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Transcripts: WR and TE Coaches

Eric from BBI : Admin : 10/21/2014 11:44 am
Wide Receivers Coach Sean Ryan
October 21, 2014

Q: How much of a shock was it to your room to lose Victor Cruz?
A: Anytime you lose a captain, a leader, a guy like that, it’s going to affect everybody in the room, there is no question about it. You kind of feel your way around and you ask guys to step up and take on the role. I think it is important to address it, I thought it was important for the room to be honest about it, kind of acknowledge the loss. Also, put the challenge forward to those guys that it is time to step up in a lot of different ways. It is time to step up in playmaking and production, but also in roles of leadership. I put a lot of it on Rueben Randle, I said, “You’re the guy that has been around here and I expect you to step up and take that role.” He has done it; he’s done a good job with it.

Q: Randle is 23 years old still. How difficult is that? He might have been here a few years, but in terms of age, he is still a pretty young guy.
A: That is funny. That surprises me even a little bit because he has been around for a while. I guess I need to remember he is only 23, too. He carries it with a little bit of maturity. He doesn’t seem 23 to me, I am sure it is challenging for him and it is like everything else, I think the room is good in terms of working together and having his back a little bit, and doing the right things. I think he is handling it pretty well, I have been impressed with it, I think he is really trying to step up in that leadership role, so I have been happy with that.

Q: How is the Odell Beckham doing? He has stepped in, he’s got three touchdowns in as many games, is he on a full load or is he still catching up.
A: No, he is on a full load. In terms of challenging Rueben Randle in terms of leadership after this happened with Victor Cruz, I said to Odell Beckham Jr, “Your rookie season is over now.You’re not a rookie anymore; congratulations, you’re a veteran.” In all seriousness, there is going to be bumps in the road because of his youth and your try to figure everything out, and you fix it as you go, get the details right and that is really where we are right now. The talent is there, it’s clear to see; now it is the details, the details have got to come, and they have got to come quick. There is no time to wait on the details; the details have got to be hammered out right now, already. He understands that, he understands what is on his plate, and what is expected of him, and he is a competitor. He is going to push himself, he’s got that now. He’s got that desire to get things right.

Q: How beneficial is it to be working with Eli, an 11-year veteran, a guy who has obviously knows football. It seems like that is a good fit for him, giving him an opportunity to do that.
A: Giving a guy the ability to be comfortable at what he is doing, is big. He is a sharp guy; he has had a lot of experience, not necessarily with this offense, but in the NFL. The different defenses he sees, the different coverages, the different adjustments that he is making. He has great experience with that for, like you said, 11 years. There is definitely a factor where you can get him to the line of scrimmage and have him be able to kind of survey the defense, make a decision, I think that is all very beneficial to him.

Q: How many play options does he have when he gets up there?
A: Depends on the look, situation. It’s really depending on who we are playing, too. It can change weekly, sometimes there are a lot of things, sometimes there are very few.

Q: Is there always at least one run, one pass option, when he gets up there?
A: Depends, it is not always the same. It’s kind of dictated on what we are seeing defensively.

Q: Strictly looking at the numbers, it would appear that the dramatic increase in the passing efficiency has come at the expense of the bigger play. How difficult is that to manage and to get back?
A: I think that there is always a need for big plays, explosive plays. I think that as we continue to evolve and get better, and continue to protect the quarterback and run the ball, all those things will come. I think that those things kind of play hand in hand. If you are running the ball well, you are going to have bigger plays as well, you are going to have big plays in play-action. If you are completing throws, you are going to open up some big runs, explosive runs. It is really hand in hand. I think that as we continue to protect him and play better and have balance, we will have those big plays.

Q: So has that been a natural development or slow development in terms of finding them, opposed to Eli Manning maybe saying, “Look we need more efficiency, let’s concentrate on that first.”
A: I think so. I think part of it, too, is making sure that we are not just going back there and chucking the ball down the field. It is kind of a misconception that you are going to be able to have a bunch of big plays by just closing your eyes and bombing it down the field. I think as we continue to perform better, as we continue to have those runs, I think some of that stuff will come.

Q: Before the game you had two passes over 20 yards in the air the whole season, Is that something you need to do a little bit more. He needs to trust the receivers can go win that one on one?
A: I think finding those one on one’s, sometimes that is dictated by coverage. If we are getting a lot of soft coverage, throwing those balls deep into double coverage is going to be a bad idea. It also depends on how we are being played. Like I said, if we can hit some of those runs and draw some of that coverage down into the box, then some of those big plays will come.


Tight Ends Coach Kevin M. Gilbride
October 21, 2014

Q: What’s it been like with Larry Donnell and how far he’s come?
A: It’s been good. The thing about Larry is he’s a conscientious kid. He’s so green with everything he does, he hasn’t been playing the position for very long, but he works at it, he tries to get better and it’s paid off in the passing game and he’s getting better every week in the run game.

Q: Larry in the run game, it looks like he’s still not consistent at that level. What does he need to do to elevate his performance there?
A: I think we all, as a group, as a tight end position, need to continue to improve in that area in conjunction with the offensive line. We all need to gel and continue to get better. He’s an athletic guy. At times he lacks confidence in that area and that affects him. When he just comes off the ball and delivers a blow, he can do some good things. He’s an explosive guy. I think the number one area he needs to improve on is his confidence in that area. He is improving, which is good. I don’t know if it was his most consistent game blocking, this past game.

Q: It seems like he really tries to fight for those extra yards. Sometimes that’s cost him.
A: In what regard?

Q: With a couple fumbles, putting the ball at risk a couple times.
A: Right, and that’s… the fumbles, that’s an area where… I always want him to fight for every extra yard he can get, but that’s going to hold true throughout with every position you go to. You always want guys fighting for that extra yard and that was the case the other day. That was a great play getting that football out by that defender. He had good ball security, the only thing that he could have done differently was have that fifth point that we talk about all the time, squeeze down on that ball, but that was it. That was a great play by the defender getting the football out. The second one he never got put away and that’s his fault. That’s one of those things where he needs to catch, and it’s something we talk about all the time and we drill all the time – catch and tuck and make sure it’s secure.

Q: Larry hadn’t received too much attention in the beginning, now he’s starting to get jams off the line. What can he do better, in your opinion, to fight those jams because it looks like they’ve been taking him out of the game a little bit?
A: Not much. He’s doing a good job in that area and you’re right, they’ve consciously tried to collision him off the line of scrimmage but he’s done a nice job with his releases. I think one of the other areas that you might see is when we’re actually chipping the defensive end before we get out onto our route. That’s another thing that we need to do as an offense. You see it throughout the league, all of the tight ends are chipping on their way out on third and seven to 10, four to six at times, because you need that extra protection on those pass downs.

Q: Sometimes when they chip or if they get jammed they lose their balance a little bit, it delays the timing. Do you see that with him or is he getting better in that regard?
A: That’s everywhere, so it’s nothing new or specific to Larry. That’s one of those things that he does need to improve on, but really where I want him to improve is actually colissioning the defensive ends more. I think that’s something, we need to help our tackles in that area and he needs to improve in that area. He’s a secondary element to the passing game in that regard, he needs to help protection first. As far as getting knocked off balance, I want him to deliver a better blow to that defender. That might knock him off balance even more but it doesn’t matter. When we have one of those chips called, that’s his focus, that’s what he needs to make sure he’s focusing on.

Q: I know you were with the receivers last year. Donnell to us almost seemed like he came out of nowhere. Did you see this ability in him?
A: I think we all did. You always have to remember, he’s very green so his development has taken its course. He needed reps and he needed to have the opportunity. His development comes, again, through confidence. He always had the ability to do that, it was a matter of him being able to calm himself down and just play the game. That’s an area that he’s grown leaps and bounds in the passing game and is improving in the run game. He continues to need to progress in that area. Yes, I thought he always had it in him but there’s a lot of guys you see that have the talent in them and we have to get it out of them and they have to get it out of themselves.

Q: With him, and I guess you saw it most in the Washington game, it almost seems like when he went one-on-one with the corner, he was almost able to bully the corner.
A: At times, at times he does. Again, those are areas… we’re asking our tight ends to do so much from blocking from an inline position to split out as a number two receiver in those two tight end positions in the wings, playing out as the number one receiver, we’re asking them to do a lot, so as a coach, you love it because you never stop coaching. You’ve always got technique and things to talk about so he can still improve in that area when he’s detached as a number one receiver and being violent with his hand and moving the defender off of his spot. Those are things he’s taken to and it’s starting to show. It’s fruitful for him.

Q: We haven’t seen a lot of Adrien Robinson on the field but have you seen improvement from him?
A: Very much so. His approach has been great. He’s really taken to coaching as well as far as… his footwork needed to improve in the past and it has, it really has. Now we’re working on his blow delivery and as far as his pass catching technique, as far as shooting his hands rather than surrounding the football, and those are all areas that he’s improved on. He’s played more this year than he’s played in the past. We have little packages for him here and there and the more he develops, the more he’ll earn the right to be on the field. So far he’s done that, he continues to have growth and needs to continue to progress.
another site  
SBlue46 : 10/21/2014 1:19 pm : link
Has wr coach saying Washington isnt getting game reps
because inconsistent practices
Donnell can't block or secure the ball  
SHO'NUFF : 10/21/2014 3:03 pm : link
if TC doesn't bench him, he's a hypocrite
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