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I respectfully disagree with this narrative.
ESPN Headline – “Jets can’t let desperation cloud decision on Sam Darnold.”
I don’t understand this at all.
“Desperation” for what?
They are 0-4. He’s not playing particularly well. Am I allowed to say that?
“At 0-4, with a microscopic chance to make the playoffs, the Jets would be prudent to err on the side of caution,” wrote Cimini. “Despite a slow start, Darnold’s right arm still is the most valuable limb in the organization. Jets coach Adam Gase and general manager Joe Douglas need to do right by the kid and protect him from himself.”
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you shouldn’t protect him, and deal with the shoulder in a prudent fashion – of course you should. However, the idea that they might need to play him, because their 0-4, and “desperate,” like he’s their only hope, is something I don’t get at all.
Honestly, I think Darnold needs a timeout, whether he is healthy or injured.
People talk about Gase potentially losing the locker room. Starting a quarterback who is struggling, when you have an experienced Super Bowl winning QB in back of him, that is how you lose a locker room, my friends.
You think players are stupid? Who do you think they believe gives them a better chance to win this week against Arizona?
I’m sorry to traumatize people with facts.
Look, I’m not saying bench Darnold for the rest of the season. I’m saying give him a couple of weeks off to get his shoulder right, and also take a step back, like he did as a rookie, so he can see the forest for the trees.
Darnold needs to take a step back to take two steps forward, by watching Flacco, a pro’s pro, do his thing for a couple of games, and then re-emerge in a few weeks with a healthy shoulder and mind.
And you know what, the play he got hurt, is a perfect example of why he needs a timeout. It should never have happened!
Darnold had almost five seconds to throw before getting tossed to the group by linebacker Alexander Johnson.
Let me repeat – It should never have happened!
Throw the ball away or take off scrambling. Don’t put yourself in a position to get abused like that. Look, on quick sacks, where a defender beats a lineman quickly, I understand why a lot of quarterbacks get hurt on those plays – they have no time to protect themselves, but that wasn’t the case here.
He’s just not seeing the field well, and I don’t want to hear about weapons. Philadelphia beat San Francisco with their top three receivers out, and Green Bay soundly beat Atlanta with their top two receivers out.
He needs to go through his progressions better, regardless of who the receivers are.
Late in the game, on third-and-three, with the Jets trailing, Darnold threw a deep out on the right side to Jeff Smith, and it should have been picked off by Devante Bausby. He dropped it. Jamison Crowder was open underneath for a first down, but Darnold was forced it to Smith. He was sacked on fourth down to end the Jets chances.
This idea that they would play Darnold out of “desperation” because they need a win, when he’s not playing well, and the backup probably gives them a better chance to beat Arizona, is thinking I just don’t understand. And I’m not putting Flacco in Canton, but he can efficiently manage the game for them. There isn’t much he hasn’t seen from opposing defenses.
I just think Darnold needs a timeout, and they should go with Flacco for a couple of games, and it’s not just about the shoulder.
October 6, 2020
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