Sam Darnold - QB School

[Call Me James]

2 hours ago, Ricky Spanish said:

BTW, some huddlers were crapping all over Darnold for "admitting he saw ghosts" and "No pro QB should ever admit that".

Those people are ignorant and don't know what that phrase means. 

Seeing ghosts just means he was seeing things that weren't there - as in he thought that he saw the Patriots doing one thing pre snap, and it was disguised as something else. 

That's all.

He wasn't scared. He wasn't afraid. The Pats and their league leading defense just confused one of the youngest starting QB's in the NFL. Talking heads and ignorant people ran with it.

 

Is this explanation really any better in the grand scheme of things? Being scared vs being confused? 

[d-dave]

After we traded for Darnold, I enders up watching both of O'Sullivan's videos posted here, along with several he did leading up to the draft.  What I came away with was the Sam has talent, but the Jets fumbled it.  Sure, Darnold bears responsibility for his plays, but he was not set up for success.  He is still a young QB.  So at the end of the day, he still has a lot of possibility to mold into a franchise QB.

Like it or not, this is Joe Brady's HC audition year.  If he can prove to be a QB whisperer with Darnold and turn his career around, we'll be looking for a new OC come the Spring.  As a fan, I'd love to see Darnold succeed and become the answer we've been looking for since Cam got obliterated.

If he crashes and burns, then we'll just have to keep trying to figure it out.

[jayboogieman]

6 hours ago, Call Me James said:

Is this explanation really any better in the grand scheme of things? Being scared vs being confused? 

Yes. Seeing something new can be confusing for anyone. Then you educate(coach in this case) the person so it isn't confusing again. Plus, with more experience and better coaching, Darnold(or any young QB) should have a better idea of what to do when presented with a new look defense.

[Call Me James]

Just now, jayboogieman said:

Yes. Seeing something new can be confusing for anyone. Then you educate(coach in this case) the person so it isn't confusing again. Plus, with more experience and better coaching, Darnold(or any young QB) should have a better idea of what to do when presented with a new look defense.

You didn't really answer the question... 

[d-dave]

6 hours ago, Call Me James said:

Is this explanation really any better in the grand scheme of things? Being scared vs being confused? 

Fear comes from a lack of preparation and high consequence of failure.  Confusion comes from a lack of understanding for whatever reason.

Both can be corrected with good coaching.  Good coaches, as we've seen, are creating mismatches on the field.  They are making the job of the QB easier to a degree.  Now sometimes, teams get out coached.  It happens.  Players suffer when they haven't been prepared for an opponent or without contingencies.

For Darnold, it's going to be preparing game plans and teaching him what to do when the poo hits the fan.  He's got the talent (though not the drawing mascot skills) to execute a game plan.  Let's see how good our coaches are.  

[jayboogieman]

28 minutes ago, Call Me James said:

You didn't really answer the question... 

I answered the question. If you're not happy with the answer then that is on you.

[frankw]

There is optimism and then there is coping with circumstances. Threads like this one display the latter. It's as if people think standing in front of a mirror saying something enough times makes it true.

[Ricky Spanish]

6 hours ago, Call Me James said:

Is this explanation really any better in the grand scheme of things? Being scared vs being confused? 

Yes.

Interpreting the comment as if he is scared implies that the stage and spotlight are too big for him and he might not have the willpower/testicular fortitude to be a great QB in the NFL.

Interpreting the comment as he got bamboozled is understandable, because at the time I believe he was the youngest QB in the league going against the GOAT coach with one of (If not the) best defenses he had ever put together. That has the potential to be fixed by watching film and working with his coaches. 

It's ultimately up to him to make those changes so he doesn't see ghosts anymore.

I'm not sitting here and saying Sam is the answer and will be an all pro next season. I am saying there's enough tape of the kid out there to show he has what it takes to make it if he hasn't been completely broken by his previous coaching staff. 

He's a giant question mark next season either way, and I am really rooting for the kid to turn his career around with us.

[kungfoodude]

53 minutes ago, d-dave said:

After we traded for Darnold, I enders up watching both of O'Sullivan's videos posted here, along with several he did leading up to the draft.  What I came away with was the Sam has talent, but the Jets fumbled it.  Sure, Darnold bears responsibility for his plays, but he was not set up for success.  He is still a young QB.  So at the end of the day, he still has a lot of possibility to mold into a franchise QB.

Like it or not, this is Joe Brady's HC audition year.  If he can prove to be a QB whisperer with Darnold and turn his career around, we'll be looking for a new OC come the Spring.  As a fan, I'd love to see Darnold succeed and become the answer we've been looking for since Cam got obliterated.

If he crashes and burns, then we'll just have to keep trying to figure it out.

Not sure I would say that Brady isn't a QB whisperer if he couldn't turn a backup(Teddy) and a bust into something they haven't been. 

Is Sean McVay a bum because he couldn't get more out of Jared Goff? 

There are ample reasons to avoid hiring Brady as a head coach, but not being able to rehabilitate broken players shouldn't be one of them.

[Ricky Spanish]

8 minutes ago, frankw said:

There is optimism and then there is coping with circumstances. Threads like this one display the latter. It's as if people think standing in front of a mirror saying something enough times makes it true.

Fake it till you make it homie. 

[d-dave]

13 minutes ago, kungfoodude said:

Not sure I would say that Brady isn't a QB whisperer if he couldn't turn a backup(Teddy) and a bust into something they haven't been. 

Is Sean McVay a bum because he couldn't get more out of Jared Goff? 

There are ample reasons to avoid hiring Brady as a head coach, but not being able to rehabilitate broken players shouldn't be one of them.

I don't disagree, but there is a media storyline about Brady as the next big OC wunderkinder.  While he delivered a new an interesting look last year, did he fundamentally fix the offense?  Was he held back by TB?  Did he hold back TB?  

Oh yeah, lots of questions, but I have a feeling that he will get snapped up by a desperate team.

[Call Me James]

2 hours ago, d-dave said:

Fear comes from a lack of preparation and high consequence of failure.  Confusion comes from a lack of understanding for whatever reason.

Both can be corrected with good coaching.  Good coaches, as we've seen, are creating mismatches on the field.  They are making the job of the QB easier to a degree.  Now sometimes, teams get out coached.  It happens.  Players suffer when they haven't been prepared for an opponent or without contingencies.

For Darnold, it's going to be preparing game plans and teaching him what to do when the poo hits the fan.  He's got the talent (though not the drawing mascot skills) to execute a game plan.  Let's see how good our coaches are.  

I think we're going to see how good our coaches are and how good he can be as well. 

The huddle is going to either be a really fun place or bat poo crazy next season. 

[Agent Blue]

Many QBs cant process plays in real time under pressure and make the correct reads.

Cam never could consistently.

Can Sam do it? The jury is still out.

 

[rippadonn]

4 hours ago, jayboogieman said:

Yes. Seeing something new can be confusing for anyone. Then you educate(coach in this case) the person so it isn't confusing again. Plus, with more experience and better coaching, Darnold(or any young QB) should have a better idea of what to do when presented with a new look defense.

You nailed it. Somebody should have been helping him in the film room and on the field in his ear. It's a team effort and in that way a team failing a young QB.

The great QBs, LBs, etc. stay in that film room. They had to kick Luke out of there many nights.