Since Giants head coach Brian Daboll had his eyes on Thomas McGaughey after a costly gaffe in Friday night’s preseason opener, all eyes have been on the special teams coordinator.
McGaughey tried to step out of the line of vision as soon as he had the chance to in his first public comments since the viral stare-down occurred.
“All right, let’s just address the 700-pound gorilla in the room, right?” McGaughey said before taking questions from reporters prior to practice Tuesday. “We all know Dabs is intense, and on game day, that’s just him. It’s not a big deal, it’s happened before. That’s just part of the game. He’s an intense guy, we have no issues. That’s just part of football, it’s an intense game.”
So did the two address what happened?
“No, it’s football,” McGaughey said the two did not address the incident. “I mean, it happens. It is what it is. It’s an intense game, it’s not that big of a deal.”
“I promise you if you look at my face sometimes during the course of a game, you are going to see some crazy stuff, too.
“That’s just what it is. You will see some stares and glares because that’s just the game.”
The Giants had a 10-point lead over the Lions early in the third quarter when Detroit’s Maurice Alexander returned a punt 95 yards for a touchdown.
As McGaughey walked in front of Daboll on the sidelines, the Giants head coach kept his eyes intensely locked on the special teams coordinator.
There was a clear frustration seeping out of Daboll that quickly captured the attention of those watching on television.
The Giants appeared to have 10 players on the field during the punt return, which Daboll referenced in his postgame press conference following the 21-16 loss.
McGaughey addressed that aspect of the play Tuesday.
“When you have guys, say for example, a guy that was a starting running back in college, he’s used to on every down, he’s running the football, he’s catching, he’s running the football and then on third down or fourth down, he comes off the field,” McGaughey said. “He’s not on the punt team. So, a lot of times when these kids, these young guys, when they get into these competitive environments, muscle memory kicks in. He’s used to on third down, if they don’t make the first down, what does he do? He’s used to going to the bench. Well, it’s not like that anymore.
“OK, you are on the punt team now. Now you have to go out there and go cover a punt and protect it. That’s just part of the maturation process of all these young guys, they have to understand that they are not in college anymore, they are not starters, a lot of them are not starters anymore, so when there is a fourth-down play, you don’t run off the field, you stay on the field, and that’s just the reality.”
The Giants claimed Ray Wilborn off waivers after the 6-foot-3 linebacker was waived by the Broncos on Monday.
Additionally, the club placed offensive lineman Devery Hamilton on injured reserve. He injured his lower left leg last Tuesday in the first joint practice in Detroit.
The Giants held a free-agent workout after practice and subsequently signed OT Julien Davenport, The Post confirmed.
The New Jersey native was most recently with the Cardinals before he was released in June. The 28-year-old has made 32 NFL starts and is expected to provide more depth at offensive tackle.
Defensive coordinator Wink Martindale revealed that Micah McFadden is now in the lead for the second inside linebacker spot ahead of Darrian Beavers.
Quarterback Daniel Jones went 22-for-26 during 11-on-11 drills.
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