Shurmur: QBs already on the same page
The first interactions between veteran Eli Manning and rookie Daniel Jones are going quite well, said Giants coach Pat Shurmur, who declared the symbiotic relationship of the quarterbacks as healthy and productive — for both players.
“I think it’ s good on both counts ,” Shu rm ur said Monday after the first organized team a ct ivi ty practice of the spring. “It’s a really, really good quarterback room, and they’re two very competitive guys that work well together. Guys are in there just trying to get better with each rep and they help each other. I feel really good about the interaction they’ve had to this point.
“Just the way quarter backs communicate. They’re smart guys that are highly competitive, they’re well-accomplished players and they’re doing what they can to get ready to play. Eli’s getting ready to play winning football. Dan Jones is trying to learn the offense and get himself ready to play Week 1. Like all the quarterbacks in the room. Because they have a general respect for one another and because that really is a healthy quarterback room, they both can improve and get better and that’s good.”
Shurmur saying Jones — taken out of Duke with the No. 6 pick in the NFL draft — is pre par i ng hi mself to play Week 1 is coachspeak and not a suggestion this is an open competition. Shurmur made it clear Manning, entering season No. 16 with the Giants, is the starter. Shurmur also made it clear Jones is being groomed immediately as the backup, ahead of Alex Tanney and Kyle Lauletta, the other quarterbacks on the roster.
“I view the quarterback position, we have a starter in Eli and we’ve got guys behind him, specif ically Daniel Jo nes, t hat need to do everything he can to play Week 1,” Shurmur said.
Asked about how t he workload will play out with Jones, Tanney and Lauletta, Shurmur said: “We’ll scale it, certainly. They’ll all get their work, but Daniel will get the majority of that.”
Working alongside each other for the first time, the two quarterbacks, separated by 17 years, hit the field on a sun-splashed morning. They look remarkably similar in terms of body type and the way they carry themselves. Manning received the reps with the starting offense. In the first two-minute drill period, Manning did not complete a pass and his fourth-down throw, intended for Russell Shepard, was deflected by co r ner - back Sam Beal and intercepted by safety J ab rill Peppers.
Jones got the work with the second group and ended up tossing a short touchdown pass to fellow rookie C.J. Conrad, an undrafted tight end from Kentucky. As the session moved on, Manning’s command of the offense surfaced, and he was the more effective passer.