Big Blue View
Good morning, New York Giants fans!
Dart completed 13 of 20 passes for 111 pass yards on Sunday at MetLife Stadium, including a three-yard shovel pass to tight end Theo Johnson for his first career passing touchdown. He opened the game with a 15-yard rushing touchdown as part of 10 carries for 54 yards. This is the third consecutive week a Giants rookie has been nominated for the honor. Cam Skattebo, a fourth-round draft choice who is now fifth among all NFL rookies in yards from scrimmage, was up for it in Weeks 2 and 3.
Dart was sacked five times, but that wasn’t necessarily a reflection of his pass protection. There was a pre-snap protection error that led to an unblocked sack off the right edge in the second quarter. Three of the sacks came after Dart held the ball too long due to indecision or coverage, with him twice getting sacked as he tried in vain to scramble away. The fifth sack was due to a breakdown on the right side of the line.
The impact of left tackle Andrew Thomas’ return can’t be overstated. After playing 28 snaps last week in his season debut, Thomas played all 76 offensive snaps on Sunday.
According to TruMedia, seven of Dart’s 10 rush attempts were designed and three of them were scrambles. (Wilson, by comparison, had six designed rush attempts in three weeks.) On those designed runs, Dart gained 31 yards, and he scored from 15 yards out on a quarterback draw, as you can see above. The Giants opened rushing lanes for him through the use of motion and fakes, and they generally put him into position to succeed on those plays.
New York also built counters off of Dart’s involvement in the run game. The shovel-pass touchdown to Theo Johnson came off very similar-looking action to Dart’s first run of the game, where he faked rolling to his right and then came back to the middle for a run.
Daboll, Dart and the Giants have to find a way for the rookie to contribute without risking his body so often. It’s going to be tricky, because Dart’s mobility and improvisation are two of his best qualities, and Daboll doesn’t want to prevent his rookie from using them.
“You never...
