Another Sam Darnold milestone

[glenwo2]

Congrats to him.

As much as he pisses me off at times (with that decision-making on that Pick, being the latest that made me want to reach through my computer screen and strangle him), he's been proving that at the very least, he's a very good (but flawed) QB.

All he needs, though, is that ONE signature win and I feel that win will be his first Playoff Win, imo, if he can get it.

 

[Ruminator]

Very nice accomplishment. Hope our FO prioritizes our OL in '26 and '27 to help him out a bit considering his flaws.

 

[Frank12]

We just need to run the ball when he's struggling, I could not believe we only ran the ball 7 times in the 1st half with the RB's... horrific playcalling in the 1st half by Klint..

 

[TwistedHusky]

Disagree. When Sam is struggling against bottom-half teams, we need to run less - not more.


This was exactly what I wanted for Darnold. They did exactly what I wanted, dialed back the running.
This was an opponent that our D could hold in check.
Sam was making poor decisions, and that was affecting his accuracy. We needed him to gain confidence more than run the ball.
The problem with running the ball is that we have such inconsistent production from our RBs - running the ball hurts the QB, not helps him.
And Sam wasn't looking good. Making some questionable throws. Getting pressure on him repeatedly.

But we kept throwing the ball. And Sam is accurate when he isn't making bad throws. He started making throws, getting in rhythm and getting his confidence.
By the time he came out of the game, he was getting the ball out quickly and to the right target repeatedly. Now next game, he will have his confidence.

Also, the RB room is the weak link of this team. So when Darnold struggles, relying on the run hurts us even more. The better move is let Darnold play out of his funk. Which we did. This will pay dividends later.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

Sam had ONE bad decision today.

 

[Frank12]

Sam had ONE bad decision today.

The gameplan in the 1st half left Sam on an island with no help..

 

[oldhawkfan]

Sam had ONE bad decision today.

And if Arroyo had caught the ball, that hit him in the hands, Darnold would have had ZERO bad decisions.

 

[Frank12]

And if Arroyo had caught the ball, that hit him in the hands, Darnold would have had ZERO bad decisions.

The rookie was covered very well, The QB's decision to throw that way was a bad decision

 

[oldhawkfan]

All I’m saying is that if Arroyo catches it the narrative is completely different. In a 4 TD win margin, who really cares?!

 

[glenwo2]

All I’m saying is that if Arroyo catches it the narrative is completely different. In a 4 TD win margin, who really cares?!

The rookie was covered very well, The QB's decision to throw that way was a bad decision

Had K9 wide-ass open here and threw it to a covered Arroyo.

 

[Atradees]

Disagree. When Sam is struggling against bottom-half teams, we need to run less - not more.


This was exactly what I wanted for Darnold. They did exactly what I wanted, dialed back the running.
This was an opponent that our D could hold in check.
Sam was making poor decisions, and that was affecting his accuracy. We needed him to gain confidence more than run the ball.
The problem with running the ball is that we have such inconsistent production from our RBs - running the ball hurts the QB, not helps him.
And Sam wasn't looking good. Making some questionable throws. Getting pressure on him repeatedly.

But we kept throwing the ball. And Sam is accurate when he isn't making bad throws. He started making throws, getting in rhythm and getting his confidence.
By the time he came out of the game, he was getting the ball out quickly and to the right target repeatedly. Now next game, he will have his confidence.

Also, the RB room is the weak link of this team. So when Darnold struggles, relying on the run hurts us even more. The better move is let Darnold play out of his funk. Which we did. This will pay dividends later.

I agree with the confidence angle. When he makes fast decisions he is great. When you see eight in the box throw it. This oline ain't gonna break through that...a 2 yard loss every time. Game progressed to that. It was perfect. I really don't get the Donald is a liability angle.

 

[AROS]

I love how some think Sam is at fault when the OL was giving up TONS of pressure in the pass pro. What QB in the NFL thrives when they are under duress from the moment the ball is snapped?

Name. One.

QB is all about timing. Disrupt that timing and you become one dimensional right quick. Sam looks like just about every other QB in the NFL when immediately attacked after the snap.

Kudos to the Vikings and Falcons D for pressuring effectively.

More importantly, kudos to the coaches for adjusting the game plan accordingly for the second half.

Ginger Jesus is doing fine. That one pick slipped through the target's hands last I checked.

 

[glenwo2]

If Arroyo would've caught that, it would've been a great catch, no doubt.

But man....he had K9 at the sticks, AROS. smh.

Easy first down, and maybe he tries a deep pass on the next series that doesn't get deflected up in the air (again) and picked off.

Not expecting perfection from Sam but those are the types of plays that really put a team behind the 8-ball against better teams, you know?

 

[TwistedHusky]

Maybe, but this team has to ride Sam. Because #1 our RBs suck*. #2 our WRs are the strength of the offense - if not the strength of the team (along with the defense).
He is never going to be the Dilfer type. He will put the ball in harm's way. He will get flustered under pressure, maybe more than most QBs. But he is also tremendously accurate, which offsets those liabilities somewhat.

The key is not putting Darnold in critical situations where we absolutely need him to make that play.




* Either RBs, Run plays called, or run blocking - not clear which but the result is wildly inconsistent run game results per play.

 

[Chukarhawk]

Maybe, but this team has to ride Sam. Because #1 our RBs suck*. #2 our WRs are the strength of the offense - if not the strength of the team (along with the defense).
He is never going to be the Dilfer type. He will put the ball in harm's way. He will get flustered under pressure, maybe more than most QBs. But he is also tremendously accurate, which offsets those liabilities somewhat.

The key is not putting Darnold in critical situations where we absolutely need him to make that play.




* Either RBs, Run plays called, or run blocking - not clear which but the result is wildly inconsistent run game results per play.

our RB's don't suck. K9 should be better than he is but charbs is a solid meat and potatoes back that is reliable, gets downhill and is great catching the ball out of the backfield. Our Line is improving but still not where it needs to be. Losing Sundell has hurt the development trajectory.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

Our RBs suck? Um....ok.

 

[glenwo2]

MM protecting Sam or was it Arroyo's fault?

And btw, I JUST learned that Elijah Arroyo has a knee injury.

 

[AROS]

Maybe, but this team has to ride Sam. Because #1 our RBs suck*.

You lose all credibility when you say things like our running backs suck. I stopped reading after that. Come on dude. Be better.

 

[evergreen]

He probably means our production at running back kind of sucks at times. Passing was way more effective. I agree it helps Sam. Sometimes we just run it to kill the clock instead of playing hard. Today we kept going. It was nice to sea. Hawk.

 

[AROS]

MM protecting Sam or was it Arroyo's fault?

And btw, I JUST learned that Elijah Arroyo has a knee injury.

If the QB throws a pass that hits the intended receiver in the hands and it’s deflected and picked off, to me, that’s not the same as a blatant pick where the QB throws a terrible pass that never had a chance to be received by the intended target in the first place.

There’s no coach protecting the QB here. This is a coach in this instance, merely speaking what he really means.

It was a catchable ball. It was deflected. Interception. Unfortunately in the NFL there are no asterisks next to interceptions for quarterbacks. Even when it’s not a bad pass, it still counts against them.

I hate picks like that. I’m fine if he had a terrible pick.As in, “Dude! What were you thinking?!?” This was not one of those.

Shizz happens.