Like probably everyone else - I was very surprised by Darnold's performance on Sunday. Year 3. I mean you have to look better than that. I re-watched the tape, the play calling was NOT atrocious. Many opportunities to move the sticks ...but could this possibly be a combination of really two main factors: 1) NO PRE-SEASON, OTAs or mini-camps. 2) A rotating cast of hobbled wide receivers in training camp, preventing Darnold from gaining any real consistency. I mean really think about it.... Hogan is suddenly our #2 WR (what a joke), Perriman has a bum knee, Mims, V. Smith, J. Smith are all out.
If you have a wide-open receiver you should be hitting him whether you have been introduced or not. I was worried before the draft and wanted Barkley or Mayfield, not that that choice has proved very successful either and add in Rosen and it is woeful. Jackson is laughing at everybody right about now I'd guess. But Sam has shown us ability but only in bursts but I think Sunday was the first time I thought fuck is he going to make it. Gase can sod off as well.
Here we go again. Blame everything else and look for an excuse. He didn't play well because he's been doing this his entire career. My hope was that this year it would stop and he would be more consistent. You can't blame the WRs, coaches, and offensive line for him not throwing the ball away, throwing into double coverage, and not throwing to wide open wide receivers. If you want to be honest with yourself, it is time to start understanding that Darnold may not be the guy we all thought he could be. It was one game in a weird season, but it is appropriate to start voicing concern. Stop blaming everyone else around him
Not saying you do this, but why are people afraid to blame Darnold AND the staff, WRs, + OL? You don't have to one side or another. You can say the entire product sucked ass. Sam missed plenty of throws. Crowder dropped a ball that hit him square in the hands. No one helped 14, but 14 definitely didn't help himself either. It's okay to blame everyone rather than one side or another. I'm a huge Darnold supporter and still believe in this kid, but he played like dogshit on Sunday -- it's okay to say say that people.
Darnold did not play well period, we all saw it, my biggest problem with his inconsistent poor play is the lack of intensity in his face, actions, interest in between series on the bench. He walks off the field during those 3 and outs looks like he goes right to the bench and his assistant coach has to start a conversation. We know a Gase is clueless but it looks like Darnold has given up on his plays, his system, and of course his personnel. Look at him in the post game press conference, we have to execute better, we had a good week of practice, I have to play better, no big deal.
I'm not claiming there is no blame elsewhere. I've said it numerous times in the other thread. The coaching staff, receivers, and play calls don't get a pass. But constantly looking for an excuse to understand why Darnold is struggling is becoming nauseating. He's making the same mistakes he was making 2 years ago, which is concerning to say the least. And for the record, I understand you're not saying I'm doing what you posted. Just commenting on why I am throwing a lot of blame at him.
These things have a multiplying psychological effect. It's pretty obvious that Darnold feels that he MUST play almost perfectly to have a chance to win. I know I would if I were him. Mayfield and especially Rosen are/were in similar situations. Compare that to Lamar Jackson. I'm not taking anything away from him -- he's amazing -- but from day 1, all kinds of little errors and imperfections on his part were going to be masked and forgiven by superior team play. Hold the ball too long? Questionable footwork? No worries, kid. Take your time. We got your back. We'll give you time, and you will have reliable targets in the right spots all day. That makes an enormous difference for a young QB. To some extent, Darnold is going to be stuck in "seeing ghosts" mode until the line proves to him that he can trust them over a whole drive. That hasn't happened yet. On any given play, he knows he MIGHT be forced to run for his life. Lamar Jax is in god mode in part because he completely trusts that his offense is a well-oiled machine. He can afford to play in a much more relaxed state of mind.
Oh this is rich. Very rich. 2 years and 1 week means we have a solid answer on one guy, 5 years and we still don’t have an answer on the other? I mean the laundry list of questions I have for you right now is dense because it seems the rules have changed.
Darnold had a bad day. He played poorly himself and had no rhythm at all until the 2 minute drill. That said the coaching staff didn't help him. His receivers didn't help him. His OL was better but still allowed him too little time. He was playing a good defense. He has no run game to fall back on and had no credible outlet to rely on. He failed this test for sure and did not help himself with some poor throws and bad decisions. But he was set up to fail and no one around him was able to help him succeed. All of this goes hand in hand. I still believe that Darnold is a better passer than Allen, definitely not the whole QB package at this time but as a pure passer he is. But Allen is set up to succeed and is confident and resilient to his own mistakes as a result, whereas Darnold is set up to struggle, has struggled and has less resilience to his own mistakes as a result. These aren't excuses, they are valid reasons. The blame lies everyewhere within the Jets organisation, and - yes - some with Sam himself. The question now is is he salvageable and what needs to happen to help him succeed.
This franchise does everything they can to hope a player will just become a once-in-a-lifetime quarterback like Russell Wilson. A player that can work with major offensive deficiencies and still pull 11 wins out of his ass. Regardless, Darnold played like shit. Missing open receivers, happy feet in the pocket instantly (even when he had clean sets), running out of bounds for a sack, that horrid interception, starting the drive with a delay of game because he's dicking around with motions. The kid needs to wake up. So does the supporting cast.
He played bad because maybe he’s not who we thought he was. His supporting cast is not good and his coaching staff is even worse, but that doesn’t excuse how bad he was Sunday. He looked skittish from the first snap and missed many throws an NFL QB should make. I’m not tossing the towel in on him as we still have 15 games for him to turn it around, but my patience is wearing thin and he needs to show some consistent play.
Him playing bad had little to do with the o-line, receivers and playcalling. A franchise qb doesn't miss open receivers and regress. Its all good though cause IF we have the number 1 pick, we will have a new coach and a real Franchise QB, Trevor Lawrence. Did you see Minshew with his shitty online, shitty coaching and shitty receivers in Jacksonville?
Darnold did not play well. I'm hoping he was just off and had a bad game and that's it. He seemed like he had zero confidence and happy feet from the start, even when the protection was holding up. Drops are going to happen....he cannot miss open receivers though.
He made bad decisions, missed open receivers, and didn't seem like he had a short memory of miscues that he was touted for. If this continues, than the search for a FQB will go on in 2021.
I've got no problem holding Sam's feet to the fire and expecting much better from him in Year 3, but the bigger problem is Gase. As long as he's the HC (and his Patton Oswald doll is the OC), the problems aren't going to be fixed. Just step back from the "throw Darnold off the bridge" meme for a moment and think about why a highly rated (by all assessors) QB would actually regress? Is it because he's got a rep as a party boy, or lazy, or not getting along with his teammates? Refer to Occam's Razor (Law): "When there are multiple possible solutions for a problem, usuually the simplest one is correct". What's the simplest answer here? Bad coaching. Bowles, then Gase. Get a good coach if you want a FQB.
very frustrating but let's keep in mind the Bills may be better than we like to admit, especially on D everyone has a bad day at the office on occasion: i.e., the sky is falling in Tampa Bay too. if this turns into a trend I'll supply the pitchforks, but for the moment/week I'll just be frustrated and hope this coming week shows us something different I continue to think this team's offense will go only as far as the running game goes, and right now we stink
The best part is I’m agreeing with him. I’m not as close to the edge as he is with Darnold but I’m certainly venturing into “this is more on him than anyone else” territory. I just want to know where the metaphorical goalposts are here.