Giants QB Daniel Jones: I'll Be Ready to Go

Giants QB Daniel Jones refuses to make excuses for his past play and instead is locked in on having a healthy--and productive--season ahead.

Author:
Patricia Traina
Publish date:
Apr 4, 2022 2:39 PM EDT

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New York Giants

It’s not often a team admits that, in hindsight, it grossly erred in its handling of a player. Still, for the New York Giants, team co-owner John Mara had no problem admitting the obvious: that the team has, at least thus far, done everything possible to screw up quarterback Daniel Jones, the man they hand-selected to succeed Eli Manning as their franchise quarterback.

Of course, the facts speak just as loudly as Mara’s words. The Giants have forced Jones to go through three different systems during his time in the league, each with a different flavor and core philosophy than its predecessor.

This constant change has kept Jones from fully buying into any one system, making it his own and developing the comfort level that Manning enjoyed for the bulk of his career.

And if Jones were to sue the Giants for gross negligence just based on the offensive lines that they have put in front of him, probably no judge in the world would toss that case out.

New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) looks to throw in the first half. The Giants defeat the Eagles, 13-7, at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021, in East Rutherford. — Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK

At the end of the day, Jones, as has always been the case, isn’t about dwelling on the past or pointing fingers; rather, he’s looking ahead.

“I take full responsibility for how I've played,” Jones said Monday via video conference. “We haven't won enough games. We haven't scored enough points. We haven't done things well enough. So I take responsibility for that.

“As a quarterback, you play a big role in those things. I'm working on improving and making sure that myself, as well as the offense as well as the team, is ready to go. And we're, we're improving daily.”

Nov 22, 2021; Tampa, Florida, USA; New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) is sacked by Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Devin White (45) in the second half at Raymond James Stadium. — Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

Jones, who outwardly has always been the very picture of optimism, believes that under head coach Brian Daboll and new offensive coordinator Mike Kafka, things will start to go in the right direction.

“Yeah, I think so. We're still pretty early on, a day into this offseason stuff, so there's a lot of learning, meeting people, and getting on the same page, but I'm excited to learn it, to work with everyone here, and looking forward to all of it.”

Like the rest of his teammates, Jones, who only got their new playbooks on Monday, likes what he’s seen so far of the offense.

“I think it's a tremendous opportunity for me to learn a lot of different ways to do it and, and see a lot of approaches,” he said, also acknowledging that he worked on studying various concepts of the Bills and Chiefs offenses during the off-season to try to glean some insight into what the Giants new system might look like.

“You can pick up things from each system, but obviously, this system's had a ton of success. So I'm looking forward to finding out what those reasons are, learning the offense, and then building it around what we do well as a team with the guys we got here.”

Sep 22, 2019; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) greets offensive coordinator Brian Daboll following the game against the Cincinnati Bengals at New Era Field. — Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

Daboll, who famously contributed to Bills quarterback Josh Allen’s maturation into a top-tier quarterback, said it’s all about baby steps in getting Jones ready for a big year ahead.

“It's an all-encompassing job,” he said. “It starts with you just being able to communicate effectively, run the no-huddle operation well--get to know your players and their body languages, have some input on what he likes and doesn't like, and then ultimately evaluate his decision making and try to put him in as many different situations as we can to teach him off of the situations that we can learn from.”

New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones walks off the field after the Giants fall to the Washington Football Team, 22-7, at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022. — Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK

Jones, who is recovering from a season-ending neck injury, said he was feeling good. When asked if he’s already received word from the doctors that he’ll be cleared when the time comes, Jones said, “Yeah, I'll be cleared and ready to go.”