Former Cleveland Cavaliers forward Sam Dekker defended New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll for yelling at quarterback Tyrod Taylor during the Giants’ Week 6 loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Daboll showing up his quarterback for the cameras instead of waiting three minutes to have this talk in the locker room. Players have to hate this. Saving face for the viewers while losing the respect of your team.#NYGiants pic.twitter.com/gadqXlsmer
— Jason Stewart (@JasonStewart) October 16, 2023
Wait – we’re still doing the “coaches shouldn’t yell at players” thing? When will people realize that athletes have been barked at nonstop since middle school. It’s a basic form of communication by this point in life. https://t.co/hGfo69qw0x
— Sam Dekker (@dekker) October 16, 2023
Daboll was angry with Taylor after a play at the end of the first half.
The Giants, who were leading 6-0, had a first-and-goal against the Bills, but they were out of timeouts. Instead of throwing the ball, New York opted to run it.
Giants running back Saquon Barkley did not get into the end zone, and the team was unable to spike the ball, running out of time in the half.
That kept the score at 6-0. The Giants ended up losing by just five points in the game, 14-9.
"That's a terrible, terrible clock management at the end of the half. That's awful."
"On the goal line, you can't do that one."
Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth go off on the Giants, who completely butcher the end of the first half against the Bills. pic.twitter.com/liV7Yg0aHf
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 16, 2023
Daboll explained what happened on the play after the game.
Brian Daboll talks about what happened at the end of the first half:
"ending up alerting it to a run. Didn't get it off." pic.twitter.com/bMdiG7moxv
— Giants Videos (@SNYGiants) October 16, 2023
“Had a play called,” Daboll said. “It was a run action pass play and ended up alerting it to a run, didn’t get it off.”
Taylor took responsibility for the miscue after the game, admitting that he shouldn’t have alerted the play to a run.
"It was a decision – looking back on it – I definitely shouldn't have made"
Tyrod Taylor talks about the end of the first half: pic.twitter.com/IIdwISP0Je
— Giants Videos (@SNYGiants) October 16, 2023
To make matters worse for the Giants, they had a chance to score and win the game on the final play from the one-yard line.
The team didn’t convert, but if it had gotten just a field goal before the half, it would have just needed three points to win the game on the final play.
#Giants decided to throw it on the final play of the game from the 1-yard line and Darren Waller couldn't bring it down. The #Bills survive.pic.twitter.com/EMTqBllznH
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 16, 2023
It’s possible the game wouldn’t have played out the same way had New York scored prior to the end of the half, but it’s still a tough moment to look back on for the Giants.
Dekker, who has played basketball professionally in the NBA and overseas, clearly has dealt with coaches yelling at him before. He seems to think that it is something that comes with being an athlete and that coaches shouldn’t have to worry about if the camera is on them or the players during the incident.
Dekker last played in the NBA in the 2021-22 season, appearing in one game with the Toronto Raptors. He spent part of the 2018-19 season with the Cavs, appearing in nine games for the team and making five starts.
