Same ol' Sam?

[greediron]

Same. Key phrase being "if JJ was not in the fold." He was in the fold though, going into his 2nd season, and on a rookie contract. And there was no way this team was going to pay Darnold $100M over three years AND sign all the free agents we wanted to beef up the young QB's surround. 

I don't know why people always forget this simple fact. Did it work out the way we envisioned? Nope, but that happens sometimes. Injuries were a big part of it. Injuries to our defense early on, injuries to our highly paid offensive line, injuries to the young QB himself. It was a shit-luck year and I'm glad it's over.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't.  Everyone wants a rookie QBOTF and a loaded team around the rookie salary.  But does it always work out, no.  So then we bitch about trusting a young QB.

Reminds me of the web site I never built.  FiretheNextCoachNow.com

---

I do not get all of the absolutes with Darnold.  He played one year in our offense and turned his career around and based on what he is doing this year, it was not a fluke.  He very may have continued to improve in our offense as he continued into year two and gained more familiarity in the offense and with KOC.  I think we would have seen an ever better version this year. 

The narrative that he can't win a big game or he chokes is a complete joke.  What is it based on?  Until last year he had never played in a playoff game or any game of great significance.  Sure, he did not play great in the last two games, but the entire team was awful, he had no protection.  So we are basing the narrative on 2 games?  Go check the game tape of the MNF agains the Rams and tell me how he can't win a big game.  He has the Seahawks at 13-3 and has won plenty of big games in the process as he did here last year in taking us to 14-3.

I don't need to turn on the tape.  I saw how he played like absolute shit the last two games of last year.  I saw how bad he looked against our D this year.  He is way too easy to rattle.  If you have a genius OC and an elite O-line (detroit the last two years) then you can win with guys like Goff or Sammy.  But if not, you better have a vet that can still make plays when facing the heat.

How many superbowls have Goff or Sammy won?  Goff got there on the back of a stud RB that broke down and so Goff looked terrible.  So bad they traded him away for an aging vet in Stafford.

[JR44]

I don't need to turn on the tape.  I saw how he played like absolute shit the last two games of last year.  I saw how bad he looked against our D this year.  He is way too easy to rattle.  If you have a genius OC and an elite O-line (detroit the last two years) then you can win with guys like Goff or Sammy.  But if not, you better have a vet that can still make plays when facing the heat.

How many superbowls have Goff or Sammy won?  Goff got there on the back of a stud RB that broke down and so Goff looked terrible.  So bad they traded him away for an aging vet in Stafford.

Okay, great guess all you need is two game to make a determination on a guys entire career.  Funny how so many labeled Darnold as some loser and wanted him out after he won 14 games and now here he is winning 13 more games on a Seahawks team that has who on it and still the ridiculous baseless claims he can't win.  27 wins in two years and counting.  

How many Super Bowls did Dan Marino, Fran Tarkenton and Jim Kelly win?  That is such a poor argument.  This isn't tennis, you can't win by yourself.

[StickierBuns]

Okay, great guess all you need is two game to make a determination on a guys entire career.  Funny how so many labeled Darnold as some loser and wanted him out after he won 14 games and now here he is winning 13 more games on a Seahawks team that has who on it and still the ridiculous baseless claims he can't win.  27 wins in two years and counting.  

How many Super Bowls did Dan Marino, Fran Tarkenton and Jim Kelly win?  That is such a poor argument.  This isn't tennis, you can't win by yourself.

He can win games with a good team around him, but can he win IMPORTANT games? I do hear you.....I mean, it can't be denied how good Uncle Sammy has looked both last year in Minnesota and this year in Seattle. REALLY good. I love watching him pass the football, its effortless. He's a very skilled thrower. But he has a narrative to get past and he can do it in this year's playoffs. Its up to him. My stance isn't that he can't, but more that he needs to show he CAN. Because he never has....and more to an effective point, he's showed the opposite. That's his history. That's why there's an accurate narrative he needs to overcome. He's not some unknown quantity that just hasn't broken through yet.

[JimmyinSD]

I think what's overlooked in all this would we rather have had JJM or Darnold,   my thought is that we wouldn't have likely had Darnold if we hadn't taken JJM.  No rookie QB,  we would have beem more focused on Cousins or some other more established QB,  not a long shot reclamation project,  and once they chose the rookie path,  they need to show some conviction and stick with it,  same reason I say we aren't shopping for a real QB competition this offseason.

[greediron]

He can win games with a good team around him, but can he win IMPORTANT games? I do hear you.....I mean, it can't be denied how good Uncle Sammy has looked both last year in Minnesota and this year in Seattle. REALLY good. I love watching him pass the football, its effortless. He's a very skilled thrower. But he has a narrative to get past and he can do it in this year's playoffs. Its up to him. My stance isn't that he can't, but more that he needs to show he CAN. Because he never has....and more to an effective point, he's showed the opposite. That's his history. That's why there's an accurate narrative he needs to overcome. He's not some unknown quantity that just hasn't broken through yet.

Bingo.  Enjoyed watching him much of last season.  But when we needed it, he didn't.  He saw ghosts.  I have seen that a couple times from him this year as well.  He melts under pressure.  

I just wouldn't hand a guy like that 100 mil over 3 years.  Not until he showed he could when it mattered.

[MaroonBells]

I keep coming back to the idea that maybe we should've seen Darnold's 2024 season coming and signed him for two years instead of one. Former 3rd overall pick with all the tools that go with it coming into the kind of offense, coaching and surround he's never before had. If we HAD signed him for two years, he either would've been a Viking in 2025, unquestionably taking the Vikings to the playoffs, and giving JJ another year in the oven, or we could've traded him for some serious draft capital in the 2025 draft. 

Sure, hindsight and all that. But it just would've taken a little bit of foresight to maybe realize that JJ McCarthy was super young and giving him two years of development would not have been a bad idea. Worst case is you have Darnold at 10M per as a solid backup to JJ in 2025.

[purplefaithful]

I keep coming back to the idea that maybe we should've seen Darnold's 2024 season coming and signed him for two years instead of one. Former 3rd overall pick with all the tools that go with it coming into the kind of offense, coaching and surround he's never before had. If we HAD signed him for two years, he either would've been a Viking in 2025, unquestionably taking the Vikings to the playoffs, and giving JJ another year in the oven, or we could've traded him for some serious draft capital in the 2025 draft. 

Sure, hindsight and all that. But it just would've taken a little bit of foresight to maybe realize that JJ McCarthy was super young and giving him two years of development would not have been a bad idea. Worst case is you have Darnold at 10M per as a solid backup to JJ in 2025.

Yah, as you say, its clear as day in the rear view mirror...

ITs possible they pushed hard for that - and he pushed back harder?

We'll never know now.

[greediron]

Yah, as you say, its clear as day in the rear view mirror...

ITs possible they pushed hard for that - and he pushed back harder?

We'll never know now.

Yeah, not sure he was going for a lowball multi year contract.  Guys like that are looking for a prove it deal.

[purplefaithful]

Yeah, not sure he was going for a lowball multi year contract.  Guys like that are looking for a prove it deal.

And weren't we in kind of a bidding war with another team at the time? I think so, but forget who?

Its possible a 1 year from us was the deciding factor too?

Either way, I too wish he would have signed for 2 years here...JJM was greener than I imagined and 2 years could have helped him a bunch in hindsight - ala Packers with Love and Rogers.

[pattersaur]

I keep coming back to the idea that maybe we should've seen Darnold's 2024 season coming and signed him for two years instead of one. Former 3rd overall pick with all the tools that go with it coming into the kind of offense, coaching and surround he's never before had. If we HAD signed him for two years, he either would've been a Viking in 2025, unquestionably taking the Vikings to the playoffs, and giving JJ another year in the oven, or we could've traded him for some serious draft capital in the 2025 draft. 

Sure, hindsight and all that. But it just would've taken a little bit of foresight to maybe realize that JJ McCarthy was super young and giving him two years of development would not have been a bad idea. Worst case is you have Darnold at 10M per as a solid backup to JJ in 2025.

I was sold by about week 5 last season that the team should be working to extend him. Of course at that point it wasn't going to be for one additional year, so your plan is better, but even then at least you have him in the fold for another year or two. I'm one of the seemingly few fans who is perfectly fine with how things have worked out. But having Sam around would have been nice this year too. Like others have said, we'll probably never know how hard the team tried (or not) to keep him.