Athletic - Sam Darnold Film Analysis

[trueblade]

"Sam Darnold is a better quarterback than Danny Dimes [Daniel Jones]." - Keyshawn Johnson on ESPN radio June 8th. He went onto say that he believes that with a healthy CMC and an improved defense, the Panthers will make the playoffs.

[Michael G]

4 hours ago, kungfoodude said:

I don't think mediocre is going to cut it. We just got rid of a mediocre QB.

I would love to have Great, but mediocre play from Darnold that ends with us winning games and making playoff runs will result in an extension. If Teddy won some of those games last year (0-8) we wouldn't have Darnold on the team at all. Mediocre plus winning will mean we extend Darnold and we can get that with the way we are improving in other areas. 

The issue that we run into will Darnold's "mediocre" be good enough to win the Big Game with a pretty good supporting cast. I think that's where having Great QB play really makes a difference because you want someone who can LEAD the team down the field and win the game. When I watch guys like Wilson, Rodgers, Rothlisberger and Brady get the ball back with the chance to win the game on the final drive I feel like its a done deal- the other team shouldn't left any time on the clock. 

I did not feel that way with "mediocre" Teddy. Quite the opposite. I hope when Sam has the ball at those time I at least feel like we have a chance.

Edited June 8, 2021 by Michael G

[kungfoodude]

35 minutes ago, SBBlue said:

7 NFL Players Entering Make-or-Break Seasons in 2021 | Bleacher Report | Latest News, Videos and Highlights

Bleacher Report agrees with you.  Its a make or break season for Sam.  When down in the 4th, he tries to make magic happen rather than keep his passing completion percentage up.

 

He isn't any different than any other first round bust QB. They typically get one more stop to prove it(even Rosen did) and then they are either journeyman backups or fast tracked out of the NFL.

[kungfoodude]

1 minute ago, Michael G said:

I would love to have Great, but mediocre play from Darnold that ends with us winning games and making playoff runs will result in an extension. If Teddy won some of those games last year (0-8) we wouldn't have Darnold on the team at all. Mediocre plus winning will mean we extend Darnold and we can get that with the way we are improving in other areas. 

The issue that we run into will Darnold's "mediocre" be good enough to win the Big Game with a pretty good supporting cast. I think that's where having Great QB play really makes a difference because you want someone who can LEAD the team down the field and win the game. When I watch guys like Wilson, Rodgers, Rothlisberger and Brady get the ball back with the chance to win the game on the final drive I feel like its a done deal- the other team shouldn't left any time on the clock. 

I did not feel that was with "mediocre" Teddy. Quite the opposite. I hope when Sam has the ball at those time I at least feel like we have a chance.

Mediocre covers all aspects of his play(production, results, situations, etc). 

If we win in spite of him, it's time to move on. That isn't successful unless you have a truly special team. If we win BECAUSE of him, then he is the guy.

[Michael G]

1 minute ago, kungfoodude said:

Mediocre covers all aspects of his play(production, results, situations, etc). 

I guess its all about how we define "mediocre"---You make a good point-I agree that it should be time to move on if we are winning "despite" his play.

[kungfoodude]

3 minutes ago, Michael G said:

I guess its all about how we define "mediocre"---You make a good point-I agree that it should be time to move on if we are winning "despite" his play.

That's the thing, he doesn't need to be THE reason why we win, but he needs to be A reason why we win.

[hepcat]

1 hour ago, Tr3ach said:

It feels like some people forget how good early Jake Delhomme was.

Let’s be real. Jake wasn’t a good QB. Jake was an average QB who had a great supporting cast around him. But what Jake had in spades was moxie and the ability to make clutch throws. If the game was on the line, Jake was gonna make it happen for you. That’s where he was great. 

He benefited greatly from having prime Steve Smith, veteran Mushin Muhammad, and maybe the most clutch WR ever in Ricky Proehl. As his WR corp declined, so did he. 

He had a roided up O-Line the year they went to the Super Bowl. And probably a better O-Line in general every season he played than Cam Newton ever had. 

And let’s not forget how potent the running game was at times to support him. 

I loved watching Jake play. He was a great dude and it was easy rooting for him. But I’m not looking back and saying he was a good QB. He was a guy who could do just enough to win you a game if the team around him was good enough. 

[1usctrojan]

45 minutes ago, trueblade said:

"Sam Darnold is a better quarterback than Danny Dimes [Daniel Jones]." - Keyshawn Johnson on ESPN radio June 8th. He went onto say that he believes that with a healthy CMC and an improved defense, the Panthers will make the playoffs.

Haha, you do know that Key is a die hard Trojan, right?  He may dog a SC Coach…a player, nah.  He sees his AM players thru cardinal & gold tinted glasses.

[SizzleBuzz]

3 hours ago, Khaki Lackey said:

I agree, but if he's mediocre, he's a huge upgrade to our QB2 position. If he looks mediocre, I would assume he's going to be a journeyman backup QB. Extend him as such, and let him compete with/mentor/backup the new guy.

 

But we just shipped a guy to avoid that exact same situation?!?

[KatsAzz]

4 hours ago, SBBlue said:

7 NFL Players Entering Make-or-Break Seasons in 2021 | Bleacher Report | Latest News, Videos and Highlights

Bleacher Report agrees with you.  Its a make or break season for Sam.  When down in the 4th, he tries to make magic happen rather than keep his passing completion percentage up.

 

The fact that Sam Darnold tried to make magic happen on a bad Jets team should not be a surprise.

I can easily see where a QB that is a high competitor could develop a tendency to press and try making things happen on their own when surrounded by poor coaches and low caliber players on a losing team.

Edited June 8, 2021 by KatsAzz

[1usctrojan]

3 minutes ago, KatsAzz said:

The fact that Sam Darnold tried to make magic happen on a bad Jets team should not be a surprise.

I can easily see where a QB that is high competitor could develop a tendency to press and try making things happen on their own when surrounded by poor coaches and low caliber players on a losing team.

You’re right, you know.  Rather you view that as a weakness, or a trait to be developed is up to you.  

[KatsAzz]

4 minutes ago, 1usctrojan said:

You’re right, you know.  Rather you view that as a weakness, or a trait to be developed is up to you.  

Wikipedia defines a gunslinger as ...

"Term for a quarterback who plays in an aggressive and decisive manner by throwing deep, risky passes. These quarterbacks usually possess the strong arm needed to throw deep effectively."

I've always loved this QB archetype because these players are almost always fun to watch. Few moments are more enjoyable when watching football than when a ball is thrown so far that it briefly leaves the television screen. We've seen all-time greats such as Brett Favre literally make a career out of playing like a maniac, while busts like Johnny Manziel still at least provided a few moments of off-script goodness along the way.

You see, being a gunslinger QB doesn't necessarily have anything to do with being good.

Edited June 8, 2021 by KatsAzz

[Madwolf]

11 minutes ago, KatsAzz said:

The fact that Sam Darnold tried to make magic happen on a bad Jets team should not be a surprise.

I can easily see where a QB that is a high competitor could develop a tendency to press and try making things happen on their own when surrounded by poor coaches and low caliber players on a losing team.

That's basically what will make or break him. If he can not press it will go along way to preventing mistakes and giving him a nice base to grow from.

[kungfoodude]

1 minute ago, Madwolf said:

That's basically what will make or break him. If he can not press it will go along way to preventing mistakes and giving him a nice base to grow from.

The league has a new crop of these gunslingers that aren't quite as erratic as the Favre's(or Winston's) of the world. 

Nothing wrong with being aggressive but that aggressive scale had a dumb end of it. Favre and Winston revved into the dumb end of the scale all too often in their careers.