I said during the game Darnold looked like he didn’t believe he was in a pocket, even when he was. Two years of being under duress almost every play will do that to you. Once he realizes that, his footwork should settle down. The next problem is going to be, ok he has 4 seconds to throw, instead of .25 seconds. Who’s he going to throw to? Hopefully we get some more options in the coming weeks. The next few weeks are going to be brutal. He did look terrible vs. Buffalo and it is time to legitimately start saying he’s ruined or he’s not our guy. This season will tell the tale. I had a lot of faith in him and there were some extenuating circumstances the last two seasons, but things should start coming together and so should he.
How do you guys pronounce “ruined”? Rune-d or Roo-in-d Anyway, I don’t know if this dude is toast or not. Barring injury we’ll know this season. He doesn’t look like he’s improved from year 1 very much, that’s for sure. The Pats game gave him PTSD. That would be yet another way the Pats managed to stick it to us because if Sam fails he’ll forever be the Jets quarterback who was “seeing ghosts”. Right up there next to the butt fumble in the Jets hall of shame.
Barrow looked amazing for only his second start. He is playing at a high level already. And yet I don't discount the Bengals ability to ruin him.
Now this is very true, but of course it isn't the whole story. Prime 29 year old Peyton Manning would have made that game vs Buffalo close. He might even have won it, given how Buffalo tried to give it away. Even with the roster the Jets have. But that's not the point. The point is would 23 year old Peyton Manning ever have developed into prime Peyton given that roster and the same situation Sam has faced? Or would there always have been scars and wounds that prevented it?
Great point. The Colts surrounded Peyton with a good OL and weapons to make his life easier. But what if he didn't have Harrison, James, Glenn, and Saturday early in his career with Wayne arriving in year 4?
After one game we can't say Sam is ruined, but it's fair to be worried because for his entire Jets career he's had poor coaching and a shitty cast of talent around him. And by shitty coaching I mean that Bowles and Gase did NOTHING to make his growth as a QB any easier, and in fact, made it harder. From what I've seen and read about Darnold, going back to his USC days and even before, he is smart and a hard worker. Couple those traits with the raw talent he obviously has and he should succeed, even if he had mediocre talent and coaching, but the fact that he's struggling, and may even already be ruined, is an irrefutable indictment of this organization and their HC's in particular. Obviously the Johnsons aren't going to fire themselves, but they damn sure ought to get rid of Gase before he does anything else to screw Darnold up (if it isn't too late already). And it should go without saying that if they suck so bad they're in contention for the #1 pick, they had better already have fired Gase and "Patton Oswalt" so they can't ruin yet another QB.
It's difficult to be a successful NFL QB when on every drop back you are thinking about getting your lights knocked out. This, more often than not, translates into poor footwork/delivery/follow through and rushed throws, as haste makes waste. For sure, the Jets have not done Sam any favors by providing him with a patchowrk OL, a non-existent running game and arguably the least talented WR unit in the league. Throw in two coaches who do not exactly qualify as competent NFL coaches, and you have a major disaster in the making. In hindsight, maybe it would have been best to have Darnold sit out his first season in order to learn the game better and give the team some time to build some talent around him. Whereas some rookie QBs can come into the league and play well from day one, there are some, like Sam, who need a little more time to acclimate themselves to the big time. Regardless, that is all water under the bridge at this point. Stating this is Darnold's make or break year is being a bit alarmist, to say the least. Guys like Joe Montana and Phil Simms were 25 years of age before they played a full season in the NFL. Not only is Sam just 23 years of age, in his 2+ years in the league, he has not had the luxury of playing for a competent organization. If the Jets ever do manage to surround Sam with some talented personnel (which doesn't look like it will happen prior to 2022), then one can make a fair assessment on his ability to lead the team. Until then, he is playing against a stacked deck and will have little chance to succeed. In a way, Darnold reminds me of Jim Plunkett, who as an overall #1 draft pick at 23 years of age, struggled mightily for many seasons with a couple of very poor teams when he first came into the league. After nine seasons in the league, Plunkett managed to turn things around and win two Super Bowls in four seasons for the Raiders. Of course, this brings up the issue that if Darnold does shit the bed in 2020, do you cut him loose and go after another top QB prospect in the draft, or do you continue to stick with him. It's much too early to make that decision at this point of the season, since so much can happen from now until the end of the season. One thing is for certain though. If the Jets do give up on Darnold after only three seasons without giving him a fair shake, this could hinder the Jets efforts in trying to acquire meaningful young talent down the road. A prime young athlete getting wind of the Jets' lack of patience with Darnold would certainly put the Jets at the bottom of your list when it comes to deciding if you want to play with them. Back in 1983, QB John Elway said no thanks to a pathetic Baltimore Colts organization, who drafted him #1 overall. The Colts then traded Elway's rights to Denver, where he went on to become the greatest Bronco of all-time. Now that's something to really be alarmed about.
That one bad sack he took where he landed flat on his back with the lineman crashing down on top of him was pretty brutel. LOL 3rd yr payton manning got POUNDED by the Jets in the POs 45-0. I'm not sure but I don't think that ruined him.
I think fans are absolutely insane. The grass is not always greener, you can’t move on from a qb before you’ve given him a fair opportunity with even average NFL talent around him. People who want Trevor Lawrence are going to be upset when he too can’t carry a bad team to a winning record and the playoffs. Jets fans are some of the most impatient fans in all of sports. Eli Manning, had a lot more college experience, played with far better talent but didn’t complete 60% of his passes until he was 27. He’s going end up in the HOF. Sam Darnold has more talent than any Jets Qb I’ve seen in the last 30 years... people are on him for a 60% 1td-1int 213 yard game with no running game at all and a wr core lacking playmakers and who dropped 4+ passes. It was a bad game for sure and he missed throws and failed to make some too, but the biggest issue I see is coaching. All of Sam’s truly horrific games have been the result of pressure. Gase doesn’t ever have a good game plan when other teams blitz. There are no outlet passes, no check downs, no screens and the Jets have old running backs who are not a threat to make teams pay for blitzing. When’s the last time a Jet back ran 20+ yards on a play, or took a screen pass 20-30 yards. There are no in game changes being made it seems... its the same over and over again. Sam Darnold can be great still, but I have serious doubts it could ever happen with Gase as his coach.
Agree on both counts, but he has Gase this year and as unfathomable as it may be, he might have him next year as well. Is he good enough to overcome that? Will Darnold become Gases next target when he tries to convince Joe that he needs a better QB to run his system? Is Joe stupid enough to buy it? Stay tuned...
Darnold’s maturity, and knowledge of the game will depend on a good coach. Gase is not a mentor, or a coach. The longer that he is in place, the more Darnold will suffer.
Excellent post. I would add that Gase doesn't have a plan to help Sam when he struggles early. The best HCs/OCs help get their QB into a rhythm early in the game, or they help get their rushing attack into a rhythm to take pressure off of the QB. Not Gase. It's like he has the attitude that the players are on their own during the game, sink or swim.
His accuracy on week 1 was disturbing He’s usually good at rolling out when he does not throw it up for grabs across the field He looked like shit he’s done next
I agree with almost everything you said, except that Jets fans are some of the most impatient fans in all of sports, as if we don't have that right. No championships in over 50 years! Consider the overall picture: In their 60 seasons history, they have an overall regular season record of 408 wins, 500 losses, and 8 ties. They have made 14 postseason appearances, and have an overall postseason record of 12 wins and 13 losses. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_...heir 60 seasons history,12 wins and 13 losses. They've made the playoffs less than 25% of the time, and have a sub-.500 record in those appearances. Frankly, I think Jets fans have been TOO patient. Of course the problem is decades of incompetent ownership, first Hess then the Johnson, and since they are the ones who hire the CS and GMs we've been doomed to accepting their lousy choices. Gase is a continuation of that incompetence. I do think that Douglas is a good GM and if they would let him have full control I think he could turn things around. But the longer Gase remains, the more Darnold and the team will regress. Yes, I know the Jets have never fired a HC mid- (or beginning of) season, but there's a first time for everything, and now is the time to do it.
