EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Prior to the Week 1 game against the Dallas Cowboys, a Sunday Night Football prime time game against a division rival, New York Giants offensive coordinator Matt Nagy wasn’t sure how quarterback Jaxson Dart and the rest of the offense would handle the moment.
After Dart’s 23 of 29, 230-yard, 3 touchdown performance, and the offense’s efficiency, in a 28-20 victory, Nagy’s question has been answered.
“He was calm, he was composed, he made plays when plays were needed. The moment
was never too big for him,” Nagy said. “I wasn’t really sure going into it.
We’re a young team and even in training camp, in our preseason we get excited. I love that part, but sometimes you wonder is the moment too big? I came out of that thinking and knowing with our guys the moment’s not too big.“
In a film review of Dart’s Week 1 performance, Big Blue View’s Nick Falato wrote that Dart put together an “elite performance” against the Cowboys.
From his perch in the coach’s booth high above the playing field, Nagy saw a quarterback who was seeing the same things he was.
“One thing as a coach that you look for is you look to see, me being up in the box, arere his eyes going to where my eyes are going?,” Nagy said. “In that game I’m telling you almost every play he went to where he was supposed to go which means he’s calm. He’s seeing things.
“The moment wasn’t too big.”
Nagy was also impressed by how smoothly Dart handled all of the pre-snap responsibilities.
“There’s a lot of stuff that goes on on the headset and the communication between myself and the quarterback and whether it’s substitutions, formations, motion shifts, things that he’s doing within the play,” Nagy said. “I can’t tell everybody here enough of how well he managed that part of it.
“There was a few times where I got to play in later than I should have and he fixed it. He made me right. I love that about him. That’s the teamwork part, but very cool, very calm, very collected.”
Here are more takeaways from Nagy’s Thursday media availability.
Mahomes-Kelce 2.0?
OK, so comparing the Dart-Isaiah Likely connection to that of future Hall of Famers Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce with the Kansas City Chiefs, is hyperbole.
There is no denying, though, that the Giants’ quarterback and his new tight end have quickly developed impressive on-field chemistry. That was evident against the Cowboys as Likely caught all eight of his targets against Dallas, two for touchdowns and the other six for first downs.
It is a connection we saw grow throughout the spring and summer, and was a big part of why the Giants defeated the Cowboys.
Nagy, of course, was part of the Kansas City coaching staff for much of the Mahomes-Kelce era.
“I was there for the beginning stages of that, and I’ve seen it through throughout for many years. And what we have here with Jaxson and Zay is right there,” Nagy said. “I mean, it’s not there with them yet, but it’s at the beginning stages, it’s there. That’s the exciting part, is they’re just super, super talented people. And it’s going to take a little bit of time, but they were on the other night and I think you guys saw that.
Nagy was particulary pleased by the 19-yard Dart-Likely hookup on a second quarter third-and-10.
“That one throw that he [Dart] had to Zay on third down, he had some pressure in his face. He made a great throw, great accuracy,” Nagy said. “And then Zay made a great route and great catch, keeps the sticks moving. So, we’re building towards that. Those guys know it, but they’re not satisfied either.”
‘Worth two guys’
No one knew if wide receiver Malik Nabers was going to play until about two hours before Sunday’s game against Dallas. Nagy admitted being prepared for either scenario, even if he didn’t want to be.
“I was a little bit stressed on that one. I had two different call sheets, one stuffed in my bag, and I never wanted to look at it, because I just did not want to see that one,” Nagy said. “But that’s right, that’s what’s real, and that’s okay. He came out and got that early catch, which was good, and now we’ll go from there.
“But you certainly love to get him out there, and as I said last week, he’s worth two guys when he’s out there.”
Three players in one
Head coach John Harbaugh said on Monday that “Nobody in the world can do some of the things that Pat Ricard can do.”
Sunday was an example of how different Ricard, by definition a 300-pound fullback, is.
He played 37 snaps, aligning at fullback, tight end, slot receiver, and wide receiver. He also was used in motion more than just about any player in the NFL.
“What he allows us to do is he plays basically three different positions in one, whether it’s an O-lineman, whether it’s a tight end, or whether it’s a fullback. So, it’s a little bit of a chess piece,” Nagy said. “He’s super smart, so you can do different things formationally, personnel-wise. And so, it becomes a little bit of a back-and-forth with the defensive coordinator on what you’re doing personnel-wise with him. But then we’ve got to be able to protect that, too, and make sure we’re doing enough passes as well.
“So, it’s been great for me to learn who he is from day one when he got here. He’s also really good at what he does. So, it’s one thing to be smart and be able to use him, but he’s really good at what he does, too.”
Booth review
Nagy had never called plays from upstairs in a regular season game before Sunday night.
“I think the biggest thing is you rely on your prep and your coaching staff. I mean, I really, these guys here, I cannot say enough about the staff that we have and the knowledge that they have,” Nagy said. “So, we put it all together, and then they give me an opportunity. Now I’ve got to put my spin on it, when do I think things should come? And again, (senior offensive assistant) Greg Roman does such a phenomenal job, along with (offensive line coach) Mike Bloomgren and (assistant offensive line coach) Grant (Newsome), and all of our coaches on staff. They do a great job of working in that run game, and we put it all together.”
