That buzz you hear is all about Darnold

[jetrider]

That buzz you hear from Jets camp is all about Sam Darnold

By Steve Serby

June 14, 2018 | 6:27pm

After all the OTAs and the minicamp that ended Thursday, the first true verdict on Sam Darnold is in:

In the eyes of his teammates, a star is being born.

“Man … it’s crazy how talented the kid is,” receiver Charles Johnson told The Post. “When we first started, you could see the talent, but he was struggling just like any young player does. And then each day, each week, you just seen him continue to progress. The last couple of weeks, man, he’s made some throws, made some reads — he’s got it all.

“I’m excited for him, I know he likes to work hard, too. Everything just comes natural to him. Like some throws he just makes are just natural. His command, how he controls everything, comes natural. … Once he learns everything like the back of his hand, sky’s the limit.”

What kind of ball does Darnold throw? “The ball comes out nice … it’s a nice spiral usually all the time, and he throws it hard, he can throw it hard.”

Can he be a star?

“No doubt, no doubt,” Johnson said. “As long as he still had the drive that he has right now to continue to get better.  … Sometimes guys who get drafted first round, high picks, sometimes they have egos: ‘I want to be that guy now.’ … As long as he doesn’t have an ego and he continues to work hard and (is) not scared to learn and ask questions (of) some of the guys, I think sky’s the limit.”

Receiver Chad Hansen was a fourth-round draft choice in 2017. “He’s light years ahead of where I thought he would be,” Hansen said. “He’s so far ahead of where I was, it’s crazy.

“He’s gonna be a great player.”

So the Jets are gushing about Darnold the way the Giants are gushing about Saquon Barkley.

“He seems pretty confident and comfortable for a rookie quarterback,” Leonard Williams said.

Darnold, remember, has had to learn how to master the huddle after working from the shotgun at USC.

“When you’re young and you come into a huddle with a lot of older guys it can be intimidating,” guard Brian Winters said, “but he takes control and he does well.”

It is a godsend for Darnold that he can learn from Josh McCown and Teddy Bridgewater even as he closes the gap on them and reaches for the starting job that is up for grabs.

“I think from Day 1 of OTAs to today, he’s become more confident as he’s come into the huddle,” left tackle Kelvin Beachum said. “You could tell that it was a little different for him, but as he’s gotten more reps as far as just coming in the huddle and commanding the huddle, he’s gotten better with that.”

Darnold fumbled several center exchanges and must continue to be vigilant about holding the ball with two hands to prevent strip-sacks in the pocket.

“You see a lot of flashes, it’s like, ‘Oh, that’s the third overall pick right there,”’ Josh Martin said. “It’s exciting to watch.”

Tight end Jordan Leggett was asked what stands out about Darnold. “Just the way he moves in the pocket when he has pressure …” Leggett said. “And then as well as when he scrambles out of the pocket, he’s always looking downfield for somebody to throw it to, and just when he throws it, how accurate he is.

“We’re sitting there in film watching him, and he’ll make this throw on the sideline and you’re like, ‘Are you all watching this?’ It’s insane.

Darnold is a chill California dude who gets out only once in a while. “Eric Tomlinson had a crawfish broil from Memorial Day, so him and a couple of other rookies came over and we got to hang out for a couple of hours,” Leggett said.

McCown knows a franchise quarterback when he sees one. “He’s just wired right,” McCown said.

Jamal Adams seconds all the Samazing emotions. “He’s outstanding, man,” Adams told The Post. “You can tell that he’s a football junkie, he’s always in the film room, he’s learning each and every day. He’s definitely feeding off Teddy and Uncle Josh. It’s exciting to see those guys compete for the starting job, and it’s gonna be exciting.”

McCown will be the incumbent starter at the start of training camp and Bridgewater will be the No. 2. “We’ll see what happens at the end of training camp,” Todd Bowles said.

Don’t bet against Kid Darnold.

[Patriot Killa]

I see Darnold has earned a lot of respect from the team in these few months that he has been around.

[BurnleyJet]

13 minutes ago, Patriot Killa said:

I see Darnold has earned a lot of respect from the team in these few months that he has been around.

Could it be we have the real deal?

[Patriot Killa]

11 minutes ago, BurnleyJet said:

Could it be we have the real deal?

I think we do. He is a different breed of QB than we have ever had on this team.

[Charlie Brown]

Thank you this is a fantastic article.  

It is 3:00am in the morning and I’m out here trolling for articles just like this and LOVING IT!!!!!

Is this real?

Thank You God..........

and back looking for another article/crumb so I can go back to sleep with an even bigger smile on my face than I have on now!!!

[HawkeyeJet]

randombonermeme.jpeg

[faba]

Everything you read and hear is all positive on him so far-nice change from years of negativity

[KRL]

SOJF must hate reading the reports about Darnold.  And to think they have come

from only SIX weeks of Darnold learning the playbook

[Ohio State NY Jets fan]

9 minutes ago, KRL said:

SOJF must hate reading the reports about Darnold.  And to think they have come

from only SIX weeks of Darnold learning the playbook

Every Jets fans loves to hear these reports, we Thank the FO's of Brown and Blue for this gift

even SOJF are letting a little hope back in their fandom

[The Crusher]

34 minutes ago, faba said:

Everything you read and hear is all positive on him so far-nice change from years of negativity

Things you “ don’t read and hear” about him are just as positive. 

[nycdan]

I nominate John Dorsey for MVP of the Jets this year. 

[ZachEY]

9 minutes ago, Ohio State NY Jets fan said:

Every Jets fans loves to hear these reports, we Thank the FO's of Brown and Blue for this gift

even SOJF are letting a little hope back in their fandom

SOJF is just another name for people who have been largely correct about the team since Mark Sanchez took over.

It really has no bearing on the Sam Darnold situation.

[ZachEY]

3 minutes ago, nycdan said:

I nominate John Dorsey for MVP of the Jets this year. 

If we're playing this game, I think it's Gettleman, honestly.  Eli at the end of his career and you take a running back when you have a shot to set your franchise up for another decade of quality QB play?

I wouldn't have made the call that Dorsey made, but he took the QB he wanted, and it wasn't unsupported by the analytics.

[ChuckkieB]

We long suffering Jets fans have been waiting a looooooooooooooooooooooooong time to hear this kind of positivity and praise for a young QB on our team.  After all of the swings and misses with this franchise, this DOES seem surreal as we've been programed to look for and expect all the negatives to jump out at us, or at best, waiting for the other shoe to drop proving once again that we have no luck when it comes to the QB position. 

This time, folks, FINALLY it truly seems like we have the real deal on our hands and quite frankly, I don't know what to do with myself.  It's like I'm feeling a new emotion that Ive never felt before. 

I like it!!!

 

[Ohio State NY Jets fan]

10 minutes ago, TeddEY said:

SOJF is just another name for people who have been largely correct about the team since Mark Sanchez took over.

It really has no bearing on the Sam Darnold situation.

It goes beyond that (70's) hopefully we can all agree that SOJF are not born that way, the condition is earned by many NYJ bone headed moves off the field and and heart breaking plays on the field - we are all susceptible

 

[dbatesman]

reports like this make me sick. Literally the only thing I want out of life is for Sam Dornald to fail

[#27TheDominator]

11 minutes ago, TeddEY said:

SOJF is just another name for people who have been largely correct about the team since Mark Sanchez took over.

It really has no bearing on the Sam Darnold situation.

We were largely wrong about the team through the Pennington, Esiason, Brister eras? 

[Philc1]

14 minutes ago, nycdan said:

I nominate John Dorsey for MVP of the Jets this year. 

Him and Gettleman are co-MVPs

[The Crusher]

7 minutes ago, dbatesman said:

reports like this make me sick. Literally the only thing I want out of life is for Sam Dornald to fail

How about trading him because Bridgewater is throwing well In shorts with no defense and no contact? 

[nycdan]

6 minutes ago, TeddEY said:

If we're playing this game, I think it's Gettleman, honestly.  Eli at the end of his career and you take a running back when you have a shot to set your franchise up for another decade of quality QB play?

I wouldn't have made the call that Dorsey made, but he took the QB he wanted, and it wasn't unsupported by the analytics.

Could go either way or both.  I see Gettleman as making a questionable, but not completely insane decision to 'go for it' while Eli still has a year or two left.  The NFCE has an odd quirk where the 4th place team has won the division the following year in 5 of the last 6 seasons.  Then you look at the success DAL and JAX have had with their young stud RBs and...well that's how I rationalized it for him pre-draft when I was dreaming big.  At least you won't be able to compare the two careers directly and I do think Barkley will be a stud.

In Dorsey's case, yes he chased the analytics.  And I think it was a huge mistake (and I am an analytics guy).  There was much love for Mayfield on this board too, but I never fell asleep near that pod.  Taking him over Darnold seemed like chasing fool's gold to me.  If Mayfield isn't great and Darnold is, this decision will follow him forever.  Time will tell.  

At the end of the day, we will hopefully look back and shake our head at how both GMs passed on a great QB that day.

[Philc1]

1 minute ago, nycdan said:

Could go either way or both.  I see Gettleman as making a questionable, but not completely insane decision to 'go for it' while Eli still has a year or two left.  The NFCE has an odd quirk where the 4th place team has won the division the following year in 5 of the last 6 seasons.  Then you look at the success DAL and JAX have had with their young stud RBs and...well that's how I rationalized it for him pre-draft when I was dreaming big.  At least you won't be able to compare the two careers directly and I do think Barkley will be a stud.

In Dorsey's case, yes he chased the analytics.  And I think it was a huge mistake (and I am an analytics guy).  There was much love for Mayfield on this board too, but I never fell asleep near that pod.  Taking him over Darnold seemed like chasing fool's gold to me.  If Mayfield isn't great and Darnold is, this decision will follow him forever.  Time will tell.  

At the end of the day, we will hopefully look back and shake our head at how both GMs passed on a great QB that day.

I don’t know how you take Johnny Manziel Jr and a running back over possibly the best prospect since Luck

[JustInFudge]

My 24/7 boner pants was a great investment. 

[j4jets]

6 hours ago, Charlie Brown said:

Thank you this is a fantastic article.  

It is 3:00am in the morning and I’m out here trolling for articles just like this and LOVING IT!!!!!

Is this real?

Thank You God..........

and back looking for another article/crumb so I can go back to sleep with an even bigger smile on my face than I have on now!!!

U need to get laid bro. 

[Bruce Harper]

24 minutes ago, TeddEY said:

If we're playing this game, I think it's Gettleman, honestly.  Eli at the end of his career and you take a running back when you have a shot to set your franchise up for another decade of quality QB play?

I wouldn't have made the call that Dorsey made, but he took the QB he wanted, and it wasn't unsupported by the analytics.

I've been thinking about what a pass the Giants have gotten for their terrible mistake.  The Jets would have been absolutely killed by the press if the roles were reversed. At best, the Giants are going to look like tools in six years when Barkley starts to lose a step and the Jets' 27 yr old QB is just entering his prime.  

[Villain The Foe]

I've been skeptical of Darnold, but even Im praying that this kid is legit. 

I hope he turns in a Dak Prescott-like performance in the preseason. Please just remove any doubt or fear any of us have. 

We just want to win...that's all. 

[Charlie Brown]

13 minutes ago, j4jets said:

U need to get laid bro. 

I vowed in 1997 no sex until the Jets win a SB and all I can say is .........

IT HAS BEEN A LONG....LONG.....LONG... LONG TIME!!!!

And it looks to me that the drought is about to end....

[Philc1]

13 minutes ago, Bruce Harper said:

I've been thinking about what a pass the Giants have gotten for their terrible mistake.  The Jets would have been absolutely killed by the press if the roles were reversed. At best, the Giants are going to look like tools in six years when Barkley starts to lose a step and the Jets' 27 yr old QB is just entering his prime.  

It’s the Giants they are the media’s darlings 

[The Crusher]

5 minutes ago, Philc1 said:

It’s the Giants they are the media’s darlings 

It’s gross honestly. If we did that and had Eli we would be seeing him in AARP commercial already. Then the 67 weekly articles demanding to know why we took the new Blair Thomas over the opportunity to draft this years top rated QB. 

[chrisfaceoff]

I only have 3 words to say....

 

LETS.

*******.

GO!

[freestater]

"Uncle Josh" lol. He's gotta love that

[tfine]

I’m still pissed we took a safety over Mahomes and Watson...but I guess this is a good consolation prize...


Sent from my iPad using JetNation.com mobile app

[Jetster]

53 minutes ago, TeddEY said:

If we're playing this game, I think it's Gettleman, honestly.  Eli at the end of his career and you take a running back when you have a shot to set your franchise up for another decade of quality QB play?

I wouldn't have made the call that Dorsey made, but he took the QB he wanted, and it wasn't unsupported by the analytics.

Agreed, at least Dorsey TOOK A QB. How can a GM EVER pass on a chance for a Franchise QB? Especially when yours is older like Eli. Can you imagine Giants fans watching Sam Darnold kill it for 18-20 years with the Jets while the Eagles, Rams & Vikings snuff out any hope Giants fans have in the near future, Eli retires, Barkley compiles 900 caries & gets injured. 

[Dcat]

1 hour ago, faba said:

Everything you read and hear is all positive on him so far-nice change from years of negativity

Darnold even has Mehta walking around OTA's with a hard-on.  Never thought that was possible.

[Jetster]

13 minutes ago, tfine said:

I’m still pissed we took a safety over Mahomes and Watson...but I guess this is a good consolation prize...


Sent from my iPad using JetNation.com mobile app

I've posted this quote before but having Sam Darnold fall in our lap after passing on Mahomes & Watson "sometimes not getting what you want can be stroke of luck"

Sam Darnold reminds me of an Andrew Luck type with better accuracy on the move.  I think Jet fans are underestimating the skill players he'll have around him. Some very good vets in Kearse & Enunwa, a rising star in Robby Anderson (look what McCown did with Robby & imagine Darnold getting comfortable with him), Pryor if he gets healthy as a 3rd or 4th WR, and the young up & coming Hansen who showed well in OTAs. A lot of guys with different skill sets. Then you have 2 young TEs in Leggett & Herndon for Sam to grow with, Crowell is a tough SOB, who squeezes out yardage & Darnolds arm will threaten any part of the field making it impossible to play 8/9 guys in the box. 

[MDL_JET]

I know some fans wanna approach this with caution but F it. I'm going all in. Darnold is our guy. This is it. 

If he fails, i'm blame coaching first. I think he's too talented and driven not to be successful.