https://www.usatoday.com/story/spor...kins-preseason-alex-smith-defense/1010852002/
"...He looked decent in two series against Washington's No. 1 defense, completing six of seven passes for 47 yards, though New York's prized first-round pick absorbed drive-ending sacks on both. The second possession concluded with a 36-yard field goal for New York...
Overall, Darnold looked solid behind a shaky offensive line, seemed to progress through his reads while keeping his eyes downfield and showed pocket mobility that will likely prove critical if he's tabbed the Week 1 starter.
Darnold, who played the entire first half, finished 8-for-11 for 62 yards."
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/f...s-jets-preseason-game-two-20180816-story.html
"If you were expecting Sam Darnold to be faster than a speeding bullet and leap tall buildings in a single bound, you got smacked with an uppercut of reality Thursday night when the Jets first-year signal caller looked human after all.
There’s still oodles of stuff to be excited about, but Darnold naturally experienced some rough moments in the Jets’ second preseason game, a 15-13 loss, vs. Washington.
Darnold displayed some of his special gifts in his first career start, but there were plenty of hurdles that he didn’t overcome due to myriad factors.
No, the Jets aren’t doomed.
The kid is going to be fine, but expecting perfection was a pipedream...
...That was it for Darnold. It wasn’t exactly something to write home about it, but there were some encouraging moments for the rookie.
“I thought I did a lot better job of getting to the line of scrimmage and having some time to analyze the defense and go about playing quarterback,” Darnold said. “It was fun to be able to feel really comfortable with every single play call…. I felt like sometimes when (Jeremy Bates) started to call the play, I knew exactly which play he was going to, which was a good feeling. It’s that kind of preparation that I’m going to try to replicate every single week. So I can get in and out of the huddle and get to work.”"
Meanwhile, on Teddy Bridgewater:
"Darnold gave way to Teddy Bridgewater, who went 10 for 15 for 127 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT and led the Jets to 10 points on six drives in the second half.
“Fortunately for him and unfortunately for me, he wanted to get hit some,” Todd Bowles said. “I told him that I have a neighborhood where he can get hit quite a bit if he wants to get hit. But he had a smile on his face. It was good to see him from a durability standpoint…. He’s a tough guy. I just don’t like my quarterbacks getting hit.”
It was the next hurdle for Bridgewater to clear after his grievous knee injury cost him two seasons.
“It felt great,” Bridgewater said of getting banged around. “Some of those plays I told him, ‘Coach you know I’ll make better decisions than that.’ I know when to throw the ball away… For me, I just wanted to get hit. I don’t know if it’s the right thing to do or say as a quarterback, but for me, it’s just continuing to knock down that mental block. Hey, you can do this. Some of those plays I could have thrown the ball away or run out of bounds, but I wanted to challenge myself and see if I could take a hit. It was fun. Get up, smile, tell the guys, ‘Hey, that was nothing. Next play.’”"
https://nypost.com/2018/08/15/why-sam-darnold-has-the-jets-thinking-he-may-start-week-1/
"Here are some of the areas where Darnold has impressed:
1. His capacity to learn
Darnold’s teammates rave about his ability to take a lesson from the classroom and apply it to the field.
“It doesn’t take him multiple meetings and walk-throughs and different things,” fellow quarterback Josh McCown said. “He is very coachable in that aspect, and I think that will serve him well for a long time. … So far everything you look for to play the position, whether it’s just the desire and the want to and all that, all of those things are there, and you have to have that in order to have a chance in this league. So he is doing that and we will see. It’s one day at a time, but every step, everything he is asked to do, he meets that well and goes out and gets it done, so it’s a good start.”
2. Poise
This was on display against the Falcons last week. He stepped up to complete a first-down pass to tight end Clive Walford during the touchdown drive at the end of the first half. Before throwing the touchdown that counted, he had one touchdown fail because of a dropped pass and another because of a penalty. On the third try, he stepped up and ran along the line of scrimmage before firing the touchdown pass. Most rookies would have tucked the ball and run and the team probably would have had to settle for a short field goal. Darnold kept the play alive and threw the touchdown.
“For the most part, when he’s out here he’s just so composed and poised,” wide receiver Jermaine Kearse said. “You never see him wide-eyed. If he makes a mistake or whatever, it’s learn from it and move on to the next [play]. That’s what I really like seeing from Sam. I noticed that the first time he came in during OTAs. He’s just steadily getting better each day. He improves each day. His composure is on a vet level.”
3. Accuracy
Darnold rarely throws a pass in a different ZIP code than his receiver. His throws are almost always on the money. Darnold was accurate at USC, but the Jets have been wowed by just how accurate he has been in training camp.
The Jets expect all of those traits to be on display Thursday against Washington. If all goes well, you can expect to see them when the regular season begins, too."
Last edited: Aug 17, 2018