Bolts From The Blue
This week, we’re joined by Ed Valentine of our Giants sister site, Big Blue View, to help us preview this week’s matchup in New York.
The main headline of this game is rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart’s first career start following the benching of Russell Wilson after three consecutive losses to begin the season. He’ll get his first taste of starting action against one of the best defenses in the league — and it remains to be seen if that’ll end up being a good or bad thing in his future development.
But for now, let’s get into our conversation with Valentine and see what we can learn about this week’s opponent from someone who knows them best!
1.) Brian Daboll did not wait long to yank Russell Wilson and give rookie Jaxson Dart the reigns of the offense. What was your initial reaction to the news? Do you believe it’s the best decision for the long-term or do you think it’s putting a band-aid on a larger issue?
I was not surprised at all when Daboll made the move, to be honest. The Giants are 9-28 since the start of the 2023 season, 3-17 since the beginning of 2024 and have lost 14 of their last 15. Except for the Week 3 explosion against Dallas, the offense was anemic with Russell Wilson at quarterback. Daboll’s job is in jeopardy, and he might get fired if the Giants lose this week to the chargers and next week to the completely awful Saints.
Dart is a guy Daboll banged the table for the Giants to go get. Playing him was the last card Daboll had in his hand before being forced to turn in his key card. There’s no way he wasn’t going to play it.
I think there are other issues. Some of those are Daboll’s doing, some are organizational. I think, though, that where the Giants are there was no point in playing a 14-year veteran who won’t be part of the future and was making far too many mistakes. You live with those if they come from a rookie. You can’t have them from a guy in his 14th year.
2.) What are some silver linings you can pick out from the Giants’ 0-3 start? Are they as bad as their record suggests? Have you seen anything that makes you believe they could turn their fortunes around this season?
In all honesty, I believe this is the most talented Giants roster in the four years of the GM Joe Schoen/head coach Brian Daboll era. They are 0-3 and deserve to be because they have had opportunities to win all three games and missed them. But, the Commanders, Cowboys and chiefs are all quality teams. The Giants schedule is ridiculously hard, on paper.
*They have a defense that has the talent to be a top 10 group in the NFL. They have the talent to be a middle of the pack team on offense. They “should” be a team that...
