New York Post, Tuesday, August 6, 2019nypost.comBy ZACH BRAZILLERAdam Gase was already
thrilled to inherit Sam Dar-
nold. The Jets’ new coach
was excited to have a young
franchise quarterback he
could mold.
He grew even more enthu-
siastic when spring workouts
began, and he noticed one
stark difference in the young
signal-caller from what he
had seen in two games against
him as the Dolphins coach.
“I don’t think I realized how
strong his arm was,” Gase said
Monday.
Throughout training camp, it’s
been apparent. Teammates and
coaches have echoed Gase, that
Darnold’s ball has more zip, his
spiral tighter, able to fit passes
into narrow windows without
the receiver creating much
separation. Darnold agrees,
believing it is a combination of
his comfort level in the offense
and his standing with his team-
mates along with his preparation.
“I think a lot of it has to do
with knowing where my arm
needs to be, because in the past,
going through the draft and the
combine and all that stuff, I was
pushing it a little too much early
on because I had to,” he said. “I
was trying to be at my peak per-
formance for [my] Pro Day andwhen you’re trying to get ready
for an NFL season, that’s not
when you want to be at your
peak performance.”
After finishing his rookie sea-
son strong, throwing just one in-
terception in his last four games
and tossing six touchdown
passes, Darnold
spent the offsea-
son trying to get
into the best
condition of his
life. He lifted
weights and ran a
lot, which he be-
lieves is a factor in
his improved arm strength. Spe-
cifically, his hip strength and flex-
ibility. Most of all, he is sure of
himself, and knows where he
wants to go with the ball, which
Darnold believes is a factor, too.
“I’m definitely a lot more com-
fortable and confident in my-
self,” he said.
Watching Darnold through
the spring and so far in training
camp, Gase has at times
sounded downright giddy about
his new quarterback. While
much has been made about
what the quarterback guru can
do for Darnold, Darnold could
be pretty good for Gase as well.
“I think what it’s allowed me to
do is, it’s easy for me to call
plays,” the coach said. “You don’t
worry about, if you have a nega-tive play, you’re ready to call the
next one. He’s not the kind of
quarterback you’re looking to
protect. You are kind of looking
at it in terms of, let him work the
offense and get on the ball and
use the running game to help
him. There’s no limitations on
him and it’s fun as
a play-caller.”
New running
back/wide re-
ceiver Ty Mont-
gomery said
Darnold has one
characteristic
that reminds him
of one of the sport’s great quar-
terbacks, Aaron Rodgers, who
Montgomery played with earlier
when he was with the Packers.
Like Rodgers, Darnold has a
whipping motion that enables
him to deliver the ball without
his feet being set and yet not
lose any velocity on his passes.
“Some of those throws he
makes, he can’t step into it, the
pocket’s collapsing and he can
throw it 40 yards down the field,”
Gase said. “You don’t see a lot of
guys being able to do that.”
“Dude’s got a hell of an arm,”
Montgomery said.
And, apparently, it is only get-
ting stronger.
“Right now, I feel great head-
ing into the year,” Darnold said.
“I’m right where I want to be.”Darnold impressing
new coach with arm
FUN TIMES AHEAD: Adam Gase said having a strong-armed quarterback like Sam Darnold
makes his job as a play-caller more “fun.” Bill KostrounPreseason
JETS AT GIANTS
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Line: Jets -1½ • O/U: 33GIANTS
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O/U: 33CHANGING GEARS: Coach Adam Gase said the Jets signed
players such as linebacker C.J. Mosley and running back Le’Veon Bell
(left) partly because of their experience, hoping it would rub off on
other players and help create a winning culture. Bill Kostroun (2)