The vibes are unusually high for the Giants

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The smiles inside the Quest Diagnostics Training Center seem to be a little bit wider this week.

The jokes a bit more hearty.

The energy, through the roof.

This is the result of winning two of three games since rookie Jaxson Dart became the New York Giants starting quarterback. The first victory was over a quality Los Angeles Chargers team and the second came against the division rival and defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles last Thursday night.

Asking what the vibes are like at this point inside the building at 1925 Giants Drive showcases a renewed optimism that surrounds the team.

“High,” tight end Daniel Bellinger said of the team atmosphere.

The feelings are palpable off a massive win and with a promising young quarterback.

“The energy is there,” Bellinger added.

Winning cures all woes in the NFL. It’s the ultimate deodorant. The Giants (2-4) had lost 18 of their past 22 games entering last Thursday night against the Eagles. They had dropped eight straight in the division. That left the fan base anticipating the next collapse, with very little on the horizon to keep them excited.

There was a feeling of impending doom.

Wins over the Chargers and Eagles have seemingly changed everything. They’ve provided hope for a franchise that was lost for the previous two and a half years. The fans have been reinvigorated by the results and the way that Dart and fellow rookie Cam Tax House play — neither are willing to concede a yard and both play with a youthful exuberance that captivated the national audience on Thursday night.

It has created an optimistic atmosphere around the team that hasn’t been there for years.

“For sure,” said standout defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence II, who is among the longest-tenured Giants. “You got some characters. That helps.”

Skattebo is the kind of guy who runs into telephone poles and headbutts new friends. Dart is a quarterback who dives headfirst into defenders.

In a way, it exemplifies who they are as people — and players. It rubs off on others.

“Definitely think they bring some juice just with the style that they play,” wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson said.

It just comes natural to rookies. Everything else, including the refreshing vibe, seems to follow.

“I think the vibe is just we’re trying to set a standard in the locker room, we’re trying to play tough, we’re trying to win at all costs,” Dart said. “The guys are coming to work with the right mindset.”

The young quarterback knows that all the energy can be zapped from a team. If they slouch, the results will show, he said this week. Dart and the Giants have a difficult matchup Sunday (4:05 p.m. ET, CBS) on the road against a ferocious Denver Broncos defense that leads the league in sacks. New York began the week as an underdog by more than a touchdown.

The Giants then have a rematch with the Eagles the following week in Philadelphia. New York is likely to be a significant underdog in that game as well.

Even so, Dart knows what is necessary to keep this going.

“Winning helps. It definitely puts more smiles on people’s faces,” he said. “But at the same time, as players, this is what we come to work every day to do. So, we can’t treat it as something that’s surprising or out of the ordinary.

“We work our tails off to be able to go and win games. If we slouch at all in this league, you’re going to get beat. So, we’re just trying to prepare the right way and just keep the main thing the main thing.”

Coach Brian Daboll isn’t trying to get overly excited. He saves that enthusiasm for the sideline. He has predictably refused to play into the excitement this week.

“Business as usual,” he said. “We have a very tough team to get prepared for.”

At the moment, the Giants are saying all the right things. They’re doing all the right things. Now it’s about showing they can do it consistently on the field.

The energy that Dart and Skattebo, in particular, have provided to this group helps.

“Yeah, whenever your leadership, and the quarterback particularly because he’s touching the ball every play, when you have that kind of spark, you have that kind of energy that you bring not only just to the huddle, to the field, but when you’re like that way in your meetings and you’re like that way in the hallway, in the locker room, and talking with the coaches and talking with the staff and talking with the people around the building, absolutely, that brings, it raises everyone’s level,” assistant head coach and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka said.

Lawrence told ESPN there has always been a genuine care for each other in the Giants’ locker room — even through the extended losses of the past few seasons.

But the locker room does have a different feel, especially in this moment.

“I would say, yeah. It is different people. Different brand,” said veteran wide receiver Darius Slaytonwho is tied with Lawrence as the longest-tenured Giant. “Obviously you have [Skattebo] playing well, playing like a maniac. [Dart] is his own personality. Wan’Dale is playing well. [Wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey] played well last game. So I think it’s a really different feel because we’ve been productive on offense the past few weeks. We haven’t been able to string together many of them in the past.”

And the vibes are unusually high as a result.