Jaxson Dart’s Slow Start Shouldn’t Worry New York Giants Fans

Reports of the New York Giants offense starting slowly in training camp have naturally created some concern. Expectations are rising, and fans want to see immediate progress from their young quarterback. But Jaxson Dart’s Slow Start Shouldn’t Worry New York Giants Fans just yet. The Giants are installing a completely new offense, and Dart is being asked to make some significant adjustments along the way.

This is exactly what training camp is for.

Jaxson Dart Is Learning a New Giants Offense

One of the biggest adjustments for Dart appears to be how often he will operate under center.

Last season, the Giants operated heavily out of the shotgun with Dart at quarterback. The offense often revolved around what he could create with both his arm and his legs. At times, Dart almost became the running back himself.

That shouldn’t be the plan going forward.

The Giants need Dart to continue developing as a quarterback without asking him to carry the entire offense. Working more frequently under center could be an important part of that development.

It’s also a significant adjustment.

Dart has to become comfortable with different footwork, timing and reads while turning his back to the defense. The running game looks different. Play-action looks different. Even receiving the snap and getting into his drop changes.

Those things aren’t going to become second nature overnight.

More importantly, Dart isn’t the only player learning something new. The Giants are installing an entirely new offensive system. The offensive line, running backs, receivers and tight ends are all adjusting alongside him.

Put everything together, and it shouldn’t be surprising if the offense isn’t firing on all cylinders in August.

In fact, this is when you want them working through those problems.

A More Physical Giants Offense Could Help Jaxson Dart

There is also a bigger picture here.

The Giants don’t need to build another offense where everything depends on Jaxson Dart. They have invested in size and physicality, and they should use it.

Run the football. Control the clock. Let the offensive line move people.

If the Giants can consistently pick up four or five yards on the ground, take it.

There is nothing wrong with playing that style of football. Giants fans have seen plenty of successful teams built around physical football, a strong running game and controlling the clock.

A more methodical offense could also help the defense by keeping it off the field. More importantly, it could prevent the Giants from putting Dart in a position where he feels responsible for creating something on every snap.

We already saw the danger of that last season.

When Dart was hurt, it sometimes felt as though the entire offense disappeared with him. Brian Daboll’s dependence on his young quarterback became obvious.

One memorable moment even saw Daboll head toward the medical tent to check on Dart himself.

We joked about it on the Bleed Big Blue Podcast. You almost expected the other injured Giants players to wonder why their head coach wasn’t running into the tent to check on them.

It was funny, but it also illustrated a larger problem.

The Giants had become too dependent on Dart.

That needs to change.

A successful offense shouldn’t collapse because its quarterback can’t scramble for a first down or create something after the original play breaks down.

The goal should be to make Dart’s job easier, not harder.

That’s why some of these early training camp struggles shouldn’t automatically be viewed as a negative. The Giants are asking Dart to become comfortable doing things differently now because they believe it will make him and the offense better later.

Will there be mistakes? Absolutely.

Could the offense look ugly at times during training camp and the preseason? Probably.

That’s okay.

Training camp isn’t about winning the morning practice report. It’s about preparing an offense to win football games when they actually count.

The Giants are installing a new system. Dart is learning to operate differently. His teammates are learning it with him.

If the offense is still struggling several weeks into the regular season, then we can start asking tougher questions.

For now, let Dart learn the offense. Let the offensive line adjust. Let the running game develop. Let the coaching staff figure out what works and what doesn’t.

It’s August.

Everybody relax.