It hasn’t taken long for the critics to pile in on Sam Darnold after the Seattle Seahawks quarterback threw four interceptions in Week 11, and it must sting to be called out by the player who snatched two of those picks during a 21-19 defeat to NFC West rivals the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium.
Safety Kamren Kinchens, who got his hands on the first and third of Darnold’s INTs, revealed “The rush contains him, and he wants to get rid of the ball, and he’s flinching up. He don’t want to get sacked. He’s just trying to get the ball out of his hands, so that’s when I knew there was an opportunity,” per Mike Sando of The Athletic.
No quarterback in the NFL wants to get sacked, but Darnold being taken to task for losing his nerve under pressure reveals a bigger problem. One highlighted by a pair of anonymous coaches who spoke with Sando.
They each described a pattern that should have the Seahawks worried, even though head coach Mike Macdonald told his starting passer to keep chancing his arm.
Coaches Name Sam Darnold’s Fatal Flaw
Sando summed up the assessment of one coach he spoke with about Darnold as “a quarterback who holds the ball too long and/or plays hero ball under duress.” Delaying his release was blamed for Darnold’s second and fourth picks.
One unnamed coach told Sando how Darnold was “Trying to hit the speed out, and he underthrows it. He is holding the ball. You gotta throw it.” Instead, Darnold froze under pressure and Rams cornerback Cobie Durant pounced on the late throw.
A familiar theme was obvious when Kinchens grabbed his second interception. The takeaway happened because Darnold was “Jittery. Fiddling with the ball. He stares it down, and the safety jumps all over it,” according to the coach speaking with Sando.
Holding the ball for too long condemned Darnold to nine sacks against the Rams as a member of the Minnesota Vikings in last season’s playoffs. This time, Darnold’s hesitation in the pocket cost the Seahawks possessions and let their rivals consistently flip the field.
The mistakes took their toll in a big game, but Darnold still has the backing of senior players, including a former Rams Super Bowl champion. What Darnold needs more than words of support is help from his coaches to alter play-calling and better support their quarterback.
Seahawks Can Do More to Help Sam Darnold
Macdonald must direct offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak to call a more balanced system. It will require getting a talented running back more involved, but Kubiak can also do more to punish defenses adjusting to the Seahawks’ favorite personnel grouping.
They’ve been punishing teams by having Darnold throw off play-action from 12 personnel, but the Rams had an answer for the one running back, two-tight end look. As Sando explained, “The Rams joined Houston as the only Seattle opponents this season to deploy five defensive backs more frequently than four when the Seahawks played with one back and two tight ends.”
Putting an extra defensive back onto the field for early downs paid dividends when “Two of the Rams’ 10 nickel defense plays against 12 personnel produced the two biggest EPA swings of the game: Kinchens’ interceptions in the first (+7.2 EPA) and third (+5.5) quarters. Those plays were worth far more than the single big run the Rams allowed on those plays, a 25-yarder by Kenneth Walker in the second quarter (1.6 EPA).”
Kubiak didn’t call enough running plays to work over the Rams and their lighter fronts. Nor did he deviate from the condensed 12 sets by having tight ends flex into the slot or out wide to spread the Rams out and create even bigger running lanes.
Darnold needed a regular running game to wear out a relentless Rams’ pass rush. Leaving him to throw under duress into the teeth of denser coverage shells made turnovers inevitable, so the Seahawks must tweak their strategy to avoid another jittery day at the office for Darnold.
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