The biggest misconception about the Giants is that Daniel Jones simply needs to play like he did in 2022 to silence his critics.
The reality is that with head coach Brian Daboll calling the plays, the Giants are looking more like a cross between rookie Daniel Jones (circa 2019) and career-year Daniel Jones (circa 2022) — a version never sustained over an extended period where he’s aggressive without veering into recklessness.
“What I want him to do is … make the right decisions, get us to the right plays if he needs to and let loose when he needs to,” Daboll said.
Training camp and a small taste of preseason action suggest Daboll wants more from Jones than he’s willing to say: more big plays, more deep throws, more points scored.
Can Jones answer the call without falling back into the old ball-loss habits he overcame?
“That seems like a huge ask from someone who’s never really shown the ability to do it consistently,” ESPN analyst and former front office executive Louis Riddick told the Post. “Is he going to be able to do it occasionally? Yeah, I’m sure he will. But given where he was drafted and what they paid him, and what’s going to keep them from looking for the next (quarterback), is he going to be able to do it consistently?”
“No, I wouldn’t bet a dime on that. I’m being honest, given what he’s shown so far.”
Jones led the Giants to the playoffs and earned a $160 million contract extension through 2022 while posting the NFL’s best interception rate (1.1 percent of his passes) and sixth-ranked QBR despite throwing just 15 touchdown passes.
But the Giants are no longer the Saquon Barkley-driven, Mike Kafka-called, fake-dependent offense they were when Jones’ primary focus was taking care of the ball and hiding his shortcomings.
If the Giants want to capitalize on the speed of Malik Nabers and Jalin Hyatt and the significant investments made on the offensive line to provide a cleaner pocket, the ball has to get downfield like it did when 11.8 percent of Jones’ passes went 20 yards or more and resulted in nine touchdowns in 2019, according to Pro Football Focus.
In the 47 games that followed, just 5.5 percent of Jones’ passes covered 20 or more yards and produced 12 total touchdowns.
“We came out pretty explosive. We got downfield pretty good,” said Darius Slayton, Jones’ favorite target since their freshman year together. “We started there and worked our way back. That’s in him. He’s shown he can do it. This year, hopefully we’re able to make more plays downfield and bring that game back to life.”
It was shocking to see Tyrod Taylor attack downfield at more than twice the rate of Jones while playing with similar personnel.
Even before developing MVP candidate Josh Allen, Daboll had experienced quarterbacks like Brady Quinn, Derek Anderson, Matt Moore, Colt McCoy, Chad Henne and Matt Cassel throwing deep between 10 and 18 percent of their passes.
“The number of big plays that happen each year is small,” Daboll said, thinking about 40-yarders. “But it’s important in terms of game results and points.”
The message that was drilled into Jones behind the scenes after his 23-turnover rookie season was: “Take what the defense gives you.” Daboll might be willing to accept more aggressive mistakes in exchange for the explosiveness that has lifted the Giants off the bottom of the standings in both scoring and winning ways the past two seasons.
“The one thing that gives me comfort, and I know he’ll continue to develop, is his ability to push the ball down the field, be more aggressive and take those deep shots,” assistant general manager Brandon Brown said. “I think this is the first time in his career that Daniel has had four receivers that could line up on a 4×100-yard dash and create natural separation.”
The best game of Jones’ career, given the circumstances, came against the Vikings in the 2022 playoffs, when he threw for 301 yards and two touchdowns.
The Vikings who visit Sunday at the start of Jones’ breakthrough year have no resemblance in personnel or scheme under second-year coordinator Brian Flores.
“He puts the pressure on a lot. Sometimes the whole game,” Daboll said. “It’s a completely different defensive scheme and structure than we saw two years ago. It couldn’t be more different.”
But again, if Daboll gets his way, the Giants will look very different offensively if Jones can stay on the line.
“At the time, we had a completely different plan,” Slayton said. “I think DJ is going to be aggressive but also smart.”
New York Post
