WR Jaylen Waddle
(I wanted to ask you about the touchdown pass that you caught from QB Tua Tagovailoa. The one that you jumped up, it was up by your facemask. I think it was on third down. What impressed you about what Tua did on that particular play?) – “He just put the ball in a great place. It was a timing route, so he just put there, where only I could get it really.”
(QB Tua Tagovailoa is second in the NFL in completion percentage. How would you describe Tua’s accuracy?) – “It’s always been a talent of his since in college. He’s pretty accurate and that just show the stats just show it.”
(What was the reaction you got from the waddle celebration?) – “I got a whole bunch of messages and mentions on Twitter and stuff. It’s been crazy.”
(I know LB Jaelan Phillips and DT Christian Wilkins said they have been trying to get you to do it for a while. What led you to finally say you’ll pull it out?) – “I actually did it last week because Christian always runs on for field goal. He’ll be the first one and we just started doing it.”
(Against the Jets, you spun the ball. Against the Panthers you spiked it. Which one do you prefer? Or the waddle?) – “It doesn’t even matter. It’s just how I’m feeling at that moment.”
(Have you thought about working on the different variations of the waddle?) – “No, not at all.”
(Have you studied any penguin film?) – “(laughter) People have been sending me videos of me doing it next to a penguin. I got some work to do for sure. (laughter)”
(How are you going to monetize this? Do you have merchandise? What’s going on?) – “Nah. It’s really just a me, Christian (Wilkins) and ‘JP’ (Jaelan Phillips) thing. We just do it. We just have fun.”
(I know the team comes first for you but is there a statistical goal out there for you whether it’s 100 catches, 1,000 yards or something that would be meaningful for you from a personal standpoint?) – “Not necessarily, to be honest. I’m just going to go out there and really try to handle business the best I can honestly. Not try to do too much, just do what I’m asked and just play the game.”
(Any nice texts from any other receivers from this draft class? Your buddy WR Devonta Smith or WR Ja’Marr Chase? Did anyone from your draft class send you a text after your big game Sunday?) – “No. Me and ‘Smitty’ (Devonta Smith) talk regularly. But it’s never just about football, to be honest.”
(WR DeVante Parker was back at practice. What would it do if he’s back in the lineup this weekend?) – “Everybody knows that DeVante is a great player, so it’s just another weapon. It makes our offense that much better and just bring his vet style to the game.”
(What does QB Tua Tagovailoa do to make yards after the catch possible for you and your teammates?) – “I think he hits you while you’re in stride so that your run after catch ability is on display. I think just where he puts the ball allows you to make a move and things like that. His ball placement is very key.”
(Yesterday, Cornerbacks Coach Charles Burks talked about you help his defensive backs. Practicing against you helps them. Today, CB Nik Needham said the same thing. What’s the reverse of that? How have those guys helped you polish your game as a pro?) – “They help me a lot, to be honest with you, because they all have different styles and that comes with it throughout the week. The style change of corners and matchups and things like that. ‘X’ (Xavien Howard), Byron (Jones), Nik (Needham) all of them guys help me a lot.”
(I saw a statistic from Travis Wingfield the other day. He said that when you were running, they timed your miles per hour on the 50-plus yarder and it was the fifth fastest ball-carrier of the year. Does that surprise you? How fast did you feel while you were running that play?) – “To be honest, I didn’t feel like I was just scooting like that. When they told me, I was like ‘pretty good, pretty good.’”
(You chose Be The Match for My Cause My Cleats this week. Can you talk a little bit about that?) – “Yeah, I chose Be The Match earlier because of sickle cell and what they do with that and the awareness they bring to sickle cell, which I have the sickle cell trait. So it was something I felt like I should do. I found out late that I had it. I think I was in college when I had it. I think it’s something that everybody needs to be aware of and get knowledge on that.”
LB Andrew Van Ginkel
(You’ve had a good season, but it seems like you’ve certainly raised your game like a lot of guys on the team have over the last couple of weeks. Do you feel like you’re playing better, that you’re taking your game to another level?) – “Yeah. I think as long as I can keep improving as the season goes along, and take it day-by-day, and week-by-week, and try to help this team win, that just starts with me getting better and doing my job.”
(Where do you think you’re making more of an impact over these last few weeks? Is it in the run game? Is it in the pass rush? What area, do you think?) – “I think just overall in my whole game, I feel like I’m just getting my confidence up and being in the right spot and doing what the coaches ask of me and feeding off of the players around me and having fun. I think that has really helped me grow as a player and build my confidence.”
(The stats have you with 17 quarterback hits and two sacks. How do you look at that? Is that a sense of pride that you are getting to the quarterback almost as much as anybody on the team? Or is it sort of ‘I’m that close to getting a sack?’) – “I always try to nitpick my game. You always want those sacks, so when you’re not getting there, you try to figure out a way how you can get there a split second faster. Maybe it’s going for the ball or different ways to disrupt and try to get those sacks. When you’re short like that, you always try to find something that you can – maybe a better get off or something that can help you improve that.”
(Have you worked on any one particular thing?) – “Just all of it together. That’s just what I pride myself on, trying to get better each and every game, and each day.”
(How much did your responsibilities change this year with LB Kyle Van Noy departing, with DE Shaq Lawson departing? Were there new responsibilities you took on and what can you say about what type of responsibilities there were?) – “There are a lot of different moving pieces that go into this defense. We have a lot of versatile guys that can play different positions. It’s just accepting the role that I’m put in and being able to excel at all of those spots.”
(Was more put on your plate in terms of were some of LB Kyle Van Noy’s responsibilities given to you where you had to learn new things in July and August?) – “Honestly, no. they do a good job here in making every spot interchangeable and making sure a lot of guys know a lot of positions. If there are injuries or if something happens, you have guys that can fill different voids.”
(What have you seen in LB Jaelan Phillips development and the success he’s having?) – “I think it’s all of the little things that not everybody sees. He’s in here early, he’s getting extra treatment, extra strength (training), meeting with them. He’s coming in on Tuesdays and getting work in on off days, which I think is phenomenal of him. You don’t see a lot of rookies coming in and taking care of their body. It starts with that and even in the film study. He’s got a good base so he can build off of that foundation.”
(Can you talk about the unison that this pass rush has come with where it could be one guy coming on the initial pressure and somebody else is getting the sack because of it? Just the way you guys are complementing each other?) – “I think we have a lot of different guys that can move inside, outside, that we can give different looks and it puts a lot of pressure on the o-line and the quarterback. I think that helps a lot.”
(How would you describe the improvement of this defense over the past month?) – “I think it’s everybody buying in and setting that high standard, and everybody coming in and buying in and doing their job to the best of their ability. Trusting that the guy behind you and the guy beside you that they are going to do their job.”
(I got to ask you about fatherhood. How is that treating you?) – “It’s awesome. There’s nothing like it. I feel like he’s learning something new every day. He just continues to grow and he’s growing like a weed. There is nothing better.”
(Can you tell us about your My Cause My Cleats initiative this year?) – “I’m supporting the Susan B. Komen Foundation because my cousin was just diagnosed with breast cancer. Just bringing awareness to that and to her, to know that I‘m supporting her all the way down in Miami. She’s back home. If there’s any way I can support her and support anybody that has been through that struggle.”
DT Christian Wilkins
(How many conversations with QB Tua Tagovailoa have you had about your last college game?) – “There’s really not much conversation to be had. We all know what happened. What is there to even say? Here and there I might poke a little fun or say something here or there.”
Tua Tagovailoa: “Oh don’t ask Christian! (laughter)”
Christian Wilkins: “See. See he clearly is still hurt and upset by it but it is what it is. It was just business. Doing what I had to do.”
(I wanted to ask you an introspective question as a thoughtful guy. You’ve always been a good player but as Defensive Line Coach Austin Clark said this week when I talked to him about you, you’ve taken your game to another level this year and you’ve been really good. Was there a conversation you had with yourself or thought process after last season where you said to yourself, ‘I’m okay but I want to be a lot better. I need to make changes in any way to make me an even better player?’) – “Really, it’s just staying the course and that’s something I would say to a lot of young guys coming into this league whether you have success, whether you struggle or whether you’re good or great. Just staying the course and constantly finding ways to improve. You’re never a complete product no matter if you have the best season of all possible seasons, you still can be better. That’s something I just try to do. I’ve always had confidence within myself. I know I can be a good player in this league and continue to be a good teammate. I always just try to find ways to stay the course, stay humble and stay motivated.”
(You guys obviously are not afraid to have fun in the building, at games and everything, but how do you balance having fun with when it’s time to lock in and really get on to …?) – “It’s all business. It’s always all business. It’s always time to work but at the same time, I like to have fun when I work so I try to keep a good spirit, keep good energy around here and a lot of the guys have that same mindset too. It doesn’t matter what we’re doing, just try to find some fun in it. We’re playing a kids game and we get to call it work. I’m always going to have fun playing this game. Meetings, whatever else – lock in, be a little bit more serious but when you’re out there, when it’s time to celebrate, when it’s time to hip check somebody, chest bump, you do those things and you have a good time with it.”
(Speaking of celebrating, how do you critique WR Jaylen Waddle’s waddle?) – “He did alright. He did pretty good. He gave me some credit. He gave me the founder, I guess, credit. He did pretty good. I’m glad. It’s a perfect celebration too. I wish I had a cool ass name like Waddle or something. (laughter) I’ve been trying to get him to do it all year and he’s finally found the courage to do it. We’ve been working on it all year but when he brought it out, it was pretty solid.”
(What did you do to convince WR Jaylen Waddle to finally do it?) – “I’ve always, after he makes a play or whenever I see him walking around, I’ll just kind of do it or just mess with him. I’ll be like, ‘Waddle, waddle, waddle,’ or like whatever it is. Just putting it in his head and he finally broke it out so it was cool. Now he put the league on notice. Now he’s got a celebration that everyone can get behind.”
(You caught some speed when you were going to the field from the sideline. When you see that they’re getting close to the end zone do you start to monitor? You start zooming down there.) – “Yeah, I’m on field goal anyways so I always got to get ready to be able to go onto the field for the next play. Honestly, I got a little competition with the other d-linemen because we track our top speed throughout the game so that’s my opportunity to get an edge.”
(DT Zach Sieler was mic’d up, you got the sack and he was mad because he felt like he should have been on the field for that play. Can you describe to us what happened?) – “Zach knew what he was doing, so he was mic’d up. He was doing it for the cameras. Nah, I’m just joking. That’s the kind of guy that Zach is and that’s the kind of rapport and energy we’ve been able to create for the guys on the d-line specifically. We don’t care who gets it, we’re just happy. We’re happy for each other and like I said, that’s the kind of guy Zach is. When guys are in or if guys are hot, we have not enough pride to be like, ‘keep going.’ If it’s for the betterment of the team, whatever it is, we’re genuinely happy to see each other succeed. That was just another prime example and there’s a lot of love in the d-line room. We got some characters in the d-line room, golly. It’s just all love in there for sure.”
(One of the metric sites has this category called run stops which is impactful stops against the run. Tou’re very high in that category. Are you pleased with how you’ve done against the run personally?) – “I don’t really pay attention to all that. I don’t get into all the metrics and the analytics and all that other stuff. I just try to play my game and be the best that I can be for the team. It doesn’t really matter. Sometimes hey, I could have the best run game of my life and not make a single tackle but just taking double teams or being in the right spot or making the ball fall back to a linebacker or whatever it is. Sometimes numbers can be misleading or whatever, so I don’t try to pay attention to it regardless. I just do my job and whatever happens, happens.”
(I asked you one question a few months ago on QB Tyler Van Dyke. Just had a final one now that the season is done. It’s been pretty remarkable what he’s done. Have you observed what he’s done, have you had any contact with him since that initial text?) – “I’ve been paying attention and stuff obviously. He’s been putting on for the proud Suffield Academy. Proud alum. He’s been doing his thing and I’ve been happy to see him grow and do some good things out there so that’s awesome. I’m sure I’ll reach out to him at some point in the offseason. Just hang out, grab a bite to eat or something. But like I said, I’m happy to see him have success.”
(Two part question; any friendly banter this week before the game with DL Dexter Lawrence? And do you keep tabs with the other members of the Clemson defensive line where you all went in the first round?) – “Friendly banter? I told him not to talk to me all week. I told him we ain’t friends this week, we ain’t boys, none of that – it’s business. (laughter) Nah, it’s always all love. We talk to each other pretty often, at least once a week if it’s nothing but a text message. We got a little group message or if it’s nothing but a silly message here or there or just like, ‘Love you guys.’ We always keep in contact with each other, keep each other motivated and just updated on each other’s lives. We keep in pretty good contact but yeah, I probably won’t talk to him as much this week until maybe after the game.”
(Swap jerseys after the game?) – “I already have one of his jerseys, so yeah. I’ll definitely chop it up, give him a big bear hug after the game but for those 60 minutes, it’s all business.”
(Obviously there’s going to be some questions for who’s going to be at quarterback on Sunday but regardless, what stands out to you about how the Giants play on offense?) – “They’re really talented. They got a lot of great skill guys. They got a good, strong, tough o-line. We’re definitely going to have to be prepared and have a great week of practice. I feel like we’re going in the right direction with that today but just a lot of work to do. We can’t take these guys lightly. We can’t focus on anything else but the task at hand because they’re a really good team and they got a lot of weapons. They’ve competed with some really good teams so we’re going to have to play our best game this season this week.”
(It wasn’t too long ago when you were a rookie. How would you assess how LB Jaelan Phillips and S Jevon Holland are handling this season with all the success they’ve had?) – “It’s definitely good to see those young guys step up and grow up in front of your eyes. They were just little babies when they came in here and they didn’t know what they were doing, whether they were coming or going, nothing. Jaelan didn’t even know how to get in a three-point stance. I had to teach him all that, teach him how to walk and – (laughter) nah, I’m joking. But it’s good to see those guys definitely be impactful for us but just continue to try to keep them humble. They have good spirits, they have some want to, they care about the game, they love the game and it’s good to have a lot of those young guys around because they’re just excited to be here. They have the right mindset and the right energy. It’s just good. I’m just happy to see them have some success.”
(We had LB Andrew Van Ginkel out here a few minutes ago. What does he bring into this defense especially the last several weeks?) – “’Gink’ is one of the smartest guys I’ve played with. He gets schemes and gets how to play well within our scheme. He sees things and whenever ‘Gink’ tells me to do something on the field, I’m like ‘yup, I’m all ears.’ A lot of the times it leads to a play or it leads to us making a stop on defense or whatever. He’s a great teammate, he can rush, he does a good job in coverage, he’s just a tough guy, does a good job on special teams and I got a lot of respect for a guy like ‘Gink.’”
TE Mike Gesicki
(For all of the good-natured kidding with your buddy TE Durham Smythe, he really has become a more significant part of the passing game than ever before in these last couple of weeks. What do you think has led to that, knowing him as well as you do and knowing how Co-Offensive Coordinator/Tight Ends George Godsey thinks? Is it strictly matchups? Is it an evolution of his skills?) – “I’d love to say he has me to thank for that but I played zero role in that. Durham is just a hell of a football player. If you want him to block, he’s going to do it. If you want him to escape out in the flat and break a tackle, he’ll do it. If you want him on special teams on punt, he’ll do it. If you want him to lead, he’ll do it. Whatever you ask him to do, he’s going to do it and do it to the best of his ability, and that’s a pretty good ability.”
(Did he talk any trash for getting the nod for the QB sneak, that he was the one that got to do it?) – “No. That was an interesting package. We’ve had that in for about three weeks now, actually. Initially I was like, ‘Listen man, you don’t want to call that. You want to save that for prime time when we play on Thursday night.’ It didn’t make it out for the Thursday night game. It didn’t make it out for last week. Then we finally got it called and dialed up this week twice within like three plays. So good for him. I’m happy for him. Any time he makes a play, I’m his number one fan.”
(But you better get the next one right?) – “(laughter) I’m not lobbying for snaps under center. Although Durham now, unfortunately I tried to warn (General Manager) Chris (Grier) and everybody last week to get this man his money. Because now he can start demanding quarterback money. (laughter) So that’s now an issue in this organization – there’s not going to be enough money to go around. (laughter)”
(Regarding QB Tua Tagovailoa’s ball placement, he’s number two in the league in completion percentage. How would you describe his accuracy?) – “I mean his accuracy is great. I specifically, I don’t know why this just flashed back to me, but I remember after the Chicago preseason game, I remember talking about his accuracy back then before a lot of people were talking about it now. I remember he hit me on a third down in a preseason game and he put it low and away where only I could go get it. It’s just those kind of throws that he makes. Now you see it. I think the other day he was like 28-of-31 or something. He’s going to throw a very catchable ball and he’s going to make the job easy for his receivers. I love playing with hm and a lot of guys are making plays because of where he’s putting the ball.”
(That seems like a very situational throw. Can you work on that or is that just kind of a feel of the game in the moment?) – “It’s really in the moment because you don’t know – you assume you know how they’re going to play things and stuff but at the end of the day, once you get out there, all of that film study and all of the preparation and everything that goes into it just puts you in that position to kind of have a better understanding of what’s going to happen. But they’re allowed to do whatever they want out there. He has a great feel of where defenders are and how to throw people open and get a ball in a tight space. That’s just a credit to him and his arm.”
(You guys have been clicking very well even without WR DeVante Parker. What kind of a … [inaudible]) – “DeVante is obviously an elite receiver in this league. He can make plays downfield, can make contested catches. So to add another guy like that into the mix, I think you guys all know what DeVante is capable of so we’d love to have him back out there.”
(You’ll be reunited Sunday with your former college teammate. What was it like playing with Giants RB Saquon Barkley?) – “A great player. Unbelievable teammate. I can’t say enough good things about him on and off the field. Obviously he’s had a ton of success but he’s also fought through some injuries and things like that. I’m happy for him personally that he’s healthy and that he’s able to go. But on Sunday, we’re not college teammates anymore.”
(You chose THON for My Cause My Cleats. Can you talk about it?) – “Yeah, so it’s an organization called THON. At Penn State, they do a 46-hour dance marathon for pediatric cancer. So the kids, their families, everybody gets out there and fundraise a ton of money every year. I mean in the tens of millions of dollars to help raise awareness and help research for these kids and their families. It’s an unbelievable organization. It’s a great cause and I’m just happy to – this Sunday – raise a little bit more awareness for it.”
(What stands out to you about the Giants defense?) – “A lot of playmakers. Up front, they’re big. Really big. Then the ‘backers are good players. Then in the secondary, they’ve got (James) Bradberry, who plays very physical. I went back and watched a couple of games that he played this season. He’s made a lot of plays playing physical. (Xavier) McKinney in the back at safety. He’s made a ton of plays back there. Then one of their other DBs – Julian Love – he’s made a ton of plays as well. They’ve got guys across the board that can make plays. And also with (Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator) Patrick Graham being over there, he was here in 2019 so we know overall his philosophy and how he wants to play. They’re going to be ready to play so we have to continue to prepare and be ready on Sunday.”
(Does that help at all, the fact that you do know what kind of defense Patrick Graham likes to play?) – “To an extent. But at the end of the day, there’s game-planning that goes into it. There’s a lot of stuff that can change on Sunday. You think you know what to expect but that’s what this league – a lot of guys get paid a lot of money to be creative and disguise things and he’s obviously a great coach and has made a ton of good play calls and good games that he’s had in his career. I think they’re also going to be prepared and we’ll see.”
CB Nik Needham
(Is the blitzing aspect of what you guys have accomplished the last four weeks, is it so fun that you will ever playfully lobby Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer to get you more blitz opportunities?) – “I wouldn’t necessarily say that, but I think it’s something that has been working for us and we’ve had a little success on that and made some explosive plays defensively on that. I don’t think there’s a problem with it. We’ve just got to do whatever Coach Boyer says in the gameplan. At the end of the day, if it’s more blitzing, we’ll do it. If not, there’s a reason for that.”
(It seems like fun to blitz.) – “Oh no, it’s definitely fun.”
(Has there ever been a time this season where you’ve gone up to Defensive Backs Coach Gerald Alexander or Cornerbacks Coach Charles Burks or Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer and said, ‘Hey! Get me in on some of those blitzes?’) – “Nah, nothing like that but when it’s my turn to blitz, I’ll just tell them make sure y’all do y’all jobs so I can try to come free. I know that never happens but you always just joke around like that, yeah. I said I’m trying to get sacks like y’all. (laughter)”
(I know you’ve gone against WR Jaylen Waddle in practice and certainly in the summer, a lot in the summer. What do you think is unique about his skill?) – “Just how explosive of an athlete he is and then his catch and run. As soon as he catches the ball, you see it. He like instantly hits top speed. I think that creates a big issue for a lot of defenders and he can also go up and reach the high point and get the ball too, as you saw last week on the touchdown. I think that’s just what’s a big key on him. He can make all the catches, he can run all the routes and he’s fast. He’s one of the fastest guys. I think that’s what makes it kind of difficult for other people to guard him and that’s what’s making him have success.”
(The Giants have their version of WR Jaylen Waddle in WR Kadarius Toney, I think. I don’t know his health status. How similar are their skillsets?) – “Both are really explosive athletes. I think you can kind of say generational explosiveness or quick twitch. Toney definitely has a lot of that, you see it on film. He makes a lot of guys miss so if he is playing, we have to make sure we all rally to the ball and wrap up.”
(Can you tell us about your My Cause My Cleats initiative? Is that WR Allen Hurns’ foundation?) – “Yeah, I’ve been doing that since I’ve been here. This is my third year I think doing that. It’s just about single parents and praising them, helping and trying to give back to them for all the hard work they give to their children. I grew up with two single parents so just watching how hard they work and all the sacrifice they gave for me just to eventually get to this point I am right now means the world. I want to give back as much as possible to them and all the other single parents out there doing stuff for their kids so they can be successful.”
CB Byron Jones
(I know everything is one week at a time here, but in a quiet moment, have you allowed yourself to think about the possibility of competing maybe for postseason? And knowing that it is realistic, which no one would’ve envisioned at 1-7.) – “No. We are just focused on the Giants. This league is too hard, everyone is too good to put your mind too far forward. We have a long way before we can start thinking about that stuff.”
(With that said, does it feel like a different purpose now? Just a few weeks ago, the purpose was just ‘oh my goodness, we are better than this.’ Now there is something more of a season that could be made out of this.) – “The goal – any week you go in, whether you’re 1-7 or 1-10, is to win the next game. Our mentality was just that and to the credit of the players, we all stayed in a foxhole and we understood there was a lot of football to play and that the season could turnaround in an instant. Credit to the coaches, the staff, the players for believing in the message all the way through. Again, there is still a lot of football to be played, and that’s the exciting part for us. There is a lot of opportunity out there.”
(How has it felt playing defense over the past four weeks for you guys?) – “It’s been fun. Guys are making plays, we are putting pressure on offenses, we’re forcing them to respond to our calls. It’s been fun. We’ve been causing havoc and of course there are plays here and there that we want to get back, but guys are stepping up and guys are making plays. That’s exciting. It’s fun for us.”
(What are your thoughts on QB Daniel Jones and if he can’t go, QB Mike Glennon?) – “They are both good quarterbacks. They’ve both played in this league for a good amount of time. No matter who is out there, I think we’re going to get the Giants’ best. We’re preparing for both.”
(For a rookie, has S Jevon Holland’s handling of calls been everything you could possibly expect for a first-year player in terms of quick recognition, comprehension and relaying it to other members of the secondary?) – “His growth has been impressive – his leadership, his ability to understand plays and get us into the right calls. For a young guy to come in and play like that at this level is really impressive. The goal for him is to continue to push in that direction and continue to be the leader that he is. He’s been playing well. I wouldn’t tell him to his face. I want him to keep playing as hard as he can, but he’s a guy that I have no doubt that he’s going to continue being a better player. It’s fun to see that growth.”
(What do you think changed that enabled this defense to put that kind of pressure on offenses, like you just mentioned, and force them to respond to you rather than the other way around?) – ‘I think everyone took it upon themselves. I think everybody from the coaches to the players looked themselves in the mirror and said, what can I do better? That’s one thing I love about defensive guys. I think we’re a little bit different than any other person on the field. We take that personal responsibility to the heart. I think a lot of guys took the time to look themselves in the mirror and ask ‘what can I be doing better?’ and to their credit, everyone collectively came together and kind of got it done. The exciting part is how much we have to go and some of the plays that we left on the field the last couple of games. That’s the fun part. It’s a continual journey.”
(It’s interesting that players were talking about plays you left on the field when you’re coming off a game where you gave up 10 points and a 5.8 passer rating.) – “I know everyone looks at the final score, but we understand that every single game you go into, you need as many plays as you can to push the tide and win the game for you. You never know what it’s going to come down to. We don’t take those plays for granted. Obviously the score was one thing, but we look personally on the defense and say we left some things out there and we gave some up when we really shouldn’t have. We understand that this is the NFL and the offense will make plays, but when it’s on us, I think take that to the heart.”
(This is My Cause My Cleats week. Can you talk a little bit about the foundation you chose to support?) – “I can’t even pronounce the name, so we call I CJD (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease). It’s a rare brain disease. It pretty much puts you in a late stage of Alzheimer’s. You could be a perfectly healthy functioning person and I guess these prion proteins just de-nature the proteins in your brain and you just die within the next year. It’s very hard to determine exactly what the issue is until you pass away, unfortunately. It’s a rare disease, but there are enough people who have experienced it. Every time I post the shoes, I get a lot of messages from families across America thanking me for putting that cause at the forefront. I had a very close friend pass away from that – her name was Diana Hunter. She was in her 30s. She was vibrant, she had her own job and she was doing her thing. She passed away suddenly from that disease. I try to uplift that family anyway I can by having cleats and by putting it on the forefront. I try to do my best.”
QB Tua Tagovailoa
(Is there anything in particular you may have done growing up to really polish your ball placement and make sure you are putting the ball in a position where guys can run after the catch?) – “Yeah, I would say working out with my dad, that was imperative. Just everything I had to do had to be to his liking. If the ball placement wasn’t where it should have been, then we do it again and we do it until we get it right. That goes with footwork and all of that.”
(How is your finger feeling at this point?) – “My finger is good. There are still times where I hit a helmet or I hit someone’s hand or arm and I’ll feel it a little. But other than that, it’s good.”
(Like discomfort in gripping the ball or anything?) – “No.”
(How about your ribs?) – “My ribs are doing good too. I don’t really think about it as much anymore.”
(It looks like DT Christian Wilkins is trying to fire spitballs at you. It could be a distraction but you’ve pressed on through trade talks and injuries. What is it about your mental makeup that you’re able to set things aside?) – “Well, I think for me, the most important thing was the guys in the locker room. It wasn’t really the outside noise that was going around the building … You just can’t worry about them.”
(I guess this also shows how much fun you guys are having now and it’s a bit more loose. There’s not as much to worry about. Obviously the next opponent but now that there’s actually something to play for this season as opposed to just getting a win, how is everything feeling? What’s the difference there?) – “I mean like I said before, I think our guys – we’re still trying to find our rhythm and playing complementary football in all three phases of the game. I would also say we’re really close as a team. I haven’t done a lot of things off the field with many of my past teammates than I have this year with guys. I would say we’re really close. It’s really like a family, for sure.”
(Have you done the Waddle waddle yet?) – “What is that? The little bird thing? (laughter) I’ve never seen that or heard of that before. I didn’t know what that was. I thought it was a bird dance. (laughter) Maybe that’s the new dance for everyone.”
(I know winning helps but are you feeling like you’re in a very good place mentally with as well as you’re playing, your healthy at the moment, the team is winning. Is this as good as you’ve felt coming into work in a long time?) – “It always feels good winning but the thing we can’t do as a team is be satisfied with the win the previous week. That’s the game of football that we play. You enjoy it for that day, that night, come into work, learn from your mistakes and then you’re really moving forward from it. I would say if you can’t do that, it’s hard for you to stack together good days and really get a win at the end of the day or at the end of the week for your team.”
(A few minutes ago you were asked about ball placement and how you developed that skill as a youngster. What are some of the keys that you try to keep in mind relative to where exactly you’d like the ball to be on various passes?) – “It’s always dependent. If it’s man, you never want to put it behind them. You never want to put it on them. You always want to lead them. In zone, you’re really just trying to beat the defensive guys in spots when you’re throwing it. A lot of it has to do with timing. Really, the receivers in zone and in man, I feel like they’re our eyes as quarterbacks because they’re running to a spot where they want us to throw the ball. It gets hard when you’re looking in the front and trying to see who is in front of them and then try to look back at them and then try to make the throw. Sometimes you just never have enough time to do that, so you’re just trusting them.”
(On one of TE Durham Smythe’s quarterback sneaks that he did in the game, I noticed either your Mike call or you were pointing out something on the defense and you held it there for a while. How would you grade your acting performance on that play?) – “Yeah, an Oscar. Who do I talk to? (laughter)”
(How nice is it to have WR DeVante Parker back out there?) – “It’s good to have ‘DP’ back out there. He’s looked pretty good in practice today. To me, it didn’t look like he was limited in any of the reps, so that’s very encouraging to see.”
(We talked to Quarterbacks Coach Charlie Frye about your pocket presence and he mentioned some of it was taught and some of it is innate. I’m curious how you balance maybe feeling the pressure without looking down and getting flustered.) – “There’s times where I still look down at the rush, which isn’t good. For myself, I just try to maneuver my way to find guys because I’m not the tallest quarterback and we’ve got big guys and I’m trying to see through them and behind them and it gets hard. I just try to do my best to step up and maneuver my way so I can see the throwing lane and get these guys the ball.”
(How do you feel about the SEC Championship game and going up against No. 1 Georgia?) – “I know it’s going to be a tough game but Roll Tide forever. Roll Tide ‘til I die. Alumni. I can’t remember the last time Georgia beat us though. (laughter) Roll Tide.”
Head Coach Brian Flores
(Has there been any progress with WR DeVante Parker and WR Will Fuller and will either of them practice this week?) – “Will won’t be able to practice this week. DeVante will be out at practice today along with Greg Mancz.”
(It’s My Cause My Cleats week. I know you’ve talked before about your mom and some of the people that you’re repping the cancer cause for. I was curious if you can share why that means a lot to you?) – “I think it’s pretty obvious why. I think cancer is something that affects a lot of people. It doesn’t matter. All walks of life – poor, rich, black, white. It doesn’t care about religion, race, nothing. It affects everyone. Obviously it has affected me as well and my family. I’m not alone in that and any way I can support the fight against cancer, I will.”
(Earlier this week, Giants Head Coach Joe Judge had commented about your time coming up together in New England. I just wanted to get your take on what that time meant to you and how it taught you and prepared you for where you’re at now and maybe some of your favorite memories from that time with Coach Judge?) – “We came up together as young coaches trying to pave our way in this league. Early mornings, late nights, a lot of conversations and it wasn’t just myself and Joe, there were a lot of guys on that staff. Some that are here, some that are in New York now. I think we challenged each other as far as trying to learn from one another. We asked a lot of questions. I know Pat and I have challenged each other, Joe and I have challenged each other. ’What do you think about this? What do you think about that? That’s a good way to do it. I wouldn’t think of it that way.’ I think that’s how you get better. Iron sharpens iron. I believe that on any team. The coaching staff is a team. The players are a team. It’s one big team. I think that environment was great for me, personally, being around a lot of great coaches. I certainly was able to get better, make improvements, teaching styles and methods. Joe is somebody I definitely learned from and he’s got a PhD in education, so he knows how to teach. I don’t think people know that. But at the end of the day, coaching is teaching and I learned some teaching methods from him. Again, I learned a lot from him and a lot of people there. I have a lot of respect for him and he’s a friend first.”
(I know a couple weeks ago you said there is no set amount of time you can use to judge any particular player or a young player coming into this league. But last Sunday was QB Tua Tagovailoa’s 16th career start so now he has a full season’s body of work. Where do you think he’s improved the most over this time?) – “We’d have to wait until after this week. The full season is 17 games now. (laughter) So I’ll answer that one next week. But through 16 games, I think he’s obviously – we get up here and he’s made a lot of positive, there’s been a lot of positives. He’s improved every week. I think he’s getting better every time he steps on to the practice field. He’s getting the reps from a preparation standpoint and he’s doing better. He’s doing a lot better and hopefully he continues to just keep working the way he’s working and I’ll probably have a better answer next week.”
(How would you describe QB Tua Tagovailoa’s accuracy and when a player has a high completion percentage, how can that impact an offense and how the defense has to defend that quarterback?) – “Accuracy is always good. If we can throw it accurately, catch the ball – those are normally positive plays. Positive plays keep you on schedule and if you’re on schedule, then normally good things happen. When you’re off schedule or behind in the sticks, it’s harder to pick up the yardage with the amount of downs that we have. I think accuracy is very important. He’s been accurate. We’ve asked him to be accurate. He’s practiced that way in practice and it’s showing up in games.”
(I know accuracy is kind of a general term, getting the ball to the receiver but is there a way that you guys track the ball placement and whatnot? I feel like that’s kind of an underrated aspect of accuracy?) – “You’re right on it. It’s something we talk about with Tua (Tagovailoa) – put it in the spot where the runners can run away from the defenders. Tell the receiver where to go with the ball with where you place it. We try to do that as best we can. I think he can be accurate enough to do that, so we ask him to do that and that’s a big part of it. A run after catch is, if you throw it behind, you can’t run after catch. You have to put it out in front, put it in a spot where we can do something with it. That’s something we definitely harp on and at the same time, the receiver has got to trust that the quarterback is throwing it to where they need turn and run.”
(How much of accuracy do you think is innate and how much can be learned, developed and improved?) – “It can certainly be learned, developed and improved. I would say it is innate. I can only be so fast. I can develop it but it’s going to be slow. I think it’s similar in that way. Probably not a good comparison but I think there’s definitely some natural ability to put the ball where you want it.”
(With Will, what is he doing these days and … [inaudible]) – “With who?”
(WR Will Fuller?) – “He had a pretty significant fracture in the finger. There were a lot of broken bones in there and it’s still healing. He’s just not able to get out there yet.”
(LB Andrew Van Ginkel has been making a lot of plays, it seems recently more so than earlier in the season. Do you see anything different in him or is it just a matter of getting more opportunities and capitalizing on them?) – “I think he’s always consistent, he’s tough, he’s physical. He always plays with high effort and motor. Every game is a little bit different. He normally takes advantage of his opportunities. He took advantage of some rush opportunities last week, but he also does a good job of setting the edge, getting some batted balls. I think collectively as a group, they are making more plays and he’s a part of that.”
(Your three rookies have played really well, especially the last couple of weeks. The top rookies I guess – WR Jaylen Waddle, LB Jaelan Phillips and S Jevon Holland. I’m curious how have you seen them evolve from when you first got them to where they are now?) – “I think the entire rookie class, they are all working hard. They are all improving, getting better. Those three in particular are getting a lot of playing time along with Liam Eichenberg is getting a lot of playing time as well. He’s making improvements as well. It’s really what I’ve been saying all year, they are sponges. They are eager to learn, they are eager to improve and get better. I think they’ve made a lot of improvements over the course of the year. I think some of the flash stats came up last week. That’s why we’re spending a lot more time (talking about them) but I think they’ve all made improvements whether it’s sacks or yards or interceptions. We’ve had this conversation on the big stats. I think if – if there’s 1,000 plays and you get 10 sacks, that’s one percent of your plays. Big picture-wise, I think they’ve been doing a good job the last four or five weeks. They are making improvements and some of those bigger plays are showing up. It’s the little things that I try to put a lot of attention to because the little things turn into big things, and that’s where they’ve taken care of some of those things. Getting aligned, knowing their assignments, knowing their responsibility, being in the right gap, taking the right angle on a stunt, which will put you in position to potentially get a sack. I think all of those little things are showing up and that’s where they need to keep their focus.”
(With LB Jaelan Phillips and S Jevon Holland in particular, both of those guys I think you started them off a little slower as far as reps, and now they’ve ramped up to full-time players. How is your philosophy on how to treat them maybe paid off?) – “I think it’s hard to come in and jump right in, I would say. If it’s possible to do it incrementally, we try to do that. We’ve tried to do that as much as we can. Sometimes there is a need and you’ve got to throw them in there. We were able to take our time with both of those guys and when we felt like they were ready, we put them in there.”
(Do you expect RB Phillip Lindsay to be a bigger part of the game plan this week? Has he learned enough that you could extend his package a bit?) – “He’s in here every day trying to get a better grasp of the terminology, the ball handling, the protection calls and little nuances within a run scheme or pass scheme. We’ve got to go out there and walk through it and practice it and see what it looks like. There will be an opportunity for that. We’ll see how it goes this week at practice.”
(A couple of weeks into the season, S Eric Rowe said we have to do what’s important on the early downs in order to do what we do best. How important specifically has your defensive front been in stopping the run, limiting early down success, and you guys being able to do what you do best on third downs?) – “I think that’s always – trying to execute on early downs, put them behind schedule, they’re trying to stay on schedule. I think that is always the case. That’s certainly the case this week against the Giants. We’re not talking enough about them. They’ve got a good football team. They’ve got good backs, they’ve got good receivers, they’ve got a good defense, they’ve got a good defensive line, they keep the score down, they play well in the kicking game. That’s certainly going to be something we’re going to have to do this week. We don’t know the health of their skill players but if they are all healthy, this is a good skill group. Like very good. Between (Kenny) Golladay and (Sterling) Shepard and Kadarius Toney and (Evan) Engram and (Darius) Slayton and (Saquon) Barkley, it’s name after name, after name, after name. And (Kyle) Rudolph. And guys we have to cover. It’s going to be a big test. That’s where our focus is right now. We’re going to have to do a good job on early downs for sure.”
(How does the status of QB Daniel Jones impact the way you’re preparing right now, or are you preparing for the team as a whole?) – “We’re preparing as if he’s going to be up. We take a look at all of the quarterbacks. They have plenty of guys to prepare for – offensively, defensively and in the kicking game. They’ve got some really good players in the kicking game as well – Julian Love, Keion Crossen. They’ve got some really good players across the board. Leonard Willimas – he’s a problem. A major problem. (James) Bradberry. They’ve got a good team and I know this staff, so they’re going to have their team ready to go for sure. This will be a major challenge for our team. We’ve got to prepare the right way and keep our focus right there.”
