DANIEL JONES, FROM 7 ANGLES
The Giants organization that traded Odell Beckham Jr. in 2019 is focused two years later on adding playmakers to help quarterback Daniel Jones. Who could have coming?
There is no doubt the Giants need to find a No. 1 wideout in the draft or free agency. Jones’ weapons were serviceable in 2020 but his lack of production was jarring.
Jones’ 11 touchdown passes in 14 games ranked 29th among NFL QBs. Aaron Rodgers led the league with 48, but forget the likely MVP. How about other quarterbacks the Giants could have drafted the last three years?
That group includes the Josh Allen (37 TD passes in 16 games), the Chargers’ Justin Herbert (31 in 15 games), the Ravens’ Lamar Jackson (26 in 15 games), the Broncos’ Drew Lock (16 in 13 games) and the Jaguars’ Gardner Minshew (16 in nine games).
This was the highest scoring season in NFL history with 12,692 total points. The Giants scored 280 points as a team, 31st in the NFL. The Packers scored 509, the Bills 501.
Jones’ completion percentage rose from 61.9 to 62.5. His yards per attempt were an identical 6.6. His interception percentage dropped from 2.6% to 2.2%, but his TD rate plummeted from 5.2% to 2.5%.
The Giants say they see enough in Jones to run it back for a third season in 2021. Here are the reasons why in the words of their decision makers, with a quick analysis of each: that
“Daniel before he got hurt was playing really well during that winning streak that we had. Then he got hurt in Cincinnati, and then he wasn’t quite the same for the next few weeks. I thought he played very well this past Sunday (against Dallas), and also played well in the Baltimore game. Our coaches, all of them, are very high on Daniel, and I feel the same way. I think he has
The Giants averaged 21 points in the games Mara cited. Jones’ mobility and 423 rushing yards this season were a big plus. He had 64 rushing yards and a TD in a Week 10 victory over the Eagles during his best stretch. Using the 27-13 Ravens blowout as evidence of progress is interesting. The Giants would have lost, 34-13, if not for a goal line Baltimore fumble. Jones’ offense ran three first-quarter plays, the fewest by a Giants team in at least the last 40 years, per the Elias Sports Bureau.
“Early in the season he was struggling with his ball protection. We all know that. The second half of the year unfortunately he had that blip of the hamstring. He finished the season very strong. He played well against Baltimore despite getting chased all over the place to a degree, made some big time throws. And … the last game of the year was a playoff game for us. It really was … And Daniel played very well. Made a couple of big time throws and protected the ball for the most part. The one pick was off Evan (Engram)’s hands. But he’s done a lot of really good stuff. He’s made of the right stuff, mentally and physically.”
Jones had two turnovers in the Cowboys finale, not one. He was credited with a fumble for a bad handoff exchange with Wayne Gallman. The offense scored three points in the second half and forced the defense to play a season-high 82 snaps. The Cowboys had one of the worst defenses in the NFL in 2020. Two passing TDs and 23 points against a defense giving up 29.6 points a game is the least Jones could do.
COACH: JOE JUDGE, HEAD
“Is Daniel our guy? Are we going forward with Daniel? The answer is absolutely. What gives us that confidence is even in games like (Baltimore) where it didn’t come out perfectly, you can turn the tape on and you can say, ‘hey listen, in games one through whatever, that wasn’t the guy we were looking at.’ You watch the (Ravens) tape and you see that guy in there operating, executing, understanding the pressure and not just standing in there with courage like he’s done all along ... but understanding how to take the hit and deliver an accurate pass and move the sticks down the field.”
The theme of the Giants’ confidence in Jones comes back to citing incremental improvements that often aren’t showing up as results. That’s the major concern here: while Jones has some good qualities, isn’t the NFL about scoring points and winning games, two things he hasn’t done consistently?
“We think Daniel has a chance to be a really good player. There’s no question about that. He has all the attributes that you want in a quarterback. He’ll grow from his experiences that he’s had. There are a lot of positive things he can build on over the last couple of years. There are certainly some things that he has to improve upon. But he’s absolutely the right kind of guy.”
Garrett’s endorsement of Jones is the most lukewarm. Garrett likes Jones’ makeup and work ethic, but his confidence sounds conditional upon Jones’ continued individual improvement and upgrades of the personnel around him.
JERRY SCHUPLINSKI, QB COACH:
“I feel like his anticipation and understanding of the coverages, his
reads, have been improved. And I would say … in our system, from Day 1 in training camp, understanding where he’s looking, where he wants to go, what the defense is doing, there are some really good examples where we game plan for a specific look and then it doesn’t come up. There were some good examples of where he saw it, it wasn’t there, he threw it down to the back and we gained 10 yards. There were some examples where he would have held it in the past and tried to force something, and he’s doing a better job of that certainly.”
ANALYSIS: Schuplinski was referring to a Jones checkdown to Alfred Morris for a 9-yard gain and a first down in Baltimore, an encouraging example of Jones taking what the defense gives him and not forcing something. Two plays later, on that same second quarter drive, the QB coach said Jones again showed growth. The Giants called some vertical routes down the field but Jones saw the deep half covered and hit Engram on a drag route underneath for 11 yards and a first down. Seeing coaching points show up on the field is progress. Still, that drive stalled with two incompletions for a field goal in a 17-0 game.
NICK GATES, CENTER:
“Daniel’s a heck of a QB. Everybody loves him in the locker room. All the coaches like him. You can’t say a bad thing about Daniel. He comes to work every day and he prepares, and he’s gonna go out there and he acts like he’s gonna win the game.”
The best thing about Jones is that everyone who plays with him genuinely believes in him. This can’t be discounted.
DANIEL JONES, QB:
“Throughout the season, I felt like we made considerable improvement week to week. It wasn’t a straight incline. There were bumps in the road. There were games that we didn’t play as well and took steps back. But I felt like we continued to improve and work through challenges. … There are certainly a lot of things I’ll look to improve and continue to work on. Ball security will continue to be one of them.”
ANALYSIS: Jones’ self-assessment on Monday was pretty honest and accurate. The Giants’ offense definitely was better in Week 17 than it was in Week 1, but it’s also still far from good enough, and Jones has plenty to work on. Holding Jones to a high standard is the only way the Giants will get where they need to go. He is doing that and so is the team. The 2021 season will tell whether its faith in him is justified.