How these nimwits in the NFL are considering him a top 5 pick when he was clearly the wrench in the Tee Helton GumbOffensive machine, is beyond the likes of me.
But wait this article seems to indicate those turnovers were at least partly a result of his OL and lack of WR talent and youth. Say what? Damn it just when I was able to comfortably mollify myself with the belief that Sam Darnold was the problem with our offense last year so we were bound to get better without the likes of him. Poop.
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Sam Darnold, USC
How much football does he know? Darnold's considered the cleanest of the quarterbacks in this class: tough, competitive, instinctive, humble, hard-working and at his best in big moments, with enough arm, vision and mobility to give him, in one NFC executive's opinion, the most upside as a pro QB in the group. But Darnold is still just 20 years old, was a late convert to quarterback and made enough bad decisions (36 turnovers in 27 college games) to leave scouts wondering how much he really understands about offense at this stage. "The board and his knowledge is going to be important to test, because I think he's got some strides to make there," a college scouting director said. "I think he's almost more of a streetball player than he is a classic quarterback." Darnold went into high school as a linebacker and receiver and has the mechanics to match, including a funky, elongated throwing motion, though he gets the ball out quickly enough. Where it goes has created some head-scratching moments on tape. "He'll make some boneheaded throws and decision-making," one AFC scout said, "so I think some of the (football) intelligence questions may be lurking for him." But one NFC scout pointed out the Trojans' lack of weapons and offensive-line problems and said the word from coaches is Darnold is "totally capable" of grasping an NFL offense. "You can see him go through progression," the scout said. "You can see him look off safeties. You can see him understand where his outlet is. You see a lot more out of him than you see out of a lot of these (spread) guys."
Is there more to his personality? No one has a bad word to say about Darnold's character, but several scouts told me they're interested to see how he comes across in interviews. "He's not a real dynamic dude," an NFC executive said. "He's kind of a flat-liner. That can be good and bad." That California cool demeanor is also part of what Darnold's fans like about him. He's steady. "He's got fire, but it's more internal fire, competitive, going to be shown to his teammates and coaches and staff there," another NFC exec said. "They love the competitiveness. They love the makeup of the kid. He's just not going to flaunt it." Said an AFC scout: "There's no issue with the kid, but can he step in and command the locker room, and they respect him? He's not going to be that vocal leader type -- which is fine. But are guys going to look at him, like, 'Who's this 20-year-old kid, this baby-faced kid?' "
How big are his hands? Some scouts laugh off the importance of hand size, but ball security was an issue for Darnold, so there will at least be interest in seeing this measurement. He fumbled 21 times over two seasons. "There's a couple of plays where the ball slips out of his hands," an NFC scout said, "but considering how far he drops it in that motion, he would lose it if (his hands) weren't big enough." Said another NFC executive: "His game translates to the cold. He's rugged. He can extend plays. He can throw it short. He can throw it deep. He's tough as hell. I wouldn't be worried."
But wait this article seems to indicate those turnovers were at least partly a result of his OL and lack of WR talent and youth. Say what? Damn it just when I was able to comfortably mollify myself with the belief that Sam Darnold was the problem with our offense last year so we were bound to get better without the likes of him. Poop.
——————————
Sam Darnold, USC
How much football does he know? Darnold's considered the cleanest of the quarterbacks in this class: tough, competitive, instinctive, humble, hard-working and at his best in big moments, with enough arm, vision and mobility to give him, in one NFC executive's opinion, the most upside as a pro QB in the group. But Darnold is still just 20 years old, was a late convert to quarterback and made enough bad decisions (36 turnovers in 27 college games) to leave scouts wondering how much he really understands about offense at this stage. "The board and his knowledge is going to be important to test, because I think he's got some strides to make there," a college scouting director said. "I think he's almost more of a streetball player than he is a classic quarterback." Darnold went into high school as a linebacker and receiver and has the mechanics to match, including a funky, elongated throwing motion, though he gets the ball out quickly enough. Where it goes has created some head-scratching moments on tape. "He'll make some boneheaded throws and decision-making," one AFC scout said, "so I think some of the (football) intelligence questions may be lurking for him." But one NFC scout pointed out the Trojans' lack of weapons and offensive-line problems and said the word from coaches is Darnold is "totally capable" of grasping an NFL offense. "You can see him go through progression," the scout said. "You can see him look off safeties. You can see him understand where his outlet is. You see a lot more out of him than you see out of a lot of these (spread) guys."
Is there more to his personality? No one has a bad word to say about Darnold's character, but several scouts told me they're interested to see how he comes across in interviews. "He's not a real dynamic dude," an NFC executive said. "He's kind of a flat-liner. That can be good and bad." That California cool demeanor is also part of what Darnold's fans like about him. He's steady. "He's got fire, but it's more internal fire, competitive, going to be shown to his teammates and coaches and staff there," another NFC exec said. "They love the competitiveness. They love the makeup of the kid. He's just not going to flaunt it." Said an AFC scout: "There's no issue with the kid, but can he step in and command the locker room, and they respect him? He's not going to be that vocal leader type -- which is fine. But are guys going to look at him, like, 'Who's this 20-year-old kid, this baby-faced kid?' "
How big are his hands? Some scouts laugh off the importance of hand size, but ball security was an issue for Darnold, so there will at least be interest in seeing this measurement. He fumbled 21 times over two seasons. "There's a couple of plays where the ball slips out of his hands," an NFC scout said, "but considering how far he drops it in that motion, he would lose it if (his hands) weren't big enough." Said another NFC executive: "His game translates to the cold. He's rugged. He can extend plays. He can throw it short. He can throw it deep. He's tough as hell. I wouldn't be worried."
