Head Coach Brian Daboll

Q: What's up with (quarterback) Drew (Lock)?

BRIAN DABOLL: Drew (Lock)? He's sore. He'll do some running on the side today. See where he is. See if he can go this week. I don't envision him practicing here the next few days, but like we always do, we'll take it all the way up to the end and see where he's at.

Q: Still no concern about him for week one?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, like today. We're just going to go ahead and do the process, but we'll see where we're at. We're not adding another quarterback right now.

Q: You're not?

BRIAN DABOLL: No.

Q: Why not?

BRIAN DABOLL: Because we'll see where Drew (Lock) is at. If he's good to go, he's good to go. Obviously, we talked about it, but we'll see where he's at. He feels a little bit better than he did that night and the next morning. He'll do some running on the side, then he won't practice. He won't practice today. I don't think he'll practice tomorrow, probably not the next day, but we'll go all the way to the end.

Q: Is that a concern then, only having two quarterbacks for the game on Saturday?

BRIAN DABOLL: We'll have a plan for another person if they need to go out there and play.

Q: In the handful of plays that (wide receiver) Malik (Nabers) played the other night, what did you think out of what you saw?

BRIAN DABOLL: Did good. Ran good routes. Great separation.

Q: Getting himself open and stuff like that…

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, he did a nice job. Did what we asked him to do. Basic game plan. No mental errors. Ran good routes. Blocked. Did his job.

Q: Obviously, there's a huge anticipation amongst the fans to see this guy make plays because of his talent. As a coach, as he ramps up more reps in games as you go along here, what is your anticipation? Do you similarly have an anticipation to see what he's doing under the lights when they're on?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, I don't have any reservations about Malik (Nabers). He's had a good camp. Again, it was good to get him out there and do some basic things. He's had a good camp.

Q: You said you're going to prepare someone else to play quarterback. You mean like someone from another position to be ready as an emergency third?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah. It'll be (tight end) Tyree (Jackson). We had him in Buffalo. Tyree Jackson. He has played quarterback. If he had to go in, he knows our system, taking snaps, albeit he's been a tight end the last couple years. But he'll take some quarterback center exchange out here. But I don't envision playing him unless something happens.

Q: Will (center) JMS (John Michael Schmitz) practice today?

BRIAN DABOLL: I'll give you some heads up on some of this stuff. So we'll ease JMS (John Michael Schmitz) back in. He'll do individuals. We'll take (tackle) Evan (Neal) off PUP. So he'll be coming off. Again, we'll ramp him up. It'll be individuals today. (Tight end Lawrence) Cager will be back. (Tight end Jack) Stoll will be back. Tomorrow will be an important day. But envision him being good to go if everything goes well. (Outside linebacker Tomon) Fox will be back. People that won't be back are the same for today's practice as last week. (Cornerback Cor'Dale) Flott won't do anything today. People that were different that didn't do anything: (safety) GO (Gervarrius Owens) won't practice today. He has a knee. (Inside linebacker) Dyontae Johnson, he won't practice. He has an ankle.

Q: Obviously, the doctors told you he was ready to practice. Do you know what he cleared that (tackle) Evan (Neal) is coming off PUP? What was the hurdle he had to get over?

BRIAN DABOLL: No. I just know that with the rehab process he's had a few good days here in a row. Everybody feels good with where he's at. So now it's the ramp up. So it'll start with individuals. And we'll monitor it after we go through individuals. Today will be shells. The next two practices will be pads.

Q: When he is fully healthy, is there any chance he starts for you guys?

BRIAN DABOLL: We're just getting it back here out in individuals. So, he's got a long way to go in terms of being off for a while and (he'll) go out there and start competing.

Q: When you look at what (inside linebacker) Bobby Okereke does for you guys, can you speak to your comfort level with him? And how would you describe what he means to your defense?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, he's really the centerpiece, the middle linebacker position. He's a good communicator. Obviously has good leadership traits. Nominated a captain his first year here. I think he's taken that to another level with tying the back end with the front end. He's fast. He's a ball disruptor. Active player in the run game and the pass game. He's been a good player for us. We're going to need him to be a good player this year as well.

Q: Is this the week the ones get a run?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, we'll talk about that at the end of the week. Decide what we're going to do and how much we'll play them, but that won't be… We're really going to focus on these next three days. Just us, our team, competition, different situations that we need to make sure we're continuing to improve on. Fundamentals. That's why we'll do pads two days this week. Then we'll make those decisions at the end of the week.

Q: Does Drew (Lock)'s injury impact how much you plan to play Daniel (Jones) in the game?

BRIAN DABOLL: No, no. I have an idea right now, but I want to go through these three practices. We'll talk about it as a coaching staff as the week goes on and end up talking with the players. I do envision Daniel (Jones) playing if everything is… trainers, practices, all those type of things. The plan is to play him.

Q: Can Tommy (DeVito) challenge for the backup job? Can he challenge Drew (Lock) for the number two job on game day in the regular season?

BRIAN DABOLL: I'd say, with Tommy (DeVito) and with Drew (Lock), all we're going to ask them to do is go out there and play as good as they can play and produce. And all those decisions will be made at the end of camp based on who we think gives us the best chance at each position. Whether it's the backup quarterback, backup three technique, starting receiver. Those are all yet to be determined, besides (defensive lineman) Dexter (Lawrence) and (tackle) A.T. (Andrew Thomas) and a few of those other guys. (Outside linebacker Brian) Burns, (outside linebacker Kayvon) Thibodeau, (inside linebacker) Bobby (Okereke).

Q: Was there any talk of doing joint practices with the (Houston) Texans? And if so, why not? Because you're doing them with the (Detroit) Lions and the (New York) Jets.

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, we've had… We do it with two teams. So not much.

Q: Does that factor into how much you want to play the starters, that if you know last week you were going into a game where you probably weren't going to play a lot of your top tier guys, that you want to have those joint practices to kind of replace what you're going to get out of the game? So, in theory, no joint practices this week would probably mean…

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, that's definitely part of it. So, you have a conversation over the summer and planning for Detroit and the amount of reps and workload we put on the 1s. But there's definitely an element to that. Practice against them, maybe pull back and you don't practice, maybe you play more. Again, that will be dictated on how these next three practices go, which, you know, we'll put a lot on them, these three practices. A lot of plays, two padded practices, and then we'll evaluate at the end of the week.

Q: Since you guys signed (guard Greg) Van Roten, you've had the same five guys on the one O- line, why was (guard Aaron) Stinnie the only one to play?

BRIAN DABOLL: I talked to Stin (Aaron Stinnie) about that, to go ahead and give him some more looks in live competition. Give him two series, I think, somewhere around there, just to keep evaluating that spot. And Greg (Van Roten) was just really coming off the couch, so that was more, we're still ramping him up. Veteran player that hasn't had a ton of practice reps, so that was the deal with that.

Q: Straight off the couch isn't trademarked?

BRIAN DABOLL: It might be.

PAT HANLON: Anything else?

BRAIN DABOLL: Two other things, we released (defensive back) Kaleb Hayes. And we signed a linebacker yesterday, (after) workout tryouts, (linebacker) K.J. Cloyd.

Offensive Tackle Evan Neal

Q: How did it feel to be back at practice and how do you generally feel?

EVAN NEAL: It felt good to be back out there. It's been a long time. So, it's always good to be back out there with the guys.

Q: What have the last nine months been like for you?

EVAN NEAL: Just rehabbing, trying to get back healthy, staying in shape, keeping my mind mentally into the game, and doing everything that I can to get back out there.

Q: If my timeline is correct, we haven't talked to you since before they changed the diagnosis of your injury. Do you have any ill will towards the Giants that they didn't know what your original injury was?

EVAN NEAL: I have no ill will whatsoever. The Giants' training staff has done everything that they can to help me get back healthy. I just can't help but misdiagnosis. I mean, things like that happen. It's nobody's fault.

Q: What was your reaction when you found out that it wasn't a sprain and you had to go get surgery?

EVAN NEAL: Yeah, it was just another thing that I was going to have to overcome.

Q: How much have these months and months tested you?

EVAN NEAL: Quite a lot. It was the first time I've ever been injured, to that extent. First time getting surgery. But at the end of the day, I'm built for it, and I feel like I've came back stronger. So, if anything, I feel like it helped me.

Q: How much were you doing out there today?

EVAN NEAL: I just started out doing individual drills, kind of knocking the dust off, shaking the cobwebs off, get back into it.

Q: They've obviously moved (tackle) Jermaine (Eluemunor) to right tackle. How do you look at that and in fact, the job isn't waiting there for you anymore.

EVAN NEAL: Whatever role that the team has for me, I'm going to embrace it. So, whether that's starting or not starting, I'm here to contribute to the team, and I'm going to do everything in my power to do so.

Q: You're a high-level contributor though, and being a high-level athlete, high-level competitor, high draft pick, I'm sure you feel like you deserve to be starting?

EVAN NEAL: I'm not owed anything, and I can't feel like I deserve anything. All I want is what I work for.

Q: Are you playing catch-up? Do you feel you're catching up since everybody's got a three-week start?

EVAN NEAL: That's not something that I think about because that's not something that I can control. I have to just control like how I address every day.

Q: Was part of it in the rehab process that you'd feel good one day, but then the next day it didn't feel right? You kind of rode that rollercoaster quite a bit.

EVAN NEAL: Yeah, it's kind of tricky, especially with it being a bone. You can't really do anything to it other than just let it heal. So, some days I'll go out and it'll feel really good. Other days, not as good. But I feel like I've been feeling, as of lately, just consistent enough to be able to go back out there and contribute to the team. So, that's where I'm at.

Q: What happened in the spring? Because it looked like you were progressing, and then they shut you down.

EVAN NEAL: Yeah, like I said, in the spring, which is one of those things, they decided to back off me because I was having more days where I wasn't feeling well than days when it was feeling good. So, they just kind of decided to just back up off me.

Q: What was the diagnosis? What did you have to come back from?

EVAN NEAL: I had to come back from ankle surgery January 2nd.

Q: Are you surprised it took this long? Because generally in ankle surgery, those of us who don't play football think it's going to be a fairly swift recovery, and yours was not.

EVAN NEAL: Everybody's different. I'm a large man. I put a lot of pressure and a lot of weight on my ankle. Everybody's body is different. Nothing's natural about a surgery, getting cut open, so your body's going to have a different response. So, there's not a cookie-cutter model in terms of when a player's going to be back and when he's not going to be back.

Q: What's the process just been like to deal with emotionally? Trying to navigate?

EVAN NEAL: It's just another thing I'm going to have to overcome. Obviously, that's not something that I wanted to happen. I'm just not going to worry about the things that are out of my control. But what I can control is how I approach every day, continuing to get healthy, continuing to refine my skills, and do everything that I can to contribute to the team, one way or another.

Q: During an offseason, can you work on the mental aspect of handling the pressure of playing in this market, the ups and downs? Is that anything that you put time into, like maybe how you approach paying attention to certain things?

EVAN NEAL: In this business, in this line of work, and especially in this city, pressure is going to be there. But that's not something that I think about because that's not something that I create. So, at the end of the day, I'm just going to focus on controlling what I can control, my attitude, how I approach the game, going out there and playing as well as I can. So, to me, the pressure really doesn't exist.

Q: When you got shut down or you were told you needed that surgery and it was a fracture, what were the emotions at that point? Because I'm sure you were looking to try and get back on the field to put better tape on, just take us back to that.

EVAN NEAL: Like I said, it definitely kind of caught me by left field. Really everybody because it was something that initially kind of wasn't seen on the initial scan. But I just knew it was going to be another thing that I was going to have to overcome. That was something that was out of my control. So, I was just going to have to deal with it the best way that I knew how at the time.

Q: Was the surgery something to reattach something, or would it clean up loose particles, or how did they describe it to you?

EVAN NEAL: I'm not a doctor, so I can't really describe it in depth. I know I got cut open and I went to sleep for it, so that's what happened.

Q: (tackle) Andrew's (Thomas) career took off when his ankle got right. He had the two surgeries and then it took off. Have you talked to him about that? Do you use that as kind of an encouraging blueprint?

EVAN NEAL: Not so much about his career taking off or anything like that after the surgery, but I do talk to him all the time just in terms of how he got his ankle back healthy, some of the things that he would do, and maybe during his rehab processes, what were some of the hurdles or the obstacles that he faced. And he gave me some of the best insight that he could.

Q: I was going to say, 'bad timing is bad timing', but it's halfway through your rookie contract. How would you describe your first two years, and do you look at this as a pivotal point in your career?

EVAN NEAL: Yeah, it's a big year for me. I'm not going to sit here and act like it's not, but at the end of the day, the past two years, they weren't perfect by any means, but I feel like they were solid. They definitely weren't what I wanted them to be, but a lot of things that happened were just out of my control, just like the future, it's out of my control. I can only control the present and how I approach every single day, and that will be a big indication of my future.

Q: When (Senior Vice President and General Manager) Joe Schoen spoke late in the season, he said, 'Evan needs to play better'. What was your reaction when you heard him say that?

EVAN NEAL: That's his opinion. That's his job to evaluate the players, and if he thinks I need to play better, then hell, I'd be the first person to tell myself that I need to play better, so it really doesn't matter whether it comes out of Joe's mouth or anybody's mouth. I'm always going to be the harshest critic on myself, so I need to play better. Yeah, I need to play better.

Q: You said you would do anything if they said, 'play guard'. Did you play guard?

EVAN NEAL: Like I said, whatever role that I'm asked to do on the team, I'm going to embrace it to the best of my abilities.

Cornerback Nick McCloud

Q: (Defensive Passing Game Coordinator/Defensive Backs Coach) Jerome (Henderson) was telling us earlier that you wake up every day with a chip on your shoulder and that's a big strength of yours. How does that come about? Why is that? How do you maintain it? Because it's hard to do every day…

NICK MCCLOUD: Really just going back to my roots. Three-star recruit out of high school. I really didn't get much love coming out of high school. Just going through the stuff I went through in college, staying five years. And then obviously being undrafted. It's not really hard for me to wake up with a chip on my shoulder. But I feel like I'm moving past that point of just trying to prove people wrong. Now I'm to the point to where the people who are in my corner, I'm just going to try to prove them right. So that's just how I feel about that.

Q: You never want to get playing time or get an opportunity at a teammate's injury. But the truth is, (cornerback Cor'Dale) Flott is injured right now. What kind of opportunity is this next week for you to win that job?

NICK MCCLOUD: Definitely a huge opportunity. I don't think I'm just trying to take this opportunity to go win a job, every time I step on the practice field, I'm trying to win a job. Whatever reps that I get, those are valuable reps. I went from last year, I didn't get any reps with the ones and the twos, really. Now I'm getting some reps. I just take every opportunity at practice, game, whatever it may be, just try to maximize that.

Q: What was your reaction when they told you that you weren't going to play in the first preseason game?

NICK MCCLOUD: At first, I was like, 'Me?' It was kind of one of those things. But I mean, again, not too much overreaction or underreaction about it. Just whatever they asked me to do, that's what I'm going to do.

Q: It seemed the first day of practice, you popped somebody really early in the... and I'm sitting there going, 'Is this guy making a statement?' Is that what your intention is every play?

NICK MCCLOUD: Yeah, definitely. Like I said, getting back to my roots again, I never was a guy that was one of those top guys. Whatever I can do to stand out with my coaches and my teammates, that's what I'm going to do.

Q: When you're lining up on the other side of (wide receiver) Malik (Nabers), what are you seeing in him?

NICK MCCLOUD: You can tell that he's different from everybody else when you line up against him. When you line up against him, you've definitely got to be locked in. He's explosive, he's a smart football player, and at the end of the day, he's a competitor. I think that's what makes him what he is. He's going to compete at the highest level.

Q: You're not a doctor, I'm not asking you what happened, but is your heart in your throat at all when you see him on the sideline getting checked out at the end of practice today?

NICK MCCLOUD: I mean, I didn't even know he was on the sideline getting checked out. Obviously, we want him to be okay. I'll probably find more about that when I go in.

Q: When you get to the point where you're doing a bunch of things for special teams and you're valuable in everything you do, is there ever any point where it works against you? Like, 'I just want to be a starter, put me on the outside, let me go prove myself.' But because of all the other things that you do, is it ever a hindrance that they look at you and say, 'Well, he's too valuable in these other spots that we can't put him here.'

NICK MCCLOUD: I mean, you've just got to look at it glass half full, glass half empty. There's perks and pros and cons to both. I just try to come out here every day and just compete at the highest level, wherever they put me.

Q: The question we just asked, we used to ask (safety) Julian Love every day for three years. I'm wondering if you see some of yourself in Julian, and if it's inspiring to see once he's settled into what he's become, he just got a $12 million a year contract…

NICK MCCLOUD: Yeah, definitely. I mean, you said it yourself, me and J-Love, we're really close. We're definitely the same type of player, smart football player, can do a lot of things. It worked out for him, so I'm just, I'm sitting on my knees, praying that it's going work out for me too.

Q: When you have a question, is there a specific teammate in the secondary, or not in the secondary that you go to now?

NICK MCCLOUD: Yeah, (Safety) Dane Belton, he's a pretty smart football player. (Safety) J-Pin (Jason Pinnock). We've got a lot of guys that are smart football players. Whatever kind of advice that they can give me, whatever they can help catch me up on moving from position to position, it definitely helps, because I definitely need it sometimes moving around like that.

Q: Have they given you any kind of cool nickname? They used to call Julian, 'Duct Tape.' Given you any kind of cool nickname?

NICK MCCLOUD: No, no, no, just Nick.

Q: How would you describe (inside linebacker) Bobby Okereke and what he means to this defense, what kind of team that he is?

NICK MCCLOUD: He's just one of the best leaders that I've been around. He holds himself to a high standard, so it's nothing for him to hold everybody else to a high standard, because he does it himself day in and day out. You can't really ask much more of him.

Q: Is there something about, your personality that the first day you're digging in the nickel, the idea of fighting tooth and nail with a teammate, going back to that chip on your shoulder, that you enjoy being able to just man up on somebody?

NICK MCCLOUD: It goes back to the chip. I wake up every day feeling like I've got to prove myself, no matter where I'm at on the depth chart, no matter what the circumstance may be. I wake up every day wanting to be in the toughest situations.

Q: You didn't necessarily go to that small school somewhere out in – you did kind of make it somewhere…

NICK MCCLOUD: There's a lot of background behind that too, though.