NY Giants head coach Joe Judge has a simple plan to help quarterback Daniel Jones make major strides in his development in his third NFL season
To everyone outside of 1925 Giants Drive, this upcoming season has the potential to define Daniel Jones’ NFL career, and his future with the NY Giants.
That’s what happens when a quarterback chosen with the No. 6 overall pick in the NFL Draft wins just eight games through his first two seasons but tossed 22 interceptions through 27 games.
“Whatever people on the outside say, and manufacture, we control the pressure by controlling our expectations.” Judge told FanSided during a long-ranging phone conversation. “And what we do on a daily basis and the process of doing it.”
While the media, fans, and every armchair quarterback in America believe that Jones must take a third-year leap, NY Giants head coach Joe Judge has a different playbook for his young passer and how to help him elevate his game.
“I don’t think we need to subscribe to what anyone on the outside or the team or any individual need to be,” Judge says. “We’re very clear in the building of what everybody’s role is, what it’s defined as, and what we expect them to do to be a productive player. More importantly, it’s a day-by-day mapped out process of what we have to do.”
Why 2021 is so critical for Daniel Jones, his future with the NY Giants
The NY Giants, thanks to a pair of first-round picks in the 2022 NFL Draft, are as well positioned as any team across the league to trade up for the top quarterback in next year’s class or the hot-shot veteran who hits the trade market next spring, if Jones doesn’t make the leap.
But, as training camp gets underway, those are thoughts Judge isn’t entertaining nor allowing his quarterback to focus on.
It is evident that Judge believes controlling expectations, managing pressure, and zeroing in on the details each day are paramount to a player — especially a young quarterback building on last season’s success..
“I think it’s important for every player,” Judge says. “And Daniel has done a terrific job of this, to understand that although we have team and individual goals that are all very necessary, the expectation has to be ‘committing to the process,’ what you do day-to-day, coming in each morning and doing your job the best you can do it, and putting your team first.
“If we get caught looking too far down the road looking at some big-picture goal, or we get caught up looking at somebody else’s expectations or big-picture expectations, we’re going to forget about the process that it takes to complete those expectations of those goals.”
Jones enters the 2021 campaign aiming to prove to Judge, general manager Dave Gettleman, and the NY Giants’ organization that he has the ability to make sounder decisions, protect the football, and lead a beefed up roster back to the postseason for the first time since 2016.
The potential is certainly there.
Jones has averaged 2,985 yards with 17 touchdowns to 11 interceptions through his first two seasons. But, even the arrival of high-priced free agent wide receiver Kenny Golladay, rookie Kadarius Toney, and the return of running back Saquon Barkley alone won’t magically turn the Duke alum into a consistent winner.
That will take work this summer, that will take commitment to the process, and it will take Jones maximizing his own physical gifts to tap into the potential of what is suddenly a supporting cast that most quarterbacks across the league envy.
Jones seems to have done his part this offseason.
“He’s a lot of fun to work with,” Judge says.
As he enters his third season, Jones looks stronger and showed some improved accuracy during OTA and minicamp practices. Neither have been lost on Judge nor the Giants‘ coaching staff.
“I’m proud of the progress he’s made from every day we’ve been together,” Judge says. “He’s made a lot of gains this spring. I’m excited to get on the field with him, play actual games, but at the same time, any player or quarterback … It’s not the statistics that balance everything out; I don’t even evaluate Daniel by statistics at all, it’s really how you manage the game and facilitate the players around you. The only stat we worry about here is wins and losses, and that’s what we’ll emphasize.”
The healthy skepticism surrounding Jones’ potential will likely continue with every interception tossed during training camp and might not subside until if and when Jones starts fast and the NY Giants vault to the top of a competitive NFC East.
Judge’s game plan for Jones is simple.
Ignore it.
“You can go ahead and listen to everybody, you can spend all your time worrying about what’s going on on the outside,” Judge says. “Or you can center yourself on what you need to do on a daily basis to stay focused, and that’s what’s going to take you forever.”
Matt Lombardo is FanSided’s National NFL Insider and writes Between The Hash Marks each Wednesday. Email Matt: Matt.Lombardo@FanSided.com, Follow Matt on Twitter: @MattLombardoNFL