Transcript: Offensive Coordinator Ben McAdoo

Offensive Coordinator Ben McAdoo

December 18, 2014



Q: What do you need to see out of Eli [Manning] these final two weeks?

A: We are focused on this game, playing against a pretty good defense, a top-ten defense. Last seven games, they have been excellent. We are looking for consistency. I want to move the ball and have consistency throughout the game, not just in one spot of the game, not just the first half, not just the second half, but 60 minutes of football.



Q: It is still a first-year offense… Do you feel like before you head into the offseason you have a firm enough grip of what is going on here?

A: Yeah, absolutely. We made progress. We have played a lot of games so far and spent a lot of time together. Being new is no longer an excuse.



Q: What do you view as the biggest part of that progress?

A: We are always chasing consistency. The more time you spend together, the more time you can grow and see consistent improvement. We are looking for that over the final two games, especially this week. It is about consistency. Each play, each quarter, each half and each game, we are looking to put it all together.



Q: Have you seen that at any point this year?

A: Glimpses.



Q: This season was a chance for Rueben Randle to step forward as a starter… Can you evaluate his year and how you see how he has done so far?

A: Rueben has been productive in stretches. He grows as a player each week. He is a smart player. We would like a little bit more productivity out of him, but we would like a little bit more productivity out of everyone out there.



Q: Have you noticed the frustration level with him at all… He has had a couple off the field things, but then the way he came back and made that catch on Sunday… What did that tell you about him?

A: It showed some resiliency. He was able to hang in there. He didn’t get a lot of playing time early, but he stayed the course and when we needed him to make a play for us, Eli and Rueben connected. It was good to see and it was a big play in the game.



Q: Have you sensed a level of frustration with [Randle]?

A: No.





Q: How have you personally evolved as a coach this year, your first as a coordinator and a play caller? What kind of things have you learned?

A: That is a good question. I haven’t spent a lot of time thinking about that. You learn what you learn along the way. You apply. You go back to conversations that you may have had along the way and in tough times, you think about players, not plays. Maybe that is something that you can apply going forward, especially in a long season. Other than that, that is the first thing that comes to mind.



Q: Is that something you learned this year?

A: I have been a part of multiple conversations where that has come up in the past and I think this year it showed up.



Q: Can I interpret that to mean as opposed this is the scheme and sometimes we have to expand it because of the personnel or specific player?

A: You can think of it a few different ways. Simply, the best play may not be the best play because it doesn’t get the person the ball who gives you the best chance to win the game. Getting the ball to the right guy at the right time is most critical.



Q: Would you say that being a play-caller has taught you that or being the coordinator?

A: Seeing it from a variety of perspectives, coaching a skill player, coaching the quarterback, and now being in the position to call plays.



Q: Was there a point where that hit you and you realized that you needed to do more of this?

A: There was no ‘ah-ha’ moment. No, there was no one moment. You figure that out through a couple different experiences.



Q: How can you apply that to make you better and the team better going forward?

A: You don’t fall into the trap where you think the system is everything.



Q: Do you ever allow yourself to think about if Victor Cruz were in this offense the way it is performing now with the personnel in it now?

A: No. We believe in the next man up mentality. We have a lot of guys who have stepped up and played some good football for us when Victor went down. Preston Parker is a guy who comes in and fights hard and he works hard and it is important to him. We respect that. There are a bunch of different guys who have stepped up and filled Victor’s shoes and done a nice job for us.



Q: Probably goes back to the consistency you talked about, but in terms of protecting Eli, it seems like there are games where he is hardly ever touched and games where he is constantly under siege… Do you see that disparity and what do you attribute it to?

A: We are working on trying to get the games where he is hardly ever touched. That is the way we would like to move forward. That is hard to do in this league. It’ll be a big challenge for us this weekend.



Q: How important is the running back to the protection scheme?

A: The running back position is vital every week. There are three decision-makers in the offense: the center, the quarterback and the halfback position. The spotlight will be on those positions this week.



Q: With [Odell] Beckham Jr. showing himself as such a unique offensive player… Will you be able to expand on that even more so in the future?

A: He has handled a lot of responsibility well. We need to work with him. [Wide Receivers Coach] Sean Ryan does a great job with him. We need to continue to work with him in expanding his role and seeing what he can handle and really going through an offseason and seeing what he does well. Where we are right now is we are putting game plans in and we have a good feel for what his strengths are and detailing his strengths and making sure we bring his weaknesses up and make those better. The offseason is the time where we will be able to help mold his game and see where we can go with him and his position.



Q: What are his weaknesses?

A: That wouldn’t be very smart for me to answer, now would it?