The New York Giants brought an end to the Brian Daboll era this past Monday, firing the head coach in the middle of his fourth season with the team. This stemmed after another blown lead in the fourth quarter, this time to the Chicago Bears. In this very game, rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart exited the game with a concussion.
Dart has been everything Giants fans could have hoped for, especially as the Daniel Jones pairing just didn't pan out. The main issue for the former Ole Miss star is that he gets banged up on running plays. Dart has always been aggressive when he runs, but at the NFL level, it won't pan out to be a lengthy career for him.
ESPN senior NFL insider Adam Schefter released a report indicating that those inside and outside the Giants organization are urging Dart to be safer when he runs.
Giants are urging Jaxson Dart to take a safer approach to running
It feels like the Giants are stating the obvious, as it's something fans and analysts have been saying ever since the team handed him the keys in Week 4. Dart has shown to be a threat when he runs the football. But the lack of slides and his propensity to lower his head on runs have become a detriment to the team.
This season alone, the 22-year-old has been checked four times for concussions. There was the one time against the Philadelphia Eagles where Daboll notably entered the medical tent (which coaches aren't allowed to do), but the rookie was ultimately cleared.
But against the Bears, he took a hit on a designed run, leading to the fumble. Dart did take the field for a couple of plays on the offense's next drive, but was pulled for a concussion evaluation, and was ultimately ruled out.
Speaking of the designed run plays, Schefter reports that those around the league believe that they aren't helping matters.
"The Giants have not done Dart any favors, according to the opinion of others around the league. New York has called a high number of designed runs for Dart this season, including five in Sunday's loss in Chicago," writes Schefter.
Daboll will get some flak for the designed run plays, since he was the head coach. But offensive coordinator Mike Kafka, who is serving as the interim head coach for the remainder of the season, was the playcaller on offense.
Giants fans are going to want to see how Dart plays under Kafka as head coach. Unfortunately, that may not happen until next week when they play the Detroit Lions and their tough defense, as Dart was ruled out for Sunday's game against the Green Bay Packers.
Dart is going to need to learn to mitigate the extra hits at the NFL level. Sure, that has been how he's played the game, dating back to his time as Ole Miss quarterback, but he'll need to be smarter and more selective. Not only will it hurt his career, but also hurt the Giants.