Schrager’s Cheat Sheet: Why this Sam Darnold is different from ghosts of his past

The Sam Darnold Experience in full Chris Shula’s time has come What could have been in Vegas? STAT OF THE WEEK

Peter Schrager

NFL Insider & NFL Reporter

Every week, FOX Sports NFL Insider Peter Schrager opens his notebook and opines on three of the biggest storylines around the league. Here are his takes heading into Week 10, including what to make of Sam Darnold’s season with the Minnesota Vikings thus far.

The Sam Darnold Experience in full

You could hear the “I told you so’s” coming from New Jersey, Charlotte and even parts of cities Sam Darnold had never played football in. Thirty minutes into Sunday night’s Vikings game against the Colts, Sam Darnold looked like the ghost (no pun intended) of Sam Darnold. A careless red zone interception, confusion at the line of scrimmage and perplexing decision-making through the first two quarters — the Vikings quarterback had seemingly reverted into whatever the worst version of himself was from his previous stops. Two interceptions and a fumble — the last one, a backbreaker that led to an Indianapolis scoop and score — was the stuff that’s plagued Darnold his entire career. It’s what made him expendable in New York and what left the door open for Baker Mayfield in Carolina.

But, then, the QB emerged from the locker room and was suddenly the guy that he was the first five weeks of the season; not the first five years of his career. Three touchdown passes, mastery of the position, and a command of the Vikings offense that is as good as any when he’s cooking — the Darnold from September was back.

I’m not a stats guy. I’m not. I shudder when I see ex-jocks on TV reading stats and names and numbers off a card. It feels like a crutch. I like the story; I like the flow of the game and the personalities that play and coach it. But Darnold’s numbers, across the board, are among the tops in the league. He’s sixth in TD passes (17), 11th in pass yards per game (237.5), and tied for fourth with Josh Allen in passes 20+ yards downfield (30).

And the Vikings, after a two-game skid in which they lost games in dramatic fashion at the buzzer to the Lions as well as a wild Thursday night in Los Angeles, are suddenly alive again for the No. 1 seed in the NFC. The cream rises and as Jameis Winston came back down to Earth versus the Chargers after a great Browns debut the week before, and Derek Carr reverted to Derek Carr in his return to the lineup for the Saints in Week 9, you would have been more than justified in saying the “Same old Sam Darnold” line at halftime Sunday night.

Darnold fought the darkness, though. The Vikings-Colts Week 9 game might be one that gets lost or forgotten over the next few weeks, but we saw Darnold do something he hasn’t in the previous stops in his career. He dug out of the hole. With a new left tackle, a smattering of boos and a nationally televised audience collectively shaking their heads, Darnold responded. It’s huge. Minnesota’s QB — as fickle as his performances have been in the past — has at least shown us that he can adjust, bounce back and figure it out on the fly. Minnesota has the Jaguars, Titans and Bears up ahead on the schedule. That should be three wins. And they’ve got a QB who can lead them even further. We think.

Chris Shula’s time has come

Chris Shula has been on Sean McVay’s coaching staff since McVay took the Los Angeles Rams job in January of 2017. McVay’s old college pal from Miami (Ohio), the grandson of Don Shula has always been a sounding board and well-respected assistant on the defensive side of the ball. He’s also watched as other guys — both inside and outside of the organization — have been given the defensive coordinator title. Wade Phillips was McVay’s original hire. Then, he hired Vic Fangio protégé Brandon Staley after Fangio’s defense continued to give him fits. When Raheem Morris became available after his stint with Atlanta as an interim head coach, McVay pounced and hired his old colleague from Washington.

But when Morris got the head coach gig with the Falcons over Bill Belichick this past offseason, it was Shula’s job to lose. He, along with Staley, met with McVay and a few others to lay out what he envisioned the defense to look like. Per my conversations with the Rams, Shula was energized and actually laid out how the Rams defense could survive in a post-Aaron Donald era.

The Rams defense has survived in a post-Aaron Donald era. And on Sunday, despite giving up a ton of yards, Chris Shula’s young defense was opportunistic and willed the Rams to a comeback victory versus the hated Seattle Seahawks. The Rams D had seven sacks, three interceptions of Geno Smith, a pick-6, eight passes defensed, eight tackles for a loss and critical stops on third and fourth down in the overtime period. Perhaps most impressive is the play of Shula’s rookies on the unit. First-round pick Jared Verse is well on his way to a Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, but on Sunday, his old Florida State teammate Braden Fiske, undrafted rookie Omar Speights, and defensive backs Tank McCullough (who we discussed in this column last week) and Kam Kinchens all made huge plays in the comeback victory.

Shula isn’t a man of many words, but his unit speaks for him. What’s cool is the way they are a chameleon. The excellent Rams blog Turf Show Times wrote the following: “The Rams disguise their coverages at the highest rate in the NFL, but that’s not all. The defensive formations are all over the place, on consecutive plays you might see three standup edges, four cornerbacks, a corner and safety as inside linebackers, or three down linemen in front of eight secondary players.”

The amount of names contributing is what’s staggering. Seemingly every week, it’s a different name you weren’t familiar with stepping up and making a key play. Whether it’s Michael Hoecht, Christian Rozeboom, or Kam Curl — everyone’s elevating their play on D.

Once upon a time, this unit had stars like Aaron Donald, Von Miller, Jalen Ramsey, Leonard Floyd, Aqib Talib, and Marcus Peters. It’s not the case this year. But this defense is arguably just as good. Shula deserves some love. He’s the man calling the shots, and he, too, seems to be only getting better week to week.

What could have been in Vegas?

Kliff Kingsbury was verrrrrry close to signing on the dotted line to be the Las Vegas Raiders offensive coordinator back in January. He and Antonio Pierce had several productive discussions and it looked like it was nearly a done deal. I was at the Senior Bowl in Mobile when I got a call from a source saying that things had gone haywire in negotiations and the Kingsbury/Raiders union was falling apart. The issue was with the contract, and one that the Raiders likely regret. After interviewing twice in person, and the back and forth taking longer than it should, Kingsbury removed himself from consideration on a Saturday. He was on the phone with Commanders head coach Dan Quinn a day later, and the rest is history.

Washington has one of the most electric offenses in the league and Kingsbury’s a hot head coaching candidate. Las Vegas fired their alternate choice — Luke Getsy — just nine weeks into the season. In addition to Getsy, offensive line coach James Cregg and quarterbacks coach Rich Scangarello were also axed after the team’s 41-24 loss to Cincinnati on Sunday. Kingsbury, meanwhile, hasn’t looked back. It makes you wonder, what could have been?