Although Malik Nabers has yet to play a full professional season, he is already “tired of losing.”
The New York Giants’ rookie wide receiver authored a scathing review following his team’s lifeless, embarrassing 30-7 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium to drop to 2-9 on the season.
Nabers labeled the team’s effort as “soft as f—k” on an afternoon in which he did not receive a single target during the first half. By the time he made his first catch on the second half’s opening drive, the Giants were already trailing 23-0.
“First, second quarter, I don’t get the ball,” Nabers said. “I start getting targets at the end. I mean, I can’t do nothing. If I start getting the ball when it’s 30-0, what do you want me to do?”
Giants ransacked by Buccaneers 30-7 as QB change to Tommy DeVito does nothing
It was about as uninspiring of a performance as one could draw out following a dramatic week headlined by the benching and subsequent release of starting quarterback Daniel Jones. Head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen opted to go with third-stringer Tommy DeVito, who did little to spark an uninspired-looking Giants offense that was outgained by the Buccaneers 450-245.
Jones’ struggles were broadcasted as the root of the Giants’ issue, ultimately allowing Daboll and Schoen the opportunity to draft a potential franchise quarterback this spring should they make it through the offseason. Nabers, however, said what almost everyone outside the organization already knew: The former Buffalo duo has simply built a bad team.
“Obviously, it ain’t the quarterback,” Nabers said. “This is the same outcome that we had when [Jones] was at quarterback. I mean, take a look. It ain’t the quarterback. I don’t know what it is, but everybody knows better than me.”
Nabers, who is known for his bluntness especially during times of turmoil, has been a victim of Daboll’s broken offense, regardless of the quarterback. After making 35 catches for 386 yards and three touchdowns in his first four games, the LSU product came back from a concussion and has mustered just 32 catches for 285 yards and zero touchdowns in his last five games.
“Talk to [Daboll] about that,” Nabers said. “They come up to me and ask me what plays I want and that was that. I don’t know.”
Finally, someone who has the gumption to call out the team’s leadership.
