Daniel Jones

New York Giants: Two times Daniel Jones showed his potential in week 10

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New York Giants, Daniel Jones

It’s been an up and down season for New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones, but week 10 against Philadelphia was one of his better performances. Jones avoided turning the ball over and helped the Giants to their firmest win of the season so far, bringing them up to a three win record and keeping them loosely in the hunt for the division.

It’s worth going back and looking at this performance in more detail, because there’s a few moments where Jones’ potential to improve with the team shone through.

34 yard rushing touchdown

 

When the Giants drafted Daniel Jones, part of the reason they did so is the need for a mobile quarterback. Eli Manning wasn’t exactly mobile and it was said that Jones would be an upgrade in this area. And Jones has shown that this season, where the Giants have struggled with rushing overall – he’s still the team’s leading rusher, even at this point in the season.

The Giants having to rely on Jones in the rushing game isn’t an ideal situation but it did work out when Jones rushed for a touchdown against Philadelphia.

The offensive line opened up a gap through misdirection and Jones really showed off his speed on this play. The Eagles recovered from their initial mistake of falling for the bait play quickly enough that they could have made a stop. However, Jones ended up being too fast for them and outran multiple defenders to reach the end zone.

This play was pretty significant because it showed just what the Giants are getting with the more mobile Jones compared to strictly pocket passing QBs. And as the offensive line improves, we may see more runs like this with Jones going outside the pocket to gain yards rather than to avoid defenders who have broken through the line.

Deep sideline pass to Golden Tate

This one comes in the third quarter when the Giants were driving down the field, and Jones showed good skills in a couple of areas. For one, he did a better than usual job of actually reading the field and finding his target under pressure. The pocket started to get pushed in on this play and by the time the ball was thrown, Andrew Thomas was already in Jones’ face.

Jones has been criticized for throwing passes that aren’t hard for defenders to intercept, but in this case Jones put the ball high up and ahead of the cornerback, ensuring that the only one that could actually come down with the ball was Tate.

It’s not the only play like this that Jones made during the game. And we can take these plays as a sign of Jones improving at both reading the field and putting the ball somewhere where it won’t be intercepted by the opposing defense.

The Giants take on another bad team that they have a decent chance of beating when they face the Bengals after their bye. Will the improvement of Jones continue then? We’ll just have to wait and see.

New York Giants: Assessing Daniel Jones over the past two weeks

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New York Giants, Daniel Jones

If we travel all the way back to Week 8 when the New York Giants played the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in New York. The Giants’ defense played very well, and the offensive line had their best game of the season. There was just a significant piece the Giants needed to win, and he did not perform up to par, Daniel Jones. After that loss to the Buccaneers, Giants fans and analysts were hopping off the Daniel Jones train.

The last two weeks of football from Jones have given Giants hope to make the playoffs and hope they have found their franchise quarterback. In the past two weeks, Jones hasn’t thrown an interception or fumbled the ball. These were the two major factors holding Jones back from being a successful quarterback in the NFL. Jones still has tons of more work to be done to become one of the league’s best quarterbacks, but he’s only trending up.

What does the film say?

After watching every professional game for Jones as a Giant, he’s improving. I will make it simple for everyone understands. Jones needed a good running game. I am not saying Saquon Barkley is a bad running back at all, but when you have Barkley as your running back, teams out eight in the box. It is very hard for a running back to be consistent when you have eight in the box. Recently, with Barkley going down due to injury, teams have not been putting eight in the box. Wayne Gallman and Alfred Morris have been able to run the ball effectively for Big Blue. Guess what? When you have a good running game, it opens up the passing game.

The fumbling

The film also shows in the past couple of weeks, Jones has been getting the ball out of his hand very quickly. Jones is learning to throw the under route or the check down to his tight end/ running back. If your first or second read is not there, stuff like that is okay. Doing that too much could get you in some trouble. Jones before had a tendency to hold the ball in the pocket and wait and wait for his receiver to get open, to make the big play. When you hold the ball in the pocket too long, what happens? You get sacked. When you get sacked, what has a chance to happen? You fumble.

The interceptions

The film shows that Jones is not forcing the ball to his receivers as much. The biggest reason why the Giants lost the game to the Buccaneers was Jones forced two passes to his receivers, both of those passes were intercepted. In the past two weeks, Jones has been able to get the ball out of his hand quickly to his receivers, and if not, he has thrown the ball away, or he has checked down to his running back/tight end.

Jones has taken a few massive leaps these past couple of weeks by taking care of the football. If Jones can consistently have success as he has recently has done, the Giants have found their franchise quarterback

New York Giants need to see offensive line improve after bye week

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New York Giants, Matt Peart

The New York Giants made a shocking move today, firing offensive line coach Marc Colombo after only ten weeks with the team. According to reports, head coach Joe Judge made the decision to fire Colombo after a verbal altercation that saw Colombo insubordinate the team’s head coach. Now, Dave DeGuglielmo will serve as the team’s offensive line coach.

The Giants’ offensive line has struggled immensely in 2020. But, over the past few weeks, there has been some improvement. According to reports, this is correlated to the fact that Joe Judge has spent more time coaching the offensive line himself.

New York’s offensive line is a point of weakness. Judge and DeGuglielmo now have a whole bye week to work together and try to fix the offensive line’s issues. As the Giants make a late-season playoff push, it is crucial that the offensive line improves after the bye week to keep the Giants in the hunt.

New York Giants Offensive Line Stats

Despite investing a hefty amount of assets into the offensive line this offseason, the Giants’ front unit has not looked improved this year. Granted, there have been slight week-to-week improvements from individual linemen, but overall it has been a struggle for this positional group.

According to Pro Football Focus, through ten games, the Giants are last in pass-block grade (47.2) and 29th in run-block grade (56.9). PFF also states that quarterback Daniel Jones has been pressured on 42.9% of dropbacks this season (second among qualifying quarterbacks). Over the last four games, Jones has been pressured on 41.1% of his dropbacks (tied-fourth most).

New York’s second-year quarterback has been under constant duress this season. When kept clean, Jones has been surgical. In Sunday’s victory over Philadelphia, Jones was 18-18 from a clean pocket for 188 yards and a PFF passing grade of 93.1.

But keeping Jones’s pocket clean has been a struggle for the Giants. Rookie first-round draft pick Andrew Thomas leads all offensive tackles in the NFL in pressures allowed. He has struggled to find his footing in the NFL and has even been outplayed by third-round rookie Matt Peart in his smaller sample size.

The New York Giants found their formula for winning against Washington and Philadelphia the past two weeks. Essentially, the offensive line has to give Daniel Jones time to make plays. When Jones has a clean pocket he can make plays and keep the ball out of harm’s way. This is why fixing the offensive line should be the top priority for the Giants to close out the final seven weeks of the 2020 NFL season, as they push to make their first playoff appearance since 2016.

New York Giants: Is Daniel Jones franchise quarterback material?

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New York Giants, Daniel Jones

After the New York Giants beat the Philadelphia Eagles for the first time since 2016 in week 10 on Sunday, a little fireball of faith sparked around quarterback Daniel Jones.

Jones, who had his worst game of the season in week eight against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, missed several deep balls and looked uncomfortable in the pocket. His mechanics were all over the place, but since that contest, Jones has gone on to win two straight games, protecting the ball at all costs and turning the ball over zero times.

The development of Jones has been rocky, especially after the transition to Jason Garrett’s offensive scheme, which took almost half the season to hit its stride. Garrett was just establishing the fundamentals and base concepts of his system, but he has dominated his playcalling in the last two weeks.

Getting creative and taking aggressive shots downfield has been the Giants’ calling card, especially when it comes to Jones and his abilities. Incorporating read-option and downfield throws into his game has fit Daniel’s strengths perfectly.

You could say that Jones is a mixture between a game manager and off-script playmaker. He can pick up chunks of yardage with his legs but also follow his offensive coordinator’s system and pick out the right reads in the passing game.

In addition, his offensive line has taken significant steps forward the last few weeks, and the running game has posted five consecutive games with 100 yards or more. All of these factors have contributed to the Giants having more success on offense, but their defense has equally been impressive and much more.

With the Giants firing on all cylinders, we are seeing Johns take the developmental steps that we’ve been waiting for. Protecting the football and making good decisions has taken quite some time, but if Johns can alleviate those concerns within the Fanbase and coaching staff, the Giants can feel comfortable moving forward with him at quarterback.

Can Daniel Jones be the New York Giants’ franchise quarterback?

The big question revolves around Jones being the franchise quarterback, and I fully believe he’s capable of being their man if he remains consistent. Two consecutive games without a turnover and solid performances are inspiring, but we need to see great outings against above-average teams.

Both the Washington Football Team and Philadelphia Eagles have severe weaknesses across-the-board, but the Giants have several big matchup’s coming up against the Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks. Competing against teams like that will instill faith in the fan-base even more and likely solidify Jones as the franchise quarterback for the future.

Again, there’s a lot left to see when it comes to Daniel’s progression, but the last two weeks have proven that he’s capable of performing at a high-level — we need to see more against better quality teams.

New York Giants: The No. 1 biggest takeaway in the win over Philadelphia

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New York Giants, Daniel Jones

The New York Giants walked away in week 10 with a victory over the Philadelphia Eagles by a score of 27-17. In week seven, they fell by just one point, but with Philadelphia retooled on offense and ready to compete at a higher level, the Giants entered the game with a different idea in mind.

Not only did Big Blue win by 10 points, but their defense finally showed up when they needed them most. Forcing a turnover on downs in the biggest moment in the fourth quarter, the Giants showed that they have finally turned the corner and are ready to compete for the NFC East divisional title. Currently, the Giants are in second place in the division, at 3-7, while the Eagles lead with just a tie separating them (3-5-1).

The Giants have a BYE week in week 11 but return to play against the Cincinnati Bengals, who are currently 2-5-1 but have promising young quarterback Joe Burrow as their leader. The Giants’ defense will need to play at a high-level, but getting rest this week will hopefully refuel them and spark a second half wave of success.

Nonetheless, the biggest positive to take away from the win over Philadelphia boils down to quarterback Daniel Jones.

Jones entered the game with 12 interceptions and seven fumbles on the year, but Jones put together two consecutive games for the first time in his entire career without turning the ball over. Not only was he protective of the ball, but his awareness in the pocket was stellar.

He felt incoming pressure around him and decided to take sacks instead of forcing the ball downfield and into coverage. In addition, he was fantastic on the deep ball, hitting on 21 of 28 attempts in total. He had a 100.9 passer rating and was sacked three times, but going down is far better than turning the ball over on inexcusable mistakes.

The progression we’ve seen from Jones the past two weeks is extremely encouraging, especially after Giants fans were prepared to write him off going into the week nine contest against Washington.

While Jones didn’t throw for a touchdown, he had an oppressive 34 yards scamper for a score in the first quarter. He had another one taken away by an Andrew Thomas hold, but the Giants are getting creative on offense and displaying all of Daniel’s positive traits. If they can continue to keep the ball all safe and develop their offensive line, I believe Jones can become the franchise quarterback of the New York football Giants. However, the jury is still out, and we need to see more consistency after the BYE week.

Giants vs. Eagles: The three major keys for the Giants to come up with the win

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New York Giants, Evan Engram

This is the biggest game for both teams up to this point. The Philadelphia Eagles are in first place with a 3-4-1 record, and the New York Giants are in third place with a 2-7 record. The Giants can split the series against the Eagles if they can do a few things correctly. The three major keys for the Giants this weekend will include Daniel Jones, Evan Engram, and Isaac Yiadom.

Daniel Jones needs to protect the ball

The New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones has to be on target this weekend. Jones can not afford to force a turnover against the Eagles. DJ was not perfect last week, but he did not force a turnover. DJ fumbled twice in the game. The first fumble ended up going out of bounds, and the second fumble DJ jumped on to retain possession.

If Daniel Jones can protect the ball and throw the ball away when he has to, then the Giants can control the game on offense and with field position.

Last week’s game against Washington was the first time this season that DJ did not turn the ball over, the Giants came out on top. DJ and the entire offense needs to do the same thing as they did last week to have the best chance to win this game.

Evan Engram needs to catch the ball

The New York Giants tight end Evan Engram has been consistently dropping passes week in and week out. The last time the Giants and the Eagles played each other this season, Engram dropped a ball on third down that would have sealed the game for the Giants. The Giants were forced to punt and gave the ball back to Carson Wentz and the Eagles. The Eagles ended up winning this game against the Giants. What is in the past is in the past. All Giants fans hope for is that Engram can hold on to the ball, especially on third down.

Engram is a miss-match for most linebackers in the NFL, and DJ knows that. DJ just needs to find ways to get the ball into Engram’s hands in open space.

Isaac Yiadom needs to step up

In last week’s game against Washington, Isaac Yiadom allowed a perfect passer rating to Alex Smith when passes were thrown to Yiadom’s side of the field. If the New York Giants want to beat the Eagles this weekend, this simply can not happen this weekend. Wentz will attack Yiadom every time he gets.

The way that James Bradberry has been playing this season, Yiadom is going to see a lot of attention week in and week out, which isn’t going to change this weekend.

Outcome if all goes well

This is a lot to ask for, but if the Giants are able to pull this off against the Eagles, they could find themselves in a rhythm. On offense, DJ has to play a clean game, and Engram needs to catch the catchable balls. On defense, Yiadom will see the ball thrown his way a bunch this weekend. He needs to play just good for the Giants to come out with a big win and compete in the NFC East once again!

Three reasons the New York Giants can get win number three on Sunday

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New York Giants, Wayne Gallman

The New York Giants take on the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, and they have a chance to win back to back games for the first time this season. The team followed up their first win of the season with close back to back losses to Philadelphia and Tampa – now, they’ll have a chance to change that track record and get revenge for their bad loss in Philly.

But why should we be confident the Giants will pull this one out?

Daniel Jones cutting down on turnovers

The most recent game for the Giants was the first one this season where Daniel Jones had one or more touchdowns and no interceptions. He also didn’t lose a fumble, getting him out of the game with no turnovers. Turnovers have been a big problem for Jones this season and have earned him plenty of criticism from fans.

During the team’s back to back losses picked up following their first win of the season, Jones threw three interceptions and lost one fumble. Taking more care of the ball is a different trend from the rest of the season, as Jones already has nine interceptions right now. If he can keep up the safer decision making, the Giants have a better chance of winning this one.

The Giants came close last time

The Giants should have won their first meeting with the Eagles. That’s not a biased statement, but the truth. The Giants only had to run the clock out and they would have walked away with a victory. However, the now infamous drop from Evan Engram cost the team a first down and the game ended as an unexpected loss.

These types of weird situations usually don’t happen twice. No one in the NFC East is a very good team this year and the Eagles should still be a beatable team. The Giants did alright the first time around when they played the Eagles. They made plays on offense just at the right time, and would have produced just enough to come away with a win if it wasn’t for the late drop that gave the Eagles another possession.

This time, the Giants might know better than sending the ball Evan Engram’s way if the team is in trouble late in the game.

High performance defense

Several defensive players for the Giants have stepped it up this season. One of them, linebacker Blake Martinez, is leading the league in tackles right now. Martinez has 92 tackles right now, an impressive accomplishment for a player that was considered a castoff from Green Bay and who faced skepticism after signing his deal with the Giants. Martinez had a big contribution to the Giants’ second win, with 10 tackles as well as an interception.

Another player stepping it up is Leonard Williams. He’s had sacks in back to back games and has had five so far this season. That’s a pretty big step up from his poor statistics last season after joining the Giants, and Williams has justified the team’s decision to keep him around for another year.

James Bradberry has taken up the top cornerback mantle from Janoris Jenkins and done good things in the role. He has 3 interceptions so far which ties him for 5th in the league and will likely be a factor in Giants wins going forward.

Can the Giants pull it off?

The Eagles barely managed a win in the first meeting between these two teams. That was with a home crowd at their backs and the advantage of facing a first time head coach with a new administration. This time, the Giants have a bit more familiarity with their opponent and experience crafting a game plan to face the Eagles. Daniel Jones also did better last time out avoiding turnovers and the top performers on defense haven’t let up in their performances.

There’s no guarantee that anyone will win any game in the NFC East this year, but it’s safe to say the Giants at least have a good chance to beat the Eagles and pick up their third win of the season on Sunday.

Mel Kiper comes to defense of New York Giants QB Daniel Jones

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New York Giants, Daniel Jones

Daniel Jones is under fire from many fronts after his performance against the Buccaneers, where the New York Giants came close but fell short by a failed two point conversion. Jones had a mixed performance in the game and put them in a position to win in the first place through keeping the game alive at several unlikely moments. On the other hand, you could also argue that Jones cost the Giants the game with his two interceptions as well as the missed pass at the very end.

Frustration has been building since Jones’ rookie season around his turnover problem, but it boiled over for many with the interceptions playing a big part in losing another important game. Some fans have even called for Jones to be benched for a game in favor of Colt McCoy, who is far from a solution for the team.

But Jones also has his defenders, and one of them seems to be ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr. Kiper appeared on ESPN Radio and had several things to say about Jones and his current situation.

Positive take on Daniel Jones from Mel Kiper

He said that Jones showed up big on Monday Night Football and that the last play of the game should have been a pass interference call. He also said that the interceptions from Jones are part of his growing pains.

“Daniel Jones is learning. He’s 20 starts into his career, guys. He’s not 65 starts in. Peyton Manning had 23 interceptions his fourth year in the league. He had 100 interceptions in his first five years. He had 53 the five years after that. [Jones] is learning, those are learning teachable moments,” Kiper said.

“People ask: ‘when is he going to stop making those mistakes?’ Well, he’s only a year and a half into his career, okay? Josh Allen in Year 2, was making mistakes just like that and in Year 3 he’s not making any of those mistakes. Let’s give these quarterbacks some time, okay?”

The Giants will have to stick with Jones for the foreseeable as they don’t currently have much of an alternative option. However, there will almost certainly be some form of quarterback debate if the team does replace Dave Gettleman at the end of the season. Jones is Gettleman’s pick after all, and it will have to be decided whether or not Jones is the future of the franchise.

For now, this is a make or break season for the young quarterback where his future performances could either dispel the complaints around his game or make them seem more legitimate depending on the outcome.

New York Giants: No plans to bench Daniel Jones, says Coach Judge

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New York Giants, Daniel Jones

The New York Giants fell to 1-7 on Monday night after yet another heartbreaking primetime defeat. The Giants battled hard and went down to the wire with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, ultimately falling short 23-25.

Second-year quarterback Daniel Jones has received the bulk of the blame for the Giants’ Week 8 loss. Jones threw 2 interceptions, committing his 12th and 13th turnovers of the season. In his career, Daniel Jones has turned the ball over 36 times in 21 games. He has been a turnover machine, leading some fans to call for his benching midseason.

Head coach Joe Judge was asked today whether or not he and Jason Garrett have considered benching Daniel Jones. He gave a simple answer: “No.” According to the man himself, Judge has not given any consideration to benching Daniel Jones in hopes that he gains clarity from stepping back from a game.

Should the Giants bench Daniel Jones?

The New York Giants are 1-7 and seemingly out of the playoff race. Head coach Joe Judge made it clear today that Daniel Jones will remain the team’s starting quarterback. Judge said today, “Daniel is our quarterback.” But this might not be favorable news to some fans.

Some fans have seen enough of Daniel Jones. His turnover total through a season and a half is too high for some fans. When the Giants are in close games like they were on Monday night, some fans believe Colt McCoy could pull off an improbable win.

Even if that were true, the Giants should not bench Daniel Jones. Daniel Jones might not be the future of this team but Colt McCoy definitely is not the future of this team. How would the Giants benefit from having Colt McCoy on the field?

If you are a fan that does not believe in Daniel Jones, that is fine. But give him the rest of the season before you make a final decision. Give him these last eight weeks to prove you right or prove you wrong. At the very least, Jones playing these last eight weeks gives the Giants two seasons of game film to evaluate heading into the 2021 offseason. This film will be crucial for the Giants as they evaluate the quarterback position when they are likely to be picking within the top five or ten picks of the 2021 NFL Draft. New York needs to know for certain what they have in Jones before the draft rolls around in April.

Dave Gettleman is also not likely to return as the Giants’ general manager in 2021. The next person in that position will have to make a decision regarding Daniel Jones and a potential draft prospect. The next GM will need to have enough film to evaluate and make certain of his decision in the offseason.

Best case scenario over these final eight weeks: Daniel Jones improves his play, possibly establishing himself as a franchise quarterback or Daniel Jones only gets worse, bottoms out, and the Giants know they need to draft a new signal-caller in April. Worst case scenario: Daniel Jones does not play and the Giants do not know for certain whether or not they should invest in their second first-round quarterback prospect in the last three years.

No brainer, Daniel Jones needs to remain the starter of the New York Giants, regardless of his inconsistent play.

WATCH: New York Giants come up short in last minute conversion

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New York Giants, Daniel Jones

The New York Giants did better than expected against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but still walked away with the loss. Despite beating the spread and giving the Bucs a late game scare, it all came down to a two point conversion to tie the game at the very end. And the play fell short, either because of Daniel Jones, great defense from the Bucs, or a bad call from the referees depending on who you want to believe.

However, it’s hard to give an objective answer on if the play should have been a penalty or not because it walked very close to the line without necessarily going over. The best way to find out is to watch the end of game play for yourself.

Jones has come under fire this season for having too many interceptions, which was a trend that continued in this game. He did make several key passes on the final drive which kept the Giants alive under unlikely odds, but on the other hand part of the reason the team was down was his pair of interceptions.

Because Jones turns the ball over at around the same rate that he contributes to scores for the Giants, some of his better games are often overshadowed by turnovers. This will likely be one of those games, as shown by some fan demands for the team to finally bench Jones who currently has more interceptions than touchdowns.

It looks unlikely that the Giants will do that, however, owing to lack of a strong backup. For the next half of the season, we’ll simply have to wait and see if the problem improves or continues as is.