I'm starting to think that you were walking your dog and Sam kicked it. The guy has played his butt off behind a terrible Mike MacCagnan (non-existent ) offensive line, and also for a coach whose favorite play call was a Frank Gore 1-2 yard run. I really don't think Sam needs "saving" as bad as some think, and your implication is that Sam at age 23-24 is washed up/beyond help (?). Give him a chance with a decent coach, RB and OL. I am not sure Douglas and RS will stay with Sam for 2021. I hope they do because they can get an absolute fortune trading down from #2, and, damn it, in my opinion the jets need to draft 5-7 new pickup trucks in 2021 and not 1 Cadillac. But I do know that Douglas and RS WILL be talking Sam up big time, if for no other reason to try to increase his value if the jets do move him.
I may not be totally sold on Saleh, but Mike Lombardi is the last place I'll be looking for an insightful take on a coaching hire. The man is the personification of a train going off the rails and it's carrying nothing but dumpsters on fire and being piloted by a monkey fucking a football.
Thanks for the analysis! JD will definitely have work to do on D as well as O. We haven’t had a decent pass rusher since John Abraham, and we also haven’t had any ILBs who could cover in just about as long too. Seems like we’ve been a slower, larger defense geared towards stopping the run for years. In a passing league! So we’ve enjoyed our ranking of top five against the run for losing season after losing season.
Can't speak for every Niner fan but honestly, I'd take Darnold with NO hesitation. Sam Darnold is a Top 6 QB under Kyle...and that's not hyperbole. Kyle's system is like a QB's wet dream. If you simply make the throws that are there to make CONSISTENTLY, his QB should be in the running for Offensive MVP every year. And that's not my Niner fandom talking because I was saying this when he was in Atlanta. Jimmy G is simply not the guy to maximize his offense imo. He handcuffs the offense too much with his inconsistency throwing outside the numbers and his reluctance to throw the deep ball. He can win with Jimmy....that has been proven. But its the equivalent of putting regular unleaded gas in a luxury car. Still runs, but nowhere the way it should. Darnold just needs to get the stench of Gase off him. But his arm talent and ability would be gold under Shanny's tutelage...just my take.
Since Belichick seems pretty good at training guys to leave the Patriots and flood the league with mediocrity and suckage, I'd go as far as to say that he was his best pupil.
NC's views are based on evidence and reality. Yours are not. You say Darnold suffered because of his OL, did you know Sam was the only QB in the entire NFL with a negative EPA from a clean pocket this year? It was a net negative for our team when he threw from a clean pocket. And passing well is one of the highest EPA things you can do in football. He is a disaster as QB. He's been so bad that a better supporting cast would have to perform an absolute miracle on him for him to improve enough to be the answer for us.
Lmao. Kyle Shanahan is going to catapult him from worst starter in the NFL to top 6? Good luck with that.
Sometimes your circumstances can't be overcome. I don't think it would happen overnight. But by his third year he would be well on his way. Kyle's offense is vast...it would take him at least two years just to fully immerse himself with it. Another year to really get the nuances and then it would be lights out. And you have to understand that one of the best things for a young, developing QB is a run game. Kyle has one of the best there is in the game today. Simply handing the ball off and the match-ups that come off the run scheme would benefit Darnold ten-fold.
By Sam's third year with you your talent level across the roster is going to look a lot different. I would also keep in mind that Sam has reinforced some very bad habits in his time with the Jets. Like mechanical issues that are going to take months of dedicated drilling if he is to fix them. He has shown no desire or ability to fix them yet, why start now? I don't doubt Shanahan's system is more QB friendly than Gase's, but I think Sam has more vast and deep-seated issues than you think.
I liked this post, but that really isn't enough. This is possibly the best sentence anyone has ever posted on here (and perhaps anywhere else).
It has nothing to do with emotion on my part, but it has everything to do with reality, where Sam is now, the level at which he's playing, what his flaws are, how hard it is to fix his flaws, how long it can take, what's best for Sam, and what's best for the Jets going forward. It's obvious, however, that you guys who want to give Sam one more chance either have an emotional attachment to him or you are ignorant of what his issues are and how hard they are to change. I like Sam. He's a great kid, and I hate that the Jets screwed him over, but they did, and it's probably best for Sam to start over somewhere else with a clean slate, where there's no pressure, and no bad memories. Here, there will be pressure to fix his flaws and still be the starter. That will all be under the glare of the bright NYC lights. I firmly believe that it's going to take Sam a year or two to fix his issues, if they're even fixable, and even then, he needs to sit, and not be playing every week. There's no point in bringing him back if he's not the starter. If he's back, he'll expect to start, and some of the fanbase, media and NFL will expect him to start, but that's not what's best for Sam. You can't fix fundamentals while you're playing and having to perform. Changing fundamentals means you really have to think a lot about what and how you're doing it. You can't be doing that on the field while you're trying to lead your team down the field and score. I believe that most fans are ready to move on from Sam and if he's back and the starter, at least some of those fans are probably going to boo him when he takes the field the first time, and every time he makes a mistake. He deserves better than that. Probably the worst thing that happened to this fanbase is finishing in the top 5. It's caused too many of you to get a hard on about trading down and getting a bevy of picks and that's all most of you can see. Most of you don't know jack about the QBs in this draft class or in the 2022 draft class, or why it's important to build your team around your QB. We already have 19 draft picks over the next two drafts with around half of them being in the top 100 players chosen. If the Jets trade Sam they could wind up with another high pick or two. They have a lot of cap space. JD could even trade down from Seattle's pick and garner additional picks, or he could trade down a few spots from #2 and add some additional early picks. Your comments also show that you don't understand the psyche of what it takes for athletes who perform in the spotlight and then take a beating physically, mentally and emotionally. Not only has Sam taken a physical beating behind the Jets bad OLs, he's had to try to carry the team with mediocre skill position players around him, has lost a lot, and failed. He has regressed badly, and is playing worse than is rookie season. It's not as simple as hire a new HC, but him in a new offense, surround him with better skill position players and voila, he's fixed. With better players around him and easier reads, that should help, but that will do nothing to fix his footwork and throwing mechanics which are at the root of his poor accuracy and ball placement which has hurt him and the team. It will also do nothing for his decision making. Sentimentality and emotion should not play any part in the Jets' decision. It's a business as much as it is a sport. They have to think about what is best for the team short term and long term, have to consider the cap ramifications, what are the chances that Sam could turn things around quickly, if at all, what they could get for him in a trade, what would happen if they brought him back and he succeeded and what would happen if they brought him back and he failed yet again.
Oh, I respect your opinion, and that of NC. You are both excellent posters on this board. But I would not call Sam a "disaster" as you put it. Not sure why he is getting so much hate from you two--should we just release Sam NOW? Who would offer us anything for a "disaster?" As you say, it would take an "absolute miracle" for him to improve, right? Anyway, we will see what Douglas does. I am not contending that Sam has set the world on fire with the jets. I do think that he has had squat to work with in terms of an OL, RB and a decent coach. My God, it seemed like we were in 3rd and 8 all year long, after Gase ran Gore twice into the line on 1st and 2nd down. Put Fields, Wilson, or Lance in constant 3rd and 8 in the NFL and show me what they will do. There is precedent in QBs like Jim Plunkett, Brad Johnson, Vinny Testaverde, etc. that played a lot better with new coaching and better teammates. Even one of the 5 QBs on your attached list of 50 years won a super bowl with a new coach and better teammates (Trent Dilfer). But, feel free to ring in again if you want--you can have the final word. And I'll try to keep my future views based on "reality" as you say. Did not realize that I was that far divorced from the real world.
