Kyle Lauletta was fading away when he fired a pass headed to the back of the end zone, where tight end Rhett Ellison, completing his fade route, caught the ball for a touchdown. This happened the other day at Giants training camp, a nice moment for the rookie quarterback from Richmond.
Or was it?
There was an all-out blitz on the play called by James Bettcher, the defensive coordinator. “Didn’t see it,’’ Lauletta said.
At the last second, right before the snap, both inside linebackers came roaring in on Lauletta. Thankfully, this was a practice in camp and not a game, when defenders are paid to drill the quarterback, not merely pressure him.
“I think I would have gotten it off in a game,’’ Lauletta said.
Maybe, maybe not. Lauletta failed to diagnose the play pre-snap and thus did not correctly switch the protection up-front.
“It’s hard,’’ he said. “The defense isn’t telling everybody, ‘Hey, we’re blitzing, everybody.’ They’re gonna disguise and do all that. You really got to read your keys. That’s the next step. It’s another level.’’
These are the lessons a young player, especially an NFL-novice quarterback, must learn. These are the lessons Sam Darnold, a no-show for the first three training camp practices with the Jets, missed out on as a camp holdout, absent because of a contract squabble that ended Monday.
“That’s got to be tough,’’ Lauletta said before practice, before Darnold’s deal was complete. “I don’t know how that’s gonna shake out and that’s not for me to comment on. I wouldn’t like to be in that position, that’s all I’ll say. That’s got to be tough for him. I’m sure he’s not happy about it. I’m sure this is not how he wanted things to unfold.’’
Lauletta arrived as a fourth-round pick and is dutifully taking third-team reps behind starter Eli Manning and backup Davis Webb. This is a development year for Lauletta, who did a whole bunch of good things at a mid-level of college football, working through four different offensive systems. The Giants know he is not the biggest guy out there or owner of the strongest arm, but they like his makeup. They can slow-play it with Lauletta. Not so for the Jets and Darnold, who was selected with the No. 3 overall pick to challenge for the starting job.
There is plenty of time for Darnold to make up for what he’s missed, but he is behind.
Lauletta shook his head when asked if he could imagine reporting to camp late.
“Absolutely not,’’ he said. “This is huge. Training camp is great because … everything builds on each other and once a practice, there’s always something that comes up, ‘Hey, maybe we should do this different.’ It’s great learning and improving together. We’re in that quarterback room and thinking through stuff.’’
Darnold had not been in the Jets quarterback room with Josh McCown and Teddy Bridgewater.
“He’s a smart guy and I’m sure he’s in his book,’’ Lauletta said. “I’m sure he’s not sitting home watching movies and playing video games. I’m sure he’s practicing and throwing and studying the stuff.’’
Lauletta got to know Darnold through the elongated draft process. Lauletta spent time with Darnold when he and Saquon Barkley represented the Giants at the NFLPA Rookie Premiere in Los Angeles. After the draft, the Jets’ and Giants’ rookies spent two days together at the facilities of each team for orientations.Once their first NFL training camps opened up, Lauletta was present and Darnold was not.
A year ago, Webb attended his first Giants training camp as a third-round pick, working behind Manning and Geno Smith. The thought of missing a minute, much less a day, or three, is a concept Webb could not wrap his head around.
“As a football player, I don’t want to miss anything,’’ Webb said. “I love being here. I hate going to my apartment, I hate having spare time. I want to be here all day. I want to be here from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., go home, go to sleep and do it again.’’
That is the crammed schedule that awaits Darnold, better late than never.
“I think Sam’s gonna be just fine,’’ Webb said. “He can spin it, he works hard, I don’t think there’s too much into it. I know Sam’s a good dude and he can throw it. He’ll be fine. Sam’s great.’’
The Jets think so, too. Now they finally get to see it for themselves.