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A lot of people feel this way.
Reading all over the place that the Jets were to blame for Sam Darnold not succeeding as their quarterback.
Perhaps to a small degree, but not as much as some would lead you to believe.
A play that is illustrative of what I’m talking about is when he hurt his shoulder against the Denver Broncos in 2020. On the second series of the game, Darnold went back to pass, had decent protection, but was indecisive, held the ball too long, and was thrown to the ground by linebacker Alexander Johnson, shoulder first, and hurt his shoulder. This was about five second into the play. This should never have happened. He should have run or thrown the ball away.
You can blame the play-calling, weapons and line all you want, but none of those elements were at fault on this play that ended disastrously, with the QB getting hurt.
And those two picks in the second half of the season finale against New England had nothing to do with play-calling, weapons or the line.
New England Patriots radio color analyst Scott Zolak was nervous as a Jets offensive play was unfolding late in the third quarter and said “uh-oh.”
He saw a player wide open on the left side, but that isn’t where the ball went. It went into heavy coverage on the right side and was picked off.
“That guy that is wide open is at the top of the screen, and he’s running an in-cut and I’m going ‘uh-oh” – it was a blown coverage – they had him there,” said Zolak, a former NFL QB, during the broadcast of the game on 98.5 in Boston. “Darnold, for whatever reason, throws to a guy into triple coverage, and it’s a moon ball that sails into (J.C) Jackson’s stomach.”
Then late in the fourth quarter, Darnold threw a pick in the end zone which was snared by cornerback Jonathan Jones.
“Darnold went there too late and hung the ball,” said Zolak.
I know these are just three plays, but when you truly do a deep dive into why Darnold didn’t pan out of with the Jets, it’s not just because he was a victim of his situation.
It’s possible that both dynamics existed. Perhaps the coaching and supporting cast weren’t always ideal, but it’s also possible that even within that framework, he was indecisive, didn’t see the field well and telegraphed passes to his primary read. You could make a strong argument both situations were at work here, and that is why the Jets were comfortable trading him.
“They moved up to pick him third in the draft, and they have been waiting for him to take the next step and it never happened” said Jay Feely of CBS during the Jets loss to New England In Week 17.
You could make an argument Feely is spot-on with that assessment and that is why the Jets moved on.
I’m sorry, I’m not going to totally blame the Jets coaches, his teammates and the organization as a whole for this not working out.
There is plenty of blame to go around.
One thing I am totally comfortable criticizing the Jets for with Darnold is over-hyping him, which is never good for a young player.
You know what Bill Parcells always said about young players:
“Don’t put him in Canton just yet, fellas,” he would often say to reporters about a young player.
So when the Jets pick their next QB in the 2021 draft, they should learn a lesson from this.
Don’t make a young QB front and center with all your marketing and promotion before he’s proven anything.
Not an ideal football culture move.
And Joe Douglas and Robert Saleh are focused like a laser on building a strong football culture.
When you are trying to do that, one thing you must do is chill-out with hyping-up youngsters.
And Darnold was over-hyped before he truly established himself as an NFL QB.
But he was not the victim of his circumstances to the degree that some would lead you to believe.
April 6, 2021
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