Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Why Bill Belichick Thinks Daniel Jones is Impressive
It’s easy to forget, amidst Bill Belichick’s success with the New England Patriots, that he once spent 11 years with the New York Giants organization.
As someone so familiar with what it means to coach and play in New York, Belichick knows full well what a challenge it can be to play quarterback in New York.
Speaking to Giants reporters on a conference call, Belichick fondly recalled his favorable first impressions of Jones when the quarterback visited the Patriots before the draft.
“He’s an impressive player and a very impressive person,” Belichick said of Jones.
It’s Jones’ personality--how he handles himself on and off the field--that Belichick believes makes Jones a good fit for the glare of the New York spotlight.
“Playing quarterback in New York’s is not the easiest thing in the world. But he’s got a good head on his shoulders and has a good perspective on football. Leadership comes with that role, so I’m sure he’s done well and will continue to do well.”
Belichick noted that Jones adds a new dimension to the Giants offense that wasn’t there before thanks to his mobility.
“He’s got the ability to extend plays and run for yardage to pick up critical first downs,” Belichick said.
“Jones is fast, and he’s made plays with his legs outside the pocket. The Tampa game comes to mind right off the bat. He’s got the ability to extend plays and also run for yardage to score or pick up critical first downs. He has kind of the sixth receiver element.”
Although Jones will be under center for the Giants, Belichick hasn’t forgotten about Eli Manning, the quarterback who has been the kryptonite to Belichick’s Patriots teams in two Super Bowls.
“He’s very professional and team-oriented,” Belichick said. “He’s done a tremendous job and certainly had a lot of success against us.
“Eli is very good at the line of scrimmage of making adjustments and protections and occasionally signaling routes against pressure and things like that. He may have done a little more of that on the line than Jones has.”
In Jones and Manning, Belichick believes the Giants are loaded at quarterback.
“Both guys are very accurate passers, see the field well, make good decisions,” he said. “They are at different stages of their career, but both guys are outstanding players. Any team would like to have either one of them, and they are fortunate they have both.”
What Belichick doesn’t yet know is if the Giants will have running back Saquon Barkley to help round out the Giants offense.
Barkley is making incredible strides in his quest to return from a high ankle sprain suffered in the Week 4 win against the Bucs and has reportedly set his sights on returning from that injury this week.
“I’m sure he’s doing all he can to be ready to go,” Belichick said of Barkley.
“He can do it all, got great power, speed. They use them well in the passing game. He’s very hard obviously to tackle any open field, -- he’s hard to tackle anywhere. He’s elusive, and he’s got power. So he’s, he’s got a ton of skill and is as good as any back we’ve seen on film. We have to be ready for him.”
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