{"id":23586,"date":"2025-10-31T04:43:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T04:43:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/23586\/"},"modified":"2025-10-31T04:43:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T04:43:12","slug":"robert-saleh-cannot-help-but-praise-jaxson-dart-the-ny-quarterback-he-never-had","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/23586\/","title":{"rendered":"Robert Saleh cannot help but praise Jaxson Dart \u2014 the NY quarterback he never had"},"content":{"rendered":"

Robert Saleh would take $100,000 out of his Woody Johnson-lined pockets<\/a> for the chance to coach Jaxson Dart.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Maybe more than anyone, Saleh, whose four seasons as the Jets head coach expired because he never found the right quarterback, can appreciate the lifeline that Dart is providing to hot-seat head coach Brian Daboll.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The irony is that Saleh now is in charge of making life miserable Sunday for Dart, Daboll and the Giants as the 49ers defensive coordinator.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s uber-talented,\u201d Saleh said before Thursday\u2019s practice, with a mix of awe and laughter. \u201cI understand why Daboll went to the blue tent. I probably would\u2019ve went, too.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a joking reference to Daboll incurring a $100,000 fine from the NFL (and the Giants being billed an additional $200,000) for \u201cconduct detrimental to the league\u201d because he looked into the sideline medical tent and spoke to Dart during his concussion test against the Eagles on Oct. 9. The league considered his actions creating the \u201cperception\u201d of interfering with an independent medical exam, though Daboll said that he just wanted to check on his prized rookie\u2019s well-being.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"DefensiveSan Francisco defensive coordinator Robert Saleh looks on during the second quarter of the 49ers\u2019 win over the Seahawks on Sept. 7, 2025 in Seattle. Getty Images<\/p>\n

In the uncertain landscape of evaluating college quarterbacks, Saleh thinks the Giants \u201chit on this one big time.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMan, they hit the jackpot on this kid. The jackpot,\u201d Saleh later said in an exclusive interview with The Post\u2019s Mark Cannizzaro. \u201cHe just has a Mahomes-esque quality. I\u2019m just telling you, he is freaking good.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wait. Dart and Patrick Mahomes? The two-time MVP and three-time Super Bowl winner?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s definitely got the \u2018it\u2019 factor,\u201d Saleh said. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t flinch. The game\u2019s not moving too quick for him. His ability to keep his eyes downfield when he scrambles \u2014 like his off-schedule stuff \u2014 is every bit of Mahomes.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

How can Saleh press pause on Dart\u2019s development? By straying from his tendencies.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"BrianBrian Daboll with Jaxson Dart during Giants practice. Charles Wenzelberg \/ New York Post<\/p>\n

Dart has completed 67.8 percent of his passes for four touchdowns, zero interceptions and a 101.4 passer rating when not pressured, per NextGenStats. Those numbers change to 46.2 percent, four touchdowns, three interceptions, and a 72.4 rating when under pressure.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The 49ers have pressured opposing quarterbacks on only 25.9 percent of dropbacks \u2014 the lowest rate in the NFL \u2014 because Saleh believes in rushing four defensive linemen and holding blitzes. The defense is tied for the league lead with six fumble recoveries.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the biggest thing that stood out to me initially just early in the week watching tape is ball disruption,\u201d Dart said. \u201cTwo or three games were won for them off of the defensive side, punching the ball out late at the end of the game to steal games. They fly around.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Daboll and Saleh became friendly as simultaneous head coaches in New York from 2022-24. Saleh praised Daboll and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka for putting Dart in position to be successful by asking certain things of him but \u201cdoing a good job hiding it within their weekly game plans.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Saleh had never watched any film of Dart before scouting the Giants this week. But now he also has heard him talk and lead.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s got the personality to handle New York,\u201d Saleh said. \u201cIt\u2019s pretty cool. I\u2019m pumped for Daboll. Brian shouldn\u2019t be going anywhere. I think they just need to allow this kid to grow, and Daboll is way more than capable of developing this young man to be the quarterback that he can be for the Giants.\u2019\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n

But if you don\u2019t think Saleh\u2019s quarterback opinion holds much weight because he cycled through six starters with the Jets and No. 2 draft pick Zach Wilson never developed, then maybe consider that Dart was just named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Month.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Or just take it from one of the NFL\u2019s sharpest offensive minds \u2014 who developed Brock Purdy from \u201cMr. Irrelevant\u201d into a $265 million franchise quarterback.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been real impressed with (Dart),\u201d 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said. \u201cThey are mixing in a lot of RPOs (run-pass options), which he\u2019s got a good feel for. He has a very good knack for off-schedule plays. Attacking, scrambling, you drop off any players in coverage, he finds them. His vision is pretty elite when it comes to seeing holes in the defense when he gets outside that pocket. Just watching him even play in the pocket, too, he knows how to play quarterback.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Because Purdy has been sidelined by a toe injury since Sept. 28, the 49ers have been in the opposite pinch as the Giants: They have weapons playing with backup Mac Jones as opposed to Dart playing with replacements for Cam Skattebo and Malik Nabers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGo behind the scenes with Big Blue\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for Inside the Giants by Paul Schwartz, a weekly Sports+ exclusive.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tThank you\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\u201cJaxson\u2019s done a great job of kind of getting everyone on the same page,\u201d Kafka said. \u201cWhether he\u2019s meeting with them extra or talking to them on the sideline, just those open lines have been great.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2014 Additional reporting by Mark Cannizzaro<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Robert Saleh would take $100,000 out of his Woody Johnson-lined pockets for the chance to coach Jaxson Dart.\u00a0…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23587,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[3917,9,2683,11,10,22,15249,2248,319],"class_list":{"0":"post-23586","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-jaxson-dart","9":"tag-new-york","10":"tag-new-york-giants","11":"tag-new-york-headlines","12":"tag-new-york-news","13":"tag-nfl","14":"tag-robert-saleh","15":"tag-san-francisco-49ers","16":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23586","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23586"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23586\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23586"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23586"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}