Getty Image / Dustin Satloff
Throughout his NFL career, football fans have known New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones by one nickname. The man has been known as “Danny Dimes” since before he took his first regular season snap for the team.
There have been times that his play has allowed that name to be changed to “Danny Pennies”, but his play this season has made that nickname a thing of the past.
Now it turns out that we’ve all been referring to him by the wrong nickname.
Earlier today, the Inside the NFL Twitter account released a video from the Giants’ huddle in Sunday’s game against the Texans. The video shows a conversation between Saquon Barkley and Jones where Barkley tells Jones, “If I break a long one, I better see ‘Vanilla Vick’ down there.”
Jones responded, “Alright, I got you.”
.@saquon’s nickname for @Daniel_Jones10 🤣#Giants #NYG #saquon #TogetherBlue pic.twitter.com/N1rKsNWknJ
— Inside the NFL (@insidetheNFL) November 16, 2022
Jones has been earning the nickname this season. In just 9 games, he has already racked up 387 rushing yards and 3 rushing touchdowns. The yards are just 36 less than his career high for an entire season.
The combined rushing attack of Jones and Barkley has been a big reason why the Giants have earned their 7-2 record. Together, they have been able to make up for the team’s lack of dependable targets for Jones to throw to.
Jones is currently 3rd among quarterbacks in rushing yards, only trailing Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen. Overall, he is 36th in the league in that stat.
Meanwhile, Saquon Barkley is actually the NFL’s leader in rushing yards. He has racked up 931 yards and 6 touchdowns on 198 carries in the Giants’ first 9 games. He has also been Daniel Jones’ favorite target, leading the team with 29 catches.
If Jones keeps playing like “Vanilla Vick”, the Giants will be an interesting team to watch when the playoffs roll around.