Content available exclusively for subscribers
There is a QB analytics entity on Twitter . . .
. . . called “QB Data Mine.”
They break down all the throws from NFL QB’s over the course of a season, and glean stats out of that body of work.
Just like any analytics site, it’s hard to trust their data 100 percent because you don’t know the criteria they use to grade the film, and they also aren’t privy to what play was called.
But something they tweeted the other day drew the ire of some Jets fans:
“Jets QB Sam Darnold ranked 27th of 29 qualifying quarterbacks in accuracy last year. Short passes: 83 percent. Intermediate passes: 54.9 percent. Deep passes: 32.4 percent. Overall: 51.7 percent.
Along with this tweet, the people from “QB Data Mine,” showed a video montage of inaccurate passes.
This tweet and video package ticked off a number of Jets fans, who took to Twitter to defend their quarterback.
“Which ones were from a clean pocket?” tweeted Mike Daniel.
“Notice the pocket,” tweeted Nick Picciotto.
“What pocket? Sam is an absurd talent, he just had one of the worst offensive lines in front of him,” tweeted Ray O’Keefe.
“Sam Darnold is the truth. There’s a reason Joe Douglas targeted offensive linemen this offseason,” tweeted Jared G.
You get the idea. Many Jets fans feel that Darnold’s issues last were due to a substandard offensive line, and not of Sam’s own doing.
So who’s closest to the target here – “QB Date Mine” or the loyal Jets fans?
Some might consider this a copout response, but the answer is probably somewhere in the middle.
Of course the pass protection for Darnold last season was unstable. Nobody is going to argue with that. But mixed in with wildly inconsistent pass protection, there were plays where he had time, and his accuracy wasn’t where it needed to be.
One thing he did too much last year was stay on covered first reads, rather than finding better options. He needs to do a better job of cycling through his progressions. Any fair observer would have to admit that.
You could make an argument having mono early in the season, might have impacted his mindset in the pocket when he returned. Remember, with mono, you often develop an enlarged spleen, and it can hang down below the ribcage, so your spleen is at risk for rupturing if he you get hit in the abdomen.
Of course, the Jets’ doctors wouldn’t allow him to return unless they felt his spleen was back to normal, but don’t you think Darnold’s spleen was on his mind when he returned?
It just seemed like he was a little more skittish last year in the pocket, than as a rookie, and you’d have to think concerns about his spleen had to be praying on his mind, at least early on in his return. And would you blame him?
So the answer here is in the middle – the Jets need to improve their line, and Joe Douglas worked overtime to doing that, and he might not be done, and Darnold also needs to improve in some areas on his own (like mechanics), which could help with his accuracy.
April 13, 2020
Premium will return by 9:30 pm on Tuesday.