The Jets hired a coach with a defensive background, but the offensive mind he’s bringing with him may be the key to solving the team’s quarterback problem.
New coach Robert Saleh is expected to bring Mike LaFleur with him from San Francisco to be his offensive coordinator. LaFleur, the younger brother of the Packers coach, Matt LaFleur, is the coordinator of the 49ers passing game.
LaFleur may be the person the Jets accuse of trying to get Sam Darnold back on track. The team has the decision to do if it tries to change the 23-year-old defender who climbed third overall in 2018 and move on or try to save him.
Josh McCown, who played with Darnold in 2018 and remains close to him, believes that Darnold may flourish in LaFleur’s attack. LaFleur is expected to execute a version of the Kyle Shanahan attack that is used in San Francisco and has become popular throughout the league.
“I think Sam is in his development and kind of restarting and taking stock of what he’s done in the past three years, but growing up and moving on, I think it’s the perfect system to do that,” said McCown on Friday. “You take some of the pressure off the quarterback to be a big decision maker in the dropback game. It’s a heavy running game and an action football game, it’s good and easy football because you pretend and it’s a 1-2-3 kind of thing normally. There are not necessarily full field readings in action football. You can keep the quarterback’s eyes in one place and limit your options and help you play better football. “
Shanahan’s crime goes back to Kyle’s father, Mike, who popularized him among the 1995-2008 Broncos. It depends a lot on races by zone and the game action that passes from the running game. The Shanahan attack also features more rollouts and moves to get the quarterback out of his pocket. The Jets actually performed a version of him in Darnold’s debut season, when Jeremy Bates was the offensive coordinator.
“[Darnold] makes great plays, but also makes bad decisions, ”said McCown. “I think that when it’s more time out of pocket, when it’s the movement game, what they do so well, I think that will slow down part of that decision making. This will give you better options. I think it will be better for him. “
McCown, who finished the season at the Texans, said he watched many Jets games this year and saw Darnold fight.
“I think he was pushing and trying to win every game with a single move,” said McCown. “I could see the frustration. You hate it for him. I think the circumstances with the pressure that was on the coach’s situation and everything I think forced him into bad football. The best thing about Sam is that he takes responsibility and goes to work to improve. “
McCown said the Jets should not give up on Darnold.
“I think, given his level of talent and the type of boy he is,” said McCown, “letting him try a new offense would be wise only from the point of view of how much you believe in the guys he hired.”