If this doesn’t excite you , coupled with the text signings on offense, than nothing will make sure to click on bottom to take you to Twitter & see the entire thread breaking down a series of Sam"s throws Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I still think Sam will be better than Mayfield. Lately we've had too many QBs set the world in fire in their rookie season and then settle down as average QBs. Darnold has all of the fundamentals, my bet is still on him.
Back in the heyday of the AFL there were a lot of great QBs - Namath, Hadl, Lamonica, Dawson - and there was a lot of debate about who was the best. Based on stats it wasn't Namath, but I would take him over the others every time because he just had that knack of pulling out a win when it seemed impossible. Or maybe just because I'm a Jets fan. Today we have a lot of great or potentially great QBs, and there will be a lot of debate about which one is the best, I'm happy to have Darnold. While not as flamboyant as Joe Willie, he shows that winner's instinct, and stays cool no matter what's happening. I on't know if he'll wind up being the best, or even in the Hall of Fame, but if he stays healthy, I think he'll be the best since Namath. What the other QBs do doesn't really concern me.
Sam Darnold really came on after sitting out with that foot injury. I imagine he's spent some quality time in the off-season watching film. With the addition of Bell & Crowder....I can't wait.
This is usually the type of year where we get the rug pulled out. If not this season, definitely 2020.
At the same time, Geno had never improved upon his flaws, not to mention his garbage attitude as a football player. The biggest factor to his failure was that we didnt see any marked improvement from his first year and defenses figured him out. I will be curious this preseason watching to see how Darnold has improved. While Darnold had trouble with turnovers this year, you can't fault him completely when we probably had less offensive talent on offense even compared to the Geno years. Bates was a terrible offensive coordinator that basically made Darnold read the entire field and have to throw it perfectly to the likes of Burnett, Tomlinson, and an unmotivated Kearse on many occasions. Darnold's improvement during the last quarter of the season though can be attributed to him sitting and watching McCown get the ball out of his hands quicker. Once he emulated that, then he looked much better coming back from that injury IMO.
I know, I'm not saying Darnold is Geno. Geno was a worst-case scenario where he finished a largely terrible rookie year on a promising note and then flopped during his second year. I expect 2019 Darnold to be closer to December Darnold than September-November Darnold. But I'm not expecting Darnold to have an 80.9 QBR in 2019 either.
Geno Smith finished on an 8-8 team. In December, he went 3-1 against teams who had a combined record of 28-36. He had a 58.6% completion percentage for 790 yards, 4 TDs, 2 INTs. He had 0 games of 250 yards or more. Sam Darnold finished on a 4-12 team. In December, he went 1-3 against teams who had a combined record of 34-29. He had a 64.0% completion percentage for 931 yards, 6 TDs, 1 INT. He had 2 games of 250 yards or more.
I always thought that we get the rug pulled after a modicum of success. Like Bowles going a dismal 5-11 after a hopeful 10-6 rookie season. Or Vinnie's achillies tear after winning the AFC East for the 1st time since the merger. Or Mark Sanchez....ahh forget it. It's too depressing.
I know, I know. Darnold is better than Geno. I said I was in a grumpy mood today. Only issue I have your post is that the 2013 Jets were one of the luckiest 8-8 teams I've ever seen. They had a -97 point differential, good for 26th in the NFL. Geno's supporting cast was very weak.
Geno also had a perfect QB rated game against a Dolphin team that had just had their heart stabbed the prior week getting knocked out of the playoffs. Bringing up his average stat. Those fins were the definition of bags packed tee times scheduled sports cars in flat beds totally checked out. Too funny I remember folks saying “Geno has the 2nd highest QB rating the last 4 weeks behind Peyton in the entire leaguuuuuueeeee!”. Zero context. The dude sucked moose cock.
Obviously a lot of his improvement will be based and how he and Gase work his mechanics, decision-making,etc. but it has been a loooong time since we’ve had a weapon remotely resembling Bell. Last year I blamed Darnolds failures 50% on himself and 50% on just how bad the offense was around him. By getting Bell and Crowder, and hopefully more pieces on the offensive line, we are eliminating the bad offense excuses.
With the added tools and focus on offense...I'd be surprised if Darnold has a sophomore slump. I hope Gase doesn't stifle Sam's ability to move around and throw accurately on the run.
