Mono, is a tough illness. It makes you heavily contagious and it’s a butt-kicker. It now has taken out the franchise quarterback, Sam Darnold. Darnold was reportedly very sick and dropping weight excessively, this resulted in him being sent home on Wednesday with “strep throatâ€. Symptoms progressed and Donald was diagnosed with mono. This will take him out of action for at least a few weeks. So now, in the week of his absence with a stretch of huge games coming up, Trevor Siemian must be trusted to step up and fill in for Darnold.
Trevor Siemian Has Experience
This is not Trevor Siemian’s first rodeo as a starting quarterback. When Peyton Manning retired and Brock Osweiler left Siemian became the QB 1 in Denver. Siemian inherited a defending super bowl championship squad and put up really solid first starting season numbers. Siemian finished the season with 3,401 yards, 18 TDs, and 10 INTs. Then with the job his to lose he started 10/16 games and finished his year with 2,285 yards, 12 TDs, and 14 INTs. Siemian struggled and ultimately lost his starting job because of it. Siemian went to Minnesota briefly but found a home for this season with the New York Jets as the backup to Sam Darnold. Coach Gase reportedly felt Siemian could be a capable short term starter. Now, Siemian will have to prove his coach right.
Trevor Siemian Could See Success
Unlike other analysts I’m not writing off the games Siemian starts. As I dove deeper into it, Siemian is very good at allowing the ball to be put into playmakers hands. He also will have a bunch of big playmakers who are perfect for check-downs and screen passes in Robby Anderson, Ty Montgomery, Le’Veon Bell, and Jamison Crowder. If those 4 are used to be his security blankets and allow him to dump it off to them, it could really help. The most familiar weapon he will have is new WR Demaryius Thomas. Thomas played some of his best ball with Adam Gase as his coordinator and if Gase can take advantage of his skill set in the absence of Enunwa it could look like a really good trade for the Jets. Thomas will be able to be eased in especially because his QB for the next few games already has a rhythm with him. Siemian and Thomas have been teammates since Siemian came into the league. They built a solid connection and Gase would be wise to use that to their advantage. The only major concern is the setup of the offense around Siemian. Darnold is mobile and with an offensive line that is still not cohesive, that is essential. Siemian is a pure pocket passer who may struggle in this situation. If he can utilize the Jets playmakers as I previously mentioned in check down situations that could ease the pressure slightly.
In The End, It’s Only Temporary
Sam Darnold will be back soon. However, the Jets face a huge stretch of games with some being must win. The New York Jets need to pull off a win against a few of these squads while Darnold is absent or the Jets can kiss their hopes goodbye. If they walk into the Bye Week at 0-3 they already will be in deep trouble. Quite frankly the pressure is on Siemian and if he can’t deliver the Jets are screwed.