As cameo appearances go, Daniel Jones put in a fine night’s work in his first, and likely his last, preseason action of the summer.
This was the first time Jones stepped on the field for a game since signing a four-year deal worth $160 million and he looked ready for the real thing with an effective and efficient opening drive Friday night for the Giants.
Jones completed eight of his nine passes for 69 yards and the one time the ball hit the ground on an incompletion it was because of a drop by Darren Waller, the new tight end, after he took a big hit from safety Vonn Bell.
Waller was just fine in his Giants debut, though.
He caught three passes for 30 yards, including a 12-yard pickup on third-and-7 when he split safety Vonn Bell and Shaq Thompson to pick up the first down.
This was a completely-in-command outing for Jones, playing in front of a sparse MetLife Stadium gathering.
He hit another newcomer, Parris Campbell, over the middle for a 13-yard gain and scrambled for six yards to create a more manageable third down.
Jones’ longest completion was a 20-yard hookup with Isaiah Hodgins.
On second down on the Panthers 4-yard line, the ball did not go to Waller but his presence on the field influenced the Carolina defense.
Waller and Daniel Bellinger both ran routes to the left side and when Waller cut inside, linebacker Frankie Luvu and cornerback CJ Henderson went with Waller.
That left Bellinger alone on the left side and the second-year tight end hauled in the pass and ran it in for a touchdown to complete a 10-play, 75 yard scoring drive.
Coach Brian Daboll, after keeping all his established starters on the sideline in the preseason-opening loss in Detroit, opted to go with his first teamers in preseason game No. 2.
He did not, however, put Saquon Barkley on the field, as it appears Barkley will not get a single snap until the Sept. 10 regular season opener against the Cowboys.
After that one series, Jones took a seat and was replaced by backup Tyrod Taylor.
This is the fifth NFL training camp for Jones and his comfort and command of the offense is noticeable.
“Any time you’re in a situation when you’re in year two you’re more comfortable, and he is,’’ quarterbacks coach Shea Tierney said. “Any time you’re learning a new system there’s just so much going on that it takes a little bit to just get comfortable. The next year you’re not trying to figure out how to just call a play in the huddle. You know how to get in the huddle and call the play and then you can get up to the line, see things easier, see things easier.
“Yeah, there’s definitely that tangible growth in terms of just comfortability, familiarity with the offense and that bleeds over into everything else.’’
The Giants’ starting offensive line, from left to right, was Andrew Thomas, Ben Bredeson, John Michael Schmitz, Mark Glowinski and Evan Neal.
Jones got the ball out of his hand quickly, although he was hit by defensive end DeShawn Williams after one pass left his hands.
Read more
