New York Giants News

Giants news, 9/20: Expectations for Daniel Jones, more

Let’s get to your Friday headlines

By Ed Valentine@Valentine_Ed Sep 20, 2019, 7:00am EDT

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NFL: AUG 22 Preseason - Giants at Bengals

OC Mike Shula: Don’t want Daniel Jones to do too much

What are offensive coordinator Mike Shula’s expectations for Daniel Jones on Sunday?

“Well, anybody that’s in that position, we expect to help us win football games. But like I said, I think more so than — don’t try to do too much, don’t think you have to make plays down the field here or there — our expectations for him are just to make the right decisions,” Shula said on Thursday. “As we’ve talked in the past, I think that position comes down to three things when you’re throwing the football: go to the right guy with the football, get the ball there on time, and get the ball there accurately. So, you’ve got to kind of stay in that world and try to block out all the other things. Now, there’s a lot of things that we train hard in the meantime to help accomplish that, but that’s what it’s going to come down to.”

T.J. Jones likely to keep returning punts

After netting a 60-yard punt return Sunday against the Buffalo Bills, T.J. Jones seems likely to continue in that role.

“Yeah, he made a big play. It’s kind of hard to put a guy on the bench that almost scored a touchdown,” said special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey. “We’ve been looking for that, I think that’s the longest return we’ve had since 2015. Last year it was something we were really missing, and it’s just kind of been a struggle for us to find what we want there and TJ has pushed us in the right direction.”

Will Jones change anything for Saquon Barkley?

Could the threat of Jones pulling the ball and running with it on a zone read help open space for Barkley?

“I mean I think that’s a possibility with Jones because he can move pretty well. But at the end of the day, I think the defense is really going to play us, kind of, the same way. I think the head coach [Bruce Arians] over there made it kind of known what the game plan is for them, and that’s to stop the run,” Barkley said. “That’s going to be the mindset of a lot of teams this year, so I’m just going to continue to try to take it one play at a time and do what I can to help my team win.”