Dissecting Sam Darnold’s best New York Jets plays | Sabo’s Sessions

The Jet X Film Room dissects Sam Darnold's best plays over two seasons as a professional quarterback for the New York Jets. Sam Darnold, boys and girls. What is he? Where is he? How good of an NFL quarterback is the USC product? How much "franchise quarterback" respect does he deserve? All of the above questions (and more) remain incredibly open-ended for a majority of reasons. While coming down with mono to kick off his sophomore campaign didn't help, finding oneself in one of the worst young-quarterback situations in the league is overwhelmingly tough to overcome. Quarterbacks need an offensive line. Football offenses need an offensive line. The most underappreciate five-man unit in sports is the most important when looking to kickstart a young signal-caller's career. Fortunately for Newe York Jets fans, it looks as though Joe Douglas understands the situation perfectly. He---unlike previous regimes---won't wait to gobble up big heavies to protect No. 14. That's the mission of the moment. But despite some of the struggles Darnold and his offense has endured over two seasons, the California kid has put up numerous eye-popping plays, and that's what the Jet X Film Room will break down right now. 12. Clutch Touch To Crowder vs. Dallas Football is a situational game. Not all plays are equal. Take, for example, this one against Dallas in Week 6. Darnold, in his return to action, makes a nice find to Jamison Crowder, but it's elevated thanks to the situation. https://vimeo.com/397568631 The Cowboys had all of the momentum rolling. Having just scored, New York was aiming to avoid a Week 1 repeat---fourth-quarter collapse. This 1st-Down beauty helped kickstart a clutch drive that eventually put the Jets up eight. Notice Darnold's head. He clearly starts left and eventually progresses to Crowder on the other side. Where he places the ball is perfect. Lastly, appreciate Adam Gase's call here. A lot of play-callers would have choked on the ball in this situation. Instead, Gase appropriately remained aggressive in this too-good-to-be-true pass-heavy league. 11. An On-the-Run Gem to Herndon vs. Houston Young Darnold's best attribute remains consistent: his throw-on-the-run ability. When choosing a possible franchise quarterback, mobility traits jump to the top of the list these days. Don't be confused; pocket-passers still rule the roost. A championship quarterback is the one who only uses his plus mobility as an added bonus, if all else in the pocket fails. Darnold fits the bill. https://vimeo.com/397569003 This demonstration showcases Darnold's on-the-run ability combined with on-the-fly smarts. If Darnold goes against the grain (throws further across his body, which he can and has) and leads Chris Herndon to the left, his natural running direction, it could be trouble. Instead, Darnold throws it to the right side and appropriately forces Herndon to turn his body around. It's a brilliant play from a rookie quarterback from many aspects. 10. A Look-Off Score in Detroit Everybody remembers Sam Darnold's first NFL pass. Touchdown. ...for the opponent. The most impressive aspect of Darnold's young career was game No. 1. The kid experienced the worst result on his very first throw, yet he battled back fully and officially. It takes a special mindset to compartmentalize thoughts as rough as those. https://vimeo.com/397569513 Darnold's first NFL touchdown (for his own team) makes the list. The way he looks off the deep-half safety---forcing him down in a robber spot---allowed Robby Anderson just enough separation to dart free to the end zone on the 9-route. Oh yeah, did you see the strength on the throw despite the awkward position, the open stance? 9. Dropping it in the Bucket vs. Oakland Dropping it in a specific window is one of the toughest aspects of NFL quarterbacking. In fact, not all quarterbacks at this level can accomplish this feat. On the following play, Darnold---who should have run the ball for the first---finds Anderson in between the underneath man coverage and under the single-high safety. https://vimeo.com/397570342 From a pure quarterbacking stance, it's a terrible decision. On a 3rd-and-short with every defender's back turned in man coverage, Darnold had open field for days. But when this kid is rolling (and he was rolling in this one, finishing with 315 yards and two touchdowns on 20-of-29 passing), his confidence allows for some spectacular plays to commence. 8. A Professional Bomb vs. Dallas How in the world could a not-so-hot pass be considered as part of a tremendous quarterback play? Well, the short answer is this: there's so much more to the position than just the throw. Against Dallas, Darnold shined. We saw the best from the kid one week prior to witnessing the worst on Monday Night Football (and a terrible stretch to come). Here, Darnold somehow finds the Temple burner on the double-move. https://vimeo.com/397570871 Folks, the throw itself winds up in a bad spot. It should be more towards the sideline, away from the centerfielder and on the outside shoulder of the vertical route. But how about everything else? The kid starts left only to eventually come right and notice the single-high safety is shading to the left just a tad. He's forced to avoid the right-side edge and throw it with an interior lineman in his face. Oh yeah, did he notice the pre-snap safety rotation, putting a much slower Jeff Heath as the single-high safety? If he did, what a pre-snap job by the kid. 7. A Sprint-Out Dime vs. Houston Outside the pocket and on the run is where Darnold shines brightest. Here, his accuracy is flat-out silly. https://vimeo.com/397571149 It's a designed sprint out, one that could have been completely blown up if Darnold doesn't trust his offensive line. That defensive back nearly squeezes though, but the rookie trusts Kelvin Beachum to clean it up. After he does, all that's left is the perfect pass. Very little danger. Darnold puts places it between the flat and deep-half zones. 6. Roethlisberger-Like Strength vs. the Giants There goes Ben Roethlisberger, yet again, throwing a defender off of his body only to complete a big pass. Wait... what? That's Sam Darnold powering through a would-be sack. https://vimeo.com/397571487 Pocket strength such as this example hasn't been witnessed much through Darnold's first two years, but his frame absolutely allows for it to improve moving forward. Here, Anderson doesn't have to break stride a bit as Darnold is fighting through the sack. 5. A Red Zone Jump-Pass vs. Houston Hey, when a young quarterback is throwing jump-pass touchdowns, you know things are rolling. Here, Darnold's red-zone work allows for a beauty of a scramble that leads to an Anderson score. https://vimeo.com/397571823 Darnold doesn't force the issue against the Red Cover 2 and keeps his head up while navigating through the middle of the field. The placement of the pass is also an incredible sight. 4. A Perfect Bomb to Robby vs. Denver Sometimes, there isn't much to dissect. Against Denver during the 2018 season, Darnold executed a throw on a vertical that took MetLife Stadium's collective breath away. https://vimeo.com/397572215 Just appreciate the moment Darnold releases the ball and when it comes down. Acknowledge the coverage at the release point and the placement in the end zone. It doesn't get any better than this throw. 3. A Clutch 9-Route in Buffalo Down three with the game on the line. We haven't seen Darnold face many clutch scenarios over his first two seasons, but when those spots arose, Darnold's usually cashed in on big-time plays. https://vimeo.com/397572531 Similarly to the perfect bomb against Denver, notice the release point and the end result. When Darnold's confident and knows where he's going, he can throw the perfect pass that beats the perfect coverage. That's what he does here while facing a clutch situation in Orchard Park. NY. 2. Veteran Savvy in Baltimore The most impressive throws from Darnold come when veteran traits are easily apparent. Time and again, the kid takes advantage of defensive back mistakes. In Baltimore against a solid Ravens defense, Darnold finds Crowder for a score he had no business throwing. https://vimeo.com/397572806 For this one to turn out positive, the ball could only be in one spot: low, away and out of danger. A face-guarding DB always presents an opportunity for Sam Darnold. 1. Fran Tarkenton Darnold in Orchard Park How could it be anything else? Sam Darnold's best professional play is one that'll rarely happen at the NFL level. It's one Fran Tarkenton knew too much about so many decades ago. https://vimeo.com/397573330 He's not the fastest quarterback in the world. He's not the most elusive. But what he brings to the table that's overwhelmingly positive is his throw-on-the-run ability and willingness to always find somebody while scrambling. He can throw from a variety of arm angles and positions, an invaluable quarterback trait in today's game (just ask Patrick Mahomes). Interestingly, there's much more to come. To limit Darnold's top plays to just 12 was a tough task. He's put up a ton of "wow" plays despite playing through touch circumstances. Anybody who evaluates this quarterback with confidence up to this point is somebody who remains pretty lost. Not until a legit offensive line is in Florham Park can that happen, and, fortunately, in 2020, Sam Darnold should finally have his shot to legitimately breakthrough. https://vimeo.com/397580869