The Giants and Jets held their first of two straight joint practices Tuesday in Florham Park, heading into the teams’ Week 2 preseason game Saturday night at MetLife Stadium.
On Wednesday, the Jets will return the favor in East Rutherford.
So how did Jaxson Dart, the Giants’ prized rookie quarterback, fare on Tuesday?
Let’s take a look, in our daily Dart report, as he tried to build on last Saturday’s strong preseason debut in Buffalo.
Stats: 11-of-17 passing on 27 reps (all with the second team)
Best throw: There were a few contenders. So let’s run through them, instead of just picking one. Dart found Theo Johnson on a 25-yard play-action throw to the sideline after threading the ball nicely over Malachi Moore’s coverage. Then he connected with Montrell Washington on a crossing route, hitting him in stride with a perfectly timed throw over the middle. Brian Daboll pumped his fist after that one.
Under pressure, Dart stepped up and flung the ball 15 yards to Ihmir Smith-Marsette along the sideline, which earned Dart a high five from Daboll. Dart’s final pass — from the 5-yard line during a red zone period — was a pretty one. He hit Zach Pascal accurately with a back-shoulder throw along the side of the end zone. Daboll gave Dart another high five for that one, as the kid closed 6 of 9 in his final two segments of reps.
Worst throw: Early in practice, Dart was high for Pascal on a 20-yard pass. Then he had a ball batted down at the line. Probably Dart’s worst throw came right after the crosser completion to Washington. Dart had Greg Dulcich open down the field for what would’ve been a 35-yard touchdown. But Dart overthrew him — well long and high — so badly that ball was almost intercepted.
In addition to that missed opportunity, Dart’s two other incomplete throws during practice’s final two segments also were overthrown balls — under pressure to Smith-Marsette along the side of the end zone and well past a wide-open Dalen Cambre in that red zone period to conclude the day. But hey, at least he isn’t under-throwing guys.
Moment of the day: All that positive chemistry between Daboll and Dart — the fist pumps and high fives. Daboll clearly loves this kid’s potential — as you’d expect, since Daboll badly wanted to draft him. And Daboll has hitched his career to Dart. So he better hope Dart thrives. It’ll be fascinating to see how quick of a hook Russell Wilson gets if the Giants stumble early. You’d think Daboll would eventually want to give Dart some first-team reps. Will that happen during an open training camp practice? Or perhaps not until the Giants close things down in the regular season?
Trending up or down?
Dart mostly handled himself well in Buffalo. And even though he had a few overthrown passes Tuesday in Florham Park, he showed signs of continued progress. So while he didn’t take a massive step forward, he also didn’t slip. And he should take that as a win at this point in his first NFL camp.
Grade: B+
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Darryl Slater may be reached atdslater@njadvancemedia.com.
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