Difference Between Daboll and Garrett on Jones and the offense

[Tempest]

https://www.nj.com/giants/2022/05/giants-brian-daboll-said-something-about-daniel-jones-that-explains-how-much-different-hell-be-than-jason-garrett.html

 

Brian Daboll’s words to Tiki Barber on Tuesday should be music to Daniel Jones’ ears.

Barber, the former Giants running back, asked Daboll on his WFAN radio show about why fans should believe Jones can finally take the next step. After three years of up-and-down play — more down than up, by most metrics — it was a fair question.

And then Daboll said something that should have fans (and Jones) encouraged about what the offense should look like — Jones’ third different offense in four years, mind you.

“I want him to be himself,” Daboll said. “I want him to not be afraid of consequences and pull the trigger and attack.”

Again: Music, meet Jones’ ears.

Jones took more shots as a rookie quarterback in Pat Shurmur’s offense in 2019, and there was some good and bad that came with that. The good is that Jones threw 24 touchdown passes and wasn’t afraid to take shots downfield. The bad, of course, was the turnovers: He threw 12 interceptions and loss 11 fumbles. After Shurmur was fired, the Giants brought in Joe Judge with Jason Garrett as his offensive coordinator. After Garrett was fired mid-2021, Freddie Kitchens replace him.

And over those two seasons, there was a massive overcorrection on how the Giants ran the offense and coached Jones to try and bring those turnovers down. It (sort of) worked: Jones turned it over 26 times in 25 games, a better rate than the 23 turnovers in 13 games he had in 2019.

But Garrett and Judge (and Kitchens) practically removed the threat of the Giants offense taking shots down the field, instead imbuing the passing offense with a little too much conservatism. There was an emphasis on quick throws, usually in the short-to-intermediate areas of the field. Part of that was to compensate for a terrible offensive line, but Judge also wanted to reduce Jones’ turnovers.

So, he only threw 21 touchdowns passes in 25 games the last two years, a brutal scoring rate in a league dominated by prolific passers. Even worse, Jones only threw deep passes (20-plus yards in the air) on 6.6% of his pass attempts in 2021, worst in the league among 42 quarterbacks to throw at least 10 deep balls. In 2020, that rate was 9.6%, which ranked 36th (of 45). Under Shurmur, Jones threw them on 11.8% of his passes.

By comparison, Josh Allen — who admittedly has maybe the strongest arm in the NFL — threw deep passes on 12.3% and 12.6% of his passes the last two years under Daboll with the Bills, respectively.

In April, Jones said he watched some film of the Bills and Chiefs after the Giants hired Daboll and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka, who was the QB coach in Kansas City.

“You know watching a lot of those playoff games for both those teams and you try to watch and pick up little things, but until you’re really in the system, learning from the coaches and hearing them talk it through,” Jones said. “We’re not quite there yet, so I’m looking forward to that piece of it. Like you all see, like everyone sees, these offenses have scored a lot of points, created a lot of explosive plays, and had a lot of success.”

This is a make-or-break year for Jones, especially after the Giants opted to decline his fifth-year option for 2023, meaning he’s not signed beyond this season. The Giants upgraded the offensive line, drafting Alabama’s Evan Neal in the first round, adding guard Joshua Ezeudu in the third round and signing veterans Mark Glowinski and Jon Feliciano in free agency. Kenny Golladay and Saquon Barkley are back and healthy, for now at least. If Kadarius Toney isn’t traded, he’ll be back too. Joe Schoen also added another dynamic weapon in diminutive Kentucky wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson, drafted in the second round.

About declining the option, Schoen said that “we really like Daniel and the work he’s been putting in. And we are excited where he is, and we are excited to work with him. It was a decision we thought was best for the New York Giants at this time.”

Co-owner John Mara has said the Giants did everything in their power to mess Jones up in his first three seasons. Now, he’s out of excuses. This is the last chance for him to prove he deserves to stick around.

“I’d say that these first 3.5 weeks that I’ve been around him, I’ve been impressed with his work ethic, his leadership, even when he’s with the guys,” Daboll said on WFAN. “We just had a little football school, he does a good job in the huddle. I want him to ... have a positive mindset, continue to learn and grow and I want him to have some ownership as to what he is comfortable with as well. It’s fine and dandy when I’m the one back there calling plays, but ... I think it’s a collaborative effort on some of the stuff that he likes. I’ll continue to help him improve.”

There is one quarterback signed through 2023 now, and it’s not Jones. It’s veteran Tyrod Taylor, signed to a two-year, $11 million as a free agent. Should Jones be worried about losing his job if he doesn’t play well this season?

Daboll wouldn’t say.

“I’m worried about tomorrow,” he said. “To get into that conversation, that’s a long ways away. And Tyrod is here for his reason, which is to back up Daniel and he’s been great since he’s been here.”

[Virginia Giant]

It'll be interesting to see what kind of season he has.  I don't know what to expect. The kid has shown flashes, he has the tools, can't detect pressure to literally save his has but he has the arm.  The cluster fuck that was the last couple of seasons, I am definitely willing to see what he can do in a system designed for a qb to put on a show.  

[GorillaNJ]

I am looking forward to this season...  I think Jones is going to have a career season so long as he stays healthy, and even better if the players around him also stay healthy!

[Mr. P]

I don’t think being afraid to throw picks has been a problem for Jones lol. 

[Tempest]

I would really like to see the offense functioning again.  It underperformed with Judge and could have been much better even with its problems.

[Sephiroth]

Shitting on Garrett and Judge is pretty en vogue, but I'm not sure what the fuck kind of offense they were supposed to run when nobody on the line can sustain a block for two seconds. This year's offense will sink or swim based on how well the line plays. 

[jranieli]

Any word on what kind of offense they are going to run? With the two "gadget" guys, I think they might go with a quick pass/possession offence. I am only going on my experience from Madden.