QB guru: NY is going to love Sam
Sam Darnold has stood in front of a mirror with a football in his hand every day for the past 14 months to perfect his quirkiest trait. Soon after his epic performance in the 2017 Rose Bowl, the kid asked friend, mentor and quarterback whisperer Jordan Palmer the most important question of his young life that led him on a path to the Jets Thursday night.
“This is really indicative of who Sam is,” Palmer told the Daily News on Saturday. “He had just won the Rose Bowl. He was on top of the world. Everyone was telling him that he’s going to be the top pick in 2018. The Suck for Sam thing started. And his first question to me was so cool: ‘If I’m going to back all this up, what are the areas that I need to get way better at?’”
Darnold’s elongated windup wasn’t ideal, but Palmer didn’t want to make radical changes at a time when the kid was enjoying so much early success on the field. So, the quarterback guru suggested a simple daily drill designed to shorten an exaggerated loop in the young signal caller’s throwing motion.
Darnold slowly tracked both arms after his hands came apart during the throwing motion in front of a mirror. He’s done it tens of thousands of times since Palmer’s first suggestion less than a year and half ago.
“He developed muscle memory,” Palmer said. “If you’ve ever golfed, it’d be like taking half of a swing. Just working on the angle that the club comes back. But not actually swinging... Tiger (Woods) changed his swing every year or two. It was never about if it was good enough. It was always about what was the best.”
Palmer, a former eight-year NFL quarterback who specializes in pre-Combine training, has known Darnold since he was a high school freshman. The Southern California neighbors spent three intense months polishing everything from Darnold’s throwing mechanics to ball security issues to even his posture to help him thrive at the next level.
“Sam is going to be an absolute superstar in this league,” Palmer said. “I think he’s going to be a huge reason why the Jets turn things around.”
The devil is in the details. So, Palmer and Darnold took a deep dive into his throwing motion to uncover what, if anything, needed to be adjusted. The teacher and student dissected the funky windup with the help of a new video technology.
Palmer and Darnold studied the former USC star’s elongated throwing motion with the help of Wilson Connected Football technology that compiled four data points on a variety of throws: 1) Spin (RPMs) 2) Spiral efficiency (how tight is the spiral?) 3) Velocity (MPH) and 4) Time of release from when his left hand came off the ball until the ball left his right fingertips.
The data revealed that Darnold dropped the ball lower for throws of 32 or more yards. In other words, Darnold psychologically dipped the ball when he felt like he needed to drive it more.
The spin, spiral efficiency and velocity remained constant regardless of the length of the throw. Dropping the ball lower for passes of at least 32 yards didn’t change the end result, either. Translation: The need to drop the ball lower for longer throws was all in his head. Video from Darnold’s freshman year to now reveal a less exaggerated loop. The Jets, frankly, don’t believe the unusual motion will adversely affect him.
Palmer also worked on improving the 6-3 Darnold’s posture, which might seem strange upon first glance. Closer inspection, however, reveals how critical Palmer and his strength coach’s assistance on this matter will prove to be over time.
“He was pretty hunched over,” Palmer said. “He plays low and compact, which is what you want. But when he was hunching his shoulders over, a lot of times what ended up happening is he didn’t really use the front side of his body... his chest. You don’t (engage) any of those chest muscles. So literally when you throw, it’s all arm, shoulder and triceps.”
“Now he probably throws a half inch to one inch taller,” Palmer said. “Picture somebody hunched over versus somebody standing really erect. More importantly, it’s more for preservation down the road. Now you (use) more muscles, so it’s less triceps tendon and a less chance to develop elbow injuries. If you watch Sam walk around right now, without even thinking about it, his posture is so much better. That’s also going to translate to how he throws the ball.”
Although Darnold has praised Palmer’s efforts to hammer home a two-hands-on-the-ball inside the pocket mindset in the past few months to curtail his litany of fumbles last season, the teacher is fully aware that he can’t simulate tackles in his training. Palmer also wants to make sure that Darnold doesn’t lose a valuable dimension that helps make him a dynamic player.
“Sack fumbles are bad plays,” Palmer said. “But if you’re critical of all the times that he was careless with the ball in the pocket, you also have to look at all the times that he took his left hand off the ball and scrambled around and made some amazing plays. So, there’s a risk and a reward with that. What we don’t want is for him to keep two hands on the ball to the point where he now he doesn’t move around in the pocket and utilize that magic that he has.” Palmer, who has worked with everyone from Matthew Stafford to Deshaun Watson, sees a difference maker in Darnold.
“Sam is going to appear a lot to you like Eli Manning,” Palmer said. “He’s just 20 and cool. He doesn’t actually surf. Sam is NOT L.A. You’ll see him wear the same flannel for the next three years. He consistent. He’s always the same. He’s always respectful. He’s always professional. Inevitably whenever adversity hits him and he’s really struggling at some point, he’s going to be the exact same way as if they’re on top of the world. You’re not going to be able to dig up really interesting crazy stories about Sam Darnold over the next 15 years. You can try. It’s just not going to happen.” lthough Darnold isn’t likely to be shouting from the rooftops, Palmer cautioned not to be fooled. He’ll be the best kind of leader for the Jets.
“Sam is a very mature 20-year-old,” Palmer said. “He knows how he needs to get the most out of the guys around him. He also does a really good job of making sure that he’s doing his job before he’s talking to someone else about doing theirs…. Fast forward a year. These guys are going to totally love Sam.”
@MMehtaNYDN
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