Kid’s mistakes same as they always were
WE HAVE reached that point in the season where the primary objective of every Giants game is a simple one: How’d the kid do? An eight-game losing streak has wiped out whatever bounties generally await the last quadrant of a football season. There will be no playoffs. There will be no playoff run. The Giants already know they can’t set the team record for fewest wins at 2-10 (although the mark for most losses is very much in play). In every way there is nothing to care even a little bit about when it comes to this team. Except one. How’d the kid do? That’s it. That’s all. It is all about Daniel Jones now. Sure, it’d be nice if between now and season’s end we could see a trace of what Saquon Barkley used to be. Yes, between now and season’s end it wouldn’t be so terrible if the youngsters on defense show signs that their frustrating play week to week really is the product of youth (as the Giants insist, almost to the point of desperation) and not simply a reflection of their ability and talent. And, sure: Another win or two would be nice because winning, at the end of the day, is better than losing, regardless of where you stand on the issue of tanking.
But Jones’ development — that is the key to all of this. That can make all the difference. That can makee it seem like there is a payoff to all the los-ing. There was for Phil Simms — he lost a lot early in his career, nearly go t pounded into submission, and ulti-mately delivered a Super Bowl. There was for Eli Manning — he lost his first six starts, some-sometimes looked as lost asas a lit-little boy in a crowded mall, and ultimately delivered twowo Lombardi Trophies.
“I feel like I’m making prog-progress,” Jones said in thehe aftermath of the Giants’ 31-13 loss to the Packers. “Obviously, there’s still a lot to work on, and I understand that. But I feel like I’m improving. The challenge is to continue to do that, but do it faster and play more consistently.”
In some ways, Jones’ rookie season has progressed exactly as most professional observers thought. He’s not afraid to take a hit — sometimes to his detriment. He extends play says with his legs. Given time he has a stunningly accurate arm — but when that time evaporates,, the throws can be impossible to predict.
At Duke, he threw 29 interceptions in 36 games.es. He also lost 13 fumbles and put the ball on the ground 19 times in his career. Then, as now, he has a tendency to hold onto the ball too long, meaning he’ll never get tagged as a quarterbacking diva by his teammates but sometimes pays a price for his stubborn athleticism. Joey Clinkscales, formerly a personnel executive with the Jets and Raiders who now does that job for the XFL’s Los Angeles Wildcats, offered what might’ve been the most prescient take on Jones for Sports Illustrated last spring, shortly before the Giants took him wi t h their f irst first-round pick: “He is a good athlete with very good mobili ty, not statuesque in the pocket but mobile enough to make plays outside the pocket with his legs. He has feel in the pocket vs. pressure, he will step up to throw rather than always trying to escape outside. He has a good arm, not great or special. He will hold the ball too long at times and get sacked or turn the ball over. Ball will hang at times, will put too much air under it and underthrow or give the defender a chance to get back in the play.”
So the things that are concerning about Jones now are nothing new. Giants coach Pat Shurmur a ct ual ly complimented Jones for his three-interception game against the Packers by pointing out, with almost audible relief, that those turnovers came on throws and not by fumbles.
It certainly begs the question whether this is something the memen who guide Jones’ career — whether that’s Shurmur or someone else — will simply have to deal with. Not every quarterback can be Tom Brady in his prime, who was more likely to break into song in the huddle than throw a bad pick. The Giants won two titles under Eli; you may recall he was plenty generous sharing the ball with opponents even in his best years.
Jones does make it easy to bebelieve he will emerge from this is messy, muddy season unscathed. He projects leadership, demands accountability, seems neither too impressed bby his good games nor too depressed by the bad. That, as much as anything, gives hope thath regardless of how bad it gets this year, the kid’ll be OK.
There was a nice video clip ththat made the rounds Sunday of Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers shaking Jones’ hand at game’s end and offering encouragement from his per chat op the pile of the five or six men who’ve played the position better than anyone else.
“Hang in there, brother,” Rodgers said. “Long career, right? Learn from these days. And from the good ones, too.”
If you listened closely there were a couple of million voices from the Giants congregation pleading, at that moment: “Preach!”