Daboll replied “nope’’ when asked if there were plans to bring in another quarterback to provide competition for Jones.
There was another “nope’’ from Daboll in response to a question if there will be any altered approach to give backup Drew Lock or No. 3 quarterback Tommy DeVito any additional reps this week in practice.
So, it is full-speed ahead with Jones, and it is probably a good thing for all concerned and especially for the beleaguered 27-year old that the Giants take to the road for their next two games and are not back at MetLife Stadium until a Week 4 Thursday night meeting with the Cowboys.
Judging from the way Giants fans showed an abject lack of patience and were ready to pounce and boo Jones less than two minutes into the season, it is fortunate that the player and the fan base get a respite from each other.
Jones was abysmal in his first start since going down last season with a torn ACL and the rotten performance had nothing to do with the injury, which has fully healed.
Jones was off-target from the start of the game and never claimed any rhythm in one of his most inaccurate performances since coming to the Giants as the No. 6 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. Jones was 22-for-42 for 186 yards and two interceptions — one returned 10 yards by linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel for a touchdown.
“I’d say decisions for the most part, people we were looking at, where we were throwing, were good,’’ Daboll said the day after the ugly opener. “Obviously there were some, whether it was an inaccuracy because of a base or maybe there was pressure, there’s a variety of reasons for that.’’
It was so bad, so soon that it is not premature to wonder if Jones’ psyche is damaged in any way — if he is struggling through a lack of confidence.
“I thought we had a good week,’’ Daboll said. “Good week of preparation. And again, it’s on all 11 [players]. It’s on the coaches. It’s on me. So, we’ll work hard to fix that and come up with something better than we did, against Washington.’’
The Giants face the Commanders on Sunday at newly renamed Northwest Stadium. Jones is 3-1 in his starts in that building, formerly called FedEx Field, and is 5-1-1 in his career against the Washington franchise.
So, if he cannot shake what ails him and figure out a way to function in this environment, in his second start of the season, it will be difficult for the Giants to stick with him much longer.
As things were sliding backwards, from bad early to really bad late, Jones did not lose it on the sideline. He was walking up and down the bench area, giving fist-bumps of encouragement to his teammates, according to right guard Jon Runyan Jr.
This is foreign terrain for Runyan. He spent his first three years in the league blocking in Green Bay for Aaron Rodgers and spent last season with the Packers enjoying an inside look at Jordan Love’s outstanding starting debut.
“Everybody here is rallying around Daniel,’’ Runyan said. “We’ve been seeing him this whole offseason, he’s been here this whole time, he’s been working really hard, he’s in all the meetings with [quarterbacks coach] Shea [Tierney], with coach Dabes, he’s in the weight room and he’s gonna get this thing right, I know it. And I think we all trust him and believe that he will.’’
Will he? The Giants tried to replace Jones in this year’s NFL draft, making no secret of their willingness to trade up to get Jayden Daniels or Drake Maye. There was no chance they could swing a trade with the Commanders — an NFC East rival — to get the No. 2 pick to take Daniels, and the Patriots made it clear they would only part with the No. 3 pick if a team made a once-in-a lifetime offer, as they were intent on taking Maye.
All those downfield throws we saw in training camp and the three joint practices? Gone with the wind. Of Jones’ 42 pass attempts, not one of them traveled 20 or more yards in the air.
Sure, Daboll in his first game taking over the play-calling called for a few deep shots but Jones either did not have the time he needed in the pocket or — this is more likely — he did not see the play develop downfield because his eyes were not looking where they needed to be.
It was all a great big mess and the fans let the home team have it, from the very first failed offensive series.
“I understand it,’’ Daboll said. “Our job is to produce, and we didn’t get the job done.’’
For the latest in sports, top headlines, breaking news and more, visit nypost.com/sports/
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.
Comments / 0