Darnold-Bates relationship blossoms down stretch
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Sam Darnold’s December awesomeness has been a result of a terrific work ethic, high football I.Q., incredible guidance and some pretty damn good coaching.
It’s that last part — the coaching — that has strangely gotten lost during the rookie’s promising finish to his first season.
Darnold ultimately deserves the most credit for his stellar play since returning from a sprained foot that sidelined him for a month, but it’s unfair — and just plain wrong — not to give offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates his just due for the young quarterback’s growth.
It’s no secret that the Jets’ offense has had its fair share of struggles. The numbers are in plain sight. The Jets are in the bottom third of most meaningful offensive statistics entering the season finale against the Patriots at Foxborough, Mass., on Sunday.
Bates is the easy target, but the fault lies in myriad people and departments.
Regardless, the unvarnished truth is that Bates has been a good influence on Darnold this season.
He has helped the kid cultivate some of his prodigious talents. And isn’t that what all Jets fans wanted four months ago?
This season was centered on No. 14’s development. Winning might be the only thing, but this star-crossed franchise absolutely needed its 21-year-old centerpiece to show signs that he could be the answer to the decadeslong quarterback misery.
Everyone on One Jets Drive kept their fingers crossed, hoping that Darnold would show tangible signs of improvement.
Well, guess what? He has. Bates has been a significant reason for that improvement during a challenging yet fun season with one of the most talented, level-headed quarterbacks to come into the league in the past decade. It hasn’t been smooth sailing, but who expected that it would?
Bates was promoted from quarterbacks coach to play-caller after last season, in part, because of his own high football I.Q. It’s fair to criticize him for the subpar offensive production this season. Truth be told, he probably still needs to soften his edges with players other than quarterbacks.
It’s undeniable, however, that Darnold has benefited from working with him. It’s been a challenging path for teacher and student as you would expect with any coordinator working with a rookie signal caller. There have been some bumps along the road on Darnold’s maiden voyage through the confounding world of NFL defenses.
Darnold’s development has gone into overdrive in the past three weeks.
Consider the gargantuan leap in every meaningful statistical category: His completion rate has jumped from 57.8 in the first nine games to 65.9 in the past three. His yards per attempt have improved from 6.69 before his injury to 7.88 after it. He’s thrown six touchdowns and only one interception in the past three weeks after having 11 touchdowns and14 interceptions before hurting his foot.
The Jets offense has averaged 25.7 points in the past three games since the rookie signal caller returned.
“I’m going to keep stacking wins,” Darnold said. “As long as I can keep trying to continue to build and continue to grow as a player, continue to try to be as consistent as possible playing this position. That’s what you want as a player (and) as a coach as well. You just want your quarterback to be the most consistent player on the field. That’s what I try to strive to be every single week.”