Head Coach Joe Judge
Opening Statement: I'm proud of our team and the way they fought coming into this kind of environment and against this team. It obviously took more than 60 minutes, but that is the way we work. Whatever it takes is what we're going to work for to make sure we come out victorious. Look, that's obviously a very good team, a very well-coached team with a lot of talent (New Orleans). We knew they were going to keep on us the whole game and that they could score at any time. Their run defense is one of the top run defenses in the NFL and their kicking game is ready to have explosive games at any time. We had to come ready to play in all three phases today to play complementary football. I'm proud of the way we prepared throughout the week, and it obviously carried over for us to have success today.
On what a win like that says about this Giants team:
A: Look, we're just sticking to the process. I've been talking about this for the last three to four weeks, even going back into training camp. Everyone wants to come in here right now and have a big emotional reaction, but the fact of the matter is we're going to go back and watch this tape and identify things that we need to correct. It wasn't perfect today. There's things we did well and that we'll need to do moving forward. We can't keep riding this rollercoaster every week. For us, we need to look at the tape from the last few weeks and understand who we are as a team. To get the results, we have to play a certain way. There are some things from the game today that we were able to overcome. We need to look at the tape and be very honest with ourselves to see what the Cowboys are looking for in terms of mismatches. I've told you guys for a long time, I base these guys off of how they come to work every week, how attentive they are in meetings, and I see a lot of mental toughness from our guys. They're sticking together as a team. Obviously, we come to work each week and give ourselves a chance to have success.
On how rewarding this performance was for Saquon Barkley:
A: With this kind of defense, it's not just going to burst open right away. This is one of the top run defenses in the league. So, you don't just go in there with some magical plans and think that (big plays) are just going to appear right away. You have to stay with the run and commit to it. Staying with the run doesn't mean you have to do it 50 times, but you have to stay consistent with your gameplan and call plays where you have the runs and plays that come off the runs. I thought Jason (Garrett) did a really nice job today with that. I thought it led to some plays with Saquon in space with screens and catches. Having that catch and run play at the end of the game, that's a guy that's been plugging away, working hard getting better every week. Our team has been improving every week, so I'm proud of the way it's happened. We do not care who gets the points or who makes the plays, as long as it's a Giant.
On how happy the team is for Saquon's performance today:
A: I've said this before about Saquon, everybody has seen how much and how hard he's worked with the adversity he's seen and had to overcome. This wasn't a small injury (torn ACL) that he's had to work and battle through. He's gone through a lot of things, but he's always kept the team first in everything he's done, and they see that. There's a reason he was selected as a captain by his teammates and to represent them with how he works and performs on the field. In terms of seeing him have success, it's collective success. It is everyone's win. Saquon obviously punched the ball in at the end to close it out. That's what we wanted, to get the ball back and finish the game out right there. That's what we were able to do.
On Daniel Jones' performance today:
A: I will watch the tape before I make any broad-stroke, blanket statements. On the surface right now, I thought he handled a lot of things very well with the environment. I thought he did a good job preparing this week with the communication. We made it as tough as we could on the guys this week at practice and I thought that obviously carried over into the game. I thought he did a good job with the players throughout the week with the communication aspect of it, even away from the coaches in different meetings. So, he was able to go out there and make some big throws. Obviously, he hit the shot down to John (Ross) for the big play early on. He was consistently able to find open receivers and make good, accurate throws and the right decisions. I say it all the time, he's a guy that you just see it with the way he works, and the performances will keep on coming. He doesn't have to go out there and force the game, he just has to go out there and make the plays that are in front of him.
On Kadarius Toney's performance today:
A: I think that's just a result of him being ready to play being used within the offense and when the ball came his way, he made plays. He's a guy that we know has talent, he's a very competitive guy, and a guy that has the ability to make big plays. I think you are starting to see a lot of that on the field in the games. We see it at practice on a pretty regular basis. It is not a surprise to us that he makes those plays. It was not something we had to diagram and gadget. He's a part of this offense every week. We're calling plays and he's out there making them.
On preparing for Taysom Hill and Jameis Winston simultaneously:
A: First of all, that guy (Taysom Hill) is a heck of a football player. He's a big, strong man. He obviously poses a lot of issues in terms of how they use him: running as a quarterback, a running back, a receiver, in the kicking game personal protection on the punt team. You guys don't realize that when he's on that punt team, that truly makes that punt coverage like another defensive play. That's a whole different animal having a guy who's an actual quarterback or running back in the punt protection. You have to play their punt team like it's another offensive play. Everyone wants to scheme up double vice returns or max rushes, but you put a guy out there that can do what (Hill) does, you have address the scheme differently and talk to your team about the punt coverage early in the week. The first thing you start with is that it's fourth down defense and that we need to get off the field. We never turn our back there, but it's another defensive play. They have those gunners who are like receivers with (Ty) Montgomery out there and (J.T.) Gray, who's very capable of catching a ball. They're not going to be hesitant to call a fake if they think they have something that can work, they will dial it up. They are very aggressive. Sean (Payton) always does a great job of playing the game aggressively. We expect them to go for it on all the fourth down situations throughout the game. We expected to see a healthy dose of 7 (Taysom Hill) at all the different positions, which we obviously saw. The quarterback power they run with him's such a tough scheme to stop. When you run that quarterback power, it's really like gaining another blocker because you do not have someone handing the ball off. It is a tough scheme. There's a reason he (Hill) closes out a lot of games. You see the game they had last week (New England) with the four-minute drive they had, this guy is able to run the ball consistently and make positive yards. We knew from the start we weren't just going to shut this guy down and stone him, so you have to go in there and keep playing each play. They were going to make plays like they did but we had that puncher's mentality. We got hit and we swung back.
On Offensive Coordinator Jason Garrett's aggressive game plan today and the emphasis of the deep ball on several occasions:
A: We talked throughout the week about the gameplan and what we thought it was going to be to go after these guys. I think Jason did a really good job today of feeling the flow of the game and taking the opportunities that were presented to us. Daniel (Jones) did a good job of facilitating the offense, the receivers made plays down the field, and the offensive line did a good job inside of giving Daniel time to throw. That was something we talked about going into today, they have a really good pressure-based third-down defense. You have a guy like Cam Jordan sitting on the right edge as we see it, that is a guy you have to account for. So, when you go into these games, you have to think about what the other team has and how you have to matchup on them. So, you start with the Saints defense in terms of the pass rush, the up front inside movement, the thirds dime packages, the outside edge with the pass rush, that's something you have to be able to handle. You've got linebackers that play very aggressive and sticky, and they have a good secondary. Those guys on the outside at corner can match up and play as much man or zone as they want to and they have very experienced, savvy safeties who at any point are looking to pounce and steal the ball. When going into a game like this, you're always looking to play aggressively. Sometimes our aggressive is very different compared to someone else's. Someone says punting the ball "isn't aggressive", I'll say "No, I'm going to be aggressive with the coverage units and the defense is going to make a stop. Sometimes you can say keeping your offense out there is aggressive but sometimes doing that is just foolish.
On the team's psyche after a win like this for the rest of the year:
A: I am a believer in the process. I do not believe looking at the results should justify what you do. I am a believer that coming back to work every week and knowing what it takes to be successful and sticking to that plan, but also not abandoning it when you do not get the result. We look at if we completed the process correctly because that puts us in position for results. Results are the most deceiving thing in the history of mankind. If you keep focus on what's away from you and forget about the steps you need to take on the way there (to success), you'll never get to where you want to be.
On the possibility of this being a franchise quarterback performance today from Daniel Jones:
A: Look, I love Daniel. He had a heck of a game today. I am going to leave that right there. I'm not going to sit here and make broad picture statements and headline-type things. If you're asking me if he's our quarterback, as I have said consistently, Daniel Jones is our quarterback. However, you want to label that and go forward with that, you guys can put that in the paper. I am very proud of how he came down here and prepared throughout the week and performed in that environment against that defense.
On Daniel Jones' toughness at the end of the game:
A: Yeah, I think I saw that from Daniel, the offensive line, the tight ends, the receivers, from all of our guys. As far as putting it the game on (Jones') shoulders, he touches the ball every play, so obviously he's the guy that needs to be most consistent in his performance. In terms of putting, it on (Jones') shoulders, there's 53 guys in that locker room that came to work on Wednesday that knew it was going to take every single one of us to be successful down here. I'd say the entire team put each other on their shoulders.
On John Ross' performance today and getting up to speed quickly:
A: We ain't got time for that (easing him in). I always go back to how guys prepare to be in position to know the offense and execute the plays. He obviously executed for us in some key positions today and made some big catches. The touchdown catch, that's something we talk about all the time, playing through the possession and not just the whistle. He did not hesitate on if it was a touchdown or not, he hopped on the ball right away. The ruling on that play was a catch, fumble, and immediate recovery for a touchdown. Had he not played that situation through right there, that could have been a big play going the other way.
On John Ross' speed:
A: There's nothing to hide, that dude is fast.
On his emotions when Saquon Barkley scored:
A: You have an adrenaline rush. You're obviously happy and you sit out there at midfield asking if it's a touchdown or not. I had to get everyone back on the sidelines and we needed to call the next play. Once they told me it was a touchdown, then we can celebrate and talk in the locker room and all that good stuff. At that moment, you always think about having that next call ready. A lot of those close situations right there being close in the stick, you don't know if it's first down or not. I'm always thinking having your first down, third down calls ready as fast as we can. That's where my mind is at that point. When it's finally done, then we can go back in the locker room and go hug and high-five and all that junk.
