"For Le'Veon, we know and obviously he knows we can use him in so many different ways"
Saturday 5 September 2020 23:27, UK
Sam Darnold says he is "used to the pressure" of playing in New York by now as he gears up for his third season in the NFL with the Jets.
The first-round quarterback has provided flashes of his talent over two rocky seasons with the team, with a shortage of weapons around him and a coaching change making the effort to establish himself all the more difficult.
Darnold missed three games towards the beginning of last season after being diagnosed with mononucleosis, before returning to finish 272 of 441 passing for 3,024 yards, 19 touchdowns and 13 interceptions as the Jets won six of their final eight games for a 7-9 record.
While he heads into 2020 with a greater understanding of head coach Adam Gase's system, his preparations, like the rest of the league, have been disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.
"It's been tough," said Darnold on NFL 32 LIVE. "Not having OTAs and not having that time to work on those timing routes, it was tough in the beginning.
"I feel like now getting going into training camp and getting a rhythm with the guys, we're starting to get that rhythm and we're ready to go into week one.
"Covid was unprecedented times, no one was really sure about when we were going to come back so like I said not having a full off-season to train with the guys I was going to be throwing to, that can throw you off in a couple of ways.
"So for me just being able to get into training camp and throwing with the guys as soon as possible, that was a huge point of emphasis for me and I think right now we're getting on the right track."
With pre-season games cancelled due to the pandemic, the Jets have been conducting scrimmages at MetLife Stadium in order to become accustomed to playing in front of empty stands.
In doing so, not only has Darnold had the opportunity to work with new targets in Denzel Mims and Breshad Perriman, but also get a feel for the fake crowd noise set to be used to create a typical game-day atmosphere.
"Getting back into MetLife and getting used to the simulated crowd noise the 85 decibels that teams have got to have, it was interesting hearing that noise and knowing nobody was actually in the stands, but it made it game-like," he said.
"When you're out on the field whether there are fans there or not, you just kind of tune that out and when there's noise and music playing it feels real.
"It felt good to get back out to the stadium and have that crowd noise, fake or real. We miss the fans, that's why all of us play the game to play entertainment, but this time it's just going to be for TV."
The impact of running back Le'Veon Bell promises to be a decisive factor for the Jets alongside Darnold after the three-time Pro Bowler managed just 789 rushing yards for three touchdowns in his first season with the team.
A quiet year arrived on the back of him sitting out 2018 as he held out on the Pittsburgh Steelers following their decision to franchise tag him, making any rustiness easy to understand.
One year on and, with veteran Frank Gore still around to offer support, Bell appears in good shape to pursue another 1,000-yard season while also playing a prominent role in the passing game.
"Le'Veon is obviously a great player, he did well for us last year," added Darnold. "We've got to continue to build off of it.
"For Le'Veon, we know and obviously he knows we can use him in so many different ways. Catching the ball out of the backfield, being a receiver, being able to use him out-wide, and then obviously what he does best is run the football so we've just got to continue to use him and he's going to be a huge factor for us on offense."
The Jets begin their season on the road against the Buffalo Bills this Sunday.
Sky Sports NFL will be your dedicated channel for NFL coverage through the season - featuring a host of NFL Network programming, a new weekly preview show as well as at least five games a week and NFL Redzone, you won't miss a moment.
