(In this series, Touchdown Wire’s Mark Schofield takes a look at one important metric per NFL team to uncover a crucial problem to solve for the 2020 season. In this installment, it’s time to look at how the Philadelphia Eagles struggled to generate yardage after the catch in 2019, and how they might address that issue in 2020).
It was the rare combination of a surprise, yet a surprise that everyone saw coming.
In the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft, the New York Giants owned two different selections. Many assumed that the Giants would address the quarterback position with one of them, and they did, drafting Duke University quarterback Daniel Jones with the sixth overall selection.
The selection was a surprise in that many in the football evaluation world viewed Jones along a similar line as a quarterback drafted in the first round a year before him, Josh Allen. An athletic quarterback with a good arm who looks the part, but has flaws that were displayed on film. The Buffalo Bills made Allen the face of their franchise in 2018, and despite being viewed as someone not worth of a first-round pick, it was assumed that the Giants and Dave Gettleman would not share that sentiment, and turn in a card with his name on it.
Which is exactly what happened.
But a funny thing unfolded over the course of last season: Jones was…better than expected? The Giants turned to him almost immediately, naming him their starter prior to a Week 3 contest against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Jones led the Giants to a comeback victory in that game, throwing for a pair of touchdowns and running for the game-winner in the closing minute.
The year would not be without some lows to go with that high, including a high ankle sprain that saw Jones sidelined for a bit of time. But in all, one would probably consider his rookie season a success, especially given the expectations around him coming into the league. Jones finished the year by completing 61.9% of his passes for 3,027 yards and 21 touchdowns, with 12 interceptions. His Adjusted Net Yards per Attempt of 5.38, while not great (it ranked 26th among qualified passers) it still put him ahead of Baker Mayfield, Andy Dalton, Mitchell Trubisky and Dwayne Haskins, who was also a rookie picked in the first round last year.
However, there is an area of concern.
His ball security.
Jones had 18 fumbles last season. That led all players in the NFL (Carson Wentz was second with 16) and making matters worse, Jones lost 11 of those to the opposition, making him the only player to lose double-digit fumbles last year. Historically, Jones’ fumble statistic was the most by an NFL player since Dante Culpepper coughed it up 23 times back in 2002.
Making matters worse for the Giants is this fact. On ten of those 11 fumbles lost, the opposing team scored points on their next drive. Jones had three fumbles that were actually “scoop and scores” (against the New York Jets in Week 9, the Dallas Cowboys in Week 8, and the Detroit Lions in Week 7) and on seven other occasions, the opposing offense put together a scoring drive after recovering a Jones fumble. Only back in Week 1, when Jones coughed it up at the end of the game against the Cowboys, did the opposition not turn the turnover into points.
That’s just because it was the end of the game, and Dak Prescott just took a knee on the next two plays to run out the clock.
Now sure, quarterbacks are the most likely players to fumble, as the position exposes you to moments in the pocket when the ball is going to get knocked from your hands without an opportunity to protect the pigskin. In fact, the last non-quarterback to lead the league in fumbles was Marcus Allen, back in 1983, when he put the ball on the ground 14 times. But there things that both Jones, and the Giants, can do to cut down on this number.
On a team basis, the Giants do need to do a better job of protecting Jones. The rookie was sacked 38 times over just 12 starts, and was sacked eight times alone in a game against the Arizona Cardinals. On plays such as this one, you can see the pocket simply collapse around him, and the QB does not have a chance:
Nate Solder falls on the loose football, but there is one of those 18 times the ball hit the turf.
To this end, the Giants did expend draft capital this past cycle on the offensive line. They added four new names up front, from right tackle Andrew Thomas in the first round, tackle Matt Peart in the third round, guard Shane Lemieux in the fifth round and even other tackle as an undrafted free agent, Rhode Island’s Kyle Murphy who might be a potential position switch to guard. So there is hope that the offensive line will be improved over 2019.
But there is also something Jones can do, something you hope will happen naturally as a second-year pro: Speed up his process. If you work through some of those sacks and fumbles, you will see moments when the ball should be out of his hands, but for whatever reason, it never comes out. Take one of the other sacks against the Cardinals. On a 3rd and 3 situation early in the game the Giants give Jones some information before the snap:
Tight end Evan Engram crosses the formation from left to right. What does the defense do in response? They flip the safeties. This is not the traditional “man coverage” indicator you usually see, where the defender trails the motion man across the formation, but it should tell Jones that the Cardinals are in man coverage.
Here’s what happens on the play:
Jones should know to go right to Engram on the flat route here. As Greg Olsen said during the broadcast, the defender over Engram is “driving down from depth.” On a third-and-short like this, that quick flat route is the ideal pattern to throw against man coverage, especially with the safety starting from depth.
But the ball never comes out. This is a sack you can put on the quarterback. Jones had all the information he needed to make a snap decision as the play begins. Instead, he holds onto the football too long, invites pressure, and is taken down.
Then take this play, and examine Jones’s internal clock and thought process:
The Giants are trying to set up a screen to Saquon Barkley, but the running back gets caught up in traffic. Rather than throw the ball away, or do anything else, Jones simply retreats a bit into the pocket, inviting the pressure. It does come, in the form of Chandler Jones, who swats the ball out of the quarterback’s hands for another fumble, and a turnover.
So Jones himself can get better in how he handles the pocket, both in terms of how he deals with pressure and how quickly he gets the ball out on certain throws. If a route concept is designed to have the ball come out right away, and the offensive line expects as much, anything that happens in the pocket after three seconds or more is likely on the quarterback’s shoulders.
The improvements on the offensive line might help, but for Jones to cut this number down dramatically in 2020, speeding up the thought process will play a big role.