“I feel like most rivalries, I’ve totally dominated,” New York Giants‘ Jaxson Dart said recently, ahead of their season opener against the Dallas Cowboys.
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We don’t know about other rivalries, but former Cowboys wide receiver Jesse Holley took offense at that.
“They’re quarterback Jaxson Dart, who is skull-bashing buddies with Cam Skattebo,” Holley said on DLLS Cowboys on September 11. “And they probably don’t; neither one of them believes that CTE is real. Jaxson Dart has been in that blue tent many, many times, and he made a comment that shows that he probably should visit that blue tent more often. His head is a little bit jammed up, and he said, ‘Dominate.’”
During the preseason, Dart sparked controversy with his attitude about the very important blue tent, after having been sent there once in the Minnesota Vikings clash. He claimed he is “still puzzled by it just feeling like every time that I get hit, I just find my way in there,” even though he was on the ground for a few seconds after Jay Ward brutally sacked him.
Dart made five trips to the blue tent last year and suffered a concussion in the Bears game. He was out for the next two matchups, which is why his implied annoyance at getting regularly checked for head injuries was controversial.
Cam Skattebo’s aggressive playing style also has its fair share of criticism. His bold moves are an advantage for the Giants, but there’s a good amount of risk involved in those plays, too. Skattebo played eight games last year before injuring his leg, and he had tallied 410 rushing yards and five touchdowns. He had also doubled up as a pass-catcher, tallying 207 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Skattebo’s health is going to be crucial for his success this year, since he is an important component of the Giants’ offense. However, the running back was lambasted for potentially risking injuring himself again after a failed backflip at the Fanatics Fest this July.
In fact, State Farm also used it as a gag in their latest campaign featuring Skattebo, who uses a headbutt to even parallel park his car.
Walking into this season, things will be different. The new Giants head coach already made his feelings clear on how Dart will have to pay the price if he crosses the line.
In August, the running back reportedly made a risky play that sparked a fight. After catching a pass in a period when defenders could not make contact, Skattebo slid on the ground and reportedly came dangerously close to the legs of multiple Giants defensive backs. That led to a confrontation with Greg Newsome, which intensified after practice.
“Skatt’s great. He does bring a lot of energy,” Harbaugh said. “But he did get a 15-yard penalty at the end of practice. Did you notice that? That’s not infectious. Well, it is infectious, actually. Infectious in a bad way, right? Like infectious disease type of thing. We don’t want that. So, we want it to be directed in a positive way.”
Coming off a 4-13 season, the Giants can’t afford to lose either of them to injury. Jaxson Dart and Cam Skattebo make up a lot of the competitive edge the team has against the Dallas Cowboys, who have a veteran and star in Dak Prescott.
Prescott will enter this matchup with a 14-1 record against the New York Giants since 2017; that’s how big the stakes are.
“When you whoop up on a certain organisation a certain amount of times, you feel a certain amount of way about it. And so every time he goes and plays against the Giants, he feels like, ‘This should be a dub for me because I’ve done it 14 out of the 17 times that I’ve faced in New York Giants.”
Can Dart and Skattebo truly dominate the Cowboys this year? We will have to wait and watch.