Daniel Jones on Giants’ 0-2 start: ‘We’ve got a good football team’

The New York Giants got back to work on Wednesday in advance of their Week 3 game against the Cleveland Browns.

Not only is the team entering a tough stretch on their schedule, but they need to pick themselves up after falling to 0-2 to start the season. The record is bad enough, but a bad loss to the Minnesota Vikings and a heartbreaking loss to the Washington Commanders makes it that much worse.

That was the backdrop when Daniel Jones spoke to the media.

“I think everyone realizes our record. I think everybody understands that, but no one’s discouraged or no one’s letting that affect our preparation and how hard we work going into the game,” Jones said. “There’s a great energy and feel in the building still, and I think that that’s important. Important to our preparation, important to our process, and making sure we’re practicing well and preparing to play well. We know the record, but it’s a long season, and we’ve got a good football team.

“We have a high standard for ourselves and what we can be, what this team can be. We’re confident in getting things going and we’re working hard to do that. Nobody’s happy with where we are, from a record standpoint, but we understand what we need to do to turn it around and catch some momentum. No one’s freaking out. I think we understand that in order to get where we need to go, we need to focus on what we’re doing from a preparation standpoint and then it’s about going out and playing well on Sunday.”

If the Giants are going to play well against the Browns, they’ll need rookie receiver Malik Nabers to lead the way.

On Malik Nabers

Few players in the NFL have become bigger parts of their respective offense’s than Nabers is for the Giants.

“He’s done a really good job,” Jones said of his receiver. “Come in and played well. I think in matchup situations where he’s one-on-one with a guy, he’s won and made explosive plays for us time and time again. He’s done a good job and been a big help to us so far.”

Part of the reason the Giants wanted to draft Nabers is to make life easier for the rest of the receivers. Jones noticed how Washington was forced to change their coverage to account for the rookie.

“I think there were points in the game in Washington, certainly not the whole game, but certain times where you could tell the coverage changed based off of him and how he was playing and some of the looks he was getting,” Jones said.

Having a player who impacts the defense like that is a great thing to have, but the Giants need to take advantage of those coverage changes. “We have to be ready for that and understand that when you have a player like that,” he added, “and you feature him like that defenses are going to adjust.”

“Guys can get doubled in different ways. In zone coverage, in man coverage and how you scheme or how you respond to that depends on that. But we’re confident he can beat double coverage.”

But there’s still the way that Washington game ended. Nabers was clearly upset on the sideline, but he’ll need to put that behind him in short order. Nabers is one of just four receivers to account for more than half of his team’s air yards, and he accounts for the second-highest percentage of his team’s air yards of any receiver. The Giants will need Nabers to have his head in the game against the Browns’ defense.

“He’s a competitor and holds himself to a high standard,” Jones said. “I think you realize that pretty quickly spending any time with him. He expects to make every play. It was a tough one for him, but I know he’ll bounce back. He’s a confident guy, and I think it was pretty clear we wouldn’t have been in that situation without his performance and all he had done throughout the game. He’ll be back, and he’ll continue to be a huge part of what we do.”

On the Browns

“They’ve got a good defense, got good players at all three levels really, and a lot of speed,” he said. “We’ll have a game plan. I think obviously the pass rush is something we’ve got to take into account and plan for and we’ll do that. But it’s always about us. It’s always about focusing on yourself and making sure you’re ready to go.”

Jones himself is right to be concerned with Myles Garrett, the reigning defensive player of the year. While players like cornerback Denzel Ward and linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah are excellent players, Garrett will be the one coming after Jones with bad intentions.

“He’s a good player, for sure. He’s a good player and has the ability to affect the game from a pass rush standpoint and the run game also,” Jones said. “You’ve got to have a plan, a protection plan. Luckily, we’ve got (tackle) AT (Andrew Thomas). AT is an incredible player, and we’re very confident in that matchup.”