Brian Daboll’s Tuesday Press Conference; Injury Update

Ben Bredeson – © USA TODAY Sports

SEPTEMBER 19, 2023 GIANTS INJURY REPORT…
With the Giants playing on Thursday night, the team will only be able to have a couple of walkthrough practices before the next game. The Giants did issue the following injury report as a projection on Tuesday:

RB Saquon Barkley (ankle) and OG Ben Bredeson (concussion) did not practice in Tuesday’s walkthrough.

LT Andrew Thomas (hamstring), WR Wan’Dale Robinson (knee), ILB Micah McFadden (neck), and OLB Azeez Ojulari (hamstring) were limited in practice.

Head Coach Brian Daboll would not rule out Barkley from playing on Thursday against the 49ers. “I wouldn’t count on that, not just yet,” said Daboll. “I’m not saying that he’s out yet. He’s a quick healer. I’m not saying he’s in, he’s out. We are going to take it all the way up with him to Thursday, but he feels a lot better today. I just talked to him. So, we will see where we are at.

“(McFadden) should be ready to go…. I would say Azeez and (Thomas) are kind of in the Saquon deal. We’ll take that right up all the way to Thursday. And Ben, I don’t think Ben will pass protocol in this short amount of time. So, I’d say he’s leaning more towards out.”

SEPTEMBER 19, 2023 BRIAN DABOLL PRESS CONFERENCE…
New York Giants Head Coach Brian Daboll addressed the media on Monday (VIDEO):

Q: In a week like this, it’s all walkthroughs, right? I guess you’re outside for the walkthroughs, right?

A: No, we go inside. We go in the indoor at Arizona State.

Q: It’s not going to be 100 degrees in San Francsico so it’s no reason to do that I guess is the reasoning?

A: Yeah, it’s 100 degrees outside so we go inside for the walkthrough.

Q: What do you look to see in those things because they’re walkthroughs? You can’t do anything physical with these guys, obviously a day or two after the game. What is it all about preparing for a Thursday night game?

A: You start out with special teams walkthrough and go through all the phases of that. It’s really mental because it is such a short week. It’s hard on these guys, obviously, they’re taking care of their bodies. Then we go to offense and defense and spend I’d say quite a bit of time on going through our game plan and some of the looks that we’ll see, albeit a slowed down tempo pace but it’s really a mental week of practice to get ready for a Thursday night game. On top of that, they’re in the training room, they’re doing their prehab, they’re doing all the things that they need to do to prepare their bodies to play in a short time frame.

Q: Do you feel as a coaching staff that you can put everything into a Thursday night game that you can as a Sunday game? As far as “we’ve got to stick to this.” Do you think you can unload it all in that much time?

A: Well, you plan – you know when you’re playing and you plan accordingly throughout the offseason, towards the end of the offseason, through training camp and you put things in that you know you’re probably going to use in a short timeframe. Done that kind of everywhere I’ve been. The plays, it’s not like you’re adding 1000 new plays, you don’t do that to the players. You want them to play fast and make sure they know what to do. But certainly, there’s always a game plan element to it and the coaches, there hasn’t been a lot of sleep but that’s the way it goes on these types of games. Make sure you can put together something that those guys can go out there and execute, know what to do, play fast with and then for them to take care of their bodies and do what they need to do to get ready to play in a short time frame.

Q: I wanted to ask you about the run defense. It looked like last week in particular against the Cardinals that guys were not just winning at the point of attack. When you look at it, what are you seeing and assuming that my observation is correct, where does that rank in priority to fix it?

A: We’re going to try to improve really every area of our football team where we’re at but again, run defense is really team defense. It’s controlling the line of scrimmage, it’s making sure we have good run fits and run support. It takes all 11 guys. Just like really every play whether it’s run defense, the pass offense, the screen game, whatever it may be, it just comes down to executing your responsibility for the collective part of the unit.

Q: I know you’ve been playing a lot of two-man defensive line fronts. Would you consider changing that up a little bit? Especially going up against (49ers running back Christian) McCaffrey?

A: I’d say we play a lot of fronts. (Defensive Coordinator) Wink (Martindale) has pretty much every front you can have. Again, each week we sit down, we talk about the things we need to improve on and put together a plan we think will work for that game and then we’ve got to go out there and execute it.

Q: What makes (49ers Head Coach) Kyle Shanahan’s offense so challenging?

A: He’s done this for a long time. He has a ton of experience. He has, I’d say, a number of plays that he’s run throughout his past and he’s always evolving. That’s what I appreciate about Kyle. He’s a heck of a football coach. He creates, I’d say, a lot of issues, whether that’s run force issues, whether that’s making plays look exactly the same and setting things up. He’s a timely play caller. He’s an excellent coach.

Q: As far as (running back) Saquon (Barkley), I don’t know if you care to share anything on his timeline, but obviously he’s going to be out for at least some time.

A: I wouldn’t count on that, not just yet.

Q: Okay, safe to say he will be out on Thursday night?

A: I’m not saying that he’s out yet. He’s a quick healer. I’m not saying he’s in, he’s out. We are going to take it all the way up with him to Thursday, but he feels a lot better today. I just talked to him. So, we will see where we are at.

Q: If he wasn’t ready, how comfortable are you with (running back) Eric Gray particularly in pass protection? I know that’s always a big thing for rookie running backs.

A: I’d say the three guys that we have behind Saquon, they are all here for a reason. We are comfortable with all those guys. Whether that’s run or pass. Certainly things that we could all improve on, but they are all here for a reason and if he’s out there, we have confidence in him.

Q: Especially given the personnel that you have up front, does your lack of sacks surprise you and what can you guys do to try to get more pressure and get a few sacks moving forward?

A: Obviously, we want to create some negative plays, whether that’s negative run plays or pass plays. We got to do a good job of getting them to those pass situations, controlling first down so they can’t play the game on their terms.

Q: I was wondering if you would address the challenges that are Christian McCaffrey and also (49ers defensive lineman Nick) Bosa on the other side of the ball, obviously.

A: Yeah, well I’d say just on both sides, those two guys are heck of a players, they’ve got a lot of good players on their team. A team full of Pro Bowlers or All-Pros, whether it’s McCaffrey, (49ers wide receiver) Deebo Samuel, (49ers wide receiver Brandon) Aiyuk, Bosa, (49ers defensive lineman Javon) Hargrave, (49ers linebacker Fred) Warner, I mean the list goes on and on. I’d say their team is well constructed. (49ers General Manager) John Lynch has done a great job along with Kyle and there is a lot of challenges with this team in a number of areas.

Q: With (running back Matt) Breida, I understand what you just said about Saquon, I assume at some point we will still see Breida Thursday night, likely, possibly. What do you like about his game? You had him in Buffalo, you now have him here, clearly you like the player.

A: Yeah, I mean he’s a pro. He knows what to do, he knows how to do it, he’s done it for a while. He’s got speed, he’s got some quickness about him. He’s had some productive years as a runner, he was at San Francisco. He’s just a pro and he knows our system well and we have confidence in him.

Q: I’m curious if Saquon was unable to go, how much more does that put on (quarterback) Daniel’s (Jones) shoulders? Obviously, Saquon is a big part of this offensive scheme, you’ve run a lot through him in the past, does that change much, what you need from Daniel in that case?

A: Look, Daniel has got his job to do, just like the running backs have their job, the receivers, the offensive line. It’s individually taking care of your responsibility, whatever that maybe and doing your job at a high level.

Q: I know you didn’t want to rule Saquon out. Does the fact that you have 11 days between the games, how much does that factor into how you guys handle him?

A: I think it all factors in, but ultimately I go back to the player and see where he’s at. He’s made considerable progress, just in a day and a half or however many days we’ve been out here. Again, we will go all the way up there to the start on Thursday and see where we are at.

Q: I just wanted to ask about (inside linebacker) Micah (McFadden), he was added to the injury report yesterday with a neck injury, what happened and how’s he doing?

A: He’s good, he will be fine.

Q: Will he be available for Thursday then?

A: Yeah, he should be. He should be ready to go.

Q: Did anybody ask you why you lined up for two down eight before the penalty on (wide receiver) Parris (Campbell)?

A: No, they didn’t.

Q: I know that’s an analytical thing. What’s the math or thinking behind that? Is it that you get two-point conversions more than one out of every two times, so if you don’t get it, you have a second chance to get it? What’s the math and the thinking behind going for two down eight?

A: You answered it.

Q: It’s really that? One out of two is better than 50 percent?

A: Yeah, if you get the two, then you win it with an extra point. If you don’t, you still have another opportunity to go for two again and tie it up.

Q: And math suggests that you’re going to be successful at least one out of two times?

A: Yeah, I mean, that’s something that I talk with (Director of Football Data and Innovation) Ty (Siam) and (Offensive Assistant/Game Manager) Cade (Knox) about. We actually go through that situation quite a bit each week. And this week, where we were in the game, how the game was going, we felt comfortable with that decision.

Q: Is it relative to time in the game too?

A: I’d say all that plays into it. All that plays into it.

Q: I guess this is probably a good problem to have, but if you have seven healthy receivers, can you have all those guys active? Or does somebody end up as an odd man out if (wide receiver) Wan’Dale (Robinson) is able to play?

A: No, we can have them all active.

Q: In terms of the week, we know how challenging it is for you guys to put things in to get ready for San Francisco and obviously physically for the players, and mentally. But the flip side of that is you guys are spending all this time together out here on the road. Is there any part of this trip that as challenging as it is may galvanize his team a little bit and bring you guys closer? You kind of had that last year when you went to London. I’m just curious for something out of the ordinary, do you like seeing things from your team that you may not see when you’re home?

A: They spend a lot of time together obviously when you’re on the road, but a lot of that is meetings and we go from 7:30 to late afternoon, call it, early evening. I’m sure they spend time getting a meal together, but it’s really dialed in right here. You have such a short timeframe to do all your preparations. It’s kind of like it is back home, if you will, relative to the meetings, we do the walkthrough, kind of like we do the walkthrough, maybe a little bit more extended, come back, have position meetings, and then instead of those guys going home, they spend some time together in the hotel or out to dinner.

Q: Any knowledge yet on whether (tackle) Andrew Thomas is going to go, or (outside linebacker) Azeez Ojulari, (guard) Ben Bredeson, those guys?

A: I would say Azeez and AT (tackle Andrew Thomas) are kind of in the Saquon deal. We’ll take that right up all the way to Thursday. And Ben, I don’t think Ben will pass protocol in this short amount of time. So, I’d say he’s leaning more towards out, if you will.

Q: Just clarify on Saquon. There were some reports that he was going to be out three weeks, two to three weeks. Are you saying that those timelines are not accurate?

A: I just think with every injury, until you’re with the player, you see the player… I don’t know, you might heal a little bit different than I heal, I might heal a little bit different than another player heals. So, again, Saquon is, I’d say he’s a lot better than maybe I thought he would be, or some other people thought he would be today. So again, he might heal a little bit different than another player, if you will. So, we’ll just take it day-to-day with him and if he can make it, great. If he can’t, we’ll see if he can get better by the following week, and we’ll just take it one day at a time.

THE PLAYERS SPEAK…
Transcripts and video clips of the media sessions with the following players are available in The Corner Forum and on YouTube:

• QB Daniel Jones (Video)
• RB Matt Breida (Video)
• RT Evan Neal (Video)
• DL Leonard Williams (Video)
• OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux (Video)

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
There is no media availability to the Giants on Wednesday as the team travels to California from Arizona. The Giants play the 49ers on Thursday night.