Mike Kafka Says Confidence Level in Giants QB Jaxson Dart Remains High

New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart is going to have his forgettable moments, such as when he throws an interception or makes a mental mistake. 

But even though those pop up, as was the case in the Giants' loss last week against Denver when Dart threw a backbreaking pick, the confidence assistant head coach/offensive coordinator Mike Kafka has in the rookie remains as high as ever.

Why is that?

“Just for the simple fact that I know he's going to come back and do it again and go back and make that play,” Kafka said Thursday. 

“He's done it, he's proven that he can do it. And I don't really second-guess the call; I don't have any regrets over it. Besides the fact that it got picked, it's one of those things that happens in football.”

That’s not to say that Kafka and the rest of the coaches aren’t wishing that the turnover hadn’t happened. But the bigger picture is that what they have gotten thus far out of their handpicked quarterback has been far more sunshine and roses than rainy days and thorned bushes.

Sometimes that’s not easy, especially when defenses try to fool Dart by disguising their coverages. But the good news is that Dart has yet to look overmatched out there, regardless of what’s been thrown his way. 

“Jaxson does a great job,” Kafka said. “It starts with his preparation, just identifying his keys that we go through, man coverage IDs, zone coverage IDs. And then on top of that, it's putting together a good plan for him so that he can go execute.

“But he has to see it; he has to feel it. And then all the guys around him have to go do their jobs, too. I always see it as an 11-man operation. 

“I think Jaxson is carrying the mental load in terms of understanding what we're trying to get done and taking advantage of certain looks, and he's going out there and executing.” 

And just because Dart makes a mistake, that doesn’t mean the coaches are ready to drop the play from the playbook. 

“Really, after evaluating and watching every single pass that he has had as a New York Giant, I have a lot of confidence in putting the ball in his hands there and putting the ball in our offensive line's hands and having the ability for our skill guys to go,” Kafka said. 

“Hindsight, you can look at (the play) and evaluate it. But when we talked about it as a staff early in the week, you look at the ‘gotta have its’ and the plays that we like–that was the one that was high on our list.” 

Meaning Dart will have another opportunity–no, make that several opportunities–to run the plays that don’t work out the way they expect over and over.