NEWSNOW:New york giant head coach Brian Daboll decided to has ……
In Week 17, the New York Giants fell 26-25 to the Los Angeles Rams after missing a two-point conversion and a field goal. The coaching staff made a few questionable decisions in the last minutes of the loss, leading to an unexpected admission by head coach Brian Daboll after the game.
After SNY reporter Connor Hughes asked him to explain the choice to run the ball with Saquon Barkley after spiking it and stopped the clock on the LAR 34-yard line with 42 seconds remaining, the normally buttoned-up Daboll said bluntly, “Yeah, I’d like to have it back.”
After Hughes asked if it was a check or if the play was called by the coaching staff, Daboll simply stated, “I’d just like to have the play back.” He also mentioned that the Giants were “right on the edge” of Mason Crosby’s field-goal range, which was approximately the LAR 34-yard line.
Barkley lost two yards on the carry, which was followed by an incomplete pass. Crosby missed a 54-yard field goal attempt on fourth down, falling short.
“I really have no idea what the Giants were doing on those final plays,” Hughes admitted after the miss on X. “That makes no sense. They were preparing for the long FG after Barkley’s run? “Why not keep going?” The loss knocks Big Blue to 5-11 on the season.
Mason Crosby of the Giants said his range was 55 yards after the game.
Crosby, to his credit, offered no excuses after the game-winning miss. “I thought I hit it pretty good,” the veteran kicker said at his locker, admitting that anything 55 yards or fewer was within his range due to the conditions.
The fierce East Rutherford winds had other ideas. Of course, a painful Week 17 loss is nothing new for the G-Men in 2023, so it’s only natural that the team ends the year with more of the same.
Ex-NYG offensive lineman Shaun O’Hara blamed “self-inflicted wounds” and “missed opportunities” as the main issue during the postgame show. “That’s just kind of been the way the season has gone,” O’Hara said.
Amani Toomer, another ex-Giant, agreed, saying the game “was lost by the Giants and not really won by the Rams.”
Brian Daboll of the Giants dismisses a question about veteran mistakes.
During his postgame press conference, Daboll made another noteworthy comment. This is the exact conversation between the media member and the head coach.
Reporter: “How did you feel about your veterans’ overall performance?” Adoree’ [Jackson] on the tackle, Saquon dropped a ball, Tyrod [Taylor] missed a couple of throws. “How do you feel about the way some of your veterans performed today?”
Daboll, on the other hand: “I thought everybody competed, we just came up a little short.”
Given the overt directness of the inquiry, the response was inadequate. Nobody expects Daboll to blast a player for a mistake, but entirely ignoring them sends a different message.
Accountability has been an issue in 2023, and while the Giants competed with a possible playoff club, they fell short when it mattered most. Critical errors cost games, and when they occur repeatedly over the course of a season, the focus shifts to the coaching staff.
Brian Daboll will almost certainly return in 2023, but the coordinator and assistant positions are less certain. Special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey has been scrutinized all year, while OC Mike Kafka has had issues and DC Wink Martindale’s future remains uncertain, among other things.
Michael Obermuller works for Heavy.com and covers the Kansas City Chiefs, New York Giants, Miami Dolphins, and Cincinnati Bengals. His prior bylines include FanDuel’s The Duel, King Fantasy Sports, and Pro Football Mania, and he is a Quinnipiac graduate. More information on Michael Obermuller
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