Sam Darnold - Proven Against Adversity

[bigdavis]

10 minutes ago, Jon Snow said:

Well to be fair it's still a small sample size.  All I can say is he looks like an NFL QB and is playing like one. What more could you want?

If he quacked, we'd be calling him a duck, right?

So let's call him a successful QB, thus far unbeaten as a Panther.

It's called the eye test.

[SBBlue]

The next test will be the biggest yet.  If we can beat the boys without CMC and Horn, they won't be able to say Sam won because of CMC.  

OL is going to have to have the game of their lives, because last night won't do.

[bigdavis]

4 minutes ago, Ace420 said:

Regarding the eye test, it looks like darnold is playing better and getting more confident every week.

No mistakes this week either.

It's really starting to look like we have a franchise qb again.

He has impressed in many ways, but 2 stand out to me:

1) he shows no fear --  in standing tall in the pocket, under a rush that he knows in gonna hit him -- and in the 4th and 1, and GTG situations in which he's called to carry the ball.  That 1 yd TD, where his helmet was knocked off in the scrum, was vintage Cam.

2) he's shown accuracy and velocity in his throws, especially in the crucial 15-20 yd range.  Tight targets don't deter him.

[chbright]

Wins losses be damned, he has 100% looked like a top 10 QB for good stretches in all 3 games. At 23 this is a great sign. The arm is extremely live and he doesn't have to be set to throw darts. Also he has some wheels too. You can see why, like Josh Allen, he was taken so early in the draft. The game seams to be slowing down for him to and he's making better reads. Yes he still misses some but he'll all QBS do that. 

We could be 0-3 with a terrible D and I still would be impressed with Darnold so far. The step up from Teddy is visible in the downfield throws over 15 yards. Also his darts on throws where he is throwing across his body on the move are impressive too. I know people hate the check downs both have, but I think thats as much to do with Brady/Payton system as the QB. Take the chunks if they are free.

 

Getting away from Gase is huge and it's visible. Now get him a better line and he we will be a contender here with the rest of the weapons we have on offense.

[glenwo2]

1 hour ago, outlaw4 said:

On the record, I was on the fence with Darnold. Inexplicably, I saw enough Jets games in the past and noticed those flashes of potential. What scared me was that we had tried this QB reclamation route before with David Carr and it did not work at all. He took so much pummeling with the Texans that he literally crumbled onto the turf if a lineman looked at him the wrong way. The damage had been done and even now, that's my concern with Darnold. If not risk of regression, keeping him healthy.

Well if anything was proven last night, it's that the Jets did not truly break him like the Texans did to David Carr.

But yeah...it's imperative that they keep him healthy which is why i would like to see more bootlegs and rollouts.

[glenwo2]

47 minutes ago, bigdavis said:

He has impressed in many ways, but 2 stand out to me:

1) he shows no fear --  in standing tall in the pocket, under a rush that he knows in gonna hit him -- and in the 4th and 1, and GTG situations in which he's called to carry the ball.  That 1 yd TD, where his helmet was knocked off in the scrum, was vintage Cam.

2) he's shown accuracy and velocity in his throws, especially in the crucial 15-20 yd range.  Tight targets don't deter him.

And you saw that his hair was still perfect :

[BrianS]

As others have said, I too am very concerned about his ball security.  He still carries the ball low and one handed in the pocket, even when he is feeling the pressure.  He still tries to do some things he probably shouldn't.

He still needs to face some adversity.  Trailing in a game, even if not in the 4th, though I'd like to see that.  We'll soon see how he looks without the best tailback in football.

All that said, I see progress.  He is improving.  He is learning.  His upside is starting to show through.  This is all we should expect this year.  As long as we continue to see consistent progress this year, we can feel pretty good about this guy as our QB.

Right now, I see this guy as a much more athletic Jake Delhomme.  Obviously, we want to see him display that clutch gene that Delhomme had a triple serving of . . . but if this guy turns into a more polished and athletic Delhomme?  With that defense?

At that point we can start to dream again.

[glenwo2]

19 minutes ago, BrianS said:

As others have said, I too am very concerned about his ball security.  He still carries the ball low and one handed in the pocket, even when he is feeling the pressure.  He still tries to do some things he probably shouldn't.

He still needs to face some adversity.  Trailing in a game, even if not in the 4th, though I'd like to see that.  We'll soon see how he looks without the best tailback in football.

All that said, I see progress.  He is improving.  He is learning.  His upside is starting to show through.  This is all we should expect this year.  As long as we continue to see consistent progress this year, we can feel pretty good about this guy as our QB.

Right now, I see this guy as a much more athletic Jake Delhomme.  Obviously, we want to see him display that clutch gene that Delhomme had a triple serving of . . . but if this guy turns into a more polished and athletic Delhomme?  With that defense?

At that point we can start to dream again.

I hope that during this 10-day span, that Sean Ryan works on BALL SECURITY for Sam because holding onto the ball with one hand is not going to cut it.

The only time to hold the ball with one hand...is if you're ready to throw it a second later.

[MichaelNewtonII]

I was a bit skeptical if darnold was the answer but he has definitely impressed me to this point

[SBBlue]

12 hours ago, TheMostInterestingMan said:

Kid has wheels too. Three rushing TDs now and he has a 25-30 yard run called back off hold but he can move when he has the room.

I forgot about that run.   Sam is kicking ass.

[SBBlue]

 

[SBBlue]

 

[Call Me James]

3 hours ago, glenwo2 said:

It is what it is. Those mistakes hurt us against better comp. 

We did this last year with Teddy B. 

 

[SBBlue]