Folks, I’m not sure about you, but I’ve been riding high all week on the Giants big win against the Titans week 1. As a football fan, I haven’t felt that good in a while. It makes sense considering it’s the Giants first 1-0 start since 2016, but it’s a feeling that I want to last for a whole lot longer than one week.
But upon reviewing the tape from the game and looking deeper at the status of the Giants as a whole, I can’t help but shake one thought: Imagine if the Giants had a quarterback who didn’t limit them and instead the offense was centered on them. The sky would absolutely be the limit for that team with these coaches and coordinators.
We’ve already seen what Brian Daboll can do with an elite quarterback like Josh Allen. We’ve seen Mike Kafka coach Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City.
Yet the biggest takeaway I had from the tape aside from “I should stop calling Saquon Barkley a mascot because he looked really freaking good” is “Daniel Jones really holds this team back.”
At his best, he’s a game manager. At his worst, he’s throwing red zone interceptions, fumbling the football, staring down one target, not feeling pressure, and missing WIDE OPEN guys down field.
A fourth year quarterback shouldn’t be making this throw in the redzone. Completely disgusting.
Make no mistake about it: The Giants absolutely won the game on Sunday. But it shouldn’t have come down to a last minute drive and they should have won by MORE. The Giants shouldn’t have been put in a postion where they were, as Brian Daboll put it, “hoping the son-of-a-bitch would miss (the kick),” they instead should have had the game dead and buried.
Fortunately, Daniel Jones didn’t cost the Giants the Titans game. With that being said, if he turns the ball over in the red zone, misses open guys, and doesn’t feel pressure then we won’t have the feeling of victory very many more times this year.
When it’s all said and done though, it’s a moot point. Daniel Jones isn’t going to be the quarterback of the Giants next season. They are going to replace him with someone who has legitimately elite potential via the draft, trade, or potentially free agency if somehow, some way Lamar Jackson makes it there (highly unlikely and nearly impossible).
Even if he makes the playoffs. Even if he wins a playoff game. There’s virtually no chance. This regime is not going to settle for the quarterback play that we saw on Sunday. Giants fans should applaud that.
Getting a chance to see Brian Daboll lead a quarterback who’s actually got elite potential will make the Giants one of the most entertaining and competitive teams in the league for years to come. Giants fans should stop fighting that truth and embrace it.