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Saturday Media Transcript: Head Coach Ben McAdoo

Eric from BBI : Admin : 8/5/2017 3:16 pm
Head Coach Ben McAdoo

August 5, 2017

It was a good day of practice today. Situational football was cranked up a little bit, the players responded. We had a nice day out there today.

Q: Did you learn anything about your team today?

A: Yeah, we finished about seven minutes ahead of schedule. The tempo was outstanding, we had good physicality in there, good intensity. A lot of tight work down there and when you’re playing down there tight – it’s a game of anticipation, can’t have any hesitation and we played with good speed on both sides of the ball. I thought it was a great day for special teams for us. We took a step in special teams. We had a competition – we split up some veteran guys, we split up the young guys. We kept score and they really competed their tail off today.

Q: Was this one of your better days of practice?

A: It’s one of our better days, yes.

Q: Did the time of practice include former defensive end Michael Strahan’s speech?

A: Strahan did a nice job. Yes, it does include his speech. But he talked about the love of the game; he talked about the pride in the Giants organization; about how his team, the team that he was on, is connected to the team that we have here today; what a special place this is; and don’t have any regrets and make sure you get everything you can out of camp and have no regrets moving forward.

Q: Are you starting to see the offense’s personalities come together?

A: That’s probably a good question for the players. We have a lot of guys still working with each other right now, working together, a lot of moving parts there. You’re starting to see some guys take some steps. But, we’ll know more as we go, I still think it’s a little bit early.

Q: How much does it help to have a guy like cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie out there having fun?

A: Yeah, DRC loves to work. He loves football, loves to practice, not just playing the games. He’s a competitor. You really heard him in the special teams drills out there today when they got going, they got cranked up, he was getting on guys. I think that’s great for us, we’re fortunate there.

Q: What did you see from tight end Evan Engram today?

A: I saw a young player who’s learning how to play the game the way we want it played down in the green zone. He’s a target down there, we all see that, we all see the skillset. The challenge for a guy like him is, you move him around, you ask a lot of him, play a lot of different spots. And he can think too much, you think too much playing that positon. And I asked him to go out there today and play with speed and we’ll detail it as we go and don’t look back. And he made some productive plays down there today.

Q: Was this Engram’s best day so far?

A: It was the first day down in the green zone and a guy like him, he’ll have an opportunity to get his hands on some balls down there.

Q: Do you think quarterback Geno Smith was decisive today in his decision making and throws?

A: That depends, every play is a new play. I think you have to take it on a play-by-play basis. It’s tough to group them all together and I don’t want to make any comments before I go watch the tape.

Q: Do you think Smith took a step forward today?

A: I did, I think he definitely is very accurate with the football. I think he’s still learning. This is one of the tougher days that we have mentally. Again, when you have a third down period and you have four periods down in the red and the green zone, things happen fast.

Q: Are you seeing the results of offensive linemen Bobby Hart and Ereck Flowers sticking around the facility during the offseason to work out?

A: Bobby and Ereck, they’re not twins, are they? Every time we talk about one, it seems we talk about the other. They’re two different people. Bobby had a nice day today, he’s bending well. He’s making progress in his technique and he had a couple runs today where he stretched the front side well, which was good to see. Ereck’s getting better with his punch in pass protection. He’s working on keeping his hips down and he’s making progress.

Q: How important is it to evaluate players, specifically Flowers, as a whole and not play by play?

A: Yeah, I think development takes time. And right now we’re developing a lot of players. But for a guy like Ereck, third down’s a big period for him. That’s where he needs a lot of work in pass protection and one-on-one versus defensive ends and he took a step today to get better on our third down period and he did a nice job. It’s about grading each play and maximizing each play out there and one play can’t lead to the next.

Q: Have you seen an improvement in offensive lineman D.J. Fluker from when he got here to now?

A: Yeah, he’s learning. When you come in, it’s tough to learn when a lot of guys in the room are new that he’s working with, so they’re learning together. He has a guy playing next to him with his hand on the ball, [Brett] Jones, who does a tremendous job communicating with him and that allows him to play faster. So, I just think a guy who’s able to play a little bit faster and let’s face it – he’s a guy that looks better with pads on, playing with pads on than he does just running around with a helmet.

Q: What does Brandon Marshall bring to the wide receiver room?

A: I think he’s a tremendous communicator. I found that out the first time I met with him, we had a nice conversation, we sat down one-on-one and talked about what we wanted to get out of this, on both sides. He’s a guy that speaks from the heart and he’s a tremendous communicator and I think that’s rubbing off on some guys in the room.

Q: What have you seen from tight end Will Tye and how much pressure does Evan Engram’s potential put on him?

A: Yeah, I mean, we’ve got a lot of guys on the offensive side who are on the bubble. The thing about being on the bubble is sometimes it takes your fears to bring out the best in you and that’s what we’re looking for in those guys. What are you going to do? Are you going to step up, or are you going to step back? All it is is an opportunity for him to get better.

good comments  
ColHowPepper : 8/6/2017 2:42 pm : link
from the HC, what he says is pithy, and doesn't say what he doesn't need to say at this point in time...puts reporters directly but not rudely in place (Hart and Flowers are different people).

Eric, I looked hard for links (interviews, videos, podcasts, etc.) on BBI and Giants.com to the Francessa interviews as camp got under way, and could not find them...particularly looking for those with Mac and Reese. Are they still posted on the site?

Many thanks
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