A number of high-profile Giants players did not hold back when it came to criticizing the team’s performance in Sunday’s 30-7 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“We played soft and they beat the s–t out of us today,” Dexter Lawrence said.
“Soft as f—k,” Malik Nabers said when asked to describe the loss.
Veteran tackle Jermaine Eluemunor said he believed players were not giving 100 percent of their effort.
Naturally, head coach Brian Daboll was asked about those comments coming out of the locker room during his media availability on Monday, and he explained that it’s easy to feel frustrated after such a poor showing.
“Yeah, look, these guys put a lot of work into this, as does everybody involved,” Daboll said. “It’s certainly not something that we wanted yesterday. We work hard every week to not have that happen, and that was tough. 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.”
According to Daboll, the game tape proved that execution and play-calling, not effort, were to blame.
“I thought our guys played hard when you go back and evaluated the tape,” Daboll said. “There were certain plays that you want back. We talked about some of the missed tackles that happened, offensively some of the negative plays, particularly in the first half. We had 17 plays, and that created some third-and-longs that we didn’t pick up. We didn’t control the time of possession, but the guys played hard, they played with effort. Just didn’t do enough.”
“We didn’t play well enough,” he added later. “Some things, whether it’s execution stuff, call stuff, but we just didn’t get the job done. In terms of running to the football, giving effort at the line of scrimmage. Those didn’t stand out. What stood out was three sacks early on in the first half, 0-for-4 on third down, a variety of missed tackles that cause 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.”
Nabers’ comments were perhaps the most alarming, as he not only called the team “soft” but said the problems aren’t quarterback-related, noting the team had similar results when Daniel Jones was starting instead of Tommy DeVito.
Nabers also called out the coaching staff for not getting him involved earlier in the game, as the talented first-round pick was not targeted in the first half.
Daboll said he would keep the conversations he had with Nabers private, but again pointed to players rightfully feeling frustrated after the 23-point loss.
“Yeah, [Nabers] and I talked last night, we talked this morning. He’s a very competitive individual,” Daboll said. “Again, you want to get the ball in his hands, and I’ve got to do a better job of getting the ball in his hands early. He’s a smart, young guy who’s very competitive. And again, when you lose like that, it’s a frustrating thing, but we have good communication, like we’ve always had.”
Giants owner John Mara previously gave both Daboll and GM Joe Schoen a vote of confidence, saying both would be back next season. But Daboll was asked on Monday if he thinks he has lost the locker room, which is the No. 1 reason that head coaches are dismissed in today’s NFL.
“I feel good about our communication, players with the coaches. Certainly not happy about the results, but I expect a lot from those guys and they should expect a lot from me,” said Daboll. “Again, there’s a good communication process, but when you lose like that, it’s a frustrating thing.”