Colts' Daniel Jones Hit Expectations in Debut

Jones is also much more effective on pre-snap decisions than other recent quarterbacks in Indianapolis. He can struggle a bit with a late post-snap shift but if Jones gets the read he likes pre-snap, he can make some good decisions. This throw to Ashton Dulin is, again, nothing spectacular, but it keeps the ball moving forward into favorable situations.

Jones correctly reads the off-coverage by the cornerback to Dulin's side of the field and delivers a good ball to the sideline for a gain of eight. Smart, simple quarterback play that keeps the ball moving down the field and into favorable situations.

Moving Through Reads (Off of Play-Action)

Jones had two plays in particular that really stood out against the Ravens. His first was on a nice trips play-action concept for his first throw of the game. The Colts are attacking the quarters coverage by overloading one side of the field, and Jones is solely reading the conflict corner on the boundary. If that corner bites inside or carries the post, Jones will hit the wheel route. If the corner maintains depth, like he does on the play, Jones will hit Warren on the deep out.

Jones patiently waits in the pocket for this route to develop and hits Warren in stride for the first down. He moves through his reads well and hits the open receiver, which is simply textbook quarterback play to get the chunk play.

Jones ' best throw of the night came on another quarters beater off of play-action. Jones starts left and has Ashton Dulin on the glance route, but opts to bypass it for some reason (he potentially didn't like the linebackers' eyes on him). He works back to the weak side of the field where Anthony Gould is clearing out the deep safety, leaving AD Mitchell alone on a deep dig route.

Jones waits for Gould to clear space and then fires a deep pass with anticipation to Mitchell over the middle. One of the most common barometers for knowing if a quarterback is moving through reads is to see if they can get to the backside dig concept. Joes does that here and it results in a huge gain for the Colts.

Miscommunications with AD Mitchell

This part of the article won't be too long, because Jones isn't the sole party to blame for these issues, but it would feel disingenuous to leave them out. Jones had several targets for the Colts' young wideout, where both players simply weren't on the same page whatsoever. It's the preseason, so it's not the end of the world, but it is something to get cleaned up prior to the year.

On the first play, Jones is expecting Mitchell to run a three-yard slant off of the RPO, while Mitchell runs something else entirely.

The second miscommunication came in the red zone, as Mitchell ran a double move while Jones was expecting a fade route.

Non-Play-Action Dropbacks

This is where my thesis of this piece all comes together. I firmly believe that the Colts can yield an adequate offense this season under Jones as long as they can have a high success rate, create yards after the catch, and have a dominant running game. Anything short of that puts too much pressure on Jones as a true dropback passer, which is simply not his strength.

In the dropback passing game, Jones can be a fine dink and dunk quarterback, but he will struggle to push the ball where it needs to go. Going back again to his best season in 2022, the Giants were 22nd in third-down offense despite being the number nine offense in football in EPA/play. Even the passing numbers were fairly below average that season, with the Giants having the number-17 offense in terms of passing EPA/play.

So, how did the Giants find success with Jones in that 2022 season? They kept his average depth of target low, leaned into the run game, encouraged him to scramble, and let him live in play-action/RPO/zone read calls. Jones can lead an NFL offense to a modicum of success if he is not asked to be Andrew Luck or Tom Brady. He has to be more of a running game-manager.

If he's asked to be a true dropback passer, that is where the issues arise. For instance, one of Jones' worst throws of Thursday came on this deep crossing concept to Will Mallory. He has a few windows where he can likely fit the ball in, but he either doesn't trust his arm talent or think the window is big enough to try it.

He then attempts to move to another read, feels pressure closing in, and then forces an off-balance throw back to Mallory over the middle of the field. His placement on the ball is good enough so the pass isn't intercepted, but this was not a strong rep from the veteran quarterback.

Jones misses another pass on a true dropback on the next play. Given this pass should have been caught by Dulin, but the placement on this simply hitch route is just bad. This ball needs to be lower and to the outside shoulder, instead Dulin needs to extend vertically in tight quarters to get his hands on the ball.

The Colts limited Jones' true dropbacks in this game, but the issues did arise a bit when he was asked to put the offense on his back as a passer. This is where the true long term concern lies with Jones going forward.

The Bottom Line

Jones had a perfectly adequate preseason debut for the Colts. He moved the ball fairly well, kept the offense on pace, and made a couple of really solid throws off of play-action. If you came into this game as an anti-Jones hater, this game likely didn't change your mind. On the flip side, if you came into this game as a pro-Jones supporter, this game also likely didn't change your mind.

My opinion of Jones certainly didn't change after this game, as I still think he is of the same type of quarterback as Gardner Minshew. He can move the ball well and keep the offense on pace, but there will be issues when he is asked to make a play for the team. Is that good enough to win the starting job in Indy? Perhaps, but we will see if it can solve the bigger issue of the long-term solution at the position.

Recommended Articles