New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart shrugged off comments from the Washington Commanders ahead of the teams’ matchup last week, saying they viewed the rookie as a running back.
As seen on the televised docuseries “Hard Knocks,” Commanders coach Dan Quinn said of Dart, “The (Giants) QB, he’s a running back first.”
Washington defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. said: “The quarterback is a very competitive dual-threat guy. He will try to run the ball like a running back. He will try to run you over. He will try to stiff-arm. He doesn’t really run out of bounds. He doesn’t slide a whole bunch. We can get the ball off him. The ball is life. It is air, and we need it.”
The game plan was successful as Dart was hit a total of 15 times on Sunday in Washington’s 29-21 win.
Asked Wednesday whether he was bothered by the Commanders’ assessment of him, Dart replied, “No, absolutely not. I mean, (Georgia coach) Kirby Smart said the exact same thing every time that he played against me. So did (former Alabama head coach) Nick Saban, so did every coach that I played in college. So this is nothing new, just try to go out there and play smart and be available for your team.”
The former Ole Miss star was asked to elaborate on comments from Smart and Saban.
Dart said, “I mean, I can’t put together exactly what they said, but there were definitely a lot of interviews that we can all go back and look at. This isn’t a new thing that’s been brought up in my career.”
Dart lost a fumble and threw an interception in the game against the Commanders, giving him four picks and four fumbles (two lost) in 11 games and nine starts.
The 22-year-old quarterback has a 2-7 record as a starter. He has completed 62.5% of his passes for 1,801 yards and 13 touchdowns. Dart also has rushed for 400 yards and seven TDs on 70 carries.
