Transcript: Head Coach Joe Judge

Head Coach Joe Judge

Opening Statement: Obviously, coming off a longer weekend for the players with some much-needed rest. We've spent some time obviously focused on the Giants. We'll spend some time going forward on the Falcons. Big game for us this Sunday. We'll spend some time at practice working on both our own emphasis of things we're working on as a team and then building into some opponent things, as well. That being said – short transition – we'll open it up for any questions.

Q: How did you think the new offensive line played, especially after (Center Nick) Gates went out, with (Center Billy) Price and (Offensive Lineman Ben) Bredeson?

A: I was actually really pleased with the way they came through the other night. There are some things we have to clean up and keep building forward at all positions – the offensive line is no exception. However, I'd say the way Billy and Ben have jumped in here in a short period of time and really made a lot of gains for us, jumping in and learning the vocabulary with one week of practice and then you have another week of a couple walk-throughs going in there. I thought one thing that really showed through last week, some of the leadership Nick showed, we had explored the option of what would happen if (Guard Shane) Lemieux wasn't going to be available, which he wasn't obviously. Nick was obviously going to be a factor of possibly playing that guard position, so we did a lot of work last week in practice of getting Billy some reps at center, Nick some reps at guard. That was really something that, from a signal caller's standpoint that Nick's in, can be a tough transition sometimes. I thought he showed his leadership as a team captain and the way he put the team first and really brought to us in terms of making sure that Billy got the reps at center. Ended up looking good enough in practice that we went with that in the game, so that gave us a good jumpstart going into the game that Billy had enough work with the offensive unit, making the calls, pointing in the right direction. I like when Ben got in. I think Ben competes his butt off. He's making a lot of gains for us right now. I like the way both guys work and obviously we're trying to get to be the best unit we can be. I talk to guys all the time, it doesn't matter offensive line-wise how you are individually, it's we've got to be the best unit because everything works collectively with those guys.

Q: How hopeful are you that Shane can come back this season, or is there surgery in the future and is his season over?

A: From everything we've talked about, we can't rule anything out right now in terms of something being over. He'll obviously have to wait and see how his body responds. I'm very hopeful that he can come back, but that being said, I don't have a crystal ball right now on that.

Q: So surgery is not in his imminent future, that's what you're saying?

A: I know he's talking to the doctor about a couple different procedures right now, so we'll see where that goes.

Q: Losing Nick – I know it's always got to be the next man up, but as you were talking about his leadership, what kind of emotion and what impact did that have inside the locker room with the guys?

A: Nick's a key figure for us, he really is. He's a guy that the entire time we've been here he's been a team-first guy, he's been an all-in guy, he's a guy that comes to work every day with a great amount of energy and enthusiasm. We're still going to rely on him to do that. As he gets better and comes through his healing process, we want to keep him as involved with the team as possible. This guy was voted captain by his teammates for a reason and that's for leadership. This guy has done a lot of unselfish things and I believe he'll continue to have an impact on the team. In terms of the emotional part of it, I think when Nick went down the other day, everybody hurts when it happens. I say all the time, you don't want to see any player on the field get hurt, you don't. The game is the top level of competition. You want to see everyone play with their best players and find where you shake out at the end of the competition. Especially the type of injury he had, that's a gut punch to a lot of guys and I think the team definitely kind of wanted to rally a little bit for Nick and pick it up. You saw the first play right after that, obviously had a good run play, (Running Back) Saquon (Barkley) had a good breakout run right there, so there was some good energy and enthusiasm to get going forward. But I think everybody in here hurts for Nick. Everyone knows how hard he works, everyone knows his journey, his road of getting here, what he's had to overcome. No one wants to see Nick lose an opportunity. We're all thinking long-term right now for Nick. He won't play this season obviously, but we're all thinking long-term for Nick and what's best for him individually. We're going to do everything we can as an organization and as a team to support him and help him along the way.

Q: Why didn't (Tackle) Matt Peart play and where does he stand in that right tackle mix?

A: With the way it just shook out the other night, we just didn't get him in the other night. Felt (Tackle) Nate (Solder) has been doing a good job. We're going to rotate Matt on through the tackle position. We'll kind of take a look at him maybe playing some stuff inside as we get going right here. We'll kind of work around through practice these next few days and kind of see where things shake out. Matt's been making big gains for us and doing a good job. I think (Tackle) Andrew (Thomas) and Nate are doing a good right there playing tackle for us.

Q: In terms of Billy Price, (Quarterback) Daniel (Jones) and Nick had developed chemistry from playing together for so long. Billy kind of just got here a couple weeks ago. How can Daniel and Billy grow now because they kind of have to do it on the fly, which is during the week?

A: Practice, that's what it's for. Coming out every day and that's exactly what we're trying to build is chemistry in practice and the experience of being on the field together and getting together as far as all the little nuances that happen. But Billy is a vet, a guy that puts the work in. Daniel is a guy that stays here and makes sure that he gets with every receiver, center, whoever it may be that he has to have a relationship with, so I have faith those guys will continue improving.

Q: You're playing a Falcons team that's given up 80 points after their first two games. What's your early assessment of their defense?

A: You know what, I'm going to hold anything on the Falcons until a little bit later in the week, but I would say right now this is a team that's very capable, very talented, very well-coached. Look, (Falcons Defensive Coordinator) Dean Pees is an outstanding coach, been in this league for a long time for a reason. Relative to what their defense did the first two games, that's not going to have any bearing on what's going to happen this Sunday. We've got to go ahead and get ready to play.

Q: Where is (Tight End) Evan (Engram) now?

A: He'll be out here today kind of moving around a little bit. We'll see where he's at physically in terms of where we can push him through practice. We'll see what that looks like today in terms of having a better view of what the weekend may hold, but he's making consistent improvements. He's been doing a good job with the trainers. Everything he's been asked to do, he's done, so it's moving in the right direction.

Q: Is he still on track this weekend?

A: I couldn't even answer that until I see him a little bit today.

Q: Is there anyone else that came out of the game with any injury that we might notice won't be practicing?

A: We've got a number of guys right now (with) just kind of some normal nicks and bumps type stuff coming out of the game. We're in shells today, it's not going to be full pads. There's certain guys maybe getting a little bit different volume in terms of what it is. We'll kind of go through the other part of practice. Some guys may have to go ahead and just see where they're at physically before kind of pushing forward a little more.

Q: How's (Cornerback) Adoree's (Jackson) ankle?

A: He's continuing to improve. I see him and his play and his speed and reaction on the field keeps improving right there. I haven't heard him complain any. I think guys with injuries like that kind of stay on throughout the course of the year. I don't think you ever assume something's past it. We talk to our guys all the time, any kind of a sprain or soft tissue injury, you've just got to assume it's always there for the remainder of the year – get treatment on it, take care of your body, put yourself in position. He's done a good job being a pro with that as far as staying out here, so in terms of where he is with anything, I think he came out of the game the other day in a pretty good position. He'll be out here with us today.

Q: Did you hear from the league on the (Defensive Lineman) Dexter Lawrence (II) penalty?

A: No.

Q: Do you have plans to speak to (Wide Receiver) Kenny Golladay and (Wide Receiver) Kadarius (Toney) about the things that happened on the sideline or the things that happened on social media, about any misconceptions or things that might not be right on track the way you want it to be?

A: I've already spoken to all parties involved about all that stuff you guys are referencing. Look, I'd say in terms of – you guys asked me the other night about Kenny, there was no argument on the sideline. There was no him versus Daniel or anything of that nature. This is a guy that in the heat of the moment, you speak very passionately. You kind of speak with some emotion. I speak with emotion on the sideline. There was no blowup or anything that has to be made of it. I understand sometimes the perceptions will be what they are, but like I said the other day, there's no issue there. Now, in refence to KT (Kadarius Toney), I have spoken to KT and I'd say the one thing about that is the initial tweet or whatever it is, social media thing – the initial whatever it was had absolutely nothing to do with the New York Giants, National Football League or football in general. I think from that guy's perspective – obviously we have a lot of players that are very active on social media. Our message to the players is always, 'Whatever you put out there, make sure you don't have to explain, clarify or defend.' We want to make sure everybody puts out there what they want to put out there. I think it's a different generation and I don't say that in a bad way. I just know, look, thank God there weren't camera phones and social media when I would have been tempted to use them myself, to be honest with you. But in terms of educating our players on what to do and put out there, I'm not going to speak for any of the players. We do that on a consistent basis. I will say I spoke to KT and the thing that was put out there that kind of caught flames or whatever you want to say, the initial thing, had nothing to do with football. We're very open with our players. I talk to them all the time, when there's something to be disciplined, we take care of it. In this instance, in terms of that initial deal right there, we talked with him on through it and the biggest part is educating these guys that if you're going to be active on social media, sometimes you may just have to go and clarify it. Look, maybe these guys need to start hash tagging everything with, 'Not related to the New York Football Giants or the NFL or football,' or whatever it may be, I don't know what they choose to do on that right there. We've just got to make sure we understand that we are in a different situation with our jobs, that it is very visible to the outside and that anything you put out there is going to be interpreted and related directly to what your profession is.

Q: Do you expect that if he was healthy, that he will never have a game again here where he has no touches?

A: Do I expect it? No, I would expect all of our skill players to touch the ball every game. I can't say that something would happen or wouldn't happen. I don't know if the circumstance would come up, but we don't go into a game plan ever with any of our skill players at any position – tight end, running back, fullback, receiver, you name it – where we say, 'Okay, this guy doesn't touch the ball.' We don't do that, so every plan involves our guys. There's different things that come up within the game. I thought our offense took a step in the right direction the other day. I thought we were productive, I thought we did a good job in early downs. We were able to move the ball down the field. There were some things we have to correct and clean up as a team, but I like the direction the offense is moving right now. Look, sometimes some guys get more targets than others, but there's nothing by design to exclude anybody.

Q: What does he need to do to play a bigger role though?

A: Just keep being himself, learning the league and when the ball comes your way, make a play. That's it. I explained the other day on the sideline to him, I talked to him about it. I said, look, there's times in the game where it's natural to become frustrated because you want to make an impact for your team. The one thing I'd say for this guy is he works hard every day. This guy comes out here and he works hard. He's doing a lot of things to put himself in a better position and he's doing a lot of things learning the league. He's put himself in a position to be an impact player in this league. Now, you guys ask all the time, what's the impact? The impact comes down to how you execute within that 60-minute stretch of the game, right? So, I'd say with the way he's preparing, he'll continue to get better and he'll be in position. But as a receiver, a tight end, whoever's in the passing game, you don't control when the ball comes your way. Your job is to get open, catch the ball and then do something productive with it when you get it. You can't worry about the balls that don't come your way. Your job is to go ahead and when it comes your way, make a play on it.

Q: With Nick's surgery, is that something where he has a rod in his leg?

A: I don't want to go into the specifics of the surgery. I'll let (Senior Vice President, Medical Services/Head Athletic Trainer) Ronnie (Barnes) and his staff comment on some of that stuff. Look, I'm not trying to be coy on anything. To be honest with you, I don't want to go ahead and put something out there where I'm not exactly right on that. I've talked through a lot of the big picture stuff with the surgery, and I tell these guys all the time, you can just simplify it down to me and tell me when it's an itch or a scratch or whatever it is. I don't need to know all the scientific terms. I just know it was a traumatic injury. Obviously, there's going to be a great deal of recovery involved with that. We're going to do everything we can as an organization to help Nick through it.

Q: Has he been back to the building?

A: No, he has not. He's still in D.C. right now. He's still in D.C., which from everything I've been told, that's very common with what he's had done and they're going to be very specific about what they do with him throughout his recovery, which is looking out for the best for him.