Defending Daniel Jones won't be an easy task, but it must be done. After the Giants lost Thursday night to the 49ers, the quiet rumblings about Jones’ abilities, or more so his inabilities, became loud cries. The memes of Jones looking absolutely lost and afraid, while staring at the Niners defensive alignments only highlighted the criticism he has been receiving. Some of it is warranted, but most of it is not.
The New York Giants signed Daniel Jones to a 4 year $160 million dollar contract, when most pundits weren't sure Jones was even a starting quarterback calibur player in the league. That alone will bring fans ire when things go bad. It is inherently in fans' blood to call out the highest paid player when things go badly. But, we have to look at the context here. Even with Jones’ massive deal, he still doesn't rank inside the top 10 QB's salary wise, and that's good because he isn't a top 10 quarterback. He is however a QB that can win and has shown he can be a playoff winning quarterback.
Jones has had his struggles but in 3 games this season he is carrying the offense. Jones is playing behind an offensive line that is missing its best lineman and Jones’ blindside protector, plus another key lineman. That has led to an astounding 12 sacks taken by Jones. He is also playing without his star running back, a broken down tight end, and let’s be honest a receiving crew that doesn't have a #1 receiver on it, and most of them would be #3's on playoff calibur offenses. Yet, despite all this Jones still has completed nearly 70% of his passes the past two weeks and his team is 1-2.
It's easy to spin the season and say Jones isn't any good, but that would be merely looking at the surface area. His stats are ugly, but his circumstances are uglier. Facing the top two defenses in the NFL without your full offense is daunting for anyone and as long as we keep in perspective that Daniel Jones is a good, not great, QB then we all can take a deep breath. Danny Dimes’ contract makes us all expect more from him than what he is, and that is somewhat unfair. The bullseye is on Jones this week and it's a must-production spot. He gets a struggling defense, at home, under the bright Monday Night lights, with almost two weeks to prepare. He might still be down Barkley and the O-line, but we had better see the best version of Jones or even the biggest supporters will start to turn on the dime.
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Daniel Jones, quarterback with the New York Giants attempts
a pass during a game in his rookie season. All-Pro Reels | Wikipedia
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