Daniel Jones

New York Giants: Daniel Jones thriving off deep passing attack

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new york giants, daniel jones

The New York Giants just earned their first win of the 2021 season. In thrilling fashion, the Giants pulled off an overtime upset over the New Orleans Saints to improve their record to 1-3. Quarterback Daniel Jones had a career game that propelled the team to victory.

Daniel Jones threw for a single-game career-high 402 passing yards against the Saints on Sunday. Much of Jones’s yardage was gained on deep passes, 15 or 20+ yards downfield. The Giants opened up their offense, calling more deep passing plays, allowing Danny to deliver some big-time dimes.

Daniel Jones thriving off deep passing attack

Through the first three weeks of the 2021 season, Daniel Jones attempted only 7 passes of 20+ yards downfield (about 2.3 attempts per game). Fans and analysts have criticized Jason Garrett’s offensive scheme for being too “dink-and-dunk” and not taking enough shots downfield. Garrett and Jones heard the criticisms and opened the offense up on Sunday.

In the Giants’ Week Four victory, Daniel Jones threw 5 passes of 20+ yards downfield, far more than he has been throwing on average this season. Jones lit it up on these attempts, going 2/5 with 106 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 irrelevant interception (the hail mary attempt at the end of the first half).

Even while scaling the threshold back, the Giants were throwing the ball further downfield than the rest of the NFL on Sunday. Daniel Jones had 9 completions on throws 10+ yards downfield in Week 4, the most among all quarterbacks (PFF).

On passes 15+ yards downfield, Daniel Jones was surgical. The Giants’ quarterback was 8 of 11 for 229 and 2 touchdowns on throws of 15+ air yards (Jordan Raanan ESPN). The downfield passing attack is letting Daniel Jones breakout.

New York Giants fans might be discouraged by their team’s 1-3 start to the season. Week Four was a step in the right direction, but by no means does it make the Giants a Super Bowl contender. Despite this lowly record, the Giants have reasons for optimism. The biggest reason for optimism: Daniel Jones.

Daniel Jones is developing into a franchise quarterback. Through four weeks of the 2021 season, Jones looks like one of the best signal-callers in the NFL. If the Giants are going to turn things around, it’s going to be because of Daniel Jones.

Giants’ Daniel Jones showed flashes of franchise quarterback play, but what does he need to establish himself?

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New York Giants, Daniel Jones

New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones has been one of the most polarizing players on the team since being drafted in 2019. As the 6th overall selection, Jones had high expectations coming out of Duke, representing a quarterback with intriguing mobility and solid accuracy.

The major problem surrounding Jones has been his turnover issues, as he threw 22 interceptions during his first two seasons and fumbled 29 times. However, through two games this season, Jones has only fumbled once, not throwing an interception over 69 passing attempts. So far, he has thrown for 516 yards and two passing touchdowns but has also rushed for 122 yards and two rushing scores. He’s currently the teams leading rusher and is on pace for 4,352 yards, which would completely destroy his previous high of 3,027 yards.

In the team’s most recent loss to the Washington Football Team last Thursday, Jones was one of the best players on the field, carrying the Giants’ offense to 29 points on 22 completions for 249 yards and two total touchdowns. He would’ve ran for two scores, but a botched holding call on wide receiver CJ board resulted in the play coming back.

PFF graded Jones with a 91.3 overall in Week 2, the highest player in the game and the highest grade in his entire career. His adjusted completion percentage landed at 78.1%, including drops from receivers. In fact, in both weeks, his receivers dropped 12% of passes thrown, an unacceptable number. In addition, opposing defenses have curated 28 total pressures, showcasing his mobility and increased ball security. His only fumble happened outside of the pocket on a run up the middle. The growth and development he’s experienced over the off-season regarding ball security and pocket movement are clearly on display, as the offensive line remains a deficiency and Jones dominated against Washington regardless.

The OL has allowed a league-high six sacks, tied with only the Tennessee Titans and New York Jets. Of those three quarterbacks (Ryan Tannehill, Zach Wilson), Jones has the highest QBR, highest completion percentage, and most amount of yards.

The qualities that Jones has displayed through two weeks are convincing that he’s capable of being a franchise quarterback, but he needs to play consistently great to earn that term.

Specifically, he needs to perform well against teams not named Washington and crush opponents like the Atlanta Falcons coming up in Week 3. The Falcons have allowed 30+ points in each of their last two games, including 48 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Giants’ offense must display another strong performance, and if Jones can string together a few solid outings, the narrative around him will quickly begin to change in the Giants community.

New York Giants: Daniel Jones had best game of career on TNF, says PFF

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new york giants, daniel jones

The New York Giants suffered a demoralizing loss to the Washington Football Team on Thursday Night. The fanbase is down in the dumps and nearly every takeaway is negative. However, there is one glaring spotlight in the middle of this dark shadow: Daniel Jones.

Daniel Jones was dialed in last night and turned in arguably the best single-game performance of his NFL career so far. This was encouraging considering the mediocre level of play the Giants got out of their quarterback in Week One. Jones was dealt plenty of criticism after the season opener and responded with authority in Week Two.

According to Pro Football Focus, this was by far the best game of Daniel Jones’s career. The third-year quarterback seemed to come into his own against his division rivals on primetime.

Daniel Jones earns an elite PFF grade in Week Two

New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones earned an elite grade from Pro Football Focus for his Week Two performance. While his box score stat-sheet might not be too crazy, it does not tell the full story. Jones threw for 249 yards and 1 touchdown with a 69% completion percentage. The box score, however, does not take into account the dropped passes that Danny Dimes delivered on target.

PFF gave Daniel Jones the best grade of his career (91.3) in Week 2 and it’s not particularly close. Jones was also the highest-graded player on Thursday Night Football with that 91.3 overall grade. Such a high-graded performance might land Daniel on PFF’s Team of the Week after the Sunday-Monday games finish.

Also according to PFF, Daniel Jones’ average depth of target was 11 yards in Week Two. This ADOT would have been the highest amongst all NFL quarterbacks in Week One (excluding Jordan Love). Daniel Jones and the Giants’ offense played mightily conservative in Week One and seemed reluctant to throw the ball downfield. But, in Week Two, Daniel Jones played with much more aggression, from which the Giants’ offense benefited greatly.

This game gave the Giants a glimpse of what Daniel Jones could become. The team hopes he proves to be a franchise quarterback. If Jones can play like this on a consistent basis, he might prove to be what the Giants hope he is. He also led the team with 95 rushing yards and 1 rushing touchdown on 9 carries. Daniel Jones carried the Giants’ offense in the best game of his career despite a heart-breaking last-second loss.

Giants’ safety Jabrill Peppers has strong words ahead of Thursday night battle in Washington

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New York Giants, Jabrill Peppers

The New York Giants are gearing up for a big Week 2 matchup against the Washington Football Team, and most are coining it a “must-win” game for both teams. After a disappointing loss in Week 1 to the Denver Broncos, the Giants are trying to bounce back in a strong way as they take on backup quarterback Taylor Heinicke.

After Ryan Fitzpatrick suffered a hip injury that put him on injured reserve, Heinicke stepped into the game. Over 15 passing attempts, Heinicke tallied 122 yards and a touchdown, recording a 70.1 QBR. Overall, he had a solid performance against Los Angeles, but with subpar arm talent, the Giants have the personnel to take advantage.

On the defensive side, the Giants blitzed more in Week 1 than in any game last year, showcasing a shift in strategy. With Patrick Graham attempting to substitute to a more man-coverage-based scheme, the goal will be to get after Heinicke and put him under immediate pressure.

One of the Giants’ key defenders, Jabrill Peppers, struggled in the opening game of the season, as he allowed four receptions on four targets for 34 yards. Peppers gave up several third-down conversions and catches in the red zone, which forced Graham to go in a different direction defensively.

“Subpar,” Peppers said. “I gave up two big third downs. I gave up a catch in the red zone … the standard I hold myself to, those are the routes I usually cover in my sleep. It is what it is, man. I gotta go back to the drawing board, hone in and get better.”

However, Peppers is resilient player and is eyeing a bounce-back against Washington on Thursday evening. Last season, Peppers emerged as one of the Giants’ best playmakers, playing a career-high 912 snaps, tallying 62 tackles, and posting seven pass breakups.
Peppers used some of that fiery energy to express the importance of this upcoming game, which attest to the notion that this is a must-win contest for both teams.

“Well, every game is important. This is a division game. We don’t like them. They don’t like us,” Peppers said. “So that’s where my head’s at right now.”

The Giants have beaten Washington four consecutive times since Daniel Jones took over as the starting quarterback. They will be looking to extend that streak, as Washington’s signal-caller issues presents Big Blue with a great opportunity to smooth over the fan base after an embarrassing loss to Denver.

New York Giants: Joe Judge stands by Daniel Jones amid rising pressure

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new york giants, joe judge

This season, there’s no New York Giants player with more pressure than Daniel Jones. Patience is wearing thin in Jones’ third season in the league, and a week 1 loss where Jones fumbled the ball once and only managed one touchdown before garbage time has left many feeling restless in the wait for an improvement.

Despite the circumstances, the Giants organization has been nothing but supportive of Jones. That trend began this offseason when figures associated with the staff and front office repeatedly affirmed their faith in Jones, and has continued more recently with Joe Judge restating his confidence in the quarterback even after the recent loss.

The subject came up once again when Judge was asked if his experience being around Tom Brady in the Patriots organization has influenced his coaching of Jones.

Joe Judge stands by Daniel Jones’ preparation

“Obviously, we share experiences with all of our players from places we’ve been. You’ve got to use your experience with other players in terms of things that may have helped them along the way. I don’t try to live in the past. I don’t want to walk into anything and say, ‘this is how somebody else did it. You do it that way.’ You can’t emulate and imitate anybody,” Judge told reporters.

He would go on to praise Jones for the skills he’s worked to establish in his two seasons, including preparation.

“Daniel goes out there and practices hard every day. He goes out there and we have confidence in him because of the way he prepares on a weekly basis, doing everything it takes to be ready for the game… Do I walk in and I say, ‘Hey, I’ve had the opportunity to be around really good players at other positions. You should do it this way’? Absolutely not. Everyone’s a unique player.”

It’s clear the organization’s leaders have faith in Jones’ skills and his potential as a player, but that will become harder and harder to publicly justify if the performances don’t pick up.

Regardless of how well Jones prepares and how much he takes away from studying film, the loudest criticisms of his game have usually been about his decision making and failure to process the game fast enough.

With patience largely running out and some highly rated quarterbacks coming out of college in next year’s draft, the window for Jones to figure it out and justify the staff’s faith in him appears to be shrinking by the week. For now, the official lines are the same as always. But that might not be the case forever.

Giants’ QB Daniel Jones details how he’s improved and plans to take the big Year 3 leap

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New York Giants, Daniel Jones

When it comes to New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones, a lot is riding on his third season in the NFL. Preparing to take on the Denver Broncos in Week 1 on Sunday afternoon, Jones has a tall task ahead of him with a strong secondary and pass rush on the other side of the football.

However, coming off a season where he threw just 11 touchdowns, Jones is looking to take a big step forward and is confident the offense will enable him this upcoming season.

Steve Serby of the New York Post spoke with QB Daniel Jones, who displayed confidence regarding a potential big Year 3 jump:

A leap or however you define it, my focus is more on playing well and helping this team win games, so I feel like I’m prepared, and I feel like the experience last year and the year before, there’s been a number of things I’ve been able to learn and feel like I’ve improved on through last year and this offseason, this training camp and going into this year. I’m excited, I think as a team, as an offense, we’ve had a good camp and we’re looking forward to getting out there.

Jones needs a few positive influences for him to reach his potential, and the first obviously starts with the OL. With question marks at nearly every spot, Jones is relying on solid protection to open up the vertical passing game and reduce his fumble numbers.

The development of the offensive scheme should also pay dividends if Jason Garrett can include more pre-snap motion and downfield targets. The additions of Kadarius Toney, Kenny Golladay, and the return of Saquon Barkley should infuse multiple new elements into a unit that had an undrafted free agent rookie starting by the midway point in the season (Austin Mack).

Jones has never had a WR1 at his disposal, let alone Barkley healthy for the majority of a regular season. The addition of Toney will bring a lot of motion before the snap and quick-twitch abilities in the open field, giving the offense more firepower.

Overall, management has given Jones all the weapons he needs on offense to be successful, but if he doesn’t have time in the pocket, it will all be for naught. Despite that major problem, Jones stated the team is “extremely hungry and ready to get this season going.”

New York Giants name 2021 team captains ahead of Week One

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New York Giants, Nick Gates

The New York Giants are days away from kicking off their regular season. The team has announced its new team captains for the 2021 season with kickoff only six days away. There are a few players returning as captains with a couple of new names also added to the mix.

New York Giants 2021 Captains

Offensive Captains:

  • Daniel Jones
  • Saquon Barkley
  • Nick Gates

Defensive Captains:

  • Blake Martinez
  • Logan Ryan

Special Teams Captains

  • Jabrill Peppers
  • Graham Gano

Offense

New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones is entering his second season as a captain of the team. This is his third career season, one that fans expect to be a big breakout year. He is a carryover captain, along with star running back Saquon Barkley. Saquon was named a captain in 2019 and has maintained that role ever since.

The new captain on offense is starting center Nick Gates. Entering his third season with the team, Gates has been named a captain. Nick Gates has proven to be the definition of a good teammate and a hard worker during his time in New York.

Defense

For the first time in his nine-year career, Logan Ryan is a captain. Ryan spent many years as one of the best players on the Tennessee Titans and New England Patriots defenses but was never named a captain. The Giants signed Ryan late last offseason and he instantly proved himself as one of the team’s best leaders. The Giants have awarded Logan Ryan with a captain’s patch in his second year with the team.

Blake Martinez is a captain for the second consecutive season. Martinez was one of the Giants’ splash signings in last year’s free agency period. He quickly proved himself as one of the best players on the team and had a career year with the Giants last season.

Special teams

Graham Gano is another new captain on the Giants. Another player entering his second season with the team, Gano earned his captain’s patch after having a phenomenal 2020 season where he made 31 of his 32 field goal attempts.

Jabrill Peppers earned his captain’s patch for the second consecutive season. Peppers brings that energy every Sunday and leads the team’s defense and special teams. Peppers contributes primarily as the team’s starting safety, but also as a punt returner. The Giants are expecting a huge year out of Peppers in 2021.

New York Giants: Kenny Golladay on recovery, chemistry with offense

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new york giants, kadarius toney

It’s safe to say a fair amount of the hopes for the New York Giants offense rest on Kenny Golladay. Golladay is the team’s highest profile free agent, and the most visible part of the organization’s plan to focus on offensive weapons this offseason. The Giants prioritized bringing Golladay in over improving other areas such as the offensive line, and that decision will be judged in part by how Golladay plays in his debut season with the team.

Golladay and the Giants are unfortunately facing a challenge in that plan, however. Golladay is injured right now, and it’s unclear if he’ll be back in time for week 1. Despite that, the receiver has seemingly kept a hopeful outlook and is positive about his time with the franchise so far.

Golladay speaks on return to practice

Golladay, along with Saquon Barkley, is one of the Giants players who recently made a return to practice. He took questions on Thursday about it, and explained the reasoning behind a slower start.

“I mean, this is literally like the first day and a half I’m back out there, so it’s still fresh. I’ve still got to get my legs up under me and everything,” Golladay told reporters when asked about his explosiveness.

He also spoke about another subject that fans will be curious about: his chemistry with Daniel Jones. While Jones will have more weapons this season, injuries have largely meant that those weapons haven’t had much of a chance to build chemistry yet. According to Golladay, however, this isn’t the biggest deal.

“It’s definitely a little bump in the road, but we still have some days left. I’ve got to get just a lot of catches in,” Golladay said.

Golladay on Kadarius Toney

Ironically enough, injury may help Golladay’s chemistry with fellow receiver Kadarius Toney. Both players are on uncertain return timetables after offseason injuries. And as high profile additions, both of them have strong expectations to get back on the field for the Denver game.

“I’m just trying to keep him on a good track and trying to keep his mind clear. As a rookie, it’s kind of hard coming in with injuries,” Golladay said about the rookie.

“I dealt with it a little bit my rookie year and I know how frustrating it can be. You almost kind of want to rush it and get yourself back out there, so I kind of make sure his head is on straight and tell him everything will be alright, and we have time on our side.”

A quick return to form following injury is the bare minimum expectation for both Golladay and Toney after the Giants prioritized both players over other areas of the team. Based on the way things are panning out so far, that decision has been criticized with many pointing to the state of the offensive line as evidence the Giants should have focused elsewhere.

It’s still too early to say just how either of the new additions will fit into the offense when healthy, but it’s definitely not too soon to rule wide receiver one of the highest pressure positions on the team currently.

New York Giants: Daniel Jones describes ‘bad decision’ on interception

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New York Giants, Daniel Jones

The New York Giants wrapped up the preseason without a win, but it’s the performance of Daniel Jones that many will focus on rather than the overall result of their final game. Jones was one of the Giants starters who appeared in the preseason finale after resting the first two games, and appeared to put on an inferior performance to his rookie counterpart from the Patriots.

The most glaring mistake came in the form of a goal-line interception, where Jones fired the ball into traffic and cost the Giants a chance to come away with points. The interception mars a performance where Jones had 17 completions on 22 attempts, albeit only with an average of 6.1 yards per completion.

What did Jones have to say about the interception?

“I look at that play independently, like I look at all of them,” Jones said when asked about his view on the interception. “Obviously, a bad decision there. I gotta be smarter and throw the ball away in that situation, third-and-goal at the one. So, I look at each play independently and learn something from each of them.”

It’s a media friendly answer but not one that there’s a lot of patience for right now. With the Giants having a week 1 game against Denver coming up soon, and Daniel Jones still looking like an unpolished quarterback, the decision to rest Jones until the third preseason game looks more questionable.

Furthermore, much of the Giants offense remains an unknown factor going into week 1. With injuries keeping out Kadarius Toney and Kenny Golladay right now, we have little to go off of when judging the chemistry between Jones and his new targets.

One thing is sure, however, and that is the pressure ramping up for Jones going into his third season. Being outplayed by Patriots rookie Mac Jones isn’t a good look, and failures at the quarterback position and on the offensive line may undo an offseason of PR efforts from Dave Gettleman and Joe Judge.

It’s a known fact that the preseason doesn’t mean much in isolation, but if the Giants and Jones specifically don’t pick things up in the break between now and week 1, the question of just how much the team has improved will quickly arise.

Giants’ Daniel Jones details his excitement for his most lethal weapons to return

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New York Giants, Daniel Jones

The New York Giants‘ offense struggled to get going during Thursday’s joint practice with the New England Patriots. After starting off 11V11’s with two straight 3-and-outs, the unit bounced back as Jones connected with wide receiver Dante Pettis on a long completion that would’ve been a touchdown in a real game.

Overall, Jones unofficially completed 23 passes on 29 attempts, showcasing one of his better practices of the off-season. However, despite Jones’s success, he’s still working without the majority of his top weapons on offense, barely getting Saquon Barkley involved for the first time on Thursday.

Barkley enjoyed just a few snaps to get his legs moving and a feel for live-action, hauling in several passes. Hopefully, Big Blue activates Barkley more in the receiving game this upcoming season, as, during his rookie campaign, Barkley posted 91 receptions for 721 yards and four touchdowns.

Coordinator Jason Garrett shouldn’t just rely on Saquon as a check-down option, but design plays to get him open in space and active in the passing game. In fact, they should take a look at the New Orleans Saints from last season and copycat some of their plays to mimic Alvin Kamara’s production.

Nonetheless, Jones is ecstatic about the return of some of his weapons, including Barkley and Kyle Rudolph. However, he knows players like Kenny Golladay and Kadarius Toney are working their butts off to return as soon as possible.

“I know those guys are working hard to get back and are working with the trainers every day to get better,” said Jones. “We’re focused on improving as a group and getting ready for Week 1.”

Rudolph made his first appearance on the football field during Wednesday’s practice after starting the off-season on the PUP list. Rehabilitating from a foot injury, Rudolph spent time before last week’s preseason game against Cleveland catching passes before kick-off. Clearly, he was feeling confident in his foot and is slowly ramping up to live action after missing the past few months of conditioning.

“Good to see him out there,” said Jones. “He’s worked so hard to get back and he’s been behind the scenes a lot helping all of us, helping me, helping the tight ends, and it’s been good to have him out there.”

The Giants’ offense will play the first half against the New England Patriots this upcoming Sunday, but Jones will still be without some of his major pieces. Hopefully, they will be available for him against the Denver Broncos come Week 1 on September 12.