Head Coach Brian Daboll

Q: After one day, any thoughts on what you're going to do with the quarterback moving forward?

DABOLL: We just watched the tape here. We're in the meetings with the players right now. Like I said yesterday, in order to improve the passing game, and I'd say that was the number one thing we needed to improve from yesterday, as a collective, everybody's got to be doing exactly the right stuff. It's not all on one guy. There are multiple reasons why certain plays didn't come out the way we wanted them to come out, and we'll continue to do that.

Q: So (quarterback Russell Wilson) Russ remains the starter moving forward?

DABOLL: We're working through all personnel decisions and we'll do that over the next few days.

Q: You're not saying Russ is the starter, right, you're just saying you're still working through that?

DABOLL: We're doing what we normally do, which is watch the tape. We're just watching it with the players right now. We'll have staff meetings after this, but we come in, we watch the tape, offense, defense, kicking game, as a staff, and then we go meet with the players. That's where we're at right now.

Q: When you say, 'What you normally do,' most Monday afternoons you know who your quarterback is going to be the upcoming week if everyone's healthy though. This seems a little different.

DABOLL: Well look, we're going through the tape right now. We're evaluating everything.

Q: So a quarterback change is on the table?

DABOLL: I'd say we're evaluating everything.

Q: When would you like to have a decision on who's going to start at quarterback?

DABOLL: I'm not saying who's starting or who's not starting. I'm just saying we're evaluating everything right now. We're going through the tape from yesterday and we're evaluating every position right now.

Q: When you're looking at this tape, what would stand out or what would you see that would force you to make a change at quarterback?

DABOLL: I'm going through the pass game right now or talking about it with you, and there's a number of things from protection to routes to throws to reads. We have to do a better job collectively to improve the pass game. We had one good game throwing the football and then yesterday we took a step back and need to improve in that area.

Q: When you look at the red zone, again, this is the third straight game you guys have struggled in there. When you're looking at the tape, what commonalities are you seeing that have made this such an ineffective situation for you guys?

DABOLL: I'd say a number of things. We wanted to go into the game being able to run the football down there, and we did on that one with (running back Cam Skattebo) Skatt. Then we got the penalty when we went fast after the one play to (wide receiver) Wan'Dale (Robinson). We've got to do a better job down there overall collectively in the dropback part of the passing game in the red zone.

Q: When it comes to that, we saw (quarterback Jaxson) Dart play two plays in a row yesterday. Regardless of what you're doing as far as you're evaluating everything, but do you foresee possibly using more of that as an option as far as when you're in the red zone, the passes aren't working, that's got to be another option you consider a little bit more?

DABOLL: I'd say we've got to look at every option to improve down there. We've been down there a fair amount and the results haven't been there.

Q: In that case, I think I saw a stat where I think Russ has thrown either 18 or 20 passes in the red zone. I'm curious with the struggles you guys have, do you see more of a need to maybe mix things up so that way Russ isn't throwing as many passes, given how much he has struggled in the red zone?

DABOLL: I'd just say we have to do everything better down in the red zone. Again we've been down there a fair amount and we have to do a better job collectively, everybody, coaching, playing, everybody.

Q: Just a couple of injury ones real quick. (Running back) Tyrone (Tracy Jr.) and how did (tackle) Andrew (Thomas) come out of the game?

DABOLL: Andrew came out good. Tyrone's got a shoulder. I'll get more information on it later today.

Q: Do you expect Andrew to be a full-game player?

DABOLL: It's only Monday, so we'll see as the week goes on.

Q: Then just to get back to the quarterbacks, if Russ doesn't start, do you have one option there or two? Is (quarterback) Jameis (Winston) on the table?

DABOLL: Like I said, we're going through the tape here. We do this every week. But you talk about personnel. We'll have our personnel discussions here after the meeting with the players.

Q: You've talked a lot about Jaxson and having different checkpoints that you want him to hit before you put him in and before he's able to play and start. Has he checked off all the boxes for you? Has he reached all those checkpoints that you would feel confident of making that decision if that's a decision you make to go with him?

DABOLL: Well, we put him in the game for the last two weeks so we wouldn't put anybody in the game we don't feel confident with.

Q: You keep saying you go through this every week. Do you go through this process of deciding who your starting quarterback is every Monday after watching the film?

DABOLL: We go through the process of evaluating the personnel and having conversations about the personnel. Every position, every week.

Q: Is changing quarterback something - where does ownership factor into that conversation and do they factor into the equation of if you do make this decision and decide to go to Jaxson or Jameis or stick with Russ or whatever it is, do they have input and are you talking to them about that specifically?

DABOLL: Whether it's the quarterback, the defensive tackle, the receivers. I'm not saying there is. I'm not saying there isn't. We're going through a process of what we normally do. Talk about personnel. I'm not saying one way or the other and what it's going to be. We'll cross that bridge later today.

Q: I think I asked you this last week but I just kind of wanted to follow up again. What benefits do you see putting in Dart for those couple snaps here or there? I guess how that helped him or what you can gain from that?

DABOLL: Well he was in for a pass and a couple runs this week. The pass, they played a good coverage for that play design and he scrambled. He handed it off twice on reads. Did his job.

Q: I'm curious about Cam Skattebo. If he's got to take on a bigger role, what do you think he's capable of?

DABOLL: Look, I've said this before, Cam is a good young player to coach. He runs hard. He makes few mistakes relative to understanding the schematics of things. Instinctive player and made the most of his opportunity yesterday.

Q: With (kicker Graham) Gano, it seems like he'd probably miss time with a groin injury as a kicker?

DABOLL: Most of these guys that got dinged up in the game, whether they're getting MRIs now or in the city doing different things. I know it was sore. That's what I do know yesterday. I know they're getting it looked at. I'll let you guys know on Wednesday when I hear it.

Q: Who is involved? Because it's not changing a defensive tackle. If you were to change quarterbacks, do you sit down with (senior vice president and general manager) Joe (Schoen) and ownership or is it strictly your decision? Whose final say is it if you are going to make a change or not make a change?

DABOLL: We have conversations every day. But at the end of the day, I'll sit down with Joe like I do with all the players, coaches, talk about the game. Hey this is where this guy's at. I think we need to create some competition and put another player in there. Here's where this guy's at. Really wasn't good enough. Or hey, there were a few mistakes here, this is what we need to clean up. This is what we need to clean up on our end as a coaching staff. Those are normal conversations I'd say every day.

Q: Have you met with Russ today at all?

DABOLL: Well I just had a team meeting. I'll go in the quarterback room like I normally do. Shea (Tierney) and (Mike) Kafka are in there with those guys. Go say hello to them, see how they're feeling. But we just had a team meeting that lasted about a half hour. That's normally what we do.

Wide Receiver Darius Slayton

Q: Obviously, we focus a lot on the quarterbacks when you talk about this offense, but when you guys look back at the tape as receivers, what are you seeing that has hampered things a little bit from your perspective?

SLAYTON: That we weren't perfect ourselves. We had some plays, which I specifically think of myself, a play that I left out there, and kind of as a receiver core, every game is kind of like that, though. You look back and you're like, we could have been better here or there, but offense is a collective thing, and definitely as a receiving core, you try to do everything in your power to help the quarterback succeed, and we definitely had our share in some of that, not helping him to the best of our ability.

Q: Forgive me if you were asked this yesterday, I missed you in the locker room, but just obviously you've been around this team, you've heard when the fans are booing and things of that nature. A day later, how do you kind of process that, obviously, with what their reaction is versus what you said last week, that any decision that has to be made can't be just made in a microwave-type sense, if you will? SLAYTON: I think obviously those types of predicaments obviously it makes people feel a certain type of way, it makes you want to change, but it's going to happen. That's what happens when a product you put out there on the field isn't up to the standard, isn't up to the level of expectation, and those types of things are going to happen. And ultimately, the only thing you can do to change that or prevent that is to change the product that you're putting out there on the field and put a good product out there, and they'll quickly turn from boos to cheers.

Q: We just spoke with (head coach) Brian Daboll, who said at the QB position, they're evaluating everything. Have you heard anything on who's going to be the starting QB this week?

SLAYTON: I haven't heard anything. To the best of my knowledge, (quarterback) Russell Wilson's our starter, and he's been our starter. Yeah, I don't know any other information other than that.

Q: Sorry to kind of put you in that position, just like left it hanging with Daboll, so I've got to ask when we have the opportunity, but are you okay with that decision? I mean, you said yesterday you believed Russ gives you guys the best chance to win. Is that something you still agree with?

SLAYTON: Yeah, I like to support. I believe it's the job of everybody, the other 10 people on the offense, to support the quarterback, whoever that may be. So, if Charlotte Carroll was the quarterback, I'm going to try my best to support Charlotte in being the quarterback of the New York Giants. But ultimately, like, we don't control who that person is. So, like I said, to the best of my knowledge, now it's Russell, and if the powers that be see that there's a change there, then I'll do my best to support whoever's in that position next.

Q: Daboll said that in the team meeting, he's evaluating everything. I'm just curious, like, what was his meeting like today? Was it any different than a typical Monday team meeting?

SLAYTON: No, it wasn't particularly different. Every Monday we go over the film kind of as a team, and he'll show good, bad, things that, you know, we need to keep doing or build on, things that obviously weren't up to the standard or mistakes that we made that we need to eliminate, and that's kind of the general flow of how our Mondays go.

Q: Maybe I'll put you in an unfair spot because nothing's been announced, but Daboll did leave it open. You were here in 2019, obviously in a different place in your career, but what do you remember about that kind of changing of the guard and any lessons maybe you learned about if and when that does happen here?

SLAYTON: I think I've kind of said it a little bit yesterday after the game. I've kind of said it in the past, but even if you look back at 2019 when we had this similar situation with (former quarterback) Eli (Manning) and (Indianapolis Colts' quarterback) DJ (Daniel Jones), you know, DJ's time with a Giant didn't end in an amicable fashion, and a lot of people have a lot of reasons for that, but probably some of that was the fact that he was thrown in the fire Week 3 my rookie year and was asked to go out there and try to win football games, while you're still trying to figure the game out. I said yesterday we just played a guy yesterday who didn't play at all his rookie year, and he's probably going to go down as the greatest player ever. So, if he can benefit from waiting and learning, anybody can. It's not just him, (Baltimore Ravens' quarterback) Lamar Jackson waited. A lot of quarterbacks in this league, you know, they took their time. They had a chance to grow, had a chance to learn and watch, and ultimately, I want (quarterback) Jaxson Dart to be a perennial all-pro, pro-bowl, Super Bowl-winning quarterback one day, and Andy Reid thought it worked, and they've been to a few Super Bowls in his time, so why not let him wait while he can wait.

Q: We've asked you a lot about the stress of losing and this losing and things like that, and offense not scoring. Do you ever think to yourself, if I got here at a different time, things would have been better for me and for the team and the offense and my ability to win games?

SLAYTON: You mean like if I got here at a different time, like year-wise?

Q: Well, I mean, you are what you are age-wise, but, I mean, a player arrived to a franchise at certain periods in that franchise's development. You got here when the development was low, and you haven't been able to get out of it as a franchise. Other guys got here when the team was on the way up and benefited from that success. Do you ever think about that kind of stuff?

SLAYTON: I do, but at the same time if I were to sit up here and say that I wish I would have gotten here in 2010 right before 2011 season, then I clearly don't think of myself as a very good football player. Because if you think of yourself as a good football player, then you'd think when I get there and if I can get some people to go with me that I'll be part of the reason why the franchise trends in that direction. And so that's been my focus since I've been here, and I've tried to better myself as a player. I think we've compiled a lot of good players in my time here, and ultimately at some point once you compile the talent, it's time for that talent to then propel the organization in that direction. There was a gap between 1990 and 2007, right, of Super Bowls. But at some point, before 2007, a group of guys came in, and that talent then rose the Giants back up to Super Bowl level. I think my focus, and I think everybody's focus on this team, that's a player on this team in this current era, is to be one of those guys who pushes the Giants back in that direction.

Q: You're the longest-tenured offensive guy, right? (Defensive lineman) Dex (Lawrence) is the longest-tenured defensive guy. Do you ever fear getting desensitized by losing?

SLAYTON: I personally don't because I hate losing. I mean, I hate losing anything, ping pong, checkers, jacks, whatever. But I mean, I don't think there's ever a point where you walk away from the game, you're like, ah we lost so well. Every game sucks because guys put a lot into it. This game is hard. It's not golf where you're just swinging a club like you're getting hit. Your body hurts, you're fighting. I don't think there's ever a point where you go out there and you're like, yeah, man, I want to keep showing up for practice banging every day and then go out there and lose. Nobody wants that.

Q: Will you, in your heart and your soul and your mind, go out Sunday against one of the best teams in the league, undefeated team, no matter who's playing quarterback for you, and believe with every fiber of your being, so to speak, we're going to win today, or so often you have not, you know what I mean? It would be human nature to say, I hope we win, but I don't know. I mean, in your head on Sunday, do you think?

SLAYTON: Yeah, I think you're right. I think human nature would say that. But I think that's what makes people in the NFL the 1% is that you're supposed to be different than the average person who would think that way and who would operate that way. Again, regardless of what offense we're up against, I mean, we're a team that touts ourselves having one of the best defensive fronts in the NFL, and I believe them to be that. And I believe them to be able to neutralize any offense on any given Sunday. And when they do so then it's on our turn on the offense to go out there and score points so that they can rush and get sacks and get interceptions. So, this thing all works together and ultimately, as an offensive player, you know, I got to do my best to help us get in the end zone and create explosives, as does everybody else on the offense.

Q: You obviously have your preference and think it would be beneficial for Jaxson to sit and wait. What would you think if they do name him the starting quarterback, though?

SLAYTON: I mean, if they do, look, he's talented. He's shown himself to be able to learn fast. I think he's capable of being an NFL quarterback. I think he's capable of being a good NFL quarterback. But, if they do, and if we do have a lackluster performance maybe a week or two, it's like, well then if that's the case give him some time. Give him some grace. Don't show up and boo him a game or two in if he doesn't do well, which I don't expect him to do well. But I'm just saying the reality is it might not. So, if that's the case, give him time to grow. Give us time to gel. Let him be an NFL quarterback. Let him figure out what that is and learn and grow and learn us as players playing with us players. And give him a chance to grow and become a good quarterback. Something that I feel like Daniel Jones probably didn't get the chance to become a good NFL quarterback. Something that I hope that Jaxson Dart will get the chance to do if he does get the opportunity to play.

Q: And what has he shown you? Like, I know you actually haven't probably spent a lot of time working with him directly, right? But what has he proven to you and what has he shown you so far?

SLAYTON: You come in as a rookie, you don't know everything, right? You don't know exactly how to prepare, how to film watch. Every meeting that (quarterback) Jameis (Winston) and Russ is in, he's in. Every meeting that we have with Russ, he's in. He's listening. He's watching. He's preparing. He's understanding. He's comprehending. And then he goes there and practices. Obviously, he runs the scout team. But when you're on the scout team, you're up against, again, we tout ourselves as a really good defense. He's up against one of the better defenses in the NFL. And he's operating. And he's finding ways to complete the passes, navigate the pass rush, those types of things. I think he does that well day in and day out. But from a mental aspect, which I think the majority of quarterback is mental, I think he does a good job of paying attention in those meetings and he's been attentive and he's prepared himself well.

Outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux

Q: When you look back at the tape of this defense, obviously there were some good things you guys did, but how would you evaluate the defense yesterday?**

THIBODEAUX: I think it wasn't bad, but definitely didn't do enough to win.

Q: When you look at the way (outside linebacker) Brian (Burns) has played these three games, I believe he's had a sack these three games. You guys talked about how he's raised his level up this training camp. What have you seen out of him that's allowed him to get to this point?

THIBODEAUX: I would say hard work. He's a guy who practices how he plays, he respects the game and it's paying off.

**Outside Linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux

Q: Have you heard anything on the quarterback front of who's going to be your team's starter this week?**

THIBODEAUX: No, I haven't heard anything.

Q: Do you have a preference? Obviously, you're on the opposite side of the ball, but do you guys still want (quarterback Russell Wilson) Russ as your team's starter?

THIBODEAUX: I think we believe in everybody in that QB room, and I know that decision is going to come down to the coaches. For me, I'm just going to keep focusing on how I can contribute to the defense and contribute to helping our offense get more opportunities to score.

Q: I don't think any guy has reached your level as professional athletes and are good losers. How bad of a loser do you say you are after losing games?

THIBODEAUX: Well, man, I've realized that it's a long season and that you've got to stay focused, man. Keep your belief. Stay on the yellow brick road. For me, I guess I look at football how I look at kind of life. Nothing that you want is going to come easy, and nothing that is good is going to be easy. We've just got to keep working and keep grinding. The hard work is worth it. Just be in love with the process.

Q: Is it hard to believe that Sunday will be different when so many Sundays are not different? You know what I'm saying? Is it hard to keep that mindset, or is it human nature to be like, well, I hope we get it done, but I don't know...

THIBODEAUX: For me, you've just got to stay faithful, man. Stay faithful. You know the preparation and the grind we put in; I know how much work I put in. At the end of the day, I get paid to play defense and that's what I'm going to go out there and do.

Q: We've talked so much about your front and what it can do? It has done some things, certainly. Would you say you guys have put your stamp on a game yet, and are you confident that if you haven't that you will sometime soon?

THIBODEAUX: We just have to keep chopping wood, keep playing together, keep getting healthy, keep focusing on the opponent and the task at hand. But we'll be all right. I think we've just got to keep working.

Q: I don't know if you've gotten started on this week, but you certainly know the quarterback that you are going to be going up against. Just curious from your time with (Chargers quarterback Justin) Herbert, what are some of the things that you share with your defense? What are some of the good moments that you had out at your alma mater?

THIBODEAUX: Justin Herbert's a great quarterback. I always knew he was a beast when I was there. We won the Rose Bowl back in 2019. They've got (Chargers linebacker) Troy Dye over there as well, who was my starting linebacker. Him and Herbert have a great story. But, yeah, it'll be exciting to get a game against him. Super great guy, but definitely I'm excited to be an opponent.

Q: Eager to see, start breaking him down and start looking at the film and thinking back to the quarterback you used to see in practice versus the quarterback that you may see on Sunday?

THIBODEAUX: Yeah, he's definitely a gunslinger. They've got a lot of weapons around him and a good offense, so I'm excited to break it down.