Head Coach Ben McAdoo
October 30, 2017
Opening Statement: Alright, let’s open it up.
Q: Talk about the guys that didn’t report today and if they’re injured.
A: No. We had a few guys that were excused for personal reasons today.
Q: Who was that?
A: Jackrabbit (Janoris Jenkins) was one of them. Eli Apple. Paul Perkins.
Q: Are they all expected back on Wednesday?
A: Yes.
Q: Jerry Reese said last week that he thought everyone bought into the hype about what the team could accomplish this year. Do you agree with that?
A: I think that there are a few things when you take a look at the first half of the year and we were humbled, obviously, the first half of the season. And, we talked to the players about the first half before we left and we were obviously humbled. One thing I wanted them to keep in mind is don’t forget how badly you once wanted what you now have. It’s a blessing to be here and to work with these guys each and every day and they had an opportunity to get away from it for a little bit and reflect on the first half of the season. But, we need to flush the first half. We need to move onto the second half. It’s important for us to get better as a football team and the thing I asked of these guys is just take it one game at a time and one play at a time. Don’t hold onto what we did the first half, but let’s go out here and be the best team we can be in the second half of the season.
Q: What did you ask of yourself and the coaching staff when you reflected?
A: We wanted to take a look at different things. First thing was personnel. Wanted to make sure we were using our players the right way. Is there an opportunity moving forward for us to interject maybe some younger players or even some veteran players into different roles that we haven’t been using them. But, personnel usage. Wanted to take a look at things schematically. The schemes that have been working, the things that haven’t been working and emphasizing what’s been working for us and the things that haven’t been working, either throw them out or is it a quick fix. Is it something we can fix over the second half of the year being smart with our time? Those are some of the things that we took a look at.
Q: Do you take buying into the hype as your responsibility to not let the team do that?
A: Everything falls on my shoulders.
Q: Did you see any signs of buying into the hype?
A: Yeah, I think you go back again. You take a look at the first half of the season. I don’t think you can point to just one thing. Were we a hungry enough football team? You can make a case that we weren’t. But, that’s just part of it. It’s not just one thing.
Q: How would you describe how much you and Jerry Reese are on the same page?
A: One hundred percent, we’re on the same page. We’re tied at the hip. Jerry and I have multiple conversations every day. We have a great relationship – great working relationship. I have a lot of respect for Jerry and everything that he’s done in this profession.
Q: Do you feel like you’re coaching for your job?
A: Each and every day in this business, you have to prove yourself and when I come in, I come to work. I’m blessed to be here. It’s a great opportunity. I don’t think that way. I’m doing everything I can to help these players put a winning product on the field on Sunday.
Q: What feedback did you get from your leaders?
A: Again, we took a little break. We talked about flushing the first half of the season and coming back and starting with a fresh start.
Q: Do you believe the Bye Week came at the right time?
A: Every year it seems like the bye comes at the right time. You can spin that any way that you want to spin it, but, again, we’re excited – we want to put the first half of the season behind us. We’re excited to move onto this game on Sunday.
Q: Is it difficult to get that fresh start when you’re five games back in the division and 15th in the conference?
A: Again, we have one game this week. We have a heck of a football team coming in here and we’re excited to jump into our preparation.
Q: Will you make personnel changes or whatever is necessary and do you expect there to be changes that the public will notice?
A: There will be some subtle changes, but, again, our players are our players. We have good players. We have to put them in a position to be successful on Sunday.
Q: Do you think you’ve used your players correctly?
A: I’m not going to come out here and tell you our self-scout. No. But, we examined personnel and scheme.
Q: Can you fill us in on DE Olivier Vernon and C Weston Richburg?
A: Yeah. OV did not practice today. Weston did not practice today.
Q: What about G Justin Pugh?
A: Pugh was out today.
Q: Jerry Reese talked about how smart you are. As you were able to sit back during the Bye Week, was there a moment where you realized what you have to correct?
A: Again, in this business, it’s tough to win. But, it’s also tough to be in a situation we’re in and one thing doesn’t point to winning and losing games. Just like each and every game, there are a variety of things that happen in a game that puts you on a path to either winning or losing the ball game and the same can be said for a season. So, it’s difficult to point to just one thing and say it’s just one thing. We have to be careful of doing that.
Q: Tomorrow is the trade deadline. How do you approach it?
A: Evaluate who they ask you to evaluate and input when there’s input to be made. Other than that, we need to get our team ready to go on Sunday.
I said it before the Denver game, but it's worth saying again. I'll go nuts if we are out there in 3WR a bunch right now. Hopefully we can put together a game plan that features our TE's and running game over a passing offense that relies on the WR we have now.
It's been almost a month.