Danny Dimes edges out the “Jockstrap King” for the title of “Most Desirable Replacement QB”

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This week’s national question gave voters a choice between four “replacement” quarterbacks, asking which one voters would take.

Danny “Dimes” Jones, of the New York Football Giants, narrowly edged out the clearly edgier Jaguars quarterback who is doing his best to make Jacksonville fans forget Nick Foles before they ever really got to know him.

Thank goodness this wasn’t a vote for the best nickname in the NFL. When Giants fans got their first regular season look at Jones, they were so impressed by his arm accuracy, they seemed to continually blurt out, “Here’s another dime from Daniel Jones!”, leading to what is perhaps the most irritating organically grown nickname of the young century, “Danny Dimes”.

I mean, it ain’t “Nightrain” Lane, now, is it?

Still, the declaration by Leonard Fournette this week that Jaguars players were referring to Gardner Minshew as the “Jock Strap King” may have pushed the NFL’s nickname game to an all-time low from which it may never recover.

It’s hard to imagine two players with such different styles.

Minshew is known for his jorts, headbands, leisure suits and 70s porn star mustache.

Daniel Jones, in addition to having the most boring name in the history of the NFL (at least since Bert Jones retired), will always be best remembered for his equally boring ‘Mormon missionary’ fashion and style choices, and for one inspired Twitter description:

Still, for all their differences, the two players share one thing in common; they’ve gotten off to pretty good starts in their respective NFL careers after starting out on the bench.

Minshew’s call to action came early, as Jags starter Nick Foles was injured in the opening game. The sixth round pick has performed pretty admirably, guiding Jacksonville to a 2-2 record, while throwing for over 900 yards in just under 4 games, with 7 TDs and just one interception.

Jones, on the other hand, was called in to replace the Giants struggling starting QB, Eli Manning, as the Week 3 starter. He got off to a fast-but-faulty start, first losing two fumbles and helping his team to fall behind by 18 points, before rebounding to lead a comeback against Tampa Bay in his first-ever NFL start.

But Daniel’s “strong” start has less to do with individual stats, and more to do with starting his career 2-0, albeit against the 21st and 28th ranked defenses in the NFL.

The Giants’ Week 4 victory over the Redskins, while more convincing as a team effort, actually featured a less impressive individual performance from Jones, as he threw for just 225 yards, with 1 TD and 2 interceptions.

I get the feeling, watching him play, that his success in the first two games is tenuous, and that Jones will struggle when he finally has to take on a strong defense, which he will have to do pretty much immediately.

With 3 touchdowns and 5 turnovers (2 interceptions and 3 lost fumbles) in just over 8 quarters of play, I think it’s fair to wonder how effective “Danny Dimes” will be when he faces the Vikings sixth-ranked defense this Sunday, or the New England Patriots top-ranked defense on a short Thursday Night Football week immediately after that.

Jones, the first-round draft pick in the big-market and bright lights of New York, is off to a good start, but may be facing a nearly impossible test against two elite defenses in the next 8 days. There’s a very good chance that he will go winless in the next two games, while his already shoddy 3:5 TD:TO ratio takes a further beating.

Meanwhile, Gardner Minshew — of whom little was expected in his rookie year — is enjoying life in the relative low pressure of the injury relief role he has been thrust into in Jacksonville. He, too, faces a top ranked defense this week (Carolina Panthers, #4), but follows that up with the 26th ranked Saints in Week 6.

It will be interesting to see if Daniel Jones can hold onto the slim lead in popularity that he currently enjoys over Minshew.

My guess, however, is that by Week 7, fan perspectives are likely to have changed. Look for 2019 to be the Year of the Jockstrap King of Jacksonville — at least until Foles comes back from injury.

Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images