Is Daniel Jones the Answer for the Giants?

Author: Billy Taylor

As Daniel Jones enters the end of his second year, some Giant fans have been thinking about if the team should move into a different direction with their quarterback. While incredibly unfair, I’ve been comparing Daniel Jones to the man who preceded him: Eli Manning. I compare them because for the first two years of Eli’s career, people didn’t think very highly of him. This is somewhat similar to how Daniel Jones is viewed now – as a quarterback who shows flashes of talent but overall can’t seem to pull everything together.

Eli was supported by Tiki Barber, Brandon Jacobs, Amani Toomer, Plaxico Burress and Jeremy Shockey along with solid offensive and defensive lines his first two years. I think we can objectively say that is better than how the Giants are constructed now. Saquon Barkley’s injury is obviously a huge blow to the offense this year, but even when he’s healthy he can only do so much behind the inconsistent offensive line. You have to give the offensive line credit for the improvements they’ve made this year, but they still leave something to be desired. Darius Slayton definitely should be part of the future in New York, but he’s not exactly wide receiver one material and Sterling Shepard is a nice supporting piece if he can stay healthy. Evan Engram could be a top five tight end in the league, yet he continues to be consistently inconsistent. The defense has been the biggest surprise for the Giants this year. While it is nice to see, considering how horrible the past couple of years the defense has been, in reality they are kind of average and very boom or bust. They look like world beaters when they sacked Russel Wilson five times three weeks ago. Then they allow the Ravens to run all over them last week for 249 yards with 6.2 yards per rushing attempt.

The biggest concern with Daniel Jones individually is his pocket presence. He doesn’t feel pressure coming in at all which is one thing, but when he inevitably gets sacked you can bet your house on it that the ball is going to pop out of his hands. Eli always had problems with interceptions, but in a way that’s the price you pay when he gambled with his throws as much as he did. That risk could lead to a touchdown or a game winning drive. Having no pocket presence and ball security does nothing but kill drives and the chance to win a football game. Daniel also has injury concerns. You can’t expect Daniel to play every game of his career like Eli. Well, almost every game (Thanks Ben McAdoo!). But when you use your legs to gain yards like Daniel does it’s important to be one-hundred percent healthy. Daniel is also the type of guy who can’t play hurt. We saw this against the Cardinals and Ravens. He does not look comfortable out there which does not bode well at all for a chance to make the playoffs on the last game of the season coming up on Sunday. Another major concern is that Daniel could be on his third offensive coordinator in three years, and Jason Garrett doesn’t exactly make Giant fans jump for joy. Whereas Eli had much more coaching stability throughout his career. Daniel’s progress towards being able to read defenses in the NFL could very well get worse if the offensive coordinator position continues to change. Which really sucks considering that he does have talent especially when it comes to threading the needle on passes in-between defenders.

So, is Daniel Jones the answer for the Giants? Maybe. Next year is a critical year to answering that question as he nears the chance to get a second contract. I’ll cut him slack for some of his injuries, but the pocket presence and ball security are a huge cause to be concerned. If he can improve on that it would go a long way to winning more games. If the Giants can also help him with an improved offensive line and pair him with a certified wide receiver one, Jones could turn out to be a very good quarterback in the NFL. The question is will Giants GM Dave Gettleman make the right moves to put Daniel Jones in a position to succeeded? Well, that’s for a different article at a different time.

SPORTS ARE OUR UNIVERSE

The Steelers Are in Trouble

Author: Matthew Iberger

After a 27-17 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, the Pittsburgh Steelers are reeling. Usually, an 11-3 team would not be so worried, but the Steelers are getting cold at the worst possible time. Three straight losses after an 11-0 start where the offense has averaged 10 points per game and four straight games without scoring 20 points or more. The defense which would get them out of these slumps is facing mounting injuries especially at linebacker and edge rusher.

The worst part about this loss to the Bengals is it widens the door for the Cleveland

Browns to take the division lead. Sitting at 10-4, Cleveland had very little chance of catching Steelers before their three straight losses. Now only one game back if Cleveland wins next week against the New York Jets and the Steelers fall to the Indianapolis Colts, the two teams will meet in a Week 17 matchup that decides who wins the AFC North. With how the teams are looking right now I am inclined to believe that this is what will happen. This is a team that looks like it will finish 11-5 after their 11-0 start and be staring at a first-round exit after competing for the first seed for the first eleven weeks of the season.

Ben Roethlisberger for all the success he has had, has lost it. Watching games this season you could tell he had trouble throwing deep especially over the middle, but his lost arm strength was masked by his quick throws over the middle and a strong defense to bail the offense out. As previously mentioned, the defense has regressed due to injury and by putting more pressure on the offense, Big Ben’s faults become clearer. Lack of a strong offensive line and running back play has not helped out the aging QB, nor has the consistent drops from the skill position players during these last three games (they would have won the Washington game if the drops were less often). You can even put more blame on OC Randy Fincher who does not seem to be changing up his game plan to help his struggling team. However, this most recent loss can be put squarely on the shoulders of quarterback play, not receiver drops. Ben was completely missing open receivers, misreading coverages, and just flat out looking bad. A nice Diontae Johnson throw and Benny Snell looking good for part of the game made the score much closer, but by the end of the half Ben only was 7 for 16 for 19 yards and an interception. An aging arm is not something you can fix in two games. Less reliance on Ben’s arm is what will get this team back to winning but with the defense injured and a weak running game, it is what the Steelers have had to do.

As a Steelers fan myself, I still am rooting for my team to turn it around and I believe that they still have a (albeit small) chance at a Super Bowl run. We have to prepare for the strong possibility that Pittsburgh will be one of the first teams out in the playoffs. Currently Pittsburgh sits at 28 in the draft and my way too early hope is that we spend that pick on one of the top running backs to put less pressure on Ben’s arm or an offensive lineman and stick with James Conner and Benny Snell as a 1-2 punch. For the second round, I have been enamored with taking either Alabama QB Mac Jones or Florida QB Kyle Trask to find a successor to Ben. Pittsburgh might have to trade up from their draft spot at 60 to around 45 in hopes of nailing one of them before QB-needy teams like Chicago, New England or San Francisco. If neither of them is available, maybe picking up Sam Darnold or even Gardner Minshew in a cheap trade would work out. No matter what happens it has been an exciting season that I do not think any Steelers fan would have changed. Sure, it has been disappointing late but most rational fans knew we were not going to keep outpacing the Chiefs who sat one game behind the Steelers at 10-1. The super bowl window still remains open in Pittsburgh and hopefully they can secure that ring this year but if not, this team is not going anywhere anytime soon.

SPORTS ARE OUR UNIVERSE

Start Spreading the News: Time to Move on from Sam Darnold

Author: Trevor Schwartz

Editor: Fran Attie

“With the 3rd overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, the New York Jets select Sam Darnold quarterback, USC.” Jets fans had a sigh of relief. Finally, they have their franchise quarterback… or so they thought.

Fast forward to now, it’s Darnold’s 3rd season and all those feelings are gone: the New York Jets are the league’s worst football team with an 0-9 record, the first time in franchise history they have started 0-9, and are currently the frontrunners to draft Trevor Lawrence, top QB out of Clemson. If the Jets do not win a game this year and go 0-16, they will have the 1st overall pick and would be a laughing stock if they ended passing up on Trevor Lawrence. I know some Jets fans still believe in Darnold, but Jet nation, the time has come, you simply cannot pass up an A+ potential QB prospect.

Though Darnold has shown signs of greatness, overall he has been digressing since his rookie year. Back in 2018, the 6’3 quarterback had flashes of promise: he threw for 2,865 yards, 17 touchdowns and 15 interceptions with a QBR of 45.5 in 13 total games. Then in the 2019 season he threw for 3,024 yards, 19 touchdowns and 13 interceptions with a QBR of 43.5, down from his rookie season in 13 games. This year he has played in 6 of the 9 games and has thrown for 1,045 yards, 3 touchdowns and 6 interceptions with his lowest QBR yet: 39.5, which sits at 29th in the NFL, just ahead of Drew Lock and Dwayne Haskins. Darnold’s numbers are going down, and at a bad rate. This isn’t what the New York Jets expected when they drafted him; they were hoping for years and years of success.

I can understand the argument that they haven’t put a good roster around him, but a good QB should help a team win, no matter the roster. To make matters worse, Darnold also hasn’t proven he can stay healthy. In 2018 and 2019 he missed 3 games each, and this year, he has already missed 3 games due to a shoulder injury and may very well miss more. Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that the Jets could possibly get a 2nd round pick and a 5th round pick for Darnold. If I am Joe Douglas, Jets GM, I take that trade and add on to the surplus of picks this team already has.

Here is the plan Jets fans: you trade Sam Darnold, draft Lawrence and use your picks to help build a better team around your next franchise QB. New York will always love you, Sammy, but it is time to say goodbye, and say hello to Trevor Lawrence.

SPORTS ARE OUR UNIVERSE