Has Daniel Jones Hit the Sophomore Slump?

Daniel Jones has not yet taken the second-year jump that some were expecting from him this year, but head coach Joe Judge has not let it cloud his opinion of Jones as a player.

In the court of public opinion, Giants quarterback Daniel Jones has regressed in his second NFL season.

Jones' first three games as a rookie saw him achieve an 85.5 passer rating with 743 passing yards, four touchdowns, and three interceptions.

Three games into 2020 and Jones has declined to a 59.7 passer rating with 699 passing yards, two touchdowns, and four interceptions.

But for the Giants and specifically head coach Joe Judge, Jones' rookie year and what other NFL quarterbacks have done in their respective second seasons don’t hold much weight in assessing where Jones should be in 2020 since every situation is unique.

“With us, it's still year No. 1 as far as our exposure with him," Judge said. "We have to be fair to all the players in our system to make sure we keep our views internal and whether they be our expectations or them executing with what they're supposed to do, and not compare them across the league with somebody else.”

While Jones' play has declined from last year, so too have the circumstances around him.

For one, the Giants' new offensive scheme installed by Jason Garrett has dealt Jones his second NFL playbook in as many seasons, a system that is much different than the one Jones ran last year under Pat Shurmur.

And unlike what Cowboys quarterbacks have had as far as an offensive line, the Giants have thus far gotten spotty play from their supposed wall of protection.

According to Football Outsiders, the Giants' offensive line ranks 32nd in the NFL, but that ranking is underselling where the unit compares to the rest of the league.

The Giants adjust sack rate is 12.4, which is almost double the league average of 6.7.

In terms of run blocking, which quarterbacks rely on as well to balance the offense, the Giants also rank last in the NFL, but even a last-place ranking doesn't quite do justice to how bad the run-blocking has been in the scope of other NFL teams.

The Giants have achieved 1.77 adjusted line yards according to FO's metrics. The difference between the Giants' run blocking and the 31st ranked unit in the San Francisco 49ers with 3.09, is the same difference between the top-ranked unit (Packers) and the 20th ranked unit (Panthers).

The lack of a running game has put a bigger target on Jones’s back and affected their ability to run play-action.

"It starts with the guys up front, but everybody is a part of the running game," Garrett said.

"We haven’t consistently blocked them well enough and run well enough across the board. We have to find ways to do that to become a balanced attack, to be able to attack both in the run game and the passing game.

"The goal is to attack defenses different ways, starting with run and pass, but then the varieties you use within that, the play-action game, the run action game, the movement game are all things we strive to do each week."

Unless Garrett can figure out how to adjust the game plan, Jones is on pace to finish with a considerable statistical regression from his rookie season.

"As coaches are always trying to put them in a great position where they have some advantages to do that," Garrett said.

"Whether that’s our formation use or how they align, whether you’re using motion, putting them in different spots, you’re always looking for ways to do that to help your guys."

Still, if there has been a bright spot for the Giants, it’s that Jones has kept fighting to break out of his rut, as it's going to take all the focus Jones has to give to break the offense out of its current slump.

Judge believes that his young quarterback has the type of attitude it's going to take to get things going for the Giants' offense and show that this week against the Los Angeles Rams.

"I love his response," Judge said of Jones. "This guy is coming in laser-focused. He's had a great week of practice for us right here, he's obviously focused on the game plan, the details of the Rams and everyone on our team focuses every day on individual fundamentals."

"He's had a great week and I think we're at this point we're ready to get on the plane to get out there."