As OTAs continued in East Rutherford there is still plenty of focus on New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones.
New Giants coach Brian Daboll is looking for the young QB to be more aggressive and that has been the focus for part of the workouts so far. Right now it’s about seeing what Jones can do.
“I think those are good learning lessons,” Daboll said. “Cann he fit it in that window, move the safety with his eyes, can he anticipate where a receiver is going to be based on the choice that the receiver has. That’s going to be through the rest of these OTAs and training camp. I think that’s why you practice. For a quarterback especially, it’s OK to make a mistake in practice.”
“Let’s go ahead and find out what we need to work on and let’s continue to be as aggressive as we can.”
[ALSO READ: Mike Tanenbaum ranks Daniel Jones, Zach Wilson among worst NFL quarterbacks]
Jones and the Giants are coming off another subpar season, which resulted in the firing of former head coach Joe Judge. The organization also opted to decline the fifth-year option on Jones’ rookie contract.
Over the course of his three years with the Giants, Jones has thrown 45 touchdown passes. He missed six games last season after suffering a neck injury and threw for 2,428 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Jones also gave up seven interceptions.
Now the pressure is on the young QB to turn things around to try and earn himself a new contract in New York or elsewhere. Daboll has noted the drive of Jones to be better and be coached during his short time working with him.
“I’d say he’s tough on himself,” Daboll said. “Which is good and bad for a quarterback too because you have to be able to move on to the next play rather quickly since you touch the ball on every play. (He) asks a lot of good questions. He’s been out here on the field. I think he’s improved since we’ve been here.
“I’d say fundamentally, understanding what we’re trying to do and just try to bring out the best in him. He wants to be as good as he can be for this football team.”
Daboll did say that he spoke with Jones about the team’s decision to not pick up the fifth-year option, but declined to say what exactly was said between the two. The Giants coach added that he felt that he has a good relationship with Jones going into the season.
A lot of the success of the Giants will ride on how well Jones does this season in East Rutherford.
regardless of how much confidence the Giants have in Jones, he does have one person in his corner. Famed novelist and New York football fan George R.R. Martin recently appeared on a podcast hosted by The Ringer and discussed Jones and the Giants.
“We gotta see how good they are now that they got some strength for the offensive line. And we’ll see how good Danny Dimes really can be if he has protection and receivers,” Martin said.
Steve Smith Fools everyone
They often say don’t believe everything you see on the internet. Steve Smith Jr. seemed to prove that on Thursday when he announced on Twitter that he was joining the New York Giants coaching staff.
The news was apparently false, although Smith was at the Giants practice facility to film a video for NFL Network, according to NJ.com. It’s unclear why he put on social media that he was joining Daboll’s staff.
