Yea, I thought he looked slow too, but I never paid much attention to him when he was with the Steelers, and he had been off for a year, so I thought it might just be rust or he was being patient waiting for lanes that never materialized. Like you say though...the offensive line was fucking atrocious. If he looks like this behind a decent Oline, then I guess that will tell the tale.
He'll look better behind a better offensive line. Anyone would. But I don't think this is the same player as was in Pittsburgh. And this player has also never been the focal point of an offense. He played next to a Hall of Fame receiver with a Hall of Fame quarterback and an elite offensive line. They should make a case study on why you should never pay a runningback like him coming from a situation like his. DeMarco Murray can join him in that study. Lamar Miller, and Jordan Howard as well. There are cases where it works out. Mark Ingram is one. But he also makes $5 million vs. Le'Veon's $13-14 million. And he's also now hurt. I can't remember many cases where free agent runningbacks worked out really well on second teams. LeSean McCoy maybe?
He also became a member of the Jets before he entered his fourth season and made his Jets debut at age 25. He played 45 games before joining the Jets. Bell made his Jets debut at age 27 after 21 months away from the game. Bell had 62 games of mileage and already tore his ACL once and sat for a four game suspension.
If Bell sheds some weight & works on his short area foot quickness he can have a bounce back year w an improved OL/Offense around him. He wore down bad behind absolutely dreadful OL play & yes the time away from the field.But if he & the jets take the right approach this offseason all is not lost.
What are the splits for other QBs? If you're claiming the OL is especially important for Darnold, you need to show the other splits as well.
I think the interior OL is the crucial thing for Darnold.He has to be able to get a good base underneath him out of his drop.When he gets pressure immediately in his face, he is not the same QB. While OT is obviously extremely crucial as well, Sam has proven to have the athleticism & pocket presence to out flank outside rushers in a pinch.
Darnold thing is stepping up and out, he's a schoolyard BS type of QB. He needs to be able to extend plays and you can't extend plays if the IOL is terrible
