Before Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart made a Friday afternoon excursion into presidential politics, the chatter about the second-year signal-caller focused on his excursions when he runs the ball.
In a recent session with reporters, Dart explained that being careful with his body has been a focal point of the new coaching staff.
“That was one of like our first meetings with [quarterbacks coach Brian] Callahan, you know, just pulling up my tape and just going over situationally like, you know, is it worth the risk here in this situation? That’s what we talk about a ton is just situationally just being smart. . . . It’s important for the quarterback to make sure that how he’s feeling one play, that he’s going to feel that same way the next play. And then at the same time, just having the experience last year of sitting out two games. . . . I just hated that time of not being out there with my teammates. So I obviously understand the most important thing is to be out there. You just grow and learn from things. I think I’m gonna do a good job this year, for sure.”
How will he balance being smart with his competitiveness?
“My competitiveness isn’t gonna change at all,” Dart said. “I think just, like I said, it just goes into situationally, just what times it’s worth it, what times it’s not. And just making those mature decisions.”
He’s also taking steps to ensure he’ll be in better shape to take NFL-style hits by working on his physique.
“I’m actually, you know, pretty similar from a weight standpoint,” Dart said. “I just think that I’m just leaner, and our strength staff has done an amazing job.”
He said he won’t be “like Tim Tebow” when it comes to his bulk.
“I think that I’m probably the most mobile that I’ve been in my career right now,” Dart said. “Just my hips and the disassociation from my upper body to my lower body being able to make throws. I think that my body’s in the best shape it’s been.”
He still needs to keep it that way. The challenge becomes controlling the competitive nature during a given play. Knowing when to get out of bounds, when to slide, when to throw the ball away.