Brian Daboll Mum on Giants Preseason Finale Personnel Plans

Reading between the lines though, it sounds like most of the starters won't play.

Florham Park, NJ -- August 21, 2024 -- Giants head coach Brian Daboll during practice. The New York Giants came to the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center in Florham Park, New Jersey, to take part in a joint practice with the New York Jets. / Chris Pedota, NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK

New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll has yet to reveal any extensive personnel deployment plans in just over two years with the Giants, and he wasn’t about to start Thursday when asked by reporters if he planned to play the starters against the New York Jets in the preseason finale Saturday night.

Historically, Daboll has not played his starters when the team engaged in a joint practice with the upcoming opponent, and that didn’t change this year. Daboll gave the starters about a half’s worth of work last week against Houston after the team practiced independently.

That was more than the single series he gave the starters last year in the team’s second preseason game, played against the Carolina Panthers.

The Giants were mostly outclassed by the Jets during their joint practice on Wednesday, so even giving them a quarter’s worth of work might be worth considering, especially since it will be two weeks before the Giants open the regular season at home against the Minnesota Vikings.

Jets head coach Robert Saleh has already announced that he won’t be playing his starters. Daboll and company might use this last preseason game to make final decisions regarding the roster. 

He also might be considering not putting the starters out there against the Jets' backups out of concern that some extra ambitious Jets bubble player might take that out on the field.

That said, the feeling is that the Giants will roll mostly with their reserves in the preseason finale and just use the time before the regular season opener to go at it as hard as the rules allow in practice. 

Daboll confirmed that he would be calling the plays in the preseason finale, as he’s done since the spring, and that things are trending toward him being the regular-season play caller, a move that comes as no surprise.  

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