Are the Jets tanking for Trevor, or do they really just not think they’re that bad of a football team?
When NFL insider Michael Lombardi joined Moose and Maggie on Thursday afternoon, he intimated the latter – because there’s no other reason why they would sabotage Sam Darnold.
“I’m not sure this plan was really intentional – I honestly think they thought they had a better team than they do. They won seven games last year with Luke Falk at quarterback in some of those games, and actually looked better,” Lombardi said. “But I think when they traded Jamal (Adams) and things started to go bad quickly, I think this plan became part of what was going on. Adam Gase wouldn’t go for this, but the bottom line is they made some really bad decisions this offseason, and Joe Douglas has to take accountability for that. Remember this: Douglas got the job because that’s what Gase wanted.”
But would Douglas, friendship with Gase aside, have taken the job if he knew how limited his head coach really was?
“No I don’t, but he got six years and a boatload of money, which can make any problem go away,” Lombardi said. “If you get that, you’re saying, ‘if they don’t give me the time to do it, then I can walk out of here and retire.’ Gase got him more security than he got himself.”
As Maggie said, friendships aside, this is Douglas’ chance to show what he can do as a GM, and it may be “short-term pain for long-term gain.” But, will that include moving on from Darnold, and perhaps another situation where a team gives up on a young QB too quickly?
“There’s that fine line between giving up too quickly or giving up too late, and too late is a disaster – see the Chicago Bears,” Lombardi said. “If you continue to lie to yourself and believe coaching is why a guy didn’t play well, then you have to live with the consequences. Each case is different; would I give up on Sam Darnold? No, but if I have the chance to draft Trevor Lawrence, I would have to give up on Darnold, because Trevor Lawrence is better than Sam Darnold. But if I don’t get Trevor Lawrence, I still have to think about what I’m going to do with Darnold.”
Listen to Lombardi’s entire segment below, and, as always, check out more on-demand audio from Moose & Maggie, or tune in every day to the WFAN.com or Twitch.TV/WFAN livestreams of the show!
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