New York Giants Not Planning to Cut Back on Daniel Jones's Running
Despite quarterback Daniel Jones' absorption of a scary-looking helmet-to-helmet blow to his head in last week’s 44-20 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, Giants offensive coordinator Jason Garrett said there are no plans to cut down on the number of designed quarterback runs in the playbook.
Nearly a week since he suffered a concussion, Jones received the green light from an independent neurological consultant and is set to start tomorrow against the Rams.
With Jones' return set, pending any last minute setbacks, the Giants won't shy away from having their quarterback run the ball as needed. That said, they understand the seriousness and vulnerability that comes with making such an important decision.
“As an organization, as a coaching staff, we care too much about these guys to put them in a situation where they weren’t right," offensive coordinator Jason Garrett said.
"If he’s back and ready to go, we’re going to play football. We’re going to ask him to do what we need to do."
Jones has proven to be very good on the ground this year, leading the team in yards per attempt (6.6) and total rushing yards (197). But at the same time, he is not in the position to get hit like that again and would benefit from sliding.
This is a point Garrett, head coach Joe Judge and others in the organization have tried to impress upon their franchise quarterback as they walk the fine line with letting him play aggressively and being smart.
“I think it’s important to understand that obviously sliding is important for quarterbacks," Garrett said. "But when you’re in a situation like that when you’re right down by the goal line, you’re probably not going to slide and give yourself up unless you have no chance. He thought he had an opportunity to score. He’s proven that he can be a tough, competitive player and make some of those plays for us. Again, unfortunately that didn’t work out for us.”
When reflecting on this key play that put the Giants starting quarterback in this position in the first place, one can argue that Jones could have made a better decision instead of lowering his head, such as using a stiff-arm to protect himself or could have run out of bounds.
Sometimes, it’s not easy to determine the best move to resort to when it comes to those quick-decision-making situations quarterbacks can find themselves in when running with the ball.
The Giants know they’re dealing with a very delicate situation. Another concussion could put Jones out of commission for much longer and that’s the last thing the Giants want.
However, at the very same time, refraining from deploying his running athleticism does hinder what this offense can achieve, particularly with running back Saquon Barkley out of the picture for this week.
Juggling that fine line can be a tricky situation to manage as a play caller.
“I think we’d be foolish if we didn’t use his ability as a runner,” said Garrett when asked on how he plans on balancing Jones’ run production moving forward. “It’s been such an asset for us, both him making plays spontaneously by moving in the pocket, but also some design stuff. Those have been good plays for us.
"But at the same time, you have to be certainly aware of that. You don’t want to overdo that and put him in harm's way. I think we’re understanding more and more, he’s understanding more and more the balance between those.”
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