EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — It was the last play of Eli Manning’s first career game during the 2004 season. The New York Giants legend was in during garbage time of a blowout loss to the Philadelphia Eagles when he tried to run around the pocket to make a play.
It ended poorly for Manning. The No. 1 pick earlier that year thought he had space, but that gross miscalculation saw him get torpedoed by Eagles defensive end Jerome McDougle, who was tracking back on the play. The blindside hit sent Manning flying to the turf and the ball onto the ground for a fumble as the clock hit zero.
Just 11 plays into his career, the rookie learned a quick lesson.
“That was my ‘Welcome to the NFL’ moment for sure,” Manning said years later.
“I thought he was dead,” his father Archie said after the game.
Eli Manning realized in his first game that the NFL was different than playing at Ole Miss. Some of the things he could get away with at the collegiate level didn’t fly here.
Giants rookie Jaxson Dart’s learning curve lasted slightly longer. His seventh start proved that if he doesn’t alter his game, there will be repercussions. Dart suffered a concussion in a Nov. 9 loss to the Chicago Bears. It was the fourth time in eight games, dating back to the preseason, that Dart needed to be examined for a concussion.
It turned out to be the final straw for coach Brian Daboll. The hit occurred on Dart’s sixth designed run of the contest.
The rookie has missed two games. He’s expected back for the Giants on Monday night against the New England Patriots (8:15 p.m. EST, ESPN), but with the understanding that he can’t keep playing recklessly. Interim coach Mike Kafka and the team are in the process of trying to fix it.
The Giants (2-10) enabled the foolhardy play to a degree under Daboll — failing to emphasize the need to be more careful. Backup quarterback Jameis Winston, who has started two games in Dart’s absence, said he would relay the message from the coaching staff and higher-ups, only when it was brought to him first. He didn’t want Dart to change the way he plays football, the same way that helped him get to the NFL and the first round of the draft.
Best of NFL Nation
• How Vrabel galvanized Patriots
• Giants try to keep Dart upright
• Ireland’s Smyth smashes Saints debut
• Schottenheimer has Cowboys believing
• Packers’ Wicks impressed the official
Sometimes, though, those few extra yards that Dart’s heart and natural competitiveness desire are just not worth it — especially if it’s near midfield or when he already got the first down. After not being available for two games because of the concussion, his teammates realize something needs to change, for the long- and short-term benefit of the player and team.
“When he’s running on the field [during practice], everyone’s yelling, ‘Slide! Slide!” said tight end Theo Johnson, one of Dart’s closest friends. “I’m talking about in the building and at practice and stuff. People are like, we’re all like, ‘Hey, in the game, that’s going to be a slide, right?’ “
“I say safeties and cornerbacks only,” backup quarterback Jameis Winston said of who he should consider taking on 1-on-1 as a ball carrier. “No D-linemen, no linebackers. Those are my initial things.”
“I’ve been telling him [to get down] since his first run in the preseason,” starting offensive lineman Jon Runyan Jr. said.
“I tell him all the time. I’m like, ‘Bro, please get down!'” veteran wide receiver Darius Slayton said. “Franchise quarterbacks, when they [get injured], season’s over.”
The Giants can’t have that happen. Keeping Dart healthy is a priority this season and moving forward. They have a lot invested in the first-round pick out of Ole Miss.
“Moving forward, I have to be more available for this team,” Dart said this past week after getting cleared from the concussion protocol. “This is obviously on the forefront of my mind moving forward.”
Getty Images
DART WAS A wild man on the field at Ole Miss. Former NFL head coach Jon Gruden described his playing style as “reckless … careless and … dangerous” after watching film from his college career. He predicted Dart would be in the blue medical tent often, getting checked for a concussion if it wasn’t modified. That’s exactly what has happened, on a fairly regular basis, early in his NFL career.
The Ole Miss coaching staff also regularly fought a similar battle with the uber-competitive quarterback, according to multiple sources. They too wanted Dart to protect himself better so he didn’t have to leave or miss games.
The things you love about the success-driven quarterback are simultaneously what you fear most. But it’s inherently him.
“He’s always been a kid that things just kind of changed anytime there was a competitive atmosphere,” said Brandon Dart, Jaxson’s father. “His competitive spirit just innately spiked. And so from the time he was a little guy, that’s just how he operated. And so some of that I think is innate.”
Brandon Dart coached his son during his formative years in Utah. He chuckled during a phone conversation with ESPN at the thought of being engaged in chats with young Jaxson before practices. Jaxson Dart would light up and tell his father who he would want to face that day in tackling drills. It was always one of the bigger, tougher kids. Then, when he would prepare for drills, young Jaxson would shake his head, slap his head and get hyped.
“He just loved that part of football,” Brandon Dart remembers. “He just loved hitting; he loved tackling. He liked getting everybody hyped up. And it just puts a smile on my face because I just remember those days as a little kid. Just his love for the game. And that was just him. Everybody just knew. When you’re up against J-Dart, you better bring it because you know what you’re going to get out of him.”
This is what makes it so difficult to get Dart to stop trying to run over linebackers. It’s who he is at his core. And it’s what has always driven him to success.
Dart was a linebacker at the youth level. His father was a safety who played at the University of Utah. His brother, Diesel, is currently a three-star recruit at Corner Canyon High School in Utah whose primary position is also safety. Jaxson Dart has that same defensive mindset. He wants to deliver that hit more than take it, even though he’s a quarterback and plays on the other side of the ball.
But this is the NFL, not college football or high school football in Utah.
“It is not running over SEC cornerbacks anymore,” a high-level NFC executive warned prior to the draft. “It’s NFL safeties and linebackers. It’s different.”
Getty Images
WHILE DART HAS struggled to stay out of the blue tent, he hasn’t had any problem getting in the end zone. He has produced 17 total touchdowns in seven starts. All the Giants quarterbacks combined produced just 19 touchdowns last season.
Ten of Dart’s touchdowns have been passing and seven are rushing scores. Dart has averaged 3.4 designed rushes per game this season. That’s third behind only the Jets’ Justin Fields and Eagles’ Jalen Hurts. His 5.0 yards per rush on designed runs is second only behind Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson.
Clearly, there is a lot to like with Dart. It’s part of what makes the Giants’ head coaching vacancy so desirable.
“First of all, it’s the New York Giants,” former NFL head coach Jon Gruden told ESPN. “I mean it is one of the founding franchises of football. It’s New York. It’s Jaxson Dart. You know what kind of talent he is. You know he has the arm talent, the athleticism. I know he’s a smart guy. He’s a great competitor. I think that is pretty much a good summary of why this is a desirable job.”
For many, Dart’s presence will be near the top of the list of why they want the job. Gruden raved about him predraft. He sees the potential in the young quarterback and nothing that’s unfolded so far at the next level has changed his opinion.
Dart’s talent and skills have seamlessly translated to the NFL. With him behind center, the Giants scored 30+ points against the Denver Broncos and Eagles. No other quarterback has put up 30 points against either of those defenses this season.
The early returns seem to indicate that Dart has a realistic chance to be a high-end quarterback.
“This has the potential to be a great situation,” Gruden said. “But Dart has to do his part. He’s got to stay healthy. He has to stay out there. He has to be what he’s supposed to be.”
It’s contingent on him learning to avoid putting himself in danger.
Ishika Samant/Getty Images
THE GIANTS WILL now reinsert Dart into the lineup knowing they can’t just operate the same way they did before the concussion. It’s on them to make sure their prized possession doesn’t get put into situations that are disadvantageous to his health.
“The best ability is availability,” Winston said.
Perhaps that means Kafka will call fewer designed runs. Or maybe just stress more frequently and urgently to get down or out of bounds when Dart’s near the boundaries post-concussion.
It sounds as if some changes will be made.
“Yeah, I mean, you definitely take it into account,” recently promoted Giants offensive coordinator Tim Kelly said.
One offensive player told ESPN he didn’t expect designed runs in this week’s game plan against the Patriots. That should help limit the hits that Dart takes.
People both inside and outside the Giants organization spoke with Dart recently and urged the rookie quarterback to be more thoughtful with when and how he runs, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Quarterbacks coach Shea Tierney even said recently they’ve shown Dart videos of other quarterbacks to point out the difference between being aggressive and acting in self-preservation.
It’s still a slippery slope. The Giants don’t want to completely take away what makes Dart so dangerous in the first place.
“I’m still getting used to this game. I’m getting used to this speed, this level,” Dart said. “In college, you can watch my tape, I very rarely slid. This is a different beast. For me, I have to obviously be more responsible when I’m in the open field. But I felt I was getting better at it each and every week.”
Dart slid twice in Chicago before he was injured. He said this week he didn’t take any unnecessary hits in that Bears game.
But Tierney said they’re stressing to “pick your spots.” It all depends on the game situation. When you’re in the “city” with all kinds of people around, get down. When you’re running in the “country,” keep running. Kelly even noted it’s not worth fighting for every last yard in the first quarter.
Situational awareness is paramount. Experience is invaluable. Dart only gains it by playing. That is why it was so important for him to return this late in the season. He wanted to return last week but didn’t clear the protocol.
The answer, it seems, isn’t to overhaul the main circuit board. Just reconfigure a wire or two.
“There’s a balance,” Kafka said.
Get Dart to slide rather than take on defenders head-on like he did earlier this season against the Philadelphia Eagles. Get out of bounds rather than fight for a few extra yards near the sideline. Find a way to get to the ground and duck under big hits when there is traffic.
Manning turned into a master of avoiding big hits. The hope is that Dart can improve at it as well with more experience, even if it means still running and making plays with his legs.
“That’s what makes him him,” Giants right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor said. “And it’s not really changing him, it’s more so just playing smarter because we need you.”
