Louis Riddick Calls Out Giants for Handling of Daniel Jones

The New York Giants are entering the most critical season of Brian Daboll's tenure as the team's head coach and Daniel Jones' tenure as the team's starting quarterback. Both are trying to rebound from what was a disappointing season.

While there's plenty of blame to go around, the Giants undoubtedly failed to give quarterback Daniel Jones much help at critical positions on the field. ESPN's Louis Riddick admitted to not being a big supporter of Daniel Jones and took issue with NFL Network Rich Eisen's report that the Giants are done with Jones. 

“He played six games this year. He was sacked 30 times in six games," Riddick said. Their pass block win rate is in the bottom quarter of the NFL.” 

Riddick also pointed out that Jones didn't have much in the way of quality receiving options, pointing out how the trade for tight end Darren Waller didn't work out as the Giants had hoped, and their unit of wide receivers left much to be desired.

“Darren Waller is a guy who didn’t pan out for them as they hoped. They have no weapons on the perimeter," Riddick said. "And now, all of a sudden, they’re done? Now they’re done with [Jones], and now they have buyer’s remorse, and now they may be in the market for another quarterback?”

Riddick also seemed bemused by how the narrative changed around Giants coach Brian Daboll over one year after last year's disappointing season, during which many things outside his control went wrong. 

“Now Brian Daboll has gone from being a coach of the year to having turmoil throughout his staff, people leaving, people wanting to leave, and the speculation now is about whether or not he’s coaching for his job,” Riddick said. 

“Isn’t that amazing how stuff can turn? And you wonder why the Giants have not been able to make some headway right now in the [NFC] East and be true contenders?

“When you have this kind of thing happening within one calendar year, there’s no way you can make headway. When you have this kind of flip-flopping, these kinds of 180-degree turns away from people, and these kinds of structural deficiencies, no wonder you can’t make up any ground.”

Riddick is not completely off base with his opinions. Daboll, whom some believe to be in a make-or-break year, didn't suddenly lose his way. However, it could also be argued that some of the coaching underneath him, which was his responsibility, wasn't up to par (hence why some assistant coaches were let go after the season). Based on the outcome of their Week 1 opener against Dallas, it could also be argued that the Giants were not fully ready to start the season.

As for Jones, Riddick's argument falls short because, in the six games Jones did play, he regressed in Year 2 of the same system, looking uncomfortable in the pocket and struggling to make his post-snap reads. It might be argued that Jones's shortcomings were further exposed when Tyrod Taylor managed to have more success working with a similarly poor offensive line and with the same receivers. 

Throw in the injury issues—Jones suffered his second neck injury in the last three years and is now coming off an ACL tear, which may or may not affect his mobility once he gets the green light—and it's understandable why the organization is concerned about Jones's future as the franchise quarterback.

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