Head Coach Brian Daboll

Q: I was wondering if you have anything on (running back) Saquon (Barkley) and where that stands at the moment?

A: He's still getting evaluated. I'd say with all the guys coming out of last night's game and those that were injured prior, we've really got walkthrough/jog through so all of them we'll kind of take right up to game time and see where we're at. And again, guys like Saquon from last night he's still getting evaluated by the medical personnel.

Q: What's the logistics to that being that you're in Arizona? Where does he go to get checked?

A: (Head Athletic Trainer) Ronnie (Barnes) takes care of all that. Whether you need an MRI, an x-ray, whatever it may be, Ronnie will take care of that with all the players. We've done a good job of kind of getting out in front of it before we got out here in terms of what we need to do and that's kind of where we're at with it.

Q: If you have to play without him, how big of a loss is it? You played him 65-67 snaps. That's a huge number for a running back.

A: Whatever it is, we'll have a plan ready to go. If he can play, he can play and if he can't then we'll have the other guys prepared and ready to go.

Q: There was some reports last night that he avoided a major injury. Is there any feeling on that regard?

A: No, he's literally getting looked at as we speak so I don't have the update on it because he's still being evaluated. I'm hopeful. Haven't talked to him this morning before he went to get further tests, but I don't want to speculate until I have the full information.

Q: (Wide receiver) Jalin Hyatt, I think he had 89 yards on 14 snaps. Is that something where his role needs to increase going forward?

A: I think each week we talk about personnel and, again, how the game goes and what we're trying to get accomplished. All those receivers will play and, again, one week it could be more, one week it could be less, but he was productive in his role yesterday and we'll just keep trying to improve him.

Q: (Guard) Mark Glowinski started every game last year and has been a veteran in the league. When you bench a guy like that after one game, do you think that sends a message to the rest of the team at all?

A: That's not the reason why you do it. We sit down, you have those conversations with the staff, then you sit down with the player. Mark was a pro about it. He was ready to go when he got put back in. I know he's always been a right guard and then we played him at left guard during training camp and it showed up. So, he was a pro about it, that's a decision we made and he handled it the right way.

Q: This early in the season, what sticks with you more? The comeback in the second half or the way you started the game in the first.

A: Whether it's early or in the middle part of the season, all you're trying to do is improve. There's plenty of things we can improve on, and you go from week to week. The biggest thing is – again this is a little bit more challenging this week because it's a Thursday night game, you come in, you make corrections. There's good things, there's things you need to work on and then you try to have a good week. That's how we approach it. It's not a holistic view of two games and this is what happened in the first and this is what happened in the second. It's just really about the mindset of improving every day for everybody in the organization.

Q: Hyatt seems to really take everything to heart, even speaking with me when I'm asking him questions. Has his demeanor at all impressed you? He seems to kind of get it as a younger guy.

A: Yeah, and he loves the game of football and that's what I appreciate about him. He is competitive but he loves this game, and he works really hard at trying to improve the things that we ask him to improve on and he loves to compete.

Q: What's going on with (outside linebacker Kayvon) Thibodeaux? He seemed to be away from the team during the waning moments yesterday. I'm not sure his production is where you guys would want it but what's going on with him?

A: He's got the right mindset. He's working every day to get better. Good teammate and that's what our focus is on each week.

Q: Is it realistic to think that (guard Ben) Bredeson can go Thursday given a concussion?

A: Yeah, he'll be in the protocol, and we will see where that goes.

Q: How difficult is it, you put an offensive line together through training camp and all of the sudden all the parts are moving. How difficult is that for a team to go through that this early?

A: That's why we practice them at a lot of different spots. So, people are ready to play when they are called upon.

Q: Do you think (tackle) Andrew (Thomas) has a shot Thursday?

A: I'd say with really all the guys, like I said before, not having many live practices, we'll evaluate them every day and take it right up to game time.

Q: How did (offensive lineman Marcus) McKethan grade out yesterday in your mind?

A: I thought he did a good job, certainly things that we can improve on, but he did a good job for his first time out.

Q: How concerning are penalties right now? You guys had a ton of them on both sides in some crucial situations.

A: Something we will continue to work on. The post-snap ones or the pre-snap ones, those are the ones that you have control over. The ones during the action, you are going to have some of those. You hope to have them as minimized as you can.

Q: I wanted to ask you about the rotation of the defensive line. I know you guys made a concerted effort to come into this season looking at the snap counts for (defensive tackle) Dex(ter Lawrence II) and (defensive lineman) Leo(nard) (Williams) and you make that plan going into games. I would imagine when you do something like that, maybe there is not as much adjustment because you want to stick to the counts that you put on in the limitations, but when you reach certain circumstances, is that done by subpackages? Where you are on the field and what guys you want to be in? It seemed like at the goal line several times Dex and Leo were both out on the sideline and it would seem like you would want those guys in there on those situations.

A: I'd say one, it's definitely by personnel packages and then two, it's how play time. We have confidence in the guys that are playing behind those guys, (defensive lineman) A'Shawn (Robinson) and Nacho (defensive lineman Rakeem Nuñez-Roches), that's why we signed them. We triy to keep that defensive line unit as fresh as we can.

Q: What is your level, I guess confidence is not the right word, I mean obviously (running back) Matt Breida had virtually no action yesterday until Saquon got hurt, but if he has to play a heavy load, what is your sense of what he can do for your team?

A: I think all the running backs that we have on the roster, that's why they are on the roster, because we are confident in them. I've been with Matt for quite some time. He knows our system; he's prepared every week as if he was the starter and that's what they all need to do. I'd say all three of the guys work really hard and prepare as if they are going to play an entire game.

Q: It was unusual, the Saquon snap count was so high yesterday. Usually there is a little more distribution there. Was that just the flow of the game and the come back?

A: Yeah. He felt good. He's obviously a competitor. Was playing well. He did a nice job.

Q: You can't really practice these next few days. What exactly do you do on the field the next two days?

A: So, it's really walkthrough/jog through. You've got to prepare hard in the meetings, and you got to treat those lighter practices with great detail and attention to the specifics of what we need to get accomplished. It's a quick turnaround, but everybody has to play them, so that's what we will do.

Q: If you look at social media, there are a lot of people saying with the comeback yesterday, the Giants saved the season. Do you feel like going 0-2 would have been a downhill road?

A: I don't know. We're not 0-2; we're 1-1. Our mindset is to get back to work, and let's have a good week.

Q: I know you were asked yesterday about play calling, and you said that's something you're always communicating with (offensive coordinator) Mike (Kafka) and that you didn't switch it over, but what was in those conversations at halftime? Regarding the play calling, what did you guys actually talk about?

A: It's really the same thing when you go in. You do that throughout the first half. You don't wait until halftime to make drastic adjustments. There were a few things we wanted to get to. Those are conversations we have every week, and everybody has an input on those things, and then you try to go out there and execute them the best you can.

Q: I know about Saquon and stuff, but is there anyone else that's been added to the injury report that we hadn't gotten to?

A: Yeah, I'd say it's not too many guys. I don't really have all of it yet. It's early over here, they're still talking about it. So again, with the walkthrough/jog through, this is going to be kind of a week you go all the way up till Thursday, really, to make your decisions with the players that you have.

Q: When you look at yesterday, what ticked you off the most about the game, and what were you most proud of, most happy with? How do you balance that as you look forward to the Niners?

A: Yeah, I'd say just as a coach, you look at the things that started with you that you could do better, and then you evaluate the players' performances, whether that's technique, fundamentals, execution of scheme, and those are the things you try to correct. You try to be consistent with that on a week-to-week basis. We competed hard for 60 minutes, but we executed better. So that's the number one objective every week, to really go out there and have a high level of execution. Every week is tough, every team you're playing is a good team. Every time you play, you're going to have to go through something. And your ability to play the next play with a positive mindset and attention to detail on the specifics of what you need to do on each play to make it successful collectively is really where our focus is.

Q: With regard to (tight end) Darren Waller, we all know his skill set and whatnot, and how explosive he can be and whatnot. I'm curious, as you were getting to know him in the research process, what are the things that attracted you about his character, because obviously, he's been through a lot of stuff off the field personally that he's come through?

A: Sure. Of the research that I did, and the people that I've talked to, they spoke glowingly of him. In terms of being a professional, how important his craft is, what a good teammate he was, and the production of the player. So, I felt very comfortable with the discussions that I had with people, then when you get to know him, you formulate your own opinion, you build your own relationship with him, and he's been fantastic for us really in every sense of the word.

Q: Do you feel like last night was just a little taste of what's to come from him? Obviously, you're only two games in, but he really seemed to affect the game last night.

A: Yeah, he's been a good player. We've got to continue to find ways to use him and he's got to go out there and continue to improve on the things we need him to improve on. We really take it one week at a time.