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Thursday Media Transcript: Head Coach Pat Shurmur

Eric from BBI : Admin : 7/25/2019 3:06 pm
Head Coach Pat Shumur -- July 25, 2019

Opening Statement: First day of practice. We’ve been through all of the pre-stuff. I think the run yesterday, the guys all handled it well. They’re in good shape. I look forward to getting going. Alex Wesley is on PUP. And then you guys all saw that Kamrin Moore is on the Commissioner’s [Exempt] List. A couple other changes as we go through. I think the important thing to remember on some of the changes we make is that we’re always trying to spin the back part of the roster to get a look at people. I think that’s philosophically what we’re going to do as we go through it. From time to time, there will be a roster change. It’ll be just to make sure we’re doing a good job of kicking the tires on guys that potentially might have a chance to make our team. With that, I’ll take your questions.

Q: Pat, did you talk to Kam [Moore], and what can you share about that?
A: I really can’t share much. Obviously, they are very serious allegations. He’s on the Commissioner’s [Exempt] List. That’s designed so that they can go through the process. That’s all I’ll share.

Q: How are you going to handle that going forward?
A: There’s nothing to handle. He’s on the Commissioner’s [Exempt] List. That’s it.

Q: What are these first few days about in terms of the evaluation? What are you looking for?
A: It’s really a continuation. You go back to the first installs, certainly. But the first installs have the flavor of the whole offseason worked into them. It’s a continuation of the spring, and you get ready to play this first game here in two weeks. It’s a process for all of the players. But it’s also a process physically and mentally, getting the guys into the kind of shape they need to get into to play a season.

Q: On Day One with Daniel Jones, do you look at it as Day One of building him up, or do you kind of throw him into the fire and see how he does with what he’s learned?
A: We’re going to try to have him continue with what he’s learned. I think the rookie camp was a continuation of what he learned in the spring. Each day he’ll build on that knowledge. It’s full steam ahead with him.

Q: There was something written that you’re going to bring Eli [Manning] along slowly. Is that true? Or will he get the same number of reps as always?
A: I didn’t say that. Again, I don’t read it all. That would be news to me.

Q: Your players have a shirt with a slogan on the back, “All Ball.” Is that your creation?
A: No, actually I guess that’s been a little bit of a tradition here at the Giants. Pat Hanlon, actually. I think it can mean different things to different people. I talk all the time that it’s all about the ball. It’s also about ‘let’s keep the focus on playing football.’ Each player may have a little different interpretation of what that is. But it’s kind of nice when we all get a new t-shirt.

Q: That has to run through you at some point, right?
A: Yeah, I okayed it.

Q: How excited are you to get your starting offensive line? Because [Mike] Remmers and [Nate] Solder couldn’t do much in the spring. For a unit that means so much to the offense, how anxious are you to get those five guys on the field together?
A: Yeah, good point. I think Remmers and Solder are pros, so they know how to get themselves ready to go. Remmers looks as good as he’s looked. Again, I was with him in Minnesota, so he’s excited to get going. I think the important thing for guys that are coming back from injury, and we talked about this last year with a few guys that were coming back from injury, is to give them the work they need, but then ramp them up. I think that’s what you’re going to see. We’ve had some young players that are developing in that group that have a chance to play this year. So you’ll see them in there as well. The good news is, you’ll be able to see it first-hand. At some point, when we can get them all together, playing together, we need to do that. But we’re all aware of the fact that there’s going to be backups in there, or guys that are significant role players. You like to have guys out there playing when they have to play that have played. I think that’s a good thing.

Q: How do you look at that right tackle spot entering camp?
A: We’re going to try to play the best player. That’s how we’re really going to approach every spot.

Q: Is it Remmers’ job to lose?
A: I think we’re going to put the best player [out there]. You’ll see [Remmers] with the first team. But again, we’re going to play the best player.

Q: When you look at the defense, they have a lot of new faces. Given all of the new faces, were you surprised with how they looked in the spring? It looked like they kind of came together quickly.
A: Yeah, I think so. Some of the new faces are veteran players that we feel are pros. They took to things quickly because they’re used to learning and they’ve been in systems, so it made sense to them. Then we have some younger players, rookies, that played a year ago and played a lot of football. They got more experience then maybe some guys at certain positions. I wasn’t surprised that they came together. Now it’s a matter of doing it here in camp and doing it on Sunday.

Q: How much work does Saquon [Barkley] need this summer in training camp, practices, preseason games, compared to where he was last year, and how do you want to budget him a little bit for the regular season?
A: Good point. I think Saquon needs to get his work like every player. We’ll just gauge it as we go here. But he’s in tremendous shape. He looks really good. He’s had a great offseason in terms of training. I think he’s ready to go. We’ll try to get him ready, just like we will with all of the other players.

Q: Was there a point [last year] that Saquon impressed you even more in the locker room with his leadership and his consistency throughout the year?
A: Yeah, I think the more you’re around him, you see, and we’ve said it, I think he’s got a generational spirit, and it shows up on game days. It shows up in the locker room. It shows up behind the scenes. He leads by example. But he’s also willing to say things that are important to him. I think as he becomes more veteran in this league, if he keeps the mindset, you know he’s a second-year player but come in with that rookie mindset of trying to learn and get better, then he’ll continue to have a great career.

Q: Are you comfortable with your depth at safety? Will Julian Love get a look there?
A: He will. He’ll get some looks there. Yeah, we’re comfortable with the depth. We’re comfortable with the players we have on the roster. Not to say that we won’t, as I mentioned, spin the back of the roster a little bit at all positions. But yeah, we’re comfortable.

Q: Is there a competition at every position, including the quarterback position?
A: I think organically a coach likes to say that. When you look at a roster, everybody is going to attempt to pencil in who will start. I think what you want on the field is a competitive spirit, where each guy is trying to get better each day. Then trust that we’re going to play the best players. That’s the approach.

Q: What’s the hardest part for a young quarterback at this stage of training camp?
A: A lot is made of the speed of the game, and how things happen quicker. I think the one thing that’s different about the pro game as opposed to the college game, and I learned this from a couple of the young quarterbacks, in college sometimes you look out and everyone is open. You get used to a lot of success. There are times in the pro game when you look out and there may be only one, or none, of them are open. What do you do then? I think because the defenses fight back really hard in this league, that’s a little bit for the quarterback to get used to.

Q: You guys made a pretty big investment in Sterling [Shepard] this offseason. Where do you see him elevating his game? Can he be a number one receiver in the NFL? Obviously, he’s been a number two here for a while.
A: Sure, I think he can be. Sterling is a football player, and we appreciate his toughness and his ability to make plays, and all the things he adds to the team. He’s a value-added guy in my mind. He plays his position, but he makes the people around him better. I think that’s what all the players should strive to do.

Q: With Saquon, is there anything that says you want to keep him limited to a certain number of carries, touches, anything like that? Are you okay with him touching the ball 300+ times?
A: Well, we’ll see what it takes to win football games. Certainly, we’ll want to try to do the best thing. I think we’ll all agree, it makes sense for him to touch the ball. As we go along, we also need to spread the ball around, whether we’re throwing it to him or handing it to him, subbing him [out] at times. We did sub him [out] last year at times, and we’ll continue to do that.

Q: Is there a threshold, though, for him personally?
A: Yeah, I get it, because there’s this season and then beyond. We’re always aware of all of that. We try to be smart with it, and do everything we possibly can to win games. But player safety is important as well.

Q: Down the stretch last year, Evan [Engram] really established himself in the offense. In the spring, you guys held him back a little bit. Where do you see his game, his fit, and what do you expect from him this season?
A: I think year two in our system… I’ve got a better feel for who he is as a player. I think the same can be said for a lot of our players on offense. Once we sort of solidified what our 2018 version of our o-line was, you could see what more of the skilled players could do. He’s a very dynamic pass receiver. He can make plays down the field. He improved his blocking in my view. We hope he continues to improve in all of those areas… [Tight ends] are important to the offense. A guy that can make plays and be dynamic like Evan can be… in some ways, he has some traits of a wide out. That’s challenging for a defense.
As I’ve previously stated ad nauseam,  
Big Blue '56 : 7/25/2019 4:10 pm : link
I rarely read these predictable transcripts as I learn zero from them as a rule. I do however, often check the HC comments for injuries as I never go on twitter.

That said, this was a surprisingly decent interview (yes, with the usual coachspeak). Might have to check in on this guy more often. 😎
Shurmur gets that context matters...  
Milton : 7/25/2019 5:11 pm : link
Quote:
Q: Are you comfortable with your depth at safety? Will Julian Love get a look there?
A: He will. He’ll get some looks there. Yeah, we’re comfortable with the depth. We’re comfortable with the players we have on the roster. Not to say that we won’t, as I mentioned, spin the back of the roster a little bit at all positions. But yeah, we’re comfortable.
Coughlin hated the word comfortable. Never liked to use it and always corrected a reporter every time he asked of it.
Agree BB. I had the same thought as I read the transcript.  
RDJR : 7/25/2019 5:29 pm : link
PS was thoughtful in his answers today. Not a lot of coachspeak.
Hoping  
Lines of Scrimmage : 7/25/2019 5:42 pm : link
that Coach can get this team to average 25 pts plus per game while winning TOP. I think he is a really good offensive mind. Hoping they come out of camp with some quality depth for the OL.

Most coaches give quality thoughts when they are asked good questions. If they are losing then the questions seem to be for creating controversy and they become defensive and agitated and the interviews are crap imo.
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