Wednesday Media Transcript: Head Coach Ben McAdoo

Head Coach Ben McAdoo

November 16, 2016

Short week to get ready for a well-coached Chicago team. They're hungry, they got their backs against the wall. We expect a great fight on Sunday afternoon. Defensively, they're well-coordinated, they're talented up front, they have a lot of length. They have two veteran linebackers who really gel everything together for them, two pickups in the off-season. Tracy Porter leads a young and hungry secondary.

Offensively, a Jay Cutler-led offense, you always have to be ready for explosive plays. We have a challenge ahead of us there. Up front, Josh Sitton has been a solid addition for them and helps pave the way for Jordan Howard. Zach Miller has been productive at the tight end spot and he's always dangerous running down the middle of the field. And as we know, Eddie Royal is a good player for them in the slot.

Special teams, they're well-disciplined and creative. Thompson and Royal are both dangerous in the return game.

Q: What have you seen from Leonard Floyd and how they've used him?

A: He's really coming into his own. He has a lot of nice length. They're using him as an edge player and outside linebacker or defensive end. They do drop him into coverage a little bit but he's getting his feet wet and he's coming on for them.

Q: What's it like to see a player like him on film that you might have considered at draft time?

A: He's a good player. He has a lot of length and he's learning to use that to his advantage. I saw a couple of plays, he had a nice play versus Green Bay on the caused fumble and a score.

Q: Obviously Alshon Jeffery won't be playing; how does that affect things?

A: They have plenty of talented playmakers on the offensive side of the ball. Jay's always dangerous, going back to my years in Green Bay. He can really spin it, he can make every throw and we have to be ready for it.

Q: What do you tell some of your younger guys so as to avoid the “trap game” over the next two weeks?

A: There's no such a thing as a trap game. We have to be ready to play each and every week in this league. Especially this week, coming off of an emotional night game on Monday night. We have to make sure we're dialed in. We got everything we could out of today's practice. More of a jog through type mentality and tomorrow we have to squeeze everything out of Thursday.

Q: Did you like what you accomplished today and the attitude you saw from the players?

A: Everyone was dialed in today, yes.

Q: How is Victor Cruz feeling today?

A: That's a better question for Victor. But he was out here moving around.

Q: Adam Gettis was listed on the injury report, do you have an update on him?

A: He was moving around a little bit in the jog through but he and Brett, we'll have to evaluate as the week goes on.

Q: Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie wasn't on there, he's good now?

A: Those guys we'll evaluate as the week goes on.

Q: With the production of the outside receivers in Cruz's absence, does that make you re-evaluate whether you'd like to limit his snaps a little bit?

A: No, we want to use all of our 46.

Q: Do you think you'll have either Gettis or Jones this week?

A: We'll see how the week goes.

Q: Do you have another guy that can step in and snap?

A: Yes. We have a few guys that can snap.

Q: When you guys added the talent that you did in the secondary, is this kind of play what you imaged when you put it together?

A: As far as?

Q: They're playing well, Landon Collins is making picks, Jenkins is shutting down receivers.

A: We have a lot of confidence in our secondary. Landon has really stepped it up. We have some corners that for sure we have confidence in. Some of them play more than others but even the guys who aren't getting a ton of snaps, we have a lot of confidence in

Q: What happened this offseason with Landon. Is there one reason that you think allowed him to make such a big improvement?

A: He's still a young player. He's growing. He's not a finished product. He still can get better and he will get better. He played a lot of reps as a rookie and that helps

Q: Is it much of a concern when you have guys on the offensive line and you don't know what their status is and you have to roll different guys in there and building that continuity?

A: No. It's my job to make sure that we put a plan in place that if everyone is healthy, we go out and play our game and if not, then we need to be able to adjust and improvise during the course of the game so we can adjust.

Re: the production from the running game at the end of Monday night’s game

A: It was a step in the right direction and that's what we need to do. We need to continue to improve, continue to take small steps and go forward.

Q: After scoring his first NFL touchdown this week, do you see Jerell Adams working his way into the 1st team this week?

A: Jerell has played quite a bit on the offense and on special teams and we're going to continue to work him in.

Q: Will you have your antenna up even more this week. It's the third straight home game, you're playing against a team with a losing record. Just spot signs of something you don't want creeping in?

A: Every week you play pros in this league and you have to be at your best. You can't exhale, can't get complacent. It's my job to make sure that doesn't happen.

Q: Do you have an update on Dwayne Harris? Is his toe injury a re-aggravation of the earlier one?

A: I'm not sure if it's a re-aggravation or not. I know if we were going to practice today, he would not have practiced.

Q: What went into the decision to flip Olivier Vernon back to the right side more?

A: It was a game plan decision.

Q: How much healthier is he?

A: That's a better question for OV.

Q: Did it play into it from your perspective at all?

A: Better question for OV.

Q: You said it's your job to make sure that thoughts about the Bears record or what they did last week doesn't creep into the players’ minds. How do you prevent that as a coach?

A: You watch the film. They're better than their record. You can take their record and you can throw it out that window over there. It doesn't matter. You have to prepare for what you see on film. They're a dangerous offense and their defense is pretty dang good.

Q: Do you think that message is sinking in with the players?

A: Yes.

Q: How do you balance between having Super Bowl aspirations and not getting ahead of yourself?

A: We're all ambitious, that's why we're here. But at the same point in time, we're not going to win the Super Bowl this week; we're not going to do it today, we're not going to do it tomorrow, we're not going to do it on Sunday. So we need to prepare our best for this week against Chicago, be ready to go play a complete game.

Q: Shane Vereen was running pretty hard before the game on Monday. Are you close to making a determination with him?

A: As I stand right here today, no.

Q: Eli Manning, when he goes from a drive of 6 for 6 and a touchdown and he plays to some of the turnovers, do you want him to be himself and just be a little bit smarter with some of the decisions given the talent he has? How do you control...?

A: Turning the ball over, you don't ever want to turn the ball over making a poor decision. Does it happen? Yes. Now, missed throws, those are going to happen. You turn the ball over, you miss a throw, that's a part of the game. But decision making, we don't want to turn the ball over making poor decisions. We'll leave it at that.

Q: Is that how the second pick, the one to King, do you feel that was a poor decision?

A: Yeah, I'm not going to stand up here and grade the quarterback. I'm not going to do it.

Q: Is Roger Lewis going to see the same number of snaps that he was seeing before?

A: Roger will still get work but he needs to play better on special teams and play better on offense. We're still going to work him, he's going to learn from his mistakes and get better.

Q: How much did King earn himself more time with the way he played?

A: We'll see.

Q: You've had young players make mistakes and stuck with them, Adams, Apple. Is that something you've come to expect from young players?

A: It's like the Dow, it's development. It's not always going to go up. There are going to be ups and downs and you stick with them if they're working hard in practice and working to get better and they're learning. They're going to improve. It's not always going to improve. There'll be ups and downs in the process.

Q: How much do you feel it's beneficial to their development to make sure they're back out there the next game?

A: You have to show confidence in the players but obviously the more they play, the more they'll develop, the quicker they'll develop.

Q: You don't really have a doghouse, so to speak. Some of the coaches around the league might.

A: I don't have an answer for that.

Q: If Harris gets healthy, is he your punt returner and kick returner or do you like what Rainey did?

A: We have confidence in Rainey. He's done it before. Really, the series there at the end, to set up the last touchdown, he did a nice job fielding the punt. They missed a punt, he ended up going over and getting the ball to the 47-yard line. Did a nice job there. He'll be in the mix.