New York Giants rookie quarterback had an impressive showing during his preseason debut against the New York Jets last Thursday, completing all five of his passes for 67 yards and a touchdown.
This Friday, Jones will get his second chance to show his stuff, as the Giants will play host to the Chicago Bears.
Obviously, Jones only saw limited action during his first game, as an hour-long weather delay prevented him from coming out for a second drive, so we should probably expect to see more of him this week.
Here are three things to watch from Jones in his second NFL contest.
3. How Quickly He Gets the Ball Out
What made Jones so effective in his first outing was how quickly he got his passes off after the snap.
It was certainly by design, as the Giants coaching staff was trying to give the first-year quarterback some easy throws to make in his debut, but it's also a way of training him to do that in actual meaningful games.
Part of what makes Tom Brady so great is his lightning-fast release, so New York is likely trying to instill that same strategy with Jones.
This time around, however, the Giants might expand the playbook a bit to have Jones make some more complicated throws, so it might be more on Jones to read the defense at the line of scrimmage and fire off quick passes rather than just executing simple play calls on Friday night.
2. The Zip on His Throws
One of the biggest criticisms of Jones coming out of Duke was his questionable arm strength. However, the Giants raved about his arm in training camp, and in his preseason debut, his throws looked pretty good.
Jones was certainly able to get some mustard behind his passes, particularly on his touchdown pass in the corner of the end zone. So, it will be interesting to see if he is able to get that same kind of zip on his throws this Friday.
What made Jones' passes even more impressive were the tight spirals that each ball had, which helped make his throws incredibly accurate, even if they were just short ones.
1. Poise
The most stirring part of Jones' first NFL game was his poise in the pocket.
The kid looked like a seasoned veteran out there during his one drive, not looking the least bit bothered by the moment. Remember: even though it is only preseason, this is New York we are talking about, so there was quite a bit of pressure on Jones and he knocked it out of the park.
Jones has handled himself magnificently since being drafted back in April, taking all of the negative responses in stride. As a matter of fact, Jones' demeanor is similar to what Eli Manning's was when the Giants first drafted him 15 years ago.
While things like arm strength, accuracy and the ability to read a defenses are certainly important skills for an elite quarterback to have, what separates the great signal-callers from the good ones is poise and the capacity to remain calm under pressure.
I know it's early, but Jones seems to possess that trait.
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