Giants HC Brian Daboll Under Investigation for Handling of Jaxson Dart’s Concussion
The New York Giants made a statement on "Thursday Night Football" with a convincing 34-17 win against the Philadelphia Eagles. However, Giants head coach Brian Daboll also made a head-scratching error that could lead to a fine.
Brian Daboll under investigation for interfering with concussion protocol
According to The Athletic's Mike Jones and Charlotte Carroll, the NFL and NFL Players Association announced a joint investigation into whether Daboll violated the league's concussion protocol by appearing to rush medical personnel during a concussion screening of rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart.
"The NFL initiated a review of the application of the concussion protocol involving New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart during last night's game against the Philadelphia Eagles," officials from the NFL and players' union said in a statement. "That review will be conducted jointly with the NFLPA under the parties' collective bargaining agreement."
In the third quarter of the game, Dart was hit by Eagles linebacker Patrick Johnson and was clearly hurt, holding his head in pain. The Giants' medical staff rushed onto the field to check on Dart, and the independent concussion spotter decided the rookie had to head to the blue medical tent.
Per the league's concussion protocol, only medical personnel deemed essential for the athlete's care are allowed to be present in the tent for evaluation. Daboll got close to poking his head in, and shortly after that unnecessary visit, fellow rookie Cam Skattebo — who's also not essential medical personnel — ran in to check in on Dart.
Later, Daboll was seen having an animated conversation with the team doctor. According to Daboll, he was trying to clarify when Dart would be ready to return to the field. "I'm like, is he gonna be good or not, cause I'm gonna call a timeout on fourth down and go for this," Daboll explained light-heartedly in a postgame news conference.
On Friday, Daboll reiterated that he only wanted to see how long the evaluation would take. He didn't want to rush the process and emphasized that Dart's health came first. Giants owner John Mara also weighed in on Friday, as he's a member of the NFL competition committee regarding health and player safety.
"I spoke to Coach Daboll this morning about approaching the medical tent last night. While I firmly believe, as he has stated, that he was not trying to influence the process in any way, he understands that the appearance of going to the tent is inappropriate," Mara said in a statement. "We have protocols in place as a league to ensure player safety, and we need to allow our medical staff to execute those protocols without interference."
Jaxson Dart is a high-risk, high-reward runner
Overall, this appears to have been an avoidable situation. Daboll's concern for the rookie quarterback he's banking on to save his job is understandable, but even appearing to risk a player's health is a bad look for any coach.
In college, Dart was defined by his reckless abandon when running the ball. His gritty style of play has produced results in the NFL, though, especially on Thursday when he scrambled for a 20-yard touchdown. Dart's mobility also allowed him to avoid pressure and connect with Wan'Dale Robinson on the move for a 35-yard touchdown. Dart has also been evaluated for a concussion three times this year.
With all that passion and energy leading to results on the field — results that the Giants have been sorely lacking in recent years — it'll be hard to convince Dart to slide more. At the very least, the head coach can set a better example for the impressionable rookie and let the doctors do their job.
New Celtics free agent addition flashes intriguing potential in Grizzlies win
The Celtics bet on players with untapped upside with many of their offseason moves this summer and saw some encouraging returns out of their gate in their preseason opener Wednesday night. One of the promising highlights in Boston’s 121-103 win over the Grizzlies came from reserve forward Josh Minott. Boston signed the 23-year-old to a two-year deal back in July after he spent the first three years of his career largely buried on the bench in Minnesota. Opportunity in Boston helped Minott land with the Celtics in free agency and he started to show the promise of a potentially increased role on Wednesday night.
Minott stuffed the box score with eight points, seven rebounds, three rebounds, three steals and a block in a team-high 26 minutes off the bench in the 18-point win. He struggled from the 3-point line in the victory (0-of-3) but left his fingerprints all over other aspects of the game with constant energy on the defensive end or hitting the boards.
“He just has a knack for the situation or play on both ends of the floor,” Joe Mazzulla told reporters in Memphis. “Whether it’s getting offensive rebounds, a couple steals, a couple blocks. He has some good versatility, but he has a knack for the ball and a knack for being in the mix. He was able to generate some steals an deflections tonight and obviously some offensive rebounds.”
Minott has never played more than 20 minutes in a regular season game during his three years in Minnesota on a stacked playoff roster so Boston’s wing rotation should open the door for some opportunity for him. Beyond Sam Hause and Jaylen Brown, there’s no one who is a lock for big minutes at the position as the likes of Minott, Baylor Scheierman, Jordan Walsh and Hugo Gonzalez will battle for minutes off the bench. All of those players acquitted themselves well at spots in Wednesday’s win but it was Minott and Gonzalez that stood out from the pack with their defense and motor.
The Celtics gave Minott a two-year deal (with a team option) this summer so this bet has the potential to produce big dividends when Jayson Tatum returns to the fold next season if Minott can establish himself as a rotation player. The Celtics have not had a player that brings his athleticism and energy off the bench for a few years now and it’s evident that uptempo is the style that Joe Mazzulla wants this team to have as its identity. Minott played well into that a reserve in the blowout win.
“At both ends of the floor we played with the right intentions,” Mazzulla told reporters in Memphis. “So we’ve got to continue to do that. Of the 48 minutes, I’d probably say 32 to 34 of them were at the pace we wanted to play with at both ends of the floor. We just have to work to maintain those habits.”
Minott’s role in the rotation will be worth watching on Friday night as Payton Pritchard, Anfernee Simons and Neemias Queta return to the lineup after getting the night off in Memphis. It’s possible other starters are rested for the matchup but Minott did enough on Wednesday night to warrant another long look from the coaching staff.
