Giants rookie receiver Malik Nabors' rant after Sunday's 30-7 loss to Tampa Bay prompted Brian Daboll to ask that question when interviewing Nabors before drafting him in the first round. (broadcast on “Hard Knocks”) young recipients who seemed prescient in their content.
“How do you handle losing?” the Giants head coach asked Nabers.
“I hate it,” Nabers said.
“How do you deal with not getting involved early in the game?” Daboll then asked him.
“When we don't get the ball, we take it pretty hard,” he said.
“I want players who want to get the ball, I want players who hate losing, but you have to learn to take advantage of that a little bit,” Daboll told Nabors. “I want players who want the ball. Sometimes we lose. [your temper]. I lose that as a coach too. But you have to learn how to take advantage of it. ”
Daboll did not disclose private conversations with players or coaches, but did confirm that he spoke to Nabors on Monday.
Perhaps Daboll repeated the pre-draft conversation to dissuade him from airing his dirty laundry in public.
“'Green onion,' I said. [Sunday] night [and] We talked this morning,” Daboll said Monday. “He's a very competitive guy. Players want to get the ball in his hands, but I have to do a better job of getting the ball in his hands early on. There wasn't.
“He's a smart, young guy and very competitive. It's frustrating to lose like that. But as always, we have good communication.”
Nabers had six receptions for 64 yards on nine targets, but had zero targets in the first half, which ended with the Giants leading 23-0.
“First quarter, second quarter, don’t go out there and get the ball,” Nabors said after the game. “You start getting targets at the end. I mean, you can't do that. Once you're 30-0, you start taking the ball away. What do you want me to do?”
The Giants ran just 17 plays on offense in the first half.
Asked why he didn't score in the first half, Nabors replied: “Talk to Daves about that.”
Asked if he had a “problem” with Nabors airing his dissatisfaction publicly and if he had spoken to Nabors about it, Daboul said: “I have kept my conversations with Leake private. I'm looking forward to getting ready in Dallas.” ”
Daboll reiterated that the plan is for Tommy DeVito to remain the starting QB for Thursday's game against Dallas.
DeVito said he was hit late in Sunday's game and was knocked down by the wind.
When asked about DeVito's status on Monday, Daboll said he had not yet spoken to the training staff, “but we expect him to be ready.”
DeVito was 21-of-31 for 189 yards Sunday and was sacked four times for a loss of 23 yards.
The Giants conducted a walkthrough on Monday and released an injury report that projects what players would have done if it had been a full practice.
Among the players who did not participate were LT Jermaine Elemunor (quad), T Evan Neal (hip), LB Azeez Ojulari (toe), and DL Armon Watts (shoulder). Limited are CB Deonte Banks (ribs), DL DJ Davidson (shoulder), TE Theo Johnson (back), DT Dexter Lawrence (knee), LB Micah McFadden (thumb and heel), and DB Tyler Nubin (back).
The Giants will have a full practice on Tuesday and depart for Dallas on Wednesday.
The Giants, who have intercepted just one pass all season (by rookie LB Darius Muasau in Week 1), now have 10 consecutive games without an INT, an NFL record held by the 49ers (1976-77). season). 2017 Raiders.
