Quarterbacks Coach Danny Langsdorf
October 21, 2014
Q: What has contributed to Eli Manning’s increased efficiency?
A: Probably in his footwork. I think he is playing at high level and I think improved footwork has really helped out. He is obviously worked hard at that part of it, and that is a little bit different than what he was used to with the other system. We teach it a little bit differently. I think that is probably the biggest area in how fast he has been playing is his footwork.
Q: Some people may be surprised that a guy with his resume has to re-learn things and been a willing learner.
A: Yeah, he has really put a lot of time into learning the system. The thing about what we are doing offensively is so much of it is tied into the footwork. That really is telling him where to go with the ball and the timing which he needs to get it to a receiver. That has been a big part of it, not that he is learning a lot of new concepts. Football, there is not a lot of new things in football these days anyway. The way we read, the progression of the way he is reading the play. There are a lot of different factors, we just teach it a little different maybe than how he had it in the past. He has spent a ton of time, really done a great job preparing and working at learning and getting comfortable in the offense.
Q: What do you like about Eli Manning’s stats, and what can you look at and say, “this should be up a little bit, this is good, this is not great, the raw numbers?”
A: I think the turnovers are the biggest. Making sure we are taking care of the ball is a statistic that needs to be low.
Q: For him?
A: Just to help our team. I am talking about interceptions, that is a big stat. Making sure he is taking care of the ball, making sure he makes decisions with where to go with it and I think we always want to score more, we want to have more touchdowns, but that can also be running the ball, so that is not a huge part of it. Finding completions is big, continuing to spread the ball around, and just keep the chains moving, that has been a big part of his success.
Q: He’s got five interceptions already.
A: Anytime you have them, you’ve got to look at what caused them and what caused the situation. At the end of the year, they are still apart of the stat line, so you want to have as few as possible. There are different factors really in every play.
Q: What do you like about it when you look down that line?
A: I think his quarterback rating is up and that is truly a reflection of the offense. It is a reflection of making plays in the passing game, and protection, making a touchdown grab, or a spectacular catch. There are a lot of factors that go into that rating. As long as it is up, I think our offense is playing well.
Q: Do you have to find a middle ground in the passing game? Can it be too conservative with the ball? You want him to be able to use his talents, too.
A: That is a fine line, for sure. I wouldn’t accuse him of being too conservative, but we certainly want him taking care of the ball. That is a big part of if you say, “oh, he should have thrown it in there in a tight window,” if you are going to be careless with the ball, maybe. I think that taking care of it will override anything that looks too careless. I think that is a big part of his decision-making, is knowing whether it is a risky throw, or it is a calculated risk. Whether it is something he can make, and only give the receiver a chance to catch the ball. As opposed to the possibility of a tipped ball, or an interception.
Q: As Odell Beckham Jr. works himself in, will there be more down field opportunities for him?
A: If we can get him matched up with a particular defender, or in some one on one situation, that is a valuable thing for us. He does have it, he is explosive, he runs good routes. In the short time that he has played for us, he has been exciting. So continuing to find ways to get him the ball, and Eli Manning looking for him in a particular play is a good thing. I think he is just giving us some excitement on offense, another weapon to use.
Q: Coming from the college game, obviously he is a rookie. He practiced almost not at all.
A: To me I think he has done a great job just picking up with a few game reps that he has had. He has played great. Now, he’s got a lot of room to improve, a very high ceiling, there are a lot of good things to come from him. For him to come in and make the plays that he has made already is impressive. He has not had a lot of game reps with the Giants. There is a lot of room for him to grow and a lot of different ways to continue to get him the ball.
Q: Do you and Eli Manning trust him?
A: Yeah, I think there is definitely an opportunity to become more comfortable with a receiver as time goes on, but I think he is very excited in what he has shown already.
Q: As Odell Beckham Jr. was getting closer to finally getting on the field, did Eli make an effort to work extra with him to make sure you guys sped up that learning curve?
A: He has always been engaged in learning and very into meetings. It is not like he has been away. The biggest difference with Eli Manning was getting the timing down. Being comfortable, having that rapport with him in terms of running routes and where he is going to be, and how he is going to place the ball. That is what we were lacking a little bit, but in terms of learning and preparing, Odell Beckham Jr. has done a great job of being engaged in meetings and understanding what we are doing and continuing to learn. That is where he is ready to go.
Q: From Eli Manning’s perspective, have you seen that he has made that effort, and that’s clicking, and this is maybe the reason why Odell Beckham Jr. is having the success that he has had so far?
A: I think Eli Manning being more comfortable with what we are doing with his fundamentals has allowed him to be focused on timing up with Odell Beckham Jr. He hasn’t had to worry about himself and all of the different receivers. Since he has been able to be more comfortable with what he is doing and kind of applying it to Odell Beckham Jr., I think just having him back in there and at practice was big for us.
Q: So if Eli Manning back in training camp had to work with Odell, maybe it would have hurt his progress a little bit if you threw that on his plate as well?
A: I think anytime you have different receivers in there you are always battling the timing issue and being comfortable with a guy. As they play more and more together, there is definitely a comfort level with each guy and that comes with playing together. As they have gotten more work together, that will just continue to get better and better.
Linebackers Coach Jim Herrmann
October 21, 2014
Q: Let’s talk about Devon Kennard and his growth from the time you got him in here to where he is now and what you’ve seen.
A: Early in training camp I saw a lot of good things out of him. Unfortunately, he got a hamstring, which set him back a few weeks. Now that he’s healthy, he’s contributing on special teams and last week was able to go in the game and did some good things. It was good to see him get out and get some game experience because that is invaluable for a young linebacker. He was able to go in and perform. He did his job. Those are the things you are looking for. You can always help him keep growing as a linebacker. The other guys love him. He’s got a great personality and he wants to be great. To me, that’s what you want. I think we’ll see some really good things out of him. He’s what you want.
Q: Where do you want to see him grow the most over the course of the next few weeks?
A: I think the biggest things that he has to learn are the pace of the game, know who he’s playing against, the type of runner and the type of passing game. Those are the things that I think more experience will help him and make him more aware. Some of the older guys, they’ve been in the game, they’ve been in those situations. Now it’s his turn. They’ll help him grow because they’re all good guys, they all want to see him succeed.
Q: Jacquian Williams looks like he’s taken a step forward but the consistency might not always be there. What have you seen from him?
A: To me, Jacquian has taken a giant step forward because he’s a three-down player now. He’s very effective on first down, second down and third down. To me, he wants to be as good as he can be and play every down. That was his big goal going into the season, he told me, ‘Coach, I want to play every down. I want to be out there every down. I just don’t want to be a nickel linebacker, a third down linebacker, I want to play every down.’ He’s worked hard at studying the run game on first and second down and has done a good job.
Q: Everybody can do something better. What can he do better?
A: I think all of them, as a group, just in terms of the anticipation of certain types of runs and getting there ahead of time, I think all of them can do that. You’re always striving to do that. Those are some things as a group that we’re looking for – to play the run better. As you know, in this league, if you can’t stop the ru,n you’re going to have a hard time. That’s something that we’re always striving to do.
Q: In spite of the versatility and the smartness of your lineabacking corps, what’s the dynamic like not knowing what Jon Beason’s status is going to be almost every week?
A: The one thing I’ve learned in this league is that every week’s going to be different. It’s a physical game and there are going to be guys down. Everybody has roles, everybody has positions that they have to back up at. It’s like the game Sunday, after the 17th play he came out, the guys went right in, they knew who was subbing, where we were going, what was up with all of the different personnel groups that we had. We talk about those things in the week. Unfortunately, you can’t give everybody reps at the positions they’re going to play or back up at. You’ve got to trust that they’re watching and they’re learning and they’re listening in film sessions and when they go in, they’re performing at the level that the position needs to perform at. To me, that’s the number one thing.
Q: Should the news not be as good as you’d like it to be on Jon, you’ll get extra reps for those guys now at the different positions. Does that potentially help their…?
A: Any time you can get practice reps at a position, it helps you. To me, once we find out what the deal is and then we’ll divide the reps up accordingly so that everybody can get a chance to practice what we’re going to do.
Q: Is it very reassuring to you that you do have, it seems, more guys that can play multiple positions, all three positions in some cases?
A: I’ve always… you’ve got to have guys that play multiple things. To me, in this league, that’s what you have to do. Sometimes you only have five guys up, five guys activated for a game, so somebody’s going to have to learn dual roles. That’s what we do.
Q: Jameel McClain seems like he’s walked right in and he’s been here forever. How comforting is it to have a guy like that in your room and to know that he brings that experience, that intelligence, that high level of play? It seems to rub off on the guys around him.
A: It’s great. You’re always looking for those kinds of guys. The thing about him is it’s his personality. He has a personality that people just gravitate to. That’s the way he is as a player, too. Any time you can have that…
Q: Is that rare?
A: I wouldn’t say rare, but it’s nice to have.
Q: Because Jon was like that when he came in, too.
A: Same way. It’s what you want out of them.
Q: But still, to have two guys like that just walk right in, usually once every so many years you might get one if you’re lucky and you’ve got two in back to back years.
A: It’s pretty nice.
Q: Last time we talked to you, you said you liked the physicality of this linebacker group, that you thought it would be a very physical group. Has it played out that way and have you been happy with how physical they have been?
A: Yeah, I was saying earlier in training camp that I saw some good things out of Kennard and he was finally able to get healthy and play and all of the guys are physical guys. We’ve just got to keep doing that and getting better.
