It’s been almost impossible this season to het Giants head coach Brian Daboll to look more than a week ahead, as his team has taken things one day, and one game, at a time.
But on Monday, a day off for Big Blue after they clinched a playoff berth Sunday, Daboll reflected on what it will mean to play past this weekend, the first Giants postseason appearance since 2016.
“You’re only guaranteed, obviously, 17 of these things now. So, it takes a lot of work to get to this point, and a lot of execution,” Daboll said. “It’s extremely hard to get one of these spots, so I think that you should appreciate it, because you get to play another game. Probably the most gratifying is just to see these players have their smiling faces after a game and realized that they accomplished one of the goals – to make the postseason. I’m happy for those guys.”
Of course, that appreciation was short-lived.
“We appreciated it (Sunday) night, and then you got to get back to work,” Daboll said. “Once that time hits, it’s, again, a one-and-done season.”
Daboll has preached consistency and resilience all season long, and for the Giants, nothing is going to change in terms of the way they prepare, because it’s worked for them all year.
“This is a humbling league. You’re always grateful for the opportunity to participate in the postseason,” he said. “And when you get a spot, that doesn’t change the things that helped you get to where you’re at. You just dial back in and go back to doing the things that matter most.”
It took “everybody in the building to do their job well” for the Giants to make the playoffs, and for Daboll, his appreciation for that effort goes from the very top of the ladder all the way down to the last staffer on the totem pole.
“It’s probably the greatest team sport to be part of, coaching or playing or being part of the football team,” Daboll said. “I have a lot of good people that are with me, whether that’s coaches, front office, scouting, most importantly the players, the administration staff – everybody that is responsible to do their job well. So, I’m just one part of the puzzle. I try to do my job the best I can but count on a lot of other people doing their job well. And that’s again, like I said, a testament to them.”
And extra testament to the players, who have overcome a lot of adversity and made the most out of a roster that no one would say is close to the most talented in the NFL.
“The players are the most important thing on your team. So, again, I appreciate the effort that they’ve put into this season, their mindset. We’ve worked them hard,” Daboll said. “I do think the type of players, the type of people that we have, they've been fantastic to work with. They've got a great mindset. They exhibit a lot of characteristics that we covet in terms of being smart, tough, dependable. And they just try to get better each day.”
For the Giants franchise, it’s their first playoff berth since 2016, and for a large chunk of the players – younger or otherwise – it will be their first playoff experience period. For Daboll, this is the fourth straight year he’s seen the postseason and eighth time in his last nine NFL seasons with New England, Buffalo, and the Giants…and that doesn’t even count his one year at Alabama, where the Crimson Tide won the National Championship.
It’s old hat for Daboll to play deep into January, but that doesn’t mean he takes it for granted.
“I think that regardless of where I was, you're always grateful for being able to make the postseason. Each year is a different year for every team that I've been part of, but you don't go into a season saying, 'Boy, I hope I win three games.' You go out there to compete with every team that you're playing,” he said. “You try to stack up as many wins as you can so that when you get to a point at the end of the season where if you stack enough up, you make it. Again, this is a humbling league. You're always grateful for the opportunity to participate in the postseason. So, I'd say you've put the work and time and effort and energy into it. And when you get a spot, that doesn't change the things that helped you get to where you're at. You just dial back in and go back to doing the things that matter most.”
Daboll’s tenure in Buffalo saw three playoff berths, one AFC Championship Game appearance, and maybe the most memorable non-championship round playoff game ever last season.
What will 2022 bring?
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