Offensive Coordinator Ben McAdoo
Q: How do you score more this time than last time?
A: It starts up front. We need to block them. The offensive line and tight ends, we need to block them up and we need to run the ball well. It all starts there. It all starts up front. We need to execute better on the perimeter, take shots when available and we need to execute.
Q: What do you think this offense will be like next year?
A: We are excited about the future, but we are focused on this week. That is a better question next week. We are excited about the challenge we have this week. We didn't execute the way we were capable of the first time we played. We are ready for the challenge.
Q: Was that as good a game as you have seen Eli [Manning] play? Last week against [St. Louis]?
A: I thought Eli played well. There are a lot of things in the game that happen that he doesn't get credit for. He adjusted well, whether it is in the run game, protections or the pass game. We had a lot on his plate. He was focused and he responded. It was good to see.
Q: Is that something you have seen a lot of with [Manning], doing those types of things that we can't see, as the season has moved along?
A: We knew he was going to have good command of it. There was a lot thrown at him early. He has done a nice job of working at it and studying it. It is different than what he was used to in the past. He showed that command.
Q: Did [Manning] lobby to be split out wide-left on the Odell Beckham wildcat formation?
A: He said he was open. Odell wasn't allowed to look over there, though.
Q: What have you seen from Orleans Darkwa?
A: First of all, to be able to come in and pick things up the way he has, says a lot about him and his study habits. [Running backs Coach] Craig [Johnson] is doing a nice job with those guys, catching them up to speed and he has a knack for finding the hole or if there is a small crease in there. He can kind of get down low and get through there in a hurry. He has done some good things out of the backfield. Otherwise in pass protection, he has been a pleasant surprise.
Q: First year here in your system… How would you rate it? Are you happy with the progress you have made?
A: I feel that since the San Francisco game [November 16], that we learned a lot about each other. We have taken steps in the right direction since that game. We haven't been perfect, but we have been fairly balanced and working to get that way and I think we have made some progress since then.
Q: What are some things you would still like to see?
A: Just consistency. That is what every team, what every offense, struggles for. Being consistent and playing to our identity all the time. Sound, smart, tough and committed to discipline and poise and doing that all the time, not just some of the time, and being consistent with it.
Q: Surely you would want it to click right away, and it did for a couple games… When you came into the season, how much of that was the realistic expectation that maybe it would take…?
A: That is your goal. You want to come out and put your team in a position to win games and execute at a high level. That wasn't the case early. We didn't do that as quickly as we would have liked to. We didn't execute at a high enough level early in the season. [We] got better as the year went on and we need our best output on Sunday.
Q: Did you expect that though when you started Week 1 that it might take time?
A: You are working to win. You are working to win and you expect to come out and execute at a high level the way you practiced. Sometimes that is not the case. [It] didn't work that way this year and we need our best output on Sunday. That is what we are focused on now.
Q: When a game is going like it went on Sunday [at St. Louis] and it seems pretty obvious the attention St. Louis was putting on Odell [Beckham Jr.], does that force your hand at all in terms of how you call the game and what positions you want to put Odell in?
A: Teams are going to pay a lot of attention to him. He is a talented young man. We can't make it easy for them to find him. We have to move him around a little bit. At the same point in time, we have to be smart of what we are asking him to do, being a young player and having too much on his plate. He has responded nicely to those challenges. Really, the plan takes care of that. You have so much volume for him and as long as he understands what is available and the adjustments, it is not really the play call, it is the possible adjustments that happen within the play call. You may not have time to hit every little one each week. You hope that each week the guys will be able to carry over what has happened in the past and learn from it.
Q: Did you see a difference in [Rueben] Randle in practice last week?
A: He had a nice game on Sunday. We were very happy to see him perform at a high level and go up and attack the football. He had a good week of practice last week and he has had a good week this week and we expect that to continue.
Q: [Coach Coughlin] seemed to think there was an uptick in Rueben's preparation or his attitude leading up to the game in St. Louis?
A: He is a smart player and he wants the ball, like most of these guys. They want their hands on the ball. You can only play with one a time. It was nice to see him respond and make plays when we were counting on him. The post ball, that was probably a once in a decade throw, earlier on in the game and to have him go up and attack it, it was nice to see.
Q: From the beginning you have talked to us about Eli's footwork… How has he progressed?
A: He has made progress all year. He has worked hard at it. We talk about it all the time. Especially today, [because] it was a green zone day and detailing that part of things. He has worked at it and come a long way, but we are going to continue to push the envelope and improve there.
Defensive Coordinator Perry Fewell
Q: Regarding this week's game plan, how much do you use what you did the last time against the Eagles versus what you think in hindsight?
A: We looked at what we did, we looked at how we can improve on what we did, and how we did that. We added different ideas that we studied throughout the season. We had the different ideas of thoughts that we had coming out of that football game, and then we really researched some of the thoughts that other people had in stopping that offense. It was a collaborative effort of our ideas, our thoughts, and then how other people defended them
Q: How much of the previous game plan is in place again this week? Is it a clean slate or do you build off of what you had?
A: That is a good question. In this respect, probably about 40 percent of what we did last time, and the other 60 percent is new thoughts and ideas.
Q: Do you have any regrets in that you were in nickel and they were running the ball last game?
A: When you say regrets, I think they force you to play a certain personnel group whether you are going to play base, whether you are going to play sub, or what have you because of the pace of the game. When you try to match their personnel, a lot of people have gotten in trouble in doing that. You look at Seattle when they played them. They played them in all base. You look at another team, they play them in all sub. Because of the pace of the game, they allow you to sub only on certain situations. If it's an incomplete pass, if the ball is….the clock stops, or you can get caught with 12 people on the field. Those things can occur for your defense. They force you to line up and get lined up quickly. That was our approach, that is why we did what we did. We will try to get lined up, we will try to not have guys out of position, and we will try to play the game as fast as they play the game.
Q: It is sort of picking your poison with them? When you go to base or the nickel, you are giving them certain advantages with their personnel?
A: I don't know if it is advantages or disadvantages. I think it's what your people feel comfortable playing because of the speed of the game. The speed of the game is really the difference. They want to run as many plays as they can possibly run. You have to condition your defensive football team to think and play in that manner.
Q: You played against Mark Sanchez pretty much every preseason while he was here and a couple of times in the regular season. Does he look different? Does he look the same? I know he is in a different offense now.
A: Obviously, in a different offense. He looks like he is having fun in this offense. I would say that would be the difference for me. Obviously, he has some talented running backs to hand the ball off to, and he's looked good in certain games throwing the football. He's looked lights out throwing the football. When we saw him in the preseason, and when we saw him in the regular season, I think it was 2011 last time I saw him in the regular season, we were able to do some things to confuse him a little bit. In the preseason games, you really don't, you are really running a training camp game plan. I don't know if that is a fair assessment of when you compete against him then.
Q: Do you feel like you can still do those things to confuse him? He has a lot of turnovers?
A: I would say yes, and I would say no. It is the pace of the game. If the pace of the game allows you to do that, I would say yes. I think our guys have done a really good job this week in preparing for the pace of the game.
Q: There has been a lot of debate about Jason Pierre-Paul this season. Looking at sack numbers, his value, and what he has done. Can you assess with one game left what you seen from Jason Pierre-Paul over the course of the season?
A: We know he is a very talented young man. He came off a back injury and really didn't play a lot of football a year ago. When he played football a year ago, he played it in pain. I think as the season grew on, I think Jason Pierre-Paul became more comfortable in playing in the game. I think he came into training camp having fun. I saw the old Jason Pierre-Paul smile, enjoy playing football, and football is a game that the more your practice, the better you get. We expect because he had such an outstanding second and third year, we expect a lot of him. When he doesn't get those sack numbers, or make a lot of those wild plays that we are used to seeing him make, we are often disappointed. We think that in Jason Pierre-Paul, that he is not playing good football, but I think he played steady football throughout the season. He didn't have a lot of wow plays in that late November, October run, but I think he rebounded and made some wild plays and did some good things in the month of December. I would say that for us, I wouldn't want to play without him and I think he is a valuable part of this organization.
Q: If this is your last game with the Giants, how do you look back on your tenure, or have you yet?
A: I haven't really thought about it. I wouldn't even reflect on it.
Q: Do you at all think about that this could be the last game?
A: No, not really. I just prepare for the next opponent, and I go at it like that.
Special Teams Coordinator Tom Quinn
Q: What are the rules regarding a guy jumping over the long snapper?
A: As long as he's not within the framework of the center. You can't be lined up on the center, so he was a yard off and hit it on the run and did a good job of it.
Q: Can you make contact with the center as long as you're not lined up in front of him?
A: You can make contact with the hands on him or you can put a hand on each side to jump over, which has been done. But you can't use it to gain additional height.
Q: The guards have to be aware?
A: Yeah. We've got to do a good job of changing the snap count, so it's not timed up that well.
Q: How do you view the special teams as a whole this season?
A: Punt coverage is the one that stands out. It's been the black eye for us. Kickoff coverage has done a decent job. Kickoff return, of late, has given us decent field position just in returns. We've had to work a couple of different returners, which is always a little bit of a challenge to fit the returns. And then punt return… Odell has given us a spark back there.
Q: You said punt coverage has been the black eye. Why do you think that is?
A: Just the consistency of the location, the hang times aren't all matching with guys being in their spots. But then it also comes down to just tackling and coverage runs that have not been as good as it needs to be.
Q: It seemed like when the front office made moves in the offseason, the return game was emphasized.
A: A little bit earlier they did.
Q: Did you meet the goals you were trying to get?
A: Not with the punt return. We want that to be around 10 and it's not there. Kickoff return has been good of late. It also has to do with the blocking. The returners that we've brought in to help; they ended up being different guys. We had Odell late… But you've got to adjust. That's what this league is all about.
Q: How hard has it been the last couple of games? I'm sure you've been using guys that you have to look up their names on the roster.
A: That's good. We're used to doing that and you get guys in and you keep it simple enough so they can play. You know they'll give good effort. You just hope they understand all of what their job entails. I like when these guys come in because it adds some energy. (Orleans) Darkwa has been a great pickup for us. He's a good, sound football player. Guys like that, you really like.
