Head Coach Brian Daboll

Q: When I was growing up, there was lot of parents who gave their kids a poem called 'If' and it was about when things are going wrong and you're trying to keep your head. How hard is it at this point to trust yourself with what you're doing?

A: Is that by (Rudyard) Kipling?

Q: Yes.

A: Look, I'd say that any time you lose, it's tough. Take a lot of pride in what you do and what we do and how we go about our business and we're not always going to get the results that we want. So the challenging part is coming back in after that and moving on to next week, and that's the National Football League. Certainly not where we want to be, make no excuses about it. Acknowledge it, move on and get ready to play the next week and that's how you have to approach it. Certainly – look, everybody's human. Everybody wants to win; everybody wants to do everything they can do to help achieve that goal. Extra meetings, stay here as late as you need to, good practice habits and I'd say we take pride in doing those things, but the results haven't showed, so I understand that it's a production business and we're working extremely hard to get different results.

Q: When you look at the tape of yesterday's game, the execution, we know all that, you talked about some of that last night. Do you look for other signs when a season is going like this, and the score is like that? 'Do I see signs of effort leaking? 'Do I see signs of guys not being confident?' Do you have to look at it a little differently to uncover things?

A: You always look at it like that and again, the effort which those guys compete with has been good. Running to the football, finishing blocks, blocks down field, finishing runs, you'll always look at that as a coach. But certainly, when you're in a little bit of a rut here, you want to make sure that you're doing all of the things that you can do on and off the field the right way to give yourselves the best chance to get out of the rut, if you will.

Those guys competed. Certainly, we didn't do enough, that starts with me, but those guys competed.

Q: You've been around the league for a long time, but this is only your second season as a head coach. Are you doing more soul searching to figure it out? I'm not saying you don't put effort in, you always do, obviously, but has it gone so bad that you're like questioning what you do? Maybe thinking about things you need to do differently or maybe getting different voices to try to say, 'look, what is going on here and how do we fix this? I don't know if I can.'

A: I'd say that that's something that's consistent since I started out coaching as a position coach, as a coordinator, obviously last year as a head coach. You're always doing that. You're never satisfied. As a competitor, you're never satisfied. Look, I believe in our process, I believe in what we do. Certainly we have to do it better and that's what we're all trying to do.

Q: When you look at the defense, the numbers are obviously staggeringly ugly. You mentioned the effort was okay. Is there something that (Defensive Coordinator) Wink (Martindale) can do differently? Or something that is going on defensively because to have 640 yards and no sacks is obviously – is there a disconnect or were the Cowboys that good? What do you see going on there?

A: I'm going to look at it more as a team approach, we can all do a better job. That starts with me. Play complementary football and do the things we need to do to – whether that's affect the quarterback, create negative runs, stay on track offensively, do a good job in the kicking game. We all need to do a better job and that all starts with me.

Q. I wasn't in the locker room last night but there has been a good bit of back and forth online about a couple of your guys, especially a couple of your leaders who didn't talk to the media or refused to talk to the media. Do you get concerned about that? Do you talk to any of those guys? I mean, would you rather have them just be accountable, speak to the media, get it over with? Do you have a reaction to that?

A: Yeah, I haven't been back for less than 12 hours, so. Look, I'd say this. We should make no excuses about where we're at. I own it. I own it. So, I've got to do a better job all the way around and that's what we are going to work towards.

Q. You always talk about the processes that you follow, that you want to stick with the process. When they are not working, how do you balance the temptation to change them versus stick with the processes?

A: Yeah, that's a daily evaluation. Weekly after the games, but you're always trying to do what you think you need to do for that particular week. You have core beliefs of how you practice, of how you prepare, of how you meet, of how you take care of yourself, of the staff, assisting the players with nutrition or sleep habits or team psychologists. All those things. You know I believe in what we do but certainly when you don't get the results, those can get questioned and I completely understand that. So, look, we've established something last year when we got here of how we are going to approach things, and how we are going to do things and you build on that in the offseason. One season is never the same as the next season, one game is never the same as the next game. Again, I understand this is a results business. I do understand that, I've been in it long enough to understand that. We look at our processes on a daily basis, of what we think we need to do to help our team be as successful as we can be and that'll never change.

Q: But is there like a breaking point at some point where you say, 'okay you know what, for three or four weeks we haven't been getting the results we want, now maybe we have to think about changing it.' Do you have a timeline, I guess, is what I am asking.

A: No, it's every day, it's every week. You're always self-evaluating, team evaluating, process evaluating, in my position, on a daily basis.

Q. Did you have any injury updates at all? I didn't know if you did or not.

A: No, sorry. I haven't met with those guys yet.

Q. I watched the telecast yesterday rather than being there and they said at one point on the telecast you told them before the game that this isn't going to be a pity party from here on out, is the way they put it. Do you relay that to your players, 'hey, you know what, things are bad but don't sit around here and feel sorry for yourselves'?

A: Yeah, and that we have control over our actions and our attitude and our emotions and that's what we control. So, we control how hard we work, we control how hard we prepare, we control our

approach, coming in with a positive attitude. Look, no one's happy. I'm at the top of that list. So, you don't work as hard as you work in this business to be where we are at, but we are there and make no excuses. We haven't been good enough, that starts with me, and we'll continue to work the right way with a positive mindset, a great approach, continue to evolve our processes and get ready to play this week.

Q: Is it easier said than done to not to feel sorry for yourself when the losses just mount, especially the manner of the losses, where they are not close?

A: Yeah, you make no excuses about it. We are at where we are at and that's where we're meant to be right now, relative to what we've done. So, you don't feel sorry for yourself, you got about it with the right mindset and your head down. You work as hard as you can work, you prepare as hard you can prepare. You teach, you work, you practice, you do the necessary things you need to do to give yourself a chance and you move on to the next week. So, you are real about where you are at, this is where we are at, but we control our actions, our attitudes, our emotions, our approach. That's what we can focus on.

Defensive Lineman Dexter Lawrence

Before any questions, let me get this straight. It's ridiculous to be tweeted about yesterday when I am available to you guys every day. Yesterday, I wanted to go see my family because of my birthday. That's ridiculous. It had nothing to do with losing to Dallas, nothing to do with frustration, any of that. That's ridiculous for someone to be sensitive because I wanted to go see my family. That's all I've got to say about that. I'll answer your questions as best as I can, but that's just ridiculous. 

Q: How hard is it going to be do you think for the team going forward to not give in to the losing? To keep the spirit up and not let frustration set in and just keep trying, despite the record?

A: I think we do a good job as players keeping the morale up, keeping it positive. The whole thing is, like, at the end of the day, you're playing for something more than yourself. So, at the end of the day, you've got to go out there and take care of business to the best of your abilities. I think as leaders, in a time like this, we have to hone in on that more. My biggest thing is individual play helps team play. So, that's just how it goes.

Q: Not to harp on not talking versus talking, but would there have been a way to talk to people in the locker room for five minutes and then go see your family?

A: No. I wanted to go see my family. There were a lot of them there. I would do it again. That's all I've got to say about that. 

Q: When you look at the numbers on defense, obviously, they're probably numbers you never thought you would be a part of. What do you make of those numbers and the way the Cowboys walked up and down the field against you guys, and are you in a little bit of a shock that it has come to this on defense?

A: They did a good job taking advantage of what we were in. Kudos to them. We've just got to figure out where the leaks are and do our best to patch them up.

Q: Do you sense any wavering of confidence or excitement or anything with these repeated one-sided losses? Especially yesterday with you guys almost giving up 50 points.

A: I can't say that, because, like I said before, football is a bunch of individuals trying to compete for the same goal. So, each player has to do their job to the best of their abilities, and I feel I have the confidence in that we're all trying to do that. I don't think anyone is trying to make a mistake. I don't think that's the name of the game. That just would be ridiculous. The team, they just came out there and they beat us. They beat us good.

Q: I don't want to go down that road that you just said, and I respect what you said about going to see your family. In a locker room setting – and I certainly felt some of this and put this out there, so that's why I'm coming on to at least address it with you, and I understand if you don't want to go there – there is a sense after the game that guys are looking around, the younger players in the locker room are looking into leaders like yourself to be the guy who's out front. I don't feel like we were critical of you and how you handled yourself because you are a standup guy as you say. But you don't see a value in being the guy who's answering the questions knowing that you are the leader of this defense in terms of where you're at? Or do you feel like whatever you do behind the scenes, it takes precedence over maybe what you would do to the media?

A: First of all, my teammates know who I am. They know how I feel.

Q: So do we.

A: I talk to you guys after every game. I've talked to you guys whenever you come to me after every game. This game, it was my birthday and I wanted to go see my family and be around them. That's all it is. They don't give us much time after the games, so that's what I wanted to do.

Q: I just had a question about Dabs (Head Coach Brian Daboll). I'm sure you hear all the Giants fans are ticked off. They want a scalp for every loss and every disappointment and stuff. How would you characterize the way you guys in the locker room are viewing and following Dabs and see a plan out there in front of you despite the obvious struggle of the last month or so?

A: I respect Dabs a lot. He's just as or more competitive as the players, and he wants to win and create an environment of winning just as much as the players do. This year is not going that way. I think for him, I think he's doing a good job of just perspective. I think that's the biggest thing about everything, putting things in perspective. Last night after the game, he didn't really address much. I just told the team, look, we've got to be here for each other no matter what is going on, no matter how raggedy the season is. We love each other in here, and we've got to play for each other in here and be there for each other through this dark time, and we've got to fight our way out.

Q: You're a guy who was just recently locked up with a long-term extension and presumably is in the plans here for a while. Is it difficult, or do you see a vision and a plan that Daboll and (General Manager Joe) Schoen have here despite the struggles? Are you okay with where you think this thing's going to go?

A: I'm confident. They're just as competitive as we are and want to find a way to win just as badly as we do. I think when you've got a head coach urgent like that, that leaks down to the players. We've just got to put this (stuff) together on Sundays. We have good weeks in practice, good meetings, good extra meetings, all that. We've just got to put it together on Sunday and everything to be where we want it to be.