The New York Giants might have avoided losing starting quarterback Jaxson Dart to a likely season-ending knee injury. If only coaches had intervened and stopped a play that was in “disarray” before Dart took the snap and was promptly crunched between two Los Angeles Rams’ pass-rushers.
Giants’ coaches didn’t react, according to former NFL quarterback Chris Simms. The son of franchise legend and Super Bowl XXI MVP Phil Simms explained what went wrong during the 28-6 defeat on Monday Night Football to NBC Sports’ Connor Rogers.
Simms told Rogers, “The play was in disarray from the start. From the start. They barely got the snap off, he had to flip the formation, the receivers were on the wrong side. I was literally yelling at the screen, ‘just call timeout! It’s the first drive. Let’s get situated, let’s get straight.'”
The Giants didn’t call timeout, and Simms noticed confusion at key spots around Dart. Specifically, how potential target tight end Theo Johnson seemed not to “know what to do or what it was.”
Simms also pointed out how “both tackles got beat, and was that because it was a little off-kilter and they had to rush the snap count?”
This is a tough take, but it’s hard to overlook the procedural and coaching issues that preceded Dart’s fateful play Week 2. Particularly when this wasn’t the only time the Giants appeared less than prepared at SoFi Stadium.
Giants Guilty of Host of Procedural Errors in Week 2
There’s no other way to put it, head coach John Harbaugh’s Giants were a mess on Monday night. A slew of procedural errors dogged their performance.
Among those errors was the botched way Big Blue handled a field goal conversion in the dying seconds of the first half. Former Philadelphia Eagles‘ analytics coach Ryan Paganetti pointed out how the “Giants snapped this field goal for no reason at 6 seconds on the play clock. They could have let the clock run down to 1 second and called timeout. Sure enough, Rams had just enough time to spike it with 2 seconds (they wouldn’t have had) for a field goal attempt.”
They could have let the clock run down to 1 second and called timeout.
Sure enough, Rams had just enough time to spike it with 2 seconds (they wouldn’t have had) for a field goal attempt.
Paganetti’s view is shared by Dan Duggan of The Athletic. He lamented the way the “End of the half was poorly managed all around. This, touchback on the kickoff, letting the RB get OB on the first play, getting beat by Adams to get into FG range.”
Duggan also noted another basic gaffe during a “Surprisingly messy game operationally from the Giants. They only had 10 players on the field for their first punt return.”
Duggan’s surprise at how sloppy the Giants were in a prime time moment is understandable. Especially since Harbaugh’s an experienced coach who won a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens and earned a reputation for fielding, tough, smart and efficient teams.
The lack of game readiness was alarming for a team that won a lot of plaudits after beating the Dallas Cowboys 28-20 in Week 1. Dart was the star of the show then, but his injury has prompted uncomfortable questions.
Not only about the Giants’s new coaching regime, but also about the young passer’s mechanics in the pocket.
Jaxson Dart Faces Tough Questions After Injury
Dart was hit high and low by two defenders, Rams’ edge-rushers Byron Young and Josaiah Stewart. It means the injury could have occurred on a play otherwise executed cleanly.
What’s perhaps more concerning than any operational issues are worries about Dart’s habits from the pocket. At least in the eyes of Empire Sports Media COO Anthony Rivardo.
He believes “Dart has a bad habit of drifting too far back in the pocket. Eluemunor and Thomas can’t do much to protect him 12 yards behind the LOS. Leaves them vulnerable. This habit also likely stems from a lack of trust in his iOL. Pressure up the gut will cause a QB to drift.”
Eluemunor and Thomas can’t do much to protect him 12 yards behind the LOS. Leaves them vulnerable.
This habit also likely stems from a lack of trust in his iOL. Pressure up the gut will cause a QB to drift.
Dart’s faced questions about how he plays the game before. Most of those questions focused on his habit of running, taking hits and risking concussion.
Dart was cleaning up this part of his game, but he could do little about how quickly the Rams set upon him in the pocket. That problem’s rooted in personnel, technique and procedure.
Unfortunately, the Giants failed in all three areas around their young quarterback, with dire consequences.
Former NFL QB Blasts Giants for Ignoring ‘Disarray’ Before Jaxson Dart Injury