Head Coach Pat Shurmur
Opening Statement: I really don't have much to add after last night. I thought even though we won the game and there were some good plays, it was a mixed bag. There is certainly a lot of things we need to clean up moving forward. There're some things we can build on. On both offense and defense and also on special teams, some guys kind of stood out and made an impact and then there are other guys as we move forward that will learn from this first experience and improve. As you know, we have a very young team, so all these reps that some of these young guys are getting are very valuable and for a first outing we've got something good to build on.
Q: What do you get out of playing Eli for three plays?
A: He's our starter, I think it's important that he played to some degree. The idea was not to go three and out, the idea was to go on a scoring drive. That's what I get out of it.
Q: What's the next step for Daniel in his development?
A: Keep playing, keep improving. I've said it all along, as well as he's been trained in college, there are many things that he is doing for the first time and those are things that need to get repped both on the practice field and in games. Had we not had the weather delay, he probably would have played maybe eight or ten more snaps. When we went back out and restarted the game, I kind of felt like it was right to go with the twos. Just get more of the same and try to expose him to more and more things. I'd like to see him at some point get into a two-minute drive, some of the things you are going to see as you play a full game.
Q: Is that like a starting pitcher in a baseball game after a long delay like that, you don't want to have him get his arm loose, is that the thinking there?
A: No, it had nothing to do with his arm being loose, it had nothing to do with Daniel Jones. It had to do with considering everybody. The twos were going to go in not long after, so after the rain delay I just decided to start out with the twos.
Q: Looking at you last year, and the first two practices after the preseason opener, you kind of rested Eli and gave Kyle (Lauletta) and Davis Webb some reps with the ones. Do you plan to follow that same plan here coming up with Daniel?
A: Nope. We'll be back to work Sunday, and nothing has changed.
Q: What did you think of your starting defense? They let them go down the field when they faced the ones, but then they seemed to settle in a little bit. What did you see that maybe went wrong on the first drive, and what was sort of corrected as you guys went along?
A: On the first drive, we were in man coverage and there was a little bit of miscommunication. We cut a guy loose; hat was the big play. So, aside from that, there were some good plays in that drive. Certainly the scoring play and the sprint option, we sort of lost leverage in the slot. So, there were things to correct. You certainly don't want a team to ever go down and score on the opening drive, but we settled down and we found a way to do what we had to do then to pretty much play good defense from there.
Q: If Daniel continues to play well, could this ever be open to a QB competition for Week 1?
A: Listen, we're not going to play the 'what ifs,' and I would say this: nothing has changed. This is the first game and I expect Daniel to play well, I expect him to go out and improve, and for the people that don't know him, impress them. That's what we expect from him. We expect that from Eli, we expect that from everybody. So our expectations for him have not changed, and in my mind our situation hasn't changed.
Q: In your mind, is it a competition, or is Eli definitely the starter Week 1?
A: In my mind, we're getting everybody ready to play, and our situation here hasn't changed.
Q: Whenever it is that you have to make a decision on Daniel (Jones) this year, next year or whenever, how important in evaluating a quarterback are the little things that everybody doesn't usually see? Like, for example, not moving the tight end on that first play, those little strategy things.
A: Well, they're very important because in my mind that's the game within the game. I think to the naked eye or the casual observer or even the educated observer, when you don't have all the information there's a lot of things that happen behind the scenes. Things that we certainly take into account all the time with all the players. So yeah, that's important, because if you think about it, you could get away with something but then you know in a different situation that could be something that could get you, you know? So you always consider that
Q: Where does everything stand with B.J. Goodson? He was a guy that has started for you in the past and yesterday we saw he was running with the 3's.
A: Yeah, well, he had a couple days where he wasn't out in practice and he's getting back in there and he is in that linebacker crew competing to be on the team.
Q: If my understanding is correct, after Golden Tate's III appeal on Tuesday, they had three days to decide, which would be today. Have you heard from them? Do you expect to hear from them today if you haven't so far?
A: Yeah, you know much more about the process than I do, but as of now, I have not heard anything.
Q: On the Eli (Manning) series, when he opted to go three maybe four yards to Scott Simonson when he seemed to have a receiver open down field, that kind on a decision seems to kind of make Giants fans a little bit weary. I'm just wondering if you had an issue at all with that decision in that moment when a bigger play seemed to be available?
A: Yeah, first play of the game and we ran a little naked and we got a completion. I know certainly quarterbacks are always trained to keep their eyes downfield. So we got a completion. You can make the case that he could have thrown the ball down the field to Rhett (Ellison), but you know you move the chains and you move on.
Q: You said there might be more injuries, anything you've heard?
A: No, not really. I think Alec Ogletree has a little bit of a calf strain. Everything is pretty fresh right now, but nothing of note. Obviously, Jon Hilliman with the concussion and he's in protocol. Anybody in particular?
Q: Wayne Gallman? It looked like he got an X-ray?
A: He had a little bit of a foot sprain, but we are just trying to get that evaluated. We'll see.
Q: How about guys who were injured? Anybody coming back this week?
A: We should be getting some of them back. Some of our guys who have been out an extended period, we might be able to see more from like Darius Slayton, Grant Haley, Chad Wheeler, and a couple of the guys who were injured scratches for this game. But again, today in their world would be like a Monday, so that's the process we are going through and their day off is tomorrow. In the next 48-hours, some of that might clear up a little bit.
Q: Now that you've had the chance to look at the pass interference on (Corey) Ballentine, what were your thoughts on the way that whole process played out?
A: I think the process played out just like we're probably going to see it play out. To the naked eye at game speed, it looked like an excellent play by Corey— and I still think it was. The words they use are, 'clear and obvious,' and clearly and obviously he was grabbing the receiver's wrist. That can be seen on replay, so that's why the call was made.They started the process with the replay by saying they were going to officiate it by the letter of the law, and then the final verbiage on that is now, 'clear and obvious.' Even though it may be clear and obvious to somebody on the field, it has to then be clear and obvious on whatever replays that the official is seeing. We were on top of it, and if it was different, or if it was flipped, we would've challenged it just like they did.
Q: Do you have any thoughts on the play of some of your young secondary guys last night?
A: Yeah, I thought they competed. I thought, for the most part, DeAndre Baker performed really well. He's a gamer, and you can see that. One thing you look for when a rookie goes into a game is if it's too big for them. All of the guys in the secondary, I thought they competed and you could tell it wasn't too big for them. They had their mistakes, but those are things we can clean up. For the most part, it was a mixed bag with a positive for those guys. I thought they all took steps forward. DeAndre Baker, Corey Ballentine, who we spoke about last night, Sean Chandler, Julian Love, Kenny Ladler made some plays, Henre' Toliver was in there and did a couple good things, and Ronnie Zamort. Those guys all did some things where you could say, 'there's something to build on there.'
