January 2, 2017 Ben McAdoo Conference Call

Ben McAdoo – © USA TODAY Sports Images

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MONDAY BEN MCADOO CONFERENCE CALL…
New York Giants Head Coach Ben McAdoo addressed the media by conference call on Monday to discuss the team’s 19-10 victory over the Washington Redskins:

McAdoo: I thought we had a great mindset by the players and coaches heading into the ball game. It was a physical, hard-nosed win on the road. That’s what we needed heading into Sunday. Defensively, we held the opponent to 10 points. Excellent job there, and 38 yards rushing. That’s tough to do in this league. I thought we tackled well. Our efficiency was better tackling. Offensively, we took care of the ball. Had zero turnovers and ran the ball well. 161 total yards. It wasn’t just the line and the tight ends, but the receivers blocked better too. They’re taking steps. We hit the ‘Rule 53’ which is important for us as a football team. Special teams, we created some field position and got good pressure on the field goal kicker.

Q: Did you come out of that game healthy?

A: Healthy for this time of year.

Q: Got some contributions from guys that you haven’t had all year. What did it mean to have those contributions from those guys?

A: This time of year, you know you’re going to have some nicks, and some bumps and bruises. You have 46 players up, and you know you’re going to need 46 at some point in time in the game. It’s encouraging that when their number was called they responded. That’s exciting moving forward.

Q: How is Janoris [Jenkins]?

A: He was sore after the ball game. We will take a look at him in practice this week.

Q: Expect him to be good to practice?

A: Yes. He’ll be limited.

Q: Dwayne Harris?

A: Dwayne made it through the ball game.

Q:  How do you feel about your players going down to Miami and partying after the win?

A: Today is the players off day. We look forward to getting on to Green Bay when they get here tomorrow.

Q: Are there degrees of things that you are OK with? I ask because it looks like they were out until 6 a.m. last night.

A: Players are off until tomorrow morning. We will see them tomorrow morning and they’ll get their workout in, and we’ll get ready for Green Bay.

Q: Is there any familiarity with Green Bay, being that you have been there? Is there any insight as to how to handle that team?

A: It’s one heck of a football team that has found a winning formula. It’s a place that is tough to play. They get their crowd behind them. It’s a tough place to go in and win. We look forward to the challenge.

Q: Did all the players come home with the team last night?

A: We are excited to get everyone back here tomorrow and get everyone moving on to Green Bay.

Q: What about your familiarity with Aaron Rodgers? Any insight?

A: Aaron is playing out of his mind right now. He’s on fire, taking care of the ball, and is moving very well in and out of the pocket making all the throws. I don’t have any kryptonite. I’ve spent some time in the building with him and in the room with him. You know that when he’s on fire, the weather doesn’t really factor for him. When it’s cold and he’s outside, he plays the same game and plays very well. Maybe not the same game, maybe a little bit different outside in the elements, but he has big hands and he can handle the ball and make all the throws in the elements. We need to be ready for his best.

Q: Besides Aaron Rodgers being on fire, how different are the Packers since you last faced them?

A: They had a couple of big backs last time we faced them. They were running the ball and ran the ball well with Eddie [Lacy] and with [James] Starks. [Aaron] Ripkowski was in the mix their too. They changed things up a little bit in the back field because of health. They had too. They changed up a little bit on offense. They’ve had some guys nicked and are using a variety of players in the secondary on the other side of the ball. Dom’s [Capers] doing a nice job there playing with what he has to play with. They did a nice job yesterday in the dome against Detroit.

Q: Is this the best you’ve ever seen Aaron play?

A: Right now, I’m just in the beginning phases of watching film on Green Bay. He had some nice stretches there in 2011. I thought he was off to a nice start in 2013 before he got injured. He’s put together some nice stretches. He’s playing with a killer instinct.

Q: Is Paul Perkins your running back?

A: We went back and looked at the film. I though Paul did some good things on tape. Found some runs nicely. Rashad [Jennings] ran the ball hard and physical. We’re excited about both of those guys and also the impact Bobby Rainey can make.

Q: What clicked for your running backs that had been missing all year?

A: I don’t know that its been missing all year long. I know that we’ve taken steps to be a better running football team. We had some opportunities yesterday to run the ball. We had some good looks to run the ball. I think the guys upfront took ownership of that game yesterday. Quarterback kept us into some good runs and the backs ran hard and physical. Tight ends blocked better and the receivers took the challenge and ran with it. They blocked physical. We know how important that is moving forward.

Q: Obviously, the last two Super Bowl runs have gone through Green Bay. Do you even bring that up this week?

A: Both organizations have rich history and tradition. It’s exciting to be a part of it. I think if you have tradition, history and a chance, I think it will be one heck of a battle on Sunday. I don’t think that the 2007 or 2011 experience really helps us out one way or another, other than that there are some players that have played in those games. They know what it’s going to be like pressure-wise and condition-wise. The experience part of things will help some guys out. Other than that, we need to prepare to go play a good football team and go win a ball game.

Q: What are your clearest memories from the other side of how good Eli [Manning] was playing in Green Bay?

A: I saw a quarterback that was very consistent. He was someone that didn’t let anything around him bother him. He was in the zone. You could tell. He was pretty sharp in both of those games.

Q: Can you talk about Damon Harrison and what you saw on the impact he had on the pass rush last night?

A: He’s labeled a run stopper. That’s what he does best. It was exciting to see him have an opportunity to transition rush and get after the quarterback a little bit after he did his responsibility in the run game. He turned it on there, got after the quarterback, made him uncomfortable and got him on the ground one time. That’s exciting for us.

Q: JPP going to be able to do anything on the field?

A: When he’s ready, they’ll let me know.

Q: Is it possible that you will discipline players for Miami?

A: The players are off. They’re not working.

Q: Any personal feelings going back to Green Bay?

A: No. I try to leave feelings out of it. It’s football. We have a job to do. We need to take this last question here. I appreciate you bringing that up, but that doesn’t have anything to do with the ball game so we won’t worry about it.

Q: Thoughts on [Larry] Donnell last night?

A: I think Larry has been chomping at the bit to get his opportunity. He stepped in and did a nice job for us yesterday.

NEW YORK GIANTS 2017 REGULAR-SEASON OPPONENTS SET…
The New York Giants will play the following teams during the 2017 regular season:

Home:

• Dallas Cowboys
• Philadelphia Eagles
• Washington Redskins
• Detroit Lions
• Los Angeles Rams
• Seattle Seahawks
• Kansas City Chiefs
• San Diego Chargers

Away:

• Dallas Cowboys
• Philadelphia Eagles
• Washington Redskins
• Arizona Cardinals
• San Francisco 49ers
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Denver Broncos
• Oakland Raiders

NOTES…
The Giants were 6-10 in 2015. The five-game improvement in victories is their biggest since 2005, when they were also 11-5 one year after finishing 6-10.

The Giants finished the regular season 4-4 on the road, their best record as visitors since 2011, when they were 5-3. They were 3-5 as visitors in each of the previous four seasons.

The Giants finished 4-2 in NFC East games, their best record within the division since they were 4-2 in 2013. Their 2-1 record in division road games was their best since they were 2-1 in 2013.

The Giants scored fewer than 20 points for the fifth consecutive game, their longest such streak since they had five in a row from November 14-December 12, 2004.

The Giants did not score 30 points in a game this season, the first time that’s happened since 2001.

Ben McAdoo’s 11th victory tied Dan Reeves (1993) for the most victories by a Giants head coach in his first season with the team. The 1993 Giants also finished second behind Dallas in the NFC East.

QB Eli Manning made his 199th consecutive regular-season start and played in his 201st game. That latter figure ties him with George Martin for the third-highest total in Giants history.

Manning finished the regular season with 4,027 yards passing. Manning exceeded 4,000 passing yards for the third consecutive season, and the sixth time in his career.

Manning completed 63.0 percent of his passes in 2016, slightly less than his career-best of 63.1, set in 2014.

Manning earned his 17th victory against Washington, the highest total by any quarterback against the Redskins since the 1970 merger.

WR Odell Beckham, Jr. caught 101 catches in 2016. That is the second-highest total in Giants history, behind Steve Smith’s 107 receptions in 2009. Beckham, who caught 91 and 96 passes in his first two seasons, has three of the four-highest single-season totals in franchise history.

The Giants only had one 100-yard rushing performance in 2016 (by Paul Perkins on Sunday). They had only six rushing touchdowns all season.

PK Robbie Gould has made all 10 of his field goal attempts since joining the Giants on October 20th.

The defense finished the season with 35 sacks, 12 more than they had last year, when their 23 was a Giants record-low for a 16-game season.

CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie led the team with six interceptions in 2016, matching the career-high he set as a second-year pro with Arizona in 2009.

#NYG defense in 2015: 27.6 ppg, 30th in NFL.#NYG defense in 2016: 17.8 ppg, 2nd in NFL.
Amazing.

— Kimberly Jones (@KimJonesSports) January 2, 2017

ARTICLES…

• Giants’ Ben McAdoo didn’t rest many starters in finale | Snap count analysis by Dan Duggan for NJ.com
• The reality behind Giants history shows how special this year is by Mike Vaccaro of The New York Post
• Beckham, all grown up and playoff-ready by Tara Sullivan of The Bergen Record
• Rookie Paul Perkins rushes for 102 yards in first NFL start by Tom Rock of Newsday

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
Select New York Giants players will address the media on Tuesday. The players return to practice on Wednesday to prepare for Sunday’s playoff game against the Green Bay Packers in Wisconsin.