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Last thing from the old tape . . .
Last part of our series on the Gase’ tape that wasn’t broadcast from after the Joe Douglas’ presser.
There’ve been a lot of questions to Joe Douglas and Gase about the Jets’ job being even more attractive to candidates because of the presence of Sam Darnold.
The Daily News asked Gase if having Darnold made the job more appealing to Joe Douglas.
“That is the toughest position to find,” Gase said. “It’s so tough to evaluate college quarterbacks. When you have a guy who just turned 22. That’s got to be an attractive piece being a GM, because you’re not looking for that. We don’t have to spend a first round pick on a quarterback. That is a lot of pressure off our shoulders.”
Look, I know what I’m about to say will bother some people, but Darnold still has some work to do before he can be considered a franchise QB.
I think he’s a helluva prospect with a great arm, terrific pocket presence (feels the pressure and creates time with his feet) and poise. He’s also a very hard worker, humble and stays calm under pressure.
There is a lot to love about this prospect, but he has work to do to get to the elite level. He will be the first to admit it. There is an excellent chance he gets there, but he’s not there yet.
He needs to cut down on interceptions. In college, he had 20 interceptions over last 20 games, and he threw 15 in 13 games with the Jets last year.
He also needs to improve his completion percentage. There were too many three-and-out’s for the Jets’ offense last year under his watch, and also too many drives where they had to settle for field goals. He’s would often have a nice completion, and then follow that with bad pass or two, and drives would stall.
“He needs to know when to cut bait on a play and when to rip it,” Josh McCown told ESPN about Darnold. “That will be more fine-tuned this year because I know Adam will help with that. That will be the biggest jump for him. If he can eliminate five or six incompletions per game, it’ll be a major improvement.”
And he needs to improve his field vision. Last year, he too often forced passes to his first read. A couple examples at Buffalo:
Late first half, Darnold ran a bootleg left and threw to Jermaine Kearse even though he wasn’t open, and it was a near pick by CB Levi Wallace – that was his first read and he was going there.
Early third quarter, Darnold rolled right and threw to Chris Herndon and it’s picked off by Tre Edmonds. He wasn’t open.
He has a world of talent, and should improve in all these areas.
But until he does, it’s premature to say the Jets have found a franchise QB.
I think they probably have, but he needs to take a big step in Year Two.
He knows that.
And surely Douglas and Gase know as well. Gase pointed out recently that he’s just 22.
July 15, 2019
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