Former two-time New York Giants Super Bowl champion Eli Manning is well aware of the ups and downs of being a quarterback in the NFL and has confidence that Daniel Jones will overcome his and be ready for next season.
Eli Manning Feels Coaching Overturn Has Affected Daniel Jones’ Giants Tenure
Manning recently spoke on the Locked on Giants podcast and had this to say about the difficulties Jones has faced on multiple fronts and how he is bound to make good on the many skills and intangibles he’s developed, per Patricia Traina of Fan Nation:
“It’s been difficult every year, almost as a new offensive coordinator, a new system, or new players coming in and out. And so that’s not easy for a young quarterback to keep making those adjustments. And I think now, ‘Hey, we’re going to have this staff, we’re going to have this team for a while,” Manning said. “I think Daniel’s got the talent, the leadership skills, the drive. He wants to do things. So, I expect him to rehab, work hard, and come back ready for next year.”
Despite the many personnel changes the Giants have seen in Jones’ tenure — including the shifts from Mike Shula to Jason Garrett and now Mike Kafka as OC as Manning alluded to — Jones did find a way to improve his game and lead the Giants back to the playoffs in 2022.
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Injuries a Major Culprit of Jones’ Down Year
Manning believes that Jones’ trend of self-improvement is not going to cease all of a sudden due to an injury-plagued 2023 campaign. Jones missed Weeks 6 and 7 with a neck ailment before sustaining his season-ending ACL tear in Week 9.
Jones struggled mightily, producing six interceptions and four fumbles while putting up the lowest touchdown percentage of his career at 1.3 percent. He never found his footing, and his offensive line was largely to blame for that, allowing him to get sacked 30 times.
Manning’s Perspective Comes From Experience
Manning was an iron man during his NFL days, playing in all 16 regular season games for 12 straight years. Even though health was rarely an issue for him, he was no stranger to criticism for fluctuating output following his championship runs. Having walked in Jones’ shoes, Manning sees the stark drop-off in productivity being chalked up as a blip in the latter’s career once he has the chance to retake the field and prove himself once more.
Whether or not he’ll do that in a Giants uniform will be the debate of the offseason, as the front office has reportedly been active in their search for an elite QB talent in the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft.
