Inside Linebacker Bobby Okereke
Q: What was your main takeaway when you went back and watched the film from that game yesterday?
BOBBY OKEREKE: Defensively we got to do a better job tackling. We need to shore up our run fits. And just have more discipline doing our job. Talking about me specifically, kind of three quarters doing your job, a quarter trying to do someone else's job, trying to make a play and that trickles down. I think everybody just needs to focus on doing their job.
Q: I'm surprised you said that. Did you think you were… Basically you're saying you thought you were trying to do too much? Especially early in the game there?
BOBBY OKEREKE: I think mindset wise, yeah. I think my focus just wasn't 100% on doing my job. And if it was, I think we would have had a better result.
Q: I had something else to ask you, but since you said that, why wasn't your, you're a veteran you know what the deal is, why wasn't your head wrapped around the immediate task at hand and maybe trying to go outside what you wanted to do?
BOBBY OKEREKE: A multitude of things. As the game gets going, you want to make a play. It's early in the season. You want to get some momentum going. That's the foundation of fundamental defense, 100% doing your job.
Q: As a team captain, two years running now. 0-2, you have a very young team. How do you make sure that that same old, same old doesn't filter into your group, to the whole team?
BOBBY OKEREKE: You have a 1-0 mentality, and you focus on what you can control and that's practice. Going into this week, like I said, we'll have an emphasis on run fits, an emphasis on tackling and an emphasis on discipline, doing our job.
Q: The Giants have been in this spot a lot and it used to be (former New York Giants running back) Saquon (Barkley) and (former New York Giants safety) Xavier McKinney and (former New York Giants wide receiver) Sterling Shepard, who were here for a long time. And you have a different locker room now. What you're saying here to begin is you're putting it on you, which it sounds like a guy who's trying to take control of his locker room and be a captain. Is it important that some of these new guys, is this a teetering point for some of the new look Giants here to make sure like, 'Hey, we're going to show that we're the accountable ones?'
BOBBY OKEREKE: Yeah, I think that's the mindset and attitude of guys in the building. We're pointing the thumb, not the finger. Everyone has their own individual responsibility. It's 11 guys on a field at a time. So, especially on defense, our focus is everyone doing their job to the best of their ability. If we do that, we'll like the result.
Q: And my experience, obviously not with this team, and you were with the (Indianapolis) Colts, so could not be your experience, is that when a team loses a game where it's a management issue or a roster issue or a coaching issue like you did by not having a kicker available yesterday is players get frustrated with the coach. How do you guys avoid that? Is that something that you have to be on the lookout for? Maybe you've seen it other places.
BOBBY OKEREKE: I'd say that's not really in our mindset. Especially looking at this game. I know me specifically. I didn't tackle very well. Didn't do my job 100% to my ability. That's really where my focus is, and I know guys have their own individual focus on what they can do better.
Q: The word accountability, I would imagine, means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. And you're obviously taking accountability for your game. How do you see that manifest itself during the week? Does it start today? Does it start on Wednesday? What does that mean to you as a captain on this team and what you need to see from everybody in the locker room?
BOBBY OKEREKE: It really started last night on the bus watching the film. I'm watching the film with guys like (outside linebacker) Kayvon (Thibodeaux) and (defensive lineman) Dex (Dexter Lawrence II). I think it's really just being honest. Having those honest conversations, being self-aware, realizing when you made a good play and when you didn't make a good play, when you did your job and when you didn't. Overall, it's just having the dedication throughout the week, whether that's my process tomorrow, on a Wednesday, a Friday, a Saturday, a mock game. Just making sure my dedication and focus is on making the corrections week to week.
Q: One other thing I wanted to ask you just in terms of… (wide receiver) Malik (Nabers) talking yesterday at his locker, mentioned the veterans on this team, name dropped some guys, but collectively and said, 'These guys trust me as a young player and I didn't come through for them late.' Do you take an opportunity, I know it's another side of the ball, but the leadership of this team for you guys in the locker room, when you see or hear a young guy say that, how do you react to that?
BOBBY OKEREKE: I love that. Obviously, he knows and everybody in the building knows he was a star that game. He played extremely well. I think that moment is going to be big for him in his career. He'll remember that. He'll make the corrections throughout the week. His focus and energy will be on making that play. I think he'll have a lot of successful endings to games because of that play he missed.
Q: How different is this defensive scheme from what you were used to under (former New York Giants Defensive Coordinator) Wink (Martindale)?
BOBBY OKEREKE: I'd say pretty different. Obviously, with Wink (Martindale)'s style, we blitzed a lot. We ran a bear front, sometimes had a five-man front. This is a little bit more different. We're playing quarters. Some of our fits are different. But the same fundamentals of football always show up, playing fast and physical and doing your job.
Q: It's easy to say this because you've lost two games. But, in talking to the defensive players and leaders, there does seem to be some frustration, perhaps, with roles or with growing pains and that kind of thing. Can you fix that during a season if I'm accurate there?
BOBBY OKEREKE: A hundred percent. I think if you have the right perspective and mindset of making the corrections week to week, you'll get better and you'll like where you're at later on in the season. So that's where our focus is. We made some corrections from Week 1 to Week 2. We like the progress, still not where we need to be, so we'll make the corrections from Week 2 to (Week) 3 and we'll get a better result.
Q: Just a quick one, if I may. Have you seen (Defensive Coordinator) Shane Bowen's interest in hearing players' feedback and what worked well, what maybe didn't?
BOBBY OKEREKE: For sure. I think we have an open room. Shane (Bowen) talked about it today: guys taking accountability. (It) Starts player to coach, coach to player, really everybody demanding more from each other so that we can have the result we want.
Q: I think you said last year, once you hit your stride, you looked back and said it took you a few games to maybe adjust to Wink (Martindale)'s defense. Do you think any of that's going on for you now? It's another new scheme and it might take you a little time to feel your way through it?
BOBBY OKEREKE: Potentially. You never want to feel your way through the start of a season. You work so hard. All these coaches, people in the building put in so much work, so you want to have a great result to start. Sometimes for me, when I overthink, I'm not playing fast. So, getting myself to a spot where I'm clear-headed and playing fast, that's what I'm working on right now.
Q: Obviously, I think at some point last year it probably clicked for you. Is it fair to say maybe it hasn't yet in this defense this season?
BOBBY OKEREKE: I think growing pains is part of it. Just looking to make the corrections from last week to next week.
