So... Sam Darnold. Are you encouraged or discouraged

[bigskypanthersguy]

1 hour ago, Jon Snow said:

Honestly,  I thought he looked like a rookie.  A good rookie,  but still a rookie. One that is still learning this offense and his targets.  The offensive line is not doing him or this team any favors.  I think Rhule will be forced to throw the two rookies in there if things don't improve in a hurry. 

I understand worrying about learning protections, but I don't think there's a choice if they want Darnold to succeed this season.

We're seeing what bad drafting or ignoring positions can do to a roster.  

They have to get this right or we may need to draft a qb next year.  (and frankly, the whole Darnold experiment was only ever going to work, imo, if we sat him for a year and coached him up as much as possible and put as much as we could into fixing the oline.  Actually, earnestly, honestly, finally fixing the sonofabitch.)

[kungfoodude]

It's the preseason. Don't care at all.

[Panthercougar68]

Two of his biggest issues with the Jets was that he held on the wall too long and never utilized to checks downs. 
 

tonight he got rid of the ball quickly and actually use his check downs which tells me that he is being coached finally…it’s gonna take a bit but I think the final product will be much better by week 15 compared to week one… It’s just super convenient for us that the first half of the schedule is a lot easier than the back half

[HPPantherzfan]

I really liked what I saw personally.  Work to be done for sure but overall, I thought the first string looked good.  It may take the first few games to full come together but I think by the end of the year we might have something special building here

[Daddy_Uncle]

He can be much like Delhomme if he had the oline Delhomme had

[hepcat]

12 minutes ago, Daddy_Uncle said:

He can be much like Delhomme if he had the oline Delhomme had

Darnold’s confidence and moxie will never be anywhere close to what Jake had. Jake was a sh*t talking Cajun with the balls and swag to back it up. Our last two star QBs had attitude and that is what made them great. Darnold’s has the demeanor of a limp noodle.

[CanePantherHornet]

2 hours ago, hepcat said:

Yea f*cking right lemme see Darnold do this

https://youtube.com/watch?v=1DT-JEsqzmo
 

 

 

You realize Cam can't do that anymore either right?

[Dragoon11]

My observations: Early on, Sam seemed a bit jittery, which is not unusual (his first meaningful reps, new team, etc...), but as the game progressed he seemed to find his edge and let the game come to him.

Which tells me: It is a very young team still and with an new QB they have to find that rhythm, which I think they will. This team is loaded with talent, but they haven't all played together (offensively) for too long. It takes time for them to gel. Darnold will build that relationship with the playmakers on this team once they all know each others patterns and timing. I think tonight helped build his confidence moving forward. 

Jeez, this team is filled with playmakers, there is no comparison to what Darnold had in NY all three years. Marshall is looking like he may have been he steal of the draft and a year one star! Add that to DJ (a superstar in the making, if not already), his favorite target IN NY, Robby a 1,000 yard receiver and playmaker by his own right, and of course one of the most prolific players in all the NFL CMC (we seem to be forgetting that). I also think the real darkhorse here is the Darnold to Arnold connection, if he can build the same relationship with him that we had with Olsen, then look out, this team will be unstoppable. I really don't have to speak for the potential of our defense, it spoke for itself tonight.

All and all: The Panthers have a recipe for being a playoff team this year. One thing I'd like to see Sam improve on is that 3rd read and beyond, really seeing the whole field like elite QB's do. I noticed that he seems to lock on to the first read heavy, but does see the second read (somewhat). Smitty even pointed out some open receivers downfield that he didn't see. He's still VERY young and I think as long as we build an O-line around him to make him comfortable that will come.

Sorry to make this so long, but I felt like I saw TON'S of potential energy out there tonight, like a team that is buying in and coming together. YESSSS... this is preseason and it was a lot of Steelers 2nd teamers, have to keep that in perspective. But you go off of what you have to go off of and what I saw tonight is a team that has REAL potential to be great THIS year! Time will tell!

[Mr. Scot]

Started off looking nervous but still performing decent. Looked to calm down the more he played and finished strong.

Won't surprise me if his upcoming season follows a similar pattern and this game turns out to have been a preview of what was to come.

[glenwo2]

23 minutes ago, hepcat said:

Darnold’s confidence and moxie will never be anywhere close to what Jake had. Jake was a sh*t talking Cajun with the balls and swag to back it up. Our last two star QBs had attitude and that is what made them great. Darnold’s has the demeanor of a limp noodle.

You actually saw a hard noodle before?  

Frankly, so long as he gets the job done, he could have the demeanor of a cardboard cut-out and no one here would give two s--ts.

[Mr. Scot]

3 minutes ago, stbugs said:

Just got to watch the recording and I am very encouraged. Someone mentioned he was like Teddy and that’s laughable. The arm and throws were completely different. 

Gantt pointed out that he showed really solid chemistry with DJ Moore.

That alone separates him from Teddy.

[outlaw4]

As I watched it, the one straightaway difference was that Darnold gave his guys better opportunites for some YAC. Still need to see the capability of stretching the field vertically because we'll otherwise be back to where we were last year.

That said, I don't see Teddy throwing that TD to Robby.

[bigdavis]

Some of you are a really tough audience.  These are some of your comments:

"he still sees ghosts and panics at the first hint of pressure"

"seemed a bit panicked at times"

"he has nerves and happy feet to work through"

"still showed panic when pressured"

"he is not the answer"

Well folks, the man just completed 76% of his passes, for 162 yds and 2 TDs, in 30 minutes of play.  That doesn't sound like fart on a hot griddle to me.  Maybe Smitty's reliance on "happy feet" has some of you seeing ghosts.  You'd have been all over the Fields thing again if Sam had had a bad night, and you still can't give him credit for a good performance.  He's the Rodney Dangerfield of QBs.

[glenwo2]

31 minutes ago, stbugs said:

Just got to watch the recording and I am very encouraged. Someone mentioned he was like Teddy and that’s laughable. The arm and throws were completely different. I know Pittsburgh wasn’t playing all there starters (there were some playing), but I thought he looked solid and got better. Add CMC and it will be even better. Chuba’s played well aside from his hands, but he’s not ok CMC’s level.

That would be @SmittysLawnGuyover at the Game Thread.

He called Sam "Two Gloves without the accuracy". 

Edited August 28, 2021 by glenwo2