Post-Game Transcript: Head Coach Brian Daboll

NYG Postgame (vs. Cowboys) Transcripts: Head Coach Brian Daboll

September 26, 2022

Daboll: How’s everybody doing? Tough game. Give (the) Dallas (Cowboys) credit. We didn’t get it quite done tonight. They made more plays than we made. And give them credit. Get back to work and get ready for (the) Chicago (Bears) here soon.

Q: What was happening with pass protection? It seemed like they were around (quarterback) Daniel (Jones) quite a bit.
A: Yeah, they were. We were chipping; we were slamming. We were doing a lot of different things. That’s a good defensive line, and they got the better of us.

Q: What do you say to (offensive lineman) Evan Neal? He had a rough night. I know he’s a rookie, and he’s going against good players. But that was tough.
A: Just keep your head up. You know, get ready to work next week. We all have days or plays that we wish we could have back. Go back, and work on it. And get better. Get ready for next week.

Q: What do you think about the way Daniel handled all that pressure?
A: I thought he did a good job. I thought made a lot of loose plays. He had about 80 yards rushing. I thought he did a good job keeping his eyes downfield when he couldn’t get out. He made a couple of good plays there at the end that we couldn’t quite convert on. Had some dropped passes. The last play that (Cowboys cornerback Trevon) Diggs picked off, (wide receiver David) Sills fell down. It was a timing throw. Again, I think he’s making progress. It’s tough after a loss. Nobody did well enough, and we understand that. I think he’s making progress. And he fought and battled. He made some really good plays out there under some duress.

Q: Do you have an early word on (wide receiver Sterling) Shepard?
A: I don’t. I don’t. I went in there to see him; he’s in the shower. And I didn’t stop to talk to the trainers. It didn’t look good on what I saw.

Q: How hard is that to see that? I mean, this guy just came back from a serious injury in a short period of time.
A: It’s tough. It’s a tough sport. Guys work their butts off to get back from injuries, and if this is something that he’s out for the whole season – which we’ll probably know tomorrow morning or maybe we even know now – you hurt for those guys because they put everything into it. You watch them in the rehab room. You watch them in the offseasons. It’s just a shame.

Q: Big play there on the plus 41 fourth-and-4. That hit to (Cowboys wide receiver) CeeDee Lamb, it looked like he might have been a little short of the sticks. Did you think about challenging that?
A: On the fourth-and-4 one? No. They said he made it upstairs. I had the red flag. They went quick, but they ended up seeing a replay and they said, ‘He’s got it.’ Again, we had used a timeout. If I had a clear view on it, I would’ve just thrown it, and it would’ve been the one timeout. But the guys upstairs said that he had it.

Q: (Wide receiver) Kenny (Golladay) talked this week about wanting to be more involved in the offense, and you guys gave him the opportunity. He didn’t have a catch and then obviously had the drop on third down. Did you talk to him at all after?
A: Individually? No, I just talked to the team. You just go back, watch the tape, see what we need to fix. But again, from the day that I talked to Kenny – I talk to him a lot, all the players.

Q: What do you think they did offensively in the second half there? (Cowboys quarterback Cooper) Rush had a lot more success.
A: Well, I’d say they controlled the line of scrimmage. They ran the ball for, what was it, 180 yards? We had no sacks. So, when you can control the line of scrimmage and you’re not getting a lot of pressure on the quarterback, you can usually stay in rhythm pretty good. They had a couple of plays on the sideline off a little switch-release routes, and I thought he did a good job.

Q: You talked about all the different things you tried to do to help with pass protection. Do you feel you have the personnel – the talent – to be able to figure this out?
A: Yeah. Look, we didn’t play our best. But the guys worked their tails off. They competed until the end. We came up a little short. Give the other team credit. So, we have to get back to work and get ready for Chicago.

Q: Any concern about the physical beating that Daniel’s taking? Obviously, he’s a tough player.
A: Yeah. You never want to have your quarterback hit. But I’d say he takes care of himself. Again, the more you can keep them off the quarterback, the better for the quarterback. And he’s athletic enough to make some loose plays, and there might be some hits in there when he’s scrambling. But yeah, there’s no question we got to do a better job of protecting him.

Q: What did the referee tell you on the offensive interference call they called on Shep (Sterling Shepard)? The pass that Kenny did catch.
A: He said it was offensive pass interference.

Q: Getting back to Shep’s injury – you never want to lose any player to injury. But Shep’s a leader. If you lose him, how much does that hurt the team with his leadership?
A: I think anytime you lose a good player that has leadership qualities, there’s a void. But that’s why we have the other guys that are going to have to do a good job of stepping up. I just feel terrible for the guy.

Q: In a game like that when your quarterback is under that much duress, is there anything he can do other than hope the protection is a little bit better? Or is it just sort of a rough game for the quarterback?
A: We were trying to get it out quick at times, and they were jamming a fair amount. It didn’t just come from the edge. It was stuff coming up in the inside, whether it was on a (running) back or inside. No, it was a factor.

Q: How tough is it for you when it is coming from various spots to try and fix it on the fly?
A: I think the coaches did a – you can only call so many things, whether it’s jams, full slides, a back and a tight end, just a tight end. Sometimes we have to do a better job at chipping, too, and chipping when we need to chip. Again, give those guys credit. They did a good job up front on the defensive line. That’s a tough group to block, and they certainly played well tonight.

Q: I know you have to watch the tape, but any early read on (outside linebacker Kayvon) Thibodeaux and (outside linebacker) Azeez (Ojulari) being out there today?
A: No. We’ll look at it tonight and tomorrow. It’s a short week, so we got to get on to Chicago as soon as we can and do a better job.

Q: Were they on a pitch count, or is that how you think you’ll rotate them?
A: They were on a pitch count going into the game.

Q: Does the short week help you get over a loss like this? Or can it be a detriment that there’s really not that much time between the two?
A: I think that you just take it for what it’s worth. We didn’t do a good enough job – all of us – and you recognize that. You own it; you take responsibility for it. And you move on. You can’t let these things linger just like you can’t let a win linger. You have to move on and get ready on the next opponent. To ride the rollercoaster, there’s going to be a lot of ups and downs throughout the league, throughout the year for any team. I’m just speaking for our team. Be consistent. Own it. Take responsibility for it. Move on and get ready for the next week. That’s all you can do.

Q: What did you see in the blocked field goal in the first quarter?
A: They did a good job on the rush. That was a point of emphasis in, I’d say, both in their field goal rush and their punt rush. They’ve gotten close a lot of times when you’re getting ready for them. We worked on it; obviously, we didn’t do a good job with it.