Darnold back and itching to play
Sam Darnold is struggling, something which is hardly an open secret to observers of the New York Jets.
Perhaps more secretive is if he will actually play and oppose Tom Brady for the first time Sunday when the Jets host the New England Patriots.
It was two weeks ago when Darnold first appeared in a walking boot on his strained right foot. Darnold did not play when the Jets were embarrassed with a 41-10 loss to the Buffalo but the bye week seemed to give the 21-year-old a chance to heal his first injury as a pro.
By the time the Jets returned to practice Monday, the walking boot was gone and Darnold was joking about driving through the New York area’s first snowstorm last week.
“The foot is really good, I feel really good,” Darnold said Monday. “Like I said last week, just following protocol right now but it feels really good. I’ve been walking around on it fine. It’s just stable progressions throughout the week I think.”
Darnold did not practice Monday but Wednesday looked fairly mobile in warmups while wearing his helmet for the first time since Nov. 4 though he did not participate in individual drills.
At least the foot is good because the numbers of late are not. Darnold leads the NFL with 14 interceptions and half are during a four-game losing streak that has derailed a respectable 3-3 start and essentially assured the Jets of an eighth straight season watching the postseason on television.
“It’s a must-win game for the next six weeks, let’s put it like that,” Jets safety Jamal Adams said Tuesday on his weekly appearance on WFAN Radio. “We’re looking forward to a big game coming up and it being back home and just making a statement. We felt like that past game just wasn’t us. We got to come back out and prove what we can do.”
Four of those interceptions were in a hideous 13-6 loss at Miami on Nov. 5 when Darnold threw for 229 yards. With Darnold watching from the sideline, the Jets were even worse against one of the worst offenses in the league.
And without a game to look ahead to for two weeks, out came the swords calling for the end of head coach Todd Bowles, who took the job in 2015 after Rex Ryan crashed to earth following consecutive appearances in the AFC title game.
Many indications appear that Bowles will be adding the title “former Jets coach” to his biography. Whether he gets there with Darnold facing the Patriots or with Josh McCown starting remains to be seen.
Of course, regardless of who’s at quarterback, it’s also the rest of the offense, which is becoming a highly inept outfit in recent weeks.
In the last four weeks since scoring 42 points against the Indianapolis Colts, the Jets have produced 43 points.
And there are all sorts of dubious numbers aiding and abetting the Jets decline.
Such as time of possession which is 107 minutes, 18 seconds.
Such as 743 yards gained for an average of 185.7 per game.
Such as a 15.3 percentage (8-for-52) on third downs.
And if you want more, consider the lack of big plays in recent weeks since the Jets only have 32 of 247 snaps going for double-digit gains, giving the Jets a 12.9 percent clip.
Still, despite it all, morale continues to be up inside the practice facility as the Jets leave the venting to the fans calling up sports-talk radio and voicing their disapproval elsewhere.
“Morale is up,” Bowles said. “We lost a game. We lost it in a bad way. We understand that. You either fight or you fall. All we know how to do is fight. I trust the guys in the locker room and the coaching staff to fight.”
SERIES HISTORY: 116th regular-season meeting. Patriots lead series, 61-53-1. New England has won the last four meetings since a 26-20 Jets win in Week 16 of the 2015 season. Since the Jets won in New England in the divisional round on Jan. 16, 2011, New England has won 12 of the last 14 meetings.
