Offensive Assistant Coach Ryan Roeder -- August 3, 2019
Q: What’s your job description when it comes to Daniel (Jones) when he gets the ball?
A: Well, obviously it’s Coach (Pat) Shurmur’s offense, and he’s got a lot of experience coaching quarterbacks, so he’s heavily involved. Coach (Mike) Shula, who’s the offensive coordinator who coaches the quarterbacks, and then I’m in there with Coach (Mike) Shula trying to assist him in any way that I can. I’m just trying to help out and I’m just trying to help him improve every day.
Q: How much of your time would you say goes to the quarterback?
A: In every quarterback meeting and out at practice. Obviously when Coach (Mike) Shula is busy doing something else, I try to fill in the cracks and do anything like that, and just help out whenever I can.
Q: Where do you think Daniel (Jones) has made the biggest strides since he got in the building?
A: Well, he’s a fast learner. He works extremely hard at it, so it’s kind of like learning a new language, so you come in and it may have been called something different in college than what it’s called here and guys can convert the language. So it he works at it. I think the game is starting to slow down for him a little bit. So I think that’s kind of the biggest thing, making the language his own and playing faster.
Q: What’s it like working with him?
A: He’s a great kid to work with. He’s smart, he works at it, he’s conscientious, he’s competitive and he’s got a desire to improve every day. So it’s fun, it’s fun to coach him and it’s fun to just try to improve each day.
Q: Different people have different personalities. So you have to coach guys maybe a little differently. Can you get on him? Can you ride him? Does he have to be handled softly? How do you do that?
A: Well I think the thing with all the guys, we have kind of, it’s intrinsic motivation. They are really hard on themselves, so usually with those types of guys, you say, ‘you could’ve done this here or you could have done that there.’ But usually they’re the guys that are hardest on themselves. Those are the kind of guys you’re looking for.
Q: Where is the biggest transition you’ve seen install-wise for guys to really get up to speed or what they have the most trouble as far as install? What seems to be the outstanding grasp?
A: Well, I guess it’s just like anything, you’re presented in the rookie minicamp, you’re presented with 20 plays, right? So you study those 20 plays and once you get through install 7, that number goes up probably to the hundreds, so it’s just volume and in my mind it’s keeping things in the right category, so you install a play and then you put this play in this category, you put this play in this category and it kind of helps group in your mind and you go forward. So think that’s the challenge for probably where all the players are now. You know we are through with the majority of our install. So I think it’s just the volume and keeping things straight and making sure you can play fast out there on the field.
Q: What have you seen from Eli (Manning) so far? You’ve worked with him for a while but what have you seen from him so far?
A: I think Eli (Manning) has done a wonderful job taking care of himself. He works at it endlessly and I think the things he does on the field, you can’t just say, ‘Oh, he’s done that because he’s been here so long.’ It’s just really impressive the way he can diagnose a defense. Physically, I think he’s done an unbelievable job taking care of his himself. He’s just a phenomenal teammate. It’s really a great room. It’s really a great room for guys to learn and grow and just be a part of.
Q: A lot has been made of Eli’s (Manning) different offseason training, where do you notice that the most?
A: Well, honestly, I think the last couple of years you’ve just seen him in the offseason and you just notice it being around him in the offseason. So I think he’s taking care of his body so well. So I can’t really comment on that. He takes it seriously. You see him in here three days after the season ends and he’s in here working out, so it’s obviously something he’s taking very seriously and he looks great.
