Daniel Jones can’t save New York Giants from bad defense

Despite his early heroics, Daniel Jones can’t save the New York Giants from themselves. The team’s bad defense hampers any hope for a real turnaround this season.

The Antonio Brown saga and the legend of Gardner Minshew have been overshadowing a number of fascinating NFL storylines across the league. Despite Keanu Neal being lost for the season again, Cam Newton remaining sidelined and Jalen Ramsey demanding a trade, Week 3 was really all about the New York Giants and Daniel Jones, both positively and negatively.

New York entered a new era quite smoothly, with Jones assuming the quarterback job with ease. Yet he was by no means perfect, and the Giants’ offense took a major hit along the way. Furthermore, the defense was atrocious. Jones can’t save New York from that which he can’t control.

Two brothers from New York, Dan Salem and Todd Salem, debate Daniel Jones in today’s NFL Sports Debate.

Todd Salem:

First the positive. The end of the Eli Manning era went as smoothly as one could have hoped. He still is the ultimate gentleman, even from the sidelines and in a supporting/mentor role. We always assumed this would be the case with Manning, but it is nice to see positive confirmation.

Besides Manning’s actions or lack thereof, the reason the transition went so smoothly was the way that rookie Daniel Jones looked.

In his first real professional action, Jones was calm and confident. He routinely stood in the pocket, seemingly ignoring all pressure around him. He always kept his eyes down the field and hit a number of impressive throws. The comeback win wasn’t even the point (especially since the Giants only won because Tampa Bay missed a last-second field goal). Jones looks like he belongs.

It is amazing how fast opinion can change in the league. When New York drafted Jones, it appeared as the most inept franchise in the sport. Preseason success didn’t change that. Miami certainly knocked New York out of the cellar, but we still hadn’t seen Jones. Now we have, and though he has a lot to improve upon, he looks…capable. It is refreshing.

More from NFL Spin Zone

• Dallas Cowboys made the trade everyone else should have made
• Pittsburgh Steelers rookie sleeper everyone should be talking about
• Anthony Richardson putting jaw-dropping talent on display immediately
• Denver Broncos’ stud wide receiver might be out for a while
• Washington Commanders: Three takeaways from win over Ravens

It wasn’t all good news for the Giants in Week 3 though. Jones has some real issues he will need to address. His ability to ignore the pass rush around him is a double-edged sword. He seems to have no recognition of defenders near his body, leading to numerous fumbles and miscues.

You want a young quarterback to look down the field. The alternative is one who immediately bails out of the pocket at any sign of pressure and won’t hang in to make throws deep down the field. Jones is too far in the other direction.

And then there’s the elephant in the room: the ankle sprain for star Saquon Barkley. The young face of the franchise is expected to miss at least a month of action with the injury, and possibly much longer. Where do these two pieces of information, the good news and bad news, leave the team?

The Giants still are not a 2019 contender. Their defense remains atrocious. Perhaps Jones revives players who were playing listlessly but at some point the lack of talent and execution matters. From a grand scheme, though, do you consider Week 3 a net positive or net negative for Big Blue? Barkley is down and out, but Jones has reinvigorated the team and the fan base.

Maybe those two things leave the team essentially where it was before all this action. But I’m of the mind that this was all a net positive, and it really comes down to still not expecting the team to compete.

Barkley missing 1-2 months is a huge bummer for the sport, but it doesn’t ruin anything specifically for New York. Upon his return, this duo will be the talk of the town, assuming Jones doesn’t crash and burn these next half dozen games. Everything changes so fast in this league, we can’t rule that out either.

Dan Salem:

Daniel Jones should have a nice game against Washington. The Redskins defense just made Mitchell Trubisky look like Aaron Rodgers. That being said, he’s still a rookie and will go through some adversity. Losing Barkley is certainly adversity enough, but the lack of a competent defense is going to weigh heavily on Jones’ rookie year.

Jones proved he is good enough to beat the bad teams without help from his defense or the running game. New York will likely finish in the middle of its division, considering how feeble the Eagles look right now. That is a win for a team no one expected much of this season, but is it a good thing?

Would it be better for the Giants to net another top-10 draft pick and win only five games, rather than win six to eight and draft much later? I say no.

The best thing for New York is to let Daniel Jones gain confidence and become the leader they need. Barring a defensive miracle, the playoffs are a pipe dream. It’s obvious that Jones’ first game is a net positive from an excitement standpoint. The win is important for the team as well.

But the defensive woes are glaring, and losing Barkley means the defense will likely be on the field a lot more going forward. The game itself should be considered a wash, only because we value starting quarterback debuts so highly. If we normalize the impact of Jones’ debut, then this game is likely a negative for New York.

The Giants lost their starting running back. Their defense barely held it together and stunk in the first half yet again. It’s still very early in the season, so it’s worth focusing on the encouraging signs thus far. But it’s hard to feel great about New York until they beat an actual contender.

Fans have a reason to be excited and keep watching. They also have something to look forward to later in the season, regardless of wins and losses. Let’s just give it a few more weeks before we anoint Jones the savior.