THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: Sam Darnold bandwagon is filling up quickly

Sam Darnold is a nice guy.

Now, that has nothing to do with whether you can play quarterback in the NFL.

It means even less about whether you can lead a team to the Super Bowl.

Right?

Ummmm.

The Seahawks aren’t so sure about that.

Some of them will look you in the eye, and insist that Darnold’s personality and character really are traits that have Seattle in position to win the whole doggone thing.

Yes, this is the same Sam Darnold who was dumped by the Jets (the ultimate sin in pro football), and more recently was terrorized by the Rams.

Los Angeles tossed Sam and his Minnesota Vikings out of the playoffs in 2024, sacking the guy NINE times in an NFC wild-card game.

This season, Darnold shares a division with the Rams, and they picked him off six times across two games.

It’s worth noting that the Seahawks split those two games — with Darnold the hero in the second one.

That comeback made the entire NFL sit up and say: “Wait! Was that really Sam Darnold locking up a division title and No. 1 seed in the conference?

“The SAME Sam Darnold?”

YEP, IT’S the Sam you remember.

There’s a difference, though, between this season and those years when Darnold kept throwing critical interceptions with games on the line.

The Seahawks trust Darnold, just the way he is — while the rest of us are left wondering if maybe he’s been good all along.

“Sam has all the tools,” offered his coach, Mike Macdonald. “He’s an athlete, and he can rip the ball.

“Just rip it.”

Macdonald is a defensive guru, heading to the NFC divisional playoff (against the 49ers this Saturday) in just his second year as a head coach.

Mac doesn’t need Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen — or Joe Montana, for that matter.

His quarterback needs mostly to be a leader, a teammate, part of the group.

Coach Mac admires the fact that Darnold doesn’t bother with credit when he plays well, nor make excuses when he’s thrown a nightmare interception.

He’s just out there playing football.

Best of all, Macdonald LETS him play without vultures circling the stadium, waiting for a mistake.

So, why haven’t previous coaches gotten the best from Darnold?

Simple.

NFL coaches start each day hoping they won’t be fired.

Eight of them were tossed on the street between mid-season and today, so coaching with fear is somewhat legit.

Macdonald isn’t afraid of the ax, in part because he’s new — but also because he believes he’s going to be damn good at this gig.

The Seahawks (and Mac’s defense) can endure a gaffe from their quarterback.

Just not every set of downs.

IT’S NO secret about Darnold by now.

The league’s coaches and best-known reporters understand what they’re seeing.

Fans are always the last to know what’s going on, but they’re starting to come around, too.

Here’s Dan Orlovsky of ESPN:

“I am Team Sam Darnold. I believe in Sam Darnold. I think he’s a top-10 quarterback in this league, and I think the Jets should be embarrassed that they let him walk out of their building.”

Broadcaster Colin Cowherd sees similarities between the Hawks who won the Super Bowl a decade ago, and Macdonald’s bruising group.

Cowherd:

“The other team had Russell Wilson, who wasn’t really a unifier. He and Pete Carroll never really saw eye-to-eye, and that is the difference.

“Everybody in that building loves Sam Darnold. Everybody in San Francisco, USC, Minnesota loves Sam Darnold.

“He is a relatable guy. That (former) Seattle team was packed, but you always heard things that the players didn’t quite connect with Russell Wilson.

“You never hear that with Darnold. You hear the GM, the coach, and his teammates constantly defending him if he has an interception, and the reason is that Darnold owns it.

“He’s one of the guys.”

Sam doesn’t crow about his stats, even the great ones.

For instance, he’s on a list of QBs who have both thrown for 4,000+ yards and won 14+ games in back-to-back seasons.

Did I mention he’s the ONLY quarterback in NFL history on that list?

Oops, my bad.

Meanwhile, we all know that the Hawks’ coaching, defense and special teams are terrific, which puts the spotlight squarely on Darnold.

Orlovsky is a believer.

“We are talking about a guy who has made good decisions on a consistent basis this year over the body of his work,” Orlovsky said, “and we’ve seen him be clutch in the last two weeks when he needed to be clutch.”

All of this, the learning to be cool when needed, fit Sam’s personality all along.

Now we know.

“That’s the secret sauce,” Cowherd said.

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Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press three times each week, normally Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday unless, you know, stuff happens.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”