How the NY Giants failed Daniel Jones

NY Giants coaching

In Jones’ rookie year, he threw for 24 TD and 12 INT in 12 starts with 3,027 yards through the air and 279 yards on the ground. It was ultimately solid production for a rookie QB with enough flashes shown to believe that he can be under center for years to come.

Nonetheless, an executive decision was made by owners Steve Tisch and John Mara to fire head coach Pat Shurmur along with the rest of the coaching staff after two mediocre seasons from a record standpoint, despite the offense being right around league average with a washed up Eli Manning and a rookie quarterback.

In comes Joe Judge, who brought aboard recently fired ex-Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett to be the offensive coordinator. In Garrett’s last season calling plays for the Cowboys’ offense in 2018, they ranked 22nd in points per game. The following year, Kellen Moore was promoted to OC and given play-calling duties, and he fully unleashed the potential of Dak Prescott with an offense that was 6th in the league in points per game in 2019.

Not only was Jones forced to learn a new playbook just one year into his career after a respectable rookie year, he was forced to do so in an offseason met with several hurdles due to the pandemic. If you’re wondering just how bad of a coordinator Garrett is, look no further than this past Sunday.

The Giants had six offensive drives before the Broncos put the game away with a touchdown late to make it 27-7. They had one touchdown, one fumble, one turnover on downs and three punts. On 17 1st down plays, they ran it nine times for 26 yards. If you include the gadget-style shovel play to Toney, then the Giants had 10 plays for 20 yards.

On six first down pass attempts, Jones was 4 of 6 with 68 yards and a TD. Of course, there’s no excuse for the lone fumble he had which was on a 1st down scramble. Regardless, it’s clear the Giants had success passing the ball on 1st down, but Garrett insisted running the ball, despite none of the nine 1st down rushing attempts going for more than five yards, and six of them going for three yards or less.

On 3rd down, the Giants were able to convert 7 of 12 attempts in those first six drives. On the five attempts they didn’t convert, the series went as followed:

3rd & 18 set up by a six yard loss on a shovel pass on 1st down and a two yard loss on a draw on 2nd down. Punt on 4th down.

3rd & 2 ending on a five-wide set and Jones gets sacked by Von Miller. Punt on 4th down.

3rd & 9 that featured a one yard run on 1st down and an incomplete short pass on 2nd down. Punt on 4th down.

3rd & 4 that started with a two yard run on 1st down. Jones scrambled for eight yards to convert on 4th down.

3rd & goal from the seven yard line. Turnover on downs on a failed 4th down attempt.

To top it all off, Next Gen Stats ranked Jones first in the league on deep passes in 2020. Take that with a grain of salt, but if there’s one thing to take away from all of this, it’s that the Giants haven’t put Jones in a situation to thrive despite showcasing an ability to be effective at times.

Yes, the turnovers are a problem, and he’ll need to continue to improve his ball security to stick around, but it could be a moot point if the organization continues to stunt his development with a weak offensive line, underperforming skill position players, and most of all, lousy play-calling.