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Sam Darnold: "Continuing To Move The Ball Forward Is A Big Point Of Emphasis" · Seahawks Press Pass

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  Speaker 1: You guys, I did I swear no again. I think,
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  Speaker 1: you know, going up against this team, really veteran group,
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  Speaker 1: smart football team, really well coached all those things. So
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  Speaker 1: we got our hands full as an offense just to
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  Speaker 1: you know, be able to execute on every play. You know,
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  Speaker 1: they make it really tough on every play, and uh yeah,
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  Speaker 1: we're just gonna go out there and execute and do
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  Speaker 1: everything that we can to you know, do everything every
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  Speaker 1: single down that we can to execute and move forward
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  Speaker 1: from there.
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  Speaker 2: You took a little time to ringing the buy to
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  Speaker 2: sort of evaluate so far with what do you feel
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  Speaker 2: like this offense is and what do you want to
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  Speaker 2: see the next step be?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I think you know, I think for us it's
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  Speaker 1: just every single play having attention to detail. And I
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  Speaker 1: think that starts with me, you know, being able to
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  Speaker 1: move the ball forward, you know, the first and second
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  Speaker 1: down negative plays. I think just continuing to move the
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  Speaker 1: ball forward was was a big point of emphsis for us.
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  Speaker 1: And whether that's you know, when we run the ball
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  Speaker 1: or throw the ball getting two three yard gains as
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  Speaker 1: opposed to getting into the second and tens or second
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  Speaker 1: and eleven pluses, you know that make that can make
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  Speaker 1: it tough for an offense because the defense you know,
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  Speaker 1: gets into some of their longer distance calls and can
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  Speaker 1: make make life a little bit harder for us. So
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  Speaker 1: I think just staying positive on first and second down
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  Speaker 1: was a huge key. Looking back at the my week,
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  Speaker 1: you tend to use this time to self scout and
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  Speaker 1: review how things go. Uh.
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  Speaker 3: You as a player, do you take any time to
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  Speaker 3: kind of review things or you just recuperate?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, I look at some stuff fundamentally mechanically,
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  Speaker 1: stuff that I can do better. But more importantly, I
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  Speaker 1: think it's just being able to take a step back,
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  Speaker 1: recoup from you know, the previous weeks and in the season,
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  Speaker 1: and the bumps and the bruises that you know, you get,
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  Speaker 1: you know throughout the course of a you know, the
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  Speaker 1: start of the season. So it was just getting the
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  Speaker 1: mind the body right to be able to go on
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  Speaker 1: this you know, long stretch of games that we got
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  Speaker 1: coming up.
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  Speaker 3: You've mainly avoided negative plays. You talked about avoiding those
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  Speaker 3: in general, mainly avoid those this season. You had a
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  Speaker 3: couple I'm guessing you'd like back against Houston. What was
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  Speaker 3: different on those plays that you noticed?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I think I think for me, like I'm I
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  Speaker 1: was kicking myself a little bit, especially after the sac
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  Speaker 1: Phone Bowl. Just you know, got to be situation situationally
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  Speaker 1: aware in that just understanding where we are on the field,
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  Speaker 1: understanding that you know, they have a really good defense
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  Speaker 1: called against what we what we got in terms of
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  Speaker 1: our play call, and being able to either just dump
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  Speaker 1: it down to aj on the checkdown. Maybe he gets
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  Speaker 1: the first down, breaks the tackle and gets the first
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  Speaker 1: worst case scenario we're putting football. So just understand the
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  Speaker 1: situation that way we saw you on the end up on.
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  Speaker 4: The injury report yesterday. Is that Is that anything serious
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  Speaker 4: at all for you?
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  Speaker 1: Or no, No, I'll be good. Is that I don't
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  Speaker 1: know what is from you know, and just woke up
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  Speaker 1: a little sore of the next day.
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  Speaker 2: Jackson got Player of the Month. I know we've asked
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  Speaker 2: you about it a lot because he keeps putting up
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  Speaker 2: these numbers, but yeah, I mean, just your thoughts on
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  Speaker 2: him winning that and just what he through the first
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  Speaker 2: seven games of the season.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, I think we talk about it every week.
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  Speaker 1: It feels like now just you know, Jack's being a
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  Speaker 1: really good player and understanding kind of you know, his role.
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  Speaker 1: You know, he's a he's a great player, but when
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  Speaker 1: they do want to take him away, other guys are
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  Speaker 1: going to be able to, you know, shine a little
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  Speaker 1: bit so understanding that, you know, Jack's Jacks does a
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  Speaker 1: really good job of understanding the plan every single week,
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  Speaker 1: you know, just you know, his mindset going into every
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  Speaker 1: single game. I feel like he's so clear on what
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  Speaker 1: we're doing as an offense and what his role is
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  Speaker 1: as a receiver. So yeah, I can't speak highly enough
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  Speaker 1: about that guy just the but it really starts with
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  Speaker 1: days like today, with the way that he prepares.
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  Speaker 3: You've been sacked nine times all season. You were sacked
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  Speaker 3: nine times in your last game against with the Vikings.
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  Speaker 3: How has that happened?
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  Speaker 1: You know? I think first of all, it's the credit
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  Speaker 1: to the guys up front. You know, those guys doing
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  Speaker 1: a really good job protecting, communicating certain looks that are
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  Speaker 1: really tough to pick up. And I feel like our
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  Speaker 1: backs are tight ends as well and protection are doing
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  Speaker 1: a really good job when needed. Uh. And then you know,
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  Speaker 1: when it comes to when it comes to myself just
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  Speaker 1: being able to get the ball out. And again that's
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  Speaker 1: what I said kind of on that that you know
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  Speaker 1: sack phone ball against Houston. It was it was a
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  Speaker 1: play where I felt like I could have got the
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  Speaker 1: ball out, and you know, just understanding situationally, like when
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  Speaker 1: you know the play might not be in our favor,
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  Speaker 1: you know, after holding the holding onto the ball a
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  Speaker 1: couple of seconds and going through my progressions and being
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  Speaker 1: able to just get the ball out.
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  Speaker 4: You've obviously played with like last year with Justin and
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  Speaker 4: things like that. How much can defenses really try to
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  Speaker 4: take one receiver out of the game, like, you know,
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  Speaker 4: like you know.
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  Speaker 1: Justson is the what he's doing, and maybe defense, yeah,
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  Speaker 1: you know, I feel like, you know, defensive coordinators and
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  Speaker 1: and you know, all the the different coverages and the
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  Speaker 1: pressures that we see nowadays is so nuanced, and I
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  Speaker 1: feel like a lot of coordinators really like to switch
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  Speaker 1: it up, and especially with guys like Jackson, with Justin
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  Speaker 1: and you know, Jamar, all these guys around the league,
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  Speaker 1: you know that you know, sometimes you got to play
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  Speaker 1: different coverages to them because if you if you just
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  Speaker 1: line up in the same coverages sometimes you know that
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  Speaker 1: that leaves you one on one opportunities. But then again,
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  Speaker 1: like there's really good defensive backs as well in the
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  Speaker 1: league that make their money guarding the best receivers. So
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  Speaker 1: sometimes as a defensive coordinat you gotta trust that as well.
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  Speaker 1: So there's a lot of different ways to look at it.
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  Speaker 1: But uh, you know, for us, it's just going out
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  Speaker 1: there executing and you know, having a game plan for it.
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  Speaker 3: There's a lot of check with me stuff. It seems
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  Speaker 3: like in this offense, how's your freedom at the line
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  Speaker 3: of scrimmage compare in this system versus other systems.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I feel like it's very similar going up to
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  Speaker 1: the line of scrimmage with two or three plays depending
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  Speaker 1: on the situation or the game. You know, how the
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  Speaker 1: flow of the game is going. So yeah, I would say,
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  Speaker 1: you know, the freedom to be able to you know,
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  Speaker 1: get to a different play and whatnot is is pretty
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  Speaker 1: similar to the last couple systems I've been in.
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  Speaker 3: Do you feel you like your ability to make that
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  Speaker 3: choice has improved or changed?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, for sure. You know, I think just unders standing
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  Speaker 1: defensive tendencies, you know, understanding myself, you know, the cadence
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  Speaker 1: that I use and different things. So there's a and
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  Speaker 1: that's part of the bye week as well, the self scout,
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  Speaker 1: you know, part of that being able to understand what
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  Speaker 1: my tendencies are as a quarterback. You know, my cadence
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  Speaker 1: is all that. So just understanding that as a player
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  Speaker 1: is huge to be able to undress some of the
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  Speaker 1: defenses that we see. You could like as the.
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  Speaker 3: Seasons progressed, you've gotten more comfortable with the offense in
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  Speaker 3: terms of throwing the ball downfield, not necessarily settling, but
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  Speaker 3: you're taking more shots. You're giving these guys chances on
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  Speaker 3: more of those fifty to fifty dolls.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I think you know that that starts with communication, right.
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  Speaker 1: I feel like, you know, I've I've gotten to know
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  Speaker 1: you know, Clinton Jinoco and you know the coaches and
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  Speaker 1: a lot of the players as well, more and more
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  Speaker 1: as the season goes on, and you know, the ownership
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  Speaker 1: of the offense is only going to improve when that
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  Speaker 1: communication and you have that open dialogue. So yeah, I
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  Speaker 1: feel like it's just going to continue to grow and
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  Speaker 1: get better.
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  Speaker 2: Cooper Couples asked yesterday about you know, being the first
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  Speaker 2: guy in kind of all the work he puts in study,
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  Speaker 2: and he he brought the point, you know, he wasn't
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  Speaker 2: always the biggest guy coming up or the most physically gifted,
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  Speaker 2: so he felt like he needed to give himself that
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  Speaker 2: mental edge. How much did you notice that when you
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  Speaker 2: talk to him, sit down means with him that he
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  Speaker 2: just possesses that.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, No, he's uh, you know, just as much as
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  Speaker 1: we talk about Jacks every single week, I feel like
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  Speaker 1: we talked about Coop being a really you know, smart,
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  Speaker 1: smart player that just understands the game at a different level.
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  Speaker 1: And it's part of his experience, but it's also a
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  Speaker 1: huge part of you know, the work that he puts
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  Speaker 1: in behind the scenes. And I know he doesn't necessarily
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  Speaker 1: like to talk about it. That's what we're for. We're
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  Speaker 1: here to talk for him and and you know, tell
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  Speaker 1: you guys how much work he puts in. So, No,
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  Speaker 1: he's a he's a great teammate, you know, first and foremost,
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  Speaker 1: and that's a I feel like that's really where it starts,
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  Speaker 1: is just you know, how great of a teammate he
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  Speaker 1: is and what he's willing to share with the group
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  Speaker 1: in terms of like how much football knowledge that he has.
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  Speaker 4: In terms of the tendencies and stuff and the self
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  Speaker 4: scouting you're talking about.
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  Speaker 2: Is there a certain coach to your position, coach that
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  Speaker 2: sat down for you during the buy or someone else.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah. No, there's a ton of the coach on the
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  Speaker 1: staff do a good job of understanding kind of what
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  Speaker 1: some of the tendencies are, you know, looking at TV
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  Speaker 1: copies all that stuff.
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  Speaker 2: In real time when they picked up on a tendency
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  Speaker 2: or a kidage.
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  Speaker 1: Or something like that or Yeah, I mean there's you know,
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  Speaker 1: certain times in the game where you know, the line
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  Speaker 1: will come up to me like, hey, let's switch up
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  Speaker 1: the cadence. You know they're they're getting a big jump.
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  Speaker 1: That's a that's a big one. I feel like that's
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  Speaker 1: kind of pretty standard around the league with you know,
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  Speaker 1: guys getting a jump. You know, you got Leo back
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  Speaker 1: there studying my tendencies and what I'm doing during camp,
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  Speaker 1: and so you know they're doing it, you know, times two.
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  Speaker 1: You know, as they're getting ready to play us as
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  Speaker 1: an offense in the regular season.
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  Speaker 3: Throw down efficiency, How do you not make first down
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  Speaker 3: over emphasize that yet make it important?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I think I think every down is important. First
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  Speaker 1: of all. I think you know it's on first down.
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  Speaker 1: Like I said before, you want to have positive plays.
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  Speaker 1: You want to keep the ball going forward. When you
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  Speaker 1: start to move you know back, you getting those second
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  Speaker 1: and lungs. That's what the defense can kind of pin
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  Speaker 1: their ears back and understand that we got to pass
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  Speaker 1: the ball. You know, in those certain situations, we'd like
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  Speaker 1: to try to keep the defense you know, on their
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  Speaker 1: toes a little bit still, even if we get in
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  Speaker 1: those second and lungs kind of But you know, I
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  Speaker 1: think for us it really is and for me personally,
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  Speaker 1: it's about just keeping the ball moving forward, you know,
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  Speaker 1: getting in those second and manageables third and five or
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  Speaker 1: less if we can to, you know, really, like I said,
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  Speaker 1: just keep the defense on their toes.
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  Speaker 3: Do you feel like Scott, how much are you spending
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  Speaker 3: in the mechanics? Do you take a look at that
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  Speaker 3: you mechanics.
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  Speaker 2: I mean I get the defense and the coverages, but
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  Speaker 2: how much didn't you take a look at by week
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  Speaker 2: all those things.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, that's a huge part of my game, especially during
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  Speaker 1: the bye week, you know, take a look at my mechanics.
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  Speaker 1: Understanding certain throws that I'm missing consistently, and just being
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  Speaker 1: able to, you know, talk with the coaches and understanding
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  Speaker 1: a plan to kind of attack some things that I
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  Speaker 1: might necessarily not be doing. Uh.
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  Speaker 3: The best.
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  Speaker 1: Thanks guys, Thanks, thank you letterable,