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Joe Douglas said something last week that gained a lot of traction in the media . . .
It was in regards to Sam Darnold.
“When I first met his parents, in the first preseason game, I promised that I was gonna do everything in my power to take care of Sam, with protection and playmakers,” Douglas said. “We still have a lot to do in both regards moving forward.”
That is a very unique quote. I have been covering the NFL for 25 years, and I’ve never heard anything like that from a GM. It sounds like something a college coach would say to the parents of five-star QB prospect they’re trying to sign. And let me make this clear, I’m not being flippant or judgmental, just telling you how unique that quote is. Just because I’ve never heard it before, doesn’t mean it’s wrong. I’m just saying it’s something I’ve never heard in all my years covering the NFL – a GM making a promise like this to the parents of a player.
This quote went over extremely well in the Jets’ Nation. There are so many fans who feel that Darnold’s biggest problem last year, and perhaps the year before, was related to protection and playmakers. This quote was a big hit.
But if you are a big Jets fans, and really objective on the subject, you should hope that Douglas realizes that the QB does need some help, no doubt, but Darnold also has a lot of work to do not related to protection and weapons.
While Darnold’s weapons and protection were inconsistent last year, there were also plenty of plays, when he had time to throw, and didn’t go through his progressions properly or throw with ideal anticipation. He often locked on his first read, and seemed dead-set on going to that player, come hell or high water. That’s not good.
If you are a Jets fans, you should hope that Douglas thinks this way too. In other words, his thinking should be, “Yes, I need to help Darnold with a strong line and plenty of receiver talent, but he has a lot to work on, and I also don’t want to dedicate so many resources to receivers and linemen, I neglect other positions like cornerback and edge-rusher.”
Remember, a writer who doesn’t think Adam Gase is part of the Jets’ problem right now, ran a quote recently, from an unnamed former Jet saying, “Sam needs to step the F up.”
I’m not saying this is coming from Gase, but considering the writer believes in Gase, which is his right, you just wonder if the coach feels this way to a degree.
People were quick to blame the line, the receivers and Gase for Darnold’s struggles at times last year, but some of it was the QB. And hey, it’s understandable he struggled at times, as he is only 22, and was in his second NFL offense in two years. He’s still a young, developing prospect.
So the point here is simple. Yes, Douglas needs to help out Darnold, but the quarterback also needs to improve, because we have seen many instances in NFL history, where the GM loads up on weapons and lineman to buttress a young QB, and it makes very little difference, because they don’t read defenses properly, or go through their progressive scans on a high-level.
If you are a Jets fans, you should hope that Douglas knows that Darnold needs help, but also much improve. Hey, maybe Douglas, was, in part, saying this, to boost up his young signal-caller publicly, and perhaps also helping to help the Jets’ business side, to a degree, which has hitched it’s wagon to Darnold as their chief marketing tool. And many Jets fans love, love, love the narrative that Darnold’s issue last year was a bad line and suspect receivers.
April 6, 2020
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