Quarterback Eli Manning
August 24, 2018
Postgame at Jets
Q: What did you think of the offense tonight, particularly in the red zone?
A: Yeah, I thought there were some good things. Obviously, took some shots down the field and hit a bunch of them, missed on a couple, but I thought there was definitely some good things. Obviously, we want to score more when we get into the red zone, get touchdowns down there, but I thought there were a lot of good things and (we) moved the ball pretty well.
Q: The deep throw, did you see right away that he (Cody Latimer) had his man beat by a good amount?
A: Yeah, play action and the safety jumped the over route on (Sterling) Shepard, jumped him, so had a chance, kind of one on one with the corner, Cody (Latimer) ran a good route. I probably could have put it out a little further and let him score a touchdown but he adjusted well to the ball and the line did a good job, they (the defense) brought a safety blitz and they picked it up and we had time to get down the field.
Q: When you look at that, it’s a 54-yard gain, that’s what you’re looking for, you said you think with a little more air it could have been a touchdown?
A: Possibly, it’s one high, you’re kind of thinking you’re going to throw the over route, the safety jumps, so you have to react and throw it out there. You can always make a little better throw but I put it in a spot for him to make a play and big gain, so you take those. Unfortunately, we had the fumble the next play so we didn’t get any points out of it.
Q: Normally by this point in the preseason you probably have a pretty good grip of what the offense is going to look like as you go into the regular season. You haven’t had Odell (Beckham) at all, Saquon (Barkley) has been very limited, do you just have to project what they’ll look like out there or how do you handle that?
A: Well, that comes from practice. Obviously, it comes from practice. Odell has been full go these last few weeks and I also have four years with him as well, so, we’ll be fine. Saquon, he’s been sharp, he’s been good. Obviously, you want him to get some reps in preseason, I think he’s back healthy enough now to get back in practice this week, which will be good, it’ll be good for him. Just kind of get everything rolling and start getting prepared, I don’t know what the plan is for this next preseason game but obviously our mindset is to start getting ready for that opening game.
Q: I know you usually like to leave it up to the coach, but if you don’t play any more preseason snaps, do you think you’re good to go on September 9th?
A: Yeah, I thought it was good tonight to get out there and get a full half of playing with the new offense. It’s just little things, hearing the calls, getting used to running the offense with the new offense and new things and the play clock and everything going. So, I’m good either way, whatever he (Coach Shurmur) wants to do, we have to get better this week though, still have practice this week. Still get to practice this week and maybe play but still have some things I want to work on and get better this week.
Q: Did you like how much he has you moving?
A: Yeah, I think it’s good to move in the pocket, it’s got to help the run game. Got out a few times and got some completions, hit an over route to Sterling (Shepard), play action was good tonight, we made a few plays off of that.
Q:Is there anything particularly that you want to work on in practice this week? You’ll have Odell (Beckham) and Saquon (Barkley) will be back.
A: Just to continue to learn within the offense. Getting on the same timing with not just those two guys but with all the guys. Have everybody in there, get some reps with everybody so you’re prepared for all of them, you’re on the same page with certain routes. We’ll see what’s in the game plan, what’s getting called, and we’ll know what we can work on.
Q: How important is it to keep Saquon (Barkley) engaged on the sidelines?
A: That’s something he’s got to do and hopefully he knows the plays and knows what’s going on. I think he’s done a good job staying in there and asking questions about what the play was or what the call was, the coverage, and different things. I think he’s been good these past few weeks, even though he hasn’t been practicing, of knowing what’s going on and being sharp in his assignment still. Hopefully this week he’ll get back out there and be ready to go.
Q: If this was the final tune up, are you satisfied with where you are?
A: I thought there were some good things and things to improve on. We still have this whole week of practice to work on things, that’s where you’re going to get the majority of your reps, all the practices. Yeah, we should be ready to go.
