Tony Romo is a big fan of New York Jets’ quarterback Sam Darnold, comparing him to a legendary player from his time in the league.
Fans of the New York Jets might have been less than thrilled with the hiring of Adam Gase, but he does have a reputation for working well with good quarterbacks. That bodes very well for Sam Darnold, as the team hopes he will become the franchise quarterback they’ve lacked for the last 50 years.
CBS analyst Tony Romo feels that he can become the guy the Jets want him to. Per USA Today’s Lorenzo Reyes, he name-dropped a quarterback that Gase has worked with in the past: Peyton Manning.
“I think Darnold has some Peyton Manning-like traits, and Adam did a great job, obviously, with Peyton in that situation,” Romo said.
The former Dallas Cowboys quarterback was referring to Manning’s 2013 season with the Denver Broncos, for which Gase was the offensive coordinator. For that season, Manning threw for NFL records in yards (5,477) and touchdowns (55), while throwing only 10 interceptions.
Romo elaborated on his comparison of Darnold to Manning later on:
“Just spatial awareness, ability to get through reads quickly. I think he’s going to be a fantastic player. I think he’s going to make a huge leap next year. Some players have the ability – I call it spatial awareness, the instinctual ability to see leverage and get off a receiver when they’re going through a progression far faster than other people – that’s probably the most underrated trait that people can’t analyze. They see running. They see movement. Or they see the big play. What they don’t see is you got to the fourth receiver in 1.2 seconds, not 2.4. That’s really the secret to the best players at that position, and I think Sam has some of those qualities.”
Darnold had his share of struggles while he played for a team with no No. 1 receiver and a weak offensive line, but there’s no doubt he showed a lot of signs that he will be a good quarterback. Romo feels that Gase is the right man for the Jets as well.
“I think he has a great mind for offensive football. I also think sometimes it’s a good thing when you really have to reflect on when you let as a coach or a player. I think you have to look at yourself and I think that will be a good thing because he’ll analyze what he thought he could do better and what he did well.”
Romo is clearly excited about the direction the Jets are going in. The question is whether or not Gase is the right person to take them in that direction.
