New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen held his annual bye week press conference on Tuesday.
Schoen sat alone at a long table in front of a group of reporters and faced questions about his club's many shortcomings this season. However, he did not hire reporters to try to educate him about a regime, coaching or quarterback change.
Substituting quarterback Daniel Jones has been a hot topic around these parts, but Schoen refused to take the bait and delve too deeply into the topic.
“We will evaluate it the rest of the week and the decisions we make will be football decisions,” he said. “We’re 2-8. So again, everyone, including me, needs to look in the mirror and ask how we can make things better. We will continue to do that.
“I understand that you want to ask about Daniel, and it's about the quarterback position. I mean, it comes with the territory, especially in this market. It’s not all down to one person.”
Many people have a different opinion. Last Sunday against Carolina in Munich, Jones' play contributed significantly to the embarrassing defeat. It appears the six-year veteran is regressing as he ages. After throwing 24 touchdowns as a rookie in 2019, Jones hasn't thrown more than 15 in a season since.
His two interceptions deep in Panthers territory on Sunday — and the Giants' red zone performance in general this season — are an indictment of him and Daboll's play this season.
“We will look for solutions,” Schoen said, again being careful not to single anyone out. “He comes over every day. He works hard. The team stays together. We had a really good training today in the farewell week, which is the first time in his three years here. He's done a really good job, the guys are competitive and keeping the locker room together.
“Once again we are in these games. We are in these games. We just have to find a way to finish it. We are 1 and 5 in one-score games. So we have to find a way to overcome the hurdle and make plays in critical moments of the game, whether it's in the red zone or on third down. Or leave the field in defense. Or tackle punt coverage and not allow a punt return for a touchdown. Again, there are a lot of things we can look at and improve on.”
TRUE. With a little more focus they could easily go 5-5 instead of 2-8. Six of the eight defeats came in hard-fought games.
But the press secretary's conclusion on Tuesday was clear. If Schoen plans to make any changes, he will play a big role. The media and fans will find out soon enough.
Maybe that's one of the reasons the owners decided to keep it on the panel while they deal with this latest storm.
