Giants' Brian Daboll 'feels good' about communications between players and coaches
Giants head coach Brian Daboll during the first quarter against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
The Giants saved all their fire and grit for the postgame Sunday evening, and Monday morning, coach Brian Daboll was reckoning with the aftermath of his players’ frustrations and his own performance.
After a dispiriting 30-7 loss to the Buccaneers on Sunday, various players referred to the team’s effort as “soft,” with Malik Nabers seemingly questioning Daboll’s play-calling — all furthering the narrative that Daboll has lost the locker room and calling into question the coach’s future with the franchise.
On Monday, as the dust settled on the sixth loss in a row for the Giants (2-9), and their first in the post-Daniel Jones era, Daboll took responsibility for some of the team's struggles but insisted that the locker room remains united.
“These guys put a lot of work into this, as does everybody involved, and certainly not something that we wanted yesterday,” Daboll said. “We work hard every week to not have that happen, and that was a tough one. So, there's frustration that comes with it, understandable. And we communicate, I think we have good leadership in our locker room. I think we communicate on a daily basis. But certainly, a frustrating game, no question about it.”
On Sunday, Nabers publicly lamented about not getting the ball until the team was too far in the hole, adding that “it ain’t the quarterback — same outcome when we had DJ at quarterback” instead of Tommy DeVito. Nabers and Dexter Lawrence both called the team’s play “soft,” while veteran offensive lineman Jermaine Eluemunor said he “personally [didn’t] think everyone is giving 100%.”
Added Nabers on Sunday: “First, second quarter, I don’t get the ball. I start getting targets at the end. I mean, can’t do nothing. Start getting the ball when it’s 30-0. What do you want me to do?”
Asked why that was the case, Nabers told reporters to “talk to Dabes about that.”
Daboll said he and Nabers spoke Sunday night and Monday morning about the wide receiver’s frustrations. “He's a very competitive individual,” Daboll said. “Again, you want to get the ball in his hands, and I got to do a better job of getting the ball in his hands, early. He's a smart, young guy that is very competitive. When you lose like that, it's a frustrating thing. But we've had good communication, as we always have.”
He said that he didn’t intend to give up play-calling.
Daboll also backed one of Lawrence’s assessments of Sunday’s play: It’s not a lack of effort, he said, but a lack of execution. The Giants, though, won’t have much time to make the necessary corrections as they play the Cowboys in Dallas on Thanksgiving.
“We didn't play well enough,” Daboll said. “Some things, whether it's execution stuff, call stuff, that we just didn't get the job done. But in terms of running to the football, giving effort at the line of scrimmage, those didn't stand out. What stands out was three sacks early on in the first half, 0-for-4 on third down, a variety of missed tackles that caused some big plays. And the missed tackles weren't a lack-of-effort missed tackles. Give Tampa Bay credit. They did a good job, and we didn't do a good enough job.”
Offensive lineman Jon Runyan agreed. “I don’t think guys are out there soft,” he said. “I don’t think it’s in anybody in this building’s DNA to play soft. I think there was a strong lack of execution in certain areas, especially early on in the game . . . The execution, I’d say, was soft all day across the board. I don’t think it was a lack of toughness or physicality.”
Linebacker Micah McFadden did indicate that there needed to be more accountability.
“It’s the NFL. Everybody is treated fair but not equally,” he said Monday. “There are guys with different salaries. Some guys can get away with more so it’s not easy . . . That doesn’t change the fact that we’re all depending on each other to get the job done . . . It starts from the top down but ultimately, the players are the ones of the field on Sunday and we’ve got to hold each other accountable."
Despite the public venting sessions, Daboll said he remained confident that his players remain committed to the course.
“I feel good about our communication with the players, with the coaches,” he said when directly asked if he was concerned about losing the locker room. “Certainly not happy about the results but I expect a lot from those guys, and they should expect a lot from me. And again, there's a good communication process. But when you lose like that, it's a frustrating thing.”
Notes & quotes: Despite taking some significant hits and having to sit out a play Sunday, DeVito was not on Monday’s injury report and is expected to play Thursday . . . Eluemunor (quad), OL Evan Neal (hip), LB Azeez Ojulari (toe) and DL Armon Watts (shoulder) did not practice. DB Tae Banks (rib), DL D.J. Davison (shoulder), TE Theo Johnson (back), Lawrence (knee), McFadden (thumb/heel) and DB Tyler Nubin (back) were limited.
Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.
