Notebook: Giants confident in Devin Singletary

Daboll, now the Giants head coach, was asked today about the necessity of Singletary taking better care of the ball.

“He knows that,” Daboll said. “He’s a pro. He’ll work on that. I’ve been around him a bunch. You can’t let one bad or two bad plays define a lot of the good things. So, you keep working on your ball security, and he’ll do that.”

“He’s a pro, played a lot of football,” quarterback Daniel Jones said. “We have a lot of confidence in him and that’s not changing any of our confidence. He’s played well, come back and been big time for us. No one’s losing confidence in that.”

In the first four games of the 2021 season, Singletary fumbled four times, including twice in the opener. But he’s fumbled just eight times in the 55 games since then, including six in the playoffs. Last year in Houston, Singletary played 19 games and fumbled only once. So, two in the first three games this season is unacceptable to him.

“Definitely something I gotta correct,” Singletary said. “When I’m running, I gotta cover it up with two hands when I’m in traffic. Been doing a lot of drill work with that; teammates have been helping me out a lot with that trying to do punch outs and stuff, even though we’re doing walk-throughs, we’re still getting those punch attempts. I definitely have to clean that up because can’t be turning the ball over.

“I don’t look at myself as a fumbler. It comes with the game. Guys that get paid to do this (on defense) just like me. You gotta have thick skin. Mentally, you gotta be locked in, you gotta be tough mentally and keep rolling. I definitely don’t want to let my guys down anymore.”

*On Sunday, Malik Nabers became the second NFL player this season with a rushing attempt, passing attempt and a reception in the same game. Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes completed that trifecta against Baltimore on Sept. 5.

*Nabers made two highlight-reel catches in Cleveland, reaching over cornerback Martin Emerson, Jr. for a 28-yard gain, and following moments later with a toe-tapping 4-yard touchdown reception on the left side of the end zone.

It seems Nabers impressed everyone in the stadium, except for…Malik Nabers.

“They were good catches, but I’ve made some way better catches than that,” he said. “I’m not surprised by it. It’s just how I play, it’s how I am.”

When has he made those better receptions?

“I always make some crazy catches in practice,” Nabers said, “so I’m excited to see how the practice can translate to the game.”

*Because of calf injuries they suffered in Cleveland, cornerbacks Adoree’ Jackson and Dru Phillips would not have worked had the Giants practiced today. Daboll said, “we’ll go all the way to the end like we normally do” before determining their availability for Thursday’s game.

*Corner Nick McCloud, who missed the last two games with a knee injury, was on the field. Asked if McCloud will play, Daboll said, “we’re not doing physical activity, but that’s my hope.”

McCloud would have been limited in practice, along with defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence (foot), linebacker Micah McFadden (back) and wide receiver Darius Slayton (thumb).