Morning briefing 4-Dec-24 – ESPN: “Daboll is running out of excuses. It’s no longer Daniel Jones’ fault”

Links to stories, pods and pictures to help you keep up with NFC East and the NFL in general

NFC East links

ESPN

NFL Week 13: Biggest questions, takeaways for every game

Cowboys

What we learned about the QB today: Four days after an efficient performance against Washington, Cooper Rush was more erratic, especially in the second quarter, when he completed just 5 of 14 passes for 52 yards. He rebounded with a third-quarter touchdown pass, but a lost fumble was overturned because of replay and he had a botched handoff with Rico Dowdle that he was able to recover. But Rush did not give the ball away for a second straight game, which is what matters most to Mike McCarthy.

Most surprising performance: It has been trending in this direction recently, but the Cowboys had their first running back go for more than 100 yards since Week 3 last year as Rico Dowdle picked up 112 yards, a career high, on 22 carries. He also scored his first rushing touchdown of the season and had a season-long 22-yard run in the first half. The last time a Cowboys running back went for more than 100 yards was Tony Pollard against Arizona in 2023. The 26-game span was the longest 100-yard game drought in franchise history.

Giants

How hot is the seat getting for Brian Daboll after seven straight losses and a second straight blowout? Scorching. It doesn’t matter if owner John Mara gave him vote of confidence last month. The Giants haven’t won since. And they aren’t just losing (seven straight now), they’re getting embarrassed, this time on national TV. Daboll is running out of excuses. It’s no longer Daniel Jones’ fault. The results were similar — or worse — with Tommy DeVito, and then with Drew Lock in this one. Daboll and the Giants are 8-21 since the start of last season.

What we learned about the QB today: It’s not Lock’s fault. He made some mistakes, but he also never really stood a chance. Lock took 13 quarterback hits and six sacks while throwing for 172 yards with an interception and a fumble, to go along with 57 rush yards and a touchdown on the ground. The results with Lock looked similar to those with Jones and DeVito. The Giants’ problems go well beyond just the quarterback.

Eye-popping stat: 0 INTs in 11 games. The defense’s 11 games without a pick sets an NFL record. Its only interception this season came by rookie linebacker Darius Muasau on a tipped ball in Week 1. It’s almost hard to imagine that a ball hasn’t clanked off a receiver and fallen accidentally into a defensive back’s arms this season.

---

Blogging the Boys

Dak Prescott wants Mike McCarthy back, believes he deserves a chance ‘on his terms’

We can say right now that you would be hard pressed to find anyone associated with the Dallas Cowboys who would say that they want someone other than Mike McCarthy to be the head coach in 2025. Advocating for him can be a nice thing, but it does fall into the literalness of “what else do you expect them to say?” type of thing.

Now that we have established this, it is certainly worth noting that Dak Prescott sat down with Yahoo Sports and publicly endorsed Mike McCarthy as the head coach of the Cowboys.

“Your coach seems like he’s playing on his last contract and [I’m] almost feeling helpless like I can’t help him in this situation, especially a guy you believe in so much and you believe in being your head coach,” Prescott told Yahoo Sports during a Tuesday afternoon Zoom call. “Control what I can control, help and support Mike to every extent that I can.”

…

“I believe in him wholeheartedly,” Prescott said, speaking in partnership with DICK’S Sporting Goods. “I don’t want to necessarily get into the nuts and the screws of it all obviously, but I think he definitely deserves a chance — another contract and a chance to coach this team amongst more influence. ‘On his terms’ may be a good way to say it.

“But I wholeheartedly believe in him.”

---

Big Blue View

Giants-Saints, Week 14 storylines: Is this the Giants’ last realistic chance at a victory this season?

The 4-8 Saints are coming to town

When they take the field at MetLife Stadium on Sunday it will be more than two months since the New York Giants have won a football game. They are 2-10, with hopes of showing progress from last season’s 6-11 dashed long ago. They have lost seven straight games. They are 0-6 at home.

Sunday’s matchup against the 4-8 Saints, who themselves had a seven-game losing streak this season and saw head coach Dennis Allen get fired because of it, might be the Giants’ last best chance at a victory this season.

Fans might be primarily concerned about the Giants getting the highest possible pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Players, though, crave that winning feeling.

“Regardless of the situation, nobody goes out there and plans to lose or wants to lose,” said wide receiver Darius Slayton. “So, at the end of the day, you prepare and you practice and you get your mind and body right to win. So, regardless of what your current predicament might be, the ultimate goal is to go out there every Sunday and win the game.”

Tommy or Drew?

Will it be Tommy DeVito or Drew Lock at quarterback for the Giants on Wednesday? Fans, of course, seem to want DeVito:

---

NFL league links

Articles

Front Office Sports

Can Elon Musk’s X Fix Its Rampant Fake Sports News Problem?

X quietly rolled out a new policy aimed to crack down on parody and impersonation accounts.

Twitter quietly rolled out a new policy for fan and parody accounts, aiming to clearly distinguish parody, commentary, and fan accounts from the real deal. One of the most popular sports parody accounts jokingly took credit for X’s promised crackdown on these parody accounts.

The fake NFL insider Wesley Steinberg, another account FOS has profiled previously, also does not have a parody badge and still doesn’t state in its profile that the “news” it conveys is totally made up. None of the dozens of accounts purporting to be NBA insider Shams Charania reviewed by FOS have the new parody badge (and most don’t have “parody” in their profiles).

Meanwhile, Bluesky—which has grown to 24 million users, many seeking an alternative to X—is working on its own impersonation policy and “quadrupled the size” of its moderation team, the company said.

“Parody, satire, or fan accounts are allowed on Bluesky, but they must clearly label themselves in both the display name and bio to help others know the account isn’t official,” Bluesky posted on its official safety account. “Accounts with only one of these elements will receive an impersonation label.”

If X enforces its new policy, it would be the most notable step it has taken to limit the spread of fake news since Elon Musk purchased the site two years ago, fired about 80% of staff, and changed the name from Twitter to X.

“Accounts may depict another entity as long as they clearly distinguish themselves in their account name and bio,” the new X policy states. “Both should clearly indicate the account is not affiliated with the subject portrayed in the profile. Accounts can indicate this by incorporating words such as, but not limited to, ‘parody,’ ‘fake,’ ‘fan,’ or ‘commentary.’ This language should be stated in a way that can be understood by any audience and should not be contradicted by other affiliation terminology such as ‘official.’”

---

---