Green Rewind: Jets Should Play Sam In ’18 Or Not

With Sam Darold and the Jets going through rookie mini-camp the question of whether Sam Darnold should or should not play this year has already come up. Let’s look at the Pro and Cons.

Sam Darnold Should Not Play In 2018
Quarterbacks that are rushed into play with young teams rarely make it happen. Let’s look at a couple. David Carr was drafted by the Houston Texans (the new franchise’s first pick ever at the time) with the first overall pick in the 2002 NFL Draft. In his first year Carr established a record he still holds, being sacked 76 times in one season. In fact David Carr led the NFL being sacked three times in his first four seasons. The sacks got so bad for Carr that he developed “happy feet” on a lot of pass plays. Many NFL experts felt Carr had all the talent but by the end of his tenure with Houston (5 years) he was toast and was never able to live up to his potential. If he had sat a year and the Texans did more to establish their offensive line which was weak, plus surround him with quality weapons, he would have had more success in his NFL career. Being the first ever draft pick ever for the Houston Texan’s franchise added pressure. This combined with the weak offensive line was a formula for disaster from day one.
Going way back Archie Manning was the second pick of the draft for the New Orleans Saints in 1971. He played 10 years with them getting sacked 337 times in 129 games started. In his first year he played in 12 games and was sacked a league leading 40 times for 332 yards which is truly incredible. Archie led the league being sacked 3 times in his first 5 years. It got so bad that some defensive players would take it easy on Manning just grabbing him and holding him until he went down on his own or the whistle blew. Out of ten seasons Archie played with the Saints they never had a winning season. Archie Manning was talented and even made the Pro-Bowl twice but like David Carr, with the Saints offensive line situation (and not the best receivers), he was destined never to win in New Orleans.
In addition to the two examples mentioned look at benefits of sitting and how it affected Aaron Rodgers and Jimmy Garoppolo? Rodgers is a Hall of Fame QB and even with the small sample size, Garoppolo looks like the real deal.
These are concrete examples showing why Sam Darold should sit for at least a year before throwing him into starting role. He is still only twenty and even though Jet fans have been waiting for a player like Sam Darnold, it would be in the best interest of the franchise for the long term to let him sit and use all that cap money the Jets have (top in the NFL as of this writing) in 2019 and surround him with offensive lineman and weapons that will put him a position to succeed. There is a chance that he will be a bust if he is rushed in as a starter. The Jets should play it conservatively and not force feed him with this Jet offense.

Sam Darnold Should Play In 2018
The NFL is different today than it was years ago when teams had five year plans and the quarterback in waiting would hold a clipboard for a season or more. Sam Darnold should start in 2018 and there should not even be a question about it. Sam will be twenty-one when the season starts. Maybe he should not start the first game but he should be the starter by the sixth game. In fact the Jets sixth game of the season is a home game against the Indianapolis Colts on October 14th. This would be the perfect scenario for the Sam Darnold era to begin. Some may argue that if the Jets by some miracle are 4-1 with either Josh McCown or Teddy Bridgewater at quarterback, keep Darnold on the bench. This would be the worst thing to do for the franchise long term. Remember when Curt Warner was on the NY Giants. They were 5-4 with Warner the starter but the Giants made the decision to go with Eli Manning. This moved changed the Giants franchise as they won two Super Bowls with Manning.
Let’s look at the 2016 Los Angeles Rams. Jared Goff their number one draft pick stayed on the bench for the first nine games of the season. The Rams were 4-5. Goff Started the tenth game of the season and went on to play in the last seven games with the Rams going 0-7. Say what you want about Jeff Fischer (I never liked him) he did the best thing for the Rams franchise playing Goff those last seven games getting his feet wet. Fischer wasn’t there this past year to experience the fruits of his move as the Rams went 11-5 making the playoffs with Goff making the Pro-Bowl.
The NFL is set up now in such as way that with the limitation of pre-season practices, there are less repetitions available for every player. Sam Darnold has got to get the lions share of pre-season snaps and the Jets coaching staff should then devise a plan and date when Sam Darnold will start for the Jets. The Aaron Rodgers-Jimmy Garappolo examples do not hold water. I would be very happy to let Darnold sit for a year if either Tom Brady or Brett Favre was playing ahead of him. And this is no knock on Josh McCown. In fact I’ll use Jimmy Garappolo for a case to play Darnold. When Jimmy Garappolo was traded to the 49ers and played, he made everyone on the team a better player. The team responded in a positive way. Though Sam Darnold doesn’t have a magic wand to make the Jets better, he is the type of player that can lift the whole team.
The choice is simple. Unless the coaching staff comes to the conclusion with the Jets offensive line and receivers that it would be quarterback suicide to play him, Sam Darnold must be the starting quarterback at some point during the 2018 season. October 14th against the Colts should be date.

(At the bottom of this page there is a comment link. Feel free to state your opinion)

By Ralph Sharaga

A few words about two of the Jets picks.  
Sam Darnold
Of the big four QBs, I probably did the least amount of research on Sam Darnold - simply because I didn’t think he was in play for the Jets. Since drafting him, I have now watched ¾ of his games along with video breakdowns and analysis of every interception he threw last year. So, I’ve seen the best and the worst of Sam Darnold and let me state upfront that I underrated this player.
I thought his arm strength was good. It’s excellent. His throwing motion is a bit quirky, but it works. I thought he was a good athlete for a QB. He’s a superior athlete. I thought his escapability (if that’s a word) and resourcefulness were good. They are exceptional. He’s fearless throwing into small windows, sometimes to a fault. His footwork needs polishing and I still think he leaves the pocket too quickly at times. I’m not sure this is instinctive, or has been learned since playing behind the pitifully porous USC off. line. His on-field demeanor is low key - very Montana-like. He exudes a quiet confidence. After throwing the game tying TD pass against Penn St in the Rose Bowl with time running out, he trotted off the field like it was a practice session. Not rattled by turnovers or pressure situations. Had plenty of close games in his two seasons and almost always stepped up his game at the crucial moments. Basically, the guy saved the jobs of the USC coaching staff. (Good luck next season Clay Helton.)
Pre- draft I had him ranked 3rd behind Rosen and Allen. I now put him side by side with Rosen (albeit totally different styles). And I’d give Darnold the tiebreaker based on personality. While I enjoy Rosen’s personality, he is liable to rub some football people the wrong way. Darnold is 100% diplomat.
As a long suffering Jet fan, consider me psyched.
PS: Thank You John Dorsey.

Parry Nickerson
In a cornerback starved league, how does a CB who runs a 4.32 40, (that is functional football speed, I might add) with good ball skills and is a fiery competitor fall to the sixth round? Size? He’s 5:10 but so are the three corners picked in the first round. Tulane is not a football factory but they are a D1 school. There was a run on CB’s in the first 4 rounds, (15 in all) yet somehow he flew under the radar - which is the Jets good fortune. Some people see him as a slot corner (good bye, Buster) but I think he’ll eventually play on the outside.

Football Trivia question: What do the colleges in list A have in common with each other? And what do the colleges in list B have in common with each other? Answers below

List A
Grambling Louisiana Tech
Miami of Ohio Morehead St.
Univ. of Delaware Fresno St
Naval Academy Northern Iowa
Southern Mississippi

List B
Georgia Nebraska
LSU Clemson
Oklahoma Texas A and M
Texas   Ohio St
Florida   Penn St.
U of Miami   Washington
Michigan St   Oregon
USC

Answers; All colleges in list A have produced a Super bowl winning QB.
None of the colleges in list B have produced a Super Bowl winning QB.

Final thought: If Robby Anderson catches half as many passes as he does breaks he’ll be an all-pro.

Green Tidbits
…..45 players are attending the Jets rookie mini camp…..The Miami Dolphins reportedly claimed quarterback Bryce Petty off waivers from the Jets…..Matt Miller of Bleacher Report writing that he only confirmed two teams — the Browns and Patriots — rated Baker Mayfield as the top quarterback in this draft…..It was confirmed from Giants GM Dave Gettleman that one team made a strong offer for the No. 2 pick that he turned down. Thanks Dave…..While the Cardinals wound up with Josh Rosen, Matt Miller reports that Josh Allen was their top rated QB…..The Jets signed sixth-round running back Trenton Cannon on their first day of rookie minicamp. Cannon played at Division II Virginia State…..I got a dollar bet that un-drafted free agent offensive lineman Austin Golson and fullback Dimitri Flowers both make the 53 man roster….It was reported that Christian Hackenberg tweaked his throwing motion with QB guru Jeff Christensen…..Jets should set up a 100 yard dash race on their first open practice. Jet rookies Trenton Cannon vs Parry Nickerson…..I’m not sure what this means but Ed O’Donnell, the attorney for Jets WR Robby Anderson, tells Mike Garafolo that the warrant issued for his client has been lifted. O’Donnell said this was a clerical error by the court and Anderson wasn’t notified of the court date. His next court date is July 19…..The Jets claimed cornerback C.J. Goodwin off waivers from the Cardinals, Field Yates of ESPN reports…..From ESPN’s Rich Cimini: A few takeaways on Sam Darnold's first practice with the Jets: Three botched snaps. He threw well on the run, which should fit nicely into the Jets' offensive scheme. His ball placement on short passes was a bit off. He showed good arm strength on deep outs. A few balls over the middle sailed on him. It's hard to evaluate a quarterback in a rookie camp, so take it with a grain of salt…..

NFL Important Dates
May
May 4-7 Clubs may elect to hold their one three-day post-Draft rookie minicamp from Friday through Sunday or Saturday through Monday.
May 8 Deadline for prior club to send “May 8 Tender” to its unsigned Unrestricted Free Agents.
May 14 Rookie Football Development Programs begin.
May 21-23 Spring League Meeting, Atlanta, Georgia.

JUNE
June 1 Deadline for prior club to send “June 1 Tender” to its unsigned Restricted Free Agents who received a qualifying offer for a right of first refusal only in order for such player to be subject to the CBA’s “June 15 Tender” provision.
June 2 For any player removed from the club’s roster or whose contract is assigned via waivers or trade on or after June 2, any unamortized signing bonus amounts for future years will be included fully in team salary at the start of the 2019 League Year.
June 15 Deadline for club to withdraw qualifying offer to Restricted Free Agents and still retain exclusive negotiating rights by substituting “June 15 Tender” of one-year contract at 110 percent of the player’s prior-year Paragraph 5 Salary (with all other terms of his prior-year contract carried forward unchanged).
Late June Rookie Transition Program to be held at individual clubs. Attendance is mandatory for all rookies.

JULY
July 16 At 4:00 p.m., New York time, deadline for any club that designated a Franchise Player to sign such player to a multiyear contract or extension. After this date, the player may sign only a one- year contract with his prior club for the 2018 season, and such contract cannot be extended until after the club’s last regular season game.
Mid-July Clubs are permitted to open preseason training camp for rookies and first-year players beginning seven days prior to the club’s earliest permissible mandatory reporting date for Veteran players.
Veteran players (defined as a player with at least one pension-credited season) other than quarterbacks or “injured players” (as defined in CBA Article 21, Section 6) may report to a club’s preseason training camp no earlier than 15 days prior to the club’s first scheduled preseason game or July 15, whichever is later. Veteran quarterbacks and injured players may be required to report to the club’s preseason training camp no earlier than five days immediately prior to the mandatory reporting date for all other veteran players, provided the club has already opened (or simultaneously opens) its official preseason training camp for all rookies and first-year players.
A three-day acclimation period will apply to players who are on a club’s roster up to and including the mandatory veteran reporting date. Players who rejoin the roster after that date may practice (including wearing pads) and play immediately after passing a physical.
July 23 Signing period ends for Unrestricted Free Agents to whom a “May 8 Tender” was made by prior club. After this date and until 4:00 p.m., New York time, on the Tuesday following the 10th weekend of the regular season, prior club has exclusive negotiating rights. * or the first scheduled day of the first NFL training camp, whichever is later.
July 23 Signing period ends for Transition Players with outstanding tenders. After this date and until 4:00 p.m., New York time, on the Tuesday following the 10th weekend of the regular season, Prior Club has exclusive negotiating rights.

AUGUST
August 2 Hall of Fame Game, Canton, Ohio.
August 2-5 Hall of Fame Weekend, Canton, Ohio.
August 7 Deadline for players under contract to report to their clubs to earn an accrued season for free agency.
August 7 If a drafted rookie has not signed with his club by this date, he cannot be traded to any other club in 2018, and may sign a player contract only with the drafting club until the day of the Draft in the 2019 League Year.

SEPTEMBER
September 1 Prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time, clubs must reduce rosters to a maximum of 53 players on the Active/Inactive List.
September 1 Simultaneously with the cut-down to 53, clubs that have players in the categories of Active/Physically Unable to Perform or Active/Non-Football Injury or Illness must select one of the following options: place player on Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform or Reserve/Non- Football Injury or Illness, whichever is applicable; request waivers; terminate contract; trade contract; or continue to count the player on the Active List.
September 2 Claiming period for players placed on waivers at the final roster reduction will expire at 12 noon, New York time.
September 2 Upon receipt of the Personnel Notice at approximately 1:00 p.m., New York time, clubs may establish a practice squad of 10 players. No club, including the player’s prior club, will be permitted to sign a player to a practice player contract until all clubs have received simultaneous notification via the above Personnel Notice that such player’s prior NFL player contract has been terminated via the waiver system.
September 6 At 12:00 a.m., New York time, the Top 51 Rule expires for all NFL clubs.

Thurs. September 06, First NFL Game Falcons at Eagles 8:20 PM NBC
Sunday September 09, First regular Sunday for NFL games
Monday September 10 Jets at Lions, Monday Night ESPN