First-year New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen do not have a built-in relationship with presumed starting quarterback Daniel Jones.
The same thing can’t be said about veteran backup Tyrod Taylor, who in Buffalo while Schoen was a member of the Bills’ front office. It’s one of the reasons that Schoen brought in Taylor to act as a veteran presence behind Jones.
This is a major backdrop as New York prepares for the first season of the Daboll-Schoen era. It’s also why the Giants’ public postering regarding a “non-existent” quarterback competition is hard to believe.
It was just recently that Daboll noted Taylor would get first-team reps in the Giants’ final two preseason games, starting Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals. In the very same quote, Daboll also wanted us to believe he has full confidence in Jones as New York’s starter.
“Yeah, as we get going here in terms of the preseason games, we’ll talk about whatever we think is best,” Daboll said Tuesday. “But I have full confidence in Daniel and full confidence in Tyrod and what his role is. Each day, we sit there and we evaluate the guys. But will he get a few reps here or there? He might.”
New Yok Giants head coach Brian Daboll on QB situation
Daboll uses the belief that Taylor needs live-game reps in his offense to get accustomed to the scheme should an injury impact Jones like it did last season. That seems to be all sorts of ridiculous given Taylor’s status as a veteran and the fact that he’s taking part in training camp.
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New York Giants don’t have full confidence in Daniel Jones
How could they? Outside of the fact that New York’s brass had no inside knowledge of Jones’ game prior to being hired this past winter, Jones has not proven himself to be a starter-caliber quarterback.
That has been displayed on a never-ending basis since the Giants’ previous brass reached for Jones with the No. 6 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. After a pretty successful rookie campaign, the Duke product has fallen off the map over the past two seasons.
Daniel Jones stats (2020-21): 63% completion, 5,371 yards, 21 TD, 17 INT, 17 fumbles
Jones boasts a mere 9-16 record during this two-year span and has not come close to upping the performance of the struggling team. This has led to speculation that New York could very well replace Jones with Taylor under center.
“I think there’s a chance Tyrod Taylor ends up being the starting quarterback for this team. Maybe by the end of September, maybe by early October.”
yahoo! Sports’ Charles Robinson on New york Giants QB situation
It’s much easier for Daboll and Schoen to admit that former Giants general manager David Gettleman made a mistake in selecting Jones in the first place. It has no bearing on their performances in Jersey. It won’t create a proverbial black eye for the new power duo. It won’t lead to a short leash.
The other backdrop here is that Taylor has a better track record of success than his younger counterpart. In Taylor’s final season with Buffalo back in 2018, the former Pro Bowl quarterback accounted for 18 total touchdowns and four interceptions. Despite being a backup over the past four seasons, Taylor is seen as perfect stopgap option.
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- Tyrod Taylor stats (2011-21): 61% completion, 10,736 passing yards, 2,001 rushing yards, 78 total TD, 25 INT
Regardless of who is under center for the New York Giants in 2022, this team is going nowhere fast. It is in the initial stages of a rebuild. Why continue with the facade that Jones is somehow going to morph into a franchise quarterback?
He’s a free agent after this season. Daboll and Schoen will then look for their hand-picked option at quarterback. Throwing Jones out there this season would only pause New York’s rebuild. Anything the Giants say publicly runs contrary to their team-building philosophy.