New York Giants rookie quarterback Daniel Jones lit the world on fire during his NFL debut on Thursday night, changing the narrative from “this kid can’t play, the Giants made a mistake” to “holy cow, this is a real quarterback competition now!”
It was that impressive a debut, and one that warranted the Friday morning discussion.
However, inside the building in East Rutherford nothing has changed. While Jones did perform well, his status within the organization will remain the same, so says head coach Pat Shurmur.
Despite Eli Manning’s obvious struggles on his one and only series, Shurmur told reporters during a conference call on Friday that the veteran remains the team’s starter, he will continue to take all first-team reps and that “what if scenarios” will not be discussed.
Shurmur shared similar sentiments on Thursday night following the team’s 31-22 victory over the New York Jets, pointing out that Jones made a few mistakes that need to be corrected and that right now, it’s all about growth for the rookie.
“He didn’t motion the tight end across on the first play,”Shurmur said. “Those types of things. Things that we see…to the naked eye, you possibly didn’t see.
“He got all completions and he got us in the endzone. That was a very effective drive. He did a good job. He had a couple mistakes in there that we’ll clean up. I guess to the naked eye it was a good job.”
This all sounds well and good, but should Jones continue to play at a high level over the next three preseason games, the Giants and Shurmur will be forced to face the pressure of a fan base starved for something different.
Of course, Eli Manning could change all of that by stepping up and playing as well in the games as he has in practice.
