Head Coach Ben McAdoo
June 15, 2017
Q: What was your message to the team as you wrapped up minicamp?
A: We talked about being a pro. We have a lot of integrity in the locker room. We talked about it and we have to trust each other, but it is about being a pro and how we handle our business mentally, physically and spiritually.
Q: Is this a long six weeks for you with guys off on their own?
A: Six weeks goes by pretty quick. You just don’t want any phone calls late at night, that is all. But I trust the players in the locker room, I trust the staff, we are going to put ourselves in good situations and we understand that that NYG never comes off. It is always with us, always a part of us, the name on the back of the jersey and the letters on the front always stick with us.
Q: How is D.J. Fluker feeling?
A: D.J. got nicked yesterday and he is sore, but he bounced back today.
Q: Did you have anyone else address the team aside from you?
A: We had Greg Gadson address the team after practice today and we’ve had a bunch of people come in, whether it is coaches or outside speak to the team and Aaron Wellman, our Strength and Conditioning Coach, spoke to the team this morning.
Q: Was that a general message or was it specific to their time off these next six weeks?
A: It was a general message, but again it all goes into the next six weeks and putting yourself in position to be successful for the duration when we get back.
Q: What is something that is going to stick in your mind in terms of something you have to work on once training camp starts?
A: I don’t shut it down very easily. I am going to stay engaged and get a little bit done each and every day, whether it is on the offensive side of the ball reflecting on the pieces that we added or taking a look at the defensive side of the ball and what we can do to help the defense there. Looking at players and personnel and taking a look at the schedule and looking at how we can tweak things and make them a little bit better. You never really shut it off; you just work from a different place.
Q: Were you encouraged with how Ereck Flowers has done this offseason?
A: We have seen Ereck make progress and we just need to continue with that progress.
Q: How is it reflected? Why do you say progress? In terms of technique? In terms of conditioning?
A: Yeah, conditioning, lighter on his feet, playing with better bend, but we have to see it when the pads come on and that is the next step in the process.
Q: Is he still feeling a little sore today?
A: Ereck? Ereck is a tough young man. He is a tough young man and he went out and moved around well today.
Q: What did you learn about your team this spring?
A: The spring is about teaching and learning and jockeying for reps really in training camp and in the preseason games – just putting yourself in a better position so that you can go out and compete for a job in training camp. So it is more about teaching and learning.
Q: Did this group show you anything?
A: Yeah, we taught well and we learned well.
Q: In past years you have had a veteran kicker. You have a very un-veteran kicker (Aldrick Rosas) here now. Will you do any different things with him this summer, so that you can up the ante so to speak?
A: Well, the rules prevent that this summer. Do you mean training camp or the next six weeks?
Q: No, training camp.
A: Yeah, training camp, we will do some things situationally to put some pressure on him. We will build that into two-minute drills. We did that a little bit in the middle of OTAs, but we will crank that up in training camp and we will see how we do.
Q: Are you anxious to see how he does?
A: I want to see him kick in games. He has done a nice job so far for us in OTAs and the offseason program, but I am looking forward to seeing him kick in games.
Q: You started the offseason reminding the team about the playoff loss and bringing them back to that locker room in Lambeau. When they come back, do you want them to turn the page on that or do you want that to remain in their minds?
A: Yeah, we have already turned the page. We have looked at it, we have learned from it. I don’t want to say that we have moved on from it because it is always something that is going to drive us. You don’t ever forget those types of games. It is not everything that is going to drive us, but it is a piece.
Q: Has Jason Pierre-Paul evolved as a leader since you have been here?
A: I think that Jason has had a nice offseason recovering and I think he is going to have a heck of a year. I am glad that he is here. He is a Giant through and through and, yeah, we have seen him make some progress.
Q: What have you learned about Davis Webb in the last few weeks?
A: Again, teaching and learning, he is a guy that jumps into it with two feet. He loves to play, he loves the reps, he works at it hard and that it important. For a guy his age in the position that he is in, he has to be willing to work at it and really not worry about what type of reps he is going to see that day or what types of reps he is going to see tomorrow. But when his number is called, he has got to be ready to respond and it is tough to work through those conditions. You can’t get laid back, you can’t relax and he doesn’t seem to be the type of guy that is going to relax.
Q: What can a quarterback do in the six weeks between now and then to sort of keep the process going?
A: They have to study the cut-ups, study the offense, work on their fundamentals, so they have to find some guys to throw to, but there are plenty of options out there.
Q: Do you keep their playbooks here?
A: We don’t hand out playbooks. We hand out iPads.
Q: Do the tablets stay here?
A: Yeah, for the most part we have those guys turn them in. If they want to get their hands on some material, we can make that available for them, but they get six weeks, too.
Q: Yesterday Landon Collins and Coach Spagnuolo talked about ways that Landon could improve on the season that he had last year. What do you think Landon can do to accomplish that?
A: I think that the next six weeks are important for everybody, Landon included. I think that we need to go out and put ourselves in position when we hit the ground running in training camp that we are in great shape and we are ready to go and I think Landon is a guy that can really take ownership of this defense. I think that he has that type of skillset, I think it is a defense that has a lot of premier players on it, some guys with some leadership ability, so it will be a challenge for a young player, because he is still a young player, to really take the bull by the horns that way, but I think he has that in him.
Q: There seemed to be a lot of guys that were sore this spring. Did you handle that any differently? Maybe you played it a little safer?
A: We are very, very consistent. We treat everyone differently.
