Giants rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart has been noticeably aggressive in his style of play since taking over as the club’s starter.
It’s not a departure from how he played while he was Ole Miss’ QB1 for the last few years. But as captured by Hard Knocks, Dart’s style also shapes the approach defenses take toward him, as Commanders head coach Dan Quinn and defensive coordinator Joe Whitt encouraged Washington’s players to treat Dart like a running back and hit him as much a possible.
Does that bother Dart?
“No, absolutely not,” Dart said in his Wednesday press conference. “I mean, [Georgia head coach] Kirby Smart said the exact same thing every time that he played against me, so did [former Alabama head coach] Nick Saban, so did every coach that I played in college.
“So, this is nothing new, just try to go out there and play smart, and be available for your team.”
Dart added that it does give him a bit of extra juice when he hears the way opponents talk about him.
“I mean, it just gets me excited,” Dart said. “I mean, just as a competitor, you want to go out there and compete. And obviously, they’re acknowledging respect in a way, too. So, I appreciate that. You want to go out there and play really good for your team. And I think any time that there’s teams that are game planning and they definitely give respect to a player, I think it’s for a reason. And we do the exact same thing when we go against defenses. So that just competitive atmosphere is the best one to play in, for sure.”
The issue, though, is that Dart’s style of play does not seem sustainable. He’s been checked for a concussion five times in 10 extended appearances, including the preseason.
If he wants to be available long-term for his team, Dart — and his new head coach — may need to take a close look at how he approaches things during the offseason.
