New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll came to the team with a reputation as a quarterback whisperer, a man who knew exactly what to do to get the most out of raw talent, as he did it with Tua Taglivola at Alabama, then with Jsoh Allen. in Buffalo.

Daboll’s expertise is a big reason why he was a favorite candidate during the last Giants coaching cycle and why he got the Giants job. At the time, New York was at a crossroads with its own quarterback, Daniel Jones, the sixth overall pick in the 2019 draft and a player who showed flashes of being a promising quarterback but not enough to hang his hat on.

Three seasons and a $160 million contract later, the Giants are still at a crossroads with their quarterback situation. Jones, now in his sixth season and his first following a torn ACL, has the best supporting cast in years. But despite that, despite having Daboll as a play-caller and being fully recovered from his ACL injury, the inconsistencies in Jones’ play as a quarterback don’t seem to be improving.

Jones has yet to consistently anticipate his throws, get his passes to his receivers on time, hit receivers in stride consistently, and trust what he sees to the point where he holds the ball too long and the window for a big play to happen closes.

As a result, the Giants, looking to generate more plays in their offense, struggled to do so consistently. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Giants have completed 13 plays of 20-plus yards in six games, 26th in the league and well behind league leaders like San Francisco and Green Bay (23 each) and the Colts ( 21).

Still, the Giants believe the talent, physical skills and work ethic are there. But consistency? That’s what Daboll, offensive coordinator Mike Kafka and quarterbacks coach Shea Tierney are trying to figure out.

“You touch the ball every play, and your goal as a quarterback is to come out of that game and make the right decision,” Daboll said. “Certainly, this won’t happen all the time. Daniel, as I have said many times, he will do everything he can to be as good as he can be.

So, if practice makes perfect, why is there inconsistency?

“I think every situation is probably a little bit different,” Daboll said. “(Sunday) we talked about it. We moved on. It was a piece he would like to find again.

It’s worth noting that even before the season started, the Giants were seriously considering moving on from Jones, partly because of concerns about his injury history and partly because of their preference for Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels.

As revealed on Hard knocksthe Giants liked these quarterbacks enough to explore trading to get one. When the price proved too high, the team turned to Plan B, which was adding one of the best receivers in the draft class to help the offense.

What about Jones? There was no doubt that he would play this year if healthy, given that he collects the last guaranteed money owed to him in the second year of his contract.

But beyond this year, it’s a different story, especially if the inconsistency in his game persists, even if Daboll doesn’t seem ready to give up on Jones just yet.

“I told him I had a lot of confidence in him,” Daboll said. “You always communicate with your players. Quarterback, obviously, when you talk to him play-to-play and all the time you spend with him during the week.

“So you’re going to have a few, just like every player is going to have some. You talk, you coach, you teach, you listen and you move on.