How Brian Daboll Should Distribute Preseason Snaps for NY Giants Starters

New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll has never really been one to throw out his starters and key reserves into preseason games, instead erring on the side of caution when it comes to keeping guys healthy for the start of the regular season.

But in taking an ultra conservative approach, the fourth-year head coach has indirectly contributed to his teams coming out of the gate looking sluggish, to the point where the last two season openers, both losses, the Giants have been outscored 68-6 and, to add insult to injury regarding the slow starts, have only managed to score three combined points in the the first half of both of those games.

With two games coming up against NFC East opponents, that cannot continue.

Daboll continued to keep his plans for the preseason snap distribution close to the vest, but he is also smart enough to know that there is a tradeoff in terms of getting the starters reps versus keeping them in bubble wrap.

“I think it's different for every team and I've done a lot of research in terms of teams the last few years and coaches, veteran coaches and what they've done and go back to, I worked for some people that have pretty success and how we did it,” Daboll said Tuesday during a video call.

“I don't think there's one right formula. I think you need to do what's best for your football team. So is it a series? Is it two series? Is it a half? Is it like you talk about that as a staff, as we get going, take a look at the practices that we've had?”

Historically, Daboll has played most of his key starters and reserves in games in which there have been no joint practices. If he were to follow that pattern, logic would dictate that he intends to play some of his starters when the team visits the Buffalo Bills on Saturday for the preseason opener.

A plan that makes sense

Daboll himself acknowledged that there is no substitution for playing the game. “You have to tackle,” he said, adding, “There's no substitute for a quarterback when he knows he can get hit.”

In remembering that the preseason games don’t count in the standings and that no rule says a team has to play its starters for a set number of snaps, one plan that could give Daboll the best of both worlds would be to give his starters a couple of possessions just to get into game-mode cadence.

On offense, for example, let Russell Wilson and the starting offensive line get some live game reps together just so they can get a feel for each other at game speed in terms of the cadence. Make the “game plan” a run-heavy sequence, which would hopefully reduce the injury risk to Wilson from an errant hit.

Then, when Wilson is done for the night, consider putting in the second team offensive line with whichever quarterback is up next in the rotation.

The same could be said for the defense, particularly the run defense, which has been a problem for the last couple of years and which has looked lackluster in camp so far without Dexter Lawrence in the lineup. Give the unit a couple of reps, assuming the Bills won't go all out with passing, and see where things stand.

What about the guys fighting for a roster spot?

The New York Giants have plenty of young players aiming to score a helmet for the 2025 season. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

In addition to preparing the team for the regular season, Daboll, like all other head coaches, faces the challenge of evaluating players vying for roster spots, which makes striking a balance between game reps even more difficult.

“When you're deciding how many reps, quote-unquote, the ones are getting or twos or the young guys are getting,” he said when asked how he balances the rep distribution.

“And then you see how many reps you have throughout training camp with the players that you need to get more looks at, maybe, or put them maybe with the ones if the ones are playing.

“You don't know what the other team is going to do, either. You try to keep it as competitive as you can in practice. Call it the first team practice against the first team. So, skillful guys, veterans that do it for a while, with maybe some of the younger guys that are just learning how to practice and have a different skill set.”

Again, given the slow start that this team has had the last two years, Daboll might want to worry less about what the other team is doing and, as he likes to always say, do what’s best for the Giants so that all this enthusiasm and promise that has been building around their East Rutherford headquarters doesn’t get swept away in another slow start.

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A plan that makes sense

What about the guys fighting for a roster spot?

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