The New York Giants are heading into Week 5 with a 1-3 record, and they’re looking for a win to even up the board. Unfortunately, their next game will be no cakewalk, since it’s against the Seattle Seahawks, who are 3-1, at Lumen Field in Washington. Giants head coach Brian Daboll says he knows the Hawks are a challenge, and he’s revealing how the team is prepping and strategizing for the upcoming matchup.
Brian Daboll: ‘Communication Can Be an Issue’
Speaking in a press conference on Wednesday, October 2, Daboll said the atmosphere at Seattle’s Lumen Field is a tough one and that it’s a “hard place to play.” But, the Giants are trying to prep as much as they can by simulating the noise in practice.
“Communication can be an issue,” Daboll said. “The way you practice it is you blare it as loud as you can blare it and make it hard for those guys to communicate during practice because it’s usually pretty loud there. So, it’s a cool place to play just with the atmosphere and their fan base. It makes it challenging on an offense communication-wise at times.”
Daboll had some kind words to say about Seattle’s first-year head coach, Mike Macdonald, stating that he has a “tremendous amount of respect” for Macdonald.
“They’ve started out fast. They’ve got three good wins under their belt,” Daboll added.
Daboll also talked about his personal history playing Macdonald, saying, “Obviously, there’s roots. That’s where he came up. He was at Michigan, did his own thing at Michigan. He was at Baltimore when we played him.”
He added, “You can go back and watch that game, but that was years within the system, so the system starts out and I think Mike has evolved the system the way that he likes to call it. He’s a good coach. I got a chance to meet him at the owner’s meetings really for the first time. I had a good conversation with him. Smart guy.”
The Giants’ Pass Rush is ‘Starting to Gel’
Switching gears to the Giants, Daboll said the team’s pass rush is improving, and he’s confident of it going into the Seattle game.
“We have quite a bit more sacks at this time of the year than we did last year, but there’s still a lot of room for improvement,” he said. “Those four guys are starting to gel in terms of pass rush games and communication, and that’s a work in progress. There’s been some good and there’s been some, obviously, things we can keep on working.”
Giants star wide receiver Malik Nabers, who has the most catches in the NFL ranks second in receiving yards going into Week 5, is in the “early stages” of the concussion protocol following Thursday’s loss to Dallas, according to Daboll. The coach also added that the Giants will take it “day by day” with Nabers.
In a postgame press conference following the Giants’ loss to Dallas on September 28, franchise quarterback Daniel Jones said that while the team didn’t “feel good about losing,” they’re “not discouraged.”
“I think we’re still confident in our team and what we can do, but no, we don’t feel good about losing,” he said.
