Brian Daboll: Experience in Playoffs is Overrated

Giants head coach Brian Daboll reiterates that so long as the team adheres to its processes, whether it's in the regular season or playoffs, the rest will take care of itself.
Brian Daboll: Experience in Playoffs is Overrated
Brian Daboll: Experience in Playoffs is Overrated /
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The New York Giants franchise has waited six long years to earn a ticket as a participant in the NFC postseason.

But for those wondering if the lack of NFL playoff experience will be detrimental to the Giants’ chances of hanging around in the postseason, head coach Brian Daboll urges you not to worry.

“I think it's really what you make out of it,” Daboll said of the postseason experience. “The experience probably is overrated, to be honest with you. It's how you prepare, practice, and ultimately how you play the game and coach it on whenever it is.”

To prove his point, Daboll reached back into his coaching history, noting how when he was with New England from 2000-2006, the quarterback (Tom Brady) didn’t have any playoff experience, yet the Patriots still managed to win a Super Bowl in 2001. And then there was his time in Buffalo, where he said more guys did have postseason experience but couldn’t win the Super Bowl.

“I think what matters is taking advantage of your opportunities when they come and play a good football game and coach a good football game, Daboll said. “I think (the playoffs are) an overrated thing.”

To further prove his point, Daboll insisted that, while the stakes are now higher, regardless of the circumstances, everyone has a job to do.

“It's the same in Week 1 as in Week 5 and the end of the year,” he said. “The stakes are a little different. If you lose a game, you go home.”

Daboll also said that the things that help a team win in Week 1 also work in the playoffs.

“What matters is how you go and, and play the game on Sunday. So our preparation, our consistent way we do things--that's all going to be important to us in terms of the process and then ultimately going out there and executing.”

Daboll has preached about the team’s process all season long, saying that he can live with the results, win or lose, so long as the process is consistent.

“We believe in our process and being consistent whether that's a preseason game, a game you have to win to get into the playoffs, a division game,” he said. “Throughout the season, you go through a lot of different things.

“I think those collective experiences, um, you know, you lean on those, but in terms of our preparation for our players, for our coaches, it's a boring word, but it'll be consistent. We believe in what we do and how we do it, and then we have to go out there and execute and call a good game and make good decisions.”


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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for over 30 seasons for multiple media outlets, including Inside Football, Fan Sided, SB Nation, The Athletic, Forbes, and the Fan Nation Network (part of Sports Illustrated).  In addition to being a credentialed member of the New York Giants press corps, Patricia has covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. Patricia’s late father was a long-time New York Giants season ticket holder who helped instill her love and appreciation of the game and the franchise at a very early age.  She was able to parlay that knowledge of Giants franchise history into her first published work, The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants (Triumph Books, September 2020). She has enhanced her knowledge of the game by completing two semesters with the Scouting Academy and taking a course in NFL salary cap management. In addition to her work with Giants Country, Patricia is the host of the very successful LockedOn Giants podcast (also available on YouTube), featuring analysis, interviews, and Giants fan interaction. Patricia is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America and has participated in the mentoring of aspiring journalists. Patricia holds a Bachelor’s degree in English literature (with a minor in creative writing) and a Master’s degree in Corporate Communication. She is a certified resume development specialist (corporate, military transition, and federal) and interview coach who enjoys music and creating fan art featuring her favorite bands.