Head Coach Pat Shurmur
August 15, 2018
Joint Practice with Detroit
Opening Remarks: Alright, day two here. Competitive. You could tell the guys were grinding through that, but again, we didn’t have any injuries to speak of, a couple nagging things I’m sure, but for the most part I was proud of the professionalism that our guys showed. It gets a little chippy sometimes. Detroit did a great job and I think because we set the ground rules for this thing at least until this point, really both teams have gotten a lot of really good work. I think that’s part of being a pro, is being able to do things in different settings and get a lot out of it. With that, I’ll take your questions.
Q: What do you think of the training camp Janoris Jenkins has had?
A: I don’t know about the training camp, but I think he’s competed well. He’s an outstanding football player and he’s so competitive. It’s hard for him not to become one of your favorite guys because he’s tough, he’s competitive, he loves to compete, and I just think he’s a really good player.
Q: It seems like he was barely targeted in these two days. How much of an impact does having your corner kind of just lock down like that (have)?
A: I wouldn’t read too much into that in practice. Those matchups, who gets thrown at and who doesn’t get thrown at, that happens more in games. He’s on the left side of the offense most of the time, and sometimes offenses become right-handed. I would guess that Detroit wasn’t working matchups, they were working schemes and trying to see what their players could do.
Q: From our perspective, a lot of passes were caught against Eli Apple, and then he makes an interception here today. What do you take from that?
A: Again, I think it’s competitive. There’s times when you compete all the way to the end, and when you’re competing and you’re out there one on one, every once in a while you’re going to give up a play. But for him to make a game-changing play like he did in a most critical situation is good.
Q: How valuable was it to see a guy like Odell (Beckham) go up against Darius Slay, who’s an all-pro? Kind of two of the greats on the field together.
A: Again, I think they approach their work the right way. You’re right – Darius is an outstanding player. I got to see him way too much the last few years, and for him and Odell to be able to compete against one another, it says a lot about their makeup.
Q: What goes into your decision to have injured players still out there in uniform watching and staying around the team? Not every team does that.
A: I think what’s important about practice is we talk often about mental reps, and just because you don’t get the rep doesn’t mean you’re not responsible for seeing what happened and try to visualize what you’d do if you were out there, so there’s plenty time in a day. As long as they can defend themselves and it’s not a lower leg injury of some sort or something where they need immediate attention, I think it’s important for them to be out there.
Q: How far do those guys fall behind, some of the guys who haven’t been out there for a week or so in actual practices?
A: Well, it’s always better to be there. To varying degrees, I would imagine, if you’re not there. But guys that are there, whether they’re playing or not, they’re having a chance to improve.
Q: How close are Donte Deayon and Darian Thompson to getting back on the field?
A: I’m loving saying this to you - day to day. I don’t know.
Q: Are they making progress?
A: Oh yeah, they’re making progress. For sure.
Q: Because Deayon, it’s kind of been almost two weeks.
A: Again, it’s hard to say. That’s a line now – it’s hard to say, but he’s day to day.
Q: You put Davis (Webb) into the two-minute drill with the starters. (Inaudible – maybe, What are the benefits of that?)
A: He did some good things in that drill, and there’s a lot to be learned from those uncontrolled settings. Matt (Patricia) and I both – (Matthew) Stafford didn’t do it, and Eli (Manning) didn’t do it – we were both trying to use this opportunity for our backups to get reps.
Q: At the start of practice before stretching, Saquon (Barkley) was standing there on his bad leg dribbling a soccer ball. Are you confident it’s a minor injury? The way he’s acting, he does not look worried, but can you say it’s minor?
A: I didn’t see that. I didn’t see what you’re saying. He’s day to day, and he’s working his way back. He tweaked it, and yeah, I’m confident he’ll be back.
Q: Some of the bigger picture questions – how much input do you have on the defense? Obviously you’re an offensive guy, but how much input do you have on that day to day?
A: I’m involved. I watch it and I have ideas about how we should approach things and whether we’re playing man or zone or pressuring, so I have those conversations with James (Bettcher). I do trust the coordinators, though. I really do. I trust James, I trust Mike (Shula). Mike called all the stuff while we were here so I could kind of keep a top-down view of things, and I trust our guys. I have input as to how I see things, but I trust them to implement what we want to do.
Q: What will you do tomorrow?
A: We’re going to come in tomorrow. It (won’t be) very competitive, but we’re just going to work together and it’ll be a practice setting where we just kind of work through situations.
Q: Back to Davis (Webb) for a second. You didn’t see it much today, but when he’s missed yesterday or even in a preseason game, it’s usually been high. Is there anything you’re working on with him? I know you were a quarterback coach. Is there something other than being amped that you’re working on him with in that regard?
A: Yeah, there’s fundamentals tied to throwing the ball high and we keep working on correcting them.
Q: When was the last time you had your mom present for practice?
A: It’s been a long time, but she showed up today, which was nice. She only lives a couple miles away. She lives out in Canton now, and my brother’s here. My sister lives in Chicago so she won’t be here for practice, but yeah, my brother’s here and my mom, so it was good to see them.
