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FILM REVIEW | Daniel Jones' Progress
Before word came out that Daniel Jones' ankle injury is a moderate high-ankle sprain, I had sought to look at some of his throws from Sunday's loss to find the good and the bad in his progress.
Jones is the future of the franchise, no matter what happens with Eli Manning on Monday night. So let's take a look at some throws made against the Packers that really stood out to me for one reason or another.
Throw No. 1
Jones completed a 29-yard pass to Darius Slayton on the left sideline. The play ended up being called back due to Saquon Barkley being the third man on the line of scrimmage.
Jones has gotten so much better at not staring guys down as he did early on. He still does it, but you see him looking guys off and going through his progressions more often.
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The defense is playing man coverage with a linebacker playing shallow as well as a safety playing deep as a centerfielder. Jones recognizes the coverage and keeps his eyes in the middle of the field to keep the safety in the middle field.
When Jones is ready to make the throw, he turns his head and shoulders and pulls the trigger. He gets the ball there on a perfectly placed ball, which gets there before the safety can make the play.
Jones could've played this a bit safer with Sterling Shepard. Shepard runs a drag route and has some open space due to tight end Kaden Smith's route working as a pick of the corner.
Jones's initial read was the safety, so if that safety commits to Slayton earlier, you'd think that the next option would be either Smith or Shepard short.
Throw No. 2
Jones' first interception of three was the one where decision making can be the most critiqued. The play was third down, and Jones targeted his favorite receiver, Darius Slayton, on a curl route.
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The defense is playing man coverage with both safeties play zone over the top. I think the Packers saw Jones make this throw on film and instructed their corner to play this the way he does.
The corner plays man coverage, but you'll notice that he sags off and lets Slayton get past him. He does this because he knows his safety is over the top to protect him if Slayton were to run a go route or a deep post route.
Slayton slows to break his for his route, and the corner immediately flips his head and body to look for the ball and has himself an easy interception.
Sterling Shepard looks like he may be running an out route, but it's hard to say because he pulls up once he knows the ball is out, so he might have been running a curl route as was Latimer.
Shepard probably would have been the correct target if he were running an out route.
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An argument could be made that the protection could have thrown off the timing off this play.
Hernandez and Solder both get beat on their blocks, but there is plenty of room for Jones to step up in the pocket and if the ball is thrown a half-second earlier, it's an incompletion at best.
Throw No. 3
I was impressed with Daniel Jones on 4th-and-5 on the Giants lone touchdown drive. The defense dropped eight players back against the Giants' three route runners.
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The Giants kept Smith and Saquon Barkley in to make sure Jones would have the time he needs to find a receiver on a crucial fourth down.
The defense rushes four, but one rusher pops out as a spy to keep Jones from using his legs to convert. That makes seven blockers to stop three pass rushers and eight defenders to stop three route runners.
Shepard and Cody Latimer both run out routes while Slayton comes underneath on a slant pattern.
The defense runs Cover-2, which means two safeties are covering deep while the other defenders are covering zones underneath. Jones' first read is to the right to see Shepard defended by two players.
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The corner floats and plays underneath while the safety plays over the top and eliminating that option for Jones.
The second read and where Jones will throw is based off one player. The left cornerback.
The corner originally jams Slayton, and when he sees that Latimer is breaking for an out route, he has to decide to leave Slayton and cover the zone behind him to eliminate that route the same way the opposite corner does with Sterling Shepard.
Jones gives a bit of a shoulder fake to force that corner's hand. The slot corner also makes a move towards the outside due to the shoulder fake, which leaves a hole between Slayton and the linebacker for Jones to find him.
This is fantastic stuff from Jones and shows how he can go through progressions and manipulate defenders when he is allowed time.
I believe that the Giants should implement more seven-man protections with the way some of their blockers have broken down throughout the season.
We saw Jones find Slayton for a touchdown against the Jets when he had a similar situation of a defense dropping seven defenders and the Giants keeping in seven blockers.
I've been impressed with the progressions that Daniel Jones has made this season, and it'll stink to possibly have lost him for the season due to his ankle injury. He's made an effort to fix mistakes each week.
He's gotten better at finding guys underneath, putting two hands on the ball in the pocket, and going through his progressions.
I think there are some things for Jones to learn with Eli playing these final games where he can see Eli do things differently, like finding Saquon earlier in plays. Jones' future seems to be bright.
