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He said the right thing, but
you have to take it with a grain of salt.
And this isn’t a shot at the player at all. He said what you need to say. He’s smart.
Jets running back LaMical Perine was asked about Sam Darnold on NFL Network and said, “No disrespect to any of the quarterbacks in the draft. You have to put good weapons around him, and he can very well succeed and be one of the top quarterbacks in the league,” he continued. I hope he’s on our team this year. He’s my starting quarterback.”
Look, Perine could totally believe this, and he has a right too, but that isn’t the point.
What is the point?
The point is I’m concerned that many people don’t take these kind of quotes from what they are – the only thing the public figure could say without causing a major controversy.
If Perine went on NFL Network and said, “Darnold needs to go. He doesn’t read defenses well and telegraphs passes to his first read. WE need a new QB.”
Let’s be honest, players 99.9 percent of the time never say that stuff.
Perine said the right thing, but to me, it’s not news.
It’s the same thing with Joe Douglas and Robert Saleh when talking about Darnold. They are going to say all the right things publicly. Not only because they might want to trade the player, but also if he keep him. Either way, they need to support him publicly.
But does that mean that Douglas and Saleh think he’s the answer. Maybe not. I’d love to a be a fly on the wall in their personnel meetings right now.
What public figures say for the consumption of the general public, and what they say behind the scenes, are often totally different.
But are some people so clueless that they don’t understand that?
You see so many sports stories centered around quotes where a player, coach, GM, whomever, praises somebody, when it fact, they are often just doing it, because that is what you have to say publicly, because you really can’t go the other way without causing a firestorm.
Before the Jets played Seattle this past season, Pete Carroll was asked about Darnold and said: “I think he’s really talented, without question. He’s got great throws in him. He’s a real quarterback. He sees things. He makes big plays and big throws in difficult situations because of his talent. It’s just a matter of time. Sam’s going to be a really big-time QB. He’s thrown a lot of balls in three years. He’s had a lot of experience. It will pay off in the long run.”
Final score: Seattle 40 – Jets 3.
So this idea like this Perine quote means something is ridiculous.
And that isn’t a shot at Perine, who’s a good guy and good player.
He said what he had to say.
I just hope people understand how all this works.
What else is he going to say on NFL Network about his quarterback? It’s common sense.
Which seems to be in short supply these days.
February 25, 2021
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