Consider that in 1967 Namath threw for 26 TDs and 4007 yds, but their record was 8-5-1. In 1968 (the season they won the SB) he threw for only 15 TDs, 3147 yds, and the record was 11-3. And BTW: both years he threw for more INTs than TDs.
I'm going optimistic on Sam this year. I say 4000+ yards and he plays all the games. And I base that on my belief that his offensive line A) has held him back and choked down his stats more than most appreciate so far and B) that they will be not just a little bit improved but significantly improved this season. Maybe even up to league average. I also think that the Jets skill players and Gase's brilliant play calling might look a little better than we're giving them credit for. Probably not stunningly so but a little bit. And both those things will do nothing but help Darnold put up some passing #'s.
QB’s have had some monster years and missed the playoffs. Hell, Fitztragic has our single season TD record and we missed the playoffs, but we’re not talking about the playoffs here, we’re talking about 7 wins - the point at which we can say the team did not regress record wise. I guess the going thought is that historically good (by Jets standards) QB play won’t be enough for the Jets to win more than 6 games. I’m no optimist, but even I think that’s a grim outlook. Personally, I don’t expect Darnold to ball out. I expect his stats will be similar to last season if we extrapolate them over 16 games. That, I could see leading to regression.
Stats aren't everything, as several have pointed out, but they are important in measuring progress. The Jets are relying on Darnold to be a franchise QB, not just another QB. While Sam Darnold is still very young (younger than Burrow), we should expect to see some level of progress. The NFL has become such a pass friendly league that 3,500 yards, 25 TDs and QB ratings of 91 are merely average. Anything less than this would be a pause for concern heading into the next off-season. 3,500 yards 25 tds 9 ints QB rating of 92
Exactly but as Jet fans we're so mentally and emotionally scarred that even if we believe our QB can put up excellent numbers we're still subliminally scared that other parts of the team and coaching staff will prevent us from winning games. I was once a homer @ heart now I'm 35 and my daughter is turning 10 and still waiting. I'm worried that Sam Darnold will explode but our defense will let us down. This is my least favorite D heading into a season since before Rex and Revis. No superstar player. Not confident at all.
9 interceptions behind a brand new OL with a rookie LT would be very impressive, in my opinion. Impressive enough to look past the low yardage number for this season at least.
Oh I know. Been with this team for 30 years now. Anyone who sticks with this dumpster fire of a franchise for that long is committed to the end, but also knows to temper expectations. I still think 30TD’s and close to 4000 yards would be enough to win 7 games, brutal schedule or not. 7 wins is still an awful season, and I don’t think Darnold will approach those numbers unless the OL gels faster than I think is possible. Darnold and Herndon are currently the longest tenured members of the Jets offense. With the pieces constantly changing, consistency becomes more challenging, even if it’s his second year in the system. A system, by the way, that has never delivered good results since Gase became a head coach. The deck is stacked against Darnold for the 3rd consecutive year.
I think the playing 16 game worry is a little over blown. Bowles sat him with an injury that he would have played through if he/the team were playing well . Instead they used it as an excuse to pull the rookie out of the deep end for a spell. Last year he got mono. So now we’re supposed to act like he is injury prone? That said, I’m looking for a 65-68 comp% and 2.5/1 td/int ratio.
23 td 15 int 4 rush tds. 3700 yards. 6-10 record. I don't trust the playmakers around him. Crowder and Hogan don't scare anyone. I like Sam alot but our coaching staff is horrible. We all know Gase was a bad hire.
The Jets strength and conditioning staff clearly did not prepare him well enough against infectious diseases. It's only a matter of time before he gets the Covids.
Thats a good point about Bowles. And it also seemed to be a really good move at the time. If I remember right he was a stat-producing animal for 4 or so games after he came back from his "break" I'd like to see him play all the games just because its preferable, not because I'm worried he's injury prone. To the contrary, going back to before he was even drafted Sam has always struck me as a rather stoutly build kid with a big solid lower half that looks anything but brittle.
3900 yards this year. He averaged 233 a game last year so extrapolated out that’s 3700 over a 16 game season. 25 tds. Not sure to who. But someone will jump up and get 10. And 15 between the rest. 11 picks. Made some really bad reads last year. Will do better again this year 67% completions. Lam
Stats, schmats. I can not tell you how many touchdowns he’ll toss or picks he’ll throw, but I’ll say this. There will be a point where we say,”he ain’t it”, but at the end of the season we’ll say, “you give him weapons, and he’s fine.” And to me, knowing we have the real Mccoy in this guy, is all I care about.
He still has Gase and he still has subpar weapons so I don't see a huge leap happening. Our offense is going to be at the bottom of the ranks again. Playing all 16 games is an important goal. 3,750 yards 23 TD 15 INT I don't care about his stats. This year is more of an eye test, just like the last two have been. He still makes too many bad mistakes/reads, he's still too inconsistent. He makes throws that make you believe he can be a future Pro Bowler and then he has stretches where he looks like he shouldn't be a starter in the NFL. It's already Year 3 and his contract extension isn't that far away. He has to show JD that he's the right QB for this team for the next five years.
I'll preface this by saying that both of these plays worked out better than the point I'm trying to make. But that's also because the Redskins played them horribly. Regardless. Sam needs to take what's given to him more often. https://www.ganggreennation.com/2019/11/21/20975233/sam-darnolds-schoolyard-football The second image shows you Griffin with 5 damn yards of leverage and an easy first down. He needs to put the ball on him instantly and take the first down. It resulted in a bigger play. But he needs to consistently hit shorter plays that can setup his school yard sort of play style, and it'll make his life (and his lines life) easier.
