EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Some lessons are best learned the hard way. This? This was the hard way.
Brian Daboll gave Jaxson Dart a chance on fourth down in the Giants' preseason finale against the Patriots. The rookie quarterback took the shotgun snap and looked left. Nothing open. He stayed there a tick longer. Still, nothing open. So, as the pocket collapsed, Dart moved up and broke free.
He got the first down. He got quite a bit more. Then he should have gone – slid, protected himself. Dart didn’t.
Jack Gibbens hit him from behind. Dart fumbled. He then collided headfirst with the ground. Referees forced him out for a play to be evaluated for a concussion.
All of it could have been avoided – should have been avoided.
“I wouldn’t coach it out of him,” said Brian Daboll. “There’s just certain times that you have to make the right decision. In this particular game, is probably a good time to slide.”
The Giants beat the Patriots on Thursday, 42-10, to conclude the preseason a perfect 3-0. More importantly, they gave Dart his first start of his career. He finished 6 of 12 for 81 yards with a touchdown, adding another 23 yards on the ground. His preseason stats are even more impressive: 32 of 47 for 372 yards with three touchdowns, 47 rushing yards, and another score on the ground.
Dart displayed a calmness throughout his three starts seldom seen from a rookie. He was decisive, comfortable. He looked in command no matter what pressure or look the defense threw at him. He took hits in the pocket – it didn’t impact him whatsoever. It’s how he got his first touchdown to Lil’Jordan Humphrey against the Bills. It nearly resulted in a first-down pass to Beaux Collins on Thursday.
At times – yes, albeit against backups – Dart made it look easy.
But, in college, Dart developed a reckless reputation when he broke away to run. He didn’t do much to dispel that during training camp. It was easy to look past, though, because, while Dart dove for each extra yard, no defender could touch him. It was a bit more alarming when it continued in the preseason opener against the Bills – Dart even joked he felt Daboll liked it – but it didn’t cost him. Not yet. A teaching moment.
"If you're going to take a big hit, then you slide,” Dart said. “But I didn't feel like I was in a situation where I was going to take a big hit, so I felt like I could extend the play… just should've held onto the ball."
Thursday, it was clear that lesson hadn’t yet sunk in. Dart was not scoring. Safety Craig Woodson was right there. While he made him miss, Gibbens followed to punch it out and drive Dart into the ground. He’s lucky he didn’t suffer a concussion. He’s lucky Gibbens' weight landing on him didn’t injure his shoulder.
Next time, he might not be so lucky.
“I, quite honestly, felt like I could split them,” Dart said.
If things go according to plan, Dart’s fumble, which was negated by a defensive holding, will be the last meaningful snap he plays this year, absent mop-up duty. Russell Wilson is the team’s starter. The Giants believe they’re capable of playing winning football with him as the rookie sits and develops like Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers.
But seldom do things go according to plan and Dart, this summer, has done nothing to slow the cries to get him in the lineup. He began the offseason program as the third quarterback behind Jameis Winston. He quickly jumped him by minicamp. In training camp, he took all the second-team reps. By the end, he was stealing a few from Wilson, too.
“Being a rookie quarterback is not easy, being a quarterback is not easy,” Daboll said. “He knows he has a lot of things to work on, but he’s made progress every day. I’m glad we drafted him. I’m glad he’s our guy.”
The Giants' schedule is miserable to start. A string of losses to begin the year will only strengthen the argument to get Dart out there. That, officially, will begin a new age of Giants football.
Dart, based on training camp and the preseason, looks up for the challenge. He’s not nearly as green as many believed coming out of Ole Miss. He just might be ready.
Once he’s out there, whenever he gets out there, he needs to stay out there. That means protecting himself. Don’t take unnecessary hits.
You hope he learned what happens when he does on Thursday.
“I feel like whenever my number is called, I’m going to go out there, play my game, and I’m going to ball,” Dart said. “That’s my mindset anytime I touch the field.”