Big Blue View
Much has changed for the New York Giants since rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart last spoke to the media three weeks ago. While Dart was in the concussion protocol the head coach who pushed for the Giants to draft him, Brian Daboll, was fired, So, too, was defensive coordinator Shane Bowen.
Dart opened his media availability on Friday by addressing the firing of Daboll, a coach with whom he had exchanged “I love you’s” when the Giants drafted him.
“When I look back on everything, it’s really special to come to a place where a coach genuinely cares about you and loves you and you have that personal relationship on and off the field,” Dart said. “I just have all the respect in the world for him [Daboll]. I think he’s an incredible offensive mind. He’s done an amazing job developing me up to this point.
“This business is a beast, man, and give a shoutout to Coach Shane (Bowen) as well. Unfortunately, we just weren’t able to get enough wins for them. But at the same time, got a lot of respect for them, and Coach Dabs, who knows if I’m here without him, so I’ve got all the respect and love for him.”
Dart said “it sucked” to see Daboll be fired, especially while Dart was in the NFL’s concussion protocol.
“I have a lot of love for Coach Dabs and we’re really close, so to kind of see it go down that way, especially my rookie year, it was hard,” Dart said. “So, just trying to control what I can control, take the next steps, but just wish we could have done more as players to get more wins for him.”
Daboll is gone, though. Now it is incumbent upon the Giants to get the hire of the next coach correct so they don’t put Dart through the constant turmoil Daniel Jones experienced in six mostly unsuccessful years as the Giants quarterback.
Dart has seven rushing touchdowns and has proven his willingness to take — and dish out — punishment. He has consistently received a message from the organization about being smart and protecting himself when he can. From what Dart said on Friday, perhaps that has begun to sink in.
“When I watched the whole [Bears] game – and it’s kind of been a point of emphasis going into each game of just being smarter with the hits that I take,” Dart said. “When I look back at the game, there’s not a hit where I’m like, dang, I shouldn’t have taken that hit, to be honest. I felt like I was making smart decisions. I didn’t take really any unnecessary hits. That was just a situation where you kind of lose control of your body when you fumble it and you’re not really bracing for the ground. But obviously, moving forward, now I’ve got to be more available for this team, so, that’s obviously on the forefront of my...
