Q: How long does it take to build chemistry with a new receiver?A: With a new receiver it depends. It depends on how quickly he grasps the whole offense and how quickly you trust what they're doing. Most of the guys here have been here a year besides Da'Rel [Scott]. Most guys have had some time, had a training camp and some live games. Some of them know what they're doing offensively, know the schemes. It's still about repping, seeing their body movement, seeing how they come in and out of breaks and what some of their moves are to set up their breaks.
Q: When you lose a reliable guy like Kevin Boss, how do you approach working someone in at that spot?A: We have Travis Beckum. We have Bear [Pascoe]. Jake Ballard's been here. Those three guys have all played in games, have all done some stuff, they know what they're doing. It's just a matter of working, getting them reps, getting them different looks and walking them through things. Praise them when they're doing well. If they clean up little things, coaching points, that's what the coaches are doing, that's what I'm trying to reinforce to make sure everything's being done just how we want it.
Q: Are you disappointed by not having Kevin Boss?A: Kevin's one of my good pals and a good friend and a great player for us. He's great in the red zone, caught a lot of touchdowns, had a great feel of the offense – knowing what to do to with the plays – just knowing the ins and outs, the feel of the game. Definitely disappointed about that, but I know he wanted to come back, but sometimes other things come into factor. I'm happy for him on his new contract, but disappointed he's not here as a Giant.
Q: Have you spoken to him?A: I haven't. I have not spoken to him. I know he's got a lot going on, but I'm sure I'll talk to him soon.
Q: Are you concerned with some of the things that have happened since camp opened – two linemen getting cut, Osi, Boss, and the injury to the number one draft pick?A: No. I think everything's going smoothly. I think the offense, we were doing a lot of good things and guys were getting better. There's always parts of camp when you have good days or some days when things are a little tougher – inserting new plays where things have got to go. But I think so far, guys are playing fast. We have a number of receivers, we've got a good grasp of the offense, rotating a lot of guys in. They're all making plays and doing good stuff. Tight ends are doing well. I feel well about what we're doing. We just have to work better and keep working and getting better.
Q: Steve Smith and Kevin Boss were two guys who you trusted. With those two, how long did that process take?A: Both of those guys have been here four years. Both played well, but we have other guys. Beckum is going into his (third) year now. We have Mario Manningham, Hakeem [Nicks] going into their third and fourth year. We have guys who have been here who can step up. A lot of those guys have made big plays for us, just need to get on a more consistent note and everybody doing it right every time on and on every play.
Q: Do you see Bear Pascoe and Travis Beckum being interchangeable, one coming in one play, one the other? Can they replace Kevin Boss?A: Beckum he doesn't have the size of [Kevin] Boss, but very fast, gets in and out of his breaks well and has a good understanding of the offense and doing things really well. He'll give us some different things that Kevin [Boss] didn't have and there are some things that Kevin [Boss] did better. You find out what guys do well and use their skills to fit the offense. With Bear, the guy knows the offense, a hard worker, he's played every position for us from fullback to tight end so you can use him in a lot of different ways. It will be interesting how we mix things up. Jake Ballard, a guy [who's] big and strong, good blocker. We have some tight ends. We'll have to mix things up. Both of them should be able to play well for us.
Q: What impressions have Henry Hynoski made on you?A: The first thing is he has a pretty good grasp of what's going on from day one. He likes playing fullback. He doesn't care much about getting many carries, which as the Giants fullback you're not getting many carries in the past. He's a tough kid, obviously. Once you get into the game and a live defense, you'll find out how tough fullbacks are and how much they like sticking their head into things. He catches the ball well out of the backfield, which has been nice. He seems to have a good understanding of what we're doing, of the schemes and is not making many mistakes. That's always a good start for a new guy in.
