What Jason Garrett Had to Say About Daniel Jones Plus a Glimpse into His Play-Calling Philosophies

Back on October 31, 2019, Jason Garrett, then the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, was on a conference call with the Giants media. Garrett was asked about then-rookie quarterback (and future pupil) Daniel Jones and he also offered some insight into his play-calling practices, specific to play-action.

Patricia Traina | Jan 17, 2020

Quinn Harris-USA TODAY Sports

Here's what Garrett had to say on that call.

RE: His impressions of Daniel Jones.

Garrett: Yeah, just a really impressive college player. It’s not surprising to us that he was drafted as high as he was. Just a really talented guy.

He’s big, he’s athletic, he can throw the ball, he can make plays in the pocket, he can make plays out in space with his feet. He keeps his eyes up, makes a lot of plays when he’s on the move throwing the ball down the field, plays with a competitive spirit.

He’s someone who seems calm and poised and handling it all really well and getting better and better every week. We are very impressed by him.

RE: The use of play-action on offense.

Garrett: Yeah, I think play-action is a really important part of playing good offensive football.

You want to attack a defense in different ways—you want to run it, you want to throw it, you want to be able to throw it different ways, quick game, intermediate, deep, in the drop back game but also in the play-action movement game.

When we’re able to do that and be balanced and attack in a lot of different ways, that’s probably when we play our best.

RE: Elaborate on what being “balanced” means--run-pass ratio, or on how the offense attacks the field?

Garrett: I think all of it. If you can only do one thing as an offense, ultimately defenses and defensive coordinators do a great job of taking that away from you.

So, the best offenses we’ve been around are ones that can run the ball and throw the ball and run it different ways--inside, outside, zone, gap, run it to different guys—and the same thing with the passing game.

If you have variety with your passing game and you can throw the ball different ways to different people and execute all of those things, that’s what the best offenses are able to do.

Published Jan 17, 2020

PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for over 30 seasons for multiple media outlets, including Inside Football, Fan Sided, SB Nation, The Athletic, Forbes, and the Fan Nation Network (part of Sports Illustrated). In addition to being a credentialed member of the New York Giants press corps, Patricia has covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. Patricia’s late father was a long-time New York Giants season ticket holder who helped instill her love and appreciation of the game and the franchise at a very early age. She was able to parlay that knowledge of Giants franchise history into her first published work, The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants (Triumph Books, September 2020). She has enhanced her knowledge of the game by completing two semesters with the Scouting Academy and taking a course in NFL salary cap management. In addition to her work with Giants Country, Patricia is the host of the very successful LockedOn Giants podcast (also available on YouTube), featuring analysis, interviews, and Giants fan interaction. Patricia is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America and has participated in the mentoring of aspiring journalists. Patricia holds a Bachelor’s degree in English literature (with a minor in creative writing) and a Master’s degree in Corporate Communication. She is a certified resume development specialist (corporate, military transition, and federal) and interview coach who enjoys music and creating fan art featuring her favorite bands.