Head Coach Brian Daboll

Q: Obviously, there's a lot of conflicted emotions in the fan base over the win. I'm wondering what you think about if the league should address this issue in terms of a draft lottery or something like that, where teams aren't necessarily rewarded for how badly they do come April.

BRIAN DABOLL: My focus is on the team we play. I understand the question. Doing everything we can do to compete at the highest level we can compete. We put a lot of work into this. I was happy for the players, like I said yesterday.

Q: Do you think a system like that would change perspectives?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, that's not my cup of tea here. You got to ask somebody else that. I just know that these guys come in every day, and they put a lot into this, give everything they have each week.

Q: What do you think of the idea when people say, 'hey, you guys lost by winning', in that regard from a coaching perspective?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, again, we can control what we can control. We come in, we do everything we can to prepare for the week and go out there to play as good as we can play, coach as good as we can play, and that's where our focus is.

Q: How much do you personally, not the team and the players, but you obviously have to juggle long term compared to this week in short term, think about where you're at in the draft during the season?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, our focus is on the opponent we're playing and ourselves each week as a coaching staff and players. Again, try to do everything we can do to go out there and play and coach as good as we can.

Q: And do you have any expectations this week on whether (Eagles running back) Saquon (Barkley) plays, Eagles play their starters? He has a chance to get that record, I'm curious what you think about that and how you approach that from a coaching perspective.

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, I'd say we're going to get ready to play the Eagles and go through the tape like we normally go through the tape. Any questions about that, you'd have to ask (Eagles Head Coach) Nick (Sirianni).

Q: Do you have any thoughts on him getting to 2,000 (rushing) yards? That's obviously a big thing, wasn't able to do that here. First year goes over there and that's a pretty big accomplishment.

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, we're just getting started here on the Eagles. I've said this numerous times, got a lot of respect for Saquon (Barkley) and he's a heck of a player.

Q: Do you think that winning one game the way you did yesterday has any tangible effect on some of the young players who are on your team? You've said (they) have been practicing hard and doing the right thing, haven't been getting the results. What does this result do for them today, this week and on into next year?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah again, like I said last night, it was good to see smiling faces after they laid it on the line and did a lot of good things and competed out there for 60 minutes. Again, that's what we preach, do everything you can do during the week preparation-wise, taking care of your body, nutrition, sleep, all the necessary habits you need to do and then go out there and execute on game day. So, you do all those things, it doesn't guarantee you anything, certainly, but it's good to get the result when you put as much into it as these guys do.

Q: You said all along that you feel you have guys who can make plays on offense. Guys who can break tackles and get yards after the catch and things like that, and it hasn't happened. Yesterday it happened for three guys. I'm sure you love the way you saw that. Does that reinforce in your mind, and do you think it helps reinforce in their minds after all these weeks of not doing it, that, 'oh, yeah, we can do this, I can do this'?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, I think we have some good skill players that can make plays down the field and make plays with the ball in their hands. So, it was good to see those guys do that. It's a good group and they were productive yesterday.

Q: You obviously emphasized the value of the good quarterback play you got yesterday and that hasn't been the case most of the season. I'm just curious, what was your role in the evaluations? We saw Hard Knocks. You weren't really very much in it. In getting this quarterback room together, how much of a voice did you have in that?

BRIAN DABOLL: Again, I've said this, (Senior Vice President/General Manager) Joe (Schoen) and I work together. We have a lot of good communication, and we're focused on here with Drew (Lock) and (quarterback) Tommy (DeVito). Then, obviously, we added (quarterback) Tim (Boyle). Right now, that's where my focus is, on those three guys.

Q: That was the most points you guys have scored under you and the most points the Giants have scored since 2015. Does part of you wonder why it took until that point and how much of what you guys did yesterday is applicable going forward versus it was scheme-specific to the (Indianapolis) Colts?

BRIAN DABOLL: Look, we played a good football game. We executed well. Give the players a lot of credit. We were efficient. We made plays on third down, scored in the red zone, made explosive plays and didn't turn the football over. I know (running back Tyrone) Tracy (Jr.) had that one (fumble), but (tackle) Jermaine (Eluemunor) did a nice job and (wide receiver) Wan'Dale (Robinson) fighting for that thing. Again, when you don't turn the football over, you win the explosive plays, you convert on third down and do a good job in the red zone and get off to a fast start, those are elements to scoring points and winning football games. That's what you try to do every week. So, it's the first time we won the turnover ratio and that's hard to do. Between turnover ratio, explosives, those type of things, you need to win those elements of the game. You win those splash plays, whether it's on the defensive side or the offensive side or in the kicking game, which obviously we had a splash play there too with (wide receiver) Ihmir (Smith-Marsette). So, give the players a lot of credit.

Q: You just said a minute ago that you and Joe (Schoen) work hand-in-hand on all the personnel stuff. So, to go back to Saquon (Barkley), does part of you regret not making a bigger push to keep Saquon (Barkley) here in the offseason? Not just because of on the field but what he meant to the locker room and his teammates?

BRIAN DABOLL: Like I have said before, I've got a lot of respect for Saquon (Barkley). He's a heck of a player, heck of a person. He's had a really good year this year.

Q: But, you don't want to revisit that decision?

BRIAN DABOLL: We're just getting ready to play the Eagles here this week. He's part of the Eagles and he's been a very productive player.

Q: For 10 weeks, you came on this call and talked process and staying consistent and making sure that the guys got ready for the next game. Coming off of a loss, I would imagine it's a lot easier to flush the game the day before or at least from a coaching perspective. So, you come off of yesterday where there was certainly a high in the locker room. With one week left, does being consistent and sticking to the process, from a coaching perspective, help you in a sense? The idea that bringing these guys back down, you could just rely on how consistent you've been and your coaching staff has been or at least how you've said you've been for the last couple months when things have not gone well?

BRIAN DABOLL: I do think consistency is important. You don't like the negative results, by any means. Then you don't get too high with the positive results. You look at the things that you did well and then you look at the things that you didn't do as well, which there's plenty of those in each game, whether you win or whether you lose. Then you try to improve on those things. We have obviously one game left and you put everything you got into it to have a good week, prepare the right way and do the things necessary you need to do to be at your best on Sunday.

Q: We've talked yards after catch, you've talked yards after catch all year. You mentioned ball placement last night, talking about the quarterback and how much of a role a quarterback takes on that. Obviously yesterday it seemed like the ball was exactly where it needed to be with all three of those guys on those touchdowns. But, how much do you guys drill that? How much is it just an instinctive thing? How much is it the quarterback skillset and the player skillset? Take me inside that a little bit, when you talk about yards per catch and how that makes the plays happen.

BRIAN DABOLL: You said pretty much all the pieces necessary. There's definitely drills that you do with it in terms of catch-and-tuck and splitting defenders. There was a few of those that happened, not maybe for the long ones, but Wan'Dale (Robinson) had a big third down where he did the same thing and split two defenders and just made it on third down. Again, it's the technique of the throw and the ball placement of the throw. It's the skillset of the player. Malik (Nabers) had good ones. Then it's making sure you're good with your read, moving defenders and putting it in a spot where those guys can stay in stride. One foot in front of the numbers on in-cuts, which is like the one to (wide receiver) Slay (Darius Slayton) where he can stay up and not slow down. Then it's their natural skill set of running in space where Malik (Nabers) had a couple good ones, but also credit a guy like Wan'Dale (Robinson), who had a really good block to spring that play for even more yards. So, it's a collective effort. It's the line blocking. It's all those things necessary you need to have a successful offensive play. But, certainly the ability of the player that has the ball in his hand is a big component to it.

Q: You talk a lot about how you start over every single year. A lot of the players last night talked about building a culture and the value of winning a game and sort of finishing the season well. Do you believe that finishing a season well is something that can carry over to the next year?

BRIAN DABOLL: Teams are so different from one year to the next. Our focus is really on the task at hand. We have a lot of guys that are committed to trying to do things the right way and competing at a high level. When you play the way those guys played yesterday, again, all the credit goes to those guys, then you get the results that we all covet. So, our focus is going to be on this week and doing everything we can do to prepare for this game.

Q: I can't let you get out of here without asking about the injuries. That wouldn't be fair, right? Any new comings, goings, and specifically how did Malik (Nabers) come out of the game?

BRIAN DABOLL: He'll (Malik Nabers) be okay. I don't really have anything for you right now. There wasn't much. There wasn't much. There's a couple things that we're looking at but we won't have that until Wednesday.