Brian Daboll insists Giants ‘played hard’ after ‘soft’ comments saturated locker room

After Sunday's 30-7 loss to the Buccaneers, some of the postgame noise made by Giants players inside the losing locker room included speculation surrounding job security, especially head coach Brian Daboll. I had no choice but to defer.

A year ago, the Giants were suffering injuries to their quarterbacks and offensive line as the team was eliminated from playoff contention, but Daboll did justice to the fact that his locker room remained solid despite the adversity. praised.

Sunday's hideous postgame will be handled by left tackle Jermaine Elemunor, defensive tackle and captain Dexter Lawrence, veteran receiver Darius Slayton, and rookie receiver Malik Nabors, who are 2-9. Some may wonder if the losing Giants team is on the verge of collapse due to internal unrest.

Elemnor said he saw his teammates not giving 100 percent effort. Lawrence and Nabors used the word “soft” to describe their team's effort in the loss. Slayton was tired of making the same mistakes over and over again.

Daboll insisted Monday that his team played hard but didn't do enough in the loss, saying six straight losses have taken a toll on everyone's psyche with a Thanksgiving game in Dallas looming. admitted.

“It's frustrating when you lose a game like that,” Daboll said. “Sure, I'd like to leave it at home. But you understand them, and I've been doing this for a while. When comments like that are made, you have to have a conversation.” I respect the opinions of the players and coaches and will do everything I can to resolve this issue.

“They put a lot of effort into this, as did everyone involved, and it certainly wasn't what we wanted yesterday. We work hard every week to make sure that doesn't happen.” But it's been tough, so there's some frustration that comes with that. [which is] I can understand.

“We communicate [and] I think he shows good leadership in the locker room. However, there is no doubt that it was a frustrating match. ”

Daboll continued, “I think our guys played hard.”

Two players the team released via Zoom on Monday, guard Jon Runyan and linebacker Micah McFadden, both claimed the team played soft against Tampa Bay.

“I think it was kind of a frustration right after the game,” McFadden said. “I don't think they were saying that our team was completely weak. I think it was just overall frustration, just from the feel of the game. We felt like we were dominated there. It was embarrassing.

“I think he said that in the locker room after the game. It's easy to get frustrated in situations like this. We can't let that divide us.

“If anyone thinks I'm playing soft, that's an embarrassing remark to hear. I don't think we're a soft team. I think this team has the right mindset. We I think I have achieved a high standard. I just have to stay focused.

“The easy thing to do would be to split up and start pointing fingers, but I don't think our group is like that. I don't think the leadership that we have within the locker room is like that. Of course, this is not what we wanted, but we have to make up for the rest of the season to be what we wanted.”

Runyan insisted, “There's no quitting on this team.''

“At times like this, teammates and teams can become very far apart,” Runyan said. “It's in times like these that you all come together even more and think about how we can make this work, because the more we separate, the worse it gets, and that's not the case in this locker room at all. It doesn't feel like it. I feel like the players are still hooked and connected and trying to figure out a way to get a result like this on Sunday.”

Mr Daboll said: Obviously, the results are not showing up. I believe in people and will continue to work as hard as I can. But certainly, I'm always thinking about what needs to change and what I can do to make it better, whether it's theater or whatever it is.

“Obviously, there are a lot of things we can do better.”