Tonight, all eyes will be on Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart, who will be playing in his first nationally televised opportunity–a home game against none other than the defending Super Bowl champs, the Philadelphia Eagles. What should we expect?
Photo courtesy AP News
For all intents and purposes, this is a referendum game. The question: Is Jaxson Dart ready to become an NFL starting quarterback, specifically for the NY Giants?
Giants head coach Brian Daboll and Giants general manager Joe Schoen are hanging their future on a yes answer. But the plain truth is that Dart has to learn how to throw if he wants to retain the status.
The problem is that Dart seems more like a Robert Griffin III than a Matthew Stafford, and that’s not going to cut it. He runs too much, making him susceptible to hits, as we saw against the New Orleans Saints last Sunday. Eventually, he will be injury-prone from running for his life. To pass more effectively, Dart needs to get rid of the football quickly and know when to throw the ball away.
And I don’t buy the argument that his development is being hampered by a lack of quality receivers (e.g., Malik Nabors out for the season). More accurately, his lack of success (5.2 passing yards average, a long of 18 yards, TD/INT ratio of 3/2, and six sacks) is due to the opposition figuring out how to defend him and the Giants. How? Stack the box on Cam Skattebo and make the quarterback throw.
If Dart can show he can handle the blitz and hit his targets, the Giants can say “Eureka!” What are the odds of that happening when you can’t teach accuracy? But what else could we have expected? If Dart had been a “sure thing,” he would have been a Top 5 pick, not a mid-pick in the first round.
The reality is that Dart is a project. To have any chance to stay in the league, he needs to develop as a pocket passer, and as Dart goes, so go the Giants.
How could a pro team find itself in such a predicament?
