How New York Giants QB Daniel Jones is Handling the Frustration of Losing
New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones is only in his second season, but win or lose, he’s already mastered the “never let them see you sweat” mentality that has become a requisite for an NFL quarterback's survival in this “what have you done for me lately?” league.
But that doesn’t mean that the losing doesn’t eat away at the 23-year-old Jones.
“This guy's a fiery competitor. I promise you, no one takes a loss harder than he does,” Giants quarterbacks coach Jerry Schuplinski said Tuesday. “Having the opportunity to see this guy in the locker room after every game, it's been a crushing couple of games for him.”
Jones admitted that the outcome so far has been frustrating, especially considering all the work both he and his teammates have poured into preparing each week. That the Giants have come within a bounce or two of potentially winning three of their games—Chicago, Los Angeles, and Dallas—probably doesn’t help soothe the sting much.
“When we don't get the results, I take it hard,” Jones admitted. “But the thing about anything you're doing is you've gotta be able to refocus and not let it discourage you, not let it distract from the next one, from the preparation, or looking forward and using what you learned to help you.”
No one would blame Jones if he let the frustration bubble up to the point where he made like the great Harry Carson, who famously threw a garbage can in the locker room during halftime of a Giants losing effort to get his teammates attention.
Jones has taken his share of the blame for the Giants' struggles to record their first win for head coach Joe Judge.
In recognizing his shortcomings that have gotten in the way of the team’s goals so far, he has embraced a fundamentally sound perspective when it comes to moving forward.
“You gotta be able to learn from it and re-energize yourself and focus towards the next week,” he said. “I try to do that, and I think as a team, we're frustrated, but it's, it's time to refocus our efforts and use that energy to focus towards this week and to not let us distract from our from our preparation.”
Head coach Joe Judge has been witness to Jones’s backing up those words with actions.
“Whatever his emotion is after, the game, I see him funnel it into a solid week of work,” he said. “I see him back in the building early on Monday, preparing his body, stay here late on Tuesday watching film.
“And I see him here early on Wednesday before the rest of the team shows up getting a jumpstart on the install. So whatever the emotion is, I can't speak for him on that. I just know that whatever it is he funnels at and the hard work throughout the entire week.”
The other thing Jones has somehow managed to avoid is pressing to do more than what he’s supposed to do, a practice that, despite its well-meaning intentions, can sometimes have disastrous results.
“I don't see any of that with him at all,” Judge. “In fact, I see him getting more comfortable and relaxed within the scheme, which has been a positive.”
Judge, who has spoken glowingly about Jones both publicly and in private, wouldn’t go into what he’s said to the young quarterback. Still, whatever words of support he, offensive coordinator Jason Garrett and Schuplinski have given Jones as the team struggles to win, the quarterback is grateful and determined to justify their faith in him.
“Yeah, I certainly appreciate their support,” he said. “Certainly working as hard as I can to improve and take coaching and help this offense move forward.
“We're all working together, and we all have we have all have the same goals. I think we've made improvements. We've taken steps and, and we gotta find a way to finish on these games.”
