New York Giants rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart refuses to compromise his aggressive style of play on the field. If he can make a play, he will try, even if it means putting his health and well-being in jeopardy.
Dart, who has missed two games with a concussion this season already, took another vicious shot in last Monday’s 33-15 loss to the New England Patriots in Foxborough. This time, it was from Patriots linebacker Christian Elliss, who slammed Dart as he was running up the sideline.
It was a legitimate hit, and Elliss has every right to hit Dart with the ferocity he did. It’s within the rules.
“It was a good hit. Good hit,” Dart told reporters the next day. “I appreciate my guys having my back. That’s just something that I know they’d do for me, and I’d do the same thing for them.”
Not the point. Dart is putting himself in harm’s way all too often. Fans are enjoying his style of play to the point where they’re beginning to blame the tacklers for taking him down.
Eliiss was not apologetic for hitting Dart in the manner he did. The rookie was in bounds and attempting to gain more yardage. The quarterback protections installed by the league do not extend to plays out of the pocket, where the quarterback becomes a runner.
“If it’s our guy, I want him going down or going out of bounds. But if that’s how he wants to play, then he’s a hard-nosed, tough guy, that’s just what’s gonna happen.”
Christian Elliss joined the show to discuss his big hit on Jaxson Dart and the “crazy” messages that followed. pic.twitter.com/iidMRbfiCf
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The bizarre twist to this saga is that the public is blaming the defenders when they should be chastising Dart for being so reckless with his body. Elliss claimed he and his family got “crazy” messages after the game regarding the hit.
“Me, my family, everybody I know got crazy messages. So, it was an interesting night for sure,” Ellis told WEEI in Boston.
“From him, I thought we were good,” Elliss said about him and Dart, who didn’t make a huge deal of the hit after the game. “Yeah, he took a lick, but he got right back up, and I was getting ready to jog back to the field, and obviously, his teammates didn’t like that idea. Good for him. If it’s our guy, I want him going down or going out of bounds. But if that’s how he wants to play, then he’s a hard-nosed, tough guy, so you know, that’s just what’s gonna happen.”
Dart isn’t too concerned, even if he realizes he got away with one in this game. Next time, he may not get right up. But, he’s apparently fully aware of the consequences he’s placing on himself by not getting out of bounds and sliding where it’s required.
“This is football,” he said. “Like, I’m going to get hit if I’m in the pocket or outside the pocket. I feel like I played this way my whole entire life. It shouldn’t be any shocker to anybody if you followed along with my career. We’re not playing soccer out here. You’re going to get hit. Things happen. It’s just part of the game.”
The debate over Dart’s aggressive style can rage, but fans should not be sending “crazy” messages to opposing players and their families ever, let alone over a legal hit.