The other thing to remember about the Ravens is that the bad stretch in the teens came when they signed their QB to a huge contract and watched the talent around him thin out as a result.
So in this article touting Joe Brady as a serious candidate for the Jets HC job is this: http://turnonthejets.com/2020/10/new-york-jets-the-case-for-joe-brady/ "Joe Brady has continued his success of elevating game mangers to game changers in Carolina with his work with Teddy Bridgewater. In his 2 years as a starter in Minnesota Bridgewater was a below average QB who averaged less than 215 pass yards a game throwing only 14 TD’s with 10 picks. He completed 65% of his passes but only with a Y/A of 7.2. He was often seen as a check down QB who would not be the reason your team lost but would often struggle to be the reason they won. He looks like a completely different player under Brady completing 71.6 % of his passes with a Y/A of 8.2 this season. He is on pace to throw for 4000 yards with 20 Touchdowns and 12 picks which would be career highs all around for Teddy." Replace "Teddy Bridgewater" with "Sam Darnold" and the same outcome could be true. Such is the difference that good coaching makes. If you want further proof of that, a little farther along in the articles is this: "Robby Anderson a player Jets fans will know quite well looks like a number one receiver under Brady. No longer just viewed as a deep threat Anderson is being utilized as complete Receiver Robby has 51 catches for 688 yards and 1 TD this season through 8 games." Getting rid of Gase and hiring a guy who knows how to coach players and get the best out of them is the ONLY priority the Jets have to focus on. If they don't do this, there is no hope for them. All those here insisting that Darnold sucks, need to absorb the reality of how much difference coaching makes, for good or for bad. And no, I'm not campaigning for Brady as the next HC, I think he doesn't have enough overall experience, especially in running an entire program, but the Jets need someone with a proven record of success, and who can oversee an entire team - all phases - and ensure they're all on the same page and working together. I haven't decided who that guy is yet, but I sure as shit know it's not Gase. Maybe that guy IS Brady, and if so, great, but the FIRST step in solving a problem is recognizing you have one, and so far the Johnson Clowns haven't shown they even know that.
I think there's one more priority. Hiring the right guys at lower levels who can implement his vision.
This is where I’m really torn Sam has been Bad...like really really bad, and his stats reflect that. however, I’ve seen him make throws that are really great....we’ve seen him make plays I know our OL has been shit. I know our receivers have been shit, especially this year. And I KNOW Gase is a proven loser who has never developed any player, hasn’t won teams over, hasn’t won games, and in fact has alienated players. He’s terrible. so I just don’t know how much better Sam can be with better coaching, let alone more talent on offense. it is tough to evaluate him accurately. iwould not pass on Trevor if we get the top pick for sure, but I do think Sam can be better
So in other words we have quite a bit of work to do with the coaching staff before the draft. The sooner we get started the better IMO.
Assuming he has nothing to do with it is just as bad. He could potentially be a good QB in this league. Right now, he’s not.
While I think a QB on a bad team always shares part of the blame and rightfully so, I think it's pretty accurate to say that the Jets have failed Sam and it's not the other way around. In his first year he was more dynamic, more of a playmaker, played fearless football and showed all of the promise of a burgeoning star QB in the making even despite the turnovers. What's happened since then, regression in team talent especially on the OL and WR and regression in coaching as although Bowles wasn't very good this coaching staff is exceptionally terrible...all of which to me has led to Darnold's hesitancy, shouldering too much pressure to be the deciding factor between winning/losing, loss of confidence in general probably due to a loss of confidence in his supporting cast and lack of the dynamic playmaking that comes with confidence even after making a bad play. In short, we've several wounded the player by not helping him to improve for the reasons mentioned above. In the NFL that could mean a mortal wound...But it could also mean it's a wound that can be healed and that "unknown" is the real dilemma for all of us fans. I get the fascination w/ Lawerence as I have it too. Is that a player that can overcome Jets failure? Is that the player, that starting with a new coach, that can be developed into a star player? Is that the player that can succeed despite all of the adversity surrounding this specific team, this overall organization, this franchise? The rookie can be anything, that's why he's so fascinating to dream on... Or is Lawerence a great prospect that the Jets will ruin? Is he a product of being surrounded by superior talent at Clemson despite having all of the physical characteristics? I certainly don't have any answers to any of those questions but I'd be way more interested in knowing that with the right/new coaching staff, can they repair the broken parts of Sam (which the Jets broke in the first place)? Can the right/new coaching staff bring back the dynamic player from year 1 while improving him into a year 4 player? My thought is that there's a coaching staff out there that can do it so why not find it and hire it...I think that same staff is the one that will help improve this entire team as leaders lead and smart coaches succeed. Smart coaches hire smart assistants and good SMEs while installing successful Offensive/Defensive philosophies. Smart coaches/good leaders are exceptional communicators, doesn't mean they're nice but does mean they can communicate with everyone on their team despite players having all different personalities. Here's a question; if the Chiefs drafted Darnold and the Jets drafted Mahomes, who are we talking about in what light right now? We can all have opinions and there's no right or wrong as we'll never know, but I'm thinking if the Jets drafted Mahomes and surrounded him by the same talent/coaching that Sam got, we'd be waiting to ship him out and bring in Lawerence. Everything I'm reading says if the Jets get the #1, they'll take Lawerence, certainly can't fault them for that...But if they don't, smart money says you invest in the right coaching/talent to surround Sam and rebuild him to the player we all thought we had after year 1.
When he misses wide open guys in single coverage, it’s not Gase throwing the ball there. It’s Sam. For all the bad play calling and the failure of putting our skill players in positions to succeed, Sam still makes us worse by missing on throws he has to hit in year 3. Maybe that wheel route to Gore was a planned play a few weeks ago, but Chris Hogan is wide open over the middle there for a TD. Mims was wide open for a TD last week where Sam just failed to show any awareness. It’s Sam. He’s not helping this offense missing throws.
Excellent post! The only thing I'd disagree with is the bit about Mahomes...certainly he would've done nowhere near what he's done on the Chiefs, but we would not be talking about replacing him with Lawrence IMO. Other than that, I do agree that Darnold could still be resurrected, but it won't happen on the Jets...unless somehow they win a few games and drop back in the draft to the point where a "can't miss" QB is available. At that point they might stick with Darnold and hope they can salvage him with a new CS and better surrounding talent - something they should've done in the first place.
Sam isn't the most accurate passer, but he's better than he's shown over the past two years. OTOH he makes some throws that many QBs can't. But as long as he's paying under Gase with his play calling, and lack of weapons, he's not going to improve.
Although I've argued that Darnold could be a successful starting QB and even win a SB with the right conditions, I doubt that happens with the Jets. And a good analysis of why he hasn't succeeded here is laid out in the article from the forum sidebar: http://turnonthejets.com/2020/11/new-york-jets-becoming-the-franchise-qb/ It's hard enough for an athlete to come into the NY area with the massive weight of expectations that are immediately piled onto them, and succeed. Then you add in coming into a team that is so dysfunctional and carrying the baggage of failure like the Jets, and "hard" becomes "nearly impossible". Given all that, you could probably count on two hands - and maybe have a finger or two left over - the QBs in history that could've succeeded to ANY degree. I think Namath. Marino, Staubach (because he served in the Navy and was older and more confident by the time he joined the NFL), Montana, Elway, P. Manning...that's about it. No, I don't think Brady would've succeeded because A) The Jets never would've drafted him, and B) Even if they did, never would've developed him. But, if you want to count him go ahead. Still, the situation that Darnold was put in was one that 99% of all QBs would've failed in. And here's the point: until, and unless the Jets drastically fix that situation, their odds of ANY QB coming to the rescue - including St. Lawrence - are 1 in a 100, at best.
Here's a question: What the hell were Jordan Palmer and Sam Darnold doing on the beach all those months?
I didn't realize it was his job to run the ball, block, get open, and catch passes. All things we struggle to do. But yea, that's all totally on the QB.
I still wonder if Champ thinks Cam Newton could have helped the Jets. The team is horrible, but it has been at least nice to see Mims getting some reps.
