Giants' effort still there despite bleak season, Brian Daboll says
As the dust settled from the Giants’ ninth consecutive loss, the locker room stayed quiet after coach Brian Daboll addressed the team Sunday.
There was no fiery speech to keep guys motivated after the 35-14 loss to the Ravens dropped the Giants to 2-12. They're 0-8 at home for the first time in franchise history. No extra shot of morale boost for a team with less and less to play for each week.
Maybe, like linebacker Brian Burns said, they needed time to consider how this lost season feels. Or maybe there’s just few new ways to speak about it becoming firmly set among the worst in team history.
Darius Slayton, the longest tenured Giants player, couldn’t compare it to the last time the Giants lost nine in a row. That was 2019 when Slayton was a rookie and Eli Manning stopped the bleeding with a win on Dec. 15, his final NFL start after being benched earlier that year.
“I mean from a streak, losing, it’s somewhat similar,” Slayton said. “But I mean, very different team at that time but I would probably say that our roster then isn’t what it is now.”
That team also started just two quarterbacks in Manning and then-rookie Daniel Jones. This year, the Giants started three with Jones being released and Tommy DeVito and Drew Lock taking turns when the other isn’t injured.
DeVito, who started Sunday, remains in concussion protocol, Daboll said Monday. Lock’s heel was still bothering him Sunday so it's uncertain who will take first team reps at practice Wednesday. Tim Boyle could stay in the mix after playing the entire second half Sunday.
“We'll see where these guys are at each day, and Wednesday hopefully they'll be ready to go,” Daboll said.
As for the locker room silence? Daboll chalked it up to a young team instead of indifference. A team with starters getting hurt left and right, including a secondary missing four of its five starters.
There’s also few healthy veterans like Slayton, whose tenure commands respect and authority. But Daboll cited another reason for the lack of postgame chatter.
“I think we've got a lot of new guys in there playing, too,” Daboll said. “Again, these guys laid it on the line as hard as they could possibly lay it on the line. It was by no means perfect. Obviously, we gave up some big plays and missed some opportunities, but their effort and their will, don't question that with those guys.”
Effort is all the Giants have now. With three games left, there’s no words that could change the way they’re playing. They’re bound for the NFL’s bottom with the only question being if they secure the No. 1 overall pick in next year’s draft.
Yet players said they haven’t quit or tuned Daboll out. Burns showed that with his eighth sack of the season Sunday. Dane Belton had 15 tackles, stepping up in place of injured safety Tyler Nubin.
Linebacker Micah McFadden added 11 tackles in his second game relaying plays to the defense. Malik Nabers continued to fight, catching 10 passes for 82 yards and a touchdown despite Sunday being the first time he and the first-team offense took throws from Boyle.
As Daboll said repeatedly Sunday, the Giants can only control what they can control. It sounded more like resignation but his team hasn’t quit or given in to an atmosphere that seems hopeless from the outside.
“That’s a bad word, “ Burns said about being hopeless. “I can only speak for myself but I don’t feel hopeless about [expletive]. At the end of the day, I got a job to do. My main goal is I don't want to be the guy that let anybody else down.”
Belton agreed. Few might say it but the Giants’ attitude is to play for each other
“It’s tough to lose, especially when you got your emotions right after the game,” Belton said. “But I feel like everyone’s here. No one’s giving up. Our focus, every day and every week is to get a win, to find a way a win. So that’s the goal, that the focus.”
It’s all the Giants have now. Find a way to fill the silence with good effort and hope it works even if the results haven’t shown it or the fans are tuning out.