Not to go up in value
The second-year Hackenberg was inactive Sunday against the Raiders. With the Jets searching for a franchise QB in the draft, the Hackenberg era may be over before it even started.
UNHAPPY RETURN
After two rough weeks, the Jets may have seen the last of kick returner Kalif Raymond. Raymond muffed two punts Week 1 against Buffalo and mishandled another one Sunday against the Raiders that set up an Oakland TD. Bowles did not say Raymond’s job is safe. “We’ll look at it as the week goes,” he said, “and we’ll see what we want to do.”
TIGHT END HELP
TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins returns from a two-game substance abuse suspension this week. The suspension goes back to his DUI arrest last year while he was with Tampa Bay. He has been able to attend meetings during his suspension, Bowles said. He just hasn’t been able to practice . ... Bowles gave no additional updates on OG Brian Winters (abdomen) and LB Freddie Bishop (ankle), who were both injured in Oakland. Dakota Dozier, who replaced Winters, “did a good job,” Bowles said.
THE RACE for the golden-boy gunslinger with franchise-quarterback hair from La-La Land is the only contest the Jets actually need to win this year. There might be seven other 0-2 teams through the first two weeks of the season, but one serious Suck ForSam threat has emerged from the opposite coast.
Just when you figured the Jets finally got it right by getting it all wrong on fall Sundays, the freakin’ 49ers pop up on the radar.
Just when you thought this starcrossed franchise was bumbling and stumbling one ugly loss at a time right into the waiting arms of USC quarterback Sam Darnold, that damn hot-shot young head coach in San Francisco shows up.
Just when it looked like a damn shoo-in that a Jets team that got excoriated by the Raiders for 45 points Sunday would slide into the No. 1 overall pick of the most important draft in the history of the organization, Kyle Shanahan’s clown car pulls into the lot.
The Jets might emit a foul stench, but don’t sell the 49ers short. They stink, too.
San Francisco, believe it or not, might actually be worse than Todd Bowles’ team, which should prompt Jets die-hards to curse, cry or do a little bit of both. Shanahan, of course, doesn’t need to apologize to the Jets for trying to get his boy-genius hands on a potential signal-caller savior.
Oh, sure. Nobody is a sure thing, especially a USC quarterback (see: Sanchise), but don’t let history cloud your judgment. Darnold has got the goods. I know it. The Jets know it. Every NFL talent evaluator knows it.
Darnold showed flashes of brilliance in USC’s come-from-behind double overtime victory over Texas on Saturday night. Forget about Darnold’s stats (28 for 49 for 397 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs). The most important piece of the young quarterback’s night was his ability to make high-level NFL-caliber decisions and high-level NFL-caliber throws.
He wasn’t perfect — one of his picks was a flat-out poor play by him — but there were tantalizing moments of greatness that should make Jets fans salivate at the prospect of having this guy turn your wayward franchise into a perennial winner for the next decade.
Darnold’s 15-yard touchdown pass to Deontay Burnett was the stuff that makes scouts drool about the boundless possibilities. Darnold showed terrific pocket awareness after his first read was covered, exhibited functional mobility to slide out of chaos and threw open his receiver. It was the FQBT: Franchise Quarterback Trifecta.
He was unflappable in the face of too many drops by his supporting cast. So, forget about his numbers. His seven touchdowns and six interceptions (half of which came off tipped passes) in USC’s first three games don’t jump off the page. But that doesn’t matter. Other quarterbacks have better stats, but none have a better chance of being an NFL franchise signal caller.
Know this: It’s not about how good of a college quarterback you are. It’s about how good of a pro quarterback you can be.
The Jets and 49ers are fully aware of these truths as they study Darnold.
The worst kept secret in NFL scouting circles: Darnold has the makings to be a star for a very long time.
UCLA’s Josh Rosen, probably the best pure-pocket passer in the country, and Wyoming’s Josh Allen have the skill sets to be franchise signal callers, but Darnold will likely be the No. 1 pick in the upcoming draft. (He could choose to stay in school another year, but why subject Jets fans to that kind of hypothetical torture right now?).
The 49ers could spoil the party, because, well, they’re not very good at football, either. (Editor’s Note: Don’t sleep on the Browns’ ineptitude).
San Francisco’s 12-9 loss to the Seahawks on Sunday punctuated a terrible start for its rookie head coach. Shanahan’s team has managed only 12 points (four field goals) in 21 drives this season. The offensive guru’s club is 4 for 23 (17.4%) on third downs in the first two games.
The great Brian Hoyer threw for a grand total of 99 yards on Sunday.
Some folks have assumed that Washington’s Kirk Cousins will reunite with his former coach next offseason, but why not grab a younger, cheaper and likely better option at the top of the next draft? Shanahan and general manager John Lynch are in the first year of a six-year commitment, so grabbing Darnold makes perfect sense. t’s almost too cruel to subject Jets fans to this scenario. Haven’t these people suffered enough? Besides, the 49ers have already won their fair share of Super Bowls with their fair share of franchise quarterbacks.
Sure, Rosen and/or Allen might turn into NFL difference makers, but there is one giant pot of gold at the end of this 0-16 (?) rainbow.
The 49ers better not ruin it for the Jets.
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