New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart clearly hasn’t learned his lesson, as evidenced by “Monday Night Football.” New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel hopes his quarterback, Drake Maye, is paying attention, though.
Vrabel’s Patriots beat up Dart and the Giants in the Week 13 finale. New England built an early lead and cruised to a 33-15 win, heading into the bye at an NFL-best 11-2.
In a lot of ways, the Patriots set an early tone against the G-Men, but none was louder and more effective than the massive hit that linebacker Christian Elliss laid on Dart along the sideline in the first quarter. The bone-jarring hit sparked a mini fracas and energized the Gillette Stadium crowd.
After the game, Vrabel said he hopes it all serves as yet another reminder for Maye about the importance of the franchise quarterback protecting himself.
“That’s a weekly reminder to the quarterback — our quarterback,” Vrabel told reporters after the game. “We show him every week. I mean, I wouldn’t get too cute over there by the sidelines. It happens every week. Christian’s playing through the whistle, and as long as the player’s in bounds, he’s gonna try to hit him legally.”
Patriots Use Big Hits as Reminder for Drake Maye
That Dart left himself vulnerable to such a big hit is even more prevalent in his first game back from a concussion. Maye is no stranger to big hits himself and has come close to suffering potentially serious injuries this season. Going back to last season, Maye temporarily exited a game against the Chargers after taking a helmet-to-helmet hit along the sidelines on a play he initiated contact himself at the boundary.
“I think it’s something that’s been across the league that has showed up with quarterbacks near the boundary or near the sideline just kind of relaxing,” Maye told reporters in his postgame press conference.
“And I think I learned last year, the Chargers I had one on that same sideline over there. I got smacked on the sideline. So just be smart and know you’ve almost got to accelerate or get down or do something over there. I think Jaxson, he made some good plays with his feet, so he’s tough to handle.”
Maye’s awareness and willingness to at least try to change are juxtaposed by Dart’s borderline refusal to smarten up. He took a vastly different approach to the matter in his own postgame remarks.
“I understand the question, but this is football,” Dart said, per NFL.com. “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.”
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