Since the Giants’ 6-1 start in his first season, the team has gone 12-33-1 under Daboll.
Giants head coach Brian Daboll managed to pull a fast one on everyone. He fooled the Giants and their fans into thinking he would be an elixir to everything that plagued the team when he was hired in 2022. He was hired to fix the offense and have this once-proud franchise back to prominence.
Four years later, fans are still waiting.
After a Giants’ 40-37 overtime loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday at AT&T Stadium, Daboll has his team off to a 0-2 start for the second straight season. He is now 18-34-1 in his four seasons of coaching Big Blue. His coaching left so much to be desired in this game.
We can blame Russell Wilson for the interception that set up Brandon Aubrey’s game-winning kick for the Cowboys in overtime. That is where Daboll had to rein in his quarterback. Yes, the Giants quarterback threw three touchdowns for 450 yards. Yes, he threw two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter to give the Giants the lead a couple of times. It doesn’t mean Wilson had to keep throwing. The head coach should have mixed in the running game. He never did. He let his quarterback cook to the point it became predictable. The Cowboys figured he would eventually make a mistake. It’s foolish to think the Giants could fool the Cowboys that way.
Then, rather than go for the points to start the quarter that would extend the Giants’ lead to 16-10, Daboll decided to be cute in going for it at 4th and three at the Cowboys’ 10. Instead, Wilson threw an incomplete pass to Giants rookie running back Cam Skattebo to end the Giants’ drive.
It was also interesting that Daboll inserted Jaxson Dart in the game several times. It actually worked when he came in and threw to Skattebo for a touchdown, giving the Giants a 23-20 lead.
What was the point? Why create so much chaos by throwing another quarterback to add a wrinkle to the offense? It came across as a head coach showing that he is the smartest person in the room. There was no need to when the Giants’ offense was running smoothly on this day.
There’s no question Daboll wants Dart to be the quarterback. If that’s the case, he should have started him in Week 1. It was actually the right thing to do; he’s better off learning on the job now rather than later. There was no need to start Wilson ever since the Giants were going nowhere this season. It doesn’t serve the veteran and rookie well to have Daboll change quarterbacks for a series.
The Giants committed 14 penalties (most in a game since they got 16 against the Seahawks in 2005) in this contest. Several of them set up the Cowboys to score.
–Roy Robertson-Harris was aggressive on Dak Prescott in an attempt to sack him. It resulted in a penalty on a roughing the passer call, setting up a first down for the Cowboys. It set up a touchdown drive, giving the Cowboys a 26-23 lead in the fourth quarter. It was the Giants’ 14th penalty of the game.
–There was Paulson Adebo with a pass interference by pushing Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens. This set up the Cowboys to kick a field goal in the fourth quarter, giving them a 20-17 lead.
–Dru Phillips committed a pass interference penalty, setting up the Cowboys to run for a touchdown for a 17-13 lead in the third quarter.
–Starting left tackle James Hudson had four penalties (two for unnecessary roughness and two for false starts) on the Giants’ opening drive. It was so bad that Daboll had no choice but to bench Hudson for the rest of the game. Hudson’s stupidity happened after Gunner Olszewski’s opening 67-yard kickoff return was called back because of holding.
These things add up, and it’s fair to wonder if the head coach is coaching them properly. Daboll can be a hothead, and that rubs off on the players. There’s something to be said about the players taking on the head coach’s identity. In this case, this is not a great thing.
From watching the Giants under the Daboll era, they don’t play like a professional football team. It’s four years in now with this head coach. The same problems still reside. The offense tends to be a hot mess, with Sunday’s game being an exception.
Four years in, and Daboll continues to put the Giants in a position to fail. This isn’t progress. It’s fair to ask if he is the guy moving forward as the Giants’ head coach. The fans, local media, and the organization still believe in Daboll for reasons I don’t get.
Daboll is 4-15-1 against divisional opponents, including the Giants’ 38-7 playoff loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Since the Giants’ 6-1 start in his first season, the team has gone 12-33-1 under him.
Does anyone think he can take the Giants back to prominence when he hasn’t in his time here? A well-coached team doesn’t lose a winnable game like Sunday.
It’s hard to feel optimistic about this team this season when Daboll can’t coach his team properly on game days.
