Wednesday Media Transcript: Quarterback Eli Manning

Quarterback Eli Manning

September 13, 2017

Q: What’s the message this week in terms of bouncing back and getting the offense going?

A: We just have to execute. Execute a little bit better. Just convert on some third downs, get into a rhythm early, so that’ll be the key.

Q: Are you worried about this offense?

A: No. First game. Guys were playing fast, got some good guys out there, some new bodies. So, we’ll bounce back. We’ll be fine. We just have to slow down, everybody take a breath and just run the plays the way we’ve been running them all spring and all summer.

Q: Do you think this offensive line can protect you the way you would like them to?

A: Yeah. Offensive line – they’re going to do their job, so everybody just needs to step up their game a little bit and, again, we don’t have to go recreate anything. We just have to execute, play better football.

Q: Is it harder with the rules of engagement practice-wise with the new CBA for offensive lines to get cohesive?

A: It’s tough to say. I think the good thing about our offensive line is these guys have been together for, now, three or four years – a majority of them. Same offense. They should be on the same page. Should be able to go out there and play fast and be positive with what we’re doing.

Q: When teams play zone against you guys and take away the top, what do you have to do to attack them?

A: People play zone. That’s part of football. It’s just a matter of, you know, we called some shots the other day. We just didn’t quite get the looks we wanted to. We didn’t have the ball long enough. We didn’t convert on third downs. That wasn’t the problem. They were taking advantage it. We weren’t stuck in third-and-10s and 12s, it was third-and-fours and fives. We have to convert on those and give us more opportunities to run our full offense.

Q: Did you think there were opportunities to take shots down field on some third downs?

A: We just didn’t have enough opportunities. First two possessions were three-and-outs. You don’t have many possessions in the first half. Second half, we had a good drive to start it and go down there and got a sack that kept us from getting in the endzone there. We just have to do a better job staying on the field.

Q: Did the Cowboys throw something you weren’t anticipating on third down?

A: Defense is always going to change things up. We had answers. We had answers to get the first downs, to make plays. Every third down, every play – it’s its own play. It’s its own reason why it works or doesn’t work. All 11 guys have to execute. All 11 guys have to do their job. Some of it, we had to maybe get to our second, third receiver in progression and just was taking a little bit longer than we anticipated.

Q: How much are the multiple fronts that the Lions use a concern?

A: They do a good job I think defensively mixing up their coverages, mixing up the different looks. Arizona – they’re pretty multiple as well. So, they showed a lot of different looks as well. So, we have to look at it, but they’re a good defense. I think they do a good job of playing kind of every coverage you can imagine and mixing up how they’re doing it. So, we have to be prepared and be ready for everything they throw at us.

Q: What do you have to do if you don’t need to recreate anything?

A: Just execute. Just play the way that we can play, the way we know how to execute and we should be fine.

Q: Do you communicate to the younger players that you can turn a season around quickly?

A: Yes – turn around quickly. Again, it’s not how you start. It’s how you finish in the NFL and I think that’s an important lesson. We can hopefully only get better from that first game and that’s the mindset. Just have a great week of practice, preparation, go out there, play confident in what we’re doing.

Q: You speak from experience since you’ve started slow and finished strong in the past.

A: There’s 16 other teams who are 0-1 right now, so everybody had to lose that first game. We just have to bounce back.

Q: Do you feel the need to say to the team that we have to take a deep breath?

A: Yeah. In the first game, we didn’t do well. It’s part of losing a game. You’re going to analyze and you can’t get too sensitive after the first game. You’re going to get coached up and there’s things we can clean up, for sure, but you can’t get defensive, can’t get sensitive. You just have to be confident in what you’re doing, understand what you need to fix and then go play fast.

Q: Are you sitting here saying it can’t get any worse?

A: (smiling) It can always get worse. It can always get worse. So, I won’t say that, but hopefully it can get a lot better though.

Q: There is a string of games where you haven’t scored more than 20 points. Are their commonalities in that trend?

A: Well, I think you take it season-by-season. I don’t think you convert back to last year. It’s a new year, new team and we have to score more points than we did last week.

Q: What would it mean to have WR Odell Beckham Jr.?

A: There’s no hiding the fact he’s a playmaker. Our best player. It’s pretty obvious. I think everybody knows that. It’s different when he’s on the field, but on there or not, we have to play better than what we did and we can and we will.

Q: How do you approach this week in regards to WR Odell Beckham Jr. playing or not?

A: We’ll see tomorrow if he’s out there practicing some and just take it day by day and see what’s going on. I’m not sure.

Q: Does the film look worse than what you thought?

A: It wasn’t all bad. A lot of it’s just a few plays. I think the first two possessions, it’s those third down plays. It’s not mistakes. It’s not guys running wrong routes. It’s just, they were able to get a little pressure and things can be cleaned up in there and in between some things. It’s just they played better than we did on those plays and we couldn’t stay on the field.

Q: Did you see signs of plays were you could do better in terms of rushing?

A: Yeah. I thought we were getting positive yardage in the run game and that’s what you have to do. You have to get those four and five yards. We need more attempts, but that comes from converting on third downs and we just didn’t have the ball very much. We didn’t have many plays in the game, so we have to hold on to it. Got down early. I feel we should be able to run the ball better.

Q: How different does a defense play you guys when WR Odell Beckham Jr. is not available?

A: He’s only been not available only a few times, so I don’t know if that was a difference in how Dallas played us or not. Besides maybe doubling him on certain third downs or certain situations, it’s probably not a whole lot different than what they may normally do.

Q: Did they double team WR Brandon Marshall more?

A: It wasn’t a whole lot of doubling. They played, maybe played a little bit more shell defense or two-high a little bit more on some third downs. Then, played some quarters – hadn’t seen a Rod Marinelli coaching staff ever do. They had some new things, but again, it’s not stuff that’s a ‘take you out of running your offense.’ That’s why you have progressions and guys in your routes that can be – whatever they throw out there, you should have an answer.

Q: Did you see more opportunities for WR Brandon Marshall when you watched the film?

A: Yeah. We had a couple opportunities to get him the ball. Just couldn’t connect on a couple of those plays.

Q: Do you have full confidence in this offense?

A: Yeah. I have confidence in the offense. Again, just have to – I think you convert a few third downs and get into a rhythm earlier. It’s a different game. You go three-and-out the first two possessions – everybody gets a little tense.

Q: Is the pressure starting to creep into your head at all?

A: No. I think you have to drop back and make your reads and I thought I did a good job moving in the pocket, buying time, not getting too quick with my reads or anything.

Q: Do you feel like this is within your ability to change things up?

A: You give credit to the team. They played well. We definitely hurt ourselves in some things as well.

Q: Talk about saying you need to lead this team better.

A: I have to play better. I think there were some opportunities to make some plays, to get some things going, get into a rhythm and I can make some better decisions on some things. So, I can do my part to help us out, get things going. You have new players. When the guys get off to a slow start, that’s when the leader has to step up and do their part.

Q: How does it feel that the franchise is celebrating a Super Bowl from 10 years ago that you played in and does that get in your head?

A: No. Obviously, I know it’s going on. I’m not really going to be part of the festivities going on all week. My mindset is on Detroit and on getting a win right now and I’ll be there for the 25th anniversary. I don’t think I’ll be playing for that long.

Q: Would the 2007 Super Bowl team expect any less from you not being a part of the festivities on game week?

A: Yeah. Those guys – they know. You get a few people, but the players, no I don’t think they really expect me to be at the events going on.

Q: So, you expect to play 14 more years?

A: Maybe. Maximum. Max.

Q: Is there anything on field at half time to honor the 10th anniversary of the 2007 Super Bowl that you will take part in?

A: No. No. I’ll be getting adjustments.

Q: Do you feel the need to say anything to the offensive line and send a message since they’re taking a public beating?

A: You’re always talking with your offensive line. Those guys are good guys. They’re good players and they’ll be fine.

Q: Do you think the offensive line senses that you know they’ll be fine?

A: They know I have their back and we’ll be alright.

Q: Talk about your need to step up.

A: It’s on everybody. Everybody has their job. Everybody has their responsibility. In football, you can control what you can control. There are some things that are out of your control, but you have to worry about the plays that are there to be made that you can better make the plays and you have to do it.

Q: How did you process being on the field Sunday when WR Odell Beckham Jr. is getting ready and do you separate yourself from the fact that he may not play?

A: No. In my mind, I didn’t think he was playing. When you see him kind of warming up and catching passes, the guy hadn’t practiced in three weeks. I never thought it was a reality of him playing and just if he would have come out there, it might have been limited in certain things. Felt good about the plan and the guys that had been practicing all week and knew where they were going to be and how it was going to go. I didn’t think he was going to play in the game.

Q: Was it better to keep WR Odell Beckham Jr. out to get him better for the rest of the season?

A: There’s definitely a part of that. You don’t want him having something lingering for 16-17 weeks or longer and said, ‘hey, get it right’ and we dealt with it a little his rookie year with his hamstring and kind of make sure you get right the first time. Be at your best.

Q: Do you ever sit down and look at your linemen and point fingers because if you don’t get protection you’ll get hurt?

A: No. I haven’t done that.