Brian Daboll Is Somehow Turning the Giants Around
Going into the 2022 NFL season, I ranked every NFL team and predicted their records for the season. At the bottom were the expected teams, Seahawks, Commanders, Texans, Bears, Jaguars, Falcons, and at the very bottom, the New York Giants, at a horrific 1–16. With the season now going into week 3, the Giants stand at 2–0. To say my prediction aged poorly is an understatement. How did this piss poor roster manage to pull off two wins to start the season, and how much of their success should be attributed to new head coach Brian Daboll?
Josh Allen’s career success thus far can be directly attributed to Brian Daboll. That is how good of a coach Brian Daboll is. Josh Allen came into the Buffalo Bills organization an unrefined, inaccurate, and careless quarterback. Allen was very much a work in progress that needed very careful care and development, that only the best minds in football would be able to manage. Then offensive coordinator of the Bills, Brian Daboll, would take the task and develop Allen into the future MVP he projects today. Allen improved along with the Bills every year, going from a 52.8% completion percentage, 10 TD, 12 INT, and 2,074 yards in 2018 to a nearly 70% completion percentage, 37 TD, 10 INT, and 4,544 yards in 2020. Daboll took all of Allen’s physical gifts and blessed him with Daboll’s knowledge of how to properly run an offense. This quick and incredible development, along with a dangerous offense crafted by Daboll, led the Giants to hire him as their next head coach. New York looked to have Daboll do the same thing he had done for Josh Allen to 4th year QB Daniel Jones.
It remains to be seen if Daniel Jones has improved through his first two games of the Daboll regime, but the team has certainly embraced the developmental gifts of Daboll. Week 1 the G-men managed to squeak out a 21–20 win against a depleted, yet still expected to be competitive Titans team. Jones looked average at best, putting up 188 yards, 2 TD, and 1 INT, but what really won the Giants this game was Daboll managing the Giants around Jones. Daboll kept Jones’ attempts to a minimum (21) and pounded the ball on the ground with the Giants most talented playmaker, Saquon Barkley. Barkley has struggled behind a putrid offensive line for the majority of his career, but with newly drafted tackle Evan Neal now anchoring the men upfront, Saquon went on a tear. Barkley had 18 attempts for a startling 164 yards and 1 TD. If you aren’t amazing at math, that gives Barkley an average of 9.1 yards per carry! Barkley basically earned the Giants a first down on every play he got the ball. The defense also held strong against the daunting Derrick Henry. Henry carried the ball 21 times for 82 yards. A decent day for the back, but for a should be regressive defense, it’s very impressive to hold Henry under 100. The Giants also didn’t allow any Titans receiver to go over 70 yards receiving. An impressive number for a team that just gave up James Bradberry.
Week 2 arrived and Brian Daboll pulled off another tremendous win against the Carolina Panthers. The Giants beat the Panthers 19–16 and defensive fortitude propelled the Giants to another win. Daniel Jones only went for 176 yards passing and 1 TD, but the Giants still managed to maintain control of the game despite Jones’ mediocre numbers. Saquon Barkley didn’t even have as good of a game as last week, only going for 72 yards on 21 carries. The defense wasn’t flashy, but Daboll must have coached them up good. Safety Julian Love recorded 8 tackles, 1 PD, 1 sack, and was a monster on the field. The Giants defense is the definition of 0 flash and 100% results. Opposing QB Baker Mayfield ended up with a horrific 45% completion percentage and couldn’t cross 150 passing yards. The Giants aren’t putting up huge numbers, and the only way someone can win with these types of offensive numbers, is if they have a good coach. Brian Daboll is a great coach.
Through two games Daboll has exemplified the qualities of a perfect coach. Daboll, who came from an offensive background, has managed a rag tag group of reserves into a scary defense and has learned to work around Daniel Jones’ flaws effortlessly. Once Daboll has a real QB or somehow pulls Daniel Jones out of developmental hell, the Giants could be a very dangerous team. The Giants made the right choice hiring Brian Daboll, and I guarantee the other win now teams that had coaching vacancies this offseason, will regret not hiring him.
