A change was eventually going to happen that Daniel Jones would one day succeed Eli Manning as the Giants’ starting quarterback.
Only two games into the 2019 season, Jones will have the opportunity to prove the Giants were right to pick him 6th overall.
Coach Pat Shurmur announced today that Jones will make his first career start on Sunday, when the 0-2 Giants face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Raymond James Stadium.
“Eli and I spoke this morning,” Shurmur said. “I told him that we are making a change and going with Daniel as the starter. I also talked to Daniel. Eli was obviously disappointed, as you would expect, but he said he would be what he has always been, a good teammate, and continue to prepare to help this team win games. Daniel understands the challenge at hand, and he will be ready to play on Sunday.”
Manning started the season’s first two contests – losses at Dallas and Sunday at home to Buffalo. He completed 56 of 89 passes for 556 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions for a passer rating of 78.7. But the Giants have scored only four touchdowns, despite averaging 420.0 yards a game.
At his news conference yesterday, Shurmur said he was “going to address all areas” and declined to say if Manning would start on Sunday.
“Ultimately, this is a move that I felt was best for this team at this time,” Shurmur said. “I have said it since I got here, I am very fond of Eli. His work ethic, his preparation, his football intelligence. All those attributes are as good as I have ever seen in a player. And Eli worked as hard as you could ask of anybody to get ready for this season. This move is more about Daniel moving forward than about Eli.”
Jones, 22, was the sixth overall selection in the draft. In three seasons at Duke, Jones started all 36 games in which he played. With the Blue Devils, Jones completed 764 of 1,275 passes (60%) for 8,201 yards, 52 touchdowns and 29 interceptions. He also had 406 rushing attempts for 1,323 yards (3.3-yard avg.) and 17 touchdowns.
Jones was outstanding in the preseason. In four games, he completed 29 of 34 passes (85.3%) for 416 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and a glittering 137.2 rating.
A change was eventually
going to happen that Daniel Jones would one day replace Eli Manning as the
Giants starting quarterback.
Only two games into the 2019 season, Jones will have the opportunity to prove the Giants were right to pick him 6th overall.
Coach Pat Shurmur announced today that Jones will make his first career start on Sunday, when the Giants face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Raymond James Stadium.
“Eli and I spoke this morning,” Shurmur said. “I told him that we are making a change and going with Daniel as the starter. I also talked to Daniel. Eli was obviously disappointed, as you would expect, but he said he would be what he has always been, a good teammate, and continue to prepare to help this team win games. Daniel understands the challenge at hand, and he will be ready to play on Sunday.”
Manning started the first two weeks – losses at Dallas and Sunday at home to Buffalo. Apparently the rope was a lot shorter then we all knew as Jones will practice with the first team and majority of the reps to prepare for this upcoming weekend against Tampa
“Ultimately, this is a
move that I felt was best for this team at this time,” Shurmur said. “I have
said it since I got here, I am very fond of Eli. His work ethic, his
preparation, his football intelligence. All those attributes are as good as I
have ever seen in a player. And Eli worked as hard as you could ask of anybody
to get ready for this season. This move is more about Daniel moving forward
than about Eli.”
With the Blue Devils, Jones completed 764 of 1,275 passes
(60%) for 8,201 yards, 52 touchdowns and 29 interceptions. He also had 406
rushing attempts for 1,323 yards (3.3-yard avg.) and 17 touchdowns.
Jones was outstanding in the preseason. In four games, he
completed 29 of 34 passes (85.3%) for 416 yards, two touchdowns, no
interceptions and a glittering 137.2 rating.
Manning has been the
Giants’ starting quarterback since he replaced Kurt Warner with seven games
remaining in his rookie season in 2004. He has started 232 of the Giants’ last
233 regular-season games. The loss Sunday to the Bills dropped his record to an
even .500 at 116-116. He is
8-4 (.667) in the postseason, including victories in Super
Bowls XLII and XLVI in which he was named the games’ most valuable player.
