Mike Macdonald is not going to bench Sam Darnold, and now we have to hope he is not sending his Seahawks down the same path as the 2002-03 Tampa Bay Buccaneers – a Super Bowl champion with an elite defense that faded the next season (and beyond) due to a dysfunctional offense.
Macdonald thinks Darnold’s poor play is a symptom and not the problem – even though the quarterback has been a major factor in all three losses with six interceptions (seven in his four games total).
Macdonald thinks Darnold is still the best choice at QB.
“We have a lot of faith in Sam,” Macdonald said. “Sam has played great football for us. He’s done a lot of great things this year. He’s obviously turned the ball over more than we want to. There are things on our end that can help him play better football, and he’s part of the solution rather than the opposite.”
We have seen nothing to indicate that is true, which is why we think Darnold would benefit from sitting and watching Drew Lock play.
It has been more than just the interceptions. Darnold is struggling to read the field, is throwing out of rhythm and is missing opportunities.
We agree with Corbin Smith: “The interceptions last year – a lot of them you could look at and say, ‘I understand the process.’ … I am not seeing the process right now. I don’t understand what Sam is seeing. I don’t know what he is thinking on those plays. … I think that is what is frustrating fans the most right now.”
As Mookie Alexander of Field Gulls said, “This dude is broken.”
Macdonald thinks Darnold is fixable. But what if Brian Fleury can’t figure out this play calling thing and get him functioning like he did under Klint Kubiak?
Are these Seahawks destined to repeat the path of the 2003 Buccaneers? That team also was a reigning Super Bowl champion led by a legendary defense – Warren Sapp, Simeon Rice, Derrick Brooks, John Lynch, Ronde Barber — and quarterbacked by a journeyman.
In 2002, Jon Gruden took over Tampa from Tony Dungy. The defense that Dungy had built was the best in the league and shut down the Raiders’ No. 1 offense – which Gruden had built before being traded to Tampa — in the Super Bowl. Brad Johnson – then in his ninth season and on his third team – started 13 games and threw 22 TD passes and just six interceptions. The Bucs went 12-4, with 10 double-digit wins. It didn’t matter that they had a bottom-six rushing attack. The defense and an efficient quarterback were more than enough.
In 2003, Tampa’s defense ranked fourth in points and fifth in yards – more than good enough to challenge for another Super Bowl. But the offense regressed. Johnson led the league with 521 passes – the Bucs threw it more than all but two teams — and he threw 21 interceptions (26 TDs). Gruden and Keyshawn Johnson – two of the most unlikable personalities in NFL history — quarreled, and the receiver was deactivated for the final six games. The Bucs started 3-3, two of the losses by three points (in overtime). Then they faded to 7-9 – seven of their losses were by seven points or less.
The Seahawks are 3-3, with all three losses by three points or less — and Darnold’s interceptions looming large in each defeat. They really are set up to follow the same path as the 2003 Bucs if Fleury cannot figure out how to unscrew-up this offense and if Macdonald is wrong about Darnold.
Macdonald knows these guys need to get on the same page ASAP: “Brian is well prepared. He’s incredibly smart. But, as an offense, we need to really look at what we’re doing, how we’re doing it, what we’re asking certain people to do. We need to look at all of those things right now. We need to make sure we are taking steps in the right direction — quickly.”
