ISLE OF DA N
Uncertain future, lack of past support, erratic play in previous seasons, new coaching staff: None of that matters to the Giants QB. He is focused on being better at his job and winning more games. PAUL SCHWARTZ
Of all the tall and toned young executives residing along the Hudson River in uptown Hoboken, Daniel Jones stands out even as he tries to blend in. In a high-rent district filled with upwardly mobile, athletic-looking, twentysomething guys and gals giving off the vibe they might have played lacrosse or soccer at some Ivy League school, Jones fits in well. He is impossible to miss, a broad-shouldered and square-jawed specimen at 6-foot-5, routinely clean-shaven, never far removed from a fresh and not especially trendy haircut.
Jones, 25, does not partake in the corporate migration common to his neighborhood. He does not put on a suit, take the ferry across the river to a downtown Manhattan law firm or hedge fund. He throws on shorts and T-shirt or joggers and a hoodie, and, if he hits green at a particular light a few blocks from his parking garage, he can make it to the Giants’ training and practice facility in 12 minutes. He has timed it. Even with the typical traffic snarls and those notorious New Jersey jughandles, he can complete the return trip in less than 30 minutes. It is a good spot for him.
“People recognize me, yeah,’’ Jones said recently, relaxed and unbothered while sitting with The Post at a French bakery and cafe steps from his apartment. “It’s more like, ‘Hey how’s it going?’ I’ve really enjoyed living here. There’s places you can walk around, get something to eat and hang out. You get noticed from time to time, but everyone’s pretty nice.
“People come up and ask, ‘Are you Daniel Jones?’ and that’s always awkward. ‘Yeah, I am. How’s it going?’ People are nice. A lot of Giants fans certainly around here.’’
Certainly. And almost every one of them knows how the quarterback of the New York Football Giants fared in the previous Sunday’s game, and the majority of them have an opinion of whether Daniel Jones will sink or swim this fall and winter.
It is true that he was taken with the No. 6-overall pick in the 2019 draft, and that the selection was jeered by the masses, and that in his three seasons with the Giants he has never strolled the streets of his adopted Hudson County home knowing what it feels like to be with a winner. The Giants are 13-35 since his arrival. They are 12-25 with him as a starter. He took over for the benched Eli Manning, won his first two NFL starts as a rookie, and after four games the Giants were .500. They have never sniffed a winning record ever since.
Life at the helm of a good team, or a spunky, semi-contending team, is an existence Jones can only imagine — which he does, from time to time.
“Maybe a little bit,’’ he said. “Maybe it would be a little harder to walk around, you’d have a few more people wanting to say hello. I’d certainly trade that all for some more wins.’’
That Jones immediately equated greater success with unwanted recognition is telling, as it reveals what he is (and is not) seeking. His four-year, $25.6 million contract expires after this season. He has relative fame and fortune, but no guarantees beyond the 2022 season.
With his fourth NFL training camp approaching, Jones is on the hot seat, and he knows it. There is a new general manager, Joe Schoen, who was working in Buffalo when the Giants selected Jones out of Duke. There is a new head coach, Brian Daboll, who also was in Buffalo when Jones was drafted. They want it to work with Jones, but have no legacy or reputation on the line with him. At this point, given what has transpired in the past and what many expect will take place in the rebuilding season ahead, it should be considered an upset if Jones is with the Giants in 2023.
Introspection, especially for public consumption, is not a popular download on Jones’ playlist. He goes with the flow, somewhat, when he is asked for a projection. One year from now, where will you be? Jones paused. “I don’t know,’’ he said. “I haven’t put a whole lot of time into it. I’m focused on what I’m doing now, and, hopefully, the plan is to have a lot of success and have a great season and win a lot of games.’’ A team allowing its starting quarterback to venture into nebulous contract territory means the team is not sold that quarterback is the answer. Schoen told Giants ownership it was unwise to pick up Jones’ fifth year option, which would have guaranteed the quarterback $22.3 million in 2023, and that leaves Jones having to perform to ensure his Giants’ future. “It’s something you probably think about from time to time, in the back of your mind, but, yeah, you try not to,’’ Jones said. “I don’t think that helps you play better.’’ Sometimes, he has been told, it does help you play better. The specter of “contract year’’ can stimulate a player. Jones shook his head in disapproval that this pertains to him. “I think I have plenty of motivation,’’ he said, actually sounding a bit put-off (for him). “I feel I work hard, I’ve worked hard before, and I’ve always worked hard for myself and worked hard for my teammates. I don’t think that changes, really. It is what it is, and I’ll keep doing what I’ve been doing and improve and refine my process.’’ The hard work thus far has not panned out in victories or individual success. Perhaps Jones needs to work harder. He rejects that notion. “I think I put in a whole lot of effort and time,’’ Jones said. “It is my life. Everything revolves around football and my job. That’s how I make decisions. I don’t know how that can change or if I could work harder. I think there’s ways I could work smarter, you learn that. Maybe you work in a different way, you put it in a different bucket.’’ What is gained and what is deserved often are not linked. Does Jones believe in his heart that all his efforts will eventually guide him to the desired results? “Yeah, I do believe that,’’ he said. “I’ll always believe you get out what you put in and the results will come, trust in what you do and how hard you work and how much you care. I think in anything that’s what leads to success.’’
f the Giants had protected Daniel Jones I
as fiercely as Daniel Jones protects his privacy, the franchise would be on the rise. He was embraced by his teammates in 2019 almost immediately — the younger players related to him in a more natural way than trying to align with Manning who was closer to 40 and married with four kids. His bandwidth is considerably weaker when Jones gets around the media. He is polite — always polite — cautious and accommodating without extending himself or the conversation. For two years, COVID-19 restrictions kept the locker room closed and the media at bay.
With the offseason work winding down, Jones recently agreed to meet away from the team facility for a Saturday morning sit-down. He arrived promptly at 10:30 a.m. and said he had nothing planned for the next hour. On the record, off the record, anything goes.
Steps away from his apartment, he picked up a large glass bottle of water from the cooler and ordered a small coffee-flavored drink. He was not recognized by the barista behind the counter, and if anyone did identify him as the Giants’ quarterback, they kept that knowledge to themselves. When his drink was not ready in five or so minutes, Jones gently inquired as to the timing and soon after the filled plastic cup arrived and looked almost thimble-sized in his large right hand.
He was immediately inquisitive. Where do you live, how was the ride in, how long have you been covering the Giants? Wife?
Kids? What college did you attend?
At a table for two, Jones sat back, placed his phone down and glanced at it from time to time. He was not distracted, though, intent on making this time worthwhile for both of us.
Does this weigh on you? Jones knows what “this’’ refers to. “Just the lack of success? Um, yeah, it weighs on me a great deal,’’ he said. “When you put a lot of time and effort into something and you don’t see the results, I think that’s tough when you’re doing anything. Playing football in the NFL, playing football in New York, I think there’s a heavy weight to that. I and the whole team feel that and we’re working as hard as we can to avoid being in this situation in the future. Yeah, it weighs on me heavy.’’
Giants co-owner John Mara in late January, on the day Schoen was introduced as the new general manager, famously said, “We’ve done everything possible to screw this kid up since he’s been here’’ — “this kid’’ being Jones. This made its way to Jones very quickly, and he had an important strategy to navigate: Agree with the most influential member of the franchise or refuse to buy into the narrative that he has been treated shabbily. Jones chose the latter.
“I don’t know if it took me aback,’’ he said. “I don’t know. I think it would be a mistake for me to … I feel fully responsible for how I’ve played, and to feel differently than that would be a mistake. We haven’t won, I haven’t played as well as I need to win games. I’ve got to be real with myself and honest with myself, looking back on things. That’s the only way I’m going to improve and we’re going to improve.’’
Gauging Jones’ improvement is difficult. His touchdown-to-interception ratio of 24-12 as a rookie was perfectly acceptable. That ratio was 11-10 in 2020 and 10-7 in 2021. His fumbles, a glaring problem in Year 1,
“I FEEL FULLY RESPONSIBLE FOR HOW I’VE PLAYED, AND TO FEEL DIFFERENTLY THAN THAT WOULD BE A MISTAKE. WE HAVEN’T WON, I HAVEN’T PLAYED AS WELL AS I NEED TO WIN GAMES.” — DANIEL JONES