Brian Daboll's Patriots ties date back more than two decades
New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, left, greets New York Giants coach Brian Daboll before an NFL preseason football game Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer) Credit: AP/Michael Dwyer
Brian Daboll always provides an appraisal of the upcoming opponent in the week before the game.
This week, the opponent, New England, is one Daboll knows well.
And it’s one Giants fans know well, too.
We’ve seen vintage Giants-Patriots matchups over the years.
The 2007 and 2011 Giants and Patriots played in epic Super Bowls, and the Giants have two of their four Lombardi Trophies in their lobby at their Meadowlands headquarters to prove it.
For Daboll, the connection with New England is personal, as he began his NFL career with the Patriots as a defensive assistant. He said he maintains a “good” relationship with Belichick and others on the Patriots.
“I haven’t talked to Bill for a while, but it is a good relationship,” Daboll said. “I see him, say hello to him. Obviously, I’ve learned a lot [from him]. He gave me my first opportunity in this business in the year 2000. It’s a long time ago. Got a lot of respect for him and everybody, [including members of the Kraft family]. They gave me my first opportunity.”
When Daboll was hired as head coach of the Giants, Belichick mistakenly sent a congratulatory text message to coach Brian Flores, who also was under consideration for the job.
That was embarrassing at the very least.
Asked Wednesday if that situation put a “strain” on his relationship with Belichick, Daboll said no.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for Bill,” he added.
Daboll said he knows better than to underestimate this 2-8 Patriots team.
“I’d say you never treat any team differently regardless of their record when you’re preparing for a game,” he said. “You do the best job you can each week to try to put a good plan together, have a good practice and play a good team.”
Daboll went on to recall, with detail, some of the reasons why and how the Patriots have lost, essentially making the case that as many as five of the Patriots' losses this season could have been wins.
The Patriots, however, have had issues all season with everything from injuries to line play, from the running game to quarterback consistency.
Daboll and the Giants (3-8) might not know the identity of the Patriots' starting quarterback until Sunday.
Belichick said of his quarterbacks this week, “I want everybody to be prepared."
When asked if he will continue to start, Mac Jones told reporters this week that his “plan” is to be the starter.
Daboll said the Giants have gone back and watched games featuring not only Jones but also backup Bailey Zappe, Will Grier and practice squad quarterback Malik Cunningham.
Jones started each of the first 10 games this season, but he has been pulled three times, including the Week 10 loss to the Colts after he threw a fourth-quarter interception.
Zappe took over, went 3-for-7 and threw an interception on a fake-spike play.
Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito has a chance to be the best quarterback on the field Sunday, and it might not be close.
Seeing the Patriots coming to play the Giants might not seem like a marquee matchup, but for DeVito, it is one.
“I'm a competitor,” he said. “I just love to play the game of football. I think that I'll try to show that every time I take a snap because you never know what snap is going to be your last. So I just try to embrace it, go out there and just try to play for my teammates.”
Kimberly Jones covers the Giants for Newsday, a beat she first worked in the early 2000s before joining the YES Network to cover the Yankees. She worked for the NFL Network for more than a decade and has been heard semi-regularly on WFAN.
