A familiar face who's spent time around here will be standing in the way of potential success and joy for the Giants' season opener on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
Sam Darnold.
Don't laugh.
The Giants certainly aren't.
They don't believe the story that a former Jets first-round draft pick who struggled in his quarterback career is starting for his fourth NFL team in five years and leading the Vikings in the team's season opener at MetLife.
Giants coach Brian Daboll and his defense are unaware that Darnold compiled a disappointing 21-35 record in six seasons as a starter, including a 13-25 record in his first three years with the Jets.
They aren't happy with the fact that Darnold has started just seven times over the past two seasons and that his career numbers have been mediocre, completing 59.7 percent of his passes with 63 touchdowns and 56 interceptions.
Linebacker Brian Barnes, who will make his Big Blue debut Sunday as the offseason's splashiest acquisition, is one of the players in the locker room who knows Darnold's capabilities up close.
Barnes, an elite pass rusher who played two seasons with Darnold in Carolina before signing with the Giants, had this message for those who don't believe in Darnold.
“He's a guy you can't let your guard down with,” Barnes told The Post on Friday. “Sam's talented. He can run. He's super athletic. The best thing we can do is … influence him, get in front of him and disrupt his timing. Give him a clean pocket and he'll beat you.”
On the day the Giants introduced Daboll to general manager Joe Sean in January 2022, Giants co-owner John Mara said this about the franchise's struggling quarterback, Daniel Jones: “We've done everything to screw up this young man since he's been here. We've kept changing coaches, we've kept changing offensive coordinators, we've kept changing offensive line coaches.”
The same can be said about Darnold, who the Jets failed miserably with despite selecting him third overall in the 2018 draft, missing out on skill-position talent and a perennially shaky offensive line.
Darnold also saw his first head coach, Todd Bowles, fired after his rookie season and replaced by Adam Gase.
He had two offensive coordinators in three years.
He had no continuity whatsoever.
Translation: Darnold never got a fair chance to succeed with the Jets during that dysfunctional time.
Gase called me two days after the Jets released him following the 2020 season and basically told me the same thing John Mara told reporters about Jones.
Gase asked me to be “generous” in assessing Darnold's Jets career because he acknowledged that the frequent changes didn't give the youngster a fair chance.
Gase said he truly believes Darnold still has a bright future in the league.
Now Darnold will have the opportunity to play for one of the league's most quarterback-friendly coaches in Minnesota's Kevin O'Connell, with access to a talented receiver in Justin Jefferson and a solid offensive line, so his true value will be known.
And it starts Sunday at MetLife. Darnold faced plenty of booing and criticism during his three years with the Jets.
It's easy to imagine Darnold following a similar career path to Baker Mayfield, who weathered a dysfunctional stint in Cleveland after the Browns drafted him two spots ahead of Darnold in 2018, then bounced around before finally finding a stable home in Tampa.
Or former Jets quarterback Geno Smith, who was drafted by the Jets in 2013, spent four seasons there before bouncing around (including a controversial stint with the Giants) and establishing himself as a starter in Seattle the past two seasons.
After two seasons with the struggling Panthers, a team that drafted Bryce Young first overall last year, Darnold is playing for the best head coach ever and surrounded by the most talented players ever, including Jefferson.
The Giants are hoping Sunday won't be the start of a bright new beginning for Darnold as they look to put the nightmare of their 2023 opener, a shocking 40-0 loss to the Cowboys and their 6-11 record from a year ago behind them.
Giants practice squad tight end Lawrence Cager has been friends with Darnold since their high school days and has played with him at Nike camps and the National All-Star Game.
They were also teammates on the Jets in 2020, but it was Cager's first time on the team and Darnold's last.
“He can make any throw,” Cager said Friday. “I'm confident he can be successful in this league. The fact that he has a great play-calling coach. [O’Connell]”It's good to see him in a great system with a lot of weapons around him that I think will suit him well. If we can get him a win this week, he'll be in good form the rest of the season. I'm rooting for him.”
Darnold is an easy guy to root for.
However, if you're a Giants supporter, that's not the case this week.
