New York Giants' Brass Pleased With Daniel Jones's Progress So Far

Daniel Jones has looked good this summer, but his real test to prove his worthiness as the franchise quarterback is still to come.

Author:
Patricia Traina
Publish date:
Sep 2, 2022 8:00 AM EDT

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New York Giants

Apparently, some things inherited by New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll from the previous regime aren't all that bad.

While Schoen tries to navigate the team out of a significant salary cap crisis, quarterback Daniel Jones, who was one of the prize draft picks of the previous management regime, seems to be living up to his end of the bargain so far for the new regime.

"I think he’s very consistent in his approach and how he does things. He doesn’t get too high or too low, which it’s easy to do in training camp," said head coach Brian Daboll.

"He’s got a really good mindset in terms of staying even-keeled. He’s very competitive. He’s a good leader. He’s a tireless worker. He’s always in here – he’s in here early, stays late, and you see him working with his teammates after practice. I think he has a lot of good qualities that we look forward to working with and helping him develop."

Daboll could just as easily duck the question as, after all, Jones wasn't hand-picked by him or Schoen. Co-owner John Mara spoke of the organization's remorse in not giving Jones, the sixth overall pick in the 2019 draft, the support he's needed and stated that he'd be surprised if Jones wasn't the starter this season.

Or perhaps it's a matter of biding their time until the 2023 quarterbacks class, believed to be far richer in talent, takes shape. Whatever the case, Jones has done his part to make things work with the new regime, and they have, at least outwardly, been appreciative of the former Duke signal caller's efforts.

"I think Daniel’s in a good place. I’m happy where he is," said Schoen, adding, "But again, we all know everybody’s got to go perform on Sundays, and that’s when the evaluations will start."

Schoen refused to put any expectations on Jones, who is clearly in a make-or-break season in this, his fourth campaign. The Giants declined the option year of his rookie deal, not so much to send any message to Jones but because of the questions they had about Jones's durability and how he might take to the new offensive system, which is a far cry from the one he was in the last two seasons.

Throughout the summer, Jones was up and down, but he made a strong push toward the end of training camp, something Schoen acknowledged.

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But a big reason why Schoen is reluctant to share any expectations of Jones just yet is that the roster isn't fully settled, and the game planning hasn't begun.

"I think every team, it’s going to take three to four weeks to figure out who we are," he said. "I’ve said it to you guys before, how are we going to react when we face adversity? How are we going to handle success? No matter where you are, every year, that’s the case. You truly don’t have a feel.

"It’s going to be overreaction one way or the other on Monday after our first game, win or lose. You know, (you) win, everybody’s going to say we’re better than we probably are. If we lose, we’re not as bad as we were that day. So, I think it’s going to take a few weeks to figure out who we are."

Jones, who has been even more stoic than Manning was back in the day, has taken the ups and downs with a grain of salt, at least publicly. Behind the scenes, Jones is leaving no stone unturned to make sure he's as ready as can be to lead the Giants into hopefully better days ahead.

"I think getting to playing football and real games is certainly something we all look forward to, and I look forward to myself," Jones said this week.

"There’s been certainly a lot going on, and my approach has been the same day in and day out. How I approach practice, how I approach each situation, and yeah, I’m looking forward to getting going and playing football."

Schoen and Daboll have been vague regarding the specific criteria they intend to use when deciding whether to give Jones a new contract or move in another direction.

"Everything. Your performance. Your preparation. Again, the job of a quarterback on a team is to lead his team down and score points. Stats are great, percentage, completion percentage, all those things," Daboll said when the question was put to him.

"But the biggest this is can you make the right decision under pressure. I’m not saying five-man pressure--just ...make the right decisions for the offense and lead them down to score points. It’s everybody’s job to do that, but the quarterback touches the ball on every play."