New York Giants Celebrate One Year of the Daniel Jones Era
One year ago today, the New York Giants, after getting off to an 0-2 start to their 2019 season, began an important new chapter in its history, turning the page on long-time starter Eli Manning for his successor, Daniel Jones, drafted sixth overall that year.
While it's been a mostly bumpy ride for Jones and the Giants--after dazzling in his NFL debut as a starter with a thrilling 32-31 comeback win over the Bucs in Week 3, Jones would go on to lead the league in turnovers, miss two games due to a high ankle sprain and suffer through a 3-9 record as a starter--he continued to work at his craft to blossom into a more assured quarterback.
That's not easy, certainly when you're trying to follow the footsteps of a legend like Manning, who owns nearly every Giants passing record and who led the team to its last two Super Bowl victories. It's also not easy when you have a new head coach--new head coaches usually want their own guys or someone who's established.
But Jones is a lot tougher mentally than his easy-going manner might suggest.
Take, for example, his latest, gritty performance, that coming against the Pittsburgh Steelers. On the surface, his numbers alone (26 of 41 for 279 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions) scream "pedestrian." But save for the two interceptions--and in reality, you can probably argue that his second one was the biggest blemish of his night as the first interception, you might argue, was more on the play's design--Jones was anything but pedestrian.
In the first half, Jones got the ball out of his hand quickly while also recognizing and beating the many Steelers blitzes that came at him. He also made many wise decisions, including getting rid of the ball if there was nothing there, and when he had time to throw, he coined a few more of his customized dimes, such as his two touchdown throws to Darius Slayton.
Want another reason to rejoice in Jones' growth as a quarterback? Zero ball security issues despite there being times when he was hit hard enough to where he might have been separated him from the ball if this had been last year.
Despite not having consistent help--his receivers dropped four balls, and he was knocked around a little more than he probably should have been, Jones stood tall in the pocket, showing the poise and calmness of a guy who looked like he was in his tenth season, not his second.
"I’ve learned a lot on the field playing football, scheme, understanding the game, a lot in how to prepare and get ready to play, and I think a lot of stuff in between," Jones said.
"Ultimately, the importance of learning, the importance of improving every day, the importance of not repeating mistakes, continuing to build and constantly grow as a player, as a member of the team. I think that’s ultimately what’s most important, and I’ve certainly realized that in the last year."
The overall performance has left Judge, the head coach who inherited Jones from the previous regime, so giddy that a day after gushing how glad he was to wake up knowing that Jones was this team's quarterback, Judge was still gushing the next day.
"I’ll just say this specifically on Daniel. Obviously there are some things you have to clean up every game. I’ll tell you right now, you watch that tape from the other night, that dude stood in there like a man and delivered that ball down the field," he said.
"That dude stood in there aggressively, he stood in there tough, stood in there confidently and our team feeds off that. We’re proud to have him on our team."
