Jets vs. Giants Preseason Week 3 Takeaways: Has Darnold Shown Us Enough To Start At QB Week 1?

We’ve officially made it through the bulk of the NFL Preseason and are now 10 days away from the first regular season matchup of the year. If you’re looking for me to acknowledge the score or the fact that our beloved New York Jets lost, this isn’t the place. We’ve now seen Sam Darnold start 2 consecutive games under center, and Friday night’s game gave us our first glimpse of what he looks like running with an almost complete version of the 1st team offense.

Beyond that, there were a lot of other positive things worth mentioning throughout the duration of the game, along with some other not so positive things that at the very least have given us some additional clarity as to how the final 53-man roster will shape up in the coming days.

After 3 preseason games, I couldn’t be more ready for the regular season to start. It’s been years since Jets fans have had this much reason for excitement, and at this point I’m getting tired of wasting my excitement on games that don’t matter. The real games will come shortly, so for now let’s break down everything we learned about this exciting young squad on Friday night.

Has Sam Darnold Done Enough To Be Named Starting QB Week 1 Vs. Detroit?

I’ll keep this simple. The answer is yes, yes he has. Take a look at some of these throws Friday night.

First throw of the game right here. Without sounding biased, that’s a fucking dart.

Later in the 1st quarter, Darnold unleashed this throw, pretty much the exact opposite of the first one in terms of skill set.

He can put a ton of touch on the ball when he needs to, and he’s shown a great ability to recognize what type of ball is required to complete passes.

Next we’ve got this dime which set up a TD later in the drive. Big 3rd down conversion, and look at how he reads the defense and takes what they’re giving him, then delivers a strike to Quincy Enunwa (more on him soon) to move the chains.

Finally, the TD to Terrelle Pryor (who CAN still play football and WILL NOT be cut).

A lot of inexperienced QBs get in the Red Zone and feel the need to force the ball in an attempt to score points. But Darnold does an awesome job of staying in the pocket and making his reads before finding Pryor on a crossing route underneath, who is able to catch the ball in stride and finish off the play in the end zone. It doesn’t look like much, but given all of the arm talent Darnold has shown, it’s even more refreshing to see how effortlessly he can make throws with the touch required to let his athletes make plays.

I know this conversation is gonna be ongoing throughout the week and beyond until Todd Bowles gets in front of a camera and definitively names Sam Darnold the starter moving forward, but if you haven’t seen enough from Darnold to think he deserves the title, you probably shouldn’t be apart of the conversation anyway.

Sure, Teddy Bridgewater might be slightly better suited to start for this team and be able to find more early success than Darnold behind our flawed offensive line. But the value of the 3-4 extra wins Bridgewater could lead us to isn’t anywhere near the value of letting Darnold cut his teeth this season through actual game experience. I don’t want to talk about it anymore.

Leonard Williams And The First Defense Are Ready To Go

I was excited to watch the 1st unit for a significant chunk of time on Friday night and they did not disappoint. Granted, the Giants are coming off a horrendous offensive season and were without their star RB in Saquon Barkley. But don’t let that distract you from how good our 1st team D has been all preseason.

I don’t care who it is or who it’s against, 0 touchdowns through 3 preseason games is good. Avery Williamson has been all over the field, making tackles and ripping the ball out from ball carriers. Leonard Williams looks like he’s ready to put his name back in the conversation of elite interior defensive lineman, despite likely facing double teams on every snap. Jamal Adams and the rest of “New Jack City” look like they’re ready to prove they’re worthy of a cool nickname. Morris Claiborne could’ve been a little better Friday night, but with Trumaine Johnson opposite him I’m not worried about Mo headed into the regular season.

I’ll stand atop this hill and proudly say I’m expecting big things from this young and hungry defense. Minus the lack of a dominant pass rusher, it’s hard for anyone to find a true hole on our roster. Especially with an offense that will most likely be lead by a rookie under center, it’s gonna be incredibly important for our defense to keep opponents out of the end zone and get off the field as quickly as possible.

I Forgot How Much I Missed Quincy Enunwa

He only had 2 catches for 28 yards on 3 targets, but seeing Quincy Enunwa working the middle of the field and running effortlessly like the bully of a WR he is made me happier than I could’ve ever predicted. Anytime someone misses significant time in the NFL it’s upsetting. But when someone is dealing with a neck/spinal injury it becomes about way more than football. Quincy Enunwa missed the entire 2017 season and there were a lot of people who questioned whether he would ever return. Not only is Enunwa back, it’s looking more and more like he’s picking up right where he left off.

Putting a healthy Quincy Enunwa into our WR depth chart already packed with talented veterans like Robby Anderson, Jermaine Kearse and Terrelle Pryor now gives us 4 guys who can lead the team in receiving on any given day. Good luck to all the defensive coordinators this year as they try to figure out the best way to matchup and contain all the talent we have on the outside.

Welcome back Q.

We Need Kelvin Beachum To Get Healthy Immediately

There’s not much that needs to be said. Look at those numbers. If we have to trot out fucking Brent Qvale at left tackle, the guy tasked with protecting Sam Darnold’s blindside, come Week 1 vs. Detroit, we’re absolutely fucked. Qvale looked completely overmatched all night on Friday, even while going against some of the Giants’ 2nd and 3rd stringers. The argument can be made that Qvale isn’t even worthy of a roster spot at this point, but given our lack of an adequate alternative, he may end up starting early in the season.

Here’s to hoping Mike Maccagnan figures out an alternative pronto, or we all better start praying for Kelvin Beachum more than we’ve already been doing.

How Much Pressure Is There For Mike Maccagnan To Find A Pass Rusher Somewhere Other Than Our Current Roster?

I’m not sure exactly what I was expecting to happen, but another week of the preseason has passed and we still don’t have an answer as to where a consistent pass rush is gonna come this season. I’m all in on Leonard Williams getting back to the level he’s shown in the past, but 1 DT isn’t enough to put fear in opposing QBs.

Jordan Jenkins has proven worthy of a job in the NFL, however no one is gonna mistake him for Lawrence Taylor anytime soon. My guy Frankie Luvu has all but locked up his roster spot and I’m sure will see time in pass rush situations come the regular season, but once again he’s far from the answer.

With the way everything else on the roster is shaping up, it’d be silly to look at this team and think we don’t have the talent across the board to be competitive in 2018. Even with an inexperienced QB, there’s plenty of recent evidence to support the idea that an aggressive defense and smart, well-managed offense is more than enough to be successful and even make a playoff run in the coming season.

At what point does Mike Maccagnan and the rest of the front office look in the mirror and recognize that we’re one piece away from having one of the more talented young defenses in the NFL and make a move for someone to sack the QB?

In the coming weeks, whether or not we go out and get someone who can step in and start opposite Jordan Jenkins and finally take pressure off guys like Leonard Williams will be incredibly telling as to just how successful our front office and coaching staff thinks this team can be in 2018.

Whether it’s an undeniable stud like Khalil Mack, or someone who’s more of a project like Dante Fowler Jr, I think we need to make a move. We can sit here and argue for hours about what we should be willing to give up in terms of future draft picks or what some of the guys available are worth; at some point we’re gonna have to take a shot if we ever want to truly compete for an AFC East title and postseason berth, especially while we still have Sam Darnold on a cheap rookie deal.

Stay tuned for more New York Jets preseason content as we wrap up the 2018 NFL Preseason. I’ll probably take a shot at a 53-man roster projection soon as well. That’ll be fun.