EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Dabs' Digest, Giants.com's weekly conversation with head coach Brian Daboll:
Q: This week, we're playing in Seattle, your second long trip in four weeks (also London). You spoke this week about the importance of the players resting and hydrating. Do you also make adjustments to the practice schedule? What have you done to alleviate the physical stress on the players?
Daboll: "I would say our sports science, training staff and strength staff do a really good job of making sure we get what we need. We adjust the schedule weekly. There's a routine, but we're always looking to be better based on what we need. And I think these past, let's call it last four weeks, from the London trip to Baltimore then down to playing in the heat in Jacksonville and Seattle, we've tweaked it kind of each week with that week in mind, but the long four weeks together. So, whether it was fewer reps, not as much conditioning, more conditioning one day, those are all things that we've tinkered with."
Q: Do pads or no pads in practice factor into that?
Daboll: "Absolutely. I just think it's important to make sure that the players are exactly where they need to be for Sunday. There's a lot of research that goes into it, a lot of discussion. We do what we think is best."
Q: You've coached on a lot of highly successful teams. You've coached on teams in which the season was a long slog. Do you change how you approach the players based on whether the team is playing well or poorly? Or is it more important for you to be consistent?
Daboll: "I think one of the hardest things to do in this business – whether you're a player, a coach, a staff member – is to remain consistent because results affect everybody. And if you believe in your approach, you believe in your preparation, then you should be able to live with the results. (You) might not like them, and I think what players want is they want to know – and I'd say what coaches want, too – is that they want to deal with a person that is the same person every day, that is committed to improving, is a good teammate and is doing everything they can do to better themselves."
Q: Coaches try to envision how a game's going to go before you play it. Last week, you ran for 236 yards on 39 carries and Daniel (Jones) was a big part (107 yards) of that. Was that how you envisioned the game would be played? Or did you adjust to the game as it went along?
Daboll: "I think there's always adjustments that are made. The early part of the game, each team is kind of feeling themselves out. They're going through scripts. You have an idea of the matchups, and then you have to actually see what the matchups are when they're happening. You have to see how they're playing different things. I thought both (defensive coordinator) Wink (Martindale) and (offensive coordinator Mike) Kafka did a great job of series by series, tinkering with certain things. And the players did a good job of executing."
Q: I obviously don't know how much of your playbook you're using now, but as you have seen what Daniel is capable of doing with his arm and his legs, his decisions, have you been able to continually expand your repertoire?
Daboll: "I think we run our system now. We were formulating that in OTAs and in training camp and in preseason and in the early part of the season, and I think each week you play, you have a better idea of what you do well (and) what you don't do well. And to me, it's our playbook now. It's not like, 'Well, how many pages of the playbook are you using?' We're using all of the playbook. This is what we do now. It's not what somebody's playbook was in the past. That doesn't matter."
Q: Daniel looks to he's progressing week-by-week, almost quarter-by-quarter…
Daboll: "He's gotten better since we got here. It's a credit to, I would say, him. It's a credit to (quarterbacks coach) Shea Tierney, who works with him every day and meets with him. And it's a credit to Kafka for building that relationship and moving the pieces around and doing things that he feels comfortable with."
View photos of head coach Brian Daboll's time with the New York Giants.