Daniel Jones provides picture of why New England shouldn't give up on Mac Jones just yet
BOSTON -- Almost a year ago, the Giants weren't entirely sure what to do with Daniel Jones. But they knew not to blame him.
"We've done everything possible to screw this kid up," Giants owner John Mara said about his team's quarterback.
Mara made that statement at the introductory press conference for new GM Joe Schoen, following the retirement of former GM Dave Gettleman and the firing of head coach Joe Judge. While the performance of the sixth overall pick in the 2019 draft was not what the Giants envisioned, the team wasn't fully convinced that Jones was a lost cause.
But the team -- and the rest of the NFL -- had plenty of doubts, which led to the Giants in April declining the fifth-year option on Jones for 2023. Picking up that option would have guaranteed more than $22 million for Jones in 2023, and the Giants weren't ready to make that commitment.
Fast-forward to the current day. Jones had his best season as a pro, establishing himself as a legitimate dual-threat quarterback for a playoff team. Once in the postseason, he put forth a highly professional effort, completing 24 of his 35 passes for 301 yards with two touchdowns and no picks, while also rushing 17 times for 78 yards (though that was really 13 times for 81 yards, excluding kneeldowns).
Looking ahead, Jones and the Giants face long odds against the top-seeded Eagles next weekend, and the success story could come to an abrupt end in Philadelphia. But the point is that a quarterback who was essentially discarded a year ago has resurrected his career, changing the outlook on his career in the NFL.
It's a worthwhile example to keep in mind in New England, where Mac Jones has certainly picked up a lot more doubters following his second season in the league than he did after his rookie campaign. The statistical dive from year one to year two can certainly explain that, but it may be premature, with the other Jones in New York providing that case.
The presence of Joe Judge in the professional lives of both Joneses is hard to ignore. Judge left New England to be the Giants' head coach in 2020, inheriting Daniel Jones after his rookie season. Two years later, Judge was fired (after OC Jason Garrett had been fired), and the owner was lamenting the reality that his team had screwed up the player who was supposed to be the franchise quarterback.
After that firing, Judge returned to New England and was cast in the role of offensive assistant/quarterbacks coach. Judge had never worked in such a role, having only one year of experience as New England's wide receivers coach in 2019. (That was a very poor year for Tom Brady's passing game, incidentally.) But Bill Belichick believed that the head coaching experience of both Matt Patricia and Judge would make them capable offensive coaches. That, obviously, ignored the fact that Judge and Patricia went a combined 23-52-1 as head coaches, and the fact that the Giants' offense ranked 31st in yards and points in both of Judge's seasons in New York.
And after a painful offensive year in New England, it was quite evident that this plan did not work. That much was obvious in training camp, but the Patriots saw it through until the end of the year. It never got better, and now change is coming.
With that change comes an opportunity for Mac Jones to rebound the same way Daniel Jones did. To get a picture of how each quarterback looked with and without Judge, here's a quick statistical snapshot of the two.
Daniel Jones, without Joe Judge
29 games, 28 starts
12-15-1 record (.429)
601-for-931, 64.6%
6,232 yards, 6.7 Y/A, 214.9 Y/G
39 TDs, 17 INTs
90.1 ratingDaniel Jones, with Joe Judge
25 game, 25 starts
9-16 record (.360)
512-for-809, 63.3%
5,371 yards, 6.6 Y/A, 215 Y/G
21 TDs, 17 INTs
82.4 ratingMac Jones, without Joe Judge
17 game, 17 starts
10-7 record (.588)
352-for-521, 67.6%
3,801 yards, 7.3 Y/A, 223.6 Y/G
22 TD, 13 INT
92.5 ratingMac Jones, with Joe Judge
14 games, 14 starts
6-8 record (.429)
288-for-442, 65.2%
2,997 yards, 6.8 Y/A, 214.1 Y/G
14 TD, 11 INT
84.8 ratingDaniel Jones also has been a better running quarterback without Judge. In his two years without Judge, he's rushed for 987 yards and nine touchdowns on 165 carries (5.98 yards/carry), while he rushed for 721 yards and three touchdowns on 127 carries (5.68 yards/carry) in the two seasons with Judge.
There are some notable similarities, the biggest of which is the matching drop in passer rating. Mac Jones dropped 7.7 points from 2021 to 2022, while Daniel Jones' passer rating in his two seasons without Judge is 7.7 points better than it was in the two years with Judge.
Both quarterbacks threw more touchdowns without Judge, with Mac Jones throwing 1.3 TDs per game without Judge and 1.0 TD per game with him. Daniel Jones threw 1.3 touchdowns per game without Judge and just 0.8 touchdowns per game with him.
Obviously, that's not entirely coaching, particularly in the case of Daniel Jones, who had an OC in Garrett and a quarterbacks coach in Jerry Schuplinski. Players are ultimately responsible for their on-field performance, but there's no denying that coaching plays a significant factor in how that turns out. And the fact is that both Joneses have been better quarterbacks without Joe Judge as their coach in any capacity.
There's less evidence for Mac, with just two years in the league. But the fact that it matches the ups and downs of Daniel shows that a bounce-back season for Mac in New England is very much in the cards for the 24-year-old, provided the Patriots put together a qualified and experienced coaching staff to help get him and the offense as a whole where they need to be.
