Jets' Sam Darnold navigates accelerated QB studies program
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla.
It’s almost as if we’re watching Sam Darnold play two seasons at the same time.
One is the season in which the Jets are 3-5 heading into Sunday’s game against the 4-4 Dolphins in a potentially pivotal AFC East matchup for both teams.
The other is the one in which the rookie quarterback is waging an internal struggle to learn the nuances of a league that is coming at him at what seems like a million miles an hour.
It’s a balancing act for a 21-year-old quarterback just out of college and adjusting to life at the highest levels of his sport, a process only a select few have gone through and know anything about.
Such as Josh McCown, the Jets’ 39-year-old backup quarterback, who has firsthand experience dealing with the situation Darnold is facing.
“There’s the moment we’re in right now, and then the wider lens of a trajectory of where you want to be and where you’re going,” McCown explained at his locker this past week. “It’s maintaining those two worlds and understanding the urgency to play well right now, but also that you’re going to grow and always evolve and always get better.”
It’s almost like a time warp for Darnold. He’s entrusted with running the Jets’ offense in his first NFL season and must handle that overwhelming responsibility. At the same time, he must understand that he’s limited by his lack of experience while going through his NFL apprenticeship.
Darnold knows he’ll get better in the coming years, but there’s simply no way of getting around the inevitable obstacles that come his way.
Every week, there’s something new to learn, whether it be dealing with a particular team’s nuanced defensive schemes in the red zone or with making sure his receivers — many of them backups who are playing only because of a spate of injuries — are in the proper formation and run the correct routes.
Quarterbacks often say learning the NFL game is like learning a new language, and that helps explain why Darnold might not always make the right read, deliver the proper throw, call out the right protection scheme or make sure to communicate the snap count to avoid the false starts that plagued the Jets in last Sunday’s loss to the Bears.
“First year in the NFL is usually a tough one, I’m aware of that,” Darnold said. “But at the same time, we have certain standards here and expectations of winning. I don’t really use that as an excuse, but sure, I’m aware of certain struggles that guys have in their first year.”
It’s a tricky navigation process for any rookie quarterback, and that’s certainly been the case for Darnold. He already had shown plenty of promise by convincing his coaches in training camp that he was ready to become the starter. And there have been some bright moments during the season, such as a strong opening game in Detroit and a three-touchdown-pass performance against the Broncos. But there also have been some struggles, including a three-interception meltdown against the Vikings and an anemic showing last Sunday against Chicago.
“We all get judged by wins and losses, and it needs to improve,” offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates said in assessing Darnold’s performance through the first half of his first NFL season. “The only thing that matters is wins and losses in this league, and right now, we need more wins.”
Bates, therefore, is unwilling to grade his offense on a curve because a rookie quarterback is running the show.
“No, we’re professionals,” Bates said. “We’re professional players and coaches. I grew up in this sport. You don’t get a year of ‘hey, you’ve got this year to grow.' It’s a win-now league. I don’t believe in taking a year off or rebuilding or anything like that. We as coaches, we as players, go into every game prepared, ready to win that game, and that’s how we look at it as coaches.”
For NFL quarterbacks, the maturation process and the expectations that go along with it have sped up exponentially. It wasn’t all that long ago when quarterbacks were given several years to mature. Starting as a rookie was the exception, not the rule.
Not anymore.
“When I first came into the league, there was an old scout who used to tell me, ‘It takes five years for a quarterback [to develop],' ” said McCown, a third-round pick of the Cardinals in 2002. He laughed as he recalled that conversation.
“Nowadays,” McCown said, snapping his fingers, “it’s instant. That just kind of keeps pace with our society in general.”
Yet McCown, whose experience of playing for 10 NFL teams makes him uniquely suited to assess players, believes Darnold has what it takes to succeed. When I asked him if he has any doubt whatsoever that Darnold can be a great NFL quarterback, he answered immediately.
“No. No doubt,” he said. “I believe in him wholeheartedly. I’ve been around a lot of players, and for me, because of his character, who he is and what he’s about, that’s what will sustain him. I believe it. I have a very high opinion of him.”
Sunday’s game against the Dolphins likely will offer another window into Darnold’s development and perhaps give him a chance to use what little experience he does have in the league to his benefit. The Jets already played the Dolphins in a Week 2 loss at MetLife Stadium, so there is at least some familiarity for Darnold.
“Just having the experience, being able to recall plays we ran against them, it helps,” Bates said. “Understanding what style of defense and also just experiencing their pass rush, what they’re doing coverage-wise.”
McCown said we will see over time how Darnold will use his experience to his benefit, even if that doesn’t always happen at this early stage of his career.
“As you observe his play and the decision-making, the processing, you just see it speed up,” McCown said. “Your decisions are better. Right now, things are new and you’re like, ‘Oh, they got me on that play because I just hadn’t seen it.’ Those moments will become less and less.”
Those moments will be replaced by moments of greatness, he said.
“I’ve spent a lot of time with him and I’ve seen who he is as a person and the time he puts in in this place and how much he cares about it,” McCown said. “The tools are there. His skill set is there. His ability to process [information] is there. So now it’s just about gaining knowledge, and that just comes with time and experience. But I think the sky’s the limit for him.”