Quote:
Originally Posted by browna
For all the stick Sam gets, from myself included, only QB in league history to win 14 games with 2 different teams in back to back years.
In part because he’s fully in agreement with his coaches and coordinators, mostly. He has the physical size and tools and is smart enough QB to understand defences and make adjustments.
With the right game plan setup, as he had in Minnesota and again in Seattle, he just has to execute the game plan they have set up for him in passing situations.
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He arguably deserves a bit more credit than this because he hasn't been in a situation where he can be a pure game manager. The Vikings were like 19th in rush yards and 23rd in yards per rush attempt last year, and this year's Seahawks are 16th in yards but only 25th in yards per attempt. He hasn't had a run game to lean on. And the offensive lines have ranged from decent at best, to absolutely horrendous late last year with the Vikings injuries. This year's Seahawks o-line has been inconsistent. This isn't a Daniel Jones situation where he has Jonathan Taylor doing all the heavy lifting.
That being said, you could certainly argue that it's actually just the defense and the special teams doing the heavy lifting instead. I think that's more what's really happening. Look at their wins this year.
Steelers - special teams play changed the game with the kickoff TD after two Darnold picks in the first half had them behind.
Saints - special teams again with the punt return TD to put the game up 14-0 and was over immediately.
Jaguars / Texans / TNF Cardinals - legitimately good wins for Darnold against solid competition (even the Cardinals at the time were playing everyone close), proof of concept etc etc. That said, even these ones involved getting out to leads early and then trying to protect them; it wasn't a full 4 quarter clinic by the offense in any of these games, so even these are not inspiring as much confidence as you'd like, and the Texans game got very messy.
Commanders / Cardinals Pt II - Teams in freefall by this point and offering no real pushback, over by halftime, no useful data to go on, but especially since the defense and special teams wrecked these games early. Against the Cardinals it was two strip sacks returned for TDs, against the Commanders it was sack -> 3rd and 17 -> interception -> TD -> Fumble on ensuing kickoff -> short field TD -> game over.
Vikings / Colts - Very concerning both from a play calling perspective and the inefficiency of the offense. Obviously the Colts game required great special teams in terms of Myers setting a franchise record with 6 FGs and the Vikings game, against even a normal backup calibre QB could have been different - the Vikings should have been ahead going into the half before Brosmer threw that insane pick 6 in the red zone.
Falcons - 6-6 at half time, then Shaheed gets a kickoff return TD to start the 2nd half and they never looked back.
Rams Pt II - Clearly a loss if not for special teams again; Rasheed Shaheed punt return TD.
Panthers - Defense ensures that Bryce Young can do absolutely nothing, and even then Darnold tries to give it away with an endzone INT and another should-have-been intercepted just before that to a defensive lineman, as well as 3 balls batted at the LOS.
Titans - The Titans be the Titans.
This is why I say the offense is fake; there are maybe three legitimate wins where you can take something away all season where you think the offence played well and even in those games, they didn't knock anyone's socks off and were up early so they didn't have to execute in the clutch. All the rest of them were beating up on bad teams or carried by defense or special teams, or both.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis
I get that Lock is not an improvement over most versions of Darnold, but we're all improvements over Jets Darnold so if that is what he is in what amounts to playoff games going forward, I'd roll the dice.
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I wouldn't. There's no upside to that roll of the dice. It's like having to make a 12 with two D4s. Switching QBs gets you nowhere, because the best version of Drew Lock isn't good enough to win anything. The best version of Darnold could, even if you have very little faith in him showing up. The better roll of the dice is on the guy with the higher ceiling, even 4 out of the 6 sides have 1s on them. Is the metaphor exhausted yet?