Is Dime's Time Up?

    Week 8 has just concluded and the New York Giants are halfway through their season sitting at 1-7, in the basement of the worst division in football. I didn't think it was possible for the G-Men to be this bad. Before the season, I predicted that the worst the Giants would go was 5-11 and somehow that doesn't even seem like a realistic record at this point. The blame for this can be put on a number of things like; the offensive line, the lack of a true number 1 receiver, playcalling, and injuries. But the true issue for the Giants is at the quarterback position. Through 8 games Daniel Jones' stats are as follows; 1,666 passing yards, 7 TDs, 9 interceptions, 4 fumbles, and 316 rush yards. He is 21st in the league in passing yards and 3rd in the league in picks thrown. At this point in the season, he should be beginning to take the next step to be a real NFL QB, and so far we have not seen this from Jones. DJ has still been making the same mistakes week after week and can't go a game without turning over the football in some way. The Giants cannot and will not win with Jones throwing the game away every time, the team is just not talented enough to make up for these mistakes. Yet if these mistakes are limited or completely eliminated, the rest of the team is good enough to at least win a few more games and would have this year.

 

Chris Szagola, AP

Daniel Jones has shown a lot of promise but he has yet to have a game with a clean sheet or one that was even close. I, along with other Giants fans, are waiting for the day he throws for 350 yards and 4 TDs with no picks and no fumbles. Jones has definitely shown flashes that he has what it takes and last year he even had a few games with 4 or 5 TDs, but we need more from him this year. If you take a look at Jones' Draft Classmates this year you would see that they have taken that jump in their second year. Number 1 overall pick, Kyler Murray, is looking like an MVP candidate so far in his sophomore year. Murray is putting up huge numbers and proving that he can be one of the NFL's elite QB. Even Drew Lock is coming into his own in Denver. He threw 3 TDs last week in a miraculous comeback win shortly after coming back from a shoulder injury that sidelined him for a few weeks. The clock is ticking for Daniel Jones to make a similar leap to prove to New York Giants fans that he can lead the franchise. 

But Jones doesn’t have a lot of leeway to keep making these mistakes. The 2021 draft class has multiple QBs that were great in college and one specifically that has been on the radar of NFL teams for years now. More likely than not this year will be Trevor Lawrence’s last year in college and he will take his talents to the NFL in the spring of 2021. Yet Lawrence might be headed to another New York team with the first overall pick. If things keep going in this direction and Jones continues to cost the Giants games, they will probably be picking right behind the Jets in the top 5 and having the opportunity to select a great college QB from Ohio State, Justin Fields. And even if the G-Men are somehow in a position where Lawrence and Fields are gone by the time they pick, there are still a handful of solid QBs available. Guys like Trey Lance from North Dakota State, Zach Wilson from BYU, and even Mac Jones from Alabama. This draft is very deep for QBs and the Giants appear to be in the mix to select one of them at this point.

Trevor Lawrence

(AP Photo/Richard Shiro) (Source: Richard Shiro)

Though I believe Daniel Jones can and will be a quality quarterback in this league, he must show that the Giants can trust him going forward and that they don’t need to take one of these young quarterbacks. DJ needs to limit the turnovers and start throwing touchdowns now rather than later. I say it week after week but the clock will eventually run out on Jones and he has 8 games to turn it around or New York will need to replace him.