How the Giants Can Help Daniel Jones Out of His Ball Security Rut

Jones has been demonstrating a disturbing habit that has led to a staggering six fumbles in five games. Here's how Jones and head coach Pat Shurmur plan to fix that issue.

Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports

After an impressive debut as an NFL starting quarterback in which he finished 23 of 36 for 336 yards and two touchdowns, and rushing for 28 yards on four carries for two touchdowns, Giants rookie quarterback Daniel Jones has yet to equal of top those statistics.

Since that strong showing which earned him NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors, and the followup against a struggling Washington team in which he completed 23 of 31 passes for 225 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in a 24-3 win, Jones’ production has slowed down somewhat from a statistical perspective.

In his last three games (against the Vikings, Patriots, and Cardinals), he’s completed 58 of 104 pass attempts (56%) for 556 yards, three touchdowns, and four interceptions while absorbing 13 sacks,

That’s a 64.8 passer rating, which puts him last out of 12 quarterbacks who have taken a minimum of 80% of their team’s dropbacks from Weeks 3-7.

There are multiple reasons for Jones’ regression, starting with him holding onto the ball too long in some instances, to him not making the right reads.

Head coach Pat Shurmur, who said Monday that he likes Jones’ resiliency and toughness, defended the struggling rookie signal-caller, saying that as he continues to cut his teeth against NFL defenses, there is bound to be more growing pains.

“I think that’s part of playing as a rookie,” Shurmur said. “There are going to be some things that pop up that you see for the first time, and you react to it.”

With time, Jones will become better at reading and interpreting what NFL defenses are trying to do to him. But for the short term, high atop of his and Shurmur’s list of things to fix is ball security.

Jones’ six fumbles currently tie him (with four others) for fourth-most in the NFL among his peers, putting him behind league leader Gardner Minshew of the Jaguars (8) and Kirk Cousins (Vikings) and Joe Flacco (Broncos), each with seven.

“We have to secure the football,” Shurmur said. “The turnovers are the thing that we have to get a handle on.”

Most of Jones’ fumbles have come when he’s been under duress and seemingly unaware of the pressure closing in around him.

On yet a small handful of other fumbles, Jones can, at times, be seen taking one hand off the ball as he moves around the pocket.

“It’s a huge focus of mine,” Jones said. I think it’s tough to win when you’re turning the ball over that much. I’ve got to do a better job with that.”

If practice reps are the best remedy, how then can the Giants simulate that kind of pressure in practice when the quarterback is wearing a red jersey that very loudly warns defensive players “Do not touch”?

“We practice it in drill work. We’re constantly talking about two hands on the ball in the pocket,” Shurmur said.

“In all scenarios, it’s always super important to have two hands on the ball when you’re in the pocket because you can’t always count on the fact that they are blocked for a very, very long time. That’s just stuff you work on.

“It’s part of what a young quarterback goes through. As time goes on, that gets better. But obviously, we want it to get better fast.”

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