Thursday Media Transcript: Head Coach Pat Shurmur

Head Coach Pat Shurmur -- August 1, 2019

Q: At the end of yesterday’s presser, you talked about Daniel’s (Jones) balance of being aggressive… what is the balance like? Obviously, it’s practice, an interception doesn’t really matter. For a young quarterback, how do you balance that?
A: There are certain things. You want the players to be aggressive in everything that they do, but they also need to be smart. That’s a fine line sometimes for a quarterback. But this is where you see what you can get away with a little bit and how your receivers function down the field. It’s practice. You try things and you do things. There are tight window throws. I’ve said it before. In fact, we were joking about it with the quarterbacks. Defenses push back in the NFL, and they do things to try to take things away. You’ve got to continually try to stay aggressive, but also be smart and take care of the ball.

Q: What did you think of the two-minute drive yesterday?
A: Which one?

Q: Daniel’s.
A: Oh Daniel’s. Yeah, I thought he did a good job. He got us into the end zone, and that’s what you’re looking for. Within the drive, he did some good things playing quarterback. He obviously made some good, strong throws, and Zo (Alonzo Russell) made a nice catch at the end there.

Q: You guys go good-on-good a lot more than maybe some other camps around the league. Is that philosophy for your defense pushing back and trying to get your ones ready for that type of challenge. Is that kind of reasoning behind that?
A: I couldn’t tell you what other teams do. I’ve been other places where you went ones on twos, twos on ones. I just think the competition of ones on ones is important, as long as you’re competing and you’re being smart. There are other settings where we will do ones on twos. But I like going ones on ones.

Q: With Daniel, he’s had a bunch of passes batted down at the line.
A: I wouldn’t say a bunch. But anyway, go ahead.

Q: Is that something that takes a little bit of getting used to? It’s a different level of competition, moving around in the pocket. What do you think when quarterbacks get passes batted down at the line?
A: It depends. Each pass that gets batted is for different reasons. There are times when you’re throwing it through the interior of the defense where a guy that’s being blocked will just reach up. There’s nothing really you can do about that at times. Some defenders are instinctive at doing that. Then there are other times when you try to throw it in the flat, or you have an RPO (run-pass option) like he had where an (defensive) end will block the ball. It would depend. I don’t see a trend there. Obviously, with quarterbacks, you need to be able to throw in lanes. Every once in a while, it happens.

Q: Obviously, you guys go over everything in meetings, offensive and defensive script. How much do you hold back and keep until practice, maybe surprise either side of the ball with a particular play call or something that you want to test out?
A: We try to make both sides know. We’re out here walking through things we’re going to do (this afternoon). But I would say Mike (Shula) and (James) Bettch(er) are competitive. Every once in a while, they stick it to each other.

Q: You guys threw the ball to Sterling (Shepard) yesterday. Was that miscommunication by Eli, or were you trying to catch the defense by surprise? Because he had the yellow jersey on.
A: No. Winning in practice and doing something stupid is not what we want to do. Eli just reacted and threw it to him, and Shep caught it.

Q: What’s been your impression of DeAndre Baker since the pads were put on?
A: He’s done a good job. I think he’s like all of our rookies. I see steady improvement. Within a practice, you’ll see a screw up or two. But you’ll also see him make plays and be consistent with his play. We’re pleased with the direction he’s going in.

Q: When Sam Beal is out there, can you tell that he’s a guy that’s been around for a year, that he has that experience under his belt?
A: I don’t know. He hasn’t been out there a ton. He’s wrestling with his hamstring and all. But his movement skills are good. He’s able to move around. He hasn’t really been able to get involved with the physical part of practice yet. But he does move around really well.

Q: When you look at Jon Halapio, is he working his way back to where he was last year? Or is he already there?
A: I think they’re all working their way back. You know, I need to get a team of 53 guys ready to play against Dallas. That’s where we’re at. He’s one of those guys.

Q: Do you have any injury update on B.J. Goodson?
A: Yeah. Early in practice, (he hurt his) hamstring a little bit. It’s not terrible. We’ll see. He’ll be back soon.

Q: A lot has been written about Eli Manning seeing a strength coach in the offseason. Have you noticed his velocity has picked up a little bit so far?
A: I’ve noticed he’s throwing the ball well, and he has been really through the spring and now through the first part of training camp. Again, you’ve watched Eli for many years. I only saw him for a year. I thought he threw the ball well a year ago. But I think he’s throwing the ball well now.

Q: A lot is made about year two (in the offense) mentally. But do you think even physically, he knows the throws and what’s asked of him in the offense? Does he seem more comfortable, that type of thing?
A: I think he’s more comfortable with the progressions, more comfortable with the guys he’s throwing to. When a quarterback has that type of comfort, the ball tends to come out just a little bit quicker. That’s more of what I see. But I think he’s throwing the ball sharp. To your point, I think with short, intermediate and long (passes), I think he’s been throwing the ball pretty well. If I could finish up the answer from earlier, he probably is a little sharper than a year ago, I would say. Just in comparison.

Q: With the velocity, do you think that’s been a little better? He seems to have a little bit more zip. Have you noticed that at all, or does it look basically the same (as last year)?
A: I would say, yeah, I guess maybe a little bit. I’ve always thought he’s thrown the ball pretty well. I was not surprised by what he did a year ago.

Q: What are some of the things you’ve seen from Will Hernandez? What he’s gone through, his season and what he learned last year.
A: What we asked him to do last year for a rookie playing left guard, for him to get through the year and improve like he did, I think was a good thing. What I’ve seen this year, he came back the lightest he’s been. He’s trained really hard. I think he and Nate (Solder) are ahead of where they were a year ago working together. I just think for him, a guy second year in the system, I feel like he’s made big improvements.

Q: With Tae Davis, how much can his athleticism help him?
A: Tae Davis also has done a good job. His athleticism is important. We’ll ask him to cover running backs. We play a good bit of man coverage, so that’s an important piece. But he can run, tackle and do all those things, too.

Q: Can you play him inside against the run?
A: We feel like he can. He’s a good tackler. We feel like he can.

Q: What do you think of Evan Engram, and do you think he’s going to step up this season?
A: We’re pleased with where he’s at. He’s working himself, getting himself ready for Week One. I think he’ll be able to build on what he did a year ago. Most of what held Evan back was those little injuries he dealt with last year. When he was in there, he actually was pretty productive. I think back to the Houston game, when he got hurt. He got kind of hit on the leg. He was catching the ball and running, doing good things. That sort of set him back. Then he had the hamstring thing. Had he stayed out there for all 16 games, I think he would have had big numbers.