Expert advice: Bruce Arians breaks down a huge play from each of Sam Darnold’s first three starts

[maury77]

https://theathletic.com/548504/2018/09/26/expert-advice-bruce-arians-breaks-down-a-huge-play-from-each-of-sam-darnolds-first-three-starts/?source=dailyemail

Bruce Arians wasn’t watching Sam Darnold. Not at first, at least. The coach-turned-CBS broadcaster flipped on the tape to study how the Dolphins defense played against the Jets before their game Sunday against the Raiders when he found himself observing New York’s signal caller.

“He can make every throw,” Arians said. “He’s athletic. He’s everything they thought he would be. He’s just going to have to learn.”

Arians knows a thing or two about franchise guys. He was Peyton Manning’s quarterbacks coach with the Colts from 1998 through 2000 and Andrew Luck’s offensive coordinator and interim head coach in 2012. He helped guide Ben Roethlisberger’s development with the Steelers from 2007 through 2011 and aided in Carson Palmer’s career rejuvenation in Arizona from 2013 through 2017.

Arians broke down three of Darnold’s bigger plays thus far for The Athletic. Here’s what the rookie looks like behind the eyes of a man with 25 years of NFL coaching experience.

Play No. 1: Lions vs Jets
Score at time: Lions, 7-0
Situation: 3rd and 7 at the Detroit 14 yard line with 5:05 left in the first quarter. After throwing a pick-six on the first pass of his career, Darnold and the Jets were hoping to tie the game and regain momentum.
Formation: Empty set. Running back (Isiah Crowell) and tight end (Neal Sterling) to left, three receivers (Quincy Enunwa, Robby Anderson, Terrelle Pryor) to right.

Play outline:

Sideline View: 

End zone view: 

Result: After eluding the rush, Darnold finds Enunwa for an 11-yard gain and first down. The Jets later scored a touchdown on the drive.

Arians’ analysis: (Darnold) does a great job here of feeling, not seeing the rush, then avoiding it and getting out of the pocket. You never want to see a guy throw back inside the hashmark, but he kept it outside the hash which created the throwing window. You can see his athleticism show up with his ability to create and get a first down with his eyes downfield. He’s not running to run. He’s running to throw.

For seeing the rush, you can coach that. You never want a guy to come back and tell you they ran a T-T stunt instead of the coverage. You want his eyes downfield on the safeties while feeling the pressure. Once Darnold felt the pressure, he found his escape lane, jumped in, had the quickness to get out, then the arm talent to make that play.

You can see he’s been well coached thus far with his footwork. That’s something you work on every day. We used to call that going to the driving range. Being in the pocket, ducking, moving, getting the feel of things, then getting the ball out of your hand quick and accurately.

His throwing motion is very positive. Aside from that quick release, you can see he can throw from a couple different angles. Obviously, he can throw on the run. All those things make it easier to play quarterback. He’s not just standing there, trying to get his feet set, then throw. Guys like that? They struggle.

I don’t think there is anything different he could have done here. That’s about as far back inside as you’ll ever throw a ball when you’re out of the pocket and on the move. That was a good, accurate throw. I thought he played that play about as well as you can play it.

Play No. 2: Jets vs. Dolphins
Score at time: Dolphins, 20-0
Situation: 3rd and 9 at the Miami 28 yard line with 11:58 remaining in the third quarter. While not in desperation mode, the Jets were looking for points to ignite a comeback.
Formation: Shotgun formation with Bilal Powell (running back) in backfield. Three receivers (Terrelle Pryor, Robby Anderson, Quincy Enunwa) to the left, one tight end (Chris Herndon) to the right.

Play outline: 

Sideline View: 

End zone view: 

Result: After a quick drop, Darnold fires a pass over the middle to Powell, who breaks a tackle and gets into the end zone for a touchdown.

Arians’ analysis: You can see he changes his protection at the line. He slid the line over to take care of the rush coming from the right, which allowed the running back to get out free. The defense had that overload. (Darnold) made sure the line slid to the overload and then found what he was looking for. That left (Powell) 1-on-1 — back on backer.

You can see he checks left to make sure he’s not hot, then (Powell) just beat the sh*t out of the guy. It was an easy throw from there.

The credit here goes more to the running back than the quarterback. The quarterback just slid the protection in the right direction, and it was a pitch-and-catch after that. He has to make this throw.

Now, sliding the protection, that’s advanced for a rookie. He knew what to look for and how to fix it, which allowed his back the 1-on-1 opportunity, then he made the hot throw.

Play No. 3: Browns vs. Jets
Score at time: Browns, 21-17
Situation: 1st and 10 at the NYJ 37 yard line with 1:27 remaining in the game. The Jets just converted a 4th and 10 on a 12-yard completion from Darnold to Jermaine Kearse.
Formation: Shotgun formation with Bilal Powell (running back) in backfield. Three receivers (Terrelle Pryor, Quincy Enunwa, Jermaine Kearse) to the left, one receiver (Robby Anderson) to the right.

Play outline: 

Sideline View: 

End zone view: 

Result: Darnold threw a pass to Kearse over the middle and into double coverage. The Browns picked it off, virtually ending the game.

Arians’ Analysis: This cost them the game, but it’s one thing he’s going to learn going forward: Guys are open, but they don’t stay open. (Kearse) was open when he looked. You can see it. He’s there after the curl. But when you look, you can’t stare. As soon as you look the ball has to come out.

When he looked, he started to stare, which tipped the defense. Then he got some pressure, stepped to the right, and when he tried to come back the guy was double-covered and he forced one in there. It was a terrible mistake. When you’re throwing into that type of zone, and your eyes go there, you’re bringing the linebackers like magnets. The ball has to come out quicker. You can see Darnold starts to move because the defender is getting knocked back into his face. He felt it in his face. It probably felt like he couldn’t deliver the ball on time when he looked, even though he probably could have.

With how long he took, even in college they would have intercepted that ball. The issue was he felt the pressure. Once he felt the pressure, he looked, and the linebackers started to move. What he’ll learn is that, once those guys start to come in, there’s a receiver there at the next level (Enunwa). He needs to put the ball over their head and to the next guy. Because (Kearse), on that play, was dead.

It was just an ill-advised decision. An ill-advised throw. I would hope he learns from this. If he does that again there are some problems.

[greenwichjetfan]

What I wouldn’t give to have Bruce become our OC and work directly with Sam.

[Philc1]

47 minutes ago, greenwichjetfan said:

What I wouldn’t give to have Bruce become our OC and work directly with Sam.

I think the cardinals still have contractual rights to him and he has a medical condition but yeah I’d gladly trade them a 4th round pick and give him a big contract to be on our staff

[Jetster]

37 minutes ago, Philc1 said:

I think the cardinals still have contractual rights to him and he has a medical condition but yeah I’d gladly trade them a 4th round pick and give him a big contract to be on our staff

What are you guys talking about? Bowles will get these things straightened out, lol. Actually Bates will, he sees the same tapes Ariens sees. The problem is Bowles conservatism. Just like Rex, it stifles QBs, causing indecision & makes them think too much. 

Darnold isn't ready yet for 15 play drives. That's a rookie mistake waiting to happen. Sure, he'll have long drives but to do that constantly like Brady? It even took Brady years to perfect it after Moss left. Now look at Brady with less weapons trying to do that, their offense is sputtering. You HAVE to have some chunk plays in this new NFL. Bowles probably wants Darnold to be Alex Smith, when he could be Big Ben! 

[morny]

Really good read, not sure there's a "QB Whisperer" who's opinion I respect more than Arians so good to see his take on some of Darnold's plays. 

[Integrity28]

1 hour ago, greenwichjetfan said:

What I wouldn’t give to have Bruce become our OC and work directly with Sam.

HC and same.

[Adoni Beast]

2 hours ago, greenwichjetfan said:

What I wouldn’t give to have Bruce become our OC and work directly with Sam.

HC*...fixed for ya

[GreenWhite]

Arians can have the HC job tomorrow if he wants it. 

[k-met57]

the third one was interesting the first ones less so. i am at a point where i think Sam can make wow throws in every game (esp for a rookie) the question is...why does he keep making the bad ones...that is more interesting to me...because if you see him making the same bad decisions that would worry me.

lions game - pick six, dumb play...would hope he never does that again

dolphins game - got tricked by a LB/S to faked inside and then broke outside

browns game - above clarifies one of the pics

[greenwichjetfan]

30 minutes ago, Integrity28 said:

HC and same.

24 minutes ago, Adoni Beast said:

HC*...fixed for ya

21 minutes ago, GreenWhite said:

Arians can have the HC job tomorrow if he wants it. 

I'd love him at HC but I think he's already stated he's done with head coaching roles. Wouldn't surprise me if he got his fill with Arizona and realized he's more into just working with the O and not having all the other headaches.

Also, at HC, he's got too many responsibilities. I want him directly with Sam day in and day out; just like Bates is right now.

Edit: Now that I think about it, I really don't know who I would like to take over for Bowles. Maybe give Jim Schwartz a try? He's an aggressive, progressive defensive play caller who clearly understand complex concepts. However, every fiber of my being is against another head coach with a defensive background. Who else is available? Maybe pry Harbaugh or Urban away from college?

[greenwichjetfan]

17 minutes ago, k-met57 said:

the third one was interesting the first ones less so. i am at a point where i think Sam can make wow throws in every game (esp for a rookie) the question is...why does he keep making the bad ones...that is more interesting to me...because if you see him making the same bad decisions that would worry me.

lions game - pick six, dumb play...would hope he never does that again

dolphins game - got tricked by a LB/S to faked inside and then broke outside

browns game - above clarifies one of the pics

Agreed. I also really disliked that Sam's second or third throw in the Browns game was exactly the same as the pick 6 against the Lions. He rolled to his right, saw that his only two receivers were covered, and threw back all the way across the field. Fortunately it fell harmlessly incomplete, but c'mon Sam. You gotta be better.

[morny]

2 minutes ago, greenwichjetfan said:

Agreed. I also really disliked that Sam's second or third throw in the Browns game was exactly the same as the pick 6 against the Lions. He rolled to his right, saw that his only two receivers were covered, and threw back all the way across the field. Fortunately it fell harmlessly incomplete, but c'mon Sam. You gotta be better.

Impression I got is that it was designed that way and that was what he was instructed to play - which makes sense as well because the first 15 plays or so are always pre-scripted in advance, aren't they? 

Either way, terrible play and an 8-yard loss iirc. 

[greenwichjetfan]

Just now, morny said:

Impression I got is that it was designed that way and that was what he was instructed to play - which makes sense as well because the first 15 plays or so are always pre-scripted in advance, aren't they? 

Either way, terrible play and an 8-yard loss iirc. 

So I'd have to rewatch, but I believe the play calls for two receivers to run routes to Sam's roll side. The RB flanks out on the other side only as a safety valve in case the play is blown up in the backfield. I don't believe the RB is even supposed to be part of Sam's progressions on these calls. So while the play is called that way, Bates needs to coach Sam up to throw it out of bounds there. The only time I want to see Sam attempt that pass is if there is no one in a 15 yard radius of the RB.

[flgreen]

4 minutes ago, morny said:

Impression I got is that it was designed that way and that was what he was instructed to play - which makes sense as well because the first 15 plays or so are always pre-scripted in advance, aren't they? 

Either way, terrible play and an 8-yard loss iirc. 

Your right, but IMO both those plays are more on Bates then Darnold.  Talk about not learning from your mistakes.

Most DC's are hip that Darnold is very effective rolling out to his right and have schemed to take away that side of the field.  IMO more deep throws out of the pocket are needed to keep the D's honest.  Problem is the OL is struggling to keep the inside pass rush off Darnold to throw up-field from the pocket.

[Drums]

1 hour ago, Jetster said:

What are you guys talking about? Bowles will get these things straightened out, lol. Actually Bates will, he sees the same tapes Ariens sees. The problem is Bowles conservatism. Just like Rex, it stifles QBs, causing indecision & makes them think too much. 

The way Bowles talked about the Jags defense, I wouldn't be surprised if we were super conservative this week, which is a huge mistake; especially with this much time to prepare. What do we even have to lose at this point? 

PS I would love to have Arians join the staff.

[Adoni Beast]

40 minutes ago, greenwichjetfan said:

I'd love him at HC but I think he's already stated he's done with head coaching roles. Wouldn't surprise me if he got his fill with Arizona and realized he's more into just working with the O and not having all the other headaches.

Also, at HC, he's got too many responsibilities. I want him directly with Sam day in and day out; just like Bates is right now.

Edit: Now that I think about it, I really don't know who I would like to take over for Bowles. Maybe give Jim Schwartz a try? He's an aggressive, progressive defensive play caller who clearly understand complex concepts. However, every fiber of my being is against another head coach with a defensive background. Who else is available? Maybe pry Harbaugh or Urban away from college?

Id take one of the Harbaughs, preferably Jim.

Sean Payton if things went back in Nola for some reason.

Holmgren if he wantes back in.

I do believe this season an audition for Bowles to keep his job and for Jeremy Bates to replace him. It’ll all depend on how much of offense is really Bates’ vs Bowles undermining him. 

[nico002]

The reverse the field throws 

1 hour ago, k-met57 said:

the third one was interesting the first ones less so. i am at a point where i think Sam can make wow throws in every game (esp for a rookie) the question is...why does he keep making the bad ones...that is more interesting to me...because if you see him making the same bad decisions that would worry me.

lions game - pick six, dumb play...would hope he never does that again

dolphins game - got tricked by a LB/S to faked inside and then broke outside

browns game - above clarifies one of the pics

Lions game play was a designed play- that’s on the coaches 

I cannot believe we ran that again vs Cle 

[k-met57]

1 minute ago, nico002 said:

The reverse the field throws 

Lions game play was a designed play- that’s on the coaches 

I cannot believe we ran that again vs Cle 

u know the QB is not a robot right? the coaches design the play...the QB executes it....he should have seen the safety before throwing it.

 

...not to mention that i am pretty sure Sam didnt make the greatest throw.

[Beerfish]

Key words, feels the pressure whole looking down field.  Somethng that neither sanchez or geno ever did.  I would say that was always genos #1 fault, zero feeling for pressure.

[Philc1]

1 hour ago, Jetster said:

What are you guys talking about? Bowles will get these things straightened out, lol. Actually Bates will, he sees the same tapes Ariens sees. The problem is Bowles conservatism. Just like Rex, it stifles QBs, causing indecision & makes them think too much. 

Darnold isn't ready yet for 15 play drives. That's a rookie mistake waiting to happen. Sure, he'll have long drives but to do that constantly like Brady? It even took Brady years to perfect it after Moss left. Now look at Brady with less weapons trying to do that, their offense is sputtering. You HAVE to have some chunk plays in this new NFL. Bowles probably wants Darnold to be Alex Smith, when he could be Big Ben! 

Arians knows qbs and he seems to have a very high opinion of Sam which is good to know

[nico002]

12 minutes ago, k-met57 said:

u know the QB is not a robot right? the coaches design the play...the QB executes it....he should have seen the safety before throwing it.

 

...not to mention that i am pretty sure Sam didnt make the greatest throw.

You need to put your quarterback in a position to succeed. That was an insane play.

[UntouchableCrew]

1 hour ago, Drums said:

The way Bowles talked about the Jags defense, I wouldn't be surprised if we were super conservative this week, which is a huge mistake; especially with this much time to prepare. What do we even have to lose at this point? 

Normally I'd agree... But honestly the Jags are one of the few teams in the league we might be better off being super conservative against. They have an awesome defense and a terrible offense we match up well against. Could easily be a 13-7 type game where one critical mistake decides it.

[Fantasy Island]

**** Arians he got Bowles a HC gig.

[k-met57]

20 minutes ago, nico002 said:

You need to put your quarterback in a position to succeed. That was an insane play.

the fact that it was a dumb play is not in question. i get the thinking...unexpected, hit em early...take the crowd out of it on the road, etc....but still first pro pass for Darnold on the road...dumn.

 

that being said, Darnold has to eat that or make a better throw, and thats on him and not the coaching. again its 2 halves of the same formula...each had a hand in it...so yes...it was Darnold's ****-up as much as anyone's.

[k-met57]

look at the space in front of the RB after the point of interception. anyone that wants to tell me thats 100% on the OC isnt watching.

 

[JustInFudge]

The kid is going to be a star.  Dont care how many picks he throws this year.  Let him break a record for all I care.  He's the real deal.  They just need to build around him.  If the Jets can successfully get him the protection and weapons, the kid will win a lot of Football games for the NY Jets.  He has it all. 

[nico002]

4 minutes ago, k-met57 said:

look at the space in front of the RB after the point of interception. anyone that wants to tell me thats 100% on the OC isnt watching.

 

I’m not. He shouldn’t have thrown it. Let’s get over it- it has no impact on anything 

[JustInFudge]

3 minutes ago, k-met57 said:

look at the space in front of the RB after the point of interception. anyone that wants to tell me thats 100% on the OC isnt watching.

 

For his first throw ever in the NFL?  It was an absolutely ridiculous play call that had no business in the game plan altogether let alone his very first attempt in the NFL.  That is such a ridiculously hard throw and play to execute 9 times of 10, it's going to have a bad result.   He should have tucked it and run and just got whatever he could on the ground. 

[k-met57]

Just now, JiF said:

For his first throw ever in the NFL?  It was an absolutely ridiculous play call that had no business in the game plan altogether let alone his very first attempt in the NFL.  That is such a ridiculously hard throw and play to execute 9 times of 10, it's going to have a bad result.   He should have tucked it and run and just got whatever he could on the ground. 

thats the first thing i said above before posting this screenshot. ridiculous play call...that Sam should have either not executed, or should have made a better throw.

[HelenOfTroy]

I hope you guys survive the growing pains.....there will be much more.

Buckle up for the bumpy ride.

[Gastineau Lives]

No, no, he's Mark Sanchez. Just ask any one of three assholes here.

[BurnleyJet]

12 minutes ago, HelenOfTroy said:

I hope you guys survive the growing pains.....there will be much more.

Buckle up for the bumpy ride.

Thanks Betty D ?

[HelenOfTroy]

Just now, BurnleyJet said:

Thanks Betty D ?

Haha....you got the reference.  ?

[The Crusher]

1 hour ago, Gastineau Lives said:

No, no, he's Mark Sanchez. Just ask any one of three assholes here.

I see your three assholes and raise you a rectum. 

[JetFreak89]

2 hours ago, k-met57 said:

look at the space in front of the RB after the point of interception. anyone that wants to tell me thats 100% on the OC isnt watching.

 

Holy misleading picture batman. You remember that the safety was in front of Powell before the ball was thrown right? If anything, Darnold should have put the ball on Powell at the line of scrimmage instead of trying to lead him like he did.