Monday Media Transcript: Head Coach Pat Shurmur

Head Coach Pat Shurmur
August 13, 2018
 
Opening Remarks: Training Camp Monday. We’re going to get on a plane here this evening to go to Detroit, and then start working with them tomorrow for the week. With that, I’ll answer your questions. 
 
Q: With your experience within that division, what matchup of the Lions are you excited for your team to compete against? 
A:  I’m just looking forward to our guys to compete against new faces, new schemes. It kind of freshens things up. I’ve said this before, but Matt (Patricia) and I have organized these practices before, so we have kind of a set of guidelines that we want our guys to follow, but just looking forward to playing against new faces in a new scheme.   
 
Q:  Maybe you saw or heard what happened with the Jets and the Redskins yesterday, brawls can happen in these things. How do you protect against that?
A: We want our guys to be smart, we want our guys to compete, be smart, we want to stay off the ground, we want to eliminate all that chatter and just keep it encouraging. That’s part of being of being a pro is being able to practice not only with your team but with other teams, and so I understand competitive spirit. Those are two teams and that’s their experience. We’re going to try to guard against it.
 
Q:  Do you look at how your team acts the next few days as a reflection of you in a lot of ways? 
A: Well, I think it’s important that you need to learn how to compete and compete at a very high level, but I think it’s always important to keep your composure. Part of what makes these guys special is they really look forward to the physical part of what this game is all about, and every once in a while, things heat up. Really, we were going against one another today, and those were just squabbles. Those weren’t fights, just squabbles. 
 
Q:  What happened to Saquon on the long catch? I think he had his leg wrapped. 
A:  I don’t know. We’ll see. I think he’s alright, but we’ll find out.
 
Q:  Is there a lot of value in practicing against another team? Do you get things out of it you can’t get [here]?
A:  I think so. I think when we do training camp here, we really don’t change our environment like some years or some teams that go away. So this is a good event for us also to be a team away for a few days. There’s some esprit de corps to that, some bonding, so we’ll take advantage of that and then, again, it’s new players against a new scheme, we’ll just try to do what we can to make sure we get work and don’t have those flare ups.
 
Q: What’s your plan for Odell (Beckham) in that kind of setting? You said he didn’t play the other day because (he is coming off) of injury, so does that stretch into these practices too?
A: I’m just going to continue, I know it’s probably getting old for you to hear my answer, but I’m just going to try to be smart with Odell as he comes back. You see him out here and what he can do in practice, I just want to be smart in all conditions as we lead up to the season.
 
Q: Are you able to do more in a joint practice because there isn’t film that will get out to the rest of the league?
A: Well, it doesn’t get out to the rest of the league. That’s part of our internal mandates, we keep it amongst ourselves. We have a list of guidelines that we go by and so we’re not really worried about that. This is more about techniques and fundamentals than it is trying to, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, beat the Lions. We’re looking to try and get better, we’re looking for the Giants to get better, competing against another opponent. 
 
Q: You gave Davis (Webb) and Kyle (Lauletta) some first-team reps today. Is that just to let them get a feel for it?
A: I think so. We kind of backed off on Eli (Manning) just a little bit. He’s taken a few snaps in his lifetime, so that’s all that was. There’s a double-edged sword to that. By doing that, it allowed us to get those guys bumped up and get more reps, and that’s what we were trying to do. 
 
Q: How important is it to get Davis his first team reps here, even in the next couple days in that kind of setting? Is it something you feel like you need to do?
A: I think it’s important as the guys play, as backup players play in the first unit, it helps. I think it’s important as a quarterback, though, to complete your passes. It doesn’t matter who you’re playing with or who you’re playing behind. 
 
Q: Who’s running your defense at practice with James (Bettcher) not being here?
A: They’re doing it as a group. Each guy has their section of things, and then you saw that Lou Anarumo was calling in the plays.
 
Q: It looks like you got (Curtis) Riley and (William) Gay back the last couple of days. Even though they’re experienced veterans, does the sense of urgency pick up for them to get in these preseason games to show you what they can do?
A: I think regardless of how old you are as a player, if you’re on the 90, they all have a high sense of urgency, and I think the fact that our guys are fighting back from those nagging little injuries is a good thing, and we’re glad to have them back out there.
 
Q: It seems every year Mark Herzlich comes to training camp, we all wonder can he make the team? What does he bring to [this team]?
A: He’s a steady performer. He’s all in on everything that we do. He’s out here, he competes, every rep he gets, he goes a million miles an hour. Obviously what he’s been through in his life is somewhat of an inspiration to us, and he’s just a really good football player.
 
Q: You’ve got two running backs in Robert (Martin) and (Jalen) Simmons. What do you like about the way they’re competing?
A: Yeah. I think they’re good, physical runners, and that’s where it starts for them. They know how to run the football and we saw the other night that given a little room, they can make yards, so I think that’s where it starts for them. They’re both getting much better at pass protection, and I think they’re both doing a much better job of catching the football. So, their total game is getting better, but really for those guys, it starts as being runners.
 
Q: Would Thursday normally be a walk-thru if you were not with another team, and will you actually practice with them that day?
A: Yeah, it’s going to be two-third speed stuff. It’s not going to be (full speed). There’ll be some periods in there that might be full speed, but, again, our players are playing a partial game, and so I still think it’s important to remember we’re in training camp.