New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones, right, sits with quarterback Tyrod Taylor (2) in the second half. The Seahawks defeat the Giants, 24-3, at MetLife Stadium on Monday, Oct. 2, 2023, in East Rutherford.
Syndication: The Record
(East Rutherford, NJ) – First, let’s get disclosures out of the way. I’m an unabashed Daniel Jones supporter.
While it’s true I’ve accepted the New York Giants are likely to move on from Jones at the conclusion of next season, I consider myself a fan. Jones has always been accountable to the media (and by extension the fans) during what’s been a challenging era for Big Blue. He’s never complained about his offensive line, lack of playmaking receivers, or the fact he’s dealt with shuffling coaching staffs and a series of offensive coordinators.
Still, pro football is a results-driven business. Too often, the Giants have failed to score touchdowns on offense with Jones at the helm. Routinely, that means the Giants have fewer points on the scoreboard when the clock hits zero. Some of the blame – perhaps an overarching majority of it – needs to fall on the QB’s shoulders. Jones would likely be the first to admit his level of play has lagged behind what’s expected of him – as a former first round pick, as someone who inked a second contract, as the leader of the New York offense.
The Daniel Jones discussion also needs to include his ability – or more importantly his inability – to stay healthy. Giants fans know how valuable it can when your QB is able to answer the bell every week and rarely (if ever) miss time to injury. That was the case for franchise legend Eli Manning. In many ways, Manning’s ability to stay healthy was his most elite trait.
This was accomplished through reading pre-snap alignment, understanding of blitzes, knowing how to fall/take a hit, or just being smart about throwing the ball away – and likely aspects of Eli’s DNA/toughness. Jones has been decidedly less effective when it comes to avoiding injury. So far throughout his career he’s missed significant time with a hamstring injury, neck injury, and most recently another neck injury. It’s fair to wonder if little nicks and pulls will always be something he faces.
And, during this most recent Jones injury, Tyrod Taylor has stepped in as the Giants’ most effective backup QB since Geno Smith back during the Ben McAdoo era. Taylor has been effective, taking care of the football, and helping the team score 3 TDs inside of two games played. Three touchdowns!? That might take a full month or more under the Daniel Jones-led offense.
However, there are other factors to consider when deciding who should start for the Giants, assuming Jones can get healthy and return to the field.
One is the age of both players. At 34 years old, Taylor is hardly a candidate to be the Giants franchise QB of the future. As the league’s highest-paid backup, it’s well established that Taylor is a desirable player. He’s certainly “good enough” to start for some teams. That may, in fact, include the 2-5 Giants. But age should be a consideration – Taylor is a more finalized product. Jones, at 26 years old, still retains more upside from a rest-of-the-career perspective.
Plus, speaking of upside, let’s not forget the Giants only other win outside of this weekend’s squeaker against Washington. Week 2, New York engineered an impressive comeback – with Jones under center – that displayed some of the Giants’ most effective offense in years. That was notably with Saquon Barkley at running back – who Taylor has been able to rely on these past two weeks. Jones and the entire offense sputtered without Barkley, all while injuries mounted along the offensive line. With the o-line hopefully getting healthy, and Barkley back in action, there’s arguably plenty of on-the-field reasons to reinsert Jones.
Despite the vitriol, intense criticism (and honestly downright hatred) that many in the fanbase reserve for Jones, it was just a year or so ago when the MetLife crowd serenaded him with chants of MVP. Head coach Brian Daboll and GM Joe Schoen made the decision to re-sign Jones this past offseason. Now, let’s hope they have the guts to drown out the noise, and give “their guy” a shot of confidence by standing behind him as the starter ahead of the week 8 tilt with the Jets.
At least, until Jones struggles in the first half and the Giants fail to score any TDs against the Gang Green defense. By all means, turn back to Taylor then. I don’t want MetLife Stadium burned to the ground by the angry mob – and a new QB will be drafted this coming spring either way.
