Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham
(I don’t know if you want to talk about this, but you seemed to have an emotional moment with LB Raekwon McMillan after he came off after that fourth down stop in the third quarter, which was a great play. Can you share that?) – “I think Raekwon, I’m just really proud of how his play has steadily improved throughout the season and for him to have the two back-to-back plays – the third-and-1 where he did a good job there, and then the fourth down – I was just telling him how that’s the way to step up when we needed you the most. Whether it was emotional or not, I just thought it was a great play by him. I just wanted to let him know. I spend most of my time screaming and yelling, so I wanted to give him some positive feedback there.”
(What differently could CB Nik Needham have done on that pass interference call?) – “I’m not going to get into that stuff. It’s a competitive play. We were trying to make a play on the ball. Whatever the refs do, they do and then they review it – whatever it is – but he’s trying to play football the way we’re going to ask him to; so I’ll leave it to them on that.”
(Have you had to alter your instructions to your defensive backs because of this pass interference rule?) – “We coach to the rule. We get clarity from the guys in in terms of that’s how we coach. We coach so that we can abide by the rules. I don’t think anything changes there.”
(LB Andrew Van Ginkel had his first career sack on Sunday. What have you seen from him in terms of his development?) – “I think just the thing that we’re looking for at this time of year – improvement. He gets in there a few weeks ago, looked rusty and now you’re starting to see he still has a ways to go, but (we’re) seeing some improvement. I always think any time you get some production, you reap the reward of all the hard work whether it was coming back from injury, being a rookie, and all that stuff like that. Once you get that reward right there – which again, it’s not always about the stats and sacks and all that stuff like that, but he’s worked hard and he made a big play when we needed it. Hopefully that leads to more plays (and) production this week against the Giants because we’re definitely going to need it whether it’s holding point in the run game, being sound on the cut-back in the run game and not just necessarily sacks or TFLs and things like that, but hopefully build some confidence.”
(With DE Taco Charlton, I know one thing that’s consistent about your coaches is, if you practice well, you’ll play on Sunday. What did Taco not do or what do you hope to see him do in this coming week that will get him to be on the active roster?) – “Taco had again, a solid week of practice last week. Really, decisions like that, that’s based on game plan really. Whatever we think for the game plan this week, that’s what’s going to play out. Whether it’s him or other players, we’re going to do what’s best for the team and what we think is best for the defense in this week against the Giants.”
(How humbling do you think that is for a guy like DE Taco Charlton, who’s leading the team in sacks that their coaches say, “hey, we’re not playing you this week?”) – “You’d have to ask him. We’re all in this together. Taco is a team player, so you’d have to ask him specifically about the emotional part of it, but we’re all in this together.”
(The longest run you gave up against the Jets I believe was 11 yards. Now you’ve got Giants RB Saquon Barkley this week. Are you losing sleep over him already?) – “You’re dealing with a guy that’s arguably one of the more talented players in the league in terms of skill-wise. To be a young player, to have the vision he has, the balance he has, the combination of strength, the ability to give him the ball in the pass game, the run game; he presents several challenges on top of him being one of the more dynamic athletes in the league. So am I losing sleep? I don’t sleep that much during the season anyway. (laughter) Am I getting grayer? I mean, probably. That’s why I’ve got the hat on to disguise it a little bit. (laughter) But yes, he’s a good player and we’ve got to prepare for him. We’ve got to prepare for whoever is at quarterback, whether it’s (Daniel) Jones or Eli (Manning), the receivers. They’ve got a lot of good skill guys out there and on the offensive line, they’re veterans. Aside from No. 71 (Will Hernandez) – he’s a second-year guy – but they’re veterans, they’re working together and they’ve been together all year. We’ve got a big challenge for us.”
(How do you approach a week where there’s uncertainty at the starting quarterback position?) – “We’ve got to prepare for both of them – all of them – just like we normally do because you never know. It’s a physical league, so you never know who’s going to get injured or what have you; but we always take our notes on everybody and make sure that we go over that with the players.”
(Did their offense look any different last night with Giants QB Eli Manning operating?) – “Eli is a vet, so maybe that just a little bit more. I don’t know like play-wise how different it looked, but Eli (is) just a really comfortable vet, seen everything, put them in the right play, make the right throw. The throw that he threw to – that first touchdown – when it was like third-and-16 – it was a little slant or hitch – he threw it to the outside shoulder to lead him back away from the defender and that’s what – it’s the small details right there. It wasn’t just a throw on third-and-16. He threw it to the outside shoulder, so the guy could turn and then he ran way from the defense right there. It was a pretty good play.”
(Did you watch the game live?) – “Yeah, while I was working. (laughter) It was on while I was working.”
(How much do you glean from TV copy live?) – “You can get some stuff just watching it, just getting an idea like, ‘okay what’s the personnel,’ and stuff like that. But I’m working on the other stuff for the game while that’s on. It’s just on in the background and stuff like that.”
(How would you describe your two years coaching with the Giants and is there anybody on that defense you particularly enjoyed coaching?) – “Guys – “Jackrabbit” (Janoris Jenkins) was there, Dalvin Tomlinson was there my second year; but my time there, I enjoyed it. The Mara family was really good to me. I have some good relationships with people there, but I’m not really worried about that (this week). I had good relationships there and enjoyed my time there.”
(DT John Jenkins is a guy that’s quietly had a solid season. What do you expect from him and how often does he deliver on what you expect?) – “What I expect for him is to be a physical presence inside, play with his hands, paly with good knee bend and win the one-on-one blocks whether it’s run or pass, whether it’s push in the pass game, getting to the edge – because he does have athleticism – or just winning the one-on-one blocks in the run game. I think he’s done a good job of that this year. Again, I’m sure there’s some plays he would like back, just like there’s some calls I would like back and he just keeps grinding and comes to work every day. (He’s a) diligent worker and a great personality. Great to be around. He’s even-keel, never too up, never too down, and I just think that has a calming effect on a young group like we have.”
(I wanted to ask you – I’ve been obsessed about the run game and edge setting all season – now you guys are on pace for 2,000 rushing yards allowed. How does this get fixed and where do you hope that somebody steps up to contain this edge?) – “I think the edge setting again is a combination of good fundamentals, good technique, stuff that we were harping on during the practice. We’ve got to get better there. We’ve got to do a good job of understanding the situation. Again, sometimes a bounce-out run here and there, and the leaky yards that come up; but just in terms being more firm inside, setting a sure edge and just having some patience in the run game. And then as usual, what it comes down to is getting off of blocks – block destruction – so being violent there, getting off the blocks and find the ball carrier. We’ve got a lot to work on, including myself, just getting that right, but we’re going to keep working toward it.”
(You’ve spent years and years working alongside Head Coach Brian Flores. Did you ever see him as upset as he was on Sunday?) – “(laughter) I don’t know. I was getting ready for the next call, so I don’t even know.”
(It was a pretty emotional exchange though for that moment.) – “I’ll leave that to you all. I was getting ready for the next call.”
(How tough is that for CB Nik Needham? There was two plays that initially went his way and then they didn’t go his way. How does he mentally handle that?) – “Again, I’m onto the Giants right now, but any time – and this is just my opinion again, I don’t know anything – but in my opinion, the experiences you have in the past, they help you grow as a person in whatever profession you’re in for the next challenge, and the next challenge is the Giants. So I don’t know specifically, but I know this – any human being that I’ve been around that’s trying to be the best and trying to be good at what they want to do, you take the past, you learn from those experiences and you apply it for that week. That’s what we have to do. Regardless of what happened whether it’s the run game, the pass game, whatever – we’ve got to apply it for this week, focus all our energy on the Giants and that’s where my focus is. I can’t even – last week was so far, it was two days ago, but it was so long ago. I’m focused on the Giants, trying to figure out how (Saquon) Barkley, Eli (Manning), (Daniel) Jones, whoever they put back there, these receivers, the offensive line. That’s where I’m at.”
(I was curious about your assessment of DT Christian Wilkins in his rookie season. How has he performed in what you’re asking him to do?) – “He has improved and where the improvement has come is really with his hands, and that’s the one thing I told him. I said, ‘naturally my eyes go to d-line. That’s the position I’ve coached most of my career – that and linebackers. Naturally (my eyes) go there. Unfortunately for you and fortunately for you, you’ve got to be a d-lineman and my eyes are going to be there.’ (laughter) I’ll say, “Here’s what I’m going to tell you. I’m going to coach you in using your hands.’ And that’s where we’ve seen the improvement, so it’s been positive and I give him a lot of credit for working at it.”
Offensive Coordinator Chad O’Shea
(Okay, it’s time to get down to this. Is he a running back in a quarterback’s body – Ryan Fitzpatrick?) – “I’ve been really impressed with what he’s done. Again, I think it shows the trait of the player and the person, just his desire to try to make the play and athletically, too. He’s really done a good job of playing off-schedule and being able to scramble. I’ve been really impressed with that.”
(Is QB Ryan Fitzpatrick just quick? Is he fast? How would you describe his running style?) – “I think a lot of it has to do with he’s very instinctive. I think he’s got great pocket awareness. He knows exactly the right time to do it, and I think that has a lot to do with it. Obviously he’s probably more physically gifted than people give him credit for, but I think that a lot of it has to do with just his overall awareness and being a very instinctive player at the position.”
(You would never create a running play for QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, call a running play for him, would you?) – “At this point, he’s doing it himself so why waste the time? (laughter) He does such a good job in that area and again, I think it’s another area that the team really gravitates towards and it brings energy to the team when he does make a run like that, and it’s great to have.”
(QB Ryan Fitzpatrick is 15 yards off the team lead. Did you know that?) – “I’m aware of the rushing statistics, I am. (laughter)”
(Obviously it’s not something you’d prefer having the quarterback as your leading rusher on the season.) – “Obviously when you look at the run game at the end of the game, it’s the total that you look at and regardless of who it is, that’s not – things don’t go as planned, which that’s the case in a lot of areas offensively and in all phases of the game. I’m certainly glad he’s capable of doing what he can do to create some yards – much needed yards for us – and that’s been a positive.”
(Have you ever had a season where you haven’t had a clear-cut No. 1 running back emerge at this point in the season? It’s been five different guys over the course of the season.) – “I think the one thing that I have had a season in is that all seasons are different, and it just so happens this season that the running game statistically is where it is and we have to rely on other areas. There’s been other years I’ve been involved in – obviously not in this role but in another role, as an assistant coach – where it’s gone the other way; and I just think the most important thing is once you identify what your strengths and weaknesses are, is that you’ve got to play to them. I think that’s what we try to do on a weekly basis, is identify, ‘this is how we’re going to try to win the game,’ which we’re going to try to do every week, and this is how we’re going to have to do it. If it’s running the ball, it’s running the ball; and if it’s throwing the ball, then we’re going to throw it.”
(You all are flirting with some pretty troubling records in terms of least rushing yards in franchise history and possibly least rushing yards in modern history of the NFL. Is that something that would scare you or concern you or it’s just a byproduct…) – “I don’t even – really, the statistics right now where we are, we’ve really looked at as we’re week-to-week. We’re trying to be better in all areas. Obviously we know that’s an area that we need a lot of improvement in. We’re late in the year. I think it’s important again, to identify what we’ve done well and play to that, and also understand and have some self-awareness of where we are in other areas. As far as statistically, it’s not something that I even look at this point in the year as far as what the result is and where we would end up (in franchise history). Truly, we’re day-to-day, week-to-week and I’m just trying to do a good job in our preparation this week versus a team that’s pretty talented in the Giants.”
(We’ve seen G Michael Deiter all season as the starting left guard and then you guys make the shift this week – I know it’s game plan-specific – but what was his week of practice like last week and what would you hope to see from him this week?) – “I think that at all positions right now – and this is something we stressed yesterday as a group – is that we need consistency out of all positions. Certainly the offensive line position is one position group within our offense, but there’s all positions that need to try to strive for consistency and that’s what we’re trying to do. Michael is certainly somebody that has taken the approach of going to the practice field and trying to get better and improve every day, and he just needs to work to try to be as consistent as he can be, just like our other positions right now.”
(How would you assess RB Myles Gaskin’s development through the season?) – “The biggest thing is we’re giving him the opportunity to play now, so I think that we’re going to know a lot here moving forward because he’s in the eye of the storm, I would say. He’s going to have opportunities out there with where we are right now on our roster at the running back position, and I think certainly right now it’s been positive; but I think that there’s several games to play here and we’ll see in the end and evaluate it in the end how he’s done. He certainly has done some real positive things right now and has deserved the opportunity to go out there and do it again.”
(What happened in the red zone on Sunday?) – “I think a lot of factors were involved in that. Obviously that was an area that we’ve been strong in, and my credit goes to (the Jets). They did a nice job of defending us in the red zone, and I think there’s other factors involved in that during the game. There’s unforeseen circumstances and stuff that comes up during the game, whether it’s personnel – obviously we had some issues with our personnel in the game. I thought the guys did a pretty good job of trying to adjust and play other positions that they had not been used to playing, and that’s a credit to them and their preparation and we were able to move the ball. In the red zone, (it was) a combination of factors. My hat goes off to those guys. They just did a really good job stopping us. It wasn’t all on the quarterback. It wasn’t all on one position. It was just, I would say several factors that led us to not being able to put the ball in the end zone.”
(The numbers entering the game were very encouraging. Is it kind of remarkable – it is to us – that you can’t run the ball very well, but you’re very good in the red zone? Usually you have to be running the ball well to…) – “I think one that of the most important things of red zone success is running the ball, at least that’s our philosophy. We’re always going to try to do that regardless; and that was one of the biggest differences in this game, is that we had some negative runs in the red zone that really, once you have a negative run it gets you behind the down-and-distance and now you’re not in a manageable third down. So when we say a ‘four-point play,’ we like those four-point plays to be third down and five or less, and that’s what we consider manageable where we really have a realistic shot at the end zone. We were in third down and too long in the game, and a lot of that has to do with your lack of success on early downs, so we’ll have to do a better job on early downs to put us in a better position to score.”
(What did you see from “The Intern” – RB Patrick Laird – in his first NFL start?) – “Yeah, I thought he did a good job again. The area that was kind of unforeseen to a lot of people that he did a real good job is the protection end of it. He really stood up in protection physically. There’s a lot of variables in protection, especially when you look at the third down multiples that we get defensively and some of those things; and I thought he really did a good job in that area of sorting things out. He does an unbelievable job in preparation, and he’s a very smart player that knows where to go. You have to know where to go, but then you have to stand up physically, and I thought he did a good job of that.”
(With this receiving corps, obviously you don’t know about WR Albert Wilson and WR DeVante Parker, but with a guy like WR Mack Hollins – how quick can you get somebody up to speed on this offense? I know he played last week, but…) – “I think it’s our responsibility as coaches to make sure that we give them the right amount of volume in the game plan that they can handle. With the players that we have on our roster right now, I’m confident because of their work ethic and their preparation right now that they can handle a good volume of offense for us to win; so that’s been a real positive with the players that haven’t been here very long, is that I see a couple guys that really work hard and are able to handle a lot of things offensively. I think it’s a balance that’s a responsibility of our coaching staff to put them in a position to where we don’t overload them, but enough for us to be successful.”
(How many different ways did you use WR Isaiah Ford on Sunday? Obviously he got an opportunity when the guys went down.) – “This is a guy – it’s ironic I spoke of him last week in here and talked about some of his strengths – and his biggest strength is his ability to play multiple positions and be a very smart player. He’s a guy that has done a great job of despite not being on the active roster, has really prepared like he is and he’s stayed ready at all positions. He’s a conceptual learner, so he can line up anywhere and that happened in the game. He basically lined up at several different spots in the game. He did a good job of getting some other guys lined up, helping ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) in the huddle. I thought ‘Fitz’ in the game did as good of a job as I’ve ever been around when we had to adjust in the game – having a couple receivers out – of managing the game well, getting guys lined up. There was a lot of communication in the huddle, so he’s trying to do his job, but at the same time he’s trying to get some guys lined up – both alignment and assignment and those things, and Isaiah was right in the middle of that. He was kind of our second quarterback on the field. Another guy that comes to mind was Allen Hurns. Awesome. This guy played through injury. Not only did he play through injury physically, but he was able to handle some things mentally, line up in some places and execute some things that he didn’t do prior to the game. There were a lot of guys that really I thought stepped up, and that’s a tribute to them and their preparation, is what it is.”
(What is a conceptual learner?) – “A conceptual learner means that if I’m looking at the play on the screen when we install it, he’s just not looking at his route. He doesn’t have blinders on. He sees the big picture of the route, and he looks right and left to understand what everybody has on the pass route because I’ve been around some guys that truly just study their route, and then what happens is when they have to adjust and play the position next to them, they don’t see it because they didn’t learn it from a conceptual standpoint. That’s something that when we came in here as a coaching staff from Day 1 in the spring, we said we want to be conceptual learners. We want to learn the big picture and understand that you might play another position out of necessity in the future. That definitely showed up in this game. Again, I can’t say enough about the players and our assistant coaches doing just an outstanding job of adjusting on the sidelines. It’s a tribute to them and their efforts during the game. Obviously we didn’t win the game and that was – we want to win every game and we want to score as many points in the red zone as we can, but there were a lot of things and a lot of positives that got us down to the red zone during the course of the game that some people probably didn’t even see.”
(QB Ryan Fitzpatrick told us on Sunday that he’ll even go to WR Isaiah Ford when he has questions. For a second-year player, how rare is that?) – “It is rare and he’s got a unique ability to not only study the game hard, but he’s got a good feel for the game and really understands the game of football. I think there has been a lot of communication between him and ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick), and he’s done a great job in the receiver room of being a leader in that room again, despite being not a guy that’s out there on game day earlier in the year. He’s been a great leader for us. He studies extra with the guys, and I can’t say enough about what he brings from a preparation standpoint to the room and to the offense.”
