Time for Daniel to speak up and help shape Giants ‘O’
With Jason Garrett fired, the pressure on the Giants’ offense is going to shift onto Daniel Jones, the third-year quarterback still fighting to prove he can win. So it’s important for Jones to be more vocal than he ever has been before in crafting the offensive game plan whenever he does return from the neck strain that is expected to sideline him Sunday at Miami.
“It’s always been our thought as a staff for a long time that the quarterback has to drive this thing, all right,” play-caller Freddie Kitchens said Thursday. “The quarterback has to drive decisions.”
Jones has always been directly involved with game planning. He regularly collaborates with coaches on what plays he likes and doesn’t like.
Quarterbacks coach Jerry Schuplinski said Thursday that Jones is especially good to work with because the quarterback is always willing to “give something a chance” in practice before deciding whether or not he feels comfortable running it in a game. Schuplinski said Jones did a “great job” providing feedback on last week’s game plan and that he’s “getting better” at being assertive when he doesn’t like something.
But the coach did admit sometimes they need to ask Jones to get his answer, which is typical with a young quarterback.
“Veteran guys are a little more forceful,” Schuplinski said. “(With a veteran) it’s, ‘Hey, rank these plays one through 10,’ and they’re
like, ‘Well this play’s 18.’ And you’re like, ‘OK, I can’t call that.’
“(Jones) certainly has always been very forthcoming,” Schuplinski added. “Sometimes you need to ask him and get it out of him a little bit.”
This is not the time for Jones to wait to be asked, though. He has the ears of coach Joe Judge and Kitchens and the entire offensive staff, who have gone directly to Jones and other players asking for feedback.
The time is now for Jones to make this his offense, to impose his will on the scheme. Because it could be his neck on the line if this season continues to go south.
Judge and the Giants fired Garrett, obviously, because they believed it was in Jones’ and the offense’s best interest. So all of their efforts are focused on propping up their former No. 6 overall pick and making him the best version of himself.
It’s only fair to Jones to temper expectations for how much better this can get this season. His offensive line is a trainwreck and many of Jones’ skill players are injured.
But Jones has only six games remaining before entering an offseason the Giants would have to elect to pick up his fifth-year option, while holding two first-round picks, with a critical fourth season and/or potential competition awaiting him.
For any QB, particularly a first-round QB, this is a critical point in his career.
Judge and Kitchens want to continue empowering Jones. That’s why they’ve given him a wristband with numbers corresponding to play calls for the first time in the QB’s career: to get him to the line of scrimmage quicker to scan the field.
“The goal of a play-caller and as a staff is to get the play to the quarterback as quickly as possible,” Kitchens said. “You want to break the huddle as fast as possible to get to the line of scrimmage and have more time to see and react.”
This shows trust in the quarterback to get the Giants in and out of plays, to operate this as Jones’ offense.
Wide receiver Kenny Golladay said “it’s huge” that Kitchens and the Giants’ offense staff are soliciting so much player feedback.
“You can come over to the sideline and actually, since you’re the one out there running, you can actually tell them what you’re seeing,” Golladay said. “I’m not saying there wasn’t openness with Garrett, but Freddie did want to hear from us a little bit more.”
Schuplinski also said he could tell right away Kitchens is aggressive.
“He’s certainly not afraid to take some opportunities, and I think he’s got a little bit of a wing-it mentality to him at times, which is a good thing,” Schuplinski said. “Sometimes, myself included, you think, ‘Oh, I don’t know if we should do this. Can we protect this?’ And he’s a little bit more like, ‘Let’s do it.’ ”
Striving for more big plays can only help Jones. Soliciting more feedback and trusting Jones at the line are all signs the staff trusts its QB. So Jones should reward the Giants’ trust by grabbing this offense by the neck and making it his show.
SHEPARD, RUDOLPH GET WORK
WR Sterling Shepard (quad) and TE Kyle Rudolph (ankle) were upgraded to limited in Thursday’s practice alongside Jones (neck). WR Kadarius Toney (oblique/quad) and CB Adoree Jackson (quad) continued to sit out practice and are likely out Sunday. Wideout John Ross (illness), TE Kaden Smith (knee), edge Trent Harris (ankle) and special teamer Cullen Gillaspia (calf) also remained out and aren’t looking good for the game.