Monday Conference Call Transcript: QB Eli Manning

Eli Manning

Conference Call, September 21, 2015

Q: Eli, can you just talk a little about the mood of the team coming in. Do you have to put this loss behind you pretty quickly and look forward to the next one?

A: Yeah. We’ve got a short week, so you come in and I think we’re putting ourselves in situations to win games, we’ve just got to find ways to win them. We’ve been in good spots in the fourth quarter, we’ve just got to make plays in critical situations and ensure that we get the wins.

Q: Is that something you have to learn to do to close out games and how do teams learn that?

A: Well, I think you’ve just got to understand that games are going to come to the fourth quarter and I don’t know if it’s about learning it, you just have to believe you’re going to get it done. When things might be going great, there’s always going to be little lulls or a possession or two that don’t go your way, and you’ve got to be able to bounce back. You can’t let the demeanor or mood get down. So we’ve got to stay positive and keep pushing and fight through those times.

Q: Do you think that’s been part of the problem here, that guys have been getting down a little bit when things start to dip in the other direction?

A: Well, I don’t think they’re getting down, we’ve just got to understand—I thought the game obviously didn’t start our way, we fought back through it. We started making plays and doing good things, so we’ve got to understand we’ve got to do our part, we’ve got to keep the energy up, we’ve got to move the ball, and help out our defense. Bring some excitement and some energy to the team. Yeah, like I said, learn how to finish games.

Q: What’s your assessment of the offense here after the first two games? I think 29 points offensively in two games, I’m sure that’s not what you guys were hoping for on the offensive side in terms of points. Where do you think it’s been breaking down a little bit?

A: We’ve moved the ball well. I think we’ve got to be better in the green zone getting touchdowns. We’re settling for field goals a little bit too often. But I feel like we are moving the ball well. The first game we didn’t have many plays or many possessions. I thought we did okay when we had those opportunities. This game, the same. I thought we moved the ball well. We can score more touchdowns when we get down there tight and I think it would have been a pretty good day. I thought we got a good rhythm this past week and had some good things going. Got completions and had pretty good third down production, haven’t seen the exact numbers, but I felt like we were pretty good on third down. So I think we’re heading in the right direction, we’ve just got to do a little bit better and execute a little bit better.

Q: You looked Odell’s way a lot early and, obviously, Vereen a lot. What can you do to get more options going for you in the wide receiver group beyond Odell right now?

A: We’ve got to do a good job of getting Rueben [Randle] involved some more, get him some catches. He’s got to be a weapon for us. We’ve got to move some guys around. And just going through my progressions, we had to check the ball down a good bit, so we were hitting Shane [Vereen]. They were playing a lot of zone and dropping guys deep and trying to take away our receivers. So we checked the ball down, let him make the big plays for us, he’s a threat. We feel confident with all our receivers, so we’ve got to do a good job mixing the ball around, but ideally, I’m just trying to go through my progressions based on the coverages and find completions.

Q: What do you do to help out Preston Parker? Obviously he’s had some struggles in the first two games. How do you do that and what do you do?

A: Preston [Parker] is going to be fine. I’m going to keep throwing to him, we’re going to keep working on things. He’ll be fine. I thought he made some nice catches and did some good things yesterday. He’s got to make some plays for us as well.

Q: How much does it help that you’ve been through situations in the past where the Giants have had slow starts and have come back out of it in good fashion?

A: I think we have a young team right now. We’ve just got to make sure guys stay strong. I think we have a good group, and guys are going to keep fighting and keep working to get better. And I think that’s the goal. Hopefully we can come out today, it’s a different week, so we’ve got to prepare and stay focused and do everything we’ve got to do without much practice time. It’s going to be a challenge, but it’s something we’ve got to be able to accomplish. Make sure everybody is on the same page so we go out there Thursday night and make sure we’re doing everything right to give us the best chance to win.

Q: Does it make a difference to you when you look around the division and there are teams that are being destroyed by injuries, inconsistencies? Every other team is having some problems as well. Does that make it a little easier to tolerate a 0-2 start?

A: Well, you always look around the division and see what’s going on. Obviously, the Cowboys are 2-0, but like you said, they’ve got some injuries and some things going on. A lot can happen in these next 14 games, and there’s a lot of football to be played. We just understand we’ve got to win some games. We’ve got to start finding ways to win. Everybody’s play has got to improve a little bit. I’ve got to do that also. I thought we did make some improvements. I thought I threw the ball better this past week than the week before. So I’ve got to keep doing that and making improvements. And hopefully we can put some things together.

Q: When you have such a young team and you’re working with such a young offense, how much pressure do you feel or how much more challenging is it for you to keep everyone in the right position?

A: I think everybody is doing the right thing. I think everybody is working hard. There’s always going to be mental mistakes, there’s always going to be mistakes in a game, but we’re not having many of them. I think guys are doing the right things, going the right ways. We’re not having guys unblocked or wrong routes. So I think we’ve been good on that aspect. The execution can be improved, so we’re going to keep working on that. The preciseness of the offense and everything we’re doing can be better. So we’ve just got to challenge ourselves to get better every week.

Q: What did you see with the running game yesterday? What do you attribute to not being able to get it consistently going so far?

A: I thought we had some nice runs. We had a couple, obviously, Andre [Williams] broke a long one. I think we’ve just got to be more consistent. We have too many runs where we’re losing two and three yards. That just can’t happen. Our bad runs need to be one-yard gains instead of losing two or three yards. That just puts you in bad down and distance. It makes it hard to keep drives going. I can do a better job of getting us in the good run looks. It starts up front, being physical. If we throw the ball well, hopefully we can get their safeties back playing a little bit more coverage and it should open up some runs.

Q: How do you think it went without Ereck Flowers in there with Justin [Pugh] at left tackle and John Jerry slipping into guard?

A: I thought Justin [Pugh] did well. It’s a tough scenario, all of a sudden to go and say, “Hey, you’re playing left tackle.” Something he hasn’t done since college. But I thought he fought, knew what he was doing. Veteran guy, knows what’s going on, knows the offense. We’ve got to see what the circumstances are, I don’t know what the injury or how severe it is to Ereck [Flowers], or what’s going to go on this week. We’ve got to make sure everybody knows what’s going on this week and see how we’re going to be lined up.

Q: You talked about the youth of the team and the youth of the offense. How about the quarterback? Does your confidence ever take a hit? Does anybody ever have to pick you up?

A: No. I understand when I play well or don’t play well that I always have plays I wish I had back. “Hey, I need to make that throw. I need to hit this. I could’ve checked to this.” There’s always things I’m going to learn from each game. I think my confidence just comes from, “Hey, I’ve made plays. I’ve made comebacks. I know I can do it.” I go out in practice, I make the throws. I feel good about where I am in the offense and how I’m feeling, how I’m throwing. I’ve got to keep just working. Try to make sure I make the throws when we need them.