Head Coach Brian Daboll

Q: What did you make of yesterday's practice? Was it productive or did the fighting get in the way?

BRIAN DABOLL: No, it was very productive. It was competitive on both sides. (We) talked about cleaning a few things up that led to some of those things. We'll try to do a better job today, but both sides were competitive, got a lot out of it. Hopefully get another good day.

Q: I know you don't usually like to see fights and stuff like that, but you like to see the competitive spirit. So, that said, what's your message to the team as far as balancing that out? Showing fight, but not showing fight.

BRIAN DABOLL: Practice is a little bit different than a game. Obviously, you can't do that in a game. We're going to try to clean up some of the things that led to some of that, but we're going to play hard and play physical and have another good practice.

Q: Do you like how (quarterback) Daniel (Jones) and the offense came out and seemed to give as much as they took?

BRIAN DABOLL: We talked about this yesterday. It's practice. So, there was some good things, just like there's been throughout training camp. There's things that we need to improve from an execution standpoint. I appreciate the style that they played with, but another good day here against another good team and try to get better.

Q: What is this 'style'? What do you mean by 'style'?

BRIAN DABOLL: Effort, physicalness, playing through the whistle, the right mindset, competitive.

Q: Did you tell (quarterback) Daniel (Jones) not to go into those piles or do you think he understands that?

BRIAN DABOLL: I saw the play that happened. (We) really don't want anybody getting into piles during practice. (I) understand what it is. He kind of stood back, and I said, 'What are you going to do in there?' (Daniel Jones said), 'My guy is down on the ground.' I said, 'Just stay out.'

Q: Your energy seemed to up during that practice, we could hear you yelling on multiple occasions. How much does that atmosphere get you going and what are you trying to get out of it?

BRIAN DABOLL: We're just trying to get better collectively as a team. You're going against a good football team, you're competing. It was a fun day.

Q: Any updates on if (quarterback) Daniel (Jones) or any of the starters are going to play Thursday?

BRIAN DABOLL: We'll talk about that tomorrow night.

Q: Is (tight end Chris) Manhertz practicing today? What happened to him?

BRIAN DABOLL: (Chris) Manhertz is practicing. He's fine.

Q: Anybody coming back?

BRIAN DABOLL: Same as what it's been. There's actually two new players that I just got coming out here. One is (wide receiver) Dennis Houston. He's got a hand (injury), so he's not going to be out there. (Cornerback Christian Holmes), he's going to get looked at. Those two guys will be the new additions.

Q: (Quarterback) Daniel (Jones) said after practice that he would like to play on Thursday. Does his opinion weigh in at all in your decision?

BRIAN DABOLL: We're going to do what we think is best for the team. Have a good day of practice here and then we'll make those decisions.

Q: With (cornerback Christian Holmes) is that something you're concerned about long-term?

BRIAN DABOLL: I just heard about it. I'll have more information tomorrow.

Q: What is the…

BRIAN DABOLL: I literally just heard that he's going to get looked at. Again, we'll see where he's at when I get out to practice.

Q: I know you've called plays a lot in the past but Thursday night will be the first time as a Head Coach. What do you foresee changing for you? How are you going to manage that role and your coaching duties?

BRIAN DABOLL: Just calling the plays. Other than that, I have people that I rely on the last two years, communication-wise. Again, that's part of the process of going through all those things and seeing it. It'll be good to do.

Q: A lot of head coaches in this league have fallen into the trap of, when the other side of the ball is on the field, they're with the side they are calling plays for. How do you avoid…

BRIAN DABOLL: That's what these preseason games are for. Go through that process. I think every team we play this year that has an offensive head coach besides one, they call the plays. I've talked to plenty of people. I just want to go through the process of the preseason, the mechanics of it, the communication with my staff, really in all three phases, plus the people that help me with game management. So that's much needed.

Q: How does that change, though? If you're going to be calling the plays on Thursday. The communication and the responsibility…

BRIAN DABOLL: That's pretty much all the same. Obviously, give the play to the quarterback, but everything else I foresee being very similar. But that's why we're doing it. That's what the preseason is for.

Q: Would you still have (Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator) Mike (Kafka) up in the booth?

BRIAN DABOLL: We're going to talk about (it), along with the players. But I foresee Mike (Kafka) being in the booth.

Q: When you talk to other people about what goes into head coaching and calling plays at the same time, what stood out? What did they tell you that you said, 'Okay, I'm going to take this and implement it.'?

BRIAN DABOLL: It really wasn't that much, to be honest with you. I talked to them about how they manage the game, manage the defense when they're talking to the offense, the kicking game, the decisions. But it's very similar to how we've done it, other than you're communicating to the quarterback during the offensive series. I have a great staff that you rely on in between series so you can communicate, stay on the line, when the defense is on the line. Be able to communicate with special teams with situations that come up. I have a separate line that I'm able to talk to the two guys that help me, (Director of Football Data & Innovation) Ty (Siam) and (Offensive Assistant/Game Manager) Cade (Knox). That's what this is for. A little bit of trial and error, just to see how it goes here for the preseason, but I feel confident in it.

Q: What do you want to see… Have you ever had such a young and inexperienced running back group after the starter?

BRIAN DABOLL: It's (been) a lot of years. I don't know. These young guys have performed well when called upon and this will be an important preseason for all of them.

Q: Is the main thing, everything? Ball security, knowing how to block, assignments…

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah. Playing the running back position at the highest level you can and everything that goes along with it, protection, runs, routes, (helps) everything that goes into being a capable running back in this league.

Q: What did you see from your secondary yesterday?

BRIAN DABOLL: There were some good things. With the whole team, there were some good things, and there's some things we need to clean up, and that's what these days are for.

Q: You've seen (wide receiver) Malik (Nabers) here against your own guys. You had an opportunity yesterday to see him against another team. What did he show you?

BRIAN DABOLL: What he's showed all camp. Competitive. Knows what to do. Been playing at a high level in practice, (we'll) see if that translates to the games. I have a lot of confidence in Malik (Nabers).

Q: A guy you had in Buffalo, it didn't go as well for him last year without you, is (wide receiver) Isaiah McKenzie. What do you see from him here? He's an energy guy and still has some juice in his legs.

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, he does. And he is an energy guy. He's an energy guy in the classroom, and he's a very good teammate. He knows how we want to play. He can play fast because he knows the system pretty well. He's going to have an opportunity to return punts, and that's going to be an important evaluation process for him. But he's been a good addition to that room and to the punt return room, so there will be some competition with (wide receiver) Gunner Olszewski. We'll see how that competition unfolds.

Q: He essentially got kicked off the (Indianapolis) Colts team last year. How comfortable were you bringing him in?

BRIAN DABOLL: I have a very good relationship with (wide receiver) Isaiah (McKenzie), I'd say both on and off the field. That's important. But the most important thing is we think he can play. He's right in the mix. He's competing. He understands that. He's been nothing but a good teammate, and I'm glad he's here.

Q: How tricky is it when you have to lay into someone else's player like #91 (Detroit Lions defensive lineman Levi Onwuzurike) touching (quarterback) Daniel (Jones) yesterday? And does having a relationship with (Head Coach Dan) Campbell help with this?

BRIAN DABOLL: Absolutely, absolutely. Dan (Campbell) and I, we talked a lot yesterday, tried to clean up some of the stuff. We both thought it was good juice, good energy. He knows that if he needs to do that, no problem. The big thing is we want to keep the quarterbacks clean. It's hard enough to play in this league, and you want to practice the right way. That's why we choose to practice. We got a lot of respect for one another and at times it got a little heated yesterday, but we still respect each other. The guys respect each other. We just want to stay away from the quarterbacks, and a couple of other little things that we can clean up on both sides, so we'll try to do that.

Q: Is (cornerback) Dru (Phillips) starting to solidify himself as the nickel?

BRIAN DABOLL: The last few days he's shown up, so continue to work and have progress with him. We have different packages with different guys in there, but he's had a good, call it, the last three days of practice.

Wide Receiver Malik Nabers

Q: Can you just walk us through what happened there on that play where you and (Lions cornerback Terrion) Arnold wound up throwing punches?

MALIK NABERS: Me and (Lions cornerback Terrion) Arnold? Me and Arnold never threw no punches.

Q: (Lions safety Kerby) Joseph. You know what play I'm talking about?

MALIK NABERS: It's hot. We're competing. Stuff like that is going to happen. It's football at the end of the day.

Q: Did he say something?

MALIK NABERS: He did, but I'm not going to repeat it.

Q: It looks like it was a contested play and (Lions cornerback Terrion) Arnold was in coverage. You tapped him on the helmet coming up, and it looked like maybe he objected to that and he thought that was kind of patronizing…

MALIK NABERS: Oh no. That's the competitor in me and (Terrion) Arnold, we talk almost every day about just competing, how great we want to be. So, it's nothing against him. He's my brother, so I'm going to give him the work he needs. He's going to give me the work I need. But I was just tapping him on the helmet, good play. That's all it was.

Q: And then (Lions safety Kerby) Joseph got mad…

MALIK NABERS: And then somebody comes up, running up to me, said a few words and the rest is that.

Q: Do you think that fight could have potentially been a result, I think you were thrown at 10 or 11 times the last two days. You caught all but one of them. It was consistently catching on their defense. Do you think that ticked them off a little bit?

MALIK NABERS: I'm not sure. I'm just out here trying to compete at the highest point, make plays when I got the opportunity, continue to show my coaches that I'm able to play in this league.

Q: What did you get out of these two days?

MALIK NABERS: I got nice, good work from these guys at Detroit. Just some great work of just not going against your teammates. You get to go against somebody else. Having that mindset of getting back into that football mentality, that was great.

Q: What have you learned about playing at the NFL level, at least from what you've experienced so far?

MALIK NABERS: The game is fast. The game is fast. The level of competition is very high. That's really about it. There are plays to be made when the ball is thrown in the air, that's a bit of it.

Q: On that play, do you regret throwing those punches? Because it could break your hand, in the game you get tossed for that. Do you regret throwing them?

MALIK NABERS: In a game situation I'm highly alert of everything. Like I said, it's a heated practice. Words are being said, stuff like that is going to happen.

Q: Doing it against your teammates is one thing, doing it against a defense for a team that was almost on the verge of the Super Bowl is another thing. What do you think your play, you let your play do the talking, what do you think it said?

MALIK NABERS: They say, I'm a competitive person. I'm able to go out and play with these guys. There's a lot of work to be done, a lot of mistakes that I've made when I was out there. Just getting back in my books and coming out here the next day at practice. I mean, next day is the game. So, just going out there at the game and just cleaning everything up.

Q: Is frustrating a defensive back something that you take pride in?

MALIK NABERS: Say that again?

Q: Does frustrating a defensive back who's covering you, is that something you want to see happen as something that you take pride in?

MALIK NABERS: No. At the end of the day, it's all about me. It's not even about them. It's about what I do when the ball is in the air and what I do about having that mindset of catching the ball, getting as many yards as I can, helping my team win. So, what the defense got going on, it doesn't look at me.

Q: There have been some receivers that have broken the mold. But for the most part, it's usually a difficult transition to the NFL. You're not making it look very challenging at all. I mean that as a compliment. Why do you think you've been able to have so much success early on here?

MALIK NABERS: I've just been doing a great job at putting the work in. Getting some work with the guys, (Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver) Davante (Adams), going out there in Houston, training with him. Putting that extra work just in the training room, the weight room. Making my body at its 100% mark as I can so I can be healthy when the season comes. And just making plays when I'm out there on the field. Continue to be me. Continue to make the plays I've been making my whole life. And at the end of the day, it's just football.

Q: Having said that, did you learn anything about your game and yourself over these two days of practices?

MALIK NABERS: Like I said, I can compete with these guys in the league. That was just the main thing. Just going against somebody else before the season starts. Let's see what I need to work on. Getting my plays down. That's really about it. Just continue to be me. That's all I can say is I have talks with myself, 'Just continue to be me.'

Q: What do you do to wind down, relax and chill after these long days?

MALIK NABERS: Watch some plays from practice. See what I need to work on. Releases or route running. Talk with my coaches about this next day install. Just getting ahead of the game. I'm going home, doing a little bit of treatment. And then after that, it's Call of Duty.

Q: It's clear they want to get the ball to you. They're putting you in positions where they're going to throw you the ball. They're scheming plays for you. What do you think of that when you hear that? Now you're seeing it on the field.

MALIK NABERS: I feel like it's just an evaluation of what I can do, what I can't do. As I go out here and I show them that there's not a lot that I can't do. So, as many times as I make plays, the more opportunities that will come my way. Same as the rest of these guys. When they make plays out there, they're going to get some plays to them also. You find out what you're good at, you find out what your players are good at, and you put them in the best game possible.

Q: Is it difficult, in moments like that fight, how do you balance competing and standing up for yourself with not letting someone getting under your skin?

MALIK NABERS: It goes back to team elements. Not risking my team any flags or penalties or anything. It goes back to just level of competition and understanding what you can't do, what you can do. After something like that, you just calm back down, go out there and still compete. I mean, if it happens, it happens, move on.

Outside Linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux

Q: How was the work out there against the Lions?

KAYVON THIBODEAUX: Oh, it was definitely great work. They got a great team, great front. So, it's good to get one on one, team reps, and a little red zone on in there. It was good.

Q: What are you doing to relax after these long days of practice? What are you doing on your downtime to chill?

KAYVON THIBODEAUX: On my downtime, you got to rehab man. Two big days. Then we got a preseason game coming up. Definitely got to take care of your body and you got to get your mind right and ready, keyed into a game day.

Q: (Wide receiver) Malik (Nabers) said he's playing a little COD. Are you playing a little Call of Duty, or no?

KAYVON THIBODEAUX: No, I don't play video games.

Q: You mentioned their offensive line being one of the best. What do you think your pass rushed showed these last couple of days?

KAYVON THIBODEAUX: I think I was able to get some good reps. I think it's definitely always good work. You're not defined by one rep, but I think over the compilation of two days, it's been pretty good.

Q: To go toe to toe with that team, considering what they accomplished, what kind of confidence does that give you as a group?

KAYVON THIBODEAUX: There's a new year every year. It's a new team. So, I don't really take too much from it. I let it be and I continue to see where we can get better at as far as technique, as far as assignment, alignment, and execution. But other than that, we just got to keep chopping wood.

Q: You were a high draft pick who had success as a rookie here in New York. What do you tell Malik Nabers and he's having a great training camp? What do you tell him about handling what's coming?

KAYVON THIBODEAUX: I tell him stay consistent. We had a talk about goals, and I've been a guy who set goals and I know he's a kid who has big goals for himself. But you got to know that you may not reach them, or it may come in a different way, or it may be a situation of adversity that you have to bear through and just stay consistent as possible and just continue to find the thing you can grow at each week.

Q: What do you think of the D-line as a whole?

KAYVON THIBODEAUX: We'll continue to gel together. There's a lot of guys stepping up. (defensive lineman) Ryder Anderson for one, (defensive lineman Rakeem Nunez-Roches) Nacho, a lot of people count him out as being an older guy, but he's playing like he's one of the young guys. So, to see him take his next step in pass rush has been great. (Defensive lineman) Timmy (Horne), he's been great. I think the list can go on the guys who've been stepping up and who's seized the moment that we're in.

Q: Communication has been a big focus between all of you guys, can you talk about that?

KAYVON THIBODEAUX: That's been the biggest. When you get tired, it's hard to communicate. So, continuing to push through it and get things done so we can execute at a high level has been key.

Q: It would seem to be impossible for an opponent to double team both you and (outside linebacker) Brian Burns. Is that a pick your poison situation?

KAYVON THIBODEAUX: We've got to keep grinding, man. I don't know how it's going to go, but I assume they're going to switch it up. They're going to do the best they can to protect. And I think as long as we continue to work as a unit and do the things that we've been coached to do, we'll be good.

Q: What do you think of his spin move, Burns? He's put on a couple nasty ones.

KAYVON THIBODEAUX: That's one of his moves, man. I'm particularly not a spin guy. I haven't put that in my forte yet. So, to see him do it, I'm always excited.

Q: Is that something you want to add?

KAYVON THIBODEAUX: No, I'm just not that type of player. Not saying that I wouldn't add it or if the scenario seemed good to use it, but I would say every player has their skill set. And that spin is one of his key moves. So, you talk about for me, I'm more of a power downhill guy. He's more of an agile kind of, make them move their feet. And I like to go power long arm kind of work off of it.

Q: Whatever degree you guys are still learning the defense. Can these two days against an opponent help in that regard?

KAYVON THIBODEAUX: Definitely. Cause we get to apply the things we've learned. It's easy to go against your team and you kind of get lulled to sleep by going against the same offense. So, when you switch it up, you get young guys playing against flying bullets, the tempo is faster, their operation is different as far as going fast to the ball. And we just get a chance to see it live. So, there a few mix-ups and a few miscommunications and now we get to correct it in and work on for next.

Q: When you have those two different styles of rushers, how does that make you even better than on just like Kayvon is good, Brian is good?

KAYVON THIBODEAUX: It's the cohesiveness. When you have two rushers that can at the base, just hold down their sides and create a pocket that's hard for the quarterback to throw out of. It helps the back end; the back end helps the front end. One of the coaches, he likes to say 'symbiosis', there's multiple parts working together for the greater good, but just helping each other. And I said whether it's communication, whether it's moves, since we've been playing together, I've added something to his game. He's added something to my game. It's been a real, kind of growth mentality.

Q: Shane Bowen as your new Defensive Coordinator, what excites you about what he's asking you to do?

KAYVON THIBODEAUX: I would say I love the playbook. We use the word simple, but simple is always kind of misconstrued as easy. It's simple, but it's not easy. So, continuing to kind of dive between the lines and see how we can utilize it to our advantage has been great.

Q: What do you take away from these joint practices about your team, like in regard to, what you can be long-term?

KAYVON THIBODEAUX: We're going to stick together. I think when I was a rookie, that's something that helped us and in the front end and the back end of the season, we won four, I don't know how many games straight, but it's about sticking together because I think the season is a roller coaster and as consistent as you can stay and as together as you can stay, it's going to help you in the long run. So, being in different situations with different people, it's always good to see how a team gels together.

Q: Was there times last season when the team maybe didn't stick together as much as you hoped?

KAYVON THIBODEAUX: I think when you're losing, it's easy to lose your identity because the way that we were living wasn't working. So, when things aren't working, you got to figure out what to fix. And sometimes you get lost in what needs to be fixed and what's not the problem.

Q: Is it hard not to go back at guys when they're running up at your sideline like that at the end of hard practice?

KAYVON THIBODEAUX: What do you mean 'hard to not'?

Q: You want to keep your composure. You also want to stand up for yourself and your teammates.

KAYVON THIBODEAUX: Shout out to my man (Senior Director of Football Communications) Dion (Dargin). I love Dion, he's been doing his thing with PR. Yeah, I appreciate the media for being there. We're just going to keep getting better, keep stacking days. And I appreciate it you guys.