Post-Game Transcript: Head Coach Ben McAdoo

Head Coach Ben McAdoo

Postgame vs. Eagles – November 6, 2016

Opening Statement: It was good to come out and win after the bye in the division. Now we’ve got to focus and we have to get better. We have to get better in each of the three phases.

Q: Do you have any updates on Justin [Pugh] and Victor [Cruz]?

A: No updates. We’ll take a good look at them this week.

Q: What’s the biggest difference with this team before the bye week and after?

A: We used a lot of different players today. I think most of the guys on the roster played today. All the guys out there on the 46 played a significant impact in the ballgame. It was a next man up type of game.

Q: Anyone in particular stand out to you?

A: I’m going to have to take a look at the tape. I’m not going to single out anyone right now.

Q: You started off with two interceptions and went up 14-0. How much of that was a good start for you guys?

A: It was good to get the two turnovers and cash into it on the offensive side of the ball. The defense keeps coming up with the ball. That’s encouraging. The offense was finding a way to get into the endzone -- that was big for us. We have to learn to have that killer instinct for us and get up by two scores and keep our foot on the gas and not let them back into the ballgame. We do know that it is a four quarter-plus ballgame. So that being the case, we have to play the game as it unfolds and we kept playing there right until the very end.

Q: Can you explain what happened on the pass to Odell that was ruled an interception?

A: It looked to me like he caught the ball with his hands and went to the ground and they came up with the ball. I’m going to have to see it on tape.

Q: You said before the bye you wanted to focus on the run game. You only had 54 yards today. What did you see out there with the running game?

A: I thought at the end of the game we had some nice runs come out. [Paul] Perkins showed some balance there. It was a tough front to run against but we have to run the ball better.

Q: Why feed the ball more to Perkins - what was the thinking behind that for you?

A: We talked about mixing some players in and making sure we use everyone on the 46.

Q: You also did a lot of six-man lines there at the end and even in the first half. Why did you do that and did you think it was effective?

A: Yeah, we wanted to acclimate Marshall [Newhouse] back in and we wanted to use as much of the 46 as we can and get every player involved in the game.

Q: Are you happy that Dwayne [Harris] took that kickoff and didn’t get back to the 25?

A: No, I’m not happy we had the ball on the 12-yard line.

Q: When you got hired, you said the last year you had leads but couldn’t always hold them. This year your defense has held a lot of leads in the fourth quarter. How big of a difference does that make in general?

A: Last year is in the rearview mirror. You go back, you learn from the past and you work on today. We believe that we are going to win these football games. We believe that we’re a physical team. We’ve just got to hang onto leads and win the games. We know we’re going to get better as the game goes on and we’re going to win in the end.

Q: That confidence kind of overflows through this team when the defense hunkers down late in the game.

A: It’s all three phases of play. It’s not one phase.

Q: You said it was encouraging to see the ball get into the endzone by the offense. Do you think this is Eli’s best game so far this season?

A: He had those unfortunate turnovers. I thought he did a nice job completing the ball today. Again, we’ll have to go back and take a look at the film.

Q: Can you talk about that sequence starting with the third down play where Eli’s pass got tipped and intercepted and your defense was put in a bad position.

A: It was a tipped ball on a chance to get a first down on a couple of different options there. They had a big body over the middle. The ball got tipped. I think it would’ve been a good position to get the first down there. The defense stayed and played aggressive. Spags [Coach Spagnuolo] did a great job and called it aggressive. They were feeding off of them right there. They challenged the perimeter and got some good rushes and rose to the occasion.

Q: On third down - you decide to pass the ball - the interception. What was your decision on that?

A: They had to use their last timeout and run five seconds off the clock. They couldn’t get it. Then we had 1:50 to work with. Just win the game and play aggressive.

Q: Were you pleased with what you got out of [Will] Tye and [Jerell] Adams at tight end today?

A: I thought they got better today.

Q: Before Victor Cruz got hurt, it seemed his snaps were reduced. Is that accurate?

A: We just talked about using all the 46. Rotate as many players as we can in the ballgame and get them some quality reps.

Q: Jason Pierre-Paul probably had his best game in the last two years. Can you talk about his play today?

A: He looked like he was getting off the ball good. He had a good first step putting pressure on the tackles. Playing aggressive, playing physical. He was certainly making messes out there.

Q: You continue to have all these close games but more of them are ending with victories. Is there some way to coach that? Is there some emphasis made to make the end of the game end more in the way you want them to end?

A: We believe and execute. We put our foot on the gas and we play aggressive in all three phases of the game at the end of the game, we are going to pull off a win. I think we stay aggressive and believe in each other and feed off each other.

Q: At one point in the third quarter Eli Apple was on the sideline -- why?

A: Rotating players in and putting the best players on the field for certain situations that give us the best chance to win.

Q: Did he struggle out there today - Eli Apple?

A: He had a missed tackle I saw. He struggled but he’ll bounce back. He’s a young player.

Q: You talk a lot about belief. Was that an issue a year ago?

A: I don’t know. You’re going to have to go back to last year’s press conferences. That’s in the rearview mirror, I’m not answering those questions. We’re right here, we’re right now.

Q: What did you think of Trevin Wade in place of Apple?

A: I thought Trev had some good plays in there. They went after him on the last one and he had good coverage.

Q: You’ve gone through a lot of rivalry games, especially with the Packers vs. the Bears. Where does this one rank for you - the Giants over the Eagles?

A: That question is a little too dramatic for me right now. We won in the division and we’ll take it.