The biggest fallacy repeated over and over about the Giants is that Daniel Jones needs to play like he will in 2022 to silence his critics.
The reality is that Brian Daboll's Giants are looking for a mix of rookie Daniel Jones (circa 2019) and career-old Daniel Jones (circa 2022) — an aggressive but not reckless version of the type they've never sustained for long periods of time.
“What I want for him is to make the right decisions, make the right plays when he needs to and play freely when he needs to play freely,” Daboll said.
Based on his brief exposure to training camp and preseason games, it seems Daboll wants more from Jones than he's willing to let on: more big plays, more deep passes, more points.
Can Jones meet the demands without reverting to his old turnover-prone ways that he has overcome so far?
“That sounds like a big ask for a guy who's never really shown the ability to do it consistently,” ESPN analyst and former front-office executive Louis Riddick told The Post. “Can he show it at times? Yeah, I'm sure he can, but when you consider where he was drafted and how much he was paid and what's stopping them from looking for another one, [quarterback]Can he do it consistently?
“No, I wouldn't bet a cent on that. It's honest based on what he's shown so far.”
Jones recorded the NFL's best interception rate (1.1% of his passes) and sixth-best QBR despite just 15 touchdown passes, led the Giants to the playoffs and earned himself a $160 million contract extension in 2022.
But the Giants, under Saquon Barkley and Mike Kafka at the helm, are not the bootleg-dependent offensive team they were when Jones' main objective was to take care of the ball and hide their shortcomings.
If the Giants are going to capitalize on the speed of Malik Neighbors and Jalin Hyatt and the heavy investments they made in their offensive line to provide a cleaner pocket, they need to move the ball down the field like they did in 2019, when 11.8 percent of Jones' passes covered 20 or more yards and led to nine touchdown passes, according to Pro Football Focus.
In the 47 games since then, just 5.5 percent of Jones' passes have covered 20 or more yards and have produced 12 total touchdowns.
“We came out explosive. We attacked the field a lot,” said Darius Slayton, Jones' favorite target since his rookie year. “We started off there and then we backed off. It's his strength. He's proven he's capable. I expect him to play more on the field this year and bring it back.”
It was astounding to watch Tyrod Taylor attack downfield at more than twice the speed of Jones last season while playing with a similar lineup.
Even before developing MVP candidate Josh Allen, play-caller Daboll was relying on deep passes on 10-18% of his attempts to veteran quarterbacks Brady Quinn, Derek Anderson, Matt Moore, Colt McCoy, Chad Henne and Matt Cassel.
“There are only a few big plays that happen every year,” Daboll said, referring to the 40-yard gain, “but they matter in terms of game outcome and points.”
The message drilled into Jones' head behind the scenes after a rookie season in which he committed 23 turnovers was “take what the defense gives you.” Daboll may be willing to accept more offensive mistakes in exchange for the explosive production that has lifted the Giants out of the bottom five the past two seasons.
“What I'm comfortable with and what I expect to continue to develop is his ability to push the ball down the field and be more aggressive and take deep shots,” assistant general manager Brandon Brown said. “I think for Daniel, this is the first time in his career that he's been able to line up with four receivers on a 4×100-meter track team and create natural separation.”
Jones' best career game, taking the circumstances into account, came against the Vikings in the 2022 playoffs, when he threw for 301 yards and two touchdowns.
The Vikings, who visit Sunday as Jones' make-or-break year begins, have no similarities in personnel or strategy under second-year coordinator Brian Flores.
“He pressures us a lot, sometimes the whole game,” Daboll said. “It's a completely different defensive strategy and structure than we saw two years ago. It couldn't be more different.”
On the other hand, if Jones takes charge as Daboll wants, the Giants' offense will look very different.
“We were running a completely different plan at the time,” Slayton said. “I think DJ is going to be aggressive but also smart.”
