Transcript: QB Daniel Jones

QB Daniel Jones

January 4, 2021

Q: I know when we talked to you going into last offseason, obviously, ball security was probably the biggest thing you said you were going to work on. Is there any one thing that stands out that you think you need to work on this offseason?

A: To be honest with you, I haven’t spent a whole lot of time thinking about it. There are certainly a lot of things I’ll look to improve and continue to work on. Ball security will continue to be one of them. I’ll sit down in the next couple of days and kind of plan out how I’m going to do that and what exactly I’m going to spend the most time working on. No one thing I guess right now, but there will be a number of things I’ll be focused in on.

Q: I’m just wondering going into the offseason and next year, what are some reasons based on how you played and how this offense played that you have for optimism heading into your third season?

A: Throughout the season, I felt like we made considerable improvement week to week. It wasn’t a straight incline. There were bumps in the road. There were games that we didn’t play as well and took steps back. But I felt like we continued to improve and work through challenges, work through hard times and hard situations. I’m proud of that more than anything that we were able to improve and continue to come together and work together. We’ll certainly look to continue to do that.

Q: We don’t know if Jason Garrett is coming back next year as offensive coordinator, but what argument would you make for him coming back? For you as a quarterback, would you make an argument for benefiting from staying in the same offense with the same offensive coordinator as opposed to changing it?

A: I’m not sure I’m in a position to comment on that. But I’ve certainly enjoyed learning from Coach Garrett. I’ve learned a ton of football, I’ve learned a ton of philosophy on offense, how he sees the game, what he’s learned in his time in the NFL as a player and a coach. I’ve really enjoyed working with him. I look forward to continuing that. I really enjoyed it.

Q: Just reflecting then, obviously, you went from your rookie season to year two from one offense to another. In hindsight, how long did it take you in that process to get to a point where you said, ‘I got it. This is no longer a transition. This is the offense and I know it cold’?

A: Throughout the season, you… there weren’t any points in the season, even in the first game, where I was wondering if I knew it or wondering what I still needed to learn. I felt comfortable throughout the whole way. But I think looking back, the experience of running plays, getting certain looks, seeing things in the game, learning from them, being able to draw on those live game reps later on in the season, that’s part of the learning process of what gets you more and more comfortable in the system. Again, I’d say to start the season and early on when it was still a new system, there wasn’t really a point in time where I remember thinking I wasn’t comfortable or wasn’t sure what was going on.

Q: The numbers are what they are for you and the team on offense. When you think about them, are you personally disappointed? Could you guys have gotten more out of this? Or do you look at it and say, ‘look, I did the best with what I did with what I could here’?

A: We’re not overly concerned about the numbers. I’m certainly not overly concerned about my numbers. I think the most important stat is points and how that’s reflected, and winning games. As an offense, your job is to score points. We did that well at times and didn’t do it as well at other times. We’ve got to be more consistent converting those opportunities. I certainly feel like we can going forward, and that’s the goal.

Q: It’s almost a universal truth that they say quarterbacks in their third year, that’s the year where you see a lot of it here. Now that you’ve had two years, do you kind of look at that and say I hope that’s the truth? I hope my true self is revealed in my third year.

A: I’m not sure I had heard that prior to you saying that just now.

Q: You never heard quarterbacks say the third year is a big year for a quarterback?

A: Not especially, but I’m certainly looking forward to learning from this year, learning from the year before and playing my best football next year. Certainly, my goal.

Q: How surprised would you be if Jason (Garrett) isn’t back here for another season?

A: We’re a day removed from playing a game. Like I said, I’m not in a position to comment on that. I can just say that I have loved working with coach, and I learned a ton from him. He’s a tremendous football coach, a tremendous person. I’d love to continue to work with him.

Q: Joe (Judge) has been very complimentary of you and adamant about you being the quarterback here of the future. When you leave here for this offseason, what does that mean to you knowing that?

A: I certainly appreciate that. I take that very seriously. It’s a role that I’ve got to continue to earn every day. If I’m not working to keep that role and continue to improve, I understand what the business of the NFL is. I’ll continue to do everything I can to prove that I am that guy.

Q: Is it something he has expressed to you as well?

A: We’ve talked, yeah. We’ve talked. Like I said, I’ll continue to work and continue to improve as a player.

Q: There’s going to be a draft, there’s going to be free agency, all sorts of roster moves before you get back on the field. What do you need? If they came to you and said what’s your shopping list to get this offense up and running, the way it should be, the way it needs to be. The way the rest of the league frankly is scoring points. What would be on that list?

A: I think that’s not really my job to decide or to comment on. My job as we go into the offseason is to improve personally, to improve as an athlete, to improve as a football player. Put myself and this team in the best possible position going into OTA’s and into next season. That’s where I’m focused.

Q: How close do you think you are personally to reach that level? You were picked sixth overall, going into your third year. You’re talking about improving, learning and developing. How close do you personally think you are to saying, ‘okay, I have arrived, and this offense is going to be clicking on all cylinders next year’?

A: I think we’re close. Like I said, I think we’ve improved and taken a big step this year. You never feel like you have arrived. Hopefully, there is always more you can accomplish. More you can do to improve and be better as a group, as a unit and as players individually. I think we’re close. I think we have done a lot of good things. We have to continue to look forward to improve.