Sam Darnold

MaroonBells wrote:
Let's see if this works....

Yep! It did!

Love this play call and how Sam froze defenders with a kind of pump fake to Jefferson.

Came out swinging in the 2nd half.@jalennailor

📺: @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/W1Rznq8oEj

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) September 8, 2024

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Sam Darnold’s teammates strutted toward the MetLife Stadium locker room on Sunday morning, making fashion statements.

Aaron Jones wore a purple sombrero, Justin Jefferson an outfit that looked like a blend of velour, leopard and camo.

Darnold? The new Vikings quarterback walked through his old stadium looking like he craved anonymity. He wore a white T-shirt, faded jean jacket and baggy black jeans, along with old-school canvas sneakers and no jewelry.

Instead of getting into the spirit of football fashion faux pas, Darnold would make his statement with pigskin.

In 2018, the Jets, who share MetLife Stadium with the Giants, made him the third pick in the draft. In his debut as the Vikings’ quarterback on Sunday, Darnold played the way his first team had envisioned, displaying a blend of talent, intelligence and composure in the Vikings’ 28-6 victory over the Giants.

He completed his first 12 passes, and finished 19 of 24 for 208 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception.

On his longest completion, he spotted Jefferson breaking open deep and hit him in stride for 44 yards.

On his most impressive completion, he distracted defenders with a shoulder shimmy toward Jefferson in the right flat, before gunning a pass to Jalen Nailor while taking a hit for a 21-yard touchdown.

On the Vikings’ first touchdown, he changed plays at the line of scrimmage as the play clock neared zero, then handed to Jones, who scored easily.

If you didn’t know that Darnold had failed as a starter with two teams and apprenticed with a third, you would have thought he was a mid-to-upper-level NFL starter. Which is a good way for him to begin his Vikings’ tenure, and why mention that he performed similarly in his first few games with the Carolina Panthers before imploding?

When asked which throws impressed him most, Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell first mentioned Darnold’s 22-yard completion over the middle to tight end Josh Oliver, which led to Jones’ touchdown run.

“The ‘seam’ ball to Josh Oliver from under center — I was trying to see if I could manufacture an easy throw, but an explosive throw with that play,” O’Connell said. “And he just absolutely drilled it.

“And then, on the 99-yard drive — it’s been a while since we’ve done that — that throw to Justin was just remarkable. To be able to lean on the quarterback in that moment to activate your best players, that’s a really big-time play in that moment.”

On Jefferson’s long catch, Darnold had to release the pass before Jefferson had burst past his defender. Jefferson said that such a throw requires trust.

Jefferson had built that kind of relationship with Kirk Cousins. Sunday, as Darnold was impressing, Cousins was in Atlanta, completing 16 of 26 passes for 155 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions in an 18-10 loss at home to Pittsburgh.

We’re a long way from drawing final conclusions, but Day 1 went to the guy who has yet to bare his chest or wear gold chains at U.S. Bank Stadium.

“It’s great to be back here,” Darnold said. “It’s been a while since I played here. It’s always good to get back to MetLife.”

Since signing with the Vikings, Darnold has spoken with the kind of cautiousness often displayed by athletes who have been a punchline to millions of New Yorkers. In what he could have treated as a triumphant return, he was bland, if genial.

But he knows what’s at stake, for himself and his new team. If Darnold plays well, he will benefit from an evolved passing offense and excellent skill-position players, and be a candidate to earn a big contract and a starting job in 2025.

“It’s just playing with confidence,” he said. “I think that’s the biggest thing. We’ve got a great offense. We’ve got a great system. If I just play on time and do all of the things I need to do to execute, we’ll be all right.”

That was the Vikings’ working theory when they signed Darnold. Sunday, that theory became, at least momentarily, more credible.

Source: Startribune

I really do like Sam's demeanor. Even in the post game locker room speech, he got the first game ball and just walked up all stoic, gave a head nod, and stepped back in with his teammates. Really seems like he's trying to stay even keeled and realizes he's got a chance here to change the narrative if he keeps grinding.

That said, be played really well on Sunday so hopefully he's enjoying it on the inside. Lol

MAD GAINZ wrote:
I really do like Sam's demeanor.  Even in the post game locker room speech, he got the first game ball and just walked up all stoic, gave a head nod, and stepped back in with his teammates.  Really seems like he's trying to stay even keeled and realizes he's got a chance here to change the narrative if he keeps grinding.

That said, be played really well on Sunday so hopefully he's enjoying it on the inside.  Lol

For sure...

If there is a poster child for PTSD? He'd be in the running. I'm hoping for good things for Sam I Am in 24.

It had to be satisfying to have that game in New York. Jets fans were probably wondering who in the hell was wearing the Darnold uniform for the Vikings because he never played like that when he was with the Jets.

MAD GAINZ wrote:
I really do like Sam's demeanor.  Even in the post game locker room speech, he got the first game ball and just walked up all stoic, gave a head nod, and stepped back in with his teammates.  Really seems like he's trying to stay even keeled and realizes he's got a chance here to change the narrative if he keeps grinding.

That said, be played really well on Sunday so hopefully he's enjoying it on the inside.  Lol

I'm not sure if that's always a good thing. In terms of fire and passion and visible leadership, Sam seems to be Cousins minus two. Watching Stafford and Goff last night I was reminded what confidence looks like. Ecstatic about Sam's performance yesterday, but call me cautious. Hoping he can put together a few more solid outings to play with a bit more swagger.

StickierBuns wrote:

Yep, I'm not a huge fan of Darnold's demeanor. But he's a southern California born and raised product, so they are usually more chill and less swag oriented. But I did see some emotion from him yesterday. This needs to improve moving forward, however:

Most Pressure Faced - Week 1 % of dropbacks

1. Jacoby Brissett - 48.3%
𝟮. 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗟𝗲𝘃𝗶𝘀 - 𝟰𝟳.𝟰%
3. Deshaun Watson - 44.6%
4. Justin Herbert - 42.9%
5. Sam Darnold - 42.3%

[ via @NextGenStats ]

— Will Boling (@will_boling) September 9, 2024

I think it's fine for now.  Let him stay within himself until he gets more comfortable and actually DOES something.  This team has enough personalities and veteran leaders, Darnold doesn't need to be that.  Just keep doing your job and let the swag and leadership come out as the season moves along.  This was ONE game.  Plenty of time for that to happen organically if he continues to play well and we're in a good position come November and December.

Interestingly, or strangely, Darnold is often at his best in debuts.

He has been the quarterback of record in 57 games. He has produced a passer rating of 100 or better 13 times. Five of those 13 occasions occurred during his first start of a season, and three occurred during his first start with a franchise.

He is 3-0 when debuting with a franchise. He is 19-35 otherwise.

As a rookie, he debuted with the Jets with a 116.8 passer rating in a 48-17 victory over Detroit in 2018. In 2021, he made his first start for Carolina and had a rating of 102.0 in a 19-14 victory over the Jets.

On Sunday, he made his first start for the Vikings and had a rating of 113.2 in the Vikings victory over the Giants.

Conclusion? Maybe that Darnold seems to like having lots of time to prepare.

Two of his other 100-plus rating performances occurred after he was injured or on the bench.

If there is a common denominator among great NFL quarterbacks, it is the ability to solve problems presented by defensive coordinators week after week.

Darnold has proved capable of succeeding a few starts or a month at a time.

This season may be his last opportunity to prove that he has staying power.

Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell, when asked on Monday whether spending last year in San Francisco as a backup helped Darnold, said: “This week, it’ll be his first real feel of coming off a game with soreness . You know, obviously the mental fatigue that you can sometimes feel at the quarterback position coming off a Sunday, right along with and beside that soreness, you’re feeling that, as well. Now you’ve got to click right back in and turn the page and move on.”

Can Darnold start and finish a season well? That will tell the story of the 2024 Vikings.

Source: Startribune

If he can sustain a consistent level of play, his demeanor is not the most important thing.

As long as it’s not a misdemeanor…  :cool: :angel:

StickierBuns wrote:
Here's a pic of some Big Sam energy, good for him:

https://a57.foxsports.com/statics.foxsports.com/www.foxsports.com/content/uploads/2024/09/1294/728/darnold1.jpg?ve=1&tl=1

p.s. I used to be able to just copy image and paste, is that over now?

I havent been able to do that since day 1, always just posts the URL so I quit trying. 

So now I know how to past twitter links, but not pix.

StickierBuns wrote:

I used to be able to do it by just copying image and pasting but not anymore. Mike must have changed something.

Huh... I know if you use the full editor (not quick reply) there is an image button on the editor that allows you to enter the URL of the image and that should work to post it.

Yeah people were asking for twitter, xitter, posts so I had to make some changes.

StickierBuns wrote:

Yep, on Full Edit I could simply copy an image on a website and paste it into the body and voila.

Huh not sure what I did should have changed that though. Weird.

Adjusted EPA numbers after Week 1.

Because sample sizes are small, QBs affected by high-leverage drops get a large boost (Darnold, Purdy, Stafford, Burrow). Stafford also gets a large boost due to disastrous pass protection. pic.twitter.com/yDIwMk1m8C

— Computer Cowboy (@benbbaldwin) September 11, 2024

StickierBuns wrote:
"Sam Darnold's career passer rating in his first start each season: 96.4

Darnold's passer rating in all other games: 76.7

Darnold makes his 2nd start this season vs #49ers on Sunday"

One game at a time, folks.

Yah, I posted something similar on him yesterday. The win is nice, history dictates to hold your breath.

Next 4 games will tell us a lot about him and the team

49'ers
Hou
Pack
Jets 
Early Bye Week

purplefaithful wrote:

Yah, I posted something similar on him yesterday. The win is nice, history dictates to hold your breath.

Next 4 games will tell us a lot about him and the team

49'ers
Hou
Pack
Jets 
Early Bye Week

The next two especially. I expect the Vikings to be competitive in both, especially since both are at home. Not that it's been a huge advantage for us lately, but I like the idea of crowd noise making Stroud's first time seeing a Flores defense even more difficult. A Loveless Packer team isn't the same, and Rodgers' age might be catching up with him. Did not look particularly good against the 49ers. 

But as I've said before if we can be 2-3 at the bye, I'll be happy. That means winning just 1 of the next four. 3-2 would be phenomenal.

StickierBuns wrote:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSk62xXzxDc

Good watch Sticky, enjoyed the breakdown by McCoy.

StickierBuns wrote:
In watching the Field Pass, you can see his confidence grow throughout the game. A little more pressure for Sam this Sunday, at home against a very good team and the fans will be jacked. Just another part of his journey to redemption if he can get there. If Darnold plays well Sunday and the Vikings somehow pull off a win, its going to get interesting from a perception standpoint.

Perception has already changed a little bit for me just after one week. For example, I don't look at the schedule quite the same as I did before. It looked brutal before the season. Even the "easy" second half held many challenges. But now, the Packers, Falcons, Titans, Bears, Jets....meh.

If the Vikings beat the 49ers, or even play them well and lose, the buzz will explode. Not just for Darnold, but KOC as well.