Head Coach Joe Judge

Q: Other than execution, going back to the drawing board, coaching it up better, is there anything you can do changes-wise? I know it's not fantasy football, you can't swap out your whole roster in the season. Is there anything you can do changes-wise, personnel-wise, depth chart, coaches to change things up significantly or do you just go back to the drawing board and have to do what you're doing better?

A: I think the biggest thing is we have to do what we're doing better – coaching better, executing better. In terms of changes, I believe you're referring to more personnel changes it sounds like and I'd just make the point that we're going to play the most productive players, the players that play the right way, the players that play the way we want to play effort-wise and competitive-wise for 60 minutes, the players that are the most productive. Those will be the guys you'll see on the field.

Q: You said yesterday you wanted to watch the tape – you saw it in some guys' eyes that they responded to your halftime challenge. We asked you if you saw any guys who didn't. You said you wanted to watch the tape. After watching the tape, did you see any guys who didn't? Particularly (Rams Wide Receiver) Cooper Kupp's last touchdown, was the effort there from your guys trying to tackle him?

A: I'd say on the whole, I saw the reaction the right way. Obviously, there are some things execution- wise that we have to do different. I would say in terms of waiting right now for me to single out one player, I think you guys have known me long enough to know that I'm not going to do that. However, the things I didn't like in the second half or the first half for that matter we'll fully address to the team as a whole and independently. We'll make sure to move on from that right there. But in terms of me sitting here right now and giving a list of names of things I don't like, that's not really what I do.

Q: Are you concerned at all that you felt like you had to make that speech to the team at halftime to challenge them to show some fight in the second half? It's only Week 6 of the season, I'm just wondering if that's a bad sign.

A: Maybe it was misinterpreted. I didn't make any kind of halftime speech or anything, but in any game (I) challenge guys to see how they'll respond to the situation we're in. Obviously, we're down at that point, you've got to claw your way back out and that's going to come through another 30 minutes of fight and execution. So, no, just wanted to see how certain guys responded and saw a lot of positive responses.

Q: On the fake punt that they executed, it looked like you were warning the guys to watch for the fake punt. If not for the nullifying penalties there, that would have been a big gain for the Rams. Did they just catch you napping a little bit?

A: No, actually they snuck the guy on illegally, so that's why the officials stopped it right there. We're definitely always alerting our guys to watch for the junk that's coming up in that field zone and knowing who you're playing, what the situation is. The reason they were flagged was it was an illegal substitution the way they did it. We had a player out there who there was no one out there for him to cover, so he squeezed in on the adjustment, the guy came out late and that was the deal right there. The officials made the correct call on that.

Q: They called that offsetting unsportsmanlike conduct penalties on that, right?

A: They did. Yeah, they did.

Q: So, their illegal substitution was an unsportsmanlike conduct?

A: It was, yes.

Q: And somebody on your team did something to offset that?

A: We had a sideline violation actually, so it was kind of call-it-off deal. We'll address that with the league in terms of the officials and try to get clarification on that, but we're looking at it internally.

Q: You've talked before about how you feel the fans have a right to boo and you've got to give them something to cheer about. Some of your players have talked about this. Do you address with your players what to say and what not to say when these kinds of issues come up about fans because it's always a hot button topic?

A: I don't give my players a script to follow. My feelings have always been the same – I'm not going to be doing any hot button-type of things like what you're saying – but in terms of the fans, I love the passion of our fans. I say it all the time, it's New York. What did you expect? It's supposed to be tough, you know? You have to work hard for their respect and when you earn it, it's that much more valuable.

Q: Do you tell that to your team, 'What did you expect? You signed up for this in New York,' or is that something you're just telling us?

A: The players know how I feel about everything.

Q: What's your overall feeling today? Are you bitter? Are you angry? Are you disappointed? Are you just going back to work?

A: Our focus right now at this point is on making the corrections from yesterday and plowing forward to Carolina. That's where our focus is right now. You look at the tape, you've got to make the corrections and you've got to move forward with it. Obviously, we spent a lot of time like we do on every Monday talking about the players, talking about the recap of the game, things we did as coaches that we can do better, things we did as players that we have to do better, and we've got to make those corrections and move forward. In terms of the emotion, the emotion is irrelevant. Going forward, it's really about the action that you're going to take to make sure you make the corrections and get going the right way.

Q: I asked you yesterday about (Tackle) Andrew Thomas. Is that a new injury or is that his foot or ankle sort of aggravating him?

A: To follow up on that, this is actually not related. One is on the right, the other's on the left, so both are being evaluated today and we'll discuss that and move forward with him when we have further notice. There's a couple of guys that get secondary opinions later in the day. After seeing the doctors initially, they go for whether it's MRIs or X-rays, things of that nature. We've got a couple guys this time of day on Mondays that are still getting looked at.

Q: Do you have an update on (Wide Receiver) Kadarius Toney specifically? How optimistic are you that (Wide Receiver) Kenny (Golladay) and/or (Running Back) Saquon (Barkley) can make it back this week?

A: I don't have a direct answer on either Kenny or Saquon. We'll see how they go a little bit further into the week. In terms of Kadarius, he's part of that crew that's kind of getting that secondary look. He aggravated his ankle that he dealt with last week a little bit. There was an aggravation when he went out of bounds on that last play, he got stuck on the turf a little bit. We'll see where he turns around and goes.

Q: To go back to the challenge that you gave the team at halftime, I know you're not going to call out players, but for those of us who pay attention to things, are there going to be tangible changes to the lineup and the playing time in this upcoming game that we'll be able to see?

A: I'll say that this week of practice will determine a lot of that, to see how guys come out and perform in practice and execute and compete. How you practice is going to have a large impact on how much you do play.

Q: Can you tell us anything about (Linebacker Benardrick) McKinney? There was a report that he is being brought in through the practice squad.

A: He should be – I just got out of a meeting, so I don't know if he's here yet or he's on his way. I couldn't tell you much more than what you already know, but the plan is to have him join our practice squad, kind of see where he's at physically, get him moved into our system.

Q: Is (Cornerback) Aaron Robinson close? He can come up off PUP this week.

A: Yeah, we're actually going to start Aaron Robinson and (Linebacker) Elerson Smith's clock this week, so bring them both off PUP and they have a few weeks to work out, see where they go physically until they're ready to go ahead and get out there on the field.

Q: Will you be changing anything related to play-calling on either side of the ball?

A: At this moment, no.

Q: I know you had injuries up front on the offensive line, but the amount of immediate breakdowns in protection yesterday – obviously, you're coaching them up already. How dramatically do you have to change either how that's being coached or what the personnel looks like? I know you have limited options, but how are you approaching that coming out of this game?

A: We'll just keep on coaching everyone who's available to us. There's a lot of things we've seen from a lot of guys out there that have been positive. I think as a unit, the offensive line has played well overall at this point of the year. Yesterday, there's a lot of things on tape that opponents are going to look to take advantage of and copycat and expose, so we've got to get a lot of stuff corrected right away. I'm actually very pleased in how the offensive line staff and the offensive line group has worked together this year and made improvement throughout the year. In terms of how we're going to coach it, obviously, we'll get a little bit extra work this week on some different schemes that are going to come up, some things we've seen, some things that Carolina is going to do as well, some copycat schemes that are probably going to show up within the game. This is a different type of front we're going to play. This is a penetrating defensive line. There's a difference when it's different kinds of defensive lines, it's a different game and stunts come into factor. We always give a lot of time committed within a practice to the blitz pickups, the offensive line and defensive line games, things of that nature. We'll continue doing that and we're going to make sure we don't leave any stone unturned with that. As a group, I'm pleased from the course of the year how that group has played. When you have different guys come in there, you've got to keep on progressing and making sure that everyone has that same chemistry. That's why I talk a lot of times about rotating guys, making sure different units play together because at some point they're all going to play together on Sunday.

Q: Watching Giants fans leave that game in droves yesterday far before the final whistle and then interacting with some on Twitter today, it's pretty obvious that Giants fans want to know if this is going to get better, that you guys are ticked off and are going to do something about it. Can you assure them it's going to get better anytime soon?

A: This is definitely going to get better, so there you go. I don't know what kind of guarantee they want, but I can assure everyone out there that's a Giants fan and they want to know when it's going to turn. I can tell them right now we're working tirelessly to make sure we get this thing turned around in the right direction, not just for short-term results, but for long-term success.

Q: Did you hear anything from (President and Chief Executive Officer) John Mara? He generally reacts at least at some level – obviously not publicly – when fans are leaving the games as early as they did yesterday. Have you and John talked?

A: We communicate on a regular basis. I'm not going to disclose anything that we talk about, but we communicate on a regular basis.

Offensive Tackle Nate Solder

Q: Did you break your finger? How badly are you hurt?

A: No, I didn't break my finger. I dislocated it, so it's fine. It's just a little bruise, it's fine.

Q: How hard is it to improve pass protection off of a game like yesterday when it seems like there are regular breakdowns? As a group coming out of a game like that, how do you guys regroup and believe that it can get a lot better right away?

A: You work at it, obviously. Pass protection is difficult in the NFL because you've got great pass rushers, so that's our challenge every week to be really good. This next week is going to be similar challenges because they're going to watch the same film, and they're going to do the same things. So yeah, it's going to be really hard, but that doesn't mean we step down from the challenge. We step towards the challenge and continue to improve, do the things that we've been taught, get better at the things that we've been taught and go forward.

Q: I know you didn't play last year obviously, but you were a captain here in 2018 and 2019. You were in similar positions here in the middle of October 1-5 and 0-6. Is this franchise in any better position than it was when you first arrived in 2018? Do you think, four years later, this team is better, the organization is better, or is it kind of déjà vu to you?

A: I don't feel déjà vu. Even though you don't always win, I think that you can build. You can build the qualities, the character that get the right people in place and then start to mature. I think one of the things that losing does teach you is resiliency. The guys that are going to be in the locker room and the guys that are going to continue to improve and get better from this point on are going to be the resilient ones. That's going to be the core foundation of what you can build off of for the future.

Q: Do you worry about the losing setting in and guys just kind of not giving their max effort? I don't worry about this with you, but do you worry about it with other guys who maybe are younger or haven't won as much as you do who just kind of become lazy or accept that this is the way it is and we're just going to play out the stretch?

A: I don't think anything in my past – just because you've won a lot doesn't necessarily mean that it's not going to be difficult to regroup and all that sort of thing. But I think what's important is with the group of guys that we have now, with what we're doing now, we continue to push forward.

Q: You've been around for a while with two organizations. What is your experience with getting booed at home? I'm sure it happened sometimes with the Patriots, certainly not as much as it has when you've been with the Giants. How do you react to it? How do you tell younger teammates, who aren't accustomed to that, how to deal with that kind of stuff?

A: I heard this study once that said the testosterone levels of the fans goes down after a loss, so what that tells me is they're in it with us. They're in there, tooth and nail, they're fighting the fights in their minds and going through it with us emotionally. I think I understand where they're coming from because, quite frankly, we feel the same way a lot of times. We are not playing up to our standards. We need to continue to play better, so we're with them on that. We want to see improvement as much as they do.

Q: Do you think it bothers some of your teammates?

A: I don't know. I haven't had that conversation with guys. I don't know how other guys felt about that. I think you've got to embrace the fact that we're not where we are, or where we want to be, and we've got to improve. We're with the fans on that. We can take it two ways. We could say, 'Oh, they hate us,' or, you can say, 'Hey, they're really wanting the best for us. They really want us to see improvement. They really want their team to be what it could be.' That's how we are, so we're all together on that.

Q: (Head Coach Joe) Judge tells us a lot about how well you guys practice Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. We don't see the whole practice, so why is that not translating to Sunday afternoons?

A: Well, some of those things aren't immediate. You're building, like I said before, the foundation of your team. Those are calluses built over long periods of time. Someone asked earlier about pass protection, well that doesn't just happen overnight. Those are things that happen over long periods of time where you work hard at it and you're developing a system and guys are getting comfortable in that system where it's like second nature, like speaking a language. I think that we have had great practice and I think we have to continue to have great practices and those fruits start to show up as we continue to push forward.

Q: Do teams get more aggressive in their pass rush? Do you notice that teams are keying off, so to speak, on you guys and the quarterback when (Running Back) Saquon (Barkley) is not there, (Wide Receiver) Kenny (Golladay) is not there, (Wide Receiver) Kadarius (Toney) isn't there? I don't mean to disrespect the backups, but when you don't have your top play makers, is that crippling the offense in a way where it just can't do anything?

A: That's a bold statement. I think that this is a tough league, like I said before. They're going to see everything that you're weak at on film, just like we see every week with what they're weak at on film and we're going to work to expose that as they are going to work to expose that. When we show a weakness, they're going to find any way they can to use that to their advantage just like we do every week. I don't know if it has to do with players not being there, or if it has to do with poor technique, or it has to with – whatever it is, those things have to be shored up so that they don't become blood in the water for their attacks. So, yeah, that is something that we do every week to other teams and that is something that other teams do to us.

Cornerback Adoree' Jackson

Q: I'm wondering what's going through your head yesterday when fans it seemed like started pouring out of the stadium at halftime and they were booing you guys throughout the game? I'm just wondering when you're going through that what do you think about all that?

A: Obviously, us not performing well goes to them booing, so we don't want that to happen. We just have to go out there and execute better and play better. We're obviously just as frustrated as them, but at the end of the day we're going out there and trying to compete.

Q: Have you had much experience with getting booed at home? Did it happen much in Tennessee? What is it like for an athlete to experience that at your home stadium?

A: I feel like – obviously I think the feeling of that is wanting to just do better and succeed and find a way to – obviously, you don't want to get booed, especially not at home. But to eliminate that, get back in the lab and just keep grinding until things turn out the way you want to. You don't really want to get booed, but at the end of the day, we aren't doing anything to not get booed, so we've just got to change that.

Q: Maybe we've all seen too many movies, fans, media, but the fan base wants somebody to do something dramatic, right? Like flip a table or something and show how angry they are. Maybe that has happened in the locker room, but if it hasn't, does that stuff really work? Like somebody tossing a locker, flipping a table, does that stuff work or is that stuff real athletes like yourself would laugh at if somebody did that?

A: I mean everybody expresses their frustrations in different ways, you know what I'm saying? If somebody wants to do that, I don't think anybody would look at them different. They're probably feeling the same way, but just didn't express it that way. You see an athlete or anybody doing something like that, and you've been in the position and you've been frustrated, you can understand and feel their pain.

Q: (Head Coach) Joe (Judge) said he kind of challenged you guys yesterday at half time to see who was still going to play hard in the second half. I was wondering when you went back and watched what you thought of the effort in the second half, even when you guys were kind of down big?

A: Yeah, a couple of us were in there today watching the film. For us, that's what he talked about, just trying to compete, and seeing the efforts that we're making or that we've made trying to stop them on drives to get our offense the ball back. It just didn't turn out and go that way. But I don't ever question the lack of the effort or competing that we're doing. I felt like we did that for the full 60 minutes.

Q: What is the defense doing wrong? I know you guys are probably searching for answers just like everybody else, but it's been such a big fall between last year and this year from what is primarily the same group.

A: I just feel like we show glimpses of doing things well and just not being consistent in stringing them along. It's just one of those things that is frustrating trying to figure out how to get better and how to do better and challenge ourselves each week. From that aspect, you just try to be consistent and work on it through practice and keep working on it and having that mentality.

Q: What do you think you can do more of to make more of a difference – you personally?

A: I would say just getting my hands on the ball more and be more consistent at it in that aspect. I feel like when opportunities or plays are presented to themselves when they come my way, make the most of them. I feel like for me, that's what I could do better and be better at.

Q: On the fourth down touchdown, that short one to (Rams Wide Receiver Cooper) Kupp, is that on you for not getting over there? Is that a hard play to make because you're colliding because of the rub route there? How do you interpret how that play went?

A: I put that on me and that's how I'm going to interpret it. I could've done better, been more a little bit outside, do more on my leverage or do certain things better. So I mean, that's obviously going to go on me. It was my fault on that one.

Q: I just wanted to follow up on that. Not specific to that one touchdown, but it seemed like rub routes as a whole gave the secondary a problem yesterday. Is that something that's been happening a lot and we just noticed it yesterday? Because the other touchdown with (Cornerback James) Bradberry and (Safety Julian) Love comes to mind, too. What's they key there with rub routes and how do you guys stop them?

A: For us, just going in and communicating. Just having awareness and just communicating and understanding what teams are trying to do now to us. That just comes with seeing it, understanding it, and then trying to implement it throughout practice, so we can work on it and be more efficient.