Malik Nabers had plenty to say after the Giants’ loss to the Commanders on Sunday, pointing to the play calling in the first half having an impact on the second half, particularly with running the ball more than prioritizing the pass.
“I don’t call the plays, so I mean, I don’t know,” Nabers said. “When you run the clock out in the first half, you’re scratching in the second half to try to score points, as many as possible. As an offense, you’ve got to be versatile. You’ve got to be able to run. You’ve got to be able to pass. You can’t pick between half and half what you want to do.”
Sal Licata took exception to the comments by Nabers, which he believes was a shot, whether direct or not, at head coach Brian Daboll.
“This is now the second time...A few weeks back, he’s talking about how he was open, throwing his teammates under the bus. You can’t do that,” Sal said. “You’re a rookie. You haven’t accomplished anything yet. That was a problem.
“You can’t say that about your head coach! I don’t care how high you were drafted or how much talent you have. You can’t say that. It’s selfish. This is Odell Beckham-type stuff that Malik Nabers is now getting into.”
Sal doesn’t overlook Nabers’ undeniable talent, but as a rookie, he would like to see other veteran leaders speak up in the locker room, and not a first-year player who has now seemingly called out teammates or coaches for the second time this season.
Not to mention, doing it after joking with his former LSU teammate during the game.
“He’s on the sideline hamming it up in the game with his former teammate Jayden Daniels,” Sal said. “Bro, what is Malik Nabers doing??
“Their offense stinks...and not only is he not producing, he’s running his mouth and having fun with his former college teammate on the sideline. Unacceptable behavior.”