Giants rookie receiver Malik Nabers’ rant following Sunday’s 30-7 loss to Tampa Bay made Brian Daboll look prescient when he was interviewing Nabers — as seen on “Hard Knocks” — prior to drafting him in the first round with his line of questioning to the young receiver.
“How do you handle losing?’’ the Giants head coach asked Nabers.
“I hate it,’’ Nabers said.
“How do you handle not being involved early in the game?’’ Daboll then asked him.
“I handle it pretty tough if I’m not getting the ball,’’ he said.
“I want guys that want to get the ball and I want guys that hate losing, but you’ve got to learn to harness that a little bit,’’ Daboll told Nabers. “I want guys that want the ball. Sometimes you lose [your temper]. I lose it, too, as a coach. But you’ve got to learn how to harness that.’’
Daboll does not divulge personal conversations with his players and coaches, but he did acknowledge Monday that he spoke with Nabers.
Presumably, Daboll reiterated that predraft conversation and discouraged him from airing dirty laundry in public.
“ ‘Leek’ and I talked [Sunday] night [and] we talked this morning,’’ Daboll said Monday. “He’s a very competitive individual. You want to get the ball in his hands, and I got to do a better job of getting the ball in his hands early.
“He’s a smart, young guy that is very competitive. When you lose like that, it’s a frustrating thing. But we’ve had good communication, as we always have.’’
Nabers finished the game with six receptions for 64 yards on nine targets, but zero targets in the first half, which ended with the Giants trailing 23-0.
“Go out there first, second quarter, don’t get the ball,” Nabers said after the game. “Start getting targets at the end. I mean, can’t do that. Start getting the ball when it’s 30-0. What do you want me to do?”
The Giants ran only 17 plays on offense in the first half.
Asked why he didn’t get any first-half targets, Nabers said: “Talk to Dabes about that.”
Asked if he has “a problem’’ with Nabers airing his grievances publicly and whether he spoke to him about that, Daboll said, “I’ll keep our conversations private, myself and ‘Leek,’ and look forward to getting ready on Dallas.’’
Daboll reiterated that the plan is for Tommy DeVito to remain the starting quarterback Thursday in Dallas.
DeVito was banged up late in Sunday’s game, saying he had the wind knocked out of him.
When Daboll was asked Monday about DeVito’s condition, he said he hadn’t yet spoken to the training staff, “But I’m anticipating he’ll be ready to go.’’
DeVito finished 21 of 31 for 189 yards and was sacked four times for 23 yards in losses on Sunday.
The Giants held a walk-through Monday and issued an injury report projecting what players would have done had it been a full practice.
Among those who didn’t participate were LT Jermaine Eluemunor (quad), T Evan Neal (hip), LB Azeez Ojulari (toe) and DL Armon Watts (shoulder). Those who were limited were CB Deonte Banks (rib), DL D.J. Davidson (shoulder), TE Theo Johnson (back), DT Dexter Lawrence (knee), LB Micah McFadden (thumb and heel), DB Tyler Nubin (back).
The Giants will practice in full Tuesday and depart for Dallas on Wednesday.
The Giants, who have intercepted only one pass all season (by rookie LB Darius Muasau in Week 1), have gone 10 consecutive games without an INT, which ties an NFL record held by the 49ers (spanning the 1976 and ’77 seasons) and the 2017 Raiders.
