Pat Shurmur said rookie quarterback Daniel Jones was “pissed” after his first interception in practice Tuesday.
“I’m good with that,” the Giants coach said with a smile.
Whether it was because it was his first or how the play unfolded, Jones said the interception in the end zone stuck with him.
The competitive side of Jones has yet to truly come out, but he said he can get “fired up on the field.”
“Well, I think just the situation. A turnover in the red zone is a costly mistake and we talk about that a lot, scoring points in the red zone, touchdowns,” Jones said before practice Wednesday. “Making sure we are getting points. Anytime we turn it over in the red zone, that’s a costly mistake. I think that had something to do with it. I think in a lot of those situations there is a lot to learn from. That situation right there is the reason for the reaction.”
Jones followed it up with a much more efficient practice Wednesday, completing 4-of-5 passes during the blitz period and he had only one pass intercepted throughout the day.
Corey Ballentine is the reason for Jones’ interception Tuesday, recording his second pick of training camp. Shurmur likes what he sees from Ballentine — and so does defensive backs coach Everett Withers.
“Corey is a very eager young man to learn technique and fundamentals,” Withers said. “He’s worked his tail off this offseason. He texted me probably four or five times a week during the summer about questions on coverages, so that’s what you like about him. He’s got some physical tools that God gave him, so now it’s just a matter of putting that all together. He’s done well the past few days of practice.”
Withers is anxious to see how things play out with the rule for 2019 allowing offensive and defensive pass interference to be reviewed. Coaches can now challenge calls and non-calls outside of the final two minutes of each half. Instances in the final two minutes will be subject to booth review.
Withers is waiting to give his opinion on the rule until he sees how it unfolds during the preseason. For now, the Giants are doing what they can to be prepared for the new rule.
“I think just working every day on techniques and fundamentals, hopefully that goes down as we get further into camp as they get more comfortable with the technique,” Withers said. “In the offseason, you don’t get to play a lot of press. So when you get into training camp and you can, you have to continue to work on your fundamentals and technique. I think the guys are getting better at it and hopefully that will diminish some of the flags.”