New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll expressed a continued confidence in quarterback Daniel Jones earlier this week. The only difference he’d like to see, Daboll said, is Jones approaching the game more aggressively.
“These first three-and-a-half weeks I’ve been around him [since the offseason program began], I’ve been impressed with his work ethic, his leadership when he’s with the guys,” Daboll said on WFAN Radio’s Tiki and Tierney podcast. “He does a good job in the huddle. I want him to be himself, too. I want him to not be afraid of consequences and pull the trigger and attack and have a positive mindset and continue to grow and learn.”
While making the media rounds on Wednesday, Giants general manager Joe Schoen doubled down on those comments and reaffirmed his own confidence in Jones.
“Daniel was the focus of the offseason. It was ‘Hey, how can we give this kid the best chance?'” Schoen told WFAN.
Schoen believes the Giants have failed Jones and not the other way around. It’s a similar sentiment to one shared by co-owner John Mara earlier this offseason, and one Mara continues to share in private.
“John has been vocal about ‘Daniel’s been through a couple head coaches, several offensive coordinators, there’s been injuries, and the offensive line,’ so it was a conscious effort on our part to build the offensive line,” Schoen said.
“If Daniel can stay on his feet, I think there’s enough weapon on the team that we can be a competitive team and win games and get our best version of Daniel Jones, and that’s what we’re hoping for.”
Giants fans have heard this before. Anyone from Dave Gettleman to Pat Shurmur to Joe Judge has said it, but things have yet to play out that way on the field. But Schoen thinks 2022 may be different and cautions people against reading too much into the team declining Jones’ fifth-year option.
“We had until May 2. Twenty two million dollars, that’s a serious investment in anything,” Schoen said. “You want to get around him as much as we can. We wanted to watch film and get around the kid, and we love Daniel Jones. It’s not an indictment on how we feel about him or if we feel any different. He’s in here all the time and working hard…we want a chance to work with him and go through a season.
“We’re looking forward to working with him. If he goes out and balls out, we still have a franchise tag we can put on him or you enter contract negotiations and an extension. Those are our options moving forward.”
In case anyone thought Schoen was hiding messages between the lines, he took things a step further and made the team’s stance on Jones even more clear.
“We love Daniel Jones,” Schoen said. “We think he’s a win-with player.”
