Richard Sherman talks Sam Darnold

[glenwo2]

 

[hox]

Poor Sam. No one is hyped about him. Everyone is basically lukewarm on him.

He's probably not going to throw for 4300 yards or 35 TDs again, but I think he'll be a good fit for this offense.

 

[Dolomight12]

Poor Sam. No one is hyped about him. Everyone is basically lukewarm on him.

He's probably not going to throw for 4300 yards or 35 TDs again, but I think he'll be a good fit for this offense.

Admittedly, I harbor some trepidation and unsureness. But it's nothing really 'personal'. And, truthfully, beyond the obvious concerns (his NFL career sans last season, new team, open air stadium, et al), I really can't pinpoint the source. Although I guess there's enough there to validate it, now that I typed it out.

 

[rjdriver]

Poor Sam. No one is hyped about him. Everyone is basically lukewarm on him.

He's probably not going to throw for 4300 yards or 35 TDs again, but I think he'll be a good fit for this offense.

I’m very confident he won’t. There’s no question Minnesota had some amazing skill players and a stout line that would enable a QB to stack some impressive stats. I could not care less.

Let’s pound the rock, give him some play action opportunities, and hope he uses experience to convert third downs, limit INT’s, and elevate his effectiveness in the red zone.

Just win some games and find yourself in the playoffs. Once there, we have a strong D and effective run game that is a tried and true formula to make a run.

 

[Ostatehawk]

"Let’s pound the rock, give him some play action opportunities, and hope he uses experience to convert third downs, limit INT’s, and elevate his effectiveness in the red zone."

This, 1000 times this.

IF - and I know it is a big if - we are able to run the damn ball effectively all Darnold has to do is not **** it up.

No Geno special 20 yard sacks, stupid intentional grounding penalties, and abysmal red zone errors.

If we cut out even HALF of those errors last season we make the playoffs.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do with this offense. I'm also excited a certain person won't be under center this year.

 

[Bear-Hawk]

The Ben Johnson offense has moved to Chicago. We are going to see how important that was for Darnold and will be for Caleb Williams. Coaching matters.

 

[toffee]

Poor Sam. No one is hyped about him. Everyone is basically lukewarm on him.

He's probably not going to throw for 4300 yards or 35 TDs again, but I think he'll be a good fit for this offense.

Please forgive me for repeating myself.

All the real and respected experts on all things Seahawks reside on dot net. Jody, the Owner, perused the dot net before extending Schneider's contract. Schneider, the president of football operations, perused the dot net before making moves.

Our opinions on Darnold are overwhelmingly positive; that is the only opinion that counts.

 

[hox]

I asked GPT 5 if Darnold will succeed in Kubiak's system:

Projection: Will Darnold Thrive?​

Best-Case Scenario​

• The run game dominates (Walker/Charbonnet), the O-line grows into the scheme, and Darnold is asked to be a point guard, not a hero.
• Kubiak’s boots, PA, and motion create open reads for JSN/Kupp.
• Darnold thrives as a “system QB”, similar to how Matt Schaub excelled under Gary Kubiak or how Jimmy Garoppolo did under Kyle Shanahan.
• Result: Seattle’s offense becomes efficient, balanced, and Top-10 in scoring.

Worst-Case Scenario​

• The run game is inconsistent, forcing Darnold into obvious passing downs.
• O-line struggles lead to pressure, and Darnold reverts to old habits (slow processing, bad turnovers).
• Critics are proven right: Minnesota’s success was more about Jefferson/O’Connell than Darnold.
• Result: Offense stalls, and Seattle turns to Drew Lock or rookie Jalen Milroe mid-season.

---

Final Take​

Sam Darnold is a logical fit for Klint Kubiak’s system because it minimizes his weaknesses and accentuates his strengths: play-action, defined reads, rhythm passing. But he is not a QB who elevates everyone around him — he’s a QB who needs the system and supporting cast to elevate him.

The good news for Seattle is that the pieces (run game, Kupp, JSN, athletic OL, fullback Ouzts) line up perfectly with Kubiak’s scheme. If the offensive line holds up, Darnold can absolutely replicate (or even surpass) his Minnesota success. If not, his career-long inconsistency could reappear quickly.

Bottom Line:

Darnold doesn’t need to be a superstar for this system to succeed. If Klint Kubiak gets the run game rolling and the OL holds up, Darnold can replicate his Minnesota efficiency and keep Seattle in the playoff mix. But if he’s asked to “be the guy,” history says his performance could slide quickly.

 

[CPHawk]

The Ben Johnson offense has moved to Chicago. We are going to see how important that was for Darnold and will be for Caleb Williams. Coaching matters.

What? Ben Johnson didn’t coach Darnold, and Caleb has been looking like crap in camp. Chicago had 5 other qb they could have taken, and yet took the worst one.

 

[halps80]

Sam Darnold is Jim Plunkett 2.0. For you young guys, that’s a really good thing.

 

[glenwo2]

Sam Darnold is Jim Plunkett 2.0. For you young guys, that’s a really good thing.

Jim Plunkett won 2 Superbowls iirc.

I'd sign up for that in a heartbeat.

 

[NoGain]

My guess is that Sam has found a new sense of self confidence in his abilities after last season. I don't think he's suddenly going to retreat to pre-Viking Sam. I don't know how good he's going to be, but I think we have a good coaching staff that will not ask too much of him, play to his strengths, and give him support when needed so that he remains a decent enough QB for us to meet and possibly exceed the expectations the "experts" have for us. For me, it remains to be seen how *clutch* he can be for us, if he can actually pull some big wins out of the fire for us.

 

[glenwo2]

My guess is that Sam has found a new sense of self confidence in his abilities after last season. I don't think he's suddenly going to retreat to pre-Viking Sam. I don't know how good he's going to be, but I think we have a good coaching staff that will not ask too much of him, play to his strengths, and give him support when needed so that he remains a decent enough QB for us to meet and possibly exceed the expectations the "experts" have for us. For me, it remains to be seen how *clutch* he can be for us, if he can actually pull some big wins out of the fire for us.

The thing that helps is that he HAD done something like that before during last season (being clutch in some games) so it's not like it's an alien concept for him to make "the" big throw or big play when needed.

 

[NoGain]

The thing that helps is that he HAD done something like that before during last season (being clutch in some games) so it's not like it's an alien concept for him to make "the" big throw or big play when needed.

Gotcha. He did have some impressive moments in that way last year. It's a little difficult, however, to erase/ignore the memory of his turning into a pumpkin again at the stroke of midnight those last two games that put an end to the Vikes season last year.

 

[toffee]

Sam Darnold is Jim Plunkett 2.0. For you young guys, that’s a really good thing.

Not sure if I could trust
my memory but I think Darnold has string arm.

 

[Maulbert]

Poor Sam. No one is hyped about him. Everyone is basically lukewarm on him.

He's probably not going to throw for 4300 yards or 35 TDs again, but I think he'll be a good fit for this offense.

I think he can hit 3,500 and 25-30. The offense is going through the run game. That's abundantly clear.

 

[toffee]

I think he can hit 3,500 and 25-30. The offense is going through the run game. That's abundantly clear.

25-30???

 

[glenwo2]

Gotcha. He did have some impressive moments in that way last year. It's a little difficult, however, to erase/ignore the memory of his turning into a pumpkin again at the stroke of midnight those last two games that put an end to the Vikes season last year.

It's not difficult for me.

I don't dwell on things like the naysayers out there who would rather be "right" about their narrative than acknowledge that Darnold had improved as a QB.

2 games does not erase a breakout season.

 

[NoGain]

It's not difficult for me.

I don't dwell on things like the naysayers out there who would rather be "right" about their narrative than acknowledge that Darnold had improved as a QB.

2 games does not erase a breakout season.

Here's how I see it. Everybody has obstacles in their lives of all kinds to overcome. Usually, you get presented again with opportunities to overcome them. My guess is that Sam will get another opportunity to clear that hurdle of winning the "big game" again. We won't know it until it arrives. If he clears that hurdle, it will be a big personal triumph for him, as it is for all of us when we do.