Analytics Guru Disagrees with Giants GM Joe Schoen About Daniel Jones's Struggles

Warren Sharp of Sharp Football offered some analytics that contradict Schoen's assessment of Daniel Jones.

Dec 31, 2023; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants injured quarterback Daniel Jones (8) watches warmups before a game against the Los Angeles Rams at MetLife Stadium. / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

There's no question that last season, the New York Giants offensive line was a mess from start to finish between injuries and performance.

That factor made for some tough sledding for the Giants quarterbacks, especially starter Daniel Jones, whom general manager Joe Schoen defended in an episode of Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants by saying that not even Kansas City Chiefs signal caller Patrick Mahomes could have functioned behind the offensive lines the Giants had on the field last year.

However, analytics guru Warren Sharp of Sharp Football disagrees with Schoen’s defense of Jones, calling SChoen’s opinion “absolute garbage and completely incorrect.” 

Sharp, in his counterargument, cited stats that pointed to a career-long problem Joens has had: his slow post-snap processing time. This has led to either bad decisions or his holding the ball far too long, where any chance to make a play evaporates quickly.

I couldn’t disagree w the Giants GM more pic.twitter.com/Y37yxoGDkj

— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) July 15, 2024

“Let’s just talk about the pressure aspect of it,” Sharp said. “In his career, Daniel Jones has been pressured at the fourth highest rate and has been sacked at the number five highest rate.

“On the other hand, Patrick Mahomes has been pressured at the league average rate, so he’s not getting pressure anything lower than that. But he is taking sacks at the third-lowest rate of any quarterback in the NFL despite being pressured at the league-average rate.

“In addition, when he is under pressure, Patrick Mahomes is taking sacks on only 11 percent of his dropbacks, which is the number one best rate of any quarterback in the NFL.”

According to Pro Football Focus, Jones was responsible for 20 percent of the pressures he faced last season, that is, 80 dropbacks when he was under pressure. When he had more than 2.5 seconds to throw, he averaged 3.81 seconds to throw, recording one touchdown to three interceptions and posting a 50.4 passer rating, the worst rating among the three Giants quarterbacks last season under that criteria.

Sharp notes that quarterbacks can control so much of their pressure via pre-snap and post-snap, noting the importance of studying film to ascertain where the pressure might be coming from in any given situation and how well the quarterback adjusts the protection calls or audibles to a different play. 

Sharp noted that Mahomes does a good job controlling the pressure he gets, whereas Jones does not. Sharp added that he’s concerned that Jones, who is coming back from an ACL tear, might continue with his struggles to the point where he takes sacks that can otherwise be avoided.   

Jones, to his credit, has been working overtime to not only rehab his knee but also erase the continuing doubts some have about his abilities as an NFL quarterback. With the Giants being able to get out of his contract after this season without having to shell out any more guaranteed money, this is a make-or-break year for the quarterback.

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