If you listened to his entire press conference from Monday, he’s not lying. He left to door wide open with regards to benching starters. People here took one small quote and ignored like a dozen other comments he made like when he said he and the GM would sit down later, assess the situation and do what’s best for the team when it came to Week 19.
Here’s what beat reporter Pat Leonard tweeted after that early week press conference:
“Brian Daboll: Giants will do what's best for THEIR team this week vs. Eagles. When asked about Tom Coughlin playing all his guys in 2007 and if that's "right," Daboll says NE was undefeated then and each situation, including 2023, is different. Sounds like he'll rest guys.”
That's probably because the tweets didn't cover the entire press conference, just the part where he kind of went out of his way to say he wasn't resting players.
That said, I'm still not considering anything a certainty. Tom Coughlin would be playing his starters, and it worked well enough for him.
I dont believe there is an absolute answer to the question in general. There's a lot of context going into the decision.
If I was Dabol I'd start everyone and bench them if it looked like the Giants were going to lose. If they are playing well and have a legitimate shot I'd keep playing and hope to carry that momentum.
If I'm MM, I'd start guys and pay attention to the Eagles game. If the Eagles are running away I'd bench everyone I could.
I'd have to have a top seed locked, and my team playing well to decide on rest prior to kick-off.
