Head Coach Brian Daboll
Q: Where are we at with (defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence II) Dex and (outside linebacker Brian) Burns?
BRIAN DABOLL: We'll see today. Two days of not practicing. They'll be out here today, yeah.
Q: What about (wide receiver) Malik (Nabers)? The groin.
BRIAN DABOLL: Tightened up a little bit on him yesterday, but he'll practice today.
Q: At least a good sign that Dex and Burns can get out here though?
BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, better than the alternative.
Q: Anybody out for the game?
BRIAN DABOLL: (Punter) Jamie won't make it to the game for right now. The other guys, we'll see where we're at. (safety) Dane Belton won't be practicing today, he's sick. Kind of like (guard Jon) Runyan (Jr.). So, (running back) Devin (Singletary) will be fine.
Q: Like he's good to go?
BRIAN DABOLL: He is good to go.
Q: Is the groin something that would possibly keep Nabers out in the game or no, not serious?
BRIAN DABOLL: I don't think so, unless something happens today. It tightened up on him a little bit yesterday, so we took him out. He practiced for most of the practice. But then he tightened up, so we took him out and put him on the injury report.
Q: Is it planned for him to fully participate today?
BRIAN DABOLL: It is.
Q: With the running back position, with Devin coming back, how much has (running back) Tyrone Tracy earned more playing time than he had before?
BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, he's earned it. He's done a good job, so he'll get plenty of playing time. Motor, we'll see how the game's going and how it transpires. But Motor will play, Tracy will play, (running back Eric) Gray will play. We'll use all three of those guys.
Q: Do you have to ease Motor back in? Because that is one of those injuries you kind of have to keep an eye on, I think.
BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, I think he feels pretty good right now. But we'll keep an eye on him, see how he's doing.
Q: With your tackle situation, you have a veteran like (tackle) Jermaine (Eluemunor), do you consult with him like, 'hey, what do you want to do?' Or you are the coach and you him tell him?
BRIAN DABOLL: No, I think there's always a good give and take. We're adding a player to the roster today, (tackle) Chris Hubbard, a veteran offensive tackle that's been in a number of spots. Got him off San Francisco's practice squad, and he was with (Tight Ends Coach) Tim Kelly at Tennessee, so we got some familiarity with him. We'll put him into the mix. I don't think he'll necessarily be ready after one day. But, yeah, certainly you always communicate. You do the same thing like with (wide receiver Darius) Slayton. You have to play in one spot the whole time, and then can you move. There's a comfort level there. I'd say offensive line's a little different too. There's a chemistry that you build up with the person that you're next to. Double team combinations, pass protection, games, all those types of things. But certainly.
Q: Is he a practice squad, active roster?
BRIAN DABOLL: He'll be on active roster.
Q: Have you made a decision on who your left tackle's going to be Sunday?
BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, we'll do all that stuff after practice.
Q: Are you leaning one way or the other at left tackle? (Offensive lineman Joshua) Ezeudu, Eluemunor?
BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, I mean, we'll go through practice today. Again, Ezeudu has taken a considerable amount of reps on the left side. Jermaine's on his right side, but you have to balance it too. We'll play him on the left at times, and (tackle) Evan (Neal) has played on the right side.
Q: If Evan is the backup, he's the backup right tackle. You probably wouldn't feel comfortable putting him at left tackle on Sunday?
BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, that's something we've talked about. But you're probably spot on with that.
Q: Evan missed so much time in the offseason. How tough is it to develop a guy in the season when you're only in pads once a week? You're game planning. How does that work?
BRIAN DABOLL: Well, (Assistant Offensive Line Coach) James (Ferentz) meets with him. (Offensive Line Coach Carmen Bricillo) Carm meets with him, just like all the other guys. I think it's each person's responsibility to do that. We have pretty competitive practices. We've had a padded practice every week so far. And we do some good-on-good work as well, not just one-on-one stuff but team stuff as well. So, he's done a nice job of developing his skill set. I think the coaches have done a nice job working with him. He's in a good spot.
Q: The Eagles have been going with (Eagles cornerback) Quinyon Mitchell from day one.
BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, good player.
Q: I'm sure that's a guy you've looked at pretty hard.
BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, saw him down there the first time at the Senior Bowl. Athletic, he's obviously extremely quick. I think he reads routes well. He's got good transition, closing speed. He's a good young player. He's a good draft pick.
Q: What are you expecting from the atmosphere there with (Eagles running back) Saquon (Barkley) obviously returning?
BRIAN DABOLL: Our crowd is great. It's been great since we've been here. I don't know, that's probably a question for people going to the game. They've been great for us. I expect it to be the same way.
Q: In a way, are you expecting there to be a little extra juice? He was a big player, the franchise type guy for the last couple of years. You saw it last night kind of with (Broncos Head Coach) Sean Payton going back to the Saints.
BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, that's not where my focus is. Again, I've said I've got a lot of respect for Saquon, for how he plays the game. Our focus is on doing what we need to do to try to defend him.
Q: With (tight end/fullback Jakob) Johnson, the German fullback, are you planning to put him more in the mix to help to block with the new injury to the left tackle?
BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah Jakob, he won't be up for the game.
Q: How much different is this style of offense? You've played a lot of pass-heavy teams in the last four or five games. You know that Saquon, they're going to run the ball. How much of that changes your approach?
BRIAN DABOLL: That's something that they like to do. They have, obviously, Saquon and (Eagles quarterback) Jalen (Hurts), who can do things with his legs. Good offensive line. That's part of the game, is being able to try to do what you can do to slow down some of the things they do well. But then they've got two perimeter receivers who are elite players. They have a good offensive system. They have very good players on their roster. It'll be a challenge.
Q: Does it help you in any way that a lot of the guys here, they know Saquon very well? They've played against him a lot in practice.
BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, again, I've been doing this for a long time. I've been on a lot of different teams, played a lot of different players. Players come and go. Saquon's a good player, whether he's here or whether he's not. You watch him on tape, you give him a crease, he's been gone this year. So, the main focus is doing what we need to do defensively, 11 people out there at the same time to play well against their offense. And Saquon is part of that, and he's a big part of it.
Q: We're over from BBC in Ireland and the U.K.
BRIAN DABOLL: How are you?
Q: Good. Thanks for having us. Good luck.
BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, appreciate you.
Q: (kicker) Jude McAtamney was raised about five miles away from me.
BRIAN DABOLL: Is that right?
Q: Yeah, good kid.
BRIAN DABOLL: You got any good stories on him?
Q: Yeah, big family. A lot of brothers. Nine brothers. Just we appreciate he's on the practice squad, but from our perspective, another international player seeking his way through to the NFL. Just general thoughts how he's getting on, because it's a big culture shock coming from Gaelic football and agricultural background into the Giants, one of the biggest sporting institutions across the globe. So how did you find him?
BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, well, I mean, my first dealing with him was when he was here for the tryout when all the college guys came, and he did a great job there. A lot of kickers have special shoes, and he was out there. He looked like he had played in his shoes for a few years, and he was booting the heck out of the ball indoor. And since he's been out here, he's done a nice job. I think our special teams coach is doing a really good job with him. He's got a strong leg, and it was something that we wanted to keep around and someone we wanted to keep around and keep developing. But he's a good young man.
Q: He was very close it seemed from the outside, looking into maybe getting into that roster, that maybe match-day squad. How close was he?
BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, look, he's doing a nice job. He's here for a reason. We think he has a good skill set. We want to keep developing him. He's got a good mindset. So, we're happy we have him.
Q: Just the fact that he's part of another international player coming in, just generally for the sport, there's certainly rumors of maybe a game in Ireland in the near future. But great to see more international people in the sport.
BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, absolutely. I think the NFL and the commissioner and all the people that work in the office and the ownership, they've done a great job of promoting our game. It'll be an honor to play overseas again like we did a few years ago. But I think it's great for the game.
Wide Receiver Malik Nabers
Q: How are you feeling?
MALIK NABERS: I'm ready to go.
Q: Are you playing Sunday?
MALIK NABERS: Yeah.
Q: Is the groin any of an issue that you're worried about at all?
MALIK NABERS: No, I've been dealing with it for so long, so it's just becoming a normal thing.
Q: Do you remember how to play?
MALIK NABERS: Yeah, I can never lose that.
Q: What are your expectations for yourself coming back?
MALIK NABERS: Not get as tired fast. Try to get my wind back. Try to go out there and execute well to get it done with the brothers.
Q: Did it take longer than you initially thought it would? Was it frustrating with the wait?
MALIK NABERS: I mean, my health is really the most important thing, so I really wasn't frustrated. It was just getting back out there when I feel right. The trainers did a well job of having me answer a lot of questions to see if I was back to normal, so having those guys, the process was easy, but I really wanted to be out there.
Q: What was it like going through the process? What was the challenge for you?
MALIK NABERS: Just not going out there and seeing all the guys, either way it was a win or a loss, seeing how you could have helped the game, how you could impact the game. So, that's the main thing is just watching the games, knowing I can make an impact on the game.
Q: What about physically? Did you have headaches? The first few days, did you have to just kind of shut everything down?
MALIK NABERS: Yeah, headaches and just like throbbing in the head. That was really all the things that I felt.
Q: Was that your first one?
MALIK NABERS: Yeah, the first one.
Q: Was it scary?
MALIK NABERS: Yeah. I mean it was scary when I couldn't remember what happened or couldn't remember like the last play I was in. So, yeah, it was kind of scary.
Q: What did you make about kind of all the fuss that was made about you going to the concert?
MALIK NABERS: I mean that's my business. What I do outside this facility has nothing to do with what the media thinks or whatever they got going on, so that's my business. So, I'm going to keep that in the house.
Q: What do you think of the idea? I mean, people naturally just say, 'hey if I have a concussion, I wouldn't go to a concert'. The lights, it could trigger something.
MALIK NABERS: I mean, that's their business. If they research about what caused the concussion, what makes it worse on the internet, if they say it's the lights, hearing, then that's on them. I didn't face anything with the lights. They asked me if I had a problem with the lights. I told them no. Having problems with the sound, I told them no. So, (safety/inside linebacker) Isaiah (Simmons) asked me any kind of questions that I needed, if my head was going to be hurting while it was going to be loud, the lights, and I said no. I said I've been playing loud music since after the concussion in the car. I go out with the lights on. I play the game with lights. So, I didn't have anything with lights. It wasn't making my head hurt. The sound wasn't making my head hurt, so I was fine.
Q: By 'they', you mean the Giants medical staff?
MALIK NABERS: No, I'm talking about the outside people. Twitter.
Q: When you say they asked, I didn't know if you meant the medical staff.
MALIK NABERS: Yeah, I mean they asked me also 'does my head hurt with lights or sound?' I told them no.
Q: This was before you went or after?
MALIK NABERS: This was before. That's the first question they ask you. Because that's like, that makes your concussion worse.
Q: What do you think of the way you're portrayed on social media versus who you actually are? Do you pay attention to that kind of stuff?
MALIK NABERS: Yeah. I mean most of the time I don't, but I get it sent to my phone a lot, so it's kind of hard to not ignore it. But they're making me more famous than I already am, so it's cool to me.
Q: What was the reaction from coach about the concert? Was he upset?
MALIK NABERS: I'm going to keep that in-house.
Q: I think it's scientifically known that what you did would not cause your concussion to be worse.
MALIK NABERS: Yeah.
Q: Okay, so that's a fact. But what did the Giants' medical staff say to you, or did you talk to them before about going? Could you just walk us through what the actual experts said to you?
MALIK NABERS: I said I was going to the concert. Whatever it was that they told me, I'm going to keep that in-house.
Q: You told them before you went?
MALIK NABERS: Yeah, I told them.
Q: Did you lose consciousness on the sideline when you hit the ground?
MALIK NABERS: From the video that I saw, yes. I don't remember.
Q: You don't remember that play at all?
MALIK NABERS: Last thing I remember was (quarterback Daniel Jones) D.J. throwing me the ball. That was it.
Q: You taken big hits earlier in the season. Anything impact you before that was just that one play?
MALIK NABERS: No, I think it was just that one play. I didn't have any dizziness or headaches from any other hits.
Q: You said the groin's been bothering you for a long time?
MALIK NABERS: Yeah, since college. So, I've been playing through it since college.
Q: Do you think you'll have a limited role on Sunday, or do you think you'll be good to go, no restrictions?
MALIK NABERS: I don't know. Whatever the game plan consists of, that's what I got to go by.
Q: Do you feel ready to play yourself?
MALIK NABERS: Yeah.
Q: How tough is it not to play?
MALIK NABERS: It's pretty tough. Watching plays being made, not being out there to compete. It hurts.
Q: What do you think about (Eagles cornerback Quinyon) Mitchell and the challenge that he presents?
MALIK NABERS: They have some great corners. (Eagles cornerback Darius) Slay is out there. Mitchell is out there. I know about him from Toledo. He's a great player. They've got some great guys out there.
Q: How excited are you just to be back out there with your teammates?
MALIK NABERS: Very excited.
Q: Are you ready to hear a lot from (Eagles safety) C.J. Gardner-Johnson? You heard about him? He's known as one of the biggest trash talkers in the league.
MALIK NABERS: Yeah. That's how he plays. That's his motto. That's his nature, so that's how he plays football. I'm sure he's going to talk. I don't really talk when it's in the game, I just make plays.
Q: You don't do any talking?
MALIK NABERS: No. I do a little bit here and there. Not too much, though.
Q: I know it's been two games, but a lot of the last game you guys only scored one touchdown. What have you thought of where the offense is at and how much your return could kind of boost things back to where you guys were in Cleveland?
MALIK NABERS: Just to get that player back out there. I'm a focal point when I'm out there. The defense makes different calls when I'm out there. So, not having me, it made it a little bit harder for those guys. So, just having me out there, just the presence that I'm out there, knowing the defense knows I can make plays, it helps other guys make plays also.
Q: The Giants and Eagles. Obviously, it's a huge rivalry here. What are your expectations for your introduction to the game?
MALIK NABERS: Just play ball, really. A game is a game. I know everybody says it's a big game, but every game is a big game to me. It's a good opportunity for me.
Q: With the amount of attention, you get now, wherever you go, do you have to change just for optics reasons? Where you go, what you do, or just be yourself?
MALIK NABERS: Yeah, I'm going to always be myself. That's the life that I chose to live. That's what comes with the job. But at the end of the day, I still got my own life. I still got my own personal life. So, I'm going to continue to have my own personal life. I'm going to still continue to watch my back wherever I go, but I'm going to still continue to have my personal life.
Q: This is a big spotlight. Have you gotten any advice from anybody who's been through it?
MALIK NABERS: Yeah, I get a lot of advice from (outside linebacker) Kayvon (Thibodeaux) a lot, for sure. (Defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence II) Dex, (outside linebacker) Brian (Burns). So, I got a lot of people that's in my corner that's helping me. But, like I said, I'm going to continue to have a personal life outside.
Q: How was the concert?
MALIK NABERS: It was a good concert. I've never been to one, but it was a good concert.
Q: Never been to one of his concerts you mean?
MALIK NABERS: Not one of his, but it was a good concert.
Q: Have you talked to OBJ (Dolphins wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.) personally about the spotlight itself? Is that something you text with him or talking to him about at all?
MALIK NABERS: No. That's not a new question that we've come up with.
Q: You have the option of wearing a guardian helmet since you've had the concussion? Do you think you're going to do it?
MALIK NABERS: I don't know. I switched my helmet, so I'm not really sure I need to wear the guardian cap because I got a new helmet. But if I switch to my other helmet, then it'll probably be safer for me, too. But that's the decision I made.
Q: You switched jerseys with (Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr) Chase last weekend. What was it like to not be able to go up against him or to be in that environment?
MALIK NABERS: It was good. It would mean the world to me that we got to change jerseys. He's number one, I'm number one. So, I got a good relationship with him outside, off the field. So, it was good to reconnect that brotherly love.
Q: When you say changed helmet, do you mean after this injury they changed your helmet? Is it the one that has the Guardian cap that's built into it?
MALIK NABERS: No, they just insisted that this helmet would protect my head better. They insisted it before the season, but I like the helmet that I was wearing before. So, it's just making precautions for when I'm out there now.
