Its amazing how some in the media don’t want to anoint Sam Darnold to an elite status calling him Trent Dilfer etc. Over the last 15 years coverage of the NFL has turned into fan-boy central with most media only supporting the players of their favorite teams. Its cheap and it robs players of coverage they’ve earned and cheats them out of accolades. Once a player they don’t covet turns their career around several don’t want to admit he should be seen differently. It shows they were wrong or need to see it differently and they let their egos get in the way.

Don’t listen or watch these idiots!

First off Sam Darnold had a moderate perfromance in Super Bowl LX and came out a champion. He went 19 of 38 for 202 yards and a 4th quarter TD pass to AJ Barner which showed the Seahawks were about to be crowned. Detractors kept waiting for Darnold to fold but wait….he already made his bones when he struck down NFL MVP Matt Stafford in the NFC Championship. You can’t overlook his 25 of 36 for 346 yards and 3TDs when you picked him to lose. Well he had a defense and a running game. Well in that game Walker only had 19 carries for 62 yards not the MVP performance (135 yds rushing) we had from him last night.

They’re not in position if he didn’t take over the NFC Championship Game then play a supporting role in LX. He and Walker III flip flopped these roles and as a team came through with the biggest win in their careers. Compare his performance with Tom Brady’s first win in XXXVI. He went 16 of 27 for 145 yds and 1 TD but media acts as though he threw for 500 yards in all his Super Bowls.

Last week the national media on ESPN and elsewhere no one wanted to anoint him with that performance treating it as an abberation. Performances in championship games are not abberations and they need to be lauded or I’d be a hypocrite anointing Doug Williams Super Bowl XXII MVP performance. Its not about having to do it all the time but doing it when your team NEEDS you to.

You CAN’T downplay great performances just because Darnold proved you wrong lighting up Golden Child Coach Kyle Shanahan 41-6 in the NFC Divisional Playoff. Then you stayed silent with your firngers crossed he would falter in the NFC Championship Game to offer “I told you so” then were thwarted. Now he “didn’t turn the ball over” in the Super Bowl vs he made the plays to win the game where other more celebrated QBs like Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson haven’t been.

• Super Bowl LX – Darnold: 19 of 38 for 202 yds 1TD
• Super Bowl LVI – Stafford: 26 of 40 for 283 yds 3TDs 2 Ints *Super Bowl MVP*
• Super Bowl LIX – Hurts: 17 of 22 for 221 yds 2TDs  1 Int  *Super Bowl MVP*

Here are the stat line for 3 of your Super Bowl winners in the last 5 years and only Stafford has been considered elite by the sporting press. His LVI win seems to have erased a decade of marginal play and blew him up to being an elite QB but it hasn’t for Darnold and hasn’t for Hurts. The elite mantra has followed Stafford ever since propelling him to this year’s MVP in the eyes of the voters. Even though he hasn’t always played elite over the last 4 seasons.

So they are moving the goalpost on Sam Darnold, not Taylor Blitz Times. His win last night validates his complete career and draft status. Period. He never has to answer to those lows again now that he’s scaled the mountain. You cannot talk to me about the potential of Justin Herbert, Trevor Lawrence, Bo Nix, Baker Mayfield, or any of the “Rudy try hard” types who can’t win 2 playoff games or even show up in the conference championship game.

Its time to cover players for what they’ve performed and not “cheerleading” about their perceived potential. When you get it wrong, re-evaluate how you got there and make changes when new informati0n about a player comes in. Don’t dismiss it because it doesn’t fit the narrative of your slanted view. This type of b.s. with the national media / writers not only cheated football with the Pro Football Hall of Fame vote this year, it allows them to roll the goalpost out to 150 yards in the covering judgment of Sam Darnold.

This is completely wrong… you’re supposed to cover players for who they are and what they have accomplished. Not cover them as you wished they’d be had you been in their shoes. Now they’re waiting for next year’s performance for their “Aha…see!” moment. Disgraceful…

Darnold is an elite quarterback and he has a chance to grow as Tom Brady did from his Super Bowl XXXVI stats (16 of 27 145 yds 1 TD). By the way “It was a different league then) doesn’t count as an argument since they beat The Greatest Show on Turf who amassed 7,075 yards in 2001 which is still 4th highest in NFL history.

Congratulations Sam Darnold on your elite status and Super Bowl LX  champi0nship