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Sam Darnold’s on-field demeanor . . .
Q)What is Sam Darnold’s demeanor like on the practice field?
Jeremy Bates – Jets offensive coordinator: Just watching him execute football out on the practice field is pretty exciting, If he going out there and performing at a high level against you know a very good defense and a defense that has shown us every look, every blitz and he able to handle it. He doesn’t show a lot of emotion, but when you drive a post route in there for 40-yards, you can tell that he hides that emotion, he just did something very cool. I think he is having fun, he does keep a lot to himself, but he’s here early and he leaves late and he loves the game.
Leberfeld: The “he’s here early and he leaves late” is huge. It’s almost impossible to be successful as an NFL QB in this day and age without that approach. Mentally, being an NFL QB, especially during the season, is like a law student, studying for the bar every week.
You have got to put the time in. According to Sports Illustrated, during Colin Kaepernick’s last season in San Francisco, in 2016, one of the reasons he struggled was he didn’t put in the time.
“As one Niners employee explained it, Kaepernick wouldn’t stay late at the facility during the season like many quarterbacks routinely do, saying he’d take work home. And there were examples where coaches saw what looked like shoddy prep surfacing in inexplicable mental errors in games,” wrote Albert Breer for si.com.
So you can’t take this approach. As Bates said, you need to open and close the complex. This isn’t a cliché, it’s the reality have what it takes to succeed at this incredibly demanding position.
As for Darnold performing “at a high level against you know a very good defense,” right now, I can’t go along with that.” I didn’t see a “very good defense” from the Jets last year. Actually, let me make that the last couple of years.
They were very average to below average defense the last couple of years. This defense needs to play a lot better than the last couple of years. Perhaps some people assume that the Jets play “very good defense” because their head coach is a very defensive coordinator, but that assumption is wrong when looking at the last couple of seasons.
So I don’t think Darnold faced “a very good defense” in the spring. Maybe it was a little better than last year due to Trumaine Johnson being in town, but aside from that, this group has a lot of work to do.
And so does Darnold. A huge help for him will be when the Jets and Redskins hold three days of joint sessions, Aug. 12-14, in Richmond, Virginia, and then his first road preseason game at FedEx Field on August 16.
It will be good for him to face an opposing defense for three days, and then play them in a game. This will be a huge week for his maturation him.
But I think it’s great that he hides his emotions after a nice throws in practice. Good practice throws are important, but in the grand scheme of things they don’t mean much. It’s what you do in games against a real pass rush and players in pads who can tackle you.
July 11, 2018
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