Dart ready to ‘take advantage of reps’
When speaking to the media Thursday morning, Daboll would not share which players will or will not play against the Bills. The one exception he made was for rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart, whom the head coach confirmed will be making his NFL debut in Buffalo on Saturday.
Due to the depth the Giants have at the quarterback position between Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston, Dart may not see the field much once the regular season starts. That’s part of the reason why the rookie quarterback is looking forward to Saturday as he soaks up as many game reps as he can.
“This is just the start of a dream of mine so I’m excited to take that next step, be out there, compete at the highest level,” Dart said. “My family’s going to be there so I’m super excited to have them a part of this journey with me and yeah, I think that’s really it. I’m just stoked for the opportunity…
“I’m definitely going to be playing out there so (I’m) just going to take advantage of my reps and my opportunity.”
Assistant head coach/offensive coordinator Mike Kafka told the media Wednesday that he simply wants to see Dart run the offense and play the game freely on Saturday. Dart reiterated that message the following day, acknowledging that it likely won’t be a perfect performance, which is perfectly fine.
“I’m just focused on being prepared,” the rookie quarterback said. “Obviously, I’m going to go out there on the field and compete at my highest level and I’m going to play as hard as I can and I’m going to do good things and I’m going to make mistakes too and I understand that. I’m not going to be perfect when I step out there on that field but I think my mindset is just competing at the highest level, doing what I can to make this offense operate at the highest level and get these chances for the coaches to learn how I play the game, because obviously, we’re out at practice, we can’t get tackled, it’s a little different so it’ll be good to get these live-action reps and earn that trust…
“I don’t feel like I need to go out there and think to myself, ‘I need to prove this. I need to prove that.’ I want to kind of just be in my game. I want to be in my own space. I want to be able to encourage others, help raise the play of the guys around me and I just want to win so whatever that takes for me to do when I’m out there on the field, that’s my mind set. It’s not really about, ‘Oh, I’m going to prove this.’ Or, ‘I’m going to prove that.’ How am I going to put our team in the best situation to win?”
Vets talk to rookies before debut
Taking the field before your first NFL game can be overwhelming for a rookie. To try to combat any nervousness before their debuts, Daboll met with the rookie class where he had several of the team’s veterans talk to the first-year players on what to expect this Saturday.
“I had a meeting with those guys two days ago and had a number of vets talk to them about their first game that they played in,” Daboll said. “A variety of people – maybe a guy in the second year, a guy that’s played a long time, they gave them good messaging. Again, football is football. But I think it’s important for those guys to hear from the guys that have actually went out there and played and remember their first game. Usually you remember your first game, even though it’s a preseason game. And they all delivered good messages to the players that talked to them.”
Among the veteran players that spoke were quarterback Russell Wilson, defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence, outside linebacker Brian Burns, and wide receiver Malik Nabers. Despite these players having different experiences with their first NFL games, they all reiterated a similar message.
“The main point was football is football,” said Dart. “Obviously, you’re taking a next step so it’s a little bit more advanced and just little details and schematics and whatnot. At the end of the day, it’s the same game you were playing when you were a kid so just enjoy that. Compete, don’t leave any regrets out there on the field and don’t ever take this moment lightly and there’s no light that’s too bright to play in.”
“They all came in and talked to all the rookies, just telling them about their preseason experience, what they went through, things that they did to help them out,” Carter added. “So, we just took from them and tried to apply it to our preseason.”