Sam Darnold said all the right things in his U.S. Open cameo

Discussion in 'New York Jets' started by LF911SC, Jun 17, 2018.

  1. LF911SC

    LF911SC Well-Known Member

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    https://nypost.com/2018/06/16/sam-darnold-said-all-the-right-things-in-his-u-s-open-cameo/


    Sam Darnold said all the right things in his U.S. Open cameo
    By Mark Cannizzaro

    June 16, 2018 | 10:40pm

    [​IMG]
    Jets quarterback Sam Darnold at the U.S. Open.Corey Sipkin

    The context was a bit out of kilter: Sam Darnold, the Jets’ first-round draft pick and hopeful franchise-quarterback ticket to a first Super Bowl nearly 50 years, roaming the U.S. Open grounds Saturday at Shinnecock Hills.

    A guy wearing a white polo shirt with a Giants logo on the left chest, politely stopped Darnold and asked for a quick picture with him.

    “We’ve got to get you a Jets polo,’’ Darnold told him with a smile. “That blue doesn’t look good on you.’’

    Darnold, who’s new to the game of golf, having played just four or five rounds in the past year, was a guest of the USGA at Shinnecock along with his friend and fellow quarterback Josh Allen, the Bills’ first-round draft pick.

    It’s the first pro golf tournament Darnold ever has attended, and a place where he got a proper taste of New York sports fans at a live event, as well as taking in some correlation between golf and football.

    “We talk about it in the quarterback room all the time,’’ Darnold said. “Whenever we get a chance to watch greatness, whatever it is, you learn from it — even last weekend with Justify winning the Triple Crown. You appreciate that.

    Darnold said the time since he was drafted in the spring, including the offseason OTA practice sessions and last week’s minicamp, has “been flying by.’’

    “It’s been pretty crazy,’’ he said. “I feel like I’ve grown a ton, and things are starting to click with the offense.’’

    Asked if he fancies himself as the starting quarterback by the season opener, Darnold sounded mature beyond his 21 years with his diplomatic answer: “We’ll see. We’ll see what happens. That’s a coach’s decision.’’

    Asked, as a highly touted and top draft pick in the locker room, how he’s gotten along with his teammates, Darnold said, “I’m always going to just be myself. That’s the safe way to do things — have fun with all my teammates and be straightforward with them.’’

    Darnold’s most mature, music-to-Jets-fans’-ears answer came when he was asked if he has started to feel a sense of respect from his teammates.“

    No, respect is earned when you do well in games and when you start playing well and winning games,’’ he said. “When I get a feel for that I’ll know. That’s when I think I’ll start to roll.’’
     
  2. Cman68

    Cman68 The Dark Admin, 2018 BEST Darksider Poster

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    At least the kid is media savvy. Or at least listened to the Jet PR people.
     
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  3. FJF

    FJF 2018 MVP Joe Namath Award Winner

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    Are the jets pr guys media savvy?
     
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  4. Cman68

    Cman68 The Dark Admin, 2018 BEST Darksider Poster

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    Since the days of Rex, I'd say they've come quite a long way. Not much to hang their hat on but how many ways can you clean up all the DUI's and arrests and still avoid the image of a circus? Good media and PR management. Giving them their due credit after learning a few hard lessons from the days of Tebow and other follies.
     
  5. Br4d

    Br4d 2018 Weeb Ewbank Award

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    These are the kind of responses he gave at USC also when he got some media exposure. They're very good at training kids to sound like men. Mark Sanchez always interviewed very well in the hectic NY media market.

    The other thing is that by all accounts he's a natural. We're probably going to wind up calling him The Natural at some point.
     
  6. LV Coach

    LV Coach Well-Known Member

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    He seems to have everything together. The notes from watching him are mostly positive. Hopefully he'll lead us out of the bottom in our division and in the league generally. Good luck !
     
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  7. TrojanPride

    TrojanPride Active Member

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    USC grooms our players to be media savvy, investing a lot of resources to prepare them for the media market in L.A., and to prepare them for the NFL spotlight...the players aren't just sports figures in L.A. they're treated like celebrities.

    Sam made reference to that in this pre draft video....

     
  8. jetophile

    jetophile Bruce Coslet's Daughter

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    I think it helps that he seems to have a very strong stable background as to family. Even though he's 21 now, I can't see his parents not intervening if he started to surround himself with the wrong people. I can't see him surrounding himself with the wrong people in the first place, but I definitely think they are a positive influence.

    Being "treated like celebrities", can't that also be a bad thing? Not being the least bit sarcastic, I just think it's a legitimate question that perhaps you can expound upon more? Thanks.
     
  9. jetophile

    jetophile Bruce Coslet's Daughter

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    Double post, sorry. Smart phone, OK. More like an idiot phone; and of course when you have a techno idiot on an idiot phone, it's often a deadly combination.
     
  10. jetophile

    jetophile Bruce Coslet's Daughter

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    I miss 'Football Follies'. No, I don't mean some of the past brainless moves by our sometimes incredibly stupid FO, I mean the show. Good post, though. Agreed . . . with trepidation . . . (looks over shoulder surreptitiously to make sure I'm not being followed by guy with a knife getting ready to roll me).
     
  11. MoWilkBeast

    MoWilkBeast Well-Known Member

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    Absolutely. I would say that as often as not it is a bad thing. I haven't a clue how USC grooms its players (if that isn't a totally inappropriate thing to say), but treating young men, and women I guess, who are talented as though they are celebrities is very likely to be problematic if they don't have a stable background.
     
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  12. jetophile

    jetophile Bruce Coslet's Daughter

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    That was my line of thinking, too. TrojanPride has pretty direct and somwhat insider knowledge with the team and follows them religiously which is why I asked for a little clarification. I always get so turned off by the, "Don't you know who I am?!" thing.

    Darnold seems so laid-back, mellow, and humble, we're eventually going to get a small contingent of the crowd saying he's more boring than a plain bagel without butter. Fine by me, bore me comatose, Sam. And by the way, "DON'T YOU KNOW WHO I AM?!" :mad:
     
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  13. TrojanPride

    TrojanPride Active Member

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    Treated like celebrities by the L.A. market, the school brings them down to earth and trains them in all the pitfalls of celebrity, and how fickle the media and fan base can be. USC is not in a college town, it's in L.A. with agents, TMZ and other snakes. That is the reality, so USC must prepare the young men for that, because at the Pro level, it could be worse.

    It is rather nice to hear even jerks like Jim Rome pause and comment about how polite and well spoken the football players are out of USC.
     
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  14. TrojanPride

    TrojanPride Active Member

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    His family is outstanding, there is a lot of love and decency in that family.

    There is no other big time college FB program, a traditional CFB "Blue Blood" and dominant sports universities in the middle of a densely populated, top media market like USC and UCLA. L.A. loves celebrity, that is one of the unique issues we deal with.
     
  15. The Dark Knight

    The Dark Knight Well-Known Member

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    I am still in shock that Sam Darnold is the Jets QB. It's amazing and it is only going to get better and better............
     
  16. Ralebird

    Ralebird Well-Known Member

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    None of this matters in the slightest. The only thing that maters is that the guy makes enough progress to get on the field and then wins games. How he treats his family or they treat him doesn't matter, likewise the school he went to or where it's located. History - it's over. Move forward!
     
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  17. Walt White

    Walt White Well-Known Member

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    Wow
     
  18. Brook!

    Brook! Soft Admin...2018 Friendliest Member Award Winner

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    I wish there was a dislike button. Such a hostile post.
     
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  19. HomeoftheJets

    HomeoftheJets Well-Known Member

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    Yet nowhere near as hostile as what we'll see on TGG if Darnold doesn't play well.
     
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  20. Walt White

    Walt White Well-Known Member

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    Looking forward it's nice to know that Sam has a tremendous foundation of support which absolutely matters and bodes well for him in the future, as @TrojanPride was explaining.
     

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