Safety Xavier Mckinney
Q. Are you looking to play Friday night and get some snaps in?
A: Yeah, I was wishing I played last game but ready – getting ready for Friday, getting prepared and kind of the same thing as last week. Just getting ready for the week, getting ready for the game so (it) should be good.
Q. Can you talk about cornerbacks Deonte Banks and Tre Hawkins III and what you seen?
A: They played great, man. I thought for their first game. I thought they played really well, they played composed, and they went out there and were competitive. We didn't expect anything less. We saw them put in the work throughout the weeks to build up to that game, and we've been helping them along the way. Obviously, they're going to have their growing pains and they're still having their growing pains, but they're competing and they're competitive guys. So, we know every game day they're going to come with their best stuff.
Q. Does a little more fall on your shoulders having two young guys out there?
A: A little bit. A little bit definitely does. Like I said, it's growing pains. It's like little things that they kind of get mixed up on sometimes, but that's why guys like me, guys like (cornerback) Adoree' (Jackson), that's why we're out there to help those guys kind of get through that type of stuff. Like I said, they're competitive, so they fight through it, and I tell them all time, I got their back, we got their back, so they don't have to worry about much.
Q. Do you guys in the defensive back room feel like you guys are behind safety Dane Belton in takeaways at this point?
A: (Safety Jason Pinnock) JP and (safety) Dane. They both have one, so we're going to keep trying to stack them. We've got a really good room, we've got a lot of talent, a lot of guys that have the ability to go get the ball, so we're just going to keep stacking, for sure.
Q. Is it good to see Dane Belton healthy and see what he brings to the defense?
A: For sure. I think just having the secondary as a whole be healthy is really good for us, and that's going to work in our favor, obviously as we keep working through these weeks. We've got a lot of guys that can play really good football, so having all of us available and healthy will be super important with the number of games that we have.
Q. What do you think of the way that cornerback Adoree' Jackson has gone into the slot a little bit? Only the best of the best corners in this league are that flexible. What have you seen from him and what does it tell you that he wants to do that?
A: Ever since I've known Adoree', I've knew that he could play anywhere. It doesn't matter where you put him. You won't see a drop off. It's not surprising – it's not anything that surprises me at all, or any of us. But he's done an extremely good job of being aware and being able to make those switches and also having the smarts to do that because it's not easy to do, but he's able to do it.
Q. Does that give the offense another wrinkle to think about?
A: For sure. For sure. But like I said, we've got a room full of guys. You can throw us around a lot of different places, and you don't know who's playing what position. That's the great thing about our group, and the great thing about our room is that we're able to play in different spots and do different things, so that should work into our favor.
Q. On the other side of the ball, we've seen running back Saquon Barkley go into the slot. Not just as a checkdown receiver but as a slot receiver. How tough will it be to cover him if he's a designed target rather than just a screen option?
A: That guy's one of one. It doesn't get any better than him. Wherever he's at on the field, rather it's lined up in the backfield, lined up in the slot, lined up on the outside, you've got to match up. You've got to be alert, he's a guy that's going to give guys a lot of problems, no matter where he's at. But that's what happens when you've got a guy that good, a guy that talented, so that's another piece that we have.
Q. Do you see the difference in quarterback Daniel Jones this year in terms of his play? If so, what way?
A: For sure. Just being a lot smarter and knowing different things. Obviously, with the more game experience that you have, you start to see a lot of different things, you see more coverages – you see things that the defense is trying to mess with your head and trying to this, but he's been picking up on that super well throughout this offseason. He's poised, he's confident, and you can see it when he plays. You can see it in the locker room, you can see it really everywhere. He's been great for us; he's been making us better in the backend, and he's definitely made our offense better as a whole. It's good to see him just continue to grow but knowing how he works; we see it every day. He's one of those guys – he's like a work horse. He's always working out, he's always in the film room, so it's not surprising.
Q. How do you see it in the locker room?
A: Just being a lot more talkative. Just having that energy day in and day out. We can see that. It's contagious, we can feel it as a team. I know the offense can feel it as well on the other side, so it's just been good, man. Overall, I think the energy level has been high throughout the course of the offseason. Just being in the locker room, being out there on the field with the guys so it's been fun.
Q. Seems like safety Jason Pinnock is playing in that spot next to you. What have you seen from him and how do you guys complement each other?
A: I think we complement great. We can play both jobs. We can both play the right and the left safety, doesn't really matter. It's going to be special. I think as we continue to grow – obviously, we've still got to get through some things, just kind of figuring out some things, but I think so far it's been really good just to play alongside of him. As we practice more together, as we play games, we'll start to understand each other more and know what the other one likes to do, what we don't like to do, stuff like that, so as we go, we'll figure it out and we'll be good.
