Sam Darnold

[panthers55]

20 minutes ago, CRA said:

We have 5 years of him starting in the NFL.   Sam Darnold is officially terrible by the metrics we discuss starting QBs by in the NFL. 

Refuted by facts?  He was credited with 4 wins in which people are using those 4 as the reason he should return. 

He averaged 144 passing yards in those 4 starts.....while we ran for a mind bogging average of 225 rushing yards per game.  Jimmy Clausen could of found some wins to put by his name in that window.  Sam wasn't playing good.  He wasn't even playing average by NFL statistics.  Wilks just wasn't letting him cost the team a chance.   And that was only possible because our opponents were bad. 

Why folks are stanning for Matt Rhule's disaster QBs as we try to enter a new era is mindboggling. 

You are wrong on several counts. Darnold does what his OC calls.  He does have some options based on defensive looks but it is limited.

Second why would you pass when you are running the ball down their throats? Was that because Sam couldn't pass or Wilkes wanted to run the ball feeling the o line does a better job run blocking versus pass blocking. Look at the games we couldn't run like Pittsburgh.   He was 14 for 23 for 225 and 9.8 yards per attempt and a passer rating of 108.  How about the buccaneers where we ran for around 100 yards. Yeah he was 23 for 37 for 341 yards and 9.2 yards per attempt. 

Yes his completion rate was 58.6% but the biggest stat is that he threw for over 8 yards a reception. 40% of his passes were for 1st downs and he threw 17 passes over 20 yards which would translate to almost 50 in a whole season.  He played much better than he has at any time in his career with a qb rating almost 20 points higher than his career average. 

He may have been bad for the Jets and in 2021 but he was significantly better in 2022 with a real OC who obviously was let go so we can expect better in the future under Reich. No Reich may prefer someone else but Darnold played his best ball by far in 2022 with competent players and coaches for the first time. Again I am not clamoring for him but fair is fair and your evaluation reflects your own bias not reality.

[CPantherKing]

I expect an average rookie QB to bring 20-25% GWD, 60% COMP, and 2.5% TO (This is not enough for a SB championship level QB). Darnold is 12.8% GWD, 59.7% COMP, and 3.5% TO.

There are other measurements that are not typical stats and Darnold doesn't make the cut on any of them.

5 years (55 games) of proving you can't do the job is enough. Give someone else a chance to show if they can get the job done.

[Shocker]

2 hours ago, Krovvy said:

It's interesting how the Ryan Tannehill comparison with Sam Darnold has morphed into Geno Smith.

Meanwhile, it's being reported that Tennessee have already made Chicago an offer for the first overall pick.

This is the type of news that worries me.  We talk about the teams in front us taking QBs without considering all the teams behind us that might move up.

[MHS831]

To those of you who are stating, "Darnold sucks" congrats.  Your grasp of football talent is astoundingly insightful.  However, you have to look at him this way--several qbs in this draft are a year or two younger than Darnold--and we call them "projects"

What if Sam's late season success was a sign the light is coming on?  What if he turns the corner like Daniel Jones or Jared Goff did this season?  They are older than Darnold.

What if a new OC and former QB as coach benefits Darnold and their impact is immediate?  I think this is as likley as he will continue "sucking". 

Sign Darnold to a 1-2 year deal on the cheap and draft a QB.   This is probably what they will do, so get used to the idea.

[Shocker]

16 minutes ago, CPantherKing said:

I expect an average rookie QB to bring 20-25% GWD, 60% COMP, and 2.5% TO (This is not enough for a SB championship level QB). Darnold is 12.8% GWD, 59.7% COMP, and 3.5% TO.

There are other measurements that are not typical stats and Darnold doesn't make the cut on any of them.

5 years (55 games) of proving you can't do the job is enough. Give someone else a chance to show if they can get the job done.

Darnold played better this season when he finally was behind a decent OL.  He was behind some appalling OLs until this season.  

[Stuart Smith]

6 hours ago, ECHornet said:

Here’s where I see the disconnect on Darnold…

Posters, like myself, suggest Darnold is worthy of bringing back on a backup QB contract. 

Other posters then come along and act as if it was suggested Darnold is our future at QB. 
 

No, that’s not what I’ve seen posted here. We need a backup QB. We have one QB on the roster and he’s never played a snap in the NFL. It shouldn’t be considered “looney” to bring a backup QB in to play primarily backup QB on a backup QB contract. 

I don’t think anyone is saying Sam Darnold is the long term answer, I think 99% of us realize that. The most important thing is I think Tepper is ready to move on. However, I have heard no one, and I mean no one mention an available quarterback that is head and shoulders above Darnold as a bridge quarterback. Brissett? He has had more chances than Sam and has failed everywhere. Brissett may be who Reich wants, who knows. However, When people who may think different than you are referred to as “looney tunes” it is very telling about the person posting. 

[frankw]

2 hours ago, PNW_PantherMan said:

I cannot think of a less significant player in Panthers history that has caused so much debate.

Personally I say give me a QB who will ruffle some feathers and shake things up and instill a new culture here the way Newton did. These dad jeans types who love Darnold can join him on his new team.

[frankw]

2 minutes ago, Stuart Smith said:

I don’t think anyone is saying Sam Darnold is the long term answer, I think 99% of us realize that. The most important thing is I think Tepper is ready to move on. However, I have heard no one, and I mean no one mention an available quarterback that is head and shoulders above Darnold as a bridge quarterback. Brissett? He has had more chances than Sam and has failed everywhere. Brissett may be who Reich wants, who knows. However, When people who may think different than you are referred to as “looney tunes” it is very telling about the person posting. 

Hey Stuart. I have faith you'll somehow survive witnessing this dreaded slander about your favorite NFL QB.

[Shocker]

I did not say to go with Sam and move on.  I said if we can’t get Young or Stroud he should be looked at as an option for now.  
 

Levis and AR worry the hell out of me and I ain’t looking to pick a guy to pick a guy

[frankw]

4 minutes ago, Shocker said:

I did not say to go with Sam and move on.  I said if we can’t get Young or Stroud he should be looked at as an option for now.  
 

Levis and AR worry the hell out of me and I ain’t looking to pick a guy to pick a guy

Any of them could bust but you really want another small frame QB? We have Corral. For Fitterer to add another he would have to be on the sauce or just not at all concerned for his job security.

[NanuqoftheNorth]

31 minutes ago, MHS831 said:

What if Sam's late season success was a sign the light is coming on?  What if he turns the corner like Daniel Jones or Jared Goff did this season?  They are older than Darnold.

What if a new OC and former QB as coach benefits Darnold and their impact is immediate?  I think this is as likley as he will continue "sucking". 

Sign Darnold to a 1-2 year deal on the cheap and draft a QB.   This is probably what they will do, so get used to the idea.

I can't recall anyone associated with the Panthers organization (ever) that is more capable of judging QB talent/potential than Frank Reich.

If Reich sees something in Darnold worth salvaging, Sam might be retained for another season. 

However, I can't envision Reich relishing the thought of standing at a podium post game trying to justify to fans and reporters why he retained Sam Darnold for another season.  Especially once the losses start adding up due to bone headed plays/turnovers and "missed opportunities". 

I certainly wouldn't want to try and justify it to David Tepper.  The owner who wanted to move on from Sam Darnold so badly he was willing to sign a sexual deviant to a record setting contract less than a year ago.

Sometimes (and this feels like it might be one of those times) it is just better to start fresh by getting rid of the last regime's toxic baggage. 

[NanuqoftheNorth]

23 minutes ago, Shocker said:

I did not say to go with Sam and move on.  I said if we can’t get Young or Stroud he should be looked at as an option for now.  
 

Levis and AR worry the hell out of me and I ain’t looking to pick a guy to pick a guy

I'd be shocked if Reich doesn't keep a veteran QB on the roster regardless of the QB drafted.

[TLGPanthersFan]

1 hour ago, MHS831 said:

To those of you who are stating, "Darnold sucks" congrats.  Your grasp of football talent is astoundingly insightful.  However, you have to look at him this way--several qbs in this draft are a year or two younger than Darnold--and we call them "projects"

What if Sam's late season success was a sign the light is coming on?  What if he turns the corner like Daniel Jones or Jared Goff did this season?  They are older than Darnold.

What if a new OC and former QB as coach benefits Darnold and their impact is immediate?  I think this is as likley as he will continue "sucking". 

Sign Darnold to a 1-2 year deal on the cheap and draft a QB.   This is probably what they will do, so get used to the idea.

I don’t think you watched the same QB I did. I saw a limited QB who was helped tremendously by the running game. Sorry, you can’t say Sam deserves a new deal after his atrocious game against the Saints. 
Sam is never gonna be a starting level QB and will be a hindrance on any team stupid enough to sign him if he starts. 
Tepper doesn’t want Darnold that is obvious and I doubt Reich wants his first QB with us to be one of the statically worse QBs to ever play the last 5 years. 
There is no getting used to the idea. We aren’t resigning him. 

[TLGPanthersFan]

1 hour ago, panthers55 said:

You are wrong on several counts. Darnold does what his OC calls.  He does have some options based on defensive looks but it is limited.

Second why would you pass when you are running the ball down their throats? Was that because Sam couldn't pass or Wilkes wanted to run the ball feeling the o line does a better job run blocking versus pass blocking. Look at the games we couldn't run like Pittsburgh.   He was 14 for 23 for 225 and 9.8 yards per attempt and a passer rating of 108.  How about the buccaneers where we ran for around 100 yards. Yeah he was 23 for 37 for 341 yards and 9.2 yards per attempt. 

Yes his completion rate was 58.6% but the biggest stat is that he threw for over 8 yards a reception. 40% of his passes were for 1st downs and he threw 17 passes over 20 yards which would translate to almost 50 in a whole season.  He played much better than he has at any time in his career with a qb rating almost 20 points higher than his career average. 

He may have been bad for the Jets and in 2021 but he was significantly better in 2022 with a real OC who obviously was let go so we can expect better in the future under Reich. No Reich may prefer someone else but Darnold played his best ball by far in 2022 with competent players and coaches for the first time. Again I am not clamoring for him but fair is fair and your evaluation reflects your own bias not reality.

Saints game and Tampa game.