RAIDER GREAT
Oakland Hall of Famer Willie Brown dies at 78 Don’t count Sam out after one bad night
The I-told-you-so police are puffing out their chests, ready to toss Sam Darnold aside and look for the next victim. The Jets quarterback’s forgettable five-turnover performance on national television Monday night has prompted critics to marginalize this talented player just 16 games into his NFL career.
Darnold’s career trajectory wasn’t altered by this poor outing. He still has the skillset, mindset and fortitude to excel for a long time.
“I’m going to put this behind me after (Tuesday), and I’ll watch the tape,” said Darnold, who had a toenail removed after getting his foot stepped on during the game. “The outside noise doesn’t bother me at all. People are going say what they want.”
Bill Belichick isn’t in the business of doing favors for the Jets, but the greatest football coach ever unwittingly did Darnold a solid the other night. The young signal-caller will come out of his sea of confusion with a better reservoir of knowledge.
Darnold’s evolution will have ebbs and flows, but the ship will move in the right direction. He will learn from his poor decisions against New England’s harrowing defense, which is on a collision course with history. When the sting from the 3.6 passer rating subsides, he’ll realize this experience will ultimately help make him a difference maker.
No, one game doesn’t define anyone, even if Darnold will likely tell his grandchildren one day about the ghosts that haunted his night back when he was 22. Time, experience and failure are life’s greatest teachers.
Successful people are brutally honest with themselves. Darnold might only be a few games into his second season, but he won’t B.S. himself. He’s fully aware that his footwork and decision making in the face of relentless pressure against the Patriots were not nearly good enough.
He’s much better than that. There’s enough visual evidence in the early part of his career to suggest that his latest game was an aberration rather than a harbinger.
“I have a lot of confidence in Sam bouncing back from this,” Adam Gase said Tuesday. “It’s tough when you go through this (initially). But then when you go back and watch the tape, you figure out your mistakes, you move on to the next game. You put a good game on tape. That’s really what we have to do.”
Darnold was hardly the lone culprit who helped the Jets fall to 1-5. There was confusion, miscommunication, poor recognition and play designs. Darnold, the offensive linemen and Gase share in this non-competitive defeat.
“Obviously what we put out on the field is on me,” Gase said. “And it wasn’t good enough… It’s always going to be ever-changing as far as what we need to do better and what we need to emphasize. Obviously, I haven’t found the formula yet to make us anything close to consistent.”
There’s no shame in losing to Belichick’s undefeated team, but the way the Jets lost was troubling. Gase’s offense has been a no-show for five of six games. Gase & Co. seemingly had no answer for New England’s blitzes all night.
“I do think we were prepared,” Gase said about the inability to stop the Patriots’ pass rush that created 11 pressures on Darnold. “We just didn’t do a good job. It was a right protection called versus what they were doing. What they did wasn’t something that was different than what they had shown on tape, what they did against the first time. They brought everyone on their pressures and they show it to you. They don’t disguise it. They just say, ‘Here, we’re coming. Good luck blocking it.”
The Patriots did a nice job disguising their pressures. Although Belichick consistently had six or even seven players at the line of scrimmage, he strategically dropped one, two or three into coverage after the snap. The Jets had trouble properly identifying the Mike linebacker before the snap and the proper rushers after the snap. That led to free runners at Darnold, who didn’t have his typically sound pocket presence.
The second-year signal-caller repeatedly made off-balance throws off his back foot that cost him. He never looked comfortable, prompting his “seeing ghosts” comment on the sideline, while being mic’d up by NFL Films.
But it’s foolish to bury Darnold after one bad night. He’s shown resilience throughout his football life. He’s mentally strong enough to overcome disappointment. So, count him out if you wish. Time will prove you wrong.