Greatness is determined by how a player reacts to adversity, not how they coast when everything is going well. And it was following a crushing Week 5 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in 2019 that former New York Giants wide receiver Bennie Fowler recognized that quarterback Daniel Jones had the potential for greatness in him.
Jones was riding high after back-to-back wins over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Washington Redskins in Weeks 3 and 4, but then came the dominant Vikings defense.
Jones was held to 182 yards passing, one touchdown and one interception in the 38-21 defeat.
After the game, a frustrated Jones picked up the phone and called Fowler, who had recently been cut by the team.
The two recently recalled that moment on Fowler’s “The Quiet Time Podcast.”
“You hit me up, you came and picked me up and you wanted to go through those plays that you had messed up,” Fowler said to Jones. “Where did that come from?”
“I wanted to feel like I had made progress toward the things I had messed up on,” Jones responded. “I didn’t do well and I had an opportunity to correct them before I went to sleep that day so that was kinda the mindset.”
And then the two didn’t sleep. At least not initially.
Jones and Fowler met up at night after the game, under the lights at a quiet High School where they worked — repeatedly — on the throws Jones felt he missed.
Jones clearly has the mentality needed to become a great, so if he’s never able to scale that mountain, it will not be because of his willingness, determination, preparation or need for perfection. It’s very clear he’s going to give the Giants and his career a Michael Jordan-like effort.
[lawrence-related id=647708,647697,647667]