New York Giants head coach Pat Shurmur comments on Daniel Jones’ “downfield focus” despite current on-field struggles.
Through five starts, New York Giants rookie quarterback Daniel Jones has shown much promise. He has great potential with his throwing mechanics along with his ability to extend plays outside the pocket. However, turnovers have become an issue.
Since getting the nod to start, Jones has thrown seven picks and lost four fumbles for a total of 11 turnovers. In total, he has 12 turnovers on the year, including the lost fumble against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 1. Taking care of the ball is one aspect of Jones’ game that needs to improve. However, there’s one specific part of his game that head coach Pat Shurmur has really taken an interest in.
“He is aggressive, and I think he has a downfield focus, which is good,” he said, per Emily Iannaconi of Giants Maven. “That’s sometimes why he holds onto it because he’s waiting for his guy to get open.
“But there’s a fine line there. There are times when we’ve all talked about quarterbacks that will just quickly check it down and not look down the field. Then there’s criticism that goes with that. We want guys that are aggressive. It all comes back to the players and them trying to get the most out of every play. But also being smart, and I think he’ll learn as he goes along here.”
Wait a minute…which quarterbacks have you talked about? Ones that will just quickly check it down? Such as…Eli Manning? The long-time Giant and predecessor to Jones definitely had a tendency to do that, something that discouraged Shurmur, the fans, and former Giants wideout Odell Beckham Jr.
Is Shurmur really discussing the current Giants backup in this quote? It’s impossible to know for sure, but it’s easy to connect the dots.
