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New York Giants Won't Let Sunday's Outcome Define Their Team

Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll know there will be an overreaction to the outcome of the team's game vs. the Titans. But they caution observers not to get too hung up either way.
Patricia Traina|
New York Giants Won't Let Sunday's Outcome Define Their Team
New York Giants Won't Let Sunday's Outcome Define Their Team

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New York Giants

Move over, "Victory Monday;" "Overreaction Monday" aims to take over for the coming week.

You know all about "Overreaction Monday," right? The day after an NFL team plays its first regular-season game and either looks like it's on a championship path or a long and windy road down to nowhere.

That's one of the subplots facing the New York Giants this year. This is a team that has a brand new front office and coaching staff to go along with 25 new faces--16 free agents and nine draftees--who are projected to be on the field this Sunday when the Giants visit the Tennessee Titans in the regular-season opener.  

While first impressions can be lasting ones, when it comes to the NFL, it's probably best to wait a few weeks before reacting one way or the other.     

Still, it's hard to show patience if you're a Giants enthusiast, considering the team is 2-3 in regular-season openers under a new head coach dating back to 1997. 

In the two wins--1997 under Jim Fassel and 2016 under Ben McAdoo--the Giants finished first and second in the NFC East, respectively, qualifying for a wild card berth which they'd both lose.

As for the three opening-day losses under Tom Coughlin (2004), Pat Shurmur (2018), and Joe Judge (2020), all three of those teams finished with records under .500 and without playoff berths.

Not all five situations are identical, but the one thing that could be said of all five teams is that each head coach had a very different vision and approach for building a locker room culture which, in some cases, worked and in others, did not.

Neither current general manager Joe Schoen nor head coach Brian Daboll is sitting there worrying about how this team will be perceived after Sunday's game against the Titans because they realize there is still much more that needs to be done while the team rounds into shape. 

"I think every team, it’s going to take three to four weeks to figure out who we are," Schoen said. "I’ve said it to you guys before, how are we going to react when we face adversity? How are we going to handle success? No matter where you are, every year, that’s the case. You truly don’t have a feel. 

"It’s going to be overreaction one way or the other on Monday after our first game, win or lose. You know, (you) win, everybody’s going to say we’re better than we probably are. If we lose, we’re not as bad as we were that day. So, I think it’s going to take a few weeks to figure out who we are." 

Daboll agreed, expressing a strong desire not to let the outcome of the first game he'll oversee as an NFL head coach. And as for how he'll ensure that Overreaction Monday doesn't permeate throughout the organization, Daboll said it's all about falling back on the progress.  

"I go back to how we do things during the week more than the outcome: our process, our preparation, the guys staying after to throw and to catch, the meetings that the secondary has or the defensive line has to study their opponents," he said. 

"Those are the things that we can control, and going out there each day at practice and trying to execute the plays that we put in and improve them on a day-to-day basis."

Daboll, like Schoen, isn't putting any expectations on this year's roster, one that both men say they feel good about. At the same time are aware of the glaring flaws that still exist thanks to a grossly mismanaged salary cap situation they inherited from the previous regime that has hamstrung them in certain areas.  

"Every year’s a new year," Daboll said. "We’re just going to try to do the best job we can of preparing. We understand the difficult challenges that this team presents both schematically and, in particular, with the players, and go out there and do our best job on Sunday."

 

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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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