A day after pleading the fifth regarding whether quarterback Jaxson Dart and the rest of the starters on both sides of the ball would see any snaps in the preseason opener against the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday, New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh still wasn’t willing to reveal his exact plans.“I plan on not talking about who's gonna play. That's what I plan on doing. I just decided to leave it out there,” Harbaugh said.“We'll see when the game comes. That’ll make the speculation show so much more fun.”Also undoubtedly frustrating for the Giants fans who are anxious to get their first look at how the team, and in particular the offense as led by Dart, the second-year quarterback look in the new offense implemented by offensive coordinator Matt Nagy.There is sort of a precedent for what Harbaugh might do. When he was head coach of the Ravens, he only had quarterback Lamar Jackson take part in 123 preseason snaps dating back to Jackson’s rookie season in 2018. But an argument can be made that the Ravens were in a little better place than the Giants, who are coming off a four-win season and are starting mostly from scratch under Harbaugh.While Harbaugh insisted that he values preseason reps, he added that there is a balance to be struck, and that the balance consists of getting a look at other guys, getting the starters quality work against other opponents, and keeping everyone as healthy as possible.“You have to make that decision,” he said. “In the past three or four years, we hardly played any starters. Before that, we would play them a series or two, and sometimes we even went in on all three games.“People used a lot of different formulas. Our formula was pretty much to spread the reps out evenly through the three games for the guys that needed to play. And we have a plan for that right now.”While no one is suggesting that Dart and the starters play an entire game, let alone an entire quarter, a couple of series for them to get their feet wet against live competition wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing to gauge where everything stands. “That’s a big part of it – executing a new offense – but also a young quarterback,” Harbaugh acknowledged. “We've got a young quarterback who's just in his second year, who didn't play a whole season even last year. So, he's just getting started. And we're going to be playing two of the best teams in our conference right out of the gates. And so, we'd like to be ready for that.” The only way to be ready for that is to play the starters, even if it’s a little bit here and there.Dart Feels Good About Where He’s AtNew York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectIt’s been a summer of inconsistency for Jaxson Dart as he acclimates to the new offense, but the second-year quarterback believes he’s light years ahead of where he was at this point last year. “Yeah, I definitely feel like I'm way ahead of where I was last year from just an experience standpoint,” he said. “Being able to learn conceptual NFL systems, being able to have the leadership, being able to see things through different lenses of different positions, just from obviously my experience.“So, that's what makes me really excited about this year. I feel like it's just another opportunity for big growth, and I wouldn't want it with any other coaches than we have right now, as well as any other players in the group that we have.”He’s especially excited by the offensive system that’s been implemented by offensive coordinator Matt Nagy.“Yeah, he's definitely aggressive. He's definitely wanting to create explosive plays. But I think the big thing is he wants to always stay ahead of the sticks. He wants to be moving forward,” he said.“That's the big point of emphasis that we have on any negative plays, whether it may be penalties, whether it may be loss of yardage on a run or sacks; he's really big on minimizing those things.“I think that as an offensive coordinator, when you're able to get your players to do that, it definitely helps him feel like he's in control of the game, helps our offense get into a flow.”Malik Sees RedNew York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers is trending in the right direction in his on-going rehab. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectIn yet another positive step forward for wide receiver Malik Nabers, he donned the red “no-contact” jersey for the first time since beginning his rehab from a torn ACL. That naturally generated some buzz, as Nabers, in participating in drills at a walkthrough pace, continues to ramp up toward possibly increasing his workload as soon as next week, at a faster pace.“It's great to have him back out there,” Dart said. “I've said this before, he has a certain presence about him anytime he touches the field, and I think the big thing today was also you just saw how excited he was himself to be out there.“Can't wait for him to be full go.”Injury UpdatesNew York Giants wide receiver Jalin Hyatt will miss the preseason opener. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters ConnectHarbaugh said wide receiver Jalin Hyatt (leg) would not play Saturday against the Vikings, joining Nabers, who is also out.Cornerback Paulson Adebo (hamstring) is among those players who will be a game-time decision.And although Harbaugh didn’t mention center John Michael Schmitz (concussion) as being among those who won’t play Saturday, the fourth-year center’s availability would appear to be in doubt, which would give Bryan Hudson a chance to see extended playing time.Sign up for our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X for the latest news, and send your mailbag questions to us.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow