How Giants Plan to Position QB Daniel Jones for Success

Giants head coach Brian Daboll will take a great deal of input from quarterback Daniel Jones regarding what the team's offensive system will look like moving forward. NFL Network Analyst David Carr spoke of why that's a smart move.
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Despite evidence to the contrary, the Giants haven't lost confidence in quarterback Daniel Jones's ability to remain as their franchise signal-caller for the next decade-plus.

But they also know that for their expectations to be fulfilled, they're going to have to give the 24-year-old a little more help than what he's received thus far.

That help has already begun under new head coach Brian Daboll. In his introductory press conference, he revealed that he asked Jones to give him a list of plays he likes to run from his past to have a starting point in building a playbook that will allow Jones to succeed.

In building up a system in that fashion, former NFL quarterback/current NFL Network analyst David Carr believes that it will go a long way toward helping Jones not only play faster but better.

"You have to give him a system that he can own," Carr told Giants Country. "It doesn't matter what the system is because at the end of the day if your quarterback believes in it and he knows that he can make it work, you can make anything work."

Every coach the Giants have brought in has pledged to develop a system that best fits the players, but at the same time, that hasn't entirely been the case. 

Most recently, Jason Garrett's system, which by today's standards is somewhat outdated, was supposed to take better advantage of Jones's abilities, namely his ability to throw the deep ball.


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However, that was not the case. Last season, Jones completed eight of 24 deep pass attempts of 20+ yards, recording four touchdowns and two interceptions. He also had one drop among those attempts.

That's a significant regression from 2020 when Jones, lacking big-play speed among his receivers, connected on 20 of 43 deep pass attempts (46.5) for six touchdowns, no interceptions with only two dropped balls.

Jones, for his part, sounded happy with Daboll's approach to getting not just their working relationship off on the right foot but also ensuring that the system they put in place is the best possible fit.

"Him asking for my ideas and some of the things that I've liked to run ... was cool," Jones told ESPN. "It will be an ongoing process to get a feel for what those things are -- what I like, what he likes. And we'll do it."

And if that system should turn into one that Jones can wrap his head around, Carr thinks that good things await the Giants in the future.

"I think that Daniel is fully capable of being a Super Bowl quarterback for the Giants," Carr said. "I think that his makeup is exactly right for that city. I think that his qualities on the field are really no different than (Eli Manning's).

"I see his leadership abilities in the same light. Eli was never a rah-rah guy, but he would be an extension of the coaching staff on the field. And I see Daniel doing the same things. The problem is he just has nine systems or in his head, you know, and he doesn't really know what's right yet."

As Jones works with Daboll, hopefully, that picture will gain clarity.


  

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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.