The Darnold Decision

[AU-panther]

So, we decided to go with Darnold because "he cares about ball" and he is young? 

Did we factor in how he had actually played the previous 3 years?

As fans we will probably really never know but was anyone in the building against the move?

Also, I think we might have got a bit greedy on the draft picks, to us the draft picks we gave up for Sam seem like a lot, but at the time I think they viewed those picks as giving up a lot less than if we had spent our 1st on a QB.

Basically, if they trade for Sam, they get to keep the 1st to use on a different position.

It's easy to bash Rhule right now, and yes, he has final say, but I have serious doubts he is making all of calls entirely by himself.  

Same with the Ian Thomas extension, I'm sure Rhule decided he wanted to try and keep Thomas, but I doubt he is coming up with the contract terms on his own.

If Tepper would have fired Rhule this year I think there would have been a greater chance of him leaving some of the front office as opposed to if he ends up firing Rhule next year.

 

 

[LinvilleGorge]

fuging morons.

While he was saying "he loves ball" 90% of us were saying "he sucks balls".

[Shotgun]

Does this decision involve slobber?

[frankw]

Incompetence. The film was there it does not matter what you think he might do. The Jets giving up on him should have been the biggest red flag. All involved should be on the hottest of seats. And I didn't see much love of the game after that awful pick six against the Patriots as he casually walked to the bench and relaxed like nothing happened. That's the guy you guaranteed 19 million dollars to before even seeing him play in person.

[DaveThePanther2008]

I agree that Darnold sucked last year and makes our trade look foolish.  How could anyone look good behind our line?  It didn't matter who was under center they weren't going to have much time to make wise decisions.

If we somehow manage to fix this line and I hope we do.  Darnold, IMO should have just a slim bit of faith that maybe, just maybe he can perform better. 

I still believe that we need to address the QB position but we need to be wise in doing so.  Throwing money at Vet QBs IMO is just as bad as reaching for a rookie QB that might not pan out.

Run with Darnold and hope we fix our line.  

Plan for a QB in 2022 when Darnold is no longer on the books. 

[frankw]

9 minutes ago, DaveThePanther2008 said:

Darnold, IMO should have just a slim bit of faith that maybe, just maybe he can perform better.

Watch the damn tape!

 

Edited February 26, 2022 by frankw

[Sgt Schultz]

1 hour ago, DaveThePanther2008 said:

I agree that Darnold sucked last year and makes our trade look foolish.  How could anyone look good behind our line?  It didn't matter who was under center they weren't going to have much time to make wise decisions.

If we somehow manage to fix this line and I hope we do.  Darnold, IMO should have just a slim bit of faith that maybe, just maybe he can perform better. 

I still believe that we need to address the QB position but we need to be wise in doing so.  Throwing money at Vet QBs IMO is just as bad as reaching for a rookie QB that might not pan out.

Run with Darnold and hope we fix our line.  

Plan for a QB in 2022 when Darnold is no longer on the books. 

I don't disagree with you on a couple of points.  Darnold often sucked in his limited time last year behind a line that would have made Tom Brady retire immediately, and with an offense that generally regressed.  Maybe the overall regression was on him, or maybe it was the game plans, maybe it was a scheme he is ill-suited for (likely), or maybe everybody just regressed, or, most likely, it was some combination of all of the above and then some.

I also agree with not throwing more money into the abyss until we improve our OL to at least mediocre.  Not only will we get another QB killed back there, but we need to figure out whether the other pieces are keepers or not.  Right now, even CMC is in question since he has been out most of the last two seasons.  The offense is generally a wreck.  Not to mention, we have not proven any good at tossing money and ideas against the wall.

The optimist will say Darnold has played on two gawd awful teams and taken beatings accordingly.  Maybe if he is not behind an awful line he might improve. 

The realist says he has been beaten to death for four years, and at some point even if he was the second coming of Marino, he will have to be deprogrammed from the effects and rebuilt.  That will take time and may not work.

The pessimist notes the road is even tougher.  He is has a gunslinger mentality and he will always make questionable decisions and take bad risks.  Favre did, Romo did, Kelly did, and he does and on top of four years at the helm of doormat offenses, he is not worth the time.

But, I agree, given all our problems, trot him out there in 2022.  Not for his own rehabilitation, but to make sure the next guy has a fighting chance.

[Mage]

The trade for Sam Darnold was not a bad idea.  The physical talent was/is there and while his final year with New York was terrible, he showed a lot of promise in his 2nd year.  19 TDs in 13 games.  All of his years in New York were better than his year with us, actually.  The fact of the matter is sometimes, you have to take risks to get a QB.  Trading for Darnold was a relatively low-risk move.

The problem was, and always has been, picking up the 5th-year option.  We could have gotten around not having a 2nd round pick this year - a 2nd round pick does not make or break a football team.  But to make that financial commitment to Darnold was stupid as hell both at the time and in retrospect.  We're in a position now where the move that makes the most sense is to just ride with him as a starter, but the team won't do that because they know the fans will revolt.

But like I said, I don't think the trade itself was bad.  It was a risky trade at a QB of importance.  We aren't the only team that has done that.  I'd argue the Colts have been a very well-run organization over the last several years since hiring Reich (not implying that we are one, because we aren't currently) and they traded a 1st-round pick for a QB they are probably going to have to cut.  I can't hate a team for taking a risk on a former top-five pick.  They just should have never, ever picked up his option.  

[TLGPanthersFan]

I remember thinking when this scene came up that it looked really staged and fake. Pretty much put coaches in a room and have them hype up Darnold. 

Now they look like a bunch of idiots.

[SizzleBuzz]

Where is Darnold? 

Does he spend the off-season in Charlotte working out at team facilities?

[firefox1234]

 

[Call Me James]

They talked themselves into it. First off, they believed they were better coaches than they are. That led them to believe they could unlock Sam's talent. 

If they succeeded Rhule would have his guy, who he fixed, and wouldn't upset his preferred Rhule centric power structure.

But to be fair, Huddlers convinced themselves of it too. A lot of talk was made about how Tannehil became a better QB, how horrible Gase was, Sam being a better passer than Cam and Teddy, he would be good with the quick short reads and would play well if the pocket broke down because he throws well outside the pocket and anyone who said otherwise was a Cam nut hugger.

Hilarious looking back.

[rippadonn]

This is exactly what I was saying teams like the Jets do. They always need a QB because they go with the consensus. Look at Justin Herbert for example and Zach Wilson. Two different trajectories.

My last QB crush of last season is slated to start behind Tom Brady...

https://clutchpoints.com/rumor-buccaneers-stance-on-kyle-trask-as-tom-bradys-successor-revealed/

 

The Buccaneers will explore all avenues for Brady’s successor, including possibly rolling with first-year quarterback and former Florida Gators passer Kyle Trask. Palmer notes that at the moment, “nothing is in stone” for the Buccaneers regarding this matter, but at the least, Trask is in “play” to replace Brady next season.

Unfortunately 6'5" 240lb accurate QBs don't appeal to the Jets OR the Panthers.

All the hype (PUNDITS) is behind a bunch of QBs who are physically overachieving, yes, but at the NFL level the 6'2" and shorter guy a shade over 200lbs is a body type that doesn't lend itself to a long career in the NFL at QB unless you're an outlier like Vick or Wilson, rare.

Panthers need to draft that 6'4" specimen with his bazooka arm, laser passes and over the mountain armstrength your uncle could only dream of.

CARSON STRONG 2022

 

Yeah, Sam can be his veteran backup.

Edited February 26, 2022 by rippadonn

[Waldo]

Darnold was worth a 5th round pick max and no way should he have ever got his 5th year option picked up. Everyone involved should be fired and Tepper should get the hint at the least.

And no, I don't think anything changes for Sam if he played behind a great line. The guy plays worse with more time to throw. It was never going to work, they just valued everything wrong along the way.

And yeah we should have taken Slater or Fields. Mistakes upon mistakes.