Tuesday Media Transcript: Head Coach Ben McAdoo

Head Coach Ben McAdoo

August 30, 2016

Q: Are any starters going to play in the game?

A: We're going to take a look at play time at 6 o’clock this afternoon.

Q: How important is the fourth game in terms of roster decisions?

A: Every game is important. You only get four preseason games. It's the best way to evaluate players. We're obviously going to take a nice long look at some guys at the bottom part of the roster and give them an opportunity. So, it counts.

Q: Could it vary depending on how much they played this summer?

A: We're going to look at it on a case-by-case basis. We're not just going to say that starters are going to play 10 plays or 20 plays, nothing like that. We're going to look at it on a case-by-case basis.

Q: Did you check off enough boxes during training camp to be confident in where this team is headed?

A: I do. I feel like we're building a strong football team. We created a foundation and we keep adding to that foundation. The fundamentals are coming, the physicality is coming. We're not where we want to be just yet, but thank goodness we're not where we used to be. Next week will be a big week for us.

Q: If Eli doesn't play, is that a long time from last week to Sept. 11 for him to go without being on the field?

A: Whether Eli plays or not, he's played a lot of football in his career and he can always fall back on that experience.

Q: When you see what happens to a guy like Tony Romo, does that make you more prone to not want to risk Eli for no reason in the last game.

A: No, I mean, injuries are an unfortunate part of the game and you have to play the game. You need 11 out there and you’ve got to find them somewhere.

Q: How is Andrew Adams coming along?

A: He made a couple of nice plays out there today. He has a nose for the football, and he's a smart, conscientious guy. He works at the game and he gets football. And he's a fun guy to be around.

Q: Where is the safety position in general? How do view that at this point?

A: We still have a lot of guys out there competing right now. Nat Berhe had a good week last week, we look for him to continue that. He's done that so far this week in practice and we look forward to him to build on it this week in the game.

Q: You said Adams is a fun guy to be around. Does that count when you're making these choices?

A: It rubs off on his teammates. When guys enjoy football and they bring energy to the game, it raises the energy of the teammates around him.

Q: How would you describe Olivier Vernon's training camp given that he joined you as a high priced ticket item in free agency?

A: OV is a very efficient player. He doesn't waste much time; he doesn't waste much movement. His technique is kind of like his personality, right to the point.

Q: And his effort level?

A: Good. Very good effort level. He's a guy that doesn't waste much movement out there. He's very precise in what he does.

Q: You have a lot of interesting wide receivers out there. Roger Lewis looks good, what do you see from guys like him and Darius Powe?

A: He made a nice play last week. He caught a short route and made a defender miss. Got north and south. He won on a vertical route, stacked a defender there, did a nice job. He's showing up in practice every day. He's a young player that's encouraging.

Q: What did you think of Larry Donnell's camp?

A: Larry worked hard to get back. He took a little while to get his legs underneath him in the offseason. But he improved as a blocker, he's not where we want him to be yet. We're going to keep pushing him to grow that way. He made some nice plays, some highlight type plays, in practice. He made a nice play in the game over the middle, he's a factor over the middle. He's had a nice camp so far.

Q: How is Odell Beckham doing? Looked like he was on the ground stretching a lot.

A: Certain guys got different workloads today. He didn't get a high workload today just because of the design of the practice. So he was just trying to stay loose.

Q: When do you get to a point that you start thinking about Dallas and Week One?

A: We take everything day-by-day. We've peeked at Dallas a little bit, but we take things day-by-day.

Q: Could you go into next week knowing that you've seen enough from Victor Cruz, or do you need to see something on Thursday?

A: We take it day-by-day with these guys. We're not going to make any big statements on (if) we need to see X, Y and Z in the game from a player to justify him being on the team or not. We'll trust our gut in certain situations and we'll go with the body of work.

Q: How would you characterize Eli's brand of leadership?

A: Eli's a pro on and off the field and you couldn't ask for much more from a leader.

Q: There are a lot of guys getting cut and released right now, do you feel like you need to add players on the offensive line?

A: You never say never. You're going to look at everybody who gets waived out there. Everyone who gets cut is a possibility to add to your roster, to improve. So, at any position, you're always going to look to get better.

Q: Do you think it's strange that you have to cut down to 75 but the fourth preseason game is traditionally where a lot of unproven guys get a chance to shine? Do you wish you didn't have this first round of cuts?

A: Listen, I don't control the roster cuts, how many players are on the roster. We control who we coach and who we play and I look forward to seeing the guys play Thursday night.