A number of high-profile Giants players didn’t 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 us today,” Dexter Laurens said.
“Soft as f-k,” Malik Nabers said when asked to describe the loss.
Veterans equipment Jermaine Eluemunor said he believed players were not giving 100 percent of their effort.
Of course, head coach Brian Daboll was asked about the comments coming from the locker room during his media presence on Monday, and he explained that it’s easy to get frustrated after such a poor showing.
“Yeah, look, these guys put a lot of work into this, as did everyone involved,” Daboll said. “It’s certainly not something we wanted yesterday. We work hard every week to prevent that, and it was tough. So there is frustration involved. Understandable. And we communicate. I think we have good leadership in our locker room. I think we communicate on a daily basis, but it’s definitely a frustrating game, there’s no doubt about that.”
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 went back and evaluated the tape,” Daboll said. “There were certain plays that you want back. We talked about some missed tackles that happened, and offensively some negative plays, especially in the first half. We had 17 plays, and that created a number of thirds and longs that we didn’t pick up. We had no control over the time of possession, but the boys played hard and with effort. Just didn’t do enough.”
“We didn’t play well enough,” he added later. “Some things, whether it’s foreclosure cases, call cases, but we just couldn’t get the job done. In terms of running to the football, making an effort at the line of scrimmage. They didn’t stand out. What stood out was three sacks early in the first half, 0-for-4 on third down, a variety of missed tackles that led to some big plays. And the missed tackles were no shortage of missed tackles. Give Tampa Bay credit. They did a good job, but we didn’t do a good enough job.”
Nabers’ comments were perhaps the most alarming, as he not only called the team “soft” but also said the issues had nothing to do with the quarterback. He noted that the team achieved similar results then Daniel Jones started instead of Tommy DeVito.
Nabers also called out the coaching staff for not involving him in the game earlier 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.
“Yes, [Nabers] and I spoke last night, we spoke this morning. He is a very competitive person,” Daboll said. “Again, you want to get the ball in his hands, and I have to do my best to get the ball in his hands early. He is a smart young guy who is very competitive. And again, when you lose like that, it’s frustrating, but we communicate well, as we always have.”
Owner of giants Johannes Mara previously taught both Daboll and GM Joe Schoen a vote of confidence, stating that both would be back next season. But Daboll was asked Monday if he thinks he’s lost the locker room, which is the number one reason head coaches are fired in today’s NFL.
“I feel good about our communication, players with the coaches. Certainly not happy with the results, but I expect a lot from those guys and they can also expect a lot from me,” said Daboll. “Again, there’s a good communication process, but when you lose like that, it’s frustrating.”
