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Pat Leonard: Giants' QB decisions post-Daniel Jones another indictment of Joe Schoen, Brian Daboll

Pat Leonard, New York Daily News on

Published in Football

NEW YORK — It’s difficult to be confident in Joe Schoen’s ability to pick the correct quarterback for the Giants in April when he and Brian Daboll now have made three different evaluation mistakes at the sport’s most important position.

Especially when the most recent blunder was a completely unforced error.

When Schoen and Daboll shut down Daniel Jones and released him upon his request, they skipped over Drew Lock to start Tommy DeVito against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 12.

They believed DeVito gave them the best chance to win.

But the result was an embarrassing 30-7 home loss in which Baker Mayfield mocked the entire Giants organization by doing DeVito’s touchdown symbol aggressively toward the crowd.

It was immediately obvious Schoen and Daboll had picked the wrong quarterback.

So they started Lock not just at Dallas on Thanksgiving in place of an injured DeVito but the following Sunday against the Saints when DeVito returned healthy.

They were then forced to go back to DeVito after Lock got hurt for last week’s 35-14 laugher against the Ravens, only for fourth-stringer Tim Boyle to reveal in second-half relief that he was also a better option.

Now, despite DeVito clearing the concussion protocol, Schoen and Daboll are thrusting a hobbled Lock back on the field with a bad left foot Sunday at Atlanta because they know he’s a better player.

They know now. They didn’t know a month ago, apparently.

This is the same duo that paid Jones on a four-year, $160 million contract extension after the 2022 season.

And it is the same regime that passed over three quarterbacks in April’s draft, a group that included promising Broncos rookie Bo Nix and Sunday’s Falcons starter Michael Penix Jr.

Now here down the stretch of the season, they couldn’t even properly judge which quarterbacks were best on their own roster.

It will be another telling sign of their ineptitude if DeVito is Sunday’s backup to Lock instead of Boyle.

 

Boyle showed in the second half against Baltimore that he is the clearly better player. Malik Nabers even said Boyle operated the offense like a first-teamer.

Decisions like demoting Boyle behind DeVito fuel the outside speculation that the Giants are tanking.

Lock said this week that all the flip-flopping of starters has been a whirlwind, but it’s the life of a backup.

“It’s the job,” he said. “Me and Tommy both came here not as a starter. You’ve got to be ready for your time to be the starter. It gets pulled back, you go back in, it gets pulled back, you go back in. It’s part of the gig.”

“You always want to be the guy out there,” he continued. “It stinks standing on the sideline. But sometimes that happens, and you’ve just got to be ready for your next one.”

The question for Sunday, with the Giants (2-12) on the verge of a franchise record 10th straight loss, is how well Lock will be able to move.

His escapes from the pocket and his running has helped him survive poor protection recently. But he’s been hampered by a heel injury that had him “not close” to being able to function one week ago, when he served as the emergency third QB.

Regardless, a banged-up Lock is still the Giants’ best option. That’s where they are after Schoen, Daboll and the Giants picked the wrong quarterback — again — a few months before a pivotal draft for the organization at the sport’s most critical position.

Okereke missing third straight game

Middle linebacker and captain Bobby Okereke is missing a third straight game with a back injury. Not only that, he hasn’t been seen once in the Giants’ locker room by the media since he got hurt on Thanksgiving Day at Dallas — although Daboll claimed Okereke has been in the facility every day.

Guard Aaron Stinnie (concussion) and edge Patrick Johnson (knee) also are out Sunday at Atlanta. So undrafted rookie Jake Kubas is projected to start at left guard on the O-line.

Corner Greg Stroman (shoulder/shin) is doubtful. And five players are questionable: corner Deonte Banks (rib), edge Brian Burns (ankle/neck), running back Tyrone Tracy (ankle), linebacker Dyontae Johnson (ankle) and guard Austin Schlottmann (fibula).

Banks is expected to be back in the starting lineup after missing the past three games. Burns and Tracy also are expected to play.


©2024 New York Daily News. Visit nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

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