From Kafka completely overhauling practice to Bullen doing camp drills in Week 13 to work on missed tackles and fundamentals what were Daboll & Bowen actually doing? And how were they able to get away with it for so long?

27 comments

  1. Kafka (and Bullen to a lesser degree) are both technically auditioning for their jobs, not just here but for other teams if we don’t keep them. Daboll and Bowen I think knew they were cooked (probably before the season even started) and a lot of the games we’ve reflected that

  2. Daboll had his household goods packed after the last game last year and was also surprised he remained. Only this org would run it back with a terrible coaching staff.

  3. While watching so many games the past 3 years I’d be asking myself “what are they doing at practice??” They played like a team that didn’t practice.

  4. Watch this defense and all of our defensive young guys immediately start showing potential.

  5. I feel for Bullen, he’s in a tough spot so late in the season, but if this defense ends up playing well my goodness that’s going to be an amazing bullet point for the resume

  6. According to Jordan Raanan, they had a “country club” attitude in the locker room and practice field. It was more about being cool with the players than running a team with a clear and defined structure.

    They were, allegedly, also very concerned with appearances and how people talked to the media. They spent more time going over that than film.

  7. No accountability from mara. And whats fascinating about daboll is just how is it possible that a dude thats in football for decades thought only a good scheme will be enough to win. Complete amateur at the CEO stuff. Honestly shocking. And the dc was just a dude that doesnt belong in this profession.

  9. I didn’t need more evidence that Daboll was a fraud. I’ve watched every game for the last two years. If this stuff is true, it’s just baffling

  10. Just remember Daniel Jones comments about the difference in preparation after being with the Vikings for a few weeks compared to what he experienced in NY

    [https://sports.yahoo.com/article/daniel-jones-realized-vikings-things-153237846.html](https://sports.yahoo.com/article/daniel-jones-realized-vikings-things-153237846.html)

    >Jones, now the starting quarterback for the 4-1 Colts, opened up on how his preparation changed when he joined the Vikings last season following his Giants release last November.

    >“I always thought I worked really hard, I tried to work really hard and it was important for me to prepare, watch film, study. And I think I did that,” Jones said. “But then going to Minnesota, I saw how Sam [Darnold] prepared, how Kevin prepared those guys, [quarterbacks coach] Josh McCown, [then assistant offensive coordinator] Grant Udinski, that crew and how detailed they were day in and day out on every little bit of the plan and how they’re gonna study it, what they’re looking for, walking through it, quizzing each other in the quarterback room. That made a big impression on me and I was like, OK, this is maybe the next level of some of that stuff.”

  11. Look the giants didn’t know they needed a kicker.. How can you expect them to know they need to tackle as well?

  12. So there’s dudes actually earning their fukjn paychecks! NICE
    I’ve been saying this forever. Dabolls teams always looked undisciplined and unprepared. Missed tackles , penalties, miscommunication, etc on both sides of the ball. Which is all about a coach not doing his job and if he was its just proof he was horrible at his job and why the team never got better. Difficult to believe hes from the Belichik tree. He must have been sleeping in meetings.

  13. I obviously never played professional football so I’m innocently and ignorantly asking my question. But why do professional players have to focus on how to shed blocks and finish tackles? Like, we did that in peewee-high school, shouldn’t that be mastered by now?

  14. Kafka doesn’t get enough credit for his sheer determination to actually improve the Giants. He comes from the Andy Reid tree.

    Now that Daboll is gone we can already see an uptick in performance – like bringing back Hodgins, improved play calling, and a new found motivation from the players. We literally beat up really good teams like Green Bay AND Detroit (only to throw the games away imo to secure our draft picks)

    It’s almost like we’re a beast that’s been intentionally chained up and waiting to be unleashed when it matters.

    I’m predicting a sudden sack surge from Abdul Carter

    It’s clear that Kafka was probably told to shut up and do what he’s told

    J

  15. I think Sheridan was worse but he was in an unenviable position of replacing Spags, one of the best to ever do it.

    Bowen was a Vrabel assistant (but notice Vrabel didn’t bother to take him to New England with him) but not at all a good match for the Wink type of defense. I know the Giants sought guys from that Baltimore system and they went elsewhere but it just seems Daboll’s bad blood with assistants made him too toxic to work for. So it was just ‘find a guy with playcalling experience’ even if Patterson or Henderson could have been acceptable choices. It feels like Brian Burns was the only dude who benefitted from that system (maybe Flott too). Even beyond the failed development of guys, KT, Dex, and Carter never felt optimized to their potential that Dex and KT showed under Wink.

  17. I feel like all of this was done first year which is why they were able to make so little mistakes while not being dominate. After the playoff win everything went to his head. Daboll had so many chances to fire Bowen and didn’t. The offense was doing fine. I wouldn’t be surprised if he kept Bowen to keep him as a scapegoat to hopefully keep his job.

  21. The level of incompetence in this organisation is genuinely incredible.

    At least things are going in the right direction (until we hire like Mike Mcarthy as next HC).

  23. It’s also a little easier for the next guy up to change the policies and practices because you have ample proof that the prior approach was not working. I expect to see the defense play a lot looser and take a lot more risks because they literally have nothing more to lose.

  24. Joe Schoen masterclass on nepotism.

    Story time: I’m an army vet of 6 years. E-6 or Staff Sergeant for the uninitiated unfamiliar with military ranks. When I first became a Sergeant (E-5, SGT for short), I had a senior leader tell me that SGT is the most difficult rank in the army because you got promoted and now have to police up your drinking buddies who you now outrank and supervise. No truer words have been spoken because that’s absolutely what happened and the shit I got because “he’s now a hardass or cut me some slack sarge” was all the commentary I got early on just for enforcing and upholding basic standards.

    This is such a wide spread issue that normally in the army they transfer you from your unit to a different company so that you can have people respect the rank.

    All this is to say that Joe Schoen hired his buddy from Buffalo and let him slide on basic discipline. Didn’t have the common curteousy to tell him to cut the bullshit or have the balls to fire him. Ownership wanted to fire him last off season. Joe Schoen made his case to keep Daboll. Daboll kept Bowen and didn’t bother addressing shit because “he didn’t want to lose the locker room.” Joe Schoen hired, defended and didn’t have the balls to fire him. This all falls on him.

  26. I remember thinking, about two or three years ago, this team is so bad that it just flat out looks like they don’t practice. As if they’d just show up on Sunday without even meeting up since the last game.

    I only really watch the giants but I think I’ve seen some of the worst football of all time these last few years. Also joe judges tenure, I guess it’s been somewhat blacked out of my memories.

  27. When I look at this past season with Daboll’s meltdowns- like storming into the concussion tent- I see a guy who is not high-level coach material. Coaching in a city like NY is more than x’s and o’s…the media here are more lascivious than any other city. You gotta stay cool no matter what…clearly Daboll couldn’t handle it

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