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Tuesday Press Conference: Head Coach Ben McAdoo

Eric from BBI : Admin : 8/2/2016 3:55 pm
Head Coach Ben McAdoo

August 2, 2016

Q: How did Odell respond the other day? What's the plan for him going forward?

A: We worked him back pretty much on the side today. He was a little tender, had some swelling, so we were smart with him today.

Q: What is it, the ankle, the leg, or the calf?

A: The leg, lower leg

Q: Did he wind up getting any stitches?

A: Not that I’m aware of, no.

Q: Is it good to have Snack [Damon Harrison] back?

A: Great to have Snacks back. We had to yank him out of some drills, he was chomping at the bit to get going. Jumped right back in there, seems to be in pretty good shape.

Q: With the pads on and the one on one drills between offensive and defensive lines, does that ramp things up a little bit?

A: When you get pads on in camp, reps are like a bar of gold. It's not really how long you are out there, it's how smart you are with incorporating the reps. The seven-on-seven with offensive and defensive lines mixed in with the half-line, got a ton of reps there. The route receivers over there one-on-one, we'll mix that in pretty good and get some quality work.

Q: Do you like seeing your "first team" guys get out there early?

A: Yeah, I like to see any combination, depending on what day it is, what you're working. The ones on ones, the twos on twos, the ones on twos and two on ones. I think the more quality work you can get, the better.

Q: Do you have to be careful with Damon Harrison’s knee going forward

A: He's like a lot of vets, like a lot of big men. Big men on their feet, you have to be smart about what you ask them to do.

Q: Where does Bobby Hart stand right now? Jerry Reese had said on Sunday that between he and Marshall Newhouse, he thinks that’s a competition.

A: No question. Bobby is going to have the opportunity to start.

Q: What does have to do to prove to you?

A: That he can do the job. He's just got to win the job. It's there for him.

Q: You guys had trouble closing out games last year. How much does the running game factor into that? How much can the running game help you out going forward?

A: The running game is obviously important to what we're doing. Got off to a decent start today on both sides of the ball. But the end of the game, it's a team’s responsibility. It’s not one side or the other; special teams factoring as well.

Q: Has Paul Perkins closed the gap on what he missed in the spring?

A: Mentally, he seems to be doing fine, if that's what you're asking me.

Q: What did you see from him today, first time to see him in pads?

A: We’ve got to get him some reps, get him tackled a little bit. See ball security, but like I said before, it's tough to evaluate runners in a camp situation. You have to get them in games, get them some carries. See if they can deliver blows, and absorb some blows as well.

Q: J.T. Thomas seems to be around the field. Are he and Jay Bromley close to getting on the field?

A: That's a pretty good question right there. They both have a little ways to go.

Q: How hard is it to incorporate a lot of new pieces into a defense?

A: Like I said before, we're going to go through a little bit of growing pains. We see it, we know that, we're going to work through that and stick together. We feel that when we come out the other end of it, we have a chance to be a pretty good defense.

Q: Do you think that could happen in time for the first game or it takes time during the season?

A: Development takes time, and you can't rush it, and you keep coaching it. You go out, you practice, you make mistakes, you fix those mistakes and you get better

Q: This team has invested money in the defensive line and the secondary, what do you make of the linebackers?

A: They are a high energy group, they're a group that they stick together pretty good. They play well together, they have some great energy out there. You have some communicators, some smart players, some guys who have a pretty good nose for the football.

Q: Do you see anybody that needs to rise above and be a difference maker?

A: I see a bunch of guys; I see a bunch of competition is what I see. I think that anytime you have competition, you have a chance to get the best out of that group of guys.

Q: What kind of numbers would you like to have at that position on the 53?

A: I like to have the best roster available, the 53. So we're not going to play the numbers game.

Q: What has Keenan Robinson shown you since he's gotten here?

A: Keenan Robinson, I think that he has a good feel for the pass game, and we need to see him play in the run game.

Q: We saw Jasper Brinkley running on the side. Was he limited today?

A: Jasper had a hamstring or a slight hamstring earlier in camp. But it was just something that was aggravated and he's just working to keep it loose.

Q: Can you learn anything about how you do your job as a head coach as opposed to as an offensive coordinator in just a few practices? Are you learning things already?

A: Again, another good question. I'm just out there trying to be myself, do what’s best for the team, help the leaders, put them in position to be successful. So everything that I would do as a position coach to try to help the players I coach play the game as best I could, I did as a coordinator and helped the position coaches be as best as they can be. Now I'm trying to do that throughout the team.

Q: How did Victor Cruz do with his first contact in quite a while?

A: He seemed to do fine. I didn't notice anything.

Q: With the special teams, with the touchbacks coming out to the 25-yard line, how much do you have to adjust your game?

A: I think it's going to be interesting. It'll make for an interesting play. I would anticipate you’re going to see more returns.

Q: What did you notice from Sterling Shepard today?

A: I didn’t like his kickoff return drill. Kickoff, kickoff return drill; we talked about that. As a receiver, I think that he played strong today.

Q: On the running game, do you have preference coming out of camp? Do you want there to be one guy or are you fine with rotating?

A: You have one guy, you're in trouble. We need a handful.

Q: You said you anticipate more returns because of the rule change?

A: Five yards makes a big difference. You're going to see the ball hanging around the goal line a lot; with some air.

Q: So kickers will intentionally not kick it deep, looking for the return?

A: At times. At times.
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