Draw with Washington has coach tongue-tied
Brian Daboll wasn’t in a sharing mood on Monday.
He would not explain what his analytics team’s math was telling him about how Sunday’s 20-20 tie with Washington affected the Giants’ playoff chances.
“We tied the game. We obviously would like to win the game,” Daboll said, one day after coaching for a tie in overtime.
He would not give details on why his offense’s second half was so much worse than its first half.
“They played and coached better than we did,” he said. In what ways?
“Pretty much in every way,” Daboll said.
A reporter mistakenly asked if Daboll was blaming himself for the “loss.” Daboll didn’t correct the reporter’s characterization of the tie.
“I blame myself for every loss,” he said. “That’s part of the job.”
He wouldn’t share if he fines players like linebacker Tae Crowder and corner Rodarius Williams for complaining about playing time on social media, either.
“Private conversations,” Daboll said.
This is a Bill Belichick disciple, indeed, as much as Daboll’s Bills tenure and jolly Giants start temporarily concealed otherwise.
Add in the fact that the Giants (7-4-1) have won only one of their last five games, with the “star-studded” Eagles (11-1) on their way into town, and it’s obvious why Daboll is wound tight.
There is a good chance the Giants and Commanders (7-51), who are now on their bye week, will have the same record when they meet at FedEx Field in Week 15.
The NFL has flexed that game to Sunday Night Football in prime time on Dec. 18, too.
So a major Giants triumph or catastrophic failure will be on display for the entire nation to watch in unison.
The stakes are high. “Adversity and criticism come with the territory,” Daboll said. “I appreciate the support. You also appreciate the negativity or criticism. If you want to be mentally tough and strong, this is the sport to be in, whether you’re a coach, whether you’re a player. And really, you can’t focus too much on that.”
The reality is that Daboll, despite his hot start to his rookie season, needs to prove himself in these final five games. He is winless in the NFC East (0-2-1), with two losses to the Cowboys and a tie with a Commanders team that isn’t very good.
And the fan base has finally caught on, after watching enough games, to the reality that Daboll’s offense frequently does not put enough trust in Daniel Jones to make plays.
Daboll coaches to protect his offense as often as he coaches to unleash it, if not more.
Daboll said he isn’t considering taking over play-calling on offense. He was asked this because of his critical comments about Mike Kafka’s third down play call at the end of Sunday’s first half.
“No,” he said. “I have a lot of confidence in Mike Kafka.”
Daboll was also asked, pointedly, about the perception that he does not fully trust Jones or the supporting cast. His answer?
“I trust the offense, and I trust the supporting cast,” he said.
Many Giants players trust Daboll, too. But their head coach recoiled from his early-season aggressiveness in Sunday’s tie with Washington, and that is the opposite of how he earned their trust in the first place.
It’s time to be bold and detailed, not tight and conservative. The Giants’ playoff hopes depend on it.