Giants happy to see Jaxson Dart sliding during practice
· Yahoo Sports
Practicing sliding is something that's usually associated with baseball, but it was a highlight for the football Giants at their training camp practice on Monday.
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The promise that quarterback Jaxson Dart showed last year was tempered by the five times he had to leave games to be checked for concussions after taking big hits. Head coach John Harbaugh has stressed the need for more self-preservation since taking the job in January and those lessons seem to be taking hold.
Dart slid inbounds to end a run during a situational drill and he got a cheer from the Giants defense when he went down.
"Yeah, we've been begging him to do that for a while now, so I'm glad that he's starting to practice it," defensive end Brian Burns said, via a transcript from the team.
Harbaugh had a similar reaction to the quarterback's decision.
"I did. I clapped. I applauded," Harbaugh said. "I applauded when he did that. It was great. Critical situation drill. We were trying to get a third or fourth down, but mostly third down, like anywhere from three to five in a drive in a game where the offense can win the game in the fourth quarter with a conversion. So, play calls and execution to get that first down, that was what that was. So, we had a great play. He came open. He ran around the corner, got the first down, slid inbounds, kept the clock running. All those things were well done."
Dart's ability as a runner mean it will be a fine line between making plays when needed and making sure he's available for the next snap, but it is one he'll have to walk to continue progressing as a quarterback in Year 2.