Big Blue Huddle

Quote from: spiderblue43 on Today at 07:32:28 AMDid you see DJ's look at the presser? Eye-popping to say the least.   He's the apple of the nation's eyeballs on the NFL.

Quarterback Daniel Jones

Q. I guess I kind of start with the obvious. How are you doing in rehab and where do things stand?

DANIEL JONES: Rehab is going well. Making good progress. Coming along. Spent a lot of time with the (athletic) trainers here and strength staff, so feel like things are going well. I'm coming along well.

Q. I think Joe had talked about a little bit, (he) hopes for what you'll be able to do this spring. Where do you stand on being able to throw or activities on the field?

DANIEL JONES: Yeah, I've been throwing for quite some time now. Was throwing stationary pretty soon in the rehab process but have progressed and I'm throwing with movement and dropping, and kind of quarterback-specific drills. So that feels good. Coming along well.

Q. So then just to build on that, have they given you a target date when you think you can be fully cleared?

DANIEL JONES: Yeah, the plan is to be ready to go by training camp. That's when I'm shooting for and feel good about being ready.

Q. Any setbacks or anything? I know long, hard process. Anything like that, or all been smooth? How is it going?

DANIEL JONES: I haven't had any setbacks fortunately to this point. You know, it's a process and there are certainly better days and then days that you don't make as much progress.

Overall, it's been a good process with these guys, and lucky to have the training staff we have here with the Giants and the strength staff and feel lucky to be working with them. Been a good process. I've come along well and luckily no setbacks.

Q. I'm curious, is your rehab strictly the leg? Do you have to do anything with the neck? Is that something you still have to build up? Anything you have to worry about? When you go and train? How does that factor in, if at all?

DANIEL JONES: No, that's not a factor. My neck is 100% healthy. That was a stinger-type injury that's pretty common in football. That's calmed down and I feel good.

Q. Joe had mentioned the possibility of you getting into some stuff in the spring, some drills and stuff. Where do you stand on that?

DANIEL JONES: Yeah, I want to do as much as they'll let me do. That's the goal. I want to be smart and not do anything I can't do, but I'm -- that's my goal, is to be involved and participate in some of those drills here in the spring.

So obviously it'll correlate with my rehab and the progress I'm making as the trainers and the strength staff see it, so, yeah, that's the goal.

Q. Is it strange to look around, part A, and not have Saquon here? What was that like for you? If my math is correct, part B would be I think you're the longest-tenured Giant now. Can you believe that?

DANIEL JONES: Yeah, me and Dex. I guess I was a few minutes before Dex. It's different for sure not having Saquon around. You know, he was a great teammate, a great friend. Happy for him to get the contract. Unfortunately, we're going to have to play him. But that's the NFL. That's the way this works. I'm excited about the guys we got on the team.

Q. And then it doesn't really feel like that long ago that we were asking Eli this question, but now we're asking you this question: How would you feel if the Giants used their first-round pick on a quarterback, and have they looped you in at all to the possibility they might do that and bring in a challenger for your job?

DANIEL JONES: My focus is what I'm doing here with my rehab. Kind of the same thing with Saquon. You know, that's the nature of our business. It's a competitive league, so the best way to handle that I think is to focus on what I'm doing, focus on myself, and making sure that I'm, one, healthy, and then ready to play good football. So that's what I can control. That's what I can do to help myself and the team.

Q. How good are you at sensing things around you? Do you have a sense -- there is so much talk about quarterbacks and what they're going to do with you and contracts. Seems like the ink is still just drying on your contract and there are already ways to get out and all these other things. Do you have a sense from Dabs, Joe Schoen, anybody that, you know what, I think they might be looking to replace me, or this is still my team and offense? You have to concentrate on your rehab, but how is your sense and your antennaabout those things?

DANIEL JONES: I think you can get into trouble when you try to think too much about some of those things and how it all works out. Yeah, like your antenna for some of those dynamics and relationships. I'm just focused on what I'm doing, and that's my rehab, getting healthy, spending time with the guys, and making sure we're getting on the same page, and having the best spring we can. Like I said, be a better question for Joe and Dabs. I'm focused on what I have to do.

Q. If you feel you're healthy in summer in training camp, and you hope to be, going on into the season, do you feel like you're the best quarterback the Giants could have to start their season with?

DANIEL JONES: I do, yes.

Q. Wondering if having Mike Kafka back is a sense of security blanket, a coach you know well, and obviously a chance at some point in the off-season he could have left?

DANIEL JONES: It's great to have Kafka back. It's a compliment to him that he was sought after in some of those head coaching jobs. He's a great coach and I've enjoyed working with him, spending time with him, and building this offense. We understand there are areas we're all looking to improve, and looking forward to working with him, taking his coaching, and taking these steps. He's a smart guy, football guy, played quarterback in the NFL. You know, has seen it from a quarterback's perspective, so I've enjoyed working with him.

Q. With the injuries, have they worn on you? Have they given you a life lesson? Have you taken a positive somehow? How have you addressed the idea in your own mind that so many of these games unfortunately you've not been out there for?

DANIEL JONES: Yeah, I mean, it's an unfortunate part of the game. It's a physical game. Playing quarterback you're going to take hits. A lot of the hits are in the pocket where you're not moving or protecting yourself as much as you would be when you're running. It's all part of the game, it's an unfortunate part of it, but it's time to focus on little things and try to rehab the knee, but also find other areas of your game that you can focus on and still apply yourself to improving. You're always looking for those edges or a couple of things that you can take a step with. Yeah, it's a little bit different when you're rehabbing and when you're maybe less -- at least for the first couple months less mobile than I would be in a typical off-season. I've tried to focus on a couple of things and make progress.

Q. If I could, I know this is a third, but I want to make sure I'm clear: Were you just talking about neck up? That's the part you can fine-tune as your body is healing.

DANIEL JONES: Yeah, I think, yeah, film and some of that work, and then whether it's arm care or arm strengthening stuff, or you know, just different things you can focus on that don't require as much running or movement.

Q. I know you usually get together with the receivers and the backs. Is your rehab going to allow you to do that this off-season, this spring?

DANIEL JONES: I think we'll try to spend as much time as we can together throughout the spring and the summer. We're here for OTAs and there will be a section of our workouts when we're on the field, and that will progress to practice obviously. This summer we'll look to spend some time together. I think my rehab will be -- I want to get that figured out and see where that exactly is. Yeah, the goal is, the idea is definitely to find some time to work out together this summer.

Q. Do you have a support group of let's say guys who have had ACL injuries who if you need to run something by you have the possibility of doing that? Like Saquon or maybe Brady or somebody like that?

DANIEL JONES: Yeah, I've communicated with Saquon. Went through it recently here, so I talked to him a good bit about it. Wan'Dale had one a couple of years ago that he came back pretty quickly and very successfully from. Those are two guys I talked to a lot and have taken advice from.

Q. Is there any one single piece of advice they said, like be patient or whatever?

DANIEL JONES: Be patient is one of them. I think they've talked about how you start to feel really good and feel like you can do most things, and they said looking back on it, where they are now, they realize they were still a way from being completely 100% fully back. I think that's part of the process. You get to a certain point, and you feel like you're -- you can do more than maybe you should or what the trainers or doctors want you to do, so just stay patient with it.

Q. Kind of just to build a little bit off having some new teammates, how do you navigate new linemen, running backs, new receivers, possibly more coming in the draft, just not being able to be out with them in a full capacity this spring, how do you still build a rapport before you're 100% cleared?

DANIEL JONES: I think there is a lot of time in the meeting rooms, time in walk-throughs, time outside the building where you're grabbing dinner or hanging out and building those relationships. Time on the field is important and throwing routes on air, 7 on 7, all that stuff is important. I'll try to do as much of it as I can. But every different aspect of being here for the spring is important towards building a rapport and relationships with guys that will pay off when the season gets here. I can do the vast majority of all these things so try to do those well.

Q. I think when people say, okay, what is Shane Bowen's defense, a lot of people are like, well, that's Vrabel's defense because I'm sure as a head coach he probably had some input. How different do you envision your defense being? You know, without Vrabel here, without his input, obviously I'm sure you'll bring a lot of the same things, but will it look different and how much?

SHANE BOWEN: Yeah, I think we're kind of working through that right now as a staff. Just what we want it to look like. We have an idea. There's going to be some things that we did in Tennessee over the years that I feel strongly in schematically-wise, and then just really getting a feel for these players as we go with what my comfort level, with what they are able to handle, how much we are putting on them. The last thing I want to do is have so much scheme we can't focus on our style of play, the technique, the fundamentals and paralyzing ourselves before the snap.

I want to make sure that when that center has his hand on the ball, we are lined up. We've got our cleats in the ground and we are ready to roll and attack and play ball and we are not overthinking out there.

Q. How can you describe the scheme or style? How much different do you expect it to be? How big is the learning curve going to be for you guys that have been here?

BOBBY OKEREKE: Shouldn't be too much. I mean, the emphasis is really going to be on our style. Just physicality, full tilt, speed to the ball effort. We'll get into the scheme stuff later. Just feels like everything is going to be simplified.

Q. If I could follow up on a different angle. Isaiah Simmons is a guy that you guys brought back. Didn't have to, right. So obviously you have some kind of a vision for him. What is that vision? Where do you see him fitting in in your scheme?

SHANE BOWEN: Yeah, I'm excited he decided to come back. I'm excited we were able to get him back here. He's a unique skillset and I think it's a fine line for coaches. You see all the different, I guess, things he's able to do but you can't overload him.

We are going to have to work through the spring. Right now, I couldn't give you a definite answer. I really couldn't. I think some of that is going to depend on some of these other positions and how things play out. He's played outside. He's played deep. He's played inside. I think the versatility to play man coverage is a big asset. The versatility to blitz. We are going to work through that this spring and hopefully get him in a spot he feels most comfortable where he can be most productive for us

Q. I'm curious, what do you look for? What's important for you when you do go through that quarterback process? I know a lot of people need to see them throw the -- some coaches say I need to hear them throw. When you go through that what's important to you?

MIKE KAFKA: There is a lot of things that are important to me in a quarterback. You know, leadership, just that ability to kind of control a room, control a huddle. That kind of "it" factor. You look for that. The more you talk to them the more you get comfortable with them.

A lot of times it's -- the first time you meet somebody it's like maybe one of the other parties may not be as comfortable, so you try to have these exposures with guys so you can really understand how they tick.

You want to understand what fires them up and what things maybe give them issues so you have a plan as a coach to build a guy up and how you can kind of prevent maybe some weak spots. If they have a weakness and I have a strength, I can cover up his weakness with my strength and vice versa.

You try to find that "it" factor with a guy you want to be around that you know is going to make the other guys better around him. Whether it's the quarterback room or another position, some guys just have that. I know we have that already in our quarterback room with Daniel, with Drew, with Tommy. Those are guys that command and do a hell of a job in the huddle and command the leadership of the team.

Those are guys you want to be around.

https://x.com/adamschefter/status/1779985872936407543?s=46&t=1vcQIN8GqF5J2oLdxEVEJQ

https://x.com/giants/status/1779998661532897380?s=46&t=1vcQIN8GqF5J2oLdxEVEJQ

Quote from: DaveBrown74 on April 15, 2024, 05:38:35 PMWhat team's name is currently on his paycheck? Do you actually believe there is even a very small chance he'd say otherwise?

He wasn't asked about his current QBs.   That was an unsolicited comment. 

Quote from: Jclayton92 on April 15, 2024, 03:02:04 PMCan you honestly say that any Qb on our roster currently has the "IT" factor, if so where has it been?

Kafka says his current QBs have the it factor.  I have no reason to doubt him.

Quote from: bamagiantfan on April 15, 2024, 02:04:57 PMI think his ability to line up anywhere is one of his strengths. Wan'Dale took a lot of snaps out wide at Kentucky. With Nabers, they can move everyone around and keep Defenses guessing. And if Waller decides to play in 2024 and can maintain his heath through the season......what's up with that anyway? Is Waller retiring or not?

Waller is still an unknown (at least publicly, the Giants may be keeping it quiet for the draft)

As for slot WR, the slot is an easier position to play.   You are lined up off the line of scrimmage (which makes it easier to get off the LOS jams), and unlike the outside, where the boundary helps the CB, slot receivers have a two-way go.  Plus, slot CBs tend not to be as good as the ones playing outside.

be it big-ticket contracts (and in the case of Daniel Jones, a willingness to move off the money spent)

or the little things needed to win

https://x.com/art_stapleton/status/1779882294842359915


https://x.com/MadelynBurke/status/1779881814108070213

Quote from: T200 on April 15, 2024, 01:40:17 PMOh OK. I read it differently than you did. At any rate, sounds like Kafka is all-aboard on the Daboll train.

It does sound that way, but honestly, did we expect anything different?   I can't imagine Kafka is happy with the possibility of losing play-calling.  Although the new title (and likely raise) no doubt took some of the sting out of that.

https://x.com/SNYGiants/status/1779885192112488840


https://x.com/rydunleavy/status/1779883228783874342

Quote from: T200 on April 15, 2024, 01:35:54 PMRich,

You and I had conversations in the past about the "it" factor. If I remember correctly, your position was that it was difficult to identify it or quantify it.

What's your thoughts on our OC saying that he wants that in his QB.

Tim,

I have zero problems since he defined what he meant by the "It" factor