SUPER SAM GETS ROOKED
Darnold looks like a first-year quarterback in his debut as Jets starter — and that’s OK
LANDOVER, Md. – LOOK! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a rookie quarterback. If you were expecting Sam Darnold to be faster than a speeding bullet and leap tall buildings in a single bound, you got smacked with an uppercut of reality Thursday night when the Jets first-year signal caller looked human after all.
There’s still oodles of stuff to be excited about, but Darnold naturally experienced some rough moments in the Jets’ second preseason game, a 15-13 loss, vs. Washington.
Darnold displayed some of his special gifts in his first career start, but there were plenty of hurdles that he didn’t overcome due to myriad factors. No, the Jets aren’t doomed. The kid is going to be fine, but expecting perfection was a pipedream.
Darnold went 8 for 11 for 62 yards and an interception in three first-half drives that netted one field goal. This was simply the next step in the Jets’ evaluation process before determining their comfort level with the rookie for the start of the regular season.
“Any game experience is huge,” Darnold said. “It’s well documented, because I only played really 1¾ years of college football and a 1½ years of high school football. So, every single game that I play is huge. I feel like I’m going to continue to grow and get better every single day. That’s what I’m most excited about… to see how much I’m going to be able to grow and get better and build chemistry with the guys in the locker room. I think we have the potential to do really good things.”
Darnold gave way to Teddy Bridgewater, who went 10 for 15 for 127 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT and led the Jets to 10 points on six drives in the second half.
“Fortunately for him and unfortunately for me, he wanted to get hit some,” Todd Bowles said. “I told him that I have a neighborhood where he can get hit quite a bit if he wants to get hit. But he had a smile on his face. It was good to see him from a durability standpoint…. He’s a tough guy. I just don’t like my quarterbacks getting hit.”
It was the next hurdle for Bridgewater to clear after his grievous knee injury cost him two seasons.
“It felt great,” Bridgewater said of getting banged around. “Some of those plays I told him, ‘Coach you know I’ll make better decisions than that.’ I know when to throw the ball away… For me, I just wanted to get hit.”
Bowles down- played the notion that the quarterback competition is cloudier now and that “we’re going to play the best guy” in Week 1 of the regular season. The Jets, frankly, want to continue Darnold’s evaluation process. The rookie is 21for-29 for 158 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception in his first two preseason games. He’s led the Jets to 10 points on 10 drives.
A week after the Jets looked shaky up front, the offensive line didn’t do Darnold any favors on Gang Green’s first series. Truth be told, Darnold didn’t have a prayer on the first drive of his first NFL start.
After a 2-yard completion on his first play, Darnold eluded a free runner (Ryan Kerrigan) before throwing it away. Darnold was sacked on third and 8 after Washington defensive lineman Daron Payne cleanly beat right guard Jonotthan Harrison, who was starting for Brian Winters.
The Jets makeshift offensive line also included Brent Qvale, who started at left tackle for the injured Kelvin Beachum (foot/ankle) for the second consecutive week. To make matters worse, swing tackle Ben Ijalana – a versatile sixth man – was placed on injured reserve after suffering a shoulder injury at joint practices with Washington this week. (To further complicate this situation, the Jets are still adapting to run-game coordinator Rick Dennison’s zone-blocking scheme).
Remember: Darnold’s “wow” moments in the preseason opener against the Falcons were born out of shaky offensive line play that prompted him to escape collapsed pockets. Darnold’s mobility, one of his best traits, will mitigate some of the offensive line issues, but the Jets are potentially playing with fire. Gang Green can’t afford to go down the same path as the Colts, who made poor investments in their line and neglected to correct them before disaster struck. The result: Andrew Luck took a beating for years before missing last season due to injury.
General manager Mike Maccagnan has had 28 picks in four drafts. Only two have been spent on offensive linemen. (Fifth-rounders Brandon Shell and Jarvis Harrison). That must change moving forward.
Darnold heated up on his second drive, completing all five of his passes for 45 yards, including a pair of thirddown conversions to Tre McBride before the drive stalled in the red zone. The rookie made smart decisions to move into the red zone before – gasp! – making a rookie mistake. He held on to the ball too long on 3rd and 10 from the Washington 13 before getting sacked for the second time on the night.
Darnold’s third drive included a pass batted down at the line of scrimmage and his first pro turnover. The rookie tried to force a 4th-and-1 red-zone pass to a double-covered Jermaine Kearse that was deflected and intercepted. Deshazor Everett got a hand on Darnold’s pass and popped it in the air before safety Troy Apke picked it off.
“I thought I did a lot better job of getting to the line of scrimmage and having some time to analyze the defense and go about playing quarterback,” Darnold said. “It was fun to be able to feel really comfortable with every single play call…. I felt like sometimes when (Jeremy Bates) started to call the play, I knew exactly which play he was going to, which was a good feeling. It’s that kind of preparation that I’m going to try to replicate every single week. So I can get in and out of the huddle and get to work.”
He might change in a phone booth one day. But it’s not going to happen overnight.