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Monday Media Transcript: Head Coach Pat Shurmur

Eric from BBI : Admin : 8/19/2019 4:07 pm
Head Coach Pat Shurmur -- August 19, 2019

Opening Statement: I don’t really have much to lead with, so I’ll do my best to answer your questions. Fire away.

Q: Was that a challenge period there at the end on the goal line?
A: No. It was just part of team work. We did the same thing yesterday, I just did it in the red zone (today). I did two’s on two’s, three’s on three’s. That’s it.

Q: I didn’t see Michael Thomas out there. I was just curious…
A: He’s involved with some league business. Excused, by the way.

Q: Daniel (Jones) always looks really good in practice, but it seems like he has raised his play to a higher level in the games. When you evaluate players, do you factor in that some guys are better when the lights are on?
A: Yeah. That’s a good thing, obviously. We want to make sure they perform well in games. Period. There are some guys that, through the years I’ve been around, that are just absolutely horrible practice players, but they can turn it on for the game. You’re certainly looking for consistency. You sleep better at night when the guy practices well. That’s just part of it, I guess. At the end of the day, you want him to play well in games.

Q: We hadn’t seen (DeAndre) Baker the last couple of practices before today.
A: He’s been doing individual (drills). We’re going to move him back in there as quickly as we can. So yeah, it’s good to have him back out there.

Q: What have you seen from some of the guys that have been bumped up? I know (Corey) Ballentine took some first team reps, and Antonio Hamilton before the groin injury. How valuable was that time for them, and what did you see from them?
A: I think very valuable. Again, we get to evaluate them in game settings. They’re finding a way to make plays, getting around the ball, becoming more and more comfortable within the scheme. We can see, I don’t know if it’s obvious with the naked eye, that when we play a certain defense Week 1, we play that same defense Week 2. Even though there may not be any action his way, you can see his movements are a little bit more fluid, he’s a little closer to where he needs to be, he’s in position to make a play if it comes that way. That’s the benefit of young players playing, is we get to see them do that. There are times when there is no action, but you still need to be in the right spot. You see some of these guys that are getting more reps than they maybe would have if the guys in front of them were healthy making progress in those ways.

Q: Besides Evan (Engram) staying healthy, which is obviously a big thing for him, what on-field progress have you noticed over the past year?
A: I think he’s more comfortable. He probably goes in the Eli (Manning) category. He’s more comfortable with what we want to do. We’ve really defined how we want to use him as a coaching staff. Those are probably the two main areas.

Q: Does that take a year? Did you have to get to know him and his skillset to define that role?
A: No, I think we had a feeling last year. But he was kind of hindered by his injuries. There’s not a real process of that when you’re in the lineup, out of the lineup, in the lineup, and then out of the lineup. We’re obviously starting much further ahead than where we were a year ago.

Q: A year ago at this time, he took a lot of knocks from the outside for his blocking. When he did play last year, was he a much-improved blocker?
A: I think so. Yeah, I think he improved his game in all areas. That just comes with learning a new system and obviously getting comfortable with what we’re doing.

Q: The decision not to play him in the preseason, was that simply because he was hurt part of the time last year and you want to keep him healthy?
A: No, it’s just my call. There are things you’re looking for from your team (in the preseason), but we’re always keeping in mind what’s important for the individual as he gets himself ready to play within the team concept. So, that’s my call.

Q: You’re calling plays this week. You’ll be going against a guy who was on your staff last year in Lou (Anarumo). I know it’s not necessarily about winning the game, but for evaluation purposes, does that present an issue? He knows your playbook from last year.
A: Not really. I would say this, and this will be the case… None of us have only coached in one spot. I was talking to my wife last night. We’ve lived in nine houses in seven states. You coach on a lot of teams, so you coach with a lot of guys. You all end up in other places. Nine times out of ten, when you go somewhere and say, ‘I know this guy,’ it screws you up. I really believe that. That’s not the deal. It’s going to be the Bengals playing the Giants, and we just happen to be coaching on opposite sides. It’s obviously a preseason game, so we’re all not showing our hand yet. Lou’s doing a great job. I like what they’re doing on defense. He was a really valued member of our staff when he was here, and I look forward to seeing him before the game.

Q: The other day, you mentioned Chad Slade as a backup offensive lineman that kind of jumped out at you. What do you like about him?
A: I think he’s been very competitive and very multiple. He’s played stretches at right tackle and left tackle, back and forth. In the event he makes our team and he’s not a starter, that’s going to be an important component to his game, being able to be multiple. He competes and he’s out there. When he’s out there and he’s competing and he’s doing a lot more good things than bad things, then we start to depend on him. That’s when we start to like a guy, and that’s certainly where we’re at with him.

Q: When you look at how the roster is going to be composed, does (Eli) Penny get lumped in with all of the running backs, or is he sort of his own category?
A: If you ask him, he’ll tell you that he’s a converted halfback. Just ask him, he’ll tell you. He’s fond of that. He’s a fullback. But the one thing about him is that if we have a dire situation, he can go in there and run the football. Just ask him, he’ll tell you. I’m very fond of him because he’s one of the people in this building that, in my opinion, has never had a bad day. He’s smiling. He may have had a bad play or a bad meal, but he’s never had a bad day. He’s a little bit of an inspiration to me because he just keeps going. He loves the game and he keeps playing. He’s done some good stuff for us.

Q: We know the experience factor with Antoine (Bethea). From a football perspective, how different does he make you guys on the back end this year, as opposed to what you had there last year?
A: Well, the veteran component is huge because he’s steady, experienced, and he’s obviously seen a lot of things. If you have a guy in the back end that’s been there, done that and is confident and experienced, I think that’s good for your defense. If an offense shows us something that we haven’t seen, he’ll be able to help us adjust. He’s been with (defensive coordinator James Bettcher) Bettch in the past, so there’s some familiarity there. I really believe safeties come in pairs, and I think he and Jabrill (Peppers) are working well together. There’s probably a long list of things, but just a stream of thought. That’s what comes to mind.

Q: It seems like the last few practices have leaned a little more towards the one’s, the starters, getting the work. Will that impact playing time on Thursday night?
A: I don’t know. Generally speaking, I see us playing the game a lot like we did the first two. I still think we’ve got some guys that are in the second and third group that we have to see. We have to see them play. You’ll see the one’s a little bit, too. Maybe more than a little bit. In terms of practice, this is a good little stretch here. We had the game on Friday. We were off Saturday. Yesterday was a very physical, hot practice. We took advantage of the heat today. We did some good situational work that was very physical in the heat. These two practices are very, very important. Just in the big picture, getting ultimately 53 guys ready to play day one. That won’t have as much of a bearing on what I do Thursday night, as it’s just an important thing to do this time of camp.

Q: Have you decided about whether Saquon (Barkley) will play in any of the two remaining preseason games?
A: I’ll let it reveal itself. You’re the third person this week that’s asked me that question, so it wouldn’t be fair to the first two.

Q: How are the guys handling the heat, and what advantages do you think it brings to work in the heat like this?
A: The advantages are there is extra conditioning and the pressure that you put on your body dealing with the heat. We’re going to play some hot games early in the year. I know we’re inside against Dallas, but early in the year, we’re going to play in Tampa. God only knows what the weather is like around here. It could be 90 (degrees) one day, 40 the next. We could get rain, snow, sleet. I think it’s important, especially for the first five or six weeks, to have had some heat conditioning. That’s why this was a little blessing for us, this kind of extreme heat the last two days. The guys handled it pretty well.

Q: Tae Davis?
A: He was a little under the weather today. He’s fine.
Since I have have been critical of PS in the past  
TMS : 8/20/2019 1:16 pm : link
for how he answered media questions. I think this was an excellent interview and performance by the HC. Big improvement and now we will not have to debate all the BS as we have had to do in the past. MO.
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