Joe Judge Reveals Why He's Firmly Behind Quarterback Daniel Jones
Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said he knew "after the first couple of games two years ago" that in Lamar Jackson, the team had its franchise quarterback.
For Giants head coach Joe Judge, it took him a little longer to be convinced that in Daniel Jones, the Giants have their man, but Judge, who famously refused to mention Jones by name when he was first hired because he hasn't yet had a chance to work with him, seems sold.
"Watching Daniel work, watching the respect he has in the locker and watching them improve throughout this season, I think he's demonstrated a level of toughness and leadership and knowledge on the field that gives us confidence to put them out there and build with Daniel," Judge said during his daily video conference call with reporters.
The question itself regarding Jones's footing with the team was certainly a valid one. In addition to missing a couple of games (and counting) with injuries this year, Jones has seen a sharp decline in his rookie year statistics to include touchdowns thrown (24 to 8), first downs (140 to 129), average yards per game (237.8 to 205.2) and scoring (21.3 to 17.4).
But not all that was not necessarily on Jones, who can only do so much within the offensive system.
A deeper dive into Jones's advanced stats shows a decline in intended air yards/pass attempt from 8.0 to 7.1 yards, which means Jones has been getting the ball out quicker and on shorter throws, perhaps to allow for the offensive line to jell as a pass protection unit.
Jones has also added a new wrinkle to the offense thanks to his rushing ability, which forced defenses to account for him as a potential threat to take off on a designed run or a zone read.
That element of surprise has seen Jones, who is averaging 7.3 yards per carry, helped ease the sting over the Giants' loss of running back Saquon Barkley to a torn ACL back in Week 2.
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Judge said he didn't come to his conclusion about Jones as quickly as Harbaugh did with Jackson, but he did praise Jones for how he's handled himself this year.
"I'm not going to point to one moment, but I can talk about this entire season of his," he said. "Guy's definitely earned my respect. I kind of made it very hard on from the beginning and a lot of ways and he hasn't blinked."
When asked if Jones is his guy for 2021, Judge didn't hesitate or mince words.
"Daniel Jones is our quarterback," he said.
Despite Judge's strong endorsement of Jones, it's clear that the offense's performance, of which Jones has mostly been a part, isn't acceptable and that changes are on the horizon, whether it's the long-overdue addition of a new No. 1 receiver or even a change in the offensive scheme.
But for now, Judge seems willing to stick with Jones despite the ups and downs and the offense's response to them.
