Defensive Coordinator Wink Martindale

Really pleased with the effort we played with against Carolina. It was fun seeing the first group out there playing together. Not complete yet, but still it was exciting to get those guys on the field and to actually play in a game, which was fun to watch. With that, I'll open it up for questions.

Q. Seems like (safety) Jason (Pinnock), I know he's banged up right now, really seized that job next to (safety) Xavier (McKinney). What did you see from him this summer to have that confidence in him?

A: I think that nothing has been set in stone yet, but it's obviously looking that way. I think that what he did last year and what he's done to get in shape and get his body right and another year in the system so he's playing even faster, more reacting instead of thinking now. I think he's got a bright future.

Q. We saw (defensive lineman) Leo(nard Williams) go off a few days ago in practice. What did you see from him that day?

A: I think that all of them, they are practicing trying to get ready for the season to start. He's been doing that throughout camp and he's really improved on a lot of techniques and fundamentals in his game and has taken it personal to even in, what is it, year nine now, to get even better than what he has been in the past and I think you see that in his play.

Q. I think you hear sometimes a lot of people suggest that your blitz schemes kind of, for lack of a better term, limit your edge rushers. A lot of teams have edge rushers, they just send them every time whereas you kind of maybe ask more of them. What do you think of that idea that your edge rushers might rush a little less than traditional edge rushers?

A: Well, I think there is different philosophies defensively. I think there is the coordinators that just like to rush four and play coverage. We like to put pressure on the quarterback in different ways because like I have said many times, pressure breaks pipes. It's one of those things where I say it's a positionless defense, so I just don't limit them and put them in a box of just an edge rusher. It's what they do best, how can we get a free runner to the quarterback and what it takes is 11 selfless guys out there and that's what you are seeing with us, with our guys. They are selfless players. They care about each other more than they care about themselves. Just because someone has four sacks going into Week Six, it does not mean he's having a bad year because you got to think not only the passing plays and sacks, what are they doing the other 500 plays or 400 plays, whatever the number is at, at that time. They do all the little things that make the good things happen.

Q. Are you settled on the communication part of things now, defensively?

A: I mean, we've had a bunch of different guys doing it. I think it will still be one of those decisions that we will wait until probably the week of Dallas but we are going in the direction that I like.

Q. What did you think of (inside linebacker) Bobby (Okereke) on Friday night?

A: I thought he played really well. Yeah, I thought he played really well. It was fun to watch.

Q. In a preseason setting like this, like in this third game coming up, you know I don't know who is going to play, maybe a lot of guys won't play, but do you see any sense in not doing what you do just because it's a preseason game? I mean you want to get the most out of these guys, so if you want to pressure, say well I am going to pressure anyway because that's what we do, there is no sense in practicing something else?

A: No, I think you just go to play the game with who you have in there. I don't know who we are playing yet either, so don't feel like you are all alone on that. That's going to be between Dabs (Head Coach Brian Daboll) and (Senior Vice President and General Manager) Joe (Schoen), but I think that you call the game to win each game you have. That's what we will do, with who's in there, what I think they can execute. You know they are going against a titan of quarterbacks (Jets QB Aaron Rodgers). It's going to be a great experience for some of these younger guys because he'll evaluate your team for you as well with the way he plays quarterback.

Q. Since the roster hasn't been finalized, how much of your defense have you implemented?

A: Oh, we got the whole defense in, yeah. Yeah, it's already in. You are not seeing it all, but we got all the defense in.

Q. (Cornerback Deon)Te (Banks) and (cornerback) Tre (Hawkins III) have had a lot of success so far, nobody wants to see them fail, but cornerbacks always get beaten on occasion. Are you curious to see how they handle some failure?

A: I think they have failed some in practice and I loved how they responded to that. You don't go into it looking that way, but I think that's one of the things that I told you before that I loved about Tre. He's got a short memory. And Te is just one of those guys that wants to keep getting better every day, they both are and it's fun to watch.

Q. What do you like best about this defense?

A: I like the players, the people. You know what I mean? The players themselves. It's, like I said, I know you hear the word selfless, but it truly is a selfless group who cares about our success and that is cool in today's day and age of the NFL. Like you got (cornerback) Adoree' (Jackson), who is helping those young corners out. I mean, he's a stud and he wants them to be great and I just love the people here. I think that's what Joe and Dabs and even the prior regime, there is some good people in this building that want to do right for the Giants and do right for our defense and do right for our team most importantly.

Q. Does the fact that (Jets quarterback Aaron) Rodgers is playing give you a special opportunity to prepare these guys to face the best of the best?

A: Yeah, I get excited every time I am going against him because he is a titan of the league, he is one of the titans of the league and we all know that, you see the energy he brought to the city. I really do like him, I want to him have a bunch of success except when we are playing against each other and he knows that and hopefully he feels the same way. I just think that he's one of the best and it's always, as players and coaches, just like you saw in London, it's fun playing that chess match with him. There is so many little things that you have got to cover when you are going against him. I know if I was a rookie, I would be jacked, you know like the two corners, to go against Aaron Rodgers because it's one of the best of the best.

Q. So if you like him, then you are not going to blitz him?

A: We'll see.

Q. With (inside linebacker Bobby) Okereke, nothing against the guys you had last year but you had young guys or a guy that came off the street at some point, to have a guy, he's a proven player in this league, he's had success. How big of an upgrade is that or how much better can this defense be knowing you have that lynchpin kind of in the middle of your defense?

A: I've always said this, philosophically, if you have a fast mike, then you have a fast defense and he's a really fast mike. A lot of his success will depend on how we play up front and we have seen improvement there as well. I know you guys haven't seen Nacho (defensive lineman Rakeem Nuñes-Roches) and (defensive lineman) A'Shawn (Robinson) play in a game yet, but we've seen them in practice. We are starting to get (defensive lineman) D.J. (Davidson) back now, he's been practicing. I like what I see from him and, of course, (defensive tackle) Jordon Riley, everybody has been talking about.

Q. Are you hoping to get A'Shawn and Nacho in this weekend?

A: I always hope, but who knows. Like I said, that's Joe and Dabs there.

Q. Were you surprised with Riley? How much of a surprise has he been to you?

A: I don't think it's a surprise at all. I think that when you draft a guy you expect him to play the way that you saw on tape and then you see in the future of what you can do to help develop him that can make him even better and I think that's what you are seeing right now, but he still needs a lot of snaps and still needs to grow. I think he's in the perfect spot for it right now with where he is at with the veterans he has in that room and with Dre (defensive line coach Andre Patterson) and B-Cox (assistant defensive line coach Bryan Cox).

Q. Is he further along than you thought he might be?

A: I haven't sat and thought about it, but probably.

Offensive Coordinator Mike Kafka

Q: What's your approach to calling plays in the preseason? You always hear how you don't want to show too much, but also, you want to see things.

A: There's a good combination of that. Just giving the guys enough stuff that they can execute that fits whatever the defense is presenting, but then there's also those plays that you want to be able to evaluate starting really at every level. The O-line, the blocking, pass pro(tection), the finish, all the fundamental things that we talk about. All the route running and decision making at the quarterback level, running backs, tight ends, blocking, all those things on the perimeter. So, there's definitely an evaluation aspect of it, and also allowing the players to play fast, just like we would do really for any game plan. We go through all those details and then say, 'Okay, we can put these guys in this spot, because they can play fast and go execute.'

Q: Along those lines, you went into a lot of different formations with the first-team O in there, exclusively passing plays. What was the motivation behind going that way?

A: Yeah, I think that's just kind of how the game unfolded early, based on what the defense was presenting. So, we maintained kind of some flexibility with those openers to kind of jump into that kind of stuff. We had a plan going in, they adjusted, we adjusted and so I thought our guys did a nice job of jumping into that and executing.

Q: When you see success like that, is there a part your mind also saying, 'At some point, we're going to unleash (running back) Saquon (Barkley) on this too?' Does that go through your mind at all?

A: I just thought that first drive was a really good, clean drive. I think the guys, again, executed and communicated. We had personnels in and out off the field and they communicated all those things. I think as we get going, and guys get intermixed into the offense, and we're continuing to game plan stuff, I think that'll grow and develop. But it was a good week, we won the game. We've got to be able to turn the page and learn from that and then we have a game this week that we're solely focused on.

Q: What did you learn from (quarterback) Daniel Jones' performance in that quick opening drive?

A: I thought Daniel did a nice job executing. He was in there, he was really decisive. I thought he got the guys in and out of the huddle quickly, we played with some tempo. So, those are things that I think he's been doing really all offseason and training camp, just having a really good tempo with the guys. Again, it was a nice drive.

Q: Are you comfortable this season running with Daniel as much or maybe more compared to last year? Or would you guys rather see this become more of a drop-back, pass-heavier downfield offense?

A: Yeah, I don't know if I could say one way or the other. Each week seems to be a little bit different. Each week, we're going to have to decide how we want to handle that, based on how they present their defensive structure. So, some weeks, maybe a little bit more. Some weeks, maybe a little bit less. Then depending on how the game goes and what their adjustments are in-game, then we have to be able to adjust. On offense, there's a lot of fluidity to it. So, you've got to make sure you go through all these things in training camp so you have stuff in your back pocket that you can pull from and guys that can adjust to it and go and execute in the game.

Q: You obviously don't go into this game with heavy game planning, but because you're playing the Jets this season, is there some stuff that you can almost put in there that you will use, or you won't use? When you play them, will you look back at this game, or it's a preseason game, you won't deal with it?

A: You'll try and take any bit of information you can get, whether it was a matchup, whether it was a formation, a front, a look. You take all that information, and I don't know exactly when we play them, but it's later in the season, but you'll definitely want to look back at that just like any of the teams in our division that we'll want to look back at and see how they played certain things. So, you're trying to constantly learn from the past and learn if there's things you can do for the future matchups. That's something you hit down the road. We've certainly thought about it as we're putting together the game plan for this week.

Q: Sometimes, can you put something in there just because you're playing them this season? Just because maybe that's something you would never do in a game?

A: I don't know if I would think of it that way. I think you always want to put the players in the best position to be successful. So, you never want to put them in a bad position. We think we put together a really good plan, so we've got to go out and give ourselves an opportunity to go execute it well.

Q: You guys threw a little wrinkle into the guard thing this week by playing (guard Mark) Glowinski at left guard. What was the motivation behind that and how has he looked at that position?

A: Yeah, it's all part of really the eval process. Dabs (head coach Brian Daboll) and (general manager) Joe (Schoen), we're all working together and evaluating all the guys, not just the guards, but the receivers playing inside in the slot and outside, running backs playing out on the perimeter. So, there's a lot of things that we're evaluating to try and find each player's strengths and weakness. So, I think when you look at all those things, whether it's the interior linemen, whether it's the tackles, whether it's the receivers, running backs, quarterbacks, all those guys, it's just another evaluation tool.

Q: How did he look doing it?

A: I thought (guard Mark) Glo(winski) did a nice job. It's something that he's done in his past, prior teams. So, it was just another look and another opportunity to see what he had there.

Q: As a quarterback yourself, what does (Jets quarterback Aaron) Rodgers do that's just so different and so elite compared to the other greats?

A: I think his resume speaks for himself. Super Bowl winner, multiple MVPs, he does a nice job getting the ball out, blitzes very rarely hit him. I think he knows where his outlets are, he can get himself in and out of a good play or get him out of a bad play into a good play. I mean, he's just a really high level, elite quarterback. He's one of those guys that you look at as kind of the pinnacle of what quarterback play looks like. He's one of those type of guys.

Q: Last year you were going into your first time as a play caller. This is your second time; you've been through it. Did you do anything different this offseason? Any studies or anything based on the experience you had last year, compared to where you are?

A: Yeah, I did a lot of self eval. You look back at the things that maybe you want back from a call perspective, or you look back at some of the situations that you were in and maybe you would do something a little bit differently. So, definitely a lot of self eval, definitely a lot of work through with the players that we have, and the players that we're building around and players that we have on the current offense and figuring out their strengths. It was a constant process this summer and working through all that, but it was good. I think we came out with a good plan for the spring and came up with a good plan for the training camp. So, we're working through that right now and hopefully it sets us up for the season.

Q: It's always talked about how players are more comfortable in year two in the system. Does it work the other way, you're more comfortable because you have a lot of these guys back?

A: Oh, yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. The communications, the language, I think just your normal routine is also so familiar, too. All those things, really, I think match up.

Q: Rodgers is 39 years old. He's older than you; you're very young. How impressive is it that he could still sling it like that and has that arm strength at 39 years old?

A: It's impressive. It's impressive and it's not something I'm shocked about. It's why he's still playing. He hasn't had much action this offseason, or in the preseason, but I'm sure he's going to be playing at a high level. So, he's a great quarterback.

Q: With (wide receiver) Jalin Hyatt, I was talking to him yesterday because there were a couple of times where it almost looked like he had pulled up. Not that he stopped running a route, but kind of was… He explained to me that that's just how he is on the practice field. Are there times, with a player like that, are you also learning a little bit about a guy like that who you've coached now for a while, but not a long while?

A: Yeah, I think each player is different. You're trying to find a connection with these guys on the field, off the field, and then you're trying to also get them to get on the same page of what we expect, and what our standards are on offense. That's just part of the process. You've got young players who come from all different parts of the country, all different types of teams. So, you try to get them integrated into our program and help them understand what it looks like to be a pro, and all those guys are doing a really nice job of learning from the vets, and we have great vets around that help with that.

Q: Where is he kind of on the learning curve on his way to being a really complete and good receiver?

A: He's right on schedule where he's at. Again, he's growing. He's a young player, he's learning every single day. I think that's been his mindset. For young players, you don't want to ever think it's got to be perfect every single day. Obviously, you want to have an excellence-type mindset, but it's not going to be perfect. It's not going to be clean every single day. It's just the reality of football. It's too fluid. So, I think what you do is you take some of the good things that happen, you build on that and then all the things that maybe aren't as clean, that's our job as coaches to make sure we get him the right information so he can improve.

Q: Some of the guys have said in a good way that Daniel has been more vocal this year, this camp. Do you see that same thing, him kind of taking charge, taking command in a different way?

A: Yeah, I'd agree. I'd agree with that. I think he's voicing his opinions. That's a good thing because that means he's more comfortable with not only just the offense, but just with the guys around him. So, I think that's all a plus.

Q: Obviously, Saquon is a known commodity. You know it; you've coached him. You guys know what he is, or at least what he was last year in your offense. Presumably you're not going to see him in a game on Saturday, and then it's going to be on opening night. Do you envision what this new offense is going to look like with Saquon in there? How easy is it to look at it and imagine him being the one that's on the field versus, no slight to any of the other guys, but we know he's a special talent?

A: I think, again, that's probably a little bit too far down the road. Pretty much just focused on this game right now. All those thoughts and things that we've been building throughout the offseason will eventually come together, but our main focus is on this week.

Special Teams Coordinator Thomas McGaughey

Q: (Wide receiver) Bryce Ford-Wheaton got a shout out from (general manager) Joe (Schoen) the other day on the broadcast in terms of his special teams potential. What is it that you guys like about him as a potential gunner special teams player?

A: The obvious with Bryce is just size, speed. He's 6'4", he's 225 pounds, or 230, whatever he is, and runs 4.40. Those measurables are pretty special. Whenever you can get—and with him, he's a very mature rookie. He goes about his business very professionally, he comes into meetings, he works his tail off, he's attentive, and he wants to learn. So, when you have those qualities -- smart, tough, dependable -- and just those physical attributes, he has a really, really big upside, I think.

Q: What's your role when they get it down to 53? Are you campaigning for guys that you know can help you? Or how does that work?

A: I tell our guys, I said, 'I play favorites.' Like, I play favorites all the time. I favor the guys who are making the most plays. That's part of it. I mean, you're always trying to build it from the top down and the bottom up. Especially the bottom-up guys are the guys that help us the most. You've got to maximize the value of your roster. So, we're always trying to find a way to get better at the bottom end.

Q: There's always that feeling where, guys say it all the time, 'Well, I know I have to be on special teams in order to be able to make the roster.' Can you speak to the challenge of that it's a skill, that it's not just a guy saying, 'I'm going to run down the field, and just because I'm running down the field and being willing, that makes me able to make the team.'

A: Yeah, you're right. There's a certain kind of skillset that you need. You see a lot of guys that are willing to do it, but they just don't know how. When you find those guys that really understand it, leverage, angles, speed, hat placement, hands, and just have a knack for finding the ball, those are the guys you get excited about. And then those other guys, you just coach them and bring them along, especially because a lot of it is the willingness to do it. It's not for everybody, and we understand that.

Q: With (running back) Eric Gray and any rookie that you'd say might be your return guy, you've kind of got to juggle that he wants to get the ball and make a big play, but then he makes a couple of decisions in the game the other day which maybe save some yards, but they're not any kind of wow things. What do you prioritize with a guy like him?

A: The latter. What you just said. Just making good decisions, and he's done that so far. He's done some really good things as far as decision making. We always tell our guys, 'Let the plays come to you; don't chase them.' The plays will come to you. As a rookie, they all have—all rookies have a tendency to try and go chase plays. You've just got to let the play come to you.

Q: That play at the goal line on the kickoff, would a lot of guys have panicked and said, 'Okay, I've got to go get that ball?'

A: Could have. Absolutely. Absolutely. You've seen it happen before. But again, the kid, I mean, you've got to think about it – Eric's played at Oklahoma and Tennessee. There were 25,000 people in the stands the other day. He's used to 106 (thousand), 105 (thousand). He's been on the big stage before, so it doesn't faze him.

Q: How close are you to feeling confident that he's ready to be put out there in a big game, regular season, to be an NFL returner?

A: You don't know until till it happens. You know what I mean? All you can do is go by his day-to-day. Every day, all he's done since he's been here is get better every day. You watch him. You know what it's like out here, the wind, and then in the stadium the other day, their guys were struggling with the wind. Eric did a great job with it. So, that part of him, making good decisions, he's checked all the boxes so far. So, you just hope he keeps getting better.

Q: Joe kind of gave Bryce a shout out. Is there anybody else? We certainly can't evaluate special teams plays as well as you can, but is there anybody else that stood out to you here this summer?

A: There's a lot of guys that are playing well. I don't want to point out any guys in particular, but as a group, I think they're doing a really good job of being coached. I literally just told them I can't look around the room and not see a guy that doesn't want to be coached and doesn't work hard. All these guys are trying to put themselves in a position to where they can make a team. We all know everybody can't make this team, but hopefully they show themselves well enough to where they can make other teams, and just make themselves proud and make themselves better every week. That's what it's all about, our group getting better, so we can help our football team be better.

Q: Is it difficult for guy who is a veteran guy who's never really played special teams six, seven years along to try to learn them at that point? Is it too late?

A: It's not easy. It's never too late for anything, but it's definitely not easy. When you get to that point, it's more of a desire thing, and then just being able to learn that skillset. It's a different kind of skillset. It's very similar, but it is different at the same time.

Q: What does (running back) Jashaun Corbin give you on teams?

A: Jashaun works hard. He's smart. He's tough. He's dependable. He's physical. He's a good football player. He gives you value. He's just a good football player.

Q: Understanding your focus is on the here and now, obviously, can you look back to maybe the beginning of last year around this time and kind of just talk about how this roster has changed, seemingly in many ways for the better?

A: Yeah, I mean, we're a lot faster than we were last year, I think. Just overall, just more competition at each spot. Joe and his staff have done a great job, and Dabs (head coach Brian Daboll) has done a great job of putting this roster together. Again, we're just always working, trying to tweak it, get better. That's our job; as personnel people, that's their job, always trying to look to get better. The guys that they bring us, we're trying to make sure that they get better while they're here. So, it's definitely moving in the right direction for sure.

Q: How does G.O.'s (safety Gervarrius Owen) skillset translate to special teams and what does he need to do to become a core guy?

A: It's like all rookies. It's different. They did some in college, especially being a defensive player, did some things in college, but it's just the whole maturation process of being a rookie, learning how to be a pro, finding out what you do really well and then trying to maximize that skillset. That's the thing that I think G.O. and all the rest of the rookies, they've just got to find out, 'Okay, what's my bread and butter, right? And now I've got to hang my hat on that and then I've got to bring everything else up to speed.'

Q: Do you have any examples of guys, like, six, seven years in that picked it up late in their career during the course of your time doing this?

A: Normally the guys that play teams later in their career played it early in their career. It's rare when you see a guy that hasn't played on teams then just start doing it years seven, eight, or whatever it is. You don't see it a lot. But I mean, it definitely happens. I haven't seen it a lot, but it definitely happens.

Quarterback Daniel Jones

Q. What did you like when you looked back on that opening series, the way you guys executed?

A: I thought we were sharp. I thought each group executed well together. The guys up front did a really good job in protection and guys got open and made plays. Thought we communicated, we were in and out of the huddle well. A lot of those kind of basic things that you look for in your first time in a game situation. Thought it was good to build of off.

Q. Just looking at that with (tight end Darren) Waller, just your chemistry early on, how exciting is that?

A: It's been good. It's been good, we've got on the same page in practice, and he's shown up and made a lot of big plays for us and it was good to see it in a game, but certainly wasn't a surprise to any of us.

Q. Do you view your athleticism and running the ball as an essential part of your game and your offense or would you like to see this years offense be more of a down field passing attack that doesn't rely as much on that?

A: I think we just want to win games, score points and win games. However we do that, I don't think any of us really care too much about that. Using my legs or throwing the ball down field, however it comes I think we are just trying to score points and be as effective as we can as a group.

Q. Where do you stand on wanting to play in the third preseason game or needing more work?

A: Obviously, that's the head coach's call, that's Dabs' (head coach Brian Daboll) call and whatever decision he makes, it's our job to make it work and we will be good with it. Yeah, we are preparing and getting ready to go and he'll make that call.

Q. How do you compare the talent around in terms of, especially the skills positions, now to last year at this time?

A: I think it's just a different group of guys. I think some of the same guys and then we brought in a few guys who bring different skillsets. I think they've all done a really good job kind of getting on the same page and getting into the flow, understanding what this offense is and how we do things as a group, as a team. Yeah, I think we have a lot of dynamic playmakers.

Q: Is there an area in training camp that you think your team or the offense came the farthest? From when training camp started until we stand here now?

A: I don't know. I don't know if there's necessarily one area. I think we've made progress across the board in everything that we've focused on. I think we're playing fast right now. We're not done; there's still work we need to do, and we've got a couple of weeks to do it. That's what we'll focus on, but I think we've made steps kind of across the board.

Q: How scary is that when something happens like that on the field with (tight end) Tommy (Sweeney)?

A: Yeah, that was extremely scary. You never want to see that on the field. I haven't been inside yet to see how he's doing but heard he's doing okay and is up, so definitely thinking about him.

Q: Whether you play or not, as a quarterback, do you pay attention to a guy like (Jets quarterback) Aaron Rodgers when he's out there just to see how he does his craft?

A: Yeah, I think you're always watching the other quarterback, whether that's on film or obviously in a game situation and studying them. Certainly, a guy like Aaron Rodgers, who's played at the level he has for as long as he has. Looking forward to watching.

Q: There's a report that you put on about 10 pounds of muscle this offseason. Is that accurate? Did you bulk up more?

A: No (laughs). I'm a little bit heavier and maybe a little bit stronger, a little bit faster, but 10 pounds might be an exaggeration.

Q: Is there anything to gain advantage wise for you guys as you're going there Saturday night, knowing that if they do play their first team defense, even if you're not playing, the idea of preparing, getting to see them up close, knowing that you're going to see them at the end of October? I know a lot of things can change, but can you gain something from being able to see them out there and knowing that defense might be the one you're facing?

A: Yeah, I think so. For sure. Like I said, we're preparing to play and studying them on film trying to get a sense for their system, how they do things on defense. Then yeah, in the game we'll see how they adjust to certain things and try to learn as much as we can knowing that we play them down the road.

Q: What do you make of sort of sharing the city with a quarterback like Aaron Rodgers and the fact that the Jets are a hot topic and they're getting a lot of attention?

A: I don't put a whole lot of thought into that. I'm focused on being the best quarterback for this team that I can be and doing everything I can to win games. I've got a ton of respect for Aaron Rodgers and their team, but just kind of focused on what we're doing.

OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux

Q. What did you take out of that game the other day?

A: It was a great game – I mean a preseason game. It's still preseason, though. It's still a lot to come from it. We were very resilient; it was great to see everybody play. I felt good making plays and going out there, so yeah, it was good.

Q. You went against (Panthers' tackle Ikem) Ekwonu, a guy that was drafted in your draft class. What do you think of that matchup?

A: He's a good player. I think – it's still early. For me, I'm going to always understand that you grow as the season goes on so he's definitely a great player and I know he'll continue to grow as the season goes on.

Q. Limited I know, how much of a test is this defense limited to a guy like Jets QB Aaron Rodgers?

A: He's obviously seen defenses for years on end, so I think it won't really be a challenge for him. I think they're going to go out – speaking for just the preseason itself, but he'll probably be out, get some reps, and they'll probably sit him down early. But I can see it being a good game.

Q. This time last year you had just gotten hurt. With that, how much different to you feel going into year two?

A: Confident. It's funny, I was just thinking about that today. Just being able to do the whole training camp and all the preseason games and now coming into the first game of the year in a couple weeks, it's exciting, man. I'm ready.

Q. The ways that (Defensive Coordinator Don Martindale) Wink changes things up so that you guys can't get stale on the practice field? You've been going at it a few weeks now.

A: No, I think practice is practice, just changing the emphasis. Continuing to – amongst ourselves as players, continuing to set a new standard and continuing to sharpen the details.

Q. How different is this this time around for you? You've been here and established.

A: It's not really different. I mean, it's another training camp. I assume as long as I stay with the Giants, I'm staying with the same coaching staff. Training camps will probably somewhat similar for the next however many years, so it's been good, it's been hard work, it's been hot. But yeah, I'm ready for the season.

Q. What's it like have (outside linebacker Azeez) Ojulari and yourself push each other?

A: It's just consistent test. We're both competitive players so just trying to be the best we can and then push each other, right? We're both trying to get the sack and if we're meeting back there, whether it's getting a punch out on the ball or running to the ball down the field, we're always trying to make each other better.

Q. What do you think about the fact that the Jets are getting so much preseason attention and a lot going their way as far as media spotlight?

A: I'm happy for them. I hope they get everything that they work for.

Q. Do you have any personal goals this season?

A: To win. To win and to stay healthy. Availability is the best ability, so just being there and being a force for my team and limiting mistakes. Taking advantage of all my opportunities.

Q. So you don't have a sack number you hope to get to?

A: No. I just want to really be affective. I do multiple things in the defense. I'm trying to be a jack of all trades. Sacks isn't just the only focus, but it is a big focus.

Q. I know you guys did it last year, but would you like to have a chance to go out there against Aaron Rodgers this week?

A: Playing football is playing football, so no matter where you line us up, I'd love to go play. But definitely, whether it's against Aaron Rodgers or the next however many games we have, I'm going to be excited to play. It's another preseason game, I try not to get too high or too low. Just understand that it's about getting better and competing.