Stop being silly. Herbert was Wilson last season, I think you understood the example just fine. The point is Sam is listed as the 33rd ranked QB in a league of 32 teams, work it out for yourself. Just how bad does Wilson, Fields, Lawrence, Lance have to be, to be that bad?
WRONG! Sam could succeed elsewhere because he doesn't have the problematic history there that he does here. In every sport, players sometimes need a change of scenery to put it together and save their career. It may be as simple as getting away from where they struggled and failed and starting afresh. It could be a different scheme, or better coaching, or as particularly is the case here, getting away from all the pressure of playing in NYC and trying to rescue the Jets. Sam was supposed to be our "savior" and rescue this downtrodden franchise in the glare of the bright lights of NYC. That could be part of his problem. He is a laidback surfer dude from California. Not everyone can handle the bright lights of NYC, or the pressure of trying to carry a franchise/team on his back. If you truly like Sam, you should hope that he will be traded elsewhere so he has the best chance of succeeding and wish him well. The odds of his succeeding here are miniscule. Not only will he still have the pressure of trying to turn the Jets around and playing in NYC, but there will be the added pressure of his contract running out at the end of the year, the pressure of a fanbase that at least 50% of which doesn't want him to be the Jets' QB any more, and the pressure of competing against Wilson. If he stays here and Wilson goes elsewhere and starts lighting it up day one, Sam will have that added pressure too. Almost no one could succeed with the deck stacked against him like that, then there's the fact that he still has all the same flaws. Once minic-camp, OTAs (if they even have them) and TC begins, there would be the pressure to learn the offense. They won't have time to work on Sam's flaws except in small increments. If he is to have any chance at success, he has to fix his flaws. For his sake, hopefully, he's working on his footwork now. If not, there's really no hope for him, because his accuracy won't improve, and then there's the issues with his not seeing the field, his poor decision making, and his TOs.
Sure, in one of your absurd hypotheticals based on nothing it wouldn't be great if Sam became a world beater elsewhere and Wilson sucked. The question is, why do you believe there's a good chance that would happen? Sam has 3 years of league-worst QB play under his belt. The evidence indicates he will be bad. Conversely, Wilson has graded extremely high in college last season and has a lot of top scouts and QB coaches predicting he'll be quite good. Again, anything can happen but we're asking you to do some critical thinking and logical progressions here. You basically make hypotheticals based on nothing constantly and then when challenged on the bad takes you go "I'm just the only one being open minded! Lay off!". It's absurd. It's like me going "Hey guys maybe the earth is flat! How do we know for sure?! I'm just being open minded!". It's not open minded or whatever you claim, it's just stupid.
I'm hardly an expert, but people whom I respect like Chris Simms and Theisman are raving about Wilson and have not been nearly as enthusiastic about Darnold. Below find Theisman discussing Wilson with the Washington media; there are also extended comments about possible Washington interest in Darnold (all beginning at 15:51): Washington Football Talk - Recapping the Super Bowl, discussing Sam Darnold's potential fit and interviewing Joe Theismann & Antonio Gibson on Stitcher
So where's this list of the last twenty or thirty quarterbacks Simms opined on? I'll bet a bunch of people here would like to see exactly how good his track record has been; it could eliminate a lot of empty talk. I don't need Simms to confirm what anybody is guessing at, he's just another voice in the crowd, one who is no doubt closer than everybody on this forum but no closer than hundreds of other media, management, players and former players. And no team in the NFL has the chance to draft a franchise quarterback - they all have the chance to draft a prospective FQB - there's a significant difference. You're the one who made the claim that if Simms is correct that Wilson will be a star level FQB, I'm not at all wrong in illustrating the flip side - that if Simms is wrong Wilson may not be an FQB at all, much less "star level," whatever that is. And to claim that there's no way any guy at all going through the draft is going to be a bust has been proven wrong over and over. Wilson may or may not become a better quarterback than Darnold but I don't believe Simms made any claims about that - I know I didn't. That is something that will be determined on an NFL field, not one at Annapolis or Boise State. And if I never watched a football game at all, I could still make every statement I've made here because I haven't spoken about specifics of anyone's play, just the value of the opinion of Chris Simms.
What I'd like to see is at least five years and who he picked as the top four or five guys each year. At the end of the draft all those guys who have been critiquing players write report cards on how each team did but nobody writes a report card on how good a job any of these wags did. Patting oneself on the back for a Mahomes doesn't feed the bulldog if you're also not kicking yourself for the Darnolds.
Well there is 3 years worth there to peruse I guess, it isn't a biggie for me. Like you say, if he has done 7 years worth for example it would be good to see them all laid out to see, I don't know when he started doing it though tbg. But it is a good record on the face of it I found a video of 2017 https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2700636-chris-simms-film-room-breaking-down-drafts-top-qbs
im not nearly as down on Darnold as many, but Simms is spot on - Zack Wilson’s ability to operate in and out of the pocket and overall throwing mechanics are elite. No one wants to say he’s the next Mahomes or Rodgers, but his college tape is as good as either (it’s actually better)... It’s not to say he will be that kind of Qb in the NFL, but we 100% know Sam is not going to be that... so it’s a no brainer for me. Dare to be great...
I hate to think he would continue to play poorly on another team. I honestly hope is reaches his potential of mediocre!
"Darnold: Yeah, I'm not a surfer. A lot of people think I am. That might be one thing. It's funny, I did a commercial for Toyota, and they had a surfboard on top of the car I was driving in the commercial. I was like, ‘Guys, I don’t surf.’ Everyone thinks I surf. All my friends give me crap when someone says, ‘Oh, Darnold surfs.’ They’re like, ‘Dude, you can’t keep telling people you surf. You know you can’t surf.’ All my friends surf.” One-on-one with Jets QB Sam Darnold: Pizza, Will Ferrell, no surfing - New York Jets Blog- ESPN
What you fail to realize is no rookie QB has become a FQB without a Hall of Fame starters there from the jump. Ben Roth / Jerome Bettis Wilson / Beast mode Patty Mahomes / Kelce+the really fast guy Watson / Star WR they traded for peanuts to Cards Allen / Diggs...now mayyyybe Not one FQB has done it early in recent without a future HOFer on the offensive roster. I challenge you to find me one in the last two decades.
In 2018, Simms had Sam graded fairly low, as in 4th best behind Lamar, Allen, and Baker. A few weeks ago when he was discussing Sam getting traded, he said he has a lot of respect for Sam and feels Sam will be a really good QB. He felt Sam suffered from being on a really bad team with a really bad coaching staff. He said the Jets should be careful when deciding to trade away Sam. But now that Simms has looked over this class of QBs, he thinks Jets should draft Zack. So Simms thinks Sam is good, but Zack could be even better. That's what I take from Simms.
Simms does like Sam and thinks he can be a starter in this League. However, his thinking of Zach is on a whole different level - a superstar level, a Mahomes/Rogers level. There is a world of a difference. Ultimately, he says Jets should be running to the podium as quickly as they can to select Zach. I think it makes sense to agree.
Wilson (and Lawrence) are already better quarterbacks than Sam, even without any NFL experience. They're more accurate, more mobile, have better mechanics, are less turnover-prone, and can hit downfield receivers in stride. Even Fields and Lance could go out there next year and outperform Sam, though they need more work (not that Sam doesn't also need a lot of work).
I think it is very likely that one or both of Fields and Lance will be available on the 23. They'd probably be good takes at that point if Douglas, Saleh and LaFleur were sold on them. Mac Jones with the Jets early 3rd might be an insane value pick. He clearly has NFL backup potential and with that kind of player you never know what his ceiling is if he gets in just the right situation. He appears to be tailor-made for a WCO and he'd probably be a great player to have in the QB room for the next few years. That said, JD did take Morgan last year and it would be unusual for him to add another mid-round QB in this draft.
Barring an injury, sex tape, or something else of that nature, there is almost no chance Fields or Lance will be available at 23. And Jones being available in the 3rd round? You're better than that.
