New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Jones happy to talk about Eli, more tight-lipped on Giants
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Daniel Jones was almost all smiles for the first five minutes of his weekly news conference with the New York Giants media.
It was really easy. All the questions were about his predecessor, Eli Manning, and the halftime ceremony the Giants plan to retire the two-time Super Bowl
MVP’s No. 10 jersey.
There was nothing asked for a while about the Giants’ 0-2 start and the now crucial game against the winless Atlanta Falcons at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. It’s a big game for two teams that have not been to the postseason in at least three years. Atlanta last went in 2017. The Giants were in the playoffs in ‘16. Atlanta comes into the game with the NFL’s worst scoring defense. It has given up 80 points in two games.
That’s why “Eli” was an easy topic to discuss. Jones called the ceremony cool, saying Manning was a legend for the franchise. He said he was excited to spend his rookie season in 2019 learning from the No. 1 overall pick in the 2004 draft.
Manning retired after that 2019 season and has done commercials and started working for the Giants. He also does a television show with his brother, Peyton, in which the two retired quarterbacks discuss the game during “Monday Night Football.”
“I think he’s pretty good,” Jones said of Eli. “He’s pretty funny. He’s got some good one-liners and some good commentary. It’s been fun to watch him and Peyton go back and forth.”
The same can’t be said of watching Jones and the Giants. The sixth pick in his draft class, Jones has an 8-20 record as a starter in two-plus years.
While the Giants dropped a 30-29 decision to Washington on Sept. 16, Jones had one of his best games as a pro. He completed 22 of 32 passes for 249 yards and a touchdown. He probably should have had two. He also ran for a career-high 95 yards on nine carries and scored on a draw play. He had no turnovers.
Some Giants fans might wonder why he can’t play that way every game.
“I think every week’s different, and my goal is to prepare as well as I can and play as well as I can every week,” Jones said, getting back to his football mode. “I try to be prepared and ready to go every week.”
Jones was hesitant to call his performance against Washington one of his better games.
“We didn’t win the game, so we didn’t do enough,” he said.