Thursday Transcript: Offensive Coordinator Ben McAdoo

Offensive Coordinator Ben McAdoo

November 5, 2015

Q: Some teams have pretty much abandoned the run against the Jets, the Patriots only had 9 attempts. Is that something you’d consider?

A: We really don’t want to go down that road. They’re good against the run. We have to get our run game going, we know that. We thought we had it going early in the game last week. The first drive, we had a 10-play drive, ended up getting a penalty, a delay of game penalty, and having that unfortunate turnover on third down there and it never really got back on track after that. We need to get the run game going.

Q: Why were you unable to get it back on track?

A: That’s a good question. We’ve been looking at that all week, we’ve addressed some things and we’ve moved on from it and we anticipate going into the game and being able to run the ball this week. It’s important to us. We need to play with some balance, we don’t want to be a throwing team. It’s good for our pass game and playing with balance is the way we want to go.

Q: If Revis doesn’t play, looks like he probably isn’t, does that change much for you guys?

A: He’s obviously a very skillful, talented player. We have a plan if he’s going to play and we have a plan if he’s not going to play, and we’ll be ready both ways.

Q: How much does it change things for Odell? I mean he would likely face one-on-one coverage if he was healthy and ready and now without Revis, it probably changes that situation?

A: They’re a pretty good defense. They rely on the rush a lot. They have been getting home quite a bit, whether they’ve been rushing quarterbacks to throw it or with the sacks, but the pressure, it all counts. They have some talented DBs over there in their secondary so I wouldn’t be surprised if he got some one-on-one coverage either way.

Q: When you say you have a plan if Revis plays or if he doesn’t, is one plan a 10 and the other plan is a 3 or are there just some differences within a general game plan?

A: I’m not sure I understand the question, but we feel good about both plans.

Q: But you have two completely different game plans whether Darrelle Revis plays or not?

A: No. We may tilt one way or another based on whether he plays or not, but we will see how it goes on Sunday.

Q: Odell was talking to us about his preparation for the game and he says he’s making phone calls around the league to talk to other receivers. Is that common or is that just him?

A: I think it happens a little more than we all realize. It’s their own culture. I think a lot of guys talk in and out of the locker room, with different locker rooms and a lot is said. They have their own mini game plan, the players do, within our game plan. I think that’s a neat part of our league that you really don’t get to hear a lot about.

Q: 18 targets last game to Odell, were you alright with that or were you trying to force it too much?

A: No, he didn’t force the ball to him. No, absolutely not. That’s just the way it went last week. Every week is a new week. The last few weeks, he’s been targeted a bunch and we’ll see how this game goes.

Q: Did you see what you wanted to see from Hakeem Nicks last week to think that he’s going to be more involved this week?

A: Yeah, he came in last week, he was motivated, he’s still motivated. He’s out there working, he’s getting some reps again in our stuff and helping out in a bunch of different areas. He’s still learning, each week is a new week, each plan is a new plan, and this defense is obviously a lot different than the one we saw last week. He’ll be ready to go. We’re confident he’ll be ready to go.

Q: When a guy comes in so far behind time-wise, can you measure week-to-week on how much more he’s been able to digest as far as what you’re trying to accomplish?

A: We practice, obviously, but we do a lot of meetings, on the feet meets, we call them. We meet on our feet quite a bit and have those guys move around and do adjustments that way so they’re not always having their butts in their chairs. You have a chance to teach and walk and talk and do those types of things. He seems pretty dialed in and he’ll have an opportunity to make an impact.

Q: Jonathan Casillas said that when he came to the Patriots later in the year last season, he basically just learned the game plan each week. Can Hakeem do something like that?

A: That’s tough to do. That’s a starting point, but with the way we play, we like to keep it in the family so to speak. Each time you install something from a family, there are multiple things that are available within that family, so it’s hard to just go in and there may be something we get to in the middle of the game that shows up that Eli saw four weeks ago or five weeks ago that we didn’t see on tape and we didn’t practice that week, but he pulls it out of his back pocket when he needs it. So it’s tough to do that. You need to be ready. You need to know the game plan, but at the same point and time, you need to fall back on some of the adjustment part of things.

Q: You happy with what you’re receiving from Rueben Randle? There was some talk, especially on the broadcast, about the routes he ran in the endzone and maybe there being problems there?

A: The interception, that’s the one you’re referring to, could’ve been crisper. He could’ve leaned back into him one more time and been a little more friendly to the quarterback, but that was a combination. It was a combination of the throw, it was combination of the route, it could’ve been crisper, and the young man made a nice play.

Q: How about the first down play there? The first and goal line.

A: The first down play?

Q: It looked like he tried to body catch it instead of extending.

A: Yeah, I’d have to go back and take a look at that one it’s not—watched a lot of film since then.

Q: It seems like you’re getting some bodies back on the line with Justin Pugh and possibly Weston Richburg and now on the other side Marshall Newhouse is a question mark. Is it driving you crazy?

A: No. We talk to the players about it all the time, you can only control what you can control. We’re going to show up and play on Sunday, doesn’t matter who has a suit and who doesn’t have a suit and we’ll go from there. We’ll have confidence in the guys that are playing and they’re working out there right now, they’ve been working this week and we’ll go with who’s playing.

Q: What did you see from Bobby Hart?

A: Bobby’s a young guy, played with some energy when he jumped into the game, had fresh legs and we like his future. If he can dial in and prepare each and every week and focus on what he’s supposed to focus on and get better each week, he has some potential. We like his potential.

Q: Is he still more comfortable at tackle than guard?

A: That’s a better question for him.

Q: Would you be adverse to playing two rookies on the same side?

A: No.

Q: Does the possibility of having to line up with two rookie tackles worry you?

A: No. You go with who’s healthy and you go out and play at the highest level of the five guys up front. If two of them happen to be rookies and they happen to be side by side, we’ll go play.

Q: Do you prioritize what makes it easier to conduct the passing game, whether the pressure comes from the outside or the inside?

A: These guys, you don’t have to worry about that because it comes from everywhere, so they have a little bit of everything for you. Each week as the game goes on, the defense is going to adjust anyway, so they may bring something that they haven’t shown on film so that’s a tough way to go about it.