QB Eli Manning
Postgame vs. Lions, September 18, 2017
Q: On the 4th and 3 in the fourth quarter, what were the options you saw and what prevented you from picking up the first down?
A: Fourth and three and had a play, I tried to get to [running back] Shane [Vereen], a little flat route. The nickel was out there, I tried to put it on him. I was hoping he had the depth, the [defender] made a good play. They had a good call for the play. I thought it would be enough for the first and obviously the guy made a good tackle and we weren’t able to get it.
Q: How worried are you about the offense?
A: Well. We’ve got to score more. Not going in the right direction enough, going backwards, not converting on third downs enough. Got down there close on the one-yard line and then get a penalty and get a delay of game at the end. So, just not executing enough on third downs in the green zone, some critical moments.
Q: What happened with the delay of game?
A: I’ve got to call a timeout or get it snapped. Anytime there’s a delay of game, it’s on the quarterback and can’t afford it right there.
Q: What went right on the touchdown pass to tight end Evan Engram?
A: Had a good play call, had some play action. I think they may have screwed up the coverage anyway. But they sucked up on the play action, was able to get him up the middle. Had another play action later on, hit [wide receiver] Brandon [Marshall]. I thought he might score when that got down to the one and then from there, we went backwards and the penalty that hurt us. But there was some good things, we moved the ball better. I thought we played better than we did last week. Just obviously, the turnover hurt us and just not converting on third down enough.
Q: What happened on your interception?
A: Can’t afford it. The ball was a little behind Evan. So, we’ve got to look at it and I’ve got it put it in front of him and give him a chance to run, or move on to my next progression.
Q: Do you think you had more opportunities to throw downfield this week as compared to last week?
A: Well, we probably had more plays this week, last week we didn’t have the ball much. I thought we did some decent things in the pass game. Had some opportunities to get some guys down the field a little bit. Threw some shots down the field we didn’t connect on, so we’ve got to start hitting on some of our shots.
Q: On the delay of game, was the play late coming in from the coaches?
A: No. Anytime there’s fourth down right there, you know they’ve got to make a decision on what’s going on. But we had plenty of time. I saw the clock, knew we were rushing. I’ve got to take a timeout there or get the ball snapped and let’s go.
Q: In what ways do you think that the offense can improve?
A: Well, we’ve just got to figure out what’s our best personnel, what’s our best style, how we’re going to be able to move the ball. Stay in good down and distance, having to convert on third down and what’s going to be our best style of being able to get the ball downfield at times. Just keep working and get better. It’s not about changing a whole lot, it’s about improving on the things we’re doing.
Q: Do you need more of an identity as an offense?
A: No. I think it’s always down to execution. We’ve got to execute better and we’ve got to covert on some things. We’ve got to find some completions at times and move in the pocket, buy some time. Just perform at a higher level.
Q: How did wide receiver Odell Beckham, Jr. look to you tonight?
A: I thought he moved around well, made some nice plays. It would be good to get him back more and more, get him back at practice, but I thought it was a good start.
Q: Are there a lot of plays getting blown up in your face because of a lack of time?
A: You know, they’re a good front four. Some of the best players on their defense [are on] their front four, so we knew we were going to have to get the ball out quickly at times. They were playing some coverage where I thought I was going to have some chances to get the ball downfield and I knew I was going to have to buy some time, move around a little bit on those plays and just didn’t have the opportunity on some.
Q: How do you feel about the way you’ve played the last two games?
A: Well, I can play better. So, I’ve go to find ways to play better and get some completions, convert on third down. That’s a quarterback’s job. He’s got to find ways to move the offense and move the ball and score touchdowns. So, we’re not doing that enough.
Q: How does the offense giving left tackle Ereck Flowers more help on that side change the offense?
A: That’s part of it. You’re going to have plays to help out your tackles when you’re going up against a good player and that’s something a lot of teams do and you’ve got to do to help those guys out. Got the back to chip, got the tight end to chip a little bit. But we should be able to run the offense the same that way.
Q: How do you feel about your ability to play as well as you have in past years?
A: I feel I can play at a high level, I feel I can make all the throws and play at a high level and lead this team.
Q: Why do you think this team can work things out?
A: Well, I think we’ve got good character guys on the team, it’s important to them. Guys are going to stick together and keep working. The defense is playing tough and playing good defense. The offense has got to do our part. We’ve got to make the plays and we’ve got to handle our part of the equation to fix this.
Q: Did you sense that Flowers was struggling with his confidence throughout the game?
A: No. I think he’s out there competing like everybody. This isn’t one person, this is a team, this is an offense that all of us have to perform at a higher level
