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New York Giants Mailbag: Decision Day Looming

Let's check in with the readers this week to see what's on everyone's minds.

Patricia Traina

New York Giants Mailbag
New York Giants Mailbag / Patricia Traina | New York Giants on SI
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If you'd like to submit a question for the mailbag, please use the link below or post your questions on X (formerly known as Twitter) to @Patricia_Traina, hashtag #askPTrain. Please note that letters may be edited for clarity/length.

What about Kyle McCord for quarterback for a pick? -- Timothy R.

Timothy, I appreciate the question, but let me get a chance to do my homework on him if he does declare for the draft.

Thanks for the question. Let's get something straight. I DO NOT "shill" for anyone. I have my own mind and anyone who knows me knows that I am, for the most part, fair and objective. Just because I'm not online stirring up the pot and screaming, “Fire everyone!” doesn’t mean that I am oblivious to what's going on or agree with all the decisions made. 

I’ve made my points about what I agree with and what I don’t numerous times. Perhaps my style isn’t emphatic enough for you. I have written plenty of articles about things I think need to be changed, and I've also spoken about them on my podcast. IF you missed something where I was particularly hard on someone or something, that’s on you, not me. 

P.S. I think you are giving the media WAY too much credit here. Do you honestly think that the media has THAT kind of influence on what the team decides? We don’t. And if we did, I assure you that I’d be sooner banging the table to be allowed back into the team's cafeteria for lunch and be allowed to walk through the building instead of having to trek halfway around the building not once but twice to attend pressers and practice.  

My guess is we'll know something by Monday.

I think Kafka moves on. I forgot he had another year on his contract added on when he got the raise and the “promotion” last year. I do think though if Daboll stays and retains the play calling, they’d be doing a disservice to Kafka if he wanted to leave for another opportunity, even if it was a lateral one.

Bowen, I'm not so sure about. Right now I think it's 50-50 he stays and I could see an argument for him saying given what he’s been able to do with a skeleton crew these last few weeks. I personally don't think his system fits the talent, but the counterargument is that you build up the talent to better fit his system.

Bill, as I said above, I would be shocked if Kafka is back next year. He did say he's under contract for next season, but I think if he gets a head coaching offer, I don't see him back. If he stays, I’m not sure how much more his involvement in the offense would increase if Daboll retains the play calling.

I would hope so. Look, right now, none of the three quarterbacks on the roster are under contract for next year, so I would think they’re going to want a veteran to serve as a bridge and they’re going to continue to do work on the college draft prospects.

Now are you asking me if they’re going to definitely draft a guy? I can’t say that for sure right now even though logic says they should. But what you have to be careful of is forcing a pick out of panic mode. 

What I think they will do is sign a bridge. I also could see them trying to retain one of the three they have on the roster now if Daboll returns because he likes to have continuity at the position. I think they will draft a guy, but will it be Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward?

That I don’t know–it could come down to the final draft order. Could they draft someone on Day 2? Possibly. Too soon to say. But clearly they have to have a Plan A and a Plan B for the position because if they don’t then the whole lot of them deserve to be fired if they’re simply going to wing it.

Based on his career history, I think Lock is one of those quarterbacks who, while not afraid to take chances, is a 50-50 proposition in terms of making the right decisions that lead to the plays that need to be made. So I guess you could say he’s closer to what we saw against Atlanta than the Colts. 

To be fair though, maybe it took him a few games to feel more comfortable in this offense, which if you ask any of the skill players, they’ll tell you it’s one of the most complex offenses they have ever taken part in. Drew’s a good guy and I hope he does well, whether it’s here or with another team. 

Why would you trade assets for a quarterback who has led his team to a losing season for the fourth time since he was drafted? No, the answer is to sign a veteran as a bridge. If one of the draft prospects on whom you have a first-round grade is sitting there, get him and start from scratch with developing him.

Kris I went over some of that in a recent Locked On Giants podcast, should you want to have a listen. In a nutshell, Daboll has to re-think how he distributes preseason snaps as this idea that getting “quality snaps” in joint practices is total rubbish – just see the last two Week 1 openers. 

I think he also better have a good plan for a new quarterback. If his offense is as difficult as some of the players have said it is in passing, maybe scale things back a bit and let a kid grow into the system. 

I think the other issue is the play calling. I get why Daboll took it over last year, but it didn’t work, and on, I don’t want to hear about how if he had better quarterback play he could do what he did against a Colts team that missed 10 tackles in that game, by the way. 

I also suspect there will be requests to make some changes on the coaching staff. I still can’t say for sure Shane Bowen is safe, though I think of late he’s helped his chances of staying. 

So those are just a few of the things I believe will be discussed and let's not forget the injury situation which for two years now has spiraled out of control–too many guys this year got hurt during practice and that just shouldn’t be happening.

No.

My gut feeling based on the tea leaves is that they both stay. I don’t think it makes sense to split them up. And I’ve said now for weeks that I think Joe is definitely safe whereas I suspect Brian helped his case with the Colts win.

The players haven’t quit on him and I think that’s huge. Is it enough to save him? We’ll probably find out in about 48 hours or so.

As for quarterbacks, let’s see where they end up drafting and then we can go from there. 

John, I know this is hard to do being a fan and probably having invested time and/or money in Giants football, but to answer your question, take your emotion out of it and try to look at this clearly. 

Did the team quit on Daboll like they did on Ben McAdoo? No.

Has Daboll cost himself with his behavior and decisions like Joe Judge did? No. 

Did Daboll ever lose control of the locker room like what happened with McAdoo in his final year? No.

Has Daboll made mistakes? You better believe it. Have some of them cost them games? Absolutely.

Look, I am old enough to remember people wanting to run Tom Coughlin out of town on a rail. Anyone out there still upset that the Giants kept him for as long as they did?

Now I’m NOT saying Daboll is the next Coughlin. He could end up as the next Ray Handley. Or he could be a Jim Fassel or a Dan Reeves. Truthfully Daboll is going to be a Brian Daboll. He’ll make his mistakes. The question is will he learn from them or will he try to fool himself by making excuses for what happened? 

I do think that maybe Daboll and Schoen are guilty of misjudging the roster in 2022 and letting that bias cloud some of their judgement in addressing the roster the following year.

If I am ownership, I’d want to know what happened with Jones to where he never looked as confident after that 2022 season, especially with this team getting ready to eventually transition to a new franchise quarterback. 

I have other questions I’d want answered if I were ownership and I’d want a solid plan as to how he’s going to change those processes he keeps talking about that haven’t yielded results.

This is a long way of saying that I’d keep an open mind. I don’t think you can put all the blame on one person, yet I realize that’s the easy way to go. And I don’t know for sure what ownership is thinking. We’ll find out in a couple of days. 

What I do know is I’m going to keep an open mind.

Sure he is. But again, let’s see if Daboll stays as the head coach as maybe if they move on from him, a new coach coming in has a different style of quarterback in mind.

If Ward and Sanders are taken before the Giants pick, which QB would the Giants be looking at? -- Sheldon S.

Do you mean in the first round or overall? If first round, then best available. If overall, circle back with me until I start doing more work on the class as a while versus the pending free agent options.

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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

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