Head Coach Brian Daboll
August 26, 2022
Daboll: Thought it was a productive practice yesterday with the Jets. I thought we got a lot accomplished. It was good to see another color jersey, guys going against different skillsets, the competitiveness. I thought we practiced the right way. (Jets Head) Coach (Robert) Saleh and his team I thought did a fantastic job, and we tried to reciprocate it. We got a lot out of it. It was good work.
Q: Where do you stand on playing time in the game after that kind of practice?
A: We’re going to talk about it today after practice and probably tomorrow morning. And then we’ll have a feel of exactly what we want to do.
Q: With the signing (Kicker Ryan) Santoso, was that a sign that (Kicker) Graham (Gano) is obviously not out of the concussion protocol?
A: Yeah, he wasn’t ready to go. So, figured we’ll get Ryan. Let him kick some more. We always have (Punter) Jamie (Gillan) if we need it. But that was the thought. And we added (Wide Receiver) Travis (Toivonen), too, for our receiving guys.
Q: For playing time in that preseason game, is it just deciding how much we want guys to play, or are you insistent on having your starters play in that game? You’ve been pretty heavy on wanting your guys to play.
A: Not necessarily. I think we’ve got a lot of good work. We’ll have another good day today. We’ll talk about that as a coaching staff and do what we think is right for our team (and) where we’re at at this point.
Q: How much of a relief was it to get the news about (Outside Linebacker) Azeez (Ojulari)? I’m sure you saw him pull up, and it didn’t look good initially.
A: Yeah. Anytime you get better news on an injury that it may or may not be, I think you’re always happy as a coach. But he’ll be day-to-day. We’ll just keep on grinding him through.
Q: Can that injury possibly threaten his Week 1 availability?
A: I don’t know yet. Don’t know. I’d just say, again, day-to-day. That’s where he’s at. When he’s out there is when he’ll be out there.
Q: Is there anyone right now that you know will not be ready for Week 1? Because some guys haven’t been seen in a week or so.
A: No. We’ll get to that point, but not at this point.
Q: What kind of a summer have you seen from (Outside Linebacker) Oshane (Ximines)? He’s been kind of the fill in guy while your other outside linebackers have been out.
A: Yeah. I think he’s done a good job. He’s been ready to go. He’s been available. He’s been improving. He’s a big-body guy. Got heavy hands. Does a good job of setting the edge. Think he’s picked up the the defense well. (Outside Linebackers Coach Drew Wilkins) Drew’s done a good job with him. So, we need that from our guys.
Q: Will you give (Inside Linebacker Carter) Coughlin or (Inside Linebacker Cam) Brown some reps on the edge just because of numbers and them having played there in the past?
A: That could happen, yeah. Based on where we’re at, that could happen. I’m not going to say it’s definitely going to happen, but I addressed that with the defensive staff just to make sure those guys are ready in case we need it.
Q: Was (Outside Linebacker) Jihad (Ward) on the field yesterday? We were watching the offense.
A: Yeah. He didn’t do anything relatively out there, but he’s getting better.
Q: What’s (Wide Receiver) Wan’Dale (Robinson) doing?
A: I just put him down for yesterday. He’s had a lot of reps. He’ll be fine.
Q: What would you say is the most surprising thing that you’ve learned about (Quarterback) Daniel Jones since coming into the building, whether that be on the field or off it?
A: True pro. Works extremely hard. He’s in real early. Stays real late. He’s good with his teammates. He’s a good communicator. He’s improved every day since we’ve been here – I’m not just saying in training camp. Good young quarterback to work with.
Q: In what sense has he improved specifically?
A: Really with everything. Again, it’s hard to learn a new offense and execute it right off the bat. There’s so many moving pieces when you’re installing a new offensive scheme from cadence to play call to reads to protection systems to check-with-me’s to audibles to NASCAR or fastball terms. There’s a lot to learn. So, each day I think he’s making progress with it.
Q: Presuming you haven’t made a determination on this yet, but at what point do you want to decide who’s going to be your play caller Week 1 offensively?
A: When we play that week. (Offensive Coordinator Mike Kafka) Mike’s done a good job. He’ll call this one, and we’ll revisit like we revisit all of it. But he’s done a (good job). Lot of confidence in Mike.
Q: I think knew (Safety) Xavier (McKinney) when he was a freshman at (The University of) Alabama, right?
A: X? Yeah.
Q: What kind of leadership skills did you see from him when he was coming into college, and then what have you seen from him?
A: I would say I was more focused on the offensive side of the ball in general. I’ll just speak at my time here with the Giants. I think for a younger player, he has no problem speaking up. He’s a good communicator. He knows the defensive system very well. I think he does a great job with, not just a defense backs, but communication with the linebackers, the front guys, the offense. He’s really been a pleasure to be around.
Q: Do you have specific numbers at positions when you’re making the 53, like you need to have ‘X’ amount of tight ends, ‘X’ whatever?
A: No, I think each year it’s varied from the teams I’ve been on. And I’m certain it’ll vary this year. You try to do the best job you can of creating the most competitive roster that you can have. Sometimes it’s heavy on one spot, lighter on the other spot. The kicking game always has importance in really all those backend jobs. So, I’m sure it’ll be little different than it was the year before or five years or 10 years.
Q: How about quarterbacks with that? You know, the practice squad rules changed about two years ago, three years ago. Does that affect how you do that? Would you keep three quarterbacks on the active roster?
A: We could. Yeah. We could. I’m not saying we will. I think everything’s on the table at this point. This will be an important week for a lot of players – the last game to evaluate them. We’ll have discussions. We’ve had them. We’ll continue to have them. But I wouldn’t rule anything out.
Q: You’ve been in this league when you would have your final cuts and then you guys roll right into the game week. The fact that they’ve built in now – over the last couple of years – this extra week, how does it alter your preparation for Week 1?
A: Good question. We’ll focus on ourselves still here coming up this week. I think you can overdo preparing for a team, both as a coaching staff and as players. At least, that’s what we’ve done the last four years when I was at Buffalo. So, we’ll focus on improving the things we need to work on. And again, it’ll give some time for guys to get rested up and healed up and hopefully we’ll have as many out there as we can.
Q: Have you decided how many days of practices you’re going to have next week?
A: Three.
Q: So, you’ll do, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday?
A: Yeah. I think it’s Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. Yeah.
Q: Do you think Daniel had a good practice yesterday, and how do you think he’s grown in the last few weeks?
A: Yeah, I thought he did some good things. Again, he’s taking steps each day. He’s improving his eyes, his vison on this – whether it’s the second level the third level – his reads, his footwork, his ability to get to checkdowns when we need to. I think he’s seeing downfield clearly. Again, I think Daniel’s improved every day he’s been here. And part of it is just him – the type of person he is, the way he works. I think we’re building. We still got a long way to go. But I’m pleased with his progress, his leadership, how he’s handled things. Each day we’ve gotten a little bit better.
Q: Where do you stand with that left guard spot at this point? I know you’ve had a lot of injuries and some guys I guess that are pretty limited.
A: I think that’s probably a better one for next week or the week after that. We’ll see where we’re at physically. We definitely have people that have played inside there, and in a week or two, we’ll make sure we have who we think is the right person in there.
Q: We haven’t seen (Guard) Shane (Lemieux). How’s he doing?
A: He’s coming along. But I wouldn’t anticipate him anytime soon.
Q: So, he won’t play Week 1?
A: Probably not.
Q: You mentioned the other day the idea of the urgency, seeing your guys, knowing what’s coming on Tuesday. For you, you’ve made a point to say you want to connect with the guys individually. Is there any point over the next 48 hours that you’ll go to guys who you know are on the bubble and kind of, I don’t know if it’s a pep talk or motivational, or do you kind of just let things play out the way they are?
A: At this time of year, everybody’s kind of on – I wouldn’t want to call it stress. It’s important to everyone, just put it that way. And everybody knows it’s important to each person out there. And again, just the amount of respect that I have for the players. I think everybody deals with that in their own way. I tell them all they can focus on is doing the best job they can do. And that’s each and every day that we’ve evaluated since we’ve been here. And if you can do that, you can live with yourself.
Q: What about (Outside Linebacker) Elerson (Smith) for Week 1?
A: We’ll see. We’ll see.
