In his first year as the New York Giants’ quarterback, Daniel Jones provided plenty of reason for optimism. He also provided some reason for concern, especially in the turnover department.
Jones’ former coach at Duke, David Cutcliffe, is not worried, however.
The Giants will be looking for a big leap and hope Jones can decrease the volume of turnovers in Year 2, and Cutcliffe expects the young quarterback to deliver on those expectations.
I think we will see a much better Daniel Jones, I think he’s gonna be a much better product than what he was a year ago,” Cutcliffe told Steve Serby of the New York Post.
Jones is already learning a new offensive system under offensive coordinator Jason Garrett and could be looking at a new offensive line rotation. Add the virtual offseason forced by COVD-19 and it would be easy for Jones’ development in Year 2 to be hindered.
Even facing those pitfalls, Cutcliffe anticipates a solid relationship between Jones and Garrett, which will shorten Jones’ learning curve.
“I sat with Jason and [Tony] Romo before, and talked football, and I saw his approach to coaching Tony Romo and the relationship they had. That’s why I’m making the assumption that I’ll see a similar relationship between Jason and Daniel,” Cutcliffe said.
Jones is surrounded by young talent on the offense. With the Giants directly addressing the offensive line via the draft, Jones should be able to limit the turnovers and have a better year.
“What pocket movement is is about one second max,” Cutcliffe said. “It’s very subtle, and sometimes the more athletic guys are, the more they want to escape … The other thing is when you’re running the ball as a quarterback in the NFL, quit running like a back. Some of his fumbles were getting hit with good runs, or just getting tackled.
“Pocket movement is different than pocket presence. Daniel’s got great pocket presence. He’s tough, he’s courageous, he keeps his eyes downfield. But one of the things you have to learn in the pocket is quit moving away from what you’re reacting to feeling, and move more to what’s secure in the pocket, move more to what you see. Don’t move away from what you’re really not seeing, you know, a guy on the edge. I think when you overreact to edge pass rush which is what happened to him, a couple of things will happen — one, you move to one you don’t see; the other is that sometimes you drop the ball, it’s just a reflex.”
We all know about Cutcliffe’s ties to the Manning family. Jones got to learn from one of the best in his rookie year as he spent a lot of time with Eli Manning prior to his retirement.
“I know in talking with Eli that Eli thinks Daniel’s a very special person that cares about other people, cares about football,” Cutcliffe said. “It means a lot to me that Eli saw those same qualities. You’re not a leader if you’re not respected. And I think he has the respect of all his peers.”
Even with the current times where teams have not been able to work together on the field due to the coronavirus pandemic, Cutcliffe is confident in Jones’ work ethic.
“Trust me, he’s working 10 hours a day on his own mastering this, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anybody more eager,” Cutcliffe said. “He’s every bit the worker that Peyton and Eli were their entire careers.”
Taking over for Eli Manning is a tough task for anyone, but Jones seems like the type of guy who can handle the big city. Jones will need to make big strides in Year 2 as the Giants hope to improve upon their record from last season.
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