Brian Daboll is desperate. The quarterback he turned to this offseason to save his job in New York is doing everything he can to make sure both Daboll and Joe Schoen don't step foot in MetLife Stadium again. The only thing worse than thinking Russell Wilson was the answer after the disastrous end to his lone season with the Pittsburgh Steelers, is throwing a rookie out there that could very well continue to plummet this team this season.
The Giants traded back into the first round to draft Jaxson Dart and after a few cameos over the last two weeks, Daboll felt it was now or never. While I don’t agree with the timing of it, at least he had the wherewithal to do what the Steelers didn’t. While Justin Fields isn’t necessarily the best quarterback, they traded for him to be Wilson’s backup.
When he was called upon at the beginning of the season, he did everything he needed to, to make sure the Steelers season didn’t get out of hand. He was 4-2 as a starter and earned the right to remain the starter. When Wilson started to collapse late in the season, instead of turning to Fields, they rocked with Wilson.
Daboll wasn’t going to let Wilson continue to run this offense into the ground anymore, though I feel like it was a premature decision. At least he knew when it was time to make a change.
Brian Daboll’s desperate attempt to save the New York Giants season is destined to blow up in his face
I don’t have a problem with Daboll turning to Dart this early in the season, it was destined to happen at some point and with how important this season is for Daboll, I understand his need for immediate results. That said, he could have at least waited a week before throwing Dart to the wolves.
The truth is the Giants probably aren’t beating the Los Angeles Chargers, whether they have Wilson or Dart under center so take the loss and then let Dart get the start next week against the New Orleans Saints. That’s a game that even if Dart doesn’t look particularly well in, it’s the Saints, the Giants should be good enough to win either way.
Maybe playing him this week gets him in a high pressure situation and prepares him better for the Saints the following week, but I think playing him against the undefeated Chargers is essentially setting Dart up to fail. If Dart doesn’t look like the future quarterback of the Giants, it won’t just cost Daboll his job. It would set Dart up for a long NFL career that could end up like Daniel Jones, where the team gives up on him for being thrown into a terrible situation.
It’s Jaxson Dart time and the New York Giants are hoping for immediate success
Dart went from being in one of the best situations as a rookie quarterback to one of the worst. When the Giants ultimately turned to Dart, you would have hoped it was more in an effort to prepare him for next season; not use him as the team’s saving grace. Dart could be good enough to not be fazed by the amounting pressure on him.
Though rookie quarterbacks seldom get it right away and certainly when you’re thrusted into the starting lineup four games into the season. What makes this a dire situation for Dart is the Giants aren’t just turning to him to be the starter for the foreseeable future, but to essentially rescue this team from a situation he didn’t put them in.
That’s a lot for a rookie and why the timing of it is odd. But Daboll and Schoen drafted Dart for a reason and we’re about to find out if it was a good choice or a bad one. Unfortunately, Dart doesn’t get the usual grace period rookie quarterbacks get. He has to immediately make the Giants good or it could ruin his time with the Giants.