One of the biggest factors for whether the New York Giants have a good year or not in 2020 is the performance of sophomore quarterback Daniel Jones, who enters the season for the first time as a starter after replacing Eli Manning following the first two games of the 2019 season. The hope is that the Giants will get better as Jones takes a step forward rather than backwards in his second year and improves his numbers while cutting down on some things such as turnovers.
But will that happen?
It’s still up in the air. There’s never any telling whether a promising quarterback steps up or moves backwards in their second season, and there’s arguments to be made for both of those things in the case of Jones. But when it comes to what the experts think, there’s more than one that think the Giants are in a good spot when it comes to their quarterback situation.
One of those to support Jones is someone that knows him well from his college days: Duke head coach David Cutcliffe, who spoke to the New York Post about his former player.
“I think we will see a much better Daniel Jones. I think he’s gonna be a much better product than what he was a year ago,” Cutcliffe said. Particularly, he thinks better coaching under offensive coordinator Jason Garrett will help Jones in breaking out this season. “I know Jason a little bit. I think the world of him. He’ll do a great job with Daniel. I think Jason and Daniel are kinda similar people, really smart, analytical people. I think they’re gonna be a good pair.”
He used the relationship between Garrett and former Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo as an example of how things could work out with Jones.
Maybe more importantly, though, Cutcliffe spoke on Jones and his practice routine, which may be an important factor in his second year performance. The Giants are no stranger to having a quarterback win with intelligence rather than pure arm strength and athleticism and that tradition set by Manning might continue with Jones.
“Trust me, he’s working 10 hours a day on his own mastering this. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anybody more eager… He’s every bit the worker that Peyton and Eli were their entire careers,” Cutcliffe stated.
With 12 starts last season, and 24 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in that span, Daniel Jones had a start to his career that established a solid foundation to build on. If the Giants as a team are going to improve, though, Jones is going to have to continue to cut down on turnovers and increase his yards and touchdowns after getting more time in the game. Will that happen? We’ll find out this season – if the NFL does indeed return as planned.