Head Coach Brian Daboll
Opening statement:
Brian Daboll: "Tough game. Sixty minute game. Came down to a few plays. Give Philly credit. I thought our guys competed all the way to the very end. It was a tough game."
On how he felt like his team played today despite resting the starters:
Brian Daboll: "I mean it's the NFL so the guys you have on your team you have confidence in. I certainly have confidence in all of the guys we have. You're not playing walk-ons and things like that. You're playing people who earned the right to be on a team and compete and play. So whoever we have out there I have confidence in. They all know what to do. I thought they played a very competitive game. There are a few things, obviously, we could have done a little better. We tried a few plays to get us going there. The fake field goal and the onside kick just to try to generate some offense which we were stalling a little bit there for the first half plus a little bit. Tough, competitive, smart guys that we value on our roster."
On why they decided to start Giants QB Davis Webb:
Brian Daboll: "We just thought that was best for our team."
On what he thought about Giants QB Davis Webb's performance:
Brian Daboll: "I thought he made some good plays and I thought some plays we obviously could've done better. I thought he competed for 60 minutes and gave us a chance at the end."
On his process of deciding to rest the starters today:
Brian Daboll: "I understand the question. I leave those conversations we have in-house. Some of those guys have played a lot of football, so we gave some other guys some opportunities."
On whether any of the backup players stood out to him today:
Brian Daboll: "Yeah our defense stood out. [The Eagles] scored one touchdown and were held to field goals on some short fields. I thought everybody out there competed. I'm not going to say aloud any individual. I just thought they all competed to the very end. It ended up being a one score game there. Tried to get an onside kick but just came up a little short."
On his thoughts about their upcoming matchup against the Vikings after their close game in Week 16:
Brian Daboll: "Yeah I mean, when you play a team close all the way to the end, usually the team that makes a few more plays wins the game. And they did. All of our preparation will be geared towards that team. They're a fantastic team. Well coached. We're going to have to do a good week of preparation."
On what he thinks about being matched up against the Vikings in general:
Brian Daboll: "That's playoffs, you know? Whatever the seeds are, the seeds are. We'll prepare as hard as we can to play a really good football team in a hostile environment."
On whether he thinks the close game against the Vikings a few weeks ago gives his team confidence going into next week:
Brian Daboll: "I think you'd have to ask them. I think every week is a new week in the NFL. We have obviously division games, played teams twice, and usually in the playoffs you're playing good teams. You probably get a crack at them twice, too. We need our best week of preparation."
On whether he thinks the close game against the Vikings a few weeks ago gives himself confidence going into next week:
Brian Daboll: "I just know I have to do a great job of doing my job. Coaches have to do a great job of preparing. Each week is a different week. This week will be a different week than it was the last time we played them. Just like Washington was different. Just like the Philly game and Dallas. They're all different. We'll just control the things we can control which is our preparation and practice. We'll figure out when we're going to play I'm assuming after this game tonight."
On what he would say about his team through these 17 games:
Brian Daboll: "So we did enough to get to the postseason. In terms of the evaluation of all that, that will be another time and place. But I was proud of our guys, the way they competed today. Unfortunately, you come up short, you want to win every game. The results weren't there but all the process and the preparation, like it's been all year, has been good. We are going to be at our best this week."
On how he has coached a lot in the postseason in his career as an assistant and how his experience has prepared him:
Brian Daboll: "I don't know. They're all a little bit different, you know? The first one was 21 years ago and the last one was an unbelievable game last year at Kansas City. And all in between there's about 30 of them. Each experience is different. I think you can definitely learn, absolutely. You can learn things just like you do in the regular season but how it goes for that particular game that you are getting ready to play really doesn't have much bearing at all. You have to play well, you have to coach well. It's a one game season, that's what it's at."
On whether he feels his team showed they were ready to compete today regardless of who was out on the field against this team:
Brian Daboll: "Look, we try to do the best job we can every time we play. Again I've said it plenty of times. The results aren't always what we want, but how we competed, how we prepared, I give those guys in our locker room a lot of credit. They work extremely hard. They are smart, tough, and dependable. We came up short though. We have to go back home, take these buses home, get in the training room, get in the meeting rooms, and have our best week of preparation."
On how he knew Giants S Dane Belton made the interception:
Brian Daboll: "Did you say how did I feel? Oh yeah, it was great. I thought he had a chance for another one too, where it kind of zipped by him. You are proud of all your guys. [Giants S Dane] Belton, who hasn't played a bunch but is playing and we have a lot of confidence in. [Giants WR] Kenny [Golladay] made a great play there at the end in the end zone, doesn't play a bunch but when he had an opportunity tonight, he made a big play for us. So you need everybody on your roster at this time of the year whether that's for five plays, 60 plays, practice, look team, everybody is important in the organization and certainly it starts with the players."
On whether he thinks the guys that didn't play today, their front line players, gained momentum off of an effort like this today:
Brian Daboll: "Well, I just know they were doing exactly what they needed to do when they were out there with their teammates. They were encouraging them, they were looking at the pictures, they were into the game. Again, you only have a certain amount of players on your roster to compete each week so you make decisions, inactives, so to speak. We sat down, [Giants GM] Joe [Schoen] and I, talked to some coaches, assistant coaches, and thought this was the best thing for us. Our team, I think we have an identity where we just try to compete, that's what we try to do. Whoever is out there we have confidence in."
