Head Coach Ben McAdoo
September 30, 2016
Q: What kind of a challenge does Stefon Diggs pose?
A: Tremendous player, up and coming player…he’s playing with a lot of confidence right now. We’re going to have to be aware of where he is on the field at all times. It’s a nice combination with him and Rudolph.
Q: How do you think JPP has responded to playing something like 97% of the snaps?
A: He’s playing with great effort. You saw that the last drive of the first half last week, you know, him finishing the drive off with tremendous effort there.
Q: Is that sustainable?
A: Absolutely. That’s why we practice, yes.
Q: Does that go for the whole defensive line or do you need your defensive tackles to come off the field some to keep them fresh and healthy?
A: You play each game as it unfolds. We do rotate the defensive linemen in and out depending on which personnel group we are in.
Q: Are you thinking at this point you could be without Eli Apple and DRC on Monday night?
A: At this point, we’re ready for anything.
Q: Do you expect them to be ready by Monday?
A: I expect to see how they wake up in the morning and see how they look.
Q: Did they look better today than yesterday?
A: Yes.
Q: What about Rashad Jennings? How is he looking and responding to the cast?
A: Rashad had a nice day today. He got some work in both with our offense and the ‘look’ team and had a productive day. He caught some balls, so he’s progressing.
Q: With the injury aside, how do you think Apple’s done these first few games?
A: I think he’s a competitive guy. It’s definitely not too big for him. His size, his length, his speed, and his competitiveness show up.
Q. Do you think it has hurt Landon Collins a little bit that he’s had a rotating cast of characters this year and last year playing next to him?
A. I think it’s helped him. I think it’s helped him grow. It pushed him to grow and pushes him to be a great communicator and that’s a big part of the game, especially back in his spot.
Q. You guys always talk about familiarity and continuity playing together, is there a downside…I mean there’s nothing you can do about it…but the fact that he has always got to look around and see who is next to him?
A. It’s an opportunity to grow as a leader and he’s responded.
Q. If the two corners can’t go, how much of a difference does that make to your secondary?
A. We have some guys out there practicing right now that have done a nice job in the last preseason game (vs. New England) versus a pretty good quarterback (Tom Brady). So we have confidence in those players.
Q. Does Leon Hall’s versatility help as well in this case?
A. Absolutely, he’s a conscientious player, came in and picked the system up right away and can wear a variety of hats for us.
Q. With a young kid like Andrew Adams, to have what happened to him on Sunday with the personal foul and to come back this week and now be thrust into potentially an opportunity defensively, do you talk to him or do you have the assistants talk to him just in terms of how quickly things can change in this league?
A. The only thing I said to Adams was when we walked on the field for our Tuesday practice on Wednesday, and I just told him to flush last week. Don’t let it linger. Just trust yourself and your training and be confident.
Q. If you had to make a choice, do you think Jennings could play on Monday night? Is that the plan right now or is it still too early to tell?
A. It’s still too early to tell. Again, we will look at things on a day to day basis.
Q. Do you think you need to add a safety before Monday night or are you confident with the guys you have there?
A. I’m confident with the players that we have on the roster.
Q. Just to be clear with Jennings, game time decision with him?
A. It will be sooner. It will be earlier than game time, but game day possibly.
Q. You guys came out of the preseason exceptionally healthy and you’ve had some more injuries now. Is that just natural variance or is there a reason?
A. No, we’re still healthy. We’re healthy.
