Post-Game Transcript: Head Coach Joe Judge

NYG Postgame (vs. Philadelphia Eagles) Transcripts: Head Coach Joe Judge

November 15, 2020

Opening Statement: First of all, I want to give a lot of credit to the Eagles. They’re a well-coached team, a very explosive team. They’re a tough team to play, playing a team like that only a few weeks apart. There’s a lot of things you prepare for, and a lot of adjustments they make, almost like an extended halftime, they definitely do a good job of that. They did a good job in today’s game making adjustments, keeping us on our toes. I thought all three coordinators made good adjustments on our sideline to keep us in it. I’m proud of the way our guys fought; we knew it was going to be a 60-minute game against Philadelphia. So we came out here, and that was the emphasis: finish the game. We went into halftime in a similar situation to what it was the last time we were in Philly, and we wanted to make sure we had a different result. Came out as a team, and that was really the emphasis, to finish the game. That being said, I’ll open up to any questions you have.

Q: Could you talk about the confidence you guys had to not sit back and let them do what they did the first time?

A: This is a team where if you think you’re going to watch the clock tick down and it’s just going to run out in your favor, you’re going to be really wrong against the Eagles. They can score points at any point. Obviously in the first game, they scored a lot down the stretch, in the last five minutes. We couldn’t sit back today and in any way, shape or form think that we hadn’t scored enough points. The emphasis was to keep scoring, keep playing, play the entire game on through. That’s always the emphasis, but with these guys, we knew it had to be very driven towards getting points on as many drives as we can. Daniel (Jones) made a lot of big time throws today, we had a lot of receivers make big time catches, contested catches in traffic. We’ve got a lot of guys right now making tough plays down the field. We’re always coaching and playing with an aggressive mentality. In terms of having a lead, the lead doesn’t really mean anything to us to be honest with you, other than just knowing how we could play something situationally. We knew it was going to be a 60-minute game, so we were going to stay aggressive throughout the entire thing. Daniel (Jones) made some big time throws today.

Q: Have you seen the updated standings in the division yet?

A: I have not, and I’ll tell everyone right now, it’s irrelevant. The only thing that matters is we keep improving as a team and go 1-0 every week. The overall standings, we’re not going to look at those, we’re not going to focus on those; that’s not an emphasis in our organization. We’ve got to keep improving as a team to give ourselves a chance to be the best program we can be.

Q: That drive after they cut it to three and you got two big strikes down the field, how important was that to the team’s mentality?

A: I think it’s important to execute like that going down the field and have some big plays back to back to get us in position to finish the drive off. With this team, we knew they were going to score points continuously, and we had to be able to answer drives. Look, we came out in the second half, I don’t think we started out as fast as we wanted to, they did a good job on their part, but we responded the right way. As a team, we responded the right way. I’m proud of the way the players played it on through.

Q: What’s different between the team you had on the field today and the team you had on the field the last time?

A: I think we’ve improved in a number of areas. Third down, two-minute, these have been a big emphasis for us throughout the season. I see that improvement from our team. I think the more time our players continually spend in our systems with Pat (Graham), Jason (Garrett), and TMac (Thomas McGaughey), the more they understand and the more we can build on what we can do within a game plan, within multiples. And that makes the adjustments on the sideline a lot easier because you can teach the players, saying ‘we’re going to play this defense now’, it’s just like playing x, y, and z in another defense, and they can correlate that into what their new assignment is. I see the same fight in our team we’ve had the entire year; these guys haven’t blinked, they haven’t wavered. We keep the emphasis on improving, that’s really the most important thing for us. I’ve seen a lot of that continuously throughout the entire year, really no different this week. I think these guys had a heck of a week of practice, and the way they practice really reflects how they play on Sundays. We were out there for two rainy days this week. Probably the only disappointing thing about this week was that it didn’t rain, the players were probably looking at me like, ‘C’mon man’, but we’re going to be outside, regardless.

Q: What did you learn from Daniel Jones from this game? He passed so accurately, he made prudent decisions, he was decisive, and he seemed to put it all together in a game you guys needed.

A: I didn't learn anything new about Daniel today. I’ve known that the entire time working with him, and I think we all have internally, that’s why the team has so much confidence in Daniel, that’s why he’s our quarterback. We’re going to play aggressive with Daniel, and he’s done a heck of a job making plays when we need it and making better decisions throughout the season. This guy is a young player who is developing, he’s learning a lot every week. You can see his improvement week to week. Sometimes there’s something you want to get off the tape, and he understands that, and we correct that in practice, working hard. But there’s a lot of games he’s played where maybe there’s a blemish that takes away from the 99% of the really good football he has played. But Daniel continues to be an improving player, he’s a tough dude, mentally and physically, and that spreads throughout our entire team. When he steps into that huddle, there’s 10 guys looking at him knowing he’s going to be the one to give them the answer to the problem on the field.

Q: Could you tell in the building that people were very anxious and sick of losing to the Eagles?

A: I think people are sick of losing any game. Whoever we play on a given Sunday, we want to beat. They all hurt the same if you don’t come out with the result you want. We pour a lot into this profession as players and coaches on a weekly basis, so we always work to get the results we want. But it’s a division game, so obviously it’s important to win for a lot of reasons. We wanted to make sure we didn’t come out and leave any meat on the bone, we had to make sure we finished as a team and got the result we wanted.

Q: Last week you got two interceptions to close it, today you got two big stops to get off the field. Could you talk about the growth of the defense over the whole year and how that has translated to the past two weeks?

A: I think all of the defensive coaches have done a tremendous job in bringing these guys along. We talk all the time about the improvement from week to week, and we’re continually seeing that. To me, it’s when the fundamentals marry up with the scheme on the field. The fundamentals are 10 times more important than the scheme. I see these guys go ahead and understand a big picture concept and move forward with that. I see the players improving across the board. Pat (Graham) has really evolved in what he’s calling based on what we have to do within the game and who is available.

Q: What can you say about Wayne Gallman and his improvement? It seems like he’s really turned a corner.

A: I think Wayne is a tough dude, and I think that’s what is showing up in how he plays. He’s running the ball tough, he’s got a lot of mental toughness to him, we ask him to do a lot of things, and he’s responding really well. This isn’t the scheme he has played in throughout his entire career, but he’s done a good job of learning and adapting to it and being a very productive player for us. He does a lot of things, he’s improved a lot throughout the way. There’s a lot of little things we have to emphasize along with all of our players, but I’ve seen him really improve fundamentally, in ball security, in open field running, in the goal line type runs, making sure he gets across the goal line, reaching with our pads and not reaching the ball out. So I’m very pleased with how Wayne is playing. I know the team gets a spark whenever he is in there, he gets a lot of yards. But the same with Alfred (Morris), same with Dion (Lewis), same with Devonta (Freeman) when he’s healthy. We look forward to using all those guys on a weekly basis.

Q: I want to ask you not just about Wayne, but the improvement in the run game overall. What has been the key to that?

A: I think it all starts up front with the line. These guys have done a real good job blocking. Run blocking, pass blocking, we’ve improved every week. I’ve been telling you guys that in every press conference we’ve had, you guys keep asking about what we see or what’s going on, I see a lot of improvement across the board. When you talk about the run game, I think we’ve found our identity in terms of what we are as a team. That doesn’t pigeon-hole us that we can’t do things outside of what we’ve already run, we’ll keep expanding on that and growing as a team within the playbook and within the game plan. I think it all starts up front, we’ve got runners that run the ball hard, the passing game keeps them honest, Daniel (Jones) being able to pull and run the ball out the back gate keeps them honest with some of the fast flow they can have to the ball with the running back; but to me, it all starts up front with the offensive line. Those guys have done a really good job coming off the ball, playing a physical style of football, and finishing blocks.

Q: How good does it feel to see your team play so good two weeks in a row, and how good does it feel that your quarterback hasn’t turned the ball over two weeks in a row?

A: I’m just happy for our players and all the hard work they put in, that they can see some results for it. That’s really what they work for. So I’m happy they can come away tonight and going into the bye week with a good taste in their mouths. That being said, we’re going to get back to work Tuesday and Wednesday and take some steps forward, going into these last six games. It’ll be a quick turnaround, but we’ve got to let them have some time to get their bodies right, their minds right. But at the same time, we have to get better as a football team this week. I’m pleased for the players, their hard work is paying off from the entire year, I think they can see that from the tape. So the record stuff, that’ll take care of itself, we’ve just got to keep worrying about improving as a football team and moving forward on a daily basis.

Q: And Daniel as far as the turnovers?

A: I think Daniel is a guy who is continually growing in his profession, in his position. We have a lot of confidence in him. Look, it takes 11 people on the field, plus a coach to make a call, and position coaches to coach it correctly throughout the week to put us in a position to have really good ball security. So it’s everybody involved, it’s never one person. We’ve been saying throughout the year everyone has to coach better and play better, and that holds true today. We all have to coach better and play better throughout the stretch. The teams are going to be better and more competitive because there’s more tape of us to watch, and everyone has had more time to get in sync and find their identity as well. In terms of turnovers, we never want to turn the ball over, we want to eliminate penalties, we want to make sure we don’t have mental errors, and those three things will give you a chance to win if you don’t screw them up.