A relative of mine who is a Jets fan texted me on Monday morning to ask “What was YOUR take on Dart?” Here was my answer, which is literally the post. The best ability is availability….
Generally very positive. I blogged that all rookies have a penchant for thinking they are Superman, and they need to take care of their body, because it won’t be able to sustain the same type of punishment. #1 it’s a longer season and the players are all bigger and all faster. So it’s literally physics.
He has great command of the pocket. He moves inside and around, adjusts, slips out, then passes. He stopped and threw a few times but ran too often. So he needs to be more of a pocket passer to survive. Yet his instincts and leadership are intangibles you can’t quantify. He’s got different arm angles, like Mahomes, adaptable.
I think he has a hamstring. Run less. I love the 12 personnel (1 RB 2 TEs)… if life gives you Nabers ACL lemons, make 12 personnel lemonade. They are desperately thin at WR now. So use two very good young TEs (who are very capable in pass catching/routes). They are certainly proven to be better pass options than anyone except Robinson and Slayton, so that’s the way to keep this guy from running too much and getting beaten up.
It’s kind of crazy they were 25 secs from beating DAL and could have beaten KC. Yet that’s how Dart started.
Finishing here on Dart, it’s only 1 game but he’s got franchise QB ceiling in him, no doubt. Stop running. Stop being Superman. Save that for 3rd down or goal line yardage a couple of plays per game. 4 of the 6 sacks were on him (holding the ball too long), according to knowledgeable sources. That’s Superman rookie trying to do too much. So there’s a lot of easily correctable stuff.
Does Dart listen to the coaches? Will he protect his body? It’s counterintuitive to not want to try to do everything. Less is more. His availability needs to be prioritized. He was there in the locker room very late, beaten up and stiff. He needs to stop punishing himself and start throwing balls away.