Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
– Robert Frost
When you come to a fork in the road…take it.
– Yogi Berra
(Es tut mir leid, ich konnte nicht widerstehen.)
Somehow, Sunday’s game against the Carolina Panthers in Munich felt like it would be the setting for a final decision on Daniel Jones’ career as a New York Giant. Many would say that the decision was already obvious, yet Jones has continued as the Giants’ starting quarterback, despite a season alternating between terrible performances (Minnesota, Cincinnati, Philadelphia) and outings in which he played well but never could light up the scoreboard (both Washington games, Dallas), with only the surprising victory in Seattle looking anything like what one would expect of a QB with a 4 year, $160M contract.
Facing the NFL’s worst defense, with a bye next week and a $23M 2025 injury guarantee looming, today might well have been Jones’ closing argument. Would he be on the road to oblivion that so many failed first-round QBs have walked, or would he take a step down the road to success against a vulnerable defense and live to start another game? What did we learn from the Giants’ 20-17 loss to the Panthers?
The Daniel Jones era is almost surely over
Jones could not have played a worse game today. All of his weaknesses were on full display:
- Inaccuracy: On the Giants’ first drive, Jones had Malik Nabers wide open on an out pattern on third down, and he threw the ball so far over Nabers’ head that it looked like he was throwing it away. More often, though, this shows up as passes slightly behind receivers (as on the ball to Tyrone Tracy inside the 10 late in regulation that wound up being intercepted) and thrown short of receivers at their feet.
- Failure to see the field: This shows up even on completed passes, where Jones almost invariably chooses the short option and doesn’t see open receivers downfield. In the second quarter, getting the ball at the 40, Jones threw the ball away when Theo Johnson was open downfield (according to Kurt Warner). Late in the game, on the intercepted pass to Tracy, Nabers had man coverage on a slant near the goal line and it seems that Jones never looked at him.
- Anticipation: I hesitate to use this as an example because it wasn’t all Jones’ fault, but the disastrous flea flicker play in the second quarter illustrates this. It was a strange play call on third-and-1, and the execution all-around was terrible – Jermaine Eluemunor let D.J. Wonnum get past him to pressure Jones, and the toss back to Jones was not accurate as he had to reach down and to his left and reset his passing stance, but there was a brief window in which Wan’Dale Robinson was wide open on a deep out route and Jalin Hyatt was coming open on a dig in the vacated space behind him, either of which would have been a big play if Jones had gotten the ball out. By the time Jones reset and wound up to throw the ball, though, Wonnum was on him for a sack.
The fact is, 0 TDs and 2 INTs with only 190 yards passing against the NFL’s worst defense just won’t cut it. If you have to scramble to get to OT (and that is only because the opponent fumbles) with only 17 points against a defense like Carolina’s, what can ever be expected? It’s time.
The Giants have an awful run defense
This is not news. We seem to say it every week. But the fact is that when Dexter Lawrence is not on the field, and with Kayvon Thibodeaux sidelined, teams run with impunity on the Giants’ defense. The Panthers racked up 188 rushing yards on 32 carries, a 5.9-yard average, 153 of them by Chuba Hubbard. Hubbard is a very good running back. He is not Derrick Henry. In the past three weeks, he had rushed for 52, 56, and 72 yards. Against the Giants, though, Hubbard rarely got less than four yards on any rush, repeatedly putting Carolina in favorable second and third-down situations.
The Giants’ interior defensive linemen today totaled 3 solo tackles and 7 assisted tackles on 30 rushes by Carolina running backs. Giants edge defenders not named Brian Burns totaled 0 tackles and 3 assists. Disgraceful.
Brian Burns is worth the money
More and more, Burns is becoming the face of the Giants’ defense. Today he had the Giants’ only sack of Bryce Young, had several other pressures, and added 4 tackles and 7 assisted tackles.
Burns started slowly in Shane Bowen’s defense: in his first five games, he only had 11 tackles, 4 assists, and 2 sacks. Since then, though, he has had 16 solo tackles, 15 assists, and 4 sacks, despite the absence of Kayvon Thibodeaux on the opposite side that lets opponents exploit Azeez Ojulari.
I feel sorry for Tyrone Tracy
Tracy has been an amazing value for the Giants as a fifth-round pick who proves every week that you don’t need to pay much – in money or draft capital – to have elite running back play. Tracy broke the 100-yard mark for the second time in the past three games, including a beautiful 32-yard TD run.
Unfortunately, he also fumbled and couldn’t hold a pass that became an interception, including the game-deciding fumble on the first series of OT that was directly responsible for the loss. He deserves better.
Jalin Hyatt does exist
The saga of Hyatt’s tenure as a Giant has been bizarre. It began last year with Daboll sending him on go routes against Sauce Gardner in a pre-season game seemingly just for fun to see what he could do. His deep catch from Daniel Jones in the Arizona game in Week 2 briefly changed the Giants’ fortunes, and he wound up with 23 catches and 373 yards for the season.
This season, though, he has been in the witness protection program, with only 1 reception for 6 yards. Today, though, he was forced into action with Darius Slayton’s concussion, and he made a difference. He drew a penalty on a deep pass right off the bat, and he wound up with 4 receptions in 4 targets for 39 yards. Not dramatic, but it’s something. Maybe with a different QB, he will be able to make his mark in the NFL.
Evan Neal is…OK?
I don’t want to pound the table on this, because I wasn’t watching him closely much of the time, but when I did remember to look at him, he seemed to be doing all right in pass protection. I didn’t see the Giants’ passing game getting blown up because he was whiffing on blocks all afternoon. Jermaine Eluemunor may not prefer it, but if Carmen Bricillo has made Neal into a serviceable right tackle and Eleuemunor can stay at left tackle for the rest of the season, that would be huge (next season, anyway…this season is over).
