A stat that tells the story of Sam Darnold

[StickierBuns]

screw the draft,  they need to get that IOL fixed in FA and look to add depth in the draft.  JJM is going to need protection or he will end up shell shocked or brain damaged from all the ( apparently now legal ) shots to the head.

Agreed. Interior O-line needs FA help immediately for 2025.

[MaroonBells]

His completion % is actually above Cousins for the year at 69.5%
That's good for 7th overall in the league.  A moth fart away from Jalen Hurts at 69.8%
Goff is an otherworldly 74.9% on the season.

What's really interesting is this...

Cousins (in 9 games): 2328 yds, 69.2%, 17 TDs, 7 INTs, 102 rating, $45 mil/year
Darnold (in 8 games): 1900 yds, 69.5%, 17 TDs, 7 INTs, 108 rating, $10 mil/year

[JR44]

I saw most of Darnold's games at USC and the way he is playing this year is very similar to how how I remember him then. Big arm and could make all the plays, but would then mix in some really head scratching plays as well. I didn't think he was ready for the draft when he came out, thought there was a lot for him to work on in terms of his mental game and he needed to clean up some things. Was listening to Walker Buehler of Dodgers talk about that after his 2nd TJ surgery he had to learn more about being a pitcher and not just someone who throws hard and it may be something similar for Darnold in learning more about the intricacies of being a QB and not just having a big arm.

[Zanary]

screw the draft,  they need to get that IOL fixed in FA and look to add depth in the draft.  JJM is going to need protection or he will end up shell shocked or brain damaged from all the ( apparently now legal ) shots to the head.

It's maybe my greatest frustration with the team that Bradbury and Ingram continue to be, at best, inconsistent, and have too many "hall of shame" plays.

Everyone has known where the problem area of our OL has been, for waaaaaay too long, now. Cousins got mauled for years, because the worst pressure came from the opponents closest to him.

Darnold is more mobile and the line is still showing the improvement they (FINALLY) showed during last season...but "better" and "good" are still far apart, and the usual suspects don't change.

[MaroonBells]

It's maybe my greatest frustration with the team that Bradbury and Ingram continue to be, at best, inconsistent, and have too many "hall of shame" plays.

Everyone has known where the problem area of our OL has been, for waaaaaay too long, now. Cousins got mauled for years, because the worst pressure came from the opponents closest to him.

Darnold is more mobile and the line is still showing the improvement they (FINALLY) showed during last season...but "better" and "good" are still far apart, and the usual suspects don't change.

Bradbury isn't going anywhere, but I'd be surprised if Ingram is our starting RG next year. Hopefully we can find his replacement among the 2024 rookie class. Because with two top-paid tackles, Brandel and Bradbury on modest, but non-rookie contracts, it's not likely we'll be spending money on a RG. There's a lot of money in the bank, so maybe? A one-year Kevin Zeitler-like deal is possible I guess.

[purplefaithful]

Wonder if the Cowboys would be willing to trade Zach Martin at this point???

33 years old now though..

[MaroonBells]

Wonder if the Cowboys would be willing to trade Zach Martin at this point???

33 years old now though..

I think that's the kind of move we might make in '25, but I don't think the Vikings do anything in '24. Ingram has been an interesting study. Typically he's an OK run blocker and a crap pass blocker, but the last two games he totally flipped that script. 

After earning pass blocking grades of 19 against the Jets and 9 (no shit, 9!!) against the Giants, the last two games he's graded 78 and 76. Must feel Risner's breath...

[MAD GAINZ]

Now that we're 8 games into the Darnold era, here are my observations:

Pros
- Much better arm and accuracy than I thought he had.
- Athletic enough to extend plays and pick up yards with his legs
- when he has time, he goes through his progressions and finds the open guy
- Has shown an ability to bounce back after bad plays
- Makes some really impressive throws and seems like he's earned the respect of his teammates

Cons
- I think he struggles to read a defense pre-snap at times. I think some of that is getting comfortable with KOCs offense. When JJ isn't open and is his first read, he gets stuck on him at times and takes bad sacks or throws picks. Case in point last night... Has Addison and JJ lined up next to each other, at the snap 3 guys drop into coverage on JJ and Addison is breaking free down the middle with the LB dropping deep to take away JJ. Addison has one on one with the deep safety. Darnold HAS to quickly come off JJ and understand he's got Addison for a big play. Jordan Love would hit Addison and so would Goff.
- Has had 2-3 really bad plays per game. Like not just normal QB mistakes, like rookie WTF are you doing plays.
- could be better looking for Jones as a check down option. He's a great pass catcher and has been open underneath 1v1 with a LB. Gotta take advantage of those opportunities more.

Overall, I think he's played well, especially for the money we're paying him. But I'd be reluctant to pay him Baker money. I think JJ can do what Sam does at a higher level and Darnold's play is what we hoped to get from him, but not that great that we'll delay JJMs timeline to take over.

[badgervike]

Wonder if the Cowboys would be willing to trade Zach Martin at this point???

33 years old now though..

Martin is an Unrestricted Free Agent next year.  Given that and the fact they're not going anywhere this year with a 3-5 record and Dak going on IR..maybe they would trade him.

[MaroonBells]