Head Coach Brian Daboll
Q: How's (tight end) Darren (Waller) doing after playing for the first time?
A: He's doing okay, yep.
Q: Is there anybody we're not going to see out practicing today?
A: Yeah, there's a few guys. I don't have the report, I know that's not until tomorrow. (Defensive lineman) Dexter (Lawrence II) won't practice –
Q: Who was that? Dex?
A: Dex.
Q: Is that a rest thing or is that an injury thing?
A: No, he's still working through his hamstring. I don't have the list with me, a couple other guys. Get it tomorrow.
Q: How's (quarterback) Tommy (DeVito) doing?
A: He's doing okay, yep.
Q: How do things change with (Eagles Senior Defensive Assistant) Matt (Patricia) now calling the defense, I guess, for them assuming he's going to stay in that role? And that's a guy you know pretty well.
A: I have a lot of respect for Matt, for (Eagles Defensive Coordinator) Sean (Desai), for (Eagles Head Coach) Nick (Sirianni), all those guys. He has his own touch to things. How he called it against Seattle, I wouldn't say it's drastically different but there's certain elements that are maybe a little bit different, so he's a heck of a coach.
Q: Could you see the difference?
A: Yeah, I'd say there's obviously a lot of similarities, they've been in that system. There's a couple things that he's done but I think Sean – I know Sean well, he's a heck of a coach, Matt, those guys do a good job.
Q: What are you expecting from a Monday afternoon Christmas game atmosphere-wise in Philadelphia?
A: I'm sure it'll be how it always is there.
Q: What have you seen from (Eagles quarterback) Jalen Hurts?
A: He's a winner. Since high school, he's won over 75 percent of his games. He's a heck of a player, heck of a quarterback, heck of a person. He's a good player.
Q: What do you see from their offense? They haven't actually been scoring as many points as – I think they'd like and kind of what we were expecting from what we saw from them last year.
A: I'd say they are still real good. Really good skill players, good quarterback, good offensive line, good running back, got a lot of talent on their team.
Q: Why do you think (Eagles running back D'Andre) Swift is a good fit for them at running back?
A: He's a good running back. He's a good fit probably with any team. Good with the ball in his hands, can catch, can run. They've got a lot of talent on their football team.
Q: There's a lot of stuff coming out of there. They've lost three in a row, they're struggling. You're probably not buying into a lot of that stuff, I guess, huh?
A: Yeah, they're 10-4. They're pretty good.
Q: At the owners meetings, when we mentioned to you that you had a good first season and you said 'well, did you watch? we got kind of', paraphrasing, 'we got blown out by Philadelphia in the playoffs.' You guys talked about trying to catch up to the Eagles and the Cowboys in the offseason. How do you look at that now as you face this team for the first time?
A: They're a good football team, got a lot to prepare for, so let's get ready to play the Eagles here.
Q: Do you feel you've closed the gap?
A: All I'm concentrating on is having a good day today, trying to go out there and put a good plan together and have a good practice.
Q: You have a couple of veteran receivers who aren't playing and some young guys who are. What was the thinking going on there with those guys?
A: One more time.
Q: (Wide receiver) Sterling (Shepard) and (wide receiver) Parris (Campbell) aren't playing. I think they were in the plans a little more earlier in the season.
A: (Wide receiver Jalin) Hyatt and (wide receiver) Wan'Dale (Robinson) are playing more.
Q: How are the veterans, those guys, taking it?
A: They're pros.
Q: They're taking it okay?
A: I mean, they're competitive, I'm sure they'd like to play, but we're playing Wan'Dale and Hyatt.
Q: We asked you in the past about (guard) Justin Pugh. Has anything he's done surprised you considering how he came here and the suddenness of it?
A: I didn't know him before we got here. So, he's been a pro in that room. I think he contributes in a positive way to all the younger players. He's done everything we've asked him to do. Glad we got him.
Q: He was pretty hard on his performance the other day and you've made changes with guys. Is it your plan to stick with him?
A: Yeah, he'll play. Yep.
Q: Where's (tackle) Evan Neal with trying to come back here?
A: He's doing everything he can do.
Q: Do you expect (running back Gary) Brightwell back this week?
A: We'll open the window for Brightwell, open the window for (tackle Matt) Peart. Both those guys.
Q: Is (offensive lineman Josh) Ezeudu not going to play this year?
A: No.
Q: I don't often ask you about long snapping operations, but I'm going to do so today if I may.
A: Sure. You may.
Q: How much do you almost take for granted that those guys are going to do their particular job, do it well, and in many cases, affect the game with it?
A: Yeah, it's a pretty important position. Consistency, they work just like the specialists, the kickers, the holders. (Long snapper) Casey (Kreiter) is a tireless worker, good leader for us. Kind of talks about the protections too with all the guys that are playing on the punt team. It's a point play, so them being accurate, snapping it on time with good velocity, good accuracy is critical to any of those plays.
Q: How's (kicker) Randy Bullock doing?
A: He's not great. Yeah, he's not great, so that's something we'll work through here and see where he is. But I'm not expecting him to be ready.
Q: Is (kicker) Cade (York) the option then in that situation?
A: Yep.
Q: Can you just explain the process you guys have gone through with Cade? Bringing him in, making him inactive, just the whole thing.
A: Thought he was a good young player to work with. He's done a good job out here, and glad we have him right now. He's worked hard, and glad we got him.
Q: Since he's gotten here, what improvements have you seen? Have you seen him grow a little bit?
A: He's got a strong leg. He kicks the ball well, pretty accurate. We've continued to work with him since he's been here. So, again, it's good, particularly when that happens, to have someone here for you that you're able to hopefully kick for you.
Q: Why do you think Philly's D-Line has not been as dominant this year as it was in previous years?
A: I'd say they're tough to block. They have a lot of good players. They've added some pieces. (Eagles defensive lineman) Jalen (Carter) is one heck of a player, dominant at times. They're certainly one of the better D-Lines in the league.
Quarterback Tommy DeVito
Q. What have you heard about Eagles fans? It's going to be your first time playing at the Linc on Christmas day with Eagles fans probably not welcoming you warmly…
A: I heard it's a pretty hostile environment, I'm looking forward to it. I like to thrive in those environments.
Q. You like being the villain?
A: It's fun. It's part of the game. I like a hostile crowd.
Q. What's the most hostile crowd you've ever faced?
A: A Bergen-Bosco game. You ever seen one of those? 15,000 in the crowd, don't go well. For your family and all.
Q. What do you think will be going through your head when they're booing you? Wishing you a Happy Christmas or Merry Christmas in their own way.
A: Hey, I'll say Merry Christmas right back and that's that.
Q. This team obviously lost to the Eagles last year in the playoffs, three times last year, how big would a win against that team mean for you and your future?
A: It'll be huge. I think all wins are huge, obviously, but you know, when you're coming off a loss like we did last week it'll make that win that much better.
Q. But to have a win against the Eagles would sort of be like an extra boost on the resume, no?
A: I guess so. I don't know, I've never played against the Eagles before in the league so my slate at the moment is 0-0. So, I look forward to going out and just trying to be 1-0.
Q. What have you observed about their defense?
A: They're good. They're a good team. They've got a good defensive line but at the same time, not everybody's superman, so go out and handle business.
Q. Do you pride yourself on your resilience and bouncing back from defeats?
A: Yeah, I think that's part of the quarterback position. Whether it's defeats, interceptions, missed throws, whatever it is, it's always the next play mentality. Then when it comes to games, it's next game mentality.
Q. Where's your confidence level right now?
A: High.
Q. It never waivers, does it?
A: It does not.
Q. What did you make all of the – this stuff with the pizza place? And then you went there and smoothed things over. What made you want to go do that and what did you make of all the confusion that went down?
A: Obviously, there's a million things going on, still is, and some stuff just slipped through the cracks. As soon as I got word – I got word via my telephone, I'm sure some of you did per ESPN. I was like, 'What is this?' Made some calls to my team at the time and got it sorted out and wanted to get over there. I found out – what's today, Wednesday? I found out Monday, said I needed to go there the next day, and went there Tuesday. Went over there, face-to-face conversation, talked to them. Then I did hire a new marketing team to handle all that just so everything can be smoothed over and nothing like that happens again.
Q: I would think there is a perception that – and Sean (Stellato) has become a prominent person – that you fired him, which is not the case, right?
A: That's not the case, no.
Q: Would you just clarify what exactly his role is?
A: Sean is my contract agent, that's what he is. I have a marketing team now to handle all of the other stuff.
Q: What have you learned about popularity and sudden fame and how things have changed in a month, just how out of nowhere you kind of get hit with stuff like this that you didn't even see coming?
A: Everything you do is under a microscope times a hundred, even more now. Anything that happens is going to be in some kind of article somewhere, like how this happened. I'm sure if this happened a month ago, it probably wouldn't or would not have happened how it did, but it did. Got cleaned up but just continue to be yourself though.
Q: A lot more has slipped through the cracks do you think that you would've ever realized being in this position now?
A: Yeah, I would definitely never have hoped for anything like that to slip through the cracks, but that's why I hired more people on a team to be able to handle all that so I can be here and focus on football and what my job is.
Q: Has it been a tough adjustment? Knowing that everything you do now is under the microscope.
A: No. I've always kind of been like that throughout high school, college. I know how it is at the quarterback position no matter what level it is. Obviously, now it's more, but you've got to be yourself and be a good person at all times.
Q: With everything going on around you, have you kind of stressed even more to everyone around you that this is where your priority has to be and whatever else happens, they'll let you know when it's time to do that stuff?
A: Yeah, that's the way it is. I mean I don't handle any talks until everything is finalized with a contract in front of my face and then I sign it. That's the only time I like to know about what things are going on because that's their job to figure out and do all that because I am here doing this. My family knows that, my agents know that, marketing team, everybody knows that. That's part of the reason I live at home as well, so they can handle all that, so I don't have to worry about anything but being here in the building.
Offensive Lineman Justin Pugh
Q: Is it hard to believe that you haven't won, the Giants haven't won, in Philly since your rookie year?
A: Really? Was (quarterback) Matt Barkley the quarterback at the time? Was Matt Barkley there? Was he the starting quarterback?
Q: He was. (Quarterback Michael) Vick started, but he got hurt and Matt came in.
A: Full circle moment for Barkley there. He's on our side now.
I mean, that's a crazy stat. Philly's been really good. They've done a good job. You've got to give a hat off to them. Yeah, we'd love to beat them.
Q: What would you tell (quarterback Tommy) DeVito – I don't know if he's asked you what to expect on Christmas Day at the Linc(oln Financial Field)?
A: It's going to be loud; it's going to be raucous, it's going to be intense. Probably my gym teacher and the people I grew up with are going to be in the stands booing us. It's a great environment. It's the environment you want to play in in football and we've got a job to do, and they have a three-game skid. They're going to be looking to get right and we just lost. We're both going to have that bad taste in our mouths. So, two teams looking for a win.
Q: You were pretty upfront after the game the other day about how poorly you thought you played. Did the film back that up?
A: Yeah, there's probably four plays I want back from the game: the sacks. You can't give up sacks. It kills drives, kills momentum. The first one I got beat, it kind of forced a sack on the play. The next one I got edged on a play, and then they had some twist stuff that we just didn't pick up. We didn't do our job. We got better as the game went on, but there are no make-ups. Once you get down in the game like that, and you're down a couple of scores…
But this is the perfect time – and I talked about this in my podcast, I go in-depth on it – to show who I am as a man, who I am as a player. You're going to have bad games. People are all in my comments saying things. Like, I didn't come here to not help the team. I didn't do my job on Sunday, but it's how you fight back from that adversity and that's what I'm going to do and that's why I'm here. So, I'm looking forward to playing on Sunday and kind of getting that behind me.
Q: How do you think Tommy will handle the atmosphere?
A: I mean, he's a gamer. He's got that confidence. He's going to show up and play well. It's going to be a great environment. It's exciting for him. This is one of the first times going down to Philadelphia, you go play your rivals, you get to go to Dallas, get to go to Philly. All those are intense games.
Q: How about the most raucous you ever experienced in Philly as a Giant?
A: There are some Sunday night games. I mean, we can go back, the worst game I've ever played was in Philly on a primetime game when I was at right tackle, I think it was like, my second year in the league. It gets crazy. When you let them start drinking at 8 a.m. and they have an entire afternoon to drink, it gets pretty crazy in there.
Q: What have you seen from those guys up front?
A: Those guys are unbelievable upfront. I played against them last year in Arizona. It doesn't correlate as much to this rivalry, but played against all those guys. You have (Eagles defensive tackle) Fletcher Cox, Hall of Famer, (Eagles defensive end) Brandon Graham, probably Hall of Famer, you have the young D-tackles from Georgia, Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis, unbelievable players. Philadelphia just brings the defensive line and that's on the offensive line to go out there and battle with them.
Q: You don't see a defensive tackle as a rookie be as productive as Jalen Carter has been. What's unique about him as a rookie that kind of makes him tough on tape?
A: He can do it all. He's got power, he's got speed, plays hard, plays with a little chip on his shoulder, reminds you of a young (Rams defensive lineman) Aaron Donald. So, he's doing a lot of good things on film. I mean, that's a lofty praise but you saw it even when he came out. There are very few guys in the interior that do things like that, and for him to go to a situation like Philadelphia… I don't know how the heck he fell to Philadelphia. I know there were some other things that went into that equation, but he's a great player. We've got to do our job.
Q: Your very first time playing in Philly, what do you remember about that?
A: I don't remember it. We won, that's what I just found out. But yeah, I don't remember that.
Q: '14 you mentioned was the year you played at right tackle in primetime. It was the night that Vick got hurt in the endzone.
A: Yeah, and we lost, like, 30-something to nothing, I think it was.
Q: There were times the Giants have been close in Philly at times when you were here and when you weren't here, but when that snowball gets rolling down there…
A: Yeah, I mean, you put any team in that situation. Name the best offensive line in the league. Philadelphia's a name that comes to mind, one of the best offensive lines, you look at Detroit, all those teams when you get down in games are going to struggle from the offensive line perspective. The defensive line has no responsibility besides rushing the passer. It's going to look bad. And that goes for anyone across the league. So, you've got to play complementary football, you have to play good defense, execute on offense, be able to establish the run. Those are things that are just basic fundamentals. Look at a team like San Francisco or Miami. Their
offensive line looks great every week because they scheme, and they run the ball so well that it helps them in pass protection.
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