Head Coach Pat Shurmur -- October 4, 2019
Opening Statement (Pat Hanlon): (Saquon) Barkley, (Tae) Davis and (Alec) Ogletree are out, as Corry (Rush) just told you. Lorenzo Carter is questionable.
Q: How close was (Barkley)?
A: I don’t know. We’ll see. After consulting with our doctors, we decided that he’s not going to play this week.
Q: How encouraging was it at least, what you saw of him throughout this week?
A: Yeah, I’m encouraged because he’s going through his rehab process and he’s making an effort to come back quickly.
Q: What else does he need to show you to get back on the field?
A: We’ll just make those decisions as the games approach.
Q: Was there anything he couldn’t do though? I’m talking about physically.
A: I think he’s making good progress, and when he’s ready to play, we’ll put him out there.
Q: Did he practice today at all?
A: He did do some stuff, yeah.
Q: So, technically you’re saying he was limited in practice versus out?
A: He took some reps today. We deemed him out this week, and that’s how we’re going to play it. I understand everybody’s interested in the situation. You got to see him moving around out here with your own eyes. But we decided that he’s not playing this week.
Q: How about your linebacker situation? Those were your two starters (Davis and Ogletree). Now?
A: We’re very confident in the guys that we’re going to put out there.
Q: What makes you confident in them?
A: Because they’re good football players, and they’re pro football players. We’ve liked what we’ve seen from what they’ve done in practice and for some of them, what they’ve done in games.
Q: Who wears the receiver in his helmet? Who does the calls? Is that David Mayo’s job?
A: We’ll see. We’ll figure that out as we go.
Q: You haven’t figured it out yet?
A: Yeah, we have. But there are certain things that I don’t really feel like discussing, and that just happens to be one of them. But Mayo will be one of the guys with the helmet.
Q: With Zo (Carter), earlier in the week you kind of said just game soreness or whatever. Now he’s questionable. Is that a concern for Sunday?
A: We’re not concerned. When they play games, each guy, every once in a while, has some things happen to him. He’s progressed well. We’ll just have to see how much he can do.
Q: How did (Golden) Tate handle this week from a physical standpoint?
A: Golden, he was great. Yeah, he was ready to go. He took a full load. Look forward to getting him in the game and seeing him play on Sunday.
Q: Do you have to monitor him at all, just because he’s been on the shelf for four weeks?
A: I don’t think so. That’s not really in my mind right now. We’re going to put him in there and let him go.
Q: I asked you about Oshane (Ximines) yesterday, but specifically, on the field, technique wise, what is he doing well?
A: I think he’s more comfortable with what we’re asking him to do, which allows him to play faster. Again, he’s a young player. Each week, we’ve seen steady improvement from him. What you’re looking for from a guy that plays on the edge is, obviously, be able to set the edge in the run game, pass rush, certainly, and then on certain occasions, drop into coverage. I think in all three areas, he’s improving.
Q: This might be a dumb question. With your situation at linebacker, could you conceivably put the communication in (Jabrill) Peppers’ helmet, since he’s on the field all the time?
A: That’s a good question, that’s a good thought. We have packages where he does play in the linebacker role or dime. So, yeah.
Q: So, there’s no rule there?
A: No. We can choose whoever we want to. But there’s a limit on how many we can put it in. And you can only have one out there at a time. That’s the thing.
Q: You have some packages where you have Peppers playing in a linebacker’s spot. Can you see yourself using that more Sunday?
A: I don’t know. It’s available to us, and he plays that position well. There’s a possibility. If the situation dictates it, certainly.
Q: What did you like about what Mike Thomas brings to the table? He was a guy we saw probably in a bigger role last week due to these circumstances.
A: He’s a veteran presence. He’s been a captain for two years. He wears that ‘C’ very well. He’s very steady in his approach to things, which I think is important when you have a lot of young players out there running around. He’s a good player,on both special teams and on scrimmage downs. For all of those reasons, we’re glad he’s here.
Q: You guys talked for months about what you saw in Dexter (Lawrence), that he was going to be more than just a two-down, run-stopper. What he’s shown the last couple of weeks, does it kind of prove what you guys thought?
A: I think he’s a little bit like X-Man and some of these young defensive players that are doing it for the first time. They get more and more comfortable, so then you can see more and more of what they can do physically. I think he’s been pretty disruptive in there, actually. Even though he’s not getting sacks, the pressures and just the sheer size of that man when he gets going… I’m encouraged by the improvements he’s making out here, too. I think the better and better he gets in our system, the more he’ll have an impact in the games.
Q: Will their run game put more pressure on your defensive line than maybe the last couple of weeks?
A: I don’t know that. They want to run the football. They have good blockers, and they have an outstanding back. I think they’re going to be a challenge for us. I don’t know how much more or less from any other week, but this is a good running football team.
Q: As long as we’re talking young guys, what do you need to see more of from Julian Love before he gets his first game action?
A: Well, he’s getting in there. He’s a special teams player and all that. We’ll just see. As the season goes on, you need everybody. Certainly, it takes a village at running back, and it certainly takes a village with regard to the secondary. He’ll get in there.
Q: There’s always a lot of talk about communication among offensive linemen. What about the pre-snap communication between the quarterback and the line? How is Daniel Jones progressing in that regard?
A: I think he’s done very well with it. There are plenty of times when there is a play called and then an adjustment to make. Or in the case of an obvious passing situation, where they’re in a position where they’re going to pressure, determining who the five guys the line is going to block are and who’s the sixth guy that the back is going to block. That happens. I think for the most part, we’ve done a good job of making sure we’re blocking the right guys.
Q: There’s been some stuff that’s been going on there in Minnesota this week. Do you keep an eye on it? Do you bring it up to your players? There seems to be some uncertainty if (Stefon) Diggs is going to play. Do you kind of just let that play out?
A: Nope. I’m not concerned with that. We really don’t worry about what’s happening outside this building. In those types of situations, it’s more about us doing what we do. Listen, I know that operation. They’re an outstanding team with outstanding players, and they’ll be ready to play. Aside from that, we worry about us.
Q: Is Daniel (Jones) going to see wrinkles and things from the Minnesota defense that he hasn’t seen yet in an NFL game?
A: Well, there are elements to their defense that he hasn’t seen from the previous two teams. But there are things that their defense has done. (Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer) Zim always has a pressure of the week cooked up that we all have to adjust to. Yeah, there will be some things that he hasn’t seen.
