HANG ON, DANIEL!
Giants face Rams needing Jones to limit turnovers
Daniel Jones worked on ball security all offseason and was convinced he would curb his turnovers. But six giveaways into an 0-3 Giants start, it’s as problematic an issue as ever.
“I certainly didn’t expect it going into the season,” Jones said this week. “It’s something I’ve worked hard on to improve. I’ll continue to do that.”
If Jones protects the ball on Sunday, maybe a Giants team averaging 12.7 points per game will be able to compete with the 2-1 Rams, who are scoring 29.7 a clip.
But if Jones continues with his bad decisions and untimely turnovers, the Rams (2-1) will blow the Giants out at SoFi Stadium on Sunday. And then the chorus of doubters will grow louder about Jones’ ability to meet the expectations set for him as the No. 6 overall pick in 2019.
“I’ve been around young players before who’ve had issues turning the ball over,” offensive coordinator Jason
Garrett said. “You just keep emphasizing it and you keep trying to put them in an environment where the ball is not at risk. Having said that, when you play that position, you have to make plays in this league, too. You’re always balancing those things.
“We never want to take the edge or the stinger off the player,” Garrett added. “But at the same time, I’ve seen it done where you can make plays and also take care of the football.”
Jones’ start in last week’s 36-9 home loss to the 49ers was his worst and sloppiest as a pro.
Head coach Joe Judge said Friday that Jones responded well this week in practice.
“I love his response. I love his response,” Judge said. “This guy is coming in laser focused. He’s had a great week of practice for us right here.”
But there had to be growing concern about Jones’ play coming out of a Niners game with two more turnovers plus uncharacteristically inaccurate throws. Jones looked shell-shocked.
“He’s done a nice job with [accuracy] overall I think,” QB coach Jerry Schuplinski said. “I would say there was one that stands out a little bit, I know he missed Evan [Engram] on the out [route]. That stood out a little bit. The other one there was certainly some clutter around the pocket. I think his arm got hit once, which led to not as accurate a throw.
“I think the biggest thing we’re gonna continue to try to do with him is get his feet settled, it probably starts there,” Schuplinski continued, “being able to step into the throw and making a good throw.”
The great concern with the turnovers, though, is the same as it was his rookie season: many of them are due to poor decisions or self-inflicted errors.
Jones telegraphed his first interception to a leaping T.J. Watt against the Steelers in Week 1. His second pick that game, a killer on the goal line, was due to holding the ball too long so that Bud Dupree could deflect a pass attempt to teammate Cam Heyward.
On Robert Quinn’s first quarter strip sack in Chicago, Jones should have gotten rid of the ball already to an open Sterling Shepard knowing he had an empty backfield and rookie left tackle Andrew Thomas isolated on Quinn. Later, Engram slipped on Jones’ interception to Deon Bush, but Shepard was the open receiver out to the left. Last week’s fumble on a pitch to Engram was poor execution by at least three offensive players, including Jones with a pitch behind the tight end. Then Jones’ interception to Niners LB Fred Warner was, in the words of his QB coach, a bad read.
It was also something the defense seemed to see coming, a continued obvious problem that Garrett must fix: his offense has been vanilla and predictable.
“I think it was a combination of some things. They titled their coverage a little hard on that. They had a good idea,” Schuplinski said. “And it probably wasn’t the best read. Not necessarily an accuracy issue.”
Judge added: “We have to do a better job as coaches putting our players in situations to really be successful on the field. Every player right now just has to do a better job elevating our level of play in the game and executing. It’s never just one guy. We have a lot of confidence in Daniel.”
The Giants still do have a lot of confidence in Jones’ makeup and abilities and work ethic. But they also need to see him produce on the field.
If the bottom is going to fall out on yet another season record-wise, they at least want to see Jones make strides and improve to justify they have the right young man at the most important position in the sport.
They must have that answer if they are going into another NFL Draft with a lottery pick and Clemson star QB Trevor Lawrence on the board.
Jones’ turnovers are not as problematic, either, as the decisions he has made leading to them. He has to
demonstrate a more consistent ability to recognize and react at game speed.
“We just have to continue to focus on protecting it better, continue to focus on our decision-making, continue to focus on putting the players in a good environment where they can protect the football, and understanding the place that the ball has in the game,” Garrett said. “Last week, we had just over 50 plays in the game, but three of those plays were turnovers, and they were significant plays in the game for us.”
Last week, the Giants faced the reigning NFC Champion 49ers and got blown out despite 10 of 22 San
Fran starters being sidelined by injury. This week, they face the 2019 NFC Champion Rams.
Sean McVay hung 51 points on Ben McAdoo’s Giants in 2017 at MetLife Stadium in a 51-17 bludgeoning, and the Rams are capable of that on Sunday if Jones gives them extra possessions, too.
It’s now or never.
“It makes it harder to win when we’re turning the ball over, and I can’t afford to do that,” Jones said. “I’m certainly disappointed, but I’m not sure what that does to help improve or work towards getting better. I think it’s something that I have to continue to work towards.”