion. I thought he was more of a product of the system at USC. I'm glad, for once, we picked this QB out of all 5 of them. I get shit from Browns fans constantly here in Ohio, about how it sucks that we couldn't get, Mayfield. Most of them think they stole the best QB from us. I just laugh. I truly believe we got the best QB in that draft. I think Darnold will be one of the very best QBs for years to come. I've never felt this highly about a QB for this team. Never. ...and I know Darnold is just scratching the surface. When he puts it all together, wow, cant wait!!
Too early to say. I thought Sanchez was a good game manager in 2009 and we got deep into the playoffs. I had high hopes that he would continue to evolve and become the next big thing for the Jets, and look what happened there. I also thought Pennington might be the guy for a while, but they're just so many variables that need to be taken into account. Hopefully Sam is the man, but it's just too soon to say, and until I see the front office surround him with the weapons and o-line he needs to succeed, I'll remain skeptical.
Darnold played very well and very poorly last season. If we’re to believe that sitting out really did him some good, that the final stretch of games was not a mirage, then yes, I’m a believer. Protect the guy and get him weapons. I mean, every quarterback, good or bad, needs those things anyway, right? We need an edge rusher but if Mac dumped every penny he had into surrounding Darnold with talent this off season I wouldn’t be upset.
I actually see a little bit of Favre in him. The ability to extend plays, and fearlessness to try and fit the ball in to tight windows. I also like that he is cold as ice, you couldn't tell by his face sometimes wether he just threw a pick or a TD. Time will tell what his ceiling is, but he certainly has some winning traits going for him.
I would feel a lot more optimistic if a winning coach was handling him. Just not on the Gase train yet. Wish they would have gone with McCarthy. There is so much that the offense needs and it looks like they will be picking defense again this year. Not much in the free agency market. I was hoping for at least 8-8 but it will probably 6-10 year. So what the focus will be this year is the offense improved and competitive, Darnold progression. I have great confidence in Williams making the defense much better. We will see defensive adjustment and no more of this passive defense letting the offense march down the field.
How far he will go will completely depend on the o-line Mac gets him and acquiring one elite offensive weapon, i.e. rb, wr or te. Realistically I see his ceiling around Phillip Rivers and a mobile Matt Ryan while his floor will be around Tannehil and Dalton. Whether that will be enough in this current NFL is hard to tell.
Considering he was a rookie. Considering the O-line he had protecting him. Considering the WR's he had. I think he played pretty darn good last year and that gives me hope. He got valuable in game reps which experience wise you cannot beat. He handled the bright light of the NY media very well in wins and losses. Never got to high and never seemed to be to low. He played crappy at times forcing throws trying to make things happen which would be expected from any rookie QB in the NFL. However he also played extremely well down the stretch cutting down on the turn overs. Let's just hope he can carry it over to next season and build on it.
Super Bowl QB...clock ticking till he hits FA but Book It!! Guys a Gamer..surround with A brick wall of an OL and throw in a L Bell and we challenge NE every year Prediction: As the years roll on the AFC Championship will be continuing Cleveland (Mayfield) vs NY (SD) contests
I look back at our SB team and to say Namath was the savior does a disservice to the quality of the team on both sides of the ball. That team had both a great offensive and defensive line. Excellent skill players at WR/TE/RB along with very good Linebackers and decent not great defensive secondary. We also had one of the best overall coaching staffs in either league at the time. Sam to me looks like a guy who has the goods. He's not a savior. We need to build a very good team around him for us to have a shot a SB with him. He's the key piece to build around. Savior is way too much to put on him.
I'm not saying you or someone in particular is necessarily being a homer. But I remember reading this board before we drafted Darnold, and it wasn't anywhere near this high on him. And while he did some impressive things last season, he also looked really bad at times. And if you ask now all the GMs which QB they want of the 2018 class, I'll bet most would put Darnold second behind Mayfield. And they wouldn't be as high on him as TGG is.
I think he's a solid player with the potential to be a great player and one that could even potentially rise to that Namath-level of stature within Jets history. But a savior? No, I haven't seen that from him and don't expect to. The Jets are too incompetent of a franchise for any one person to come in and play the role of savior for them. It's up to the front office to surround Darnold with the kind of talent that can help him become the player that he has the potential to become and lead the franchise to where we want it to go.
Most people expected Darnold to have to sit for most of the year and work on his mechanics and ball security. He is light years ahead of where he was expected to be. Mere stats do not show how well he played last year. He had no OL, no time to throw and was constantly throwing in really bad situations as to down and distance. No QB in the league had to throw in worse situations than Darnold. Pretty much everything Darnold accomplished was on his own, buying himself time and extending plays with his spatial awareness and ability to feel and avoid pressure. The difficulty level of the plays Darnold had to make play after play was well beyond a rookie. I dont think anyone expected Darnold to be this good this fast. The same goes for Mayfield. They both had amazing rookie years. Props to the Browns and the Jets. I really wanted to draft Baker but I am beyond happy we got Sam. I wonder if Baker could handle NYC and the media. Sam is a much better fit for NY as is Cleveland for Baker.l
In all fairness, Darnold did have to sit and work on his mechanics and ball security. The foot injury was a blessing in disguise. I also don't think most people expected him to have to sit most of the year, rookie QBs don't do that anymore. And I realize Darnold was better than his stats. Rosen's situation was actually just as bad if not worse, but Darnold rose above it at times whereas Rosen wasn't able to do that. Having said that, Darnold's overall stats were bottom 5 in the league, so he'd better have outperformed those stats. And it's unfair to Mayfield to compare Darnold's rookie year to his. I think Darnold will close the gap considerably when all is said and done and might even turn out to be better. I did rate Darnold as the best prospect before the draft. But there's a reason Mayfield almost won rookie of the year whereas Darnold didn't get any votes.
It's about winning ballgames, making the playoffs, winning playoff games, making a Super Bowl and hopefully winning it. I don't mean just be along for the ride like Sanchez. I won't care about his stats if the Jets aren't winning. I know a lot of people take dumps on Eli but if Darnold's career turns out like his I'd be ecstatic. Two Super Bowl wins, over 10 years starter, never misses any games, where do I sign up?
When I think about how different our offense was with him, in comparison to without him when McCown took over. It was night and day to me. That alone gives me hope that he can be the real deal for this team.
