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He hasn’t played 10 games in the NFL, but that didn’t stop rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers from blasting the New York Giants with a brutal three-word message after a 30-7 defeat at home by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Speaking to reporters, including Charlotte Carroll of The Athletic, after the game at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, November 24, Nabers was asked for one word to sum up his team’s pitiful display.
The sixth player taken in the 2024 NFL draft instead chose three: “Soft as [expletive].”
That’s quite a public putdown from a first-year player still trying to prove himself in the pros, but Nabers wasn’t done. He next focused his ire on the Giants dismal quarterback situation and head coach Brian Daboll’s play calling.
This was the first game since the Giants released quarterback Daniels Jones and promoted Tommy DeVito to the starting role. Those moves made no difference, and Nabers wasn’t afraid to call out the ineffectual change.
The wideout’s comments should have an under-fire staff fronted by Daboll worried.
Malik Nabers Spoke Out About Failed QB Change vs. Buccaneers
If you still doubt the Giants have bigger problems than who’s playing quarterback, just listen to Nabers. He made clear “It ain’t the quarterback. Same outcome when we had DJ at quarterback. Take a look. It ain’t the quarterback,” per Carroll.
When pressed for a definite reason why the Giants are still losing, Nabers simply repeated the refrain, I don’t know what it is. Everybody know better than me. I don’t know what it is, but I know I’m tired of losing.”
Malik Nabers: “I know I’m tired of losing”
Says it’s not the quarterback
Nabers’ fatigued with takins Ls in understandable, but it was always going to be a tall order beating a capable Bucs team with a third-stringer at QB. In his defense, DeVito barely had a chance behind a sieve-like offensive line that gave up four sacks and heavy pressure most snaps.
Protection was an issue when Jones was still in the lineup, but DeVito’s quicker release was supposed to cause the Bucs problems. It didn’t happen, leaving Nabers and his fellow receivers starved of meaningful opportunities for big plays.
The lack of opportunities had Nabers telling reporters, per SNY.tv’s Giants Videos, he went “out there in the first, second quarter, don’t get the ball. Start getting targets at the end. I mean, can’t do nothing. Start getting the ball when it’s 30 to zero, what you want me to do?”
When asked why he didn’t get the ball sooner, Nabers put it on his coach, “Talk to Dabs about that. Talk to Dabs.”
The disconnect between play caller and top weapon showcases everything wrong with this offense.
Giants Offense Getting Worse
Daboll taking over play calling and drafting Nabers was supposed to transform what had been a plodding offense. The reality hasn’t come close to matching the hype, with the Giants getting worse moving the ball.
It’s a decline summed up by the Daboll-called offense “averaging 14.8 ppg, the lowest for the franchise in 25+ years,” per SNY.tv’s Connor Hughes.
Daboll might know it’s not “good enough,” but he has the headset. The buck stops with him.
Changing quarterback hasn’t changed the pattern, so attention will naturally turn to coaching. Daboll needs playmakers like Nabers to help snap the funk, so the wideouts growing frustration has to be a concern.
This isn’t the first time Nabers has expressed his unhappiness. He’s already blasted run-heavy play calling, and the 21-year-old’s latest comments are far from complimentary about how the team is being run.
Nabers got nine targets against the Bucs and reeled in six of them as catches, but he was never freed for chunk gains. Instead, Big Blue’s WR1 produced a paltry 11 yards after the catch.
Getting Nabers in space and letting him dominate games has to be Daboll’s priority. If he can’t, the coach can expect to hear his star player vent in the media more often.
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Malik Nabers Sends Giants Brutal 3-Word Message After Bucs Loss