On ESPN Thursday Night Football, with buzz in the air and watchful eyes on the quarterback, rookie Sam Darnold drew the start for Todd Bowles' Jets. After an impressive opening performance in a 17-0 shutout of the Falcons, Bowles, offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates and (likely) GM Mike Maccagnan decided to get real aggressive, real quick. Darnold impressed enough to get the call over Teddy Bridgewater, on the same day the New York Daily News' Manish Mehta said that "it'd be an upset" if Darnold doesn't start Week 1 of the regular season.
Darnold responded with both positives and negatives.
The 21-year old, right-handed gunslinger connected on 8-of-11 passes for 62 yards, 0 touchdowns and 1 interception. The rookie also took two sacks, as the Jets fell 15-13 to the better-prepared Redskins.
On the plus side, Darnold showcased some quick decision-making and on-time deliveries. Facially, he looks poised and centered, though his feet sometimes indicate the opposite. The youngster flashes some "happy feet" when he feels the pass rush getting too close for comfort. Still, for a 21-year old under center in an NFL game, he looks professional enough to keep his team in games.
On the negative end, that interception was an absolute disaster. On a critical 4th down play, Darnold lobbed a duck into heavy coverage. In his defense, Bates' playcall was particularly horrendous. He cut the field in half and rolled Darnold off the wrong shoulder, with no receivers out to the right. Terrible design, terrible action, terrible execution. I hope this isn't what we should come to expect from Mr. Bates.
But the biggest concerns are these:
1. Darnold never looked more than 10-15 yards down the field. It seemed he had no intention of ever attempting to stretch the defense. Wouldn't it be preferable to have a hot-shot rookie who takes his shots like Deshaun Watson last season? Darnold appears ready to protect his own ego.
2. Do the Jets have enough offensive weapons to justify starting a rookie quarterback?
Well, we can look at the first concern in two ways: (1) Darnold was the one making ultra-conservative decisions or (2) Bowles and Bates were completely responsible for the obvious conservatism. Let's hope it was number two.
As far as the second concern goes, the answer is far more simple...no.
On the field, I happen to be a big Robby Anderson supporter. He can stretch you over the top, works hard on stop routes and makes difficult catches along the sideline. He's a complete receiver, but not a star receiver. Either way, he's the best option Darnold and Bates have.
After that it gets sketchy. Jermaine Kearse is coming off the best year of his veteran career, but so many of his connections with Josh McCown were in tight windows. Athletically, Kearse is nothing special, which means his quarterbacks need to be perfectly on time. That's asking an awful lot of a rookie. Kearse is a WR3 or 4, not a 2.
Quincy Enunwa needs to get out there and stay healthy. Same with Terrelle Pryor. That's a pair of question marks, at best.
Bilal Powell has lost his burst of a few years ago, and Isaiah Crowell is already banged up. Who in the hell is gonna help Darnold?
Personally, I think it's too risky. Darnold could get exposed and his confidence shattered.
But, if the Jets' braintrust is going to pull the trigger...they must go big or go home. You can't limit the kid to short, quick throws. Defenses will bunch up and squeeze toward the line of scrimmage, and Darnold will be nothing more than a sitting duck.
If you're going to give the kid the call...you gotta cut him loose. Throw caution to the wind. Darnold will need to stretch the field to keep opposing defenses honest; so by default, you can't worry about interceptions and questionable decisions. In order to be (relatively) successful out of the gate, Darnold and the Jets will need short, intermediate and deep connections in the passing game.
I'd start Bridgewater and give the kid a year of seasoning, but that would be the smart thing to do.
But this is the Jets we're talking about, here...do you think they'll do the smart thing?
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