GOTTA PROTECT
Jets need to upgrade line so Sam doesn’t end up like Andrew
Jets may have a gold mine in Sam Darnold, but they’ve got to protect their investment
The flip side to the Sam Darnold lovefest in the preseason opener a few days ago was the elephant in the room that could become a significant issue if the Jets aren’t careful.
Darnold was doing Darnold-like things against the Falcons, displaying his special gifts that have him on track to be the Week 1 starter, partly because of the breakdowns along a suspect offensive line that prompted the rookie to wiggle out of potential disaster.
While we were going gaga over Darnold’s heady 18-yard completion to Clive Walford that set up an even headier 14-yard touchdown pass while on the run to Charles Johnson, we should have stopped to think about why the rookie had to display those skills in the first place. The pocket collapsed. Darnold’s mobility will help mitigate some of those concerns up front, but the brain trust must prioritize offensive line upgrades moving forward if they don’t want their golden boy to suffer the same fate as another chosen-one signal caller forced to pause his career last season due to organizational malpractice.
Andrew Luck’s body has been ravaged by needless pounding behind a neglected offensive line for years. It wasn’t long ago when Luck was the coveted rookie with fantastic mobility, elusiveness and a high football I.Q.
The Colts inexplicably rolled out a subpar offensive line rather than protect their most important asset. The result: Luck missed the entire 2017 season with a shoulder injury that surely resulted from an accumulation of body blows.
The Jets simply cannot afford to make those same mistakes with Darnold.
Gang Green’s offensive line, which had the fifth-highest sack percentage and seventh most sacks (47) allowed last season, has been inexplicably neglected during Mike Maccagnan’s tenure.
Maccagnan has had 28 picks in four drafts. He’s selected a grand total of one offensive lineman (2016 fifth-rounder Brandon Shell). The Jets have added one notable free-agent lineman: Center Spencer Long this offseason.
That must change if the Jets want to take care of their most im- portant asset. Although it’s unfair to draw definitive conclusions about this year’s line, the early returns aren’t exactly promising.
The Jets first and second-team offensive line had an uneven showing in the first preseason game. New position coach/run-game coordinator Rick Dennison’s zone-blocking centric scheme needs a lot of work. Dennison believes that he has “a lot of hard workers” at his disposal, but willingness to get better will only get you so far without top-notch talent.
“They’re smart,” Dennison said. “And they’re willing to learn. They’re willing to do what’s best for the team. They’ve done a good job in competing.”
Competition obviously is a good thing, but there are some guys who simply aren’t athletic enough to play Dennison’s scheme. The outside zone runs weren’t particularly effective in the preseason opener. There were plenty of breakdowns in the run game (see: every run to tackle Brent Qvale’s side).
The pass protection wasn’t a train wreck, but there were too many times when Darnold was under duress. Part of the beauty of having Darnold, who is in line to start the second preseason game against Washington Thursday night after taking the lion’s share of first-team reps in practice for a second consecutive day, is masking offensive line holes. His elusiveness and prowess throwing on the run will sometimes overcome poor protection.
That said, you don’t want to tempt fate by consistently asking your quarterback to leave the pocket. Sooner or later, he’s going to take a shot that he won’t be able to bounce back from right away.
Sure, the Jets have several linemen with position versatility, but how much value does that ultimately have if the players don’t have the requisite skills to consistently keep the quarterback out of harm’s way? The Colts’ old regime ignored the offensive line before GM Chris Ballard invested a first- and second-round pick this offseason to protect Luck.
The Jets absolutely need to make a similar commitment in the draft and free agency next year. In the meantime, Darnold will use his skills to cover for the deficiencies up front.
“When he’s out here, he’s just so composed and poised,” wide receiver Jermaine Kearse said on Monday. “You never see him wide-eyed. If he makes a mistake, it’s kind of like, ‘Learn from it and move on to the next.’ That’s what I really like seeing from Sam. I noticed that from the first time he came in at OTAs. He’s steadily getting better each day. He improves each day. His composure is on a vet level.”
The Jets privately have been exceedingly pleased with Darnold’s development that will include a healthy dose of playing time with the starters in the second preseason game.
Although Bowles admitted that he won’t announce any changes to his quarterback “depth chart” that currently has Darnold as the No. 3 guy in the pecking order behind McCown and Teddy Bridgewater, I would be stunned if Darnold were not the Week 1 starter barring a severe regression in the next couple weeks.
The Jets have been downright giddy about the rookie’s capacity to learn and transfer everything that he’s seen in the film room to the practice field. Darnold is the present and the future. The Jets better invest better resources to protect him.