The Athletic looks at Darnold and Wentz

[Mr. Scot]

Here: Can Carson Wentz and Sam Darnold be fixed?

The article includes an inside look at the process leading up to the Darnold trade. It jibes pretty well with what Albert Breer reported previously but also offers some new details. One specific item is that the initiative to pursue Darnold started with Matt Rhule.

Excerpts below:

The Panthers’ idea to pursue Sam Darnold happened in an unconventional way. In the lead up to free agency, Rhule and his defensive staff were studying a defensive player who’d played against the Jets last season. As they tried to focus on the defender in question, Rhule’s assistants kept getting sidetracked by the splash plays that Darnold repeatedly made. “‘[They] just kept on remarking, ‘Man, he makes a ton of wild plays,’” Rhule said. “And so, we went back and I studied a bunch of games. You just saw he made plays when there was an opportunity for them to be made.”

It was no secret that Carolina wanted a new quarterback this spring. The Panthers reportedly offered a package to the Lions for Mathew Stafford that included the eighth overall pick. After Detroit shipped Stafford to the Rams for a pair of first-round picks and a deal for Texans’ quarterback Deshaun Watson never materialized, Carolina was running out of options.

Like Wentz, Darnold’s 2020 tape was often hard to watch. He threw 11 interceptions and just nine touchdowns in 12 starts. Darnold completed 59.6 percent of his passes, bringing his career average to a lowly 59.8 percent. During his three years as the Jets’ starter, the only quarterbacks with at least 500 dropbacks who produced a lower EPA/dropback other than Darnold were Blake Bortles, Dwayne Haskins, and Josh Rosen.

Turning around a quarterback with that level of production over such an extended period would essentially be unprecedented in the modern NFL, but the Panthers’ staff believed that Darnold — who was only 23 years old during the 2020 season — still had room to grow. As Rhule points out, Peyton Manning was only 22 and had started 45 college games when he was drafted first overall in 1998. “Now, guys are coming out at the age of 20 and 21,” Rhule said. “And so, I just think you look at a guy at 23 years old and say to yourself, ‘Hey, has he had an opportunity yet to master his craft? Or is he just learning?’”

After Rhule approached general manager Scott Fitterer about chasing Darnold, the front office and coaching staff dove headfirst into their evaluation, studying Darnold as though he was a rookie QB prospect rather than a multi-year starter. They prioritized traits over polish, flash over the finished product. In their estimation, the physical tools that had made Darnold a top-3 pick in 2018 were still apparent. “Guys got a cannon, a quick release, all those things,” Rhule said. “It was just a matter of, ‘Hey, can we discipline his process and discipline his decision-making?’”

With the skill set no longer in question, Rhule moved his attention to whether Darnold had the right makeup to potentially make good on his immense talent. The reviews that Rhule got from coaches who’d worked with Darnold were exemplary across the board, and he also had his own experience to draw from. In early 2019, Rhule interviewed to be the next head coach of the Jets. As part of the process, he met with Darnold and left impressed by a 21-year-old quarterback who’d just finished his rookie season. “His focus and his mindset was so team, team, team,” Rhule said. “That stuck out to me. I had that one interaction with him and it was just like, ‘Hey, this guy has got his head on straight.’”

When the Panthers decided that it was worth inquiring about Darnold, they fortunately had a direct line to Jets’ general manager Joe Douglas. Carolina’s vice president of player personnel Pat Stewart had been a part of the Eagles’ front office with Douglas in 2018 and was able to get the ball rolling on the discussions. Fitterer got involved shortly after, and about a month before the draft, the deal was done.

Owners of the eighth overall pick, Fitterer and the Panthers figured a quarterback might be available to them in the first round. But in their minds, dealing lesser picks for Darnold allowed Carolina to land a young quarterback and chase an elite cornerback prospect in the top 10. The Panthers eventually landed on South Carolina’s Jaycee Horn, whose aggressive approach to the position aligned with what Carolina wants out of its corners. Misguided or not, the Panthers saw the Darnold-Horn combo as a way to potentially have their cake and eat it too.

Rhule says that after Darnold arrived in the building, the focus was less on tweaking his mechanics and more on rewiring his mindset for the position. In his time with the Jets, Darnold developed a nasty habit of trying to make the heroic play when the situation around him started to deteriorate. Carolina’s bet on Darnold is a bet on how the Panthers’ collection of receiving talent and Joe Brady’s offense can lessen the load on the quarterback’s shoulders.

 

Edited September 10, 2021 by Mr. Scot

[Mr. Scot]

Regarding the strategy for the coming season...

Few pass-catching groups around the league are more different than last year’s Jets and this year’s Panthers. Robby Anderson, the Jets’ best weapon during Darnold’s time with the franchise, is just one of several capable options on Carolina’s offense.

The recently extended Anderson and former first-round pick D.J. Moore both tallied more than 1,000 receiving yards last year, and the Panthers spent even more resources at the position by drafting LSU standout Terrace Marshall with the 59th overall pick. The Panthers also happen to feature one of the league’s most dangerous pass-catching backs in Christian McCaffrey. In terms of pure receiving talent, Darnold has made one of the biggest upgrades imaginable.

“Let Christian, let those guys carry the brunt of it,” Rhule said of their message to Darnold. “And you just go out there and do your thing. When you watch the great quarterbacks, they do that. They trust their players to make plays.”

The Panthers are banking heavily on their excellent group of receivers to make things easier for Darnold, but much like the situation in Indianapolis, their trade for a distressed-asset quarterback is a vote of confidence in their play caller. Carolina’s brass has extreme faith in offensive coordinator Joe Brady’s ability to articulate the team’s system to Darnold and clearly lay out what the Panthers are trying to accomplish on a given play.

By distilling the vision to Darnold, the hope is that he can play faster and alleviate some of the hero-ball issues that plagued him with the Jets. Carolina’s offensive line is still very much a work in progress without an established left tackle and unproven talent in other spots along the line, but the idea is that Brady’s preference for giving his five eligible receivers will allow Darnold to protect himself in the same way that Joe Burrow could at LSU. Last season, about 76 percent of Teddy Bridgewater’s attempts came with just 5 blockers – one of the highest rates in the NFL. “I think the biggest thing is just playing within the system, don’t try to do too much, don’t try to win the game yourself,” Rhule said. “Just go out there and just play, play by play, just do what we ask you to do, and things will eventually take care of themselves.”

[NAS]

Rhule thinks he can fix Darnold, this will define his career one way or the other . 

At least he had the balls to take some risks.  The safer play would have been to draft Fields and not have to deal with as much pressure this year as people are more understanding and patient with rookie QBs.

[CRA]

Fix is a weird word.  Wentz showed he could be a very good NFL QB.   So in theory, you could fix him. 

Sam Darnold has never been anything but Sam Darnold.  So we are 4 years in still talking about can he develop.

[Mr. Scot]

5 minutes ago, NAS said:

Rhule thinks he can fix Darnold, this will define his career one way or the other . 

At least he had the balls to take some risks.  The safer play would have been to draft Fields and not have to deal with as much pressure this year as people are more understanding and patient with rookie QBs.

Just remembering when some folks were saying that Darnold was only insurance in case we couldn't draft a top guy.

That take looks pretty stupid now.

(not that it didn't back then)

[OldhamA]

Good article.

I'm going to go on record and say that the acquisition of Darnold is the final part of the triumvirate with regards to rejuvenating this tired, listless franchise.

The first step was a new owner who's had a vision and was willing to back that with significant financial resources. The second step was hiring a fantastic HC who has a tried-and-tested process and evidently is a fantastic evaluator of talent. Acquiring a very, very talented starting QB for the next 10 years for peanuts was the final step.

I don't want to be wrong. 

[Mr. Scot]

14 minutes ago, OldhamA said:

Good article.

I'm going to go on record and say that the acquisition of Darnold is the final part of the triumvirate with regards to rejuvenating this tired, listless franchise.

The first step was a new owner who's had a vision and was willing to back that with significant financial resources. The second step was hiring a fantastic HC who has a tried-and-tested process and evidently is a fantastic evaluator of talent. Acquiring a very, very talented starting QB for the next 10 years for peanuts was the final step.

I don't want to be wrong. 

My jury's still out on all of those things honestly.

Is Sam Darnold going to be a great quarterback? I don't know.

Is Matt Rhule an NFL head coach? I don't know.

Is David Tepper a good owner? I don't know.

I'm hoping this season gives me some clarity on all of those things, and I hope the answers are positive.

We'll see.

[therealmjl]

12 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

My jury's still out on all of those things honestly.

Is Sam Darnold going to be a great quarterback? I don't know.

Is Matt Rhule an NFL head coach? I don't know.

Is David Tepper a good owner? I don't know.

I'm hoping this season gives me some clarity on all of those things, and I hope the answers are positive.

We'll see.

This

[kungfoodude]

53 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

Here: Can Carson Wentz and Sam Darnold be fixed?

Rhule says that after Darnold arrived in the building, the focus was less on tweaking his mechanics and more on rewiring his mindset for the position. In his time with the Jets, Darnold developed a nasty habit of trying to make the heroic play when the situation around him started to deteriorate. Carolina’s bet on Darnold is a bet on how the Panthers’ collection of receiving talent and Joe Brady’s offense can lessen the load on the quarterback’s shoulders.

 

@OldhamA

Keep trying to tell you this. It's between his ears. He doesn't have any major mechanics issues.

[CRA]

2 minutes ago, kungfoodude said:

@OldhamA

Keep trying to tell you this. It's between his ears. He doesn't have any major mechanics issues.

Yep, the biggest problem with Sam Darnold is his decision making and what goes on upstairs.    

[OldhamA]

1 minute ago, kungfoodude said:

@OldhamA

Keep trying to tell you this. It's between his ears. He doesn't have any major mechanics issues.

That's why the QB Coach is on record as trying to fix his footwork...

I'm not saying that they didn't need to change his mindset too - but that's why you have the different tiers of coaches. HC and OC will mostly be interested in his decision making. QB Coach (and any position coach) will mostly be interested in his mechanics.

Both needed adjustment, and it looks like both are being adjusted. The raw material is there in abundance. 

[OldhamA]

23 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

My jury's still out on all of those things honestly.

Is Sam Darnold going to be a great quarterback? I don't know.

Is Matt Rhule an NFL head coach? I don't know.

Is David Tepper a good owner? I don't know.

I'm hoping this season gives me some clarity on all of those things, and I hope the answers are positive.

We'll see.

We will see. 

This is the first time I've felt good about this franchise for a decade. 

[LinvilleGorge]

I would rather have traded what we did for Darnold than what they did for Wentz. Wentz looks shot. Darnold looks mentally frazzled. You can't fix shot. Maybe we can and maybe we can't fix frazzled but I'd rather have Darnold at his age, trade compensation, and financial commitment than Wentz at his age, trade compensation, and financial commitment. No doubt about it. If they're both mistakes, our mistake stings a lot less.

[CRA]

2 minutes ago, OldhamA said:

We will see. 

This is the first time I've felt good about this franchise for a decade. 

you didn't feel good at anytime when we had Cam and Luke?