Jaxson Dart‘s return to the field for the Giants Monday night at New England is not this week’s main event.
That billing goes to GM Joe Schoen’s press conference, which typically occurs in the middle of the Giants’ bye week.
Schoen is scheduled to speak to the New York media, on the heels of their game against the Patriots, for the first time since the firing of head coach Brian Daboll on Nov. 10.
The timing matters because the Giants (2-10) only have four games remaining after Monday’s prime time trip to Foxborough, Mass., and their subsequent Week 14 bye.
That means Schoen’s press conference will be his final public argument to save his job.
So yes, Monday’s game matters to the players who are desperate to snap a six-game losing streak, to interim head coach Mike Kafka, who is still seeking his first win at 0-2.
But it matters most in the context of how Schoen will be able to sell himself to the public and to ownership later in the week.
If Kafka keeps Dart safe and improves his play from the pocket against the Patriots, Schoen might stress the difference in Dart’s usage and play on Monday night compared to a previously reckless approach.
Undoubtedly, Schoen is hoping interim defensive coordinator Charlie Bullen can find a way to scheme up Abdul Carter for his first full sack of the season or a big play. That way the GM can point to proven, recent production from a No. 3 overall pick who at the moment is only known for sleeping through a walk-through practice.
Beating the Patriots, obviously, would be a dream scenario for Schoen.
New England has a 10-2 record, has won nine straight and hasn’t lost since Sept. 21. The Giants have lost a franchise record 12 straight road games.
If the Giants upset Mike Vrabel’s team in prime time, Schoen will do his best to complete the separation from Daboll entirely:
It would be the GM’s best way to argue that his personnel were on the cusp of something all along; the roster just needed better leadership at the helm.
The credit and blame game could get tricky here, though. Even Dart said during his press conference on Friday of Daboll: “Who knows if I’m here without him.”
It could get messy if Schoen tries to take credit for Dart while firing and distancing himself from the coach who steered the Giants’ draft process to the quarterback in the first place.
One result, of course, should not sway Giants ownership at this stage to keep a fourth-year GM with a 20-42-1 (.317) record.
For Schoen, however, it might just be his only hope to make a real argument with a result supporting it.
Because the Giants’ schedule softens dramatically in their final four games against the Commanders, Vikings and Raiders before they close with the Cowboys.
And it’s difficult to imagine any of those results would change the franchise’s outlook, outside of Dart’s specific production and development and trajectory in this new, temporary construct of a coaching staff.
As for Monday, there is some pressure for Dart to entertain America here, considering his return to the starting lineup is robbing the national television audience of another Jameis Winston Experience.
That’s a high bar to clear.
This game also has the potential to be a massacre, though.
The Giants just fired defensive coordinator Shane Bowen, a good friend of Vrabel’s. And Patriots backup quarterback Tommy DeVito told masslive.com: “I hope we blow them out.”
If Drake Maye and the Patriots blow out Dart and the Giants, even Schoen might find it difficult to spin reality at his press conference.
If a lopsided result confirms the reality of the team he has built once and for all.
