The Jets hired a head coach with a defensive background, but the offensive spirit he brings could be key to solving the team’s quarterback problem.
New head coach Robert Saleh is expected to bring Mike LaFleur from San Francisco to be his offensive coordinator. LaFleur, the younger brother of Packers head coach Matt LaFleur, was the race coordinator for the 49ers.
LaFleur could be the person attacking the Jets and trying to get Sam Darnold back on track. The team must decide whether to try to trade in the 23-year-old quarterback they drafted third overall in 2018 and move on or save him.
Josh McCown, who played with Darnold in 2018 and remains close to him, believes Darnold could thrive in LaFleur’s onslaught. LaFleur is expected to perform a version of the Kyle Shanahan attack used in San Francisco that has gained popularity in the competition.
“I think where Sam is in his development and to sort of reset and take stock of what he’s been doing for the past three years, but to grow and move forward, I think this is the perfect system is to do that, ”McCown said Friday. “You take a little pressure on the quarterback to be a great decision maker in the dropback game. It’s a tough game and play action and play action soccer, it’s good and easy soccer because you play fake and then it’s typically a 1-2-3 kind of thing. There isn’t necessarily full-field reads in play-action football. You can keep the quarterback’s eyes in one place and narrow down his options and help him play better football. “
The Shanahan attack dates back to Kyle’s father, Mike, who made it popular with the Broncos from 1995-2008. It relies heavily on zone runs and play-action passes on the ongoing game. The Shanahan offense also includes more rollouts and plays to get the quarterback out of the pocket. The Jets had a version of it in Darnold’s rookie season when Jeremy Bates was their offensive coordinator.
“[Darnold] makes great plays, but he also makes bad decisions, ”said McCown. “I think when it’s planned more out of pocket, when it’s the movement competition, which is what they’re doing so well, I think that’s going to slow down some of that decision making. It gives him better options. I think that will be better for him. “
McCown, who closed the season with the Texans, said he had seen many Jets matches this year and watched Darnold wrestle.
“I think he insisted and tried to win every game with one throw,” McCown said. ‘You could just see the frustration. You hate that for him. I think the circumstances with the pressure on the coaching situation and everything I think forced him into bad football. The best thing about Sam is that he will take ownership of it and he will work on improving it. “
McCown said the Jets should not give up on Darnold.
“I think given his talent and the type of kid he is,” McCown said, “it would be wise to have him do another attack just from the standpoint of how much you believe in the guys you have. adopted.”