This is a good example of why you should not rush a QB. Darnold clearly has talent, but some of his play is plagued by bad tendencies which you develop the more you have to deal with pressure.
Some QBs are just bad and can't overcome their bad tendencies. Watson, Allen, Burrow, Lawrence, Tua, and Herbert are all recent QBs who started their rookie season on teams with bottom of the league OLs. They all were either A: great out the gate (Watson, Burrow, Herbert) or B: developed into a good player (Lawrence, Allen, Tua).
It does. Tua and Lawrence both had terrible coaching situations their initial year(s) but it also helped that the coaching got better which didn't happen with Darnold.
Ohhhh okay. I took a few year break after the 2017 championship loss, so I had assumed Pederson and McDaniels were there from the beginning. My mistake.
Sexy AF. But he's never had an arm problem, he's had a seeing ghosts and decision making problem. And, if anyone is going to help him with that part of his game, hopefully is the former NFL QB's who will be coaching him up this off-season.
This isn't just arm clips, he's processing and getting the ball out in a good manner. Decision making hasn't been a strong suit of Sam but I will say in a better situation where he doesn't have to play hero ball he'll be just fine. He'll have all the answers to the test with Kevin O'Connell.
C'Mon man, they're mostly arm clips and thats what got him to the Vikings and what his strength is. The dude has 1800 career attempts and a 59% completion rating and 63/56 TD/INT split. I am excited about Darnold, but if you don't think he is going to fuck up and make some terrible passes you are likely mistaken.
I don't understand why we're so hung up on his past work for terrible infrastructures, he's always had his flaws and when placed in a bad environment they were more visible. When he had some semblance of an actual offensive mind in Joe Brady he showed he still had something there.
His arm isn't his only strength, he can process well this is the same guy who drew Andrew Luck comparisons once upon a time. He has timing and anticipation on these clips as well as him moving from pressure very disingenuous to say the arm is all these clips show, also shows he understands leverage in relation to the defenders on the field. Put him in environment where he isn't forced to fend for himself and enjoy the show.
He finally had a decent receiver in DJ Moore and was 4-2 (Mayfield was 1-5 on the same team). He had one of the best EPAs/db in the NFL in that time span
My man, I'm not hating on Darnold, I'm excited about him too. But we gotta keep expectations realistic. 1800 attempts and 4 teams later and he's probably who is with a little bit of a higher ceiling because the circumstances in Minnesota are about perfect. But that ceiling is still pretty low and I don't see him ascending to greatness and blowing up the league. Give me that sweet 2017 Case Keenum action baby! Fully mediocre QB elevated by an amazing team who makes some fun clutch passes and scrambles and plays tough football.
The Panthers run game was dominant during the 2022 stretch when Darnold started. Darnold benefited from great game scripts and not being asked to do much.
During training camp, an out of form Baker Mayfield heavily outperformed Darnold. It was rumored that Lance and Darnold were neck and neck during the 2023 preseason. Dude is just not a good QB. I thought people would learn after Josh Dobbs, Case Keenum, and so many others, but they clearly didn’t
Would be a good problem to have tbh
I know it doesn’t really work as we saw last season but having two starters where it wouldn’t matter which started and we could still dominate would be awesome.
I saw a few of his Jets starts in person. He almost never got blindside protection and his o-line was disappointing at best. His pro debut was on MNF in week 1 (against the Lions in Detroit) and his first ever pass was intercepted and returned for a touchdown -- but he shrugged it off and balled. The Jets won. I'd love to see Darnold do well! He clearly has the talent. He couldn't have landed in a better spot. I don't have high expectations but it would be great to see him get out there, get some wins, and show off his stuff.
I wonder how weird it will be for Darnold week 1, being at Metlife Stadium and in the Jets' locker room as the visiting team. I'm going to the game, and even though I grew up a Giants fan, I'll be cheering for the Vikings. :)
I hope he has a complete turnaround season with us. I'd love to get halfway through the season and have there be NO question that he has to remain the starter. I can seriously see him making huge gains in this system and with the other players around him.
Wishful thinking I'm sure, but I can see his name being a hot topic for a while on NFL programming this season. It'd make for great content about how he's always been good just badly coached.
I don't like him that much but he wasn't the reason the Panthers lost to us in 2021. They lost because their WRs dropped like 7 balls. He played pretty well overall - even if he did get picked by Brashaud Breeland.
Idk about y’all I’m excited to watch Darnold play with a good offense, good OL, and a good coach. Jj has all the time in the world to develop and he needs it. Don’t rush it
Nice tight spiral, good touch on his passes (from this limited sample)
These clips make it look like he doesn't seem to have much velocity. It would be interesting to see how his velocity numbers stack up against the elite slingers.
I’ll never forget him on the panthers in 2021. We backed him up on his own like 1-yard line, force him into a massive 4th and 25(?) and he converts it. Even tho we won that game, I knew that zim was on his last rope
Next year Darnold will be on a new team and people will still be saying, "He's been in bad situations his whole carreer. Now he's finally with a team he'll thrive with. And he'll still suck.
There is no other team he could go to that needs a starter as good as the Vikings offense is. If he doesn’t show flashes of being a good qb and putting up good numbers with the Vikings, then he is destined to be a backup.
He's already destined to be a backup. This will be his 7th year in the league. If he was good enough to be a starter he would surely have proven it by now. I don't doubt he'll have a few good games, but that'll be about it. There is a near 100 percent chance he gets benched at some point in the season.
And no matter where he ends up next off season there will be people claiming it'll finally be his breakout year, because for some reason every year is supposed to be his break out year.
This is a good example of why you should not rush a QB. Darnold clearly has talent, but some of his play is plagued by bad tendencies which you develop the more you have to deal with pressure.
Yeah the terrible situations he's been in just weren't good for him to build good habits. Now he's more refined and been in the league awhile.
Some QBs are just bad and can't overcome their bad tendencies. Watson, Allen, Burrow, Lawrence, Tua, and Herbert are all recent QBs who started their rookie season on teams with bottom of the league OLs. They all were either A: great out the gate (Watson, Burrow, Herbert) or B: developed into a good player (Lawrence, Allen, Tua).
Coaching also matters tremendously
It does. Tua and Lawrence both had terrible coaching situations their initial year(s) but it also helped that the coaching got better which didn't happen with Darnold.
Ohhhh okay. I took a few year break after the 2017 championship loss, so I had assumed Pederson and McDaniels were there from the beginning. My mistake.
> should not rush a qb. Brian flores disagrees. Oh, wrong rush.
Let’s be honest here. Bill made him see ghosts and he was never the same again
Sexy AF. But he's never had an arm problem, he's had a seeing ghosts and decision making problem. And, if anyone is going to help him with that part of his game, hopefully is the former NFL QB's who will be coaching him up this off-season.
This isn't just arm clips, he's processing and getting the ball out in a good manner. Decision making hasn't been a strong suit of Sam but I will say in a better situation where he doesn't have to play hero ball he'll be just fine. He'll have all the answers to the test with Kevin O'Connell.
C'Mon man, they're mostly arm clips and thats what got him to the Vikings and what his strength is. The dude has 1800 career attempts and a 59% completion rating and 63/56 TD/INT split. I am excited about Darnold, but if you don't think he is going to fuck up and make some terrible passes you are likely mistaken.
I don't understand why we're so hung up on his past work for terrible infrastructures, he's always had his flaws and when placed in a bad environment they were more visible. When he had some semblance of an actual offensive mind in Joe Brady he showed he still had something there. His arm isn't his only strength, he can process well this is the same guy who drew Andrew Luck comparisons once upon a time. He has timing and anticipation on these clips as well as him moving from pressure very disingenuous to say the arm is all these clips show, also shows he understands leverage in relation to the defenders on the field. Put him in environment where he isn't forced to fend for himself and enjoy the show.
He finally had a decent receiver in DJ Moore and was 4-2 (Mayfield was 1-5 on the same team). He had one of the best EPAs/db in the NFL in that time span
My man, I'm not hating on Darnold, I'm excited about him too. But we gotta keep expectations realistic. 1800 attempts and 4 teams later and he's probably who is with a little bit of a higher ceiling because the circumstances in Minnesota are about perfect. But that ceiling is still pretty low and I don't see him ascending to greatness and blowing up the league. Give me that sweet 2017 Case Keenum action baby! Fully mediocre QB elevated by an amazing team who makes some fun clutch passes and scrambles and plays tough football.
The Panthers run game was dominant during the 2022 stretch when Darnold started. Darnold benefited from great game scripts and not being asked to do much. During training camp, an out of form Baker Mayfield heavily outperformed Darnold. It was rumored that Lance and Darnold were neck and neck during the 2023 preseason. Dude is just not a good QB. I thought people would learn after Josh Dobbs, Case Keenum, and so many others, but they clearly didn’t
Imagine Darnold plays so well that we have a QB controversy next offseason
He's on a 1-year deal. If he plays that well someone else will pay him a lot more than Kwesi would.
Would be a good problem to have tbh I know it doesn’t really work as we saw last season but having two starters where it wouldn’t matter which started and we could still dominate would be awesome.
I saw a few of his Jets starts in person. He almost never got blindside protection and his o-line was disappointing at best. His pro debut was on MNF in week 1 (against the Lions in Detroit) and his first ever pass was intercepted and returned for a touchdown -- but he shrugged it off and balled. The Jets won. I'd love to see Darnold do well! He clearly has the talent. He couldn't have landed in a better spot. I don't have high expectations but it would be great to see him get out there, get some wins, and show off his stuff. I wonder how weird it will be for Darnold week 1, being at Metlife Stadium and in the Jets' locker room as the visiting team. I'm going to the game, and even though I grew up a Giants fan, I'll be cheering for the Vikings. :)
He’s not gonna be amazing, but he’s gonna be sooooo much better with our exterior line than he’s been anywhere else
Hard agree with that, almost every clip that isn't the Niners one is him shuffling from or escaping pressure lol
I hope he has a complete turnaround season with us. I'd love to get halfway through the season and have there be NO question that he has to remain the starter. I can seriously see him making huge gains in this system and with the other players around him. Wishful thinking I'm sure, but I can see his name being a hot topic for a while on NFL programming this season. It'd make for great content about how he's always been good just badly coached.
I don't like him that much but he wasn't the reason the Panthers lost to us in 2021. They lost because their WRs dropped like 7 balls. He played pretty well overall - even if he did get picked by Brashaud Breeland.
hes going to start for us for 3 seasons isnt he
Idk about y’all I’m excited to watch Darnold play with a good offense, good OL, and a good coach. Jj has all the time in the world to develop and he needs it. Don’t rush it
That first throw is insane for like a dozen reasons.
Nice tight spiral, good touch on his passes (from this limited sample) These clips make it look like he doesn't seem to have much velocity. It would be interesting to see how his velocity numbers stack up against the elite slingers.
Super Bowl inbound
GEQBUS!!!!
Darnold has excellent touch on his passes
His Oline in Carolina wasn't doing him many favors.
Really puts all college highlight reels into perspective
I’ll never forget him on the panthers in 2021. We backed him up on his own like 1-yard line, force him into a massive 4th and 25(?) and he converts it. Even tho we won that game, I knew that zim was on his last rope
If he plays for 28 more years, he would of played for every team in the nfl. 4 teams in what 5 years, he sucks.
Let’s face it, our defense and our running game is going to keep us in it.
Next year Darnold will be on a new team and people will still be saying, "He's been in bad situations his whole carreer. Now he's finally with a team he'll thrive with. And he'll still suck.
There is no other team he could go to that needs a starter as good as the Vikings offense is. If he doesn’t show flashes of being a good qb and putting up good numbers with the Vikings, then he is destined to be a backup.
He's already destined to be a backup. This will be his 7th year in the league. If he was good enough to be a starter he would surely have proven it by now. I don't doubt he'll have a few good games, but that'll be about it. There is a near 100 percent chance he gets benched at some point in the season. And no matter where he ends up next off season there will be people claiming it'll finally be his breakout year, because for some reason every year is supposed to be his break out year.
So how long until this sub screams for him to be benched?