The New York Giants are in a very fragile place with the development of rookie quarterback, Daniel Jones. Ensuring he adapts to the NFL quickly and efficiently is a priority for head coach Pat Shurmur, but there have been hurdles and challenges along the way. An inconsistent offensive line and injuries have plagued Jones’ first season in the league. Having been sacked 26 times already through nine weeks and turning the ball over 18 times, leading the league, his development is undoubtedly taking a hit.
Shurmur must find ways to get the ball out of Jones’ his hand quickly, but that could force him to fall into a similar trend that Eli Manning suffered through the past five years.
The Giants now sit at 2-7 on the season and are facing further embarrassment if they fall to the lowly 1-7 Jets on Sunday afternoon. It will be Daniel Jones versus Sam Darnold, a matchup that could last the next 20 years. It will be a battle at the bottom, and the losing team could see their head coach fired this season. While I don’t believe the Giants brass is keen on firing Pat Shurmur just yet, he is undoubtedly making it easy for them to decide on his future.
However, losing consistently can get into the mental space of any player, and the Giants have done enough this season to create turmoil in the locker room and bad energy. Jones isn’t the only reason the team has been slow down after climbing back to 2-2 after four weeks. They have lost five straight games and are now looking to develop their youth players rather than compete for the Wild Card.
New York Giants’ Daniel Jones must avoid a similar fate:
General manager Dave Gettleman did his best to solidify the offensive line with the anticipation that Jones would be taking over the season. So far, left tackle Nate Solder and right tackle Mike Remmers have both been abysmal.
Putting Jones under pressure and allowing defenders to take big hits on him won’t help his progression in the league and could force him to resort back to short completions and quick throws. Dooming him to a life of Manning-Esque garbage time piling stats is not the route the Giants want to take with their rookie quarterback. He has been consistently taking risks downfield, which is a positive thing, as dumping the ball off on third and eight for 2-yards isn’t the trend you want to see early on in one’s career.