Should the Jets play Sam Darnold again this year?

The risk vs reward is overwhelmingly no

When you look back at your life, we have all had days where it would have been better to just stay in bed than to venture out into the world. You might have gotten into an auto accident or stepped into a unseen hole and broken your leg. Everybody has had those days, but you still endeavor out into the world fully knowing that disaster could strike at any second.

The reason you are so brave to test fate is because you rarely have those horrible days, and you can’t predict the future so you don’t know which day is going to be so perilous. If you did know life would be more enjoyable because you could avoid catastrophe by just staying home and watching The Price is Right.

Football is a perilous sport by it’s very nature, so playing it is always a risk-taking adventure. No one is safe on a football field, and injuries happen all the time. One of the wisest quotes to come out of Rex Ryan’s mouth (and there are few) was, “In football there is a 100% chance of injury.” What he meant by that is that every player who plays football professionally has been playing it for a long time, and you will have some sort of life long debilitating injury that will bother you after you retire.

With that in mind I propose that the Jets not play Sam Darnold in a NFL game for the rest of the year. Someone with clout like President Neil Glat or Christopher Johnson should mandate that Sam Darnold will practice but not play in a game the rest of the year.

Here is my reasoning:

1. Sam Darnold is currently injured and is questionable to play against the Patriots a week from Sunday. Remember, the Patriots are also on their bye week and will have extra time to cook up some exotic defenses by the time the two teams play. Sam has a foot sprain. Those are always dicey. You never quite know when it is completely healed, and they can linger for months on end if not given proper time to heal.
2. Sam has played in 9 games this year which has given him a good taste of what the NFL is like and what he can expect for his career. Many rookies don’t even play at all their first year, and many go on to become stars. (I will not mention Aaron Rodgers.)
3. Sam is 21 years old and doesn’t turn 22 until next June. He has a long football life ahead of him if he is not rushed back into action. He is currently injured because the was continually beaten by the Bears.
4. If you watched Sunday, our offensive line was dominated by the Bills defensive line, and they are not even rated in the top 10 of D-lines in the NFL. Every team we play from now on is going to try and dismantle our O-line. It gives their team the best chance of winning, and it is just great fun to overpower your opponent so immensely.
5. Many of you might remember Derek Carr’s older brother David who was the first overall pick of the Houston Texans and was beaten and abused because of a shoddy offensive line. He developed a phobia where he felt the rush pouring in on him even though it wasn’t there. It ruined his career, and now he is considered a “bust” of a pick.
6. Like I said earlier, Sam Darnold is only 21 years old and could use some quality coaching to make him a better player. The Jets should use this time to have Sam work on his technique with a quality QB guru to make him a better passer. Sam is a decent player, but he has poor throwing fundamentals and is very jittery in the pocket. Some will say he is always that way throughout college. To that I say, YES, he was starting as a 19 year old kid at a major University. You are definitely going to develop some bad habits in that scenario. Sam Darnold is not a finished product as a player by a long shot. He needs some fine tuning; all players do. To give you an example, I remember about 5 years ago Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady were together at the Pro Bowl practices, working on passing techniques. Brady was amazed when Rodgers tweaked his delivery just slightly, and Brady was able to get much more velocity and distance with the same effort on the throw. These guys were both at the Pro Bowl and working on technique. Peyton Manning worked on technique every practice and used some of the same drills for over 20 years. The learning never stops for an NFL QB, and the best ever are the players who worked on their technique the most. Let’s allow Sam to take a break from the immense stress of playing and allow him to reboot a little and just work on mechanics. He will still be able to sit in the meeting rooms and garner all the knowledge he can. He just won’t have to worry about playing.
7. This will also not allow Bowles or Maccagnan a chance to play Sam as a way of justifying their existence on the Jets by saying the Jets had a poor record because they had to play a rookie at QB. If the rest of the games go similar to Sundays game with Davis Webb or Josh McCown at QB then they will be held accountable for the lack of talent. In a reckless attempt to save their own jobs they could risk the future of the Jets.
8. The Jets are not going to make the Playoffs, and an extra win or two is not going to help this franchise. The Raiders have already thrown in the towel and the Giants as well. Any more wins we accumulate only hurts our drafting position and our chance at some decent offensive linemen.
9. Josh McCown will probably not be here next year so we should probably play Davis Webb some to see if he can be a competent backup or not. It is probably not fair to run him out there with the team we have but it’s the only way to see what he has in the way of game. Josh McCown can be thrown out there with impunity because his NFL life is very short and he has the justify that $10 million he got to sign this year.
10. Sam Darnold is our future so we have to protect him from the machinations of those who are worried more about their own futures.
11. I am worried that some on this team have quit or will soon do so, which would increase the risk factor to Sam even more. f Sam was able to play week 12 and say tore a knee up or his shoulder or his hand; he might not play at all next year. hen we would be entering 2020 with a QB who is coming of a major injury, who is entering his 3rd year with very limited experience. I don’t only mean game experience but OTA’s and training camp which would be essential for a 22 year old QB.
12. It’s not like he needs to be versed in the offense; if Bowles is fired we will probably have a new OC with a much (we hope so) different playbook form this year. Sam has had exposure to this playbook, and he still has meetings to attend so he will continue to work in an NFL playbook for the rest of the year. He doesn’t need more right now.
13. I could go on and on for reasons to sit Sam Darnold the rest of the year, but I can’t find one reason to play him. The experience of getting battered around the last six games may be more detrimental to Sam’s development than anything.

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