The New York Giants’ offensive woes aren’t all the responsibility of quarterback Daniel Jones, but with the team continuing to spiral out of control and head coach Brian Daboll’s position likely not being as secure as general manager Joe Schoen’s, someone had to taking the next step: the fall for the team’s 2-8 record.
That someone is Jones, the sixth overall pick in the 2019 draft who was supposed to give the franchise stability at the quarterback position after the Eli Manning era ended.
What followed was a nearly six-year struggle in which the Giants’ offense went through more changes than what was ultimately good for them, and which also included injuries and, more importantly, inconsistent play in which Jones sometimes looked like more than a player. game manager at quarterback and others, who looked completely lost.
Barring a series of injuries at the position, Jones played his final snap as a Giant after being demoted to the third string by head coach Brian Daboll, behind new starter Tommy DeVito and backup Drew Lock. That move took people by surprise once it was announced.
“After evaluating some things, watching a lot of tape and being with Tommy last year, he created a little spark for us. That’s why we’re going with Tommy,” head coach Brian Daboll said Monday, adding that Lock will be QB2 and Jones, who will remain with the team, even though that injury guarantee could still be triggered if he is injured during practice or at the training is injured. owned by the team.
“It’s never an easy conversation to have with the players, but I felt like this was a necessary step for us, and I look forward to working with Tommy and getting him ready to compete against Tampa,” Daboll added to it.
The decision, which Daboll suggested, was made over the weekend as the Giants are mired in a five-game losing streak that has seen the offense struggle to score.
“Obviously we’re not playing the way we want to play, and that goes for all of us,” Daboll said. “But it felt like this was a decision we had to make here: to try to stir things up and change things.”
In choosing DeVito over Lock, Daboll pointed to last year, when the Cedar Grove, New Jersey native came in and led the team to three straight wins, keeping their then-playoff hopes alive.
“Tommy, we’ve been here with Tommy for a while. He’s done a good job, I would say, in the training here. But we also have something to rely on by going back and seeing how he operates some of our stuff from last year. This is not indicative of Drew at all. He has been excellent for us. It was more about what I felt Tommy gave us.
DeVito, who at times last year looked very much like the raw rookie he was, has improved his game significantly, according to Daboll.
“You rely on the meetings you have with these guys. He’s practicing, taking reps from the show team and doing those things. I think he has good fundamentals, and he has a good, quick release,” Daboll said, emphasizing that in practice it wasn’t about DeVito outperforming Lock.
“But it’s a few things that come up in the conference room when you talk about the band; you’re talking about pressure packs, re-identifications, checks and things like that. He has played almost 700 snaps for us, including preseason and regular season. So experience helps. We will do everything we can to get him ready.”
With that potential for a spark comes the chance for the Giants to move up the draft order, as was the case last year when DeVito came off the bench and won three games, pushing the Giants to sixth in the order.
Daboll, however, did not seem concerned about history repeating itself, focusing his attention entirely on the final seven games.
“We have a lot of football in front of us. I think we all have to commit to doing everything we can to finish the season the right way and take it one week at a time. That’s really where our focus will be,” he said.
BLUE NOTES
Daboll sounded optimistic that outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux (wrist), who is on IR, could have his 21-day window open Wednesday when the team returns to practice.
“Anybody who can compete will compete, and then we’ll decide on Kayvon (Thibodeaux) based on where he’s at,” Daboll said.
He also expressed optimism about getting some other guys back.
‘I think we’ll do well. I don’t have the injury gear with me. You beat me to it. But we will have a walkthrough here today and everyone will participate fully,” he said.
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