QB Eli Manning
Postgame vs. Saints
September 30, 2018
Q: How frustrating is this?
A: Tonight was a frustrating one. We got off to a good start and had a good drive. We were moving the ball and making plays on this team but we just weren’t able to do it. We got into some third and longs that we didn’t convert on. They had some good calls and some good plays. They weren’t going to give us anything deep. They took away all the deep stuff and made us go underneath. That was fine. We were going to just have to have some long drives and continue to play that way. There was a few times where they knocked us out of some good down and distance and we weren’t able to sustain some drives.
Q: When you have these negative plays and penalties early in downs, you want to stay conservative and trust your offense, but at the same time, do you have to be more aggressive and go for a pass on third and 12 or third and 15?
A: Yes. We threw the ball in those situations. We did a decent job. A couple of times, we had a penalty on first down and we were able to hit a screen or hit something underneath and got to third and manageable and were able to convert. Other times, certain times we had third and 12 and they had a good call. You call things expecting certain coverages or they just play so soft and you want to try and get it down the field. They take those things away and you have to make the decision to throw it underneath to someone or buy time and have someone scramble around and get open. It is just going into those situations and you just don’t want to be in those situations.
Q: Do you feel like this is a continuation of the last few years where this offense has struggled?
A: No. I think we have talent and we just have to put it all together.
Q: Is there an answer other than checking down like that when they play deep?
A: Yes. There are different ways, you just have to find completions. There are holes and it is just a matter of timing. The right plays and the right types of zones. Just mix in some three and some two. You just have to be patient some times and work the middle of the field and work underneath. Just get in some good down and distance. You just have to keep playing that way. There is also some opportunities to have some big plays also.
Q: What was the difference from the first drive to the rest of the game?
A: Obviously, the first drive was just nothing fancy. Ran the ball and threw it over the middle some. They were playing a lot of two, a little bit of three. We had completions. We had one incompletion on a throw away. It was that drive, no penalties, no sacks. We made plays. We weren’t able to do that enough during the course of the game. Obviously, had the turnover in the first half. We didn’t have the ball a ton in the first half, just some drives where we went backwards or had a sack.
Q: Anything that the Saints did that caught you off guard?
A: No, nothing off guard. They did a good job mixing up each week and doing different things. We had good plays and had opportunities. Sometimes they are going to have a good blitz or a good play. I thought we did a good job having answers and being patient when they played something a little different than we expected. We didn’t make mistakes in those situations, just kind of had to wait to hit a big one.
