Post-Game Transcript: Head Coach Joe Judge

Head Coach Joe Judge

(opening statement) “Obviously we didn’t do well enough to get the job done today. We give credit to Baltimore. It is a well-coached football team. They are very talented. They play very hard, and it presents a number of issues that we start the game faster and handle it on all phases of the ball. I am proud of the way our guys fought. We were able to make some adjustments in the second half and get some things going. We have to get to that earlier, as a staff and as players, and ultimately, we have to coach better, we have to play better, we have to make the plays in front of us. We need to make sure guys are creating situations to put our guys in positions of their strengths. All that being said, I will open it up to any questions you have.”

(on the Giants’ energy and emotions coming into the game) “It wasn’t any issue in terms of energy or anything emotionally or mentally. We just have to execute fundamentally better. That is it. We have to tackle better, [and] we have to get off of blocks better. We have to make sure we put guys in the right call and help them to give them some type of advantage in the scheme that we are seeing. Obviously, they made some adjustments in their scheme during this game to account for some of the things we did. We got some different coverages and fronts later in the game that slowed them down and gave our guys a better chance, but we have to do some things earlier in the game as coaches and players to start faster. We knew going into the game that this was a team that in the first quarter has a big edge against all of their opponents. We knew it was going to be a fast-start type of game, and we have to react better than that.”

(on what he attributed to the Giants’ poor tackling) “I think ultimately that has been something that has been a strength for us as a team this year. Our guys really improved in tackling and spacing of in-line, short-space tackles. To be honest with you, that was surprising today to see that. We have to do some things fundamentally better to make sure we make the tackles, keep our feet moving, keep our eyes up, wrap, and we have to do a better job coaching that throughout the week to make sure that doesn’t show up on the gameday.”

(on his assessment of QB Daniel Jones) “I think Daniel [Jones] looked the way I expected him to look out there. He played confidentially, didn’t look hesitant with anything he did. He had some chances out there. I thought Daniel did a lot of nice things today. Ultimately as a team, it was not enough. But in terms of how he moved around coming off of the injury, I thought he looked better.”

(on his assessment of the season if the Giants are eliminated from playoff contention later today) “No, our focus is on getting ready for the Cowboys next week. We don’t have any control over what happens with other teams, other games played today. We had that control in our first 15 games, the results of those games are what matter. In terms of where this team is headed and what we have been able to accomplish this year, in terms of the foundation, the culture – we have improved a lot of playing across the board. A lot of players, a lot of development from young guys and new guys in this program. So no, the end result is where we are looking to get going in this program, I feel that we are on the right track and moving in the right direction.”

(on what he learned about his team during the difficult stretch these past four games) “I think I learned a lot about our team in the early-season stretch. We were 0-5, 1-7 and you find out right then that you have a team that comes to work every day, that is committed to everybody and starts getting better collectively. I learned how mentally tough they were through that stretch. I learned how focused they were and committed in getting this thing going in the right direction. I am not trying to take shortcuts, but we are trying to do it the right way. So, the results of the last three games are what they are. We are paid to win games, that is what it is, professional football. We have to do a better job coaching, better job playing, we have to do more things to help us win the games. Ultimately in terms of the character of the team, the work ethic of the team, the toughness of the team, we have the right start to who we are working with and the direction we are going right now. We just need to make sure we do more on the field to get the tangible results.”

(on the lack of changes to the defensive scheme at the beginning of the game) “I thought Pat [Defensive Coordinator, Patrick Graham] did a good job getting to the scheme when he got to it to slow them on down. There were some adjustments continuing throughout the first half. We changed up how we did some coverage in the back end to tighten up on their receivers. We played a scheme early on to kind of handle a lot more with the run. I think Lamar [Jackson] came out and did a really good job throwing the ball. They made some contested catches, but we need to tighten the windows up on them a little bit, we were letting up some easy receptions early on. Again, with this team, the focus is to stop the run, Pat made some adjustments, we were able to slow them down offensively and then we have to stay on the field a little longer offensively to really help the defense out on the back end. We need to play good complimentary football. All three phases have to play together.”

(on the pass interference call that was later picked up in the first half) “I mean look, it was what it was. They explained it, we are not going to have any kind of courtroom on the field to change what it was, so we went out there, kicked the field goal and took the points. We had to move on right there. They saw what they saw, and I will watch the tape and see if I see it any differently.”

(on broken coverages on both of the Ravens’ passing touchdowns) “Yah, anytime someone is that wide-open there is obviously some kind of breakdown within the scheme. We have to make sure we do a better job getting the 11 guys to play on the same page. It is never one guy there. It is easy to go ahead, look back at the tape and try to circle someone without having all the information of what the call was, what the scheme was, what the communication pre-snap may have been. We are going to take a look at that and make sure we never have that happen again. It is not something we have had a lot this year. Our guys have done a really good job of communication and playing ahead. We had it twice today, that is something we have to eliminate, it is tough to stop any team where we let guys run free, so we have to eliminate that.”

(on his argument for the progress the Giants’ have made this season despite recent struggles) “Yah I don’t have to make an argument on that end. I can turn the tape on every week, I can watch with our players. I can see what we improve on every week. I can see what we are deficient in and need to improve on that week and put the focus on the next opponent coming up. Again, look I am not trying to make an argument for anything, the tape really tells the truth. Our guys are big believers on watching what is on tape and addressing what we have to internally and moving forward by working hard.”