Offensive coordinator defends quarterback, acknowledges issues with footwork that need to be corrected
NFL analysts like Dan Orlovsky, Brian Baldinger, and Kyle Rudolph have all opined this week that New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones played against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday like a player who no longer has any confidence.
When I asked Giants head coach Brian Daboll earlier this week if he saw a confident quarterback when he watched Jones, the coach deflected.
“We’ve played one game, so no one did good enough that first game,” Daboll said.
Offensive coordinator/assistant head coach Mike Kafka on Thursday pushed back against the notion that Jones has lost confidence.
“I haven’t heard those references that you’re talking about, but I haven’t seen from my position, I haven’t seen that in the meeting room, on the field,” Kafka said. “Everyone’s entitled to their opinion. I know myself, knowing D.J. and knowing the kind of guy he is, the type of worker he is. He’s tough, not only just on the field, but I know he’s got to handle all that. Being a quarterback, you have to deal with that stuff, whether it’s good, whether it’s bad. And so, being a quarterback, that’s kind of your role a little bit. And same thing with being a coach, same thing with being a head coach, all those things. It’s kind of your role in having to handle that kind of stuff.
“So, he’s done it better than I’ve probably seen anyone else do it, especially handling some of the things he’s had to go through with injuries and things like that. So, I’m proud of him for that. But Daniel’s a tough kid. He handles it like a pro. He always has. He handles it like a pro in the meeting room. And I don’t think his confidence has ever wavered since I’ve been here.”
It might be considered alarming that after Sunday’s loss to Minnesota Jones, in his sixth year as an NFL starting quarterback, was talking about balance being an issue on some throws, and that on Wednesday he brought up the idea that his footwork needed to be cleaned up.
“I think you’re always trying to zero in on your fundamentals and make sure those are clean. I think getting back in a game situation and playing for the first week, I think there’s gonna be things like that you need to address. And I’m certainly working to do that,” Jones said.
“I think when I say footwork, it’s not always purely fundamental. Can I take a three-step drop? I think it’s specific to certain plays, it’s specific to the rush, it’s specific to where the throw needs to be. So there’s a fundamental aspect to it, but there’s also a specific aspect to the play.”
Kafka acknowledged that there were times vs. the Vikings where Jones’ footwork was problematic.
“I know Coach (Offensive Passing Game Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach Shea) Tierney has talked with him about it. I’ve talked to him about it. That’s what we’re going to work on today in practice,” Kafka said. “I won’t say one specific thing, but it’s kind of the accumulation of all the things and all the different schemes that we have in the run action game. When you’re turning around, you’re play action faking to the back, turning your back to the defense. Now you got to flip back around and find your movement key. Now there’s a little bit of pressure. You got to slide, you got to push up.
“So just those details in working through your feet and every single play is not the exact same. Like we can go rep it 20 times on the practice field but in the game, it might be a little bit different. So, that’s the repetition. We’re trying to build a base and build kind of a library of all those movements. And then we can go replicate it in the game.”
Kafka added that Jones missing throws or being off target was “a combination of a lot of things.”
“I wouldn’t say one common thing that happened on every single throw. And playing quarterback in the NFL isn’t easy,” Kafka said. “And I’m not making excuses for anybody, but the pocket’s not always going to be clean. That’s not the reality of it. A lot of times you’re throwing off platform, you’re throwing off balance. So, you got to practice that type of stuff.
“And then when you get the opportunity to go execute it, you got to hit. And if you don’t, then obviously it looks bad, but when you do, and Daniel’s been able to do that over the course of his career a lot of times. That’s what we work for. So, we’ve got to make those things happen. Moving forward we’re going to practice that.”
Jones had also referenced being more decisive, needing to see it and trust it. Kafka said that is something they “talk about on the daily.”
“Every single day in the quarterback room, we’re talking about your reads, your progressions, how you can get through those faster, seeing a movement key,” Kafka said. “Maybe it’s a defender, maybe it’s a spot on the field where you’re looking for that void in the defense. So, those are things that we just talk about over and over and over again … It’s just a work in progress.”
Could some of that be related to the processing struggles many see in Jones’ game? If you aren’t sure where you are going with the ball, it follows that your feet, your head, and your shoulders may not be in proper alignment when you do finally deliver the ball. Could some some of it be Jones needing a bit of time to gain confidence in his surgically-repaired knee? Perhaps.
The 0-1 Giants, the only team in the NFL not to score in double digits in Week 1, need him to figure it out quickly.
