SANTA CLARA, CA – It’s the Seahawks and Patriots (bleck) in the Super Bowl. Give it to Marshawn! This one will be extra painful for Jets’ fans, especially if it ends with Sam Darnold hoisting the trophy. The Giants will try to learns some lessons from the quick turnaround and shrewd moves by the Seahawks. Let’s cover zero this b!tch.
WHEN THE JETS selected Sam Darnold with the 3rd pick in the 2018 draft, they had Super Bowl dreams. Now Sam is going, but with the Seahawks, his fifth team, not the Jets.
The Seahawks gave Sam a three-year deal for $100.5 million. But they weren’t completely sold on him, as evidenced by the ‘Hawks structuring the deal so they could cut ties with him after one year without much pain. And they drafted project QB Jalen Milroe from Alabama.
But Darnold came in with a monster season and played great against the Rams on Sunday, handling whatever blitzes and disguised coverages the Rams threw at him. Would he have developed on the Jets if they stayed the course? Seems unlikely. He needed to be rebuilt by coaching gurus in San Fran and Minnesota.
I often wonder how many would-be solid NFL QBs are ruined by poor coaching. And when I get a time machine and magical powers, I’m going to run some Freaky Friday QB experiments, like putting Pat Mahomes on the Jets and JaMarcus Russell on the Patriots.
The Seahawks were 10-7 last year when they decided to part ways with Pete Carroll. They moved on from QB Geno Smith and long-time WRs Metcalf and Lockett. They looked like a team in transition and were at least a few years away from being a contender. But GM John Schneider had a monster draft, adding 11 players and depth at several positions. The Seahawks D led the league in points allowed with 17.1.
Bringing in Cooper Cupp seemed like an odd move, since he was fading and was also a slot guy, like JSN. But Cupp seems to have helped JSN become a star.
They went the up-and-coming coordinator rote with HC McDonald, who brought in upstart OC Klint Kubiak, who is likely to be a HC soon himself. Guys like Mike McDonald and Ben Johnson are the dream when you hire a coordinator as your HC. The Giants went this route with their last 3 or 4 coaching hires but they’ve been nightmares.
Speaking of the Giants, they are bringing Dennard Wilson in as DC. Wilson is a hot commodity after his Titans had the (checks notes) 28th best defense a year ago. Oof. Well, let’s hope it was a personnel problem. Quick, name one defensive player on the Titans!
No worries on offense, as Todd Monken will be coming on board as the OC, after not getting the HC job in Cleveland. He dodged a bullet there. Monken is clearly one of the brightest offensive minds in generations, so the Giants are in good shape there.
The turnarounds by the Pats and Hawks should give the Giants’ fans hope. With a strong draft, key free agent acquisitions, and competent coaching, they can get this thing turned around pretty quickly. Tall task to be sure, but it can be done. The Giants currently have 7 picks in this draft, including two extra sixth rounders, but no 3rd or 7th. In my view, they should be looking to add picks as they have plenty of holes to fill and need depth in a lot of places. Many mock drafts have the Giants taking LSU CB Mansoor Delane with the 5th pick. If they go that route, he’d better be the lock down cover they haven’t had in eons. But the Harbaughs seem to love stocking up in the trenches, so we’ll see.
That’s it for me. Come back tomorrow for Angry Ward, who will explain why he missed with his Rams pick, and preemptively complain that Monken is not giving enough touches to Scattebo.
