Ben McAdoo – © USA TODAY Sports
[contentblock id=1 img=html.png]
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 24-7 loss to the Seattle Seahawks:
McAdoo: Start with the defensive side of the ball. First and second down rush average was a positive for us. Created a turnover and generated a score with the offensive production. I thought we had a good mindset early on and into the fourth quarter. Focused on playing the next play. It helped us on the goal line stop. It was 19 gradable plays there and we gave up zero points. What we need to work on – minimizing explosive passes on first and second down, getting off the field on third down and finishing the game with the same mindset we started.
On offense – what we did well – we had a sudden-change touchdown and we won the down in the run game on first and second down. What we need to work on – third down and short yardage. We need to get more attempts at the plate and we need to convert on third down and short yardage. Pass protection in the pass game details need to improve. Our explosive play production and point production.
On special teams – I thought we did a good job containing the returner. (Tyler) Lockett is very explosive. In kickoff coverage, we had two tackles inside the 20. What we need to clean up from a special teams perspective – clean up our punt protection and our details there, make better decisions on punt return. Obviously, can’t have a blocked punt and we missed a field goal to tie the game at 10 at the start of the fourth quarter.
With that, let’s open it up.
Q: Is there anything else that you’re going to look at besides what you’ve been doing to get this back on track?
A: Yeah. With the type of week it is, we’re going to go back, take a look at self-scout, you know, the things that have been working. Is there a way to (improve) some of the things that haven’t been working? Is it fixable for the last nine games, or is it something that we need to throw out and revisit it later on? And, just take a look at the way we’re using players. Take a look at are their roles we can change to help us as a football team.
Q: What do you attribute to the fact that you’re having trouble scoring points?
A: I think that obviously short yardage and third down is big for us. We need to convert there. We need more attempts at the plate. We need more plays. Explosive play production is big. We’re not getting a ton of them and just the details and the pass protection in the pass game. What it came down to yesterday, I thought on first and second down, we were running the ball at a good clip. We just didn’t take care of business in the pass game and we had some opportunities to run the ball had we gotten more attempts at the plate, but when you don’t convert on third down, it makes it tough to run the ball and get the number of rush attempts you need to win the game.
Q: Do you look at the scoring issue as a large-scale problem now? The sample size is significant.
A: I mean, we’ve been in the offense since 2014.
Q: Can you see yourself giving more young players opportunities in the second half of the season?
A: We have plenty of young players in there right now working, but again, we have to go take a look at it. That’s part of the study going in – taking a look at, you know, it doesn’t matter whether it’s a young player or veteran player, guys who are working and deserve an opportunity may get one. But, we have to take a look at that on a case-by-case basis.
Q: Could you for see a situation where you get QB Davis Webb some game action?
A: Again, it takes all 11 to play good on offense and we had a good week of practice last week. It didn’t transfer over to the ball game. Only scoring seven points, but it takes all 11.
Q: I didn’t mean it as a slight to QB Eli Manning. I meant would there be any idea of looking to the future of getting a young guy like QB Davis Webb involved?
A: Again, I’ll refer back to my last answer.
Q: Are you seeing anything as to why the play on the practice field isn’t transferring to the game?
A: In what scenario? What case?
Q: What’s going on in practice that isn’t transferring to the field?
A: Third down and short yardage is a challenge in practice, but it’s a bigger challenge in the game. That’s the toughest down in football for an offensive football team. Defenses are athletic, they’re fast, they’re physical and we need to be at our best there and we didn’t do it yesterday. We didn’t get it done yesterday. That’s really the biggest area where we need to improve.
Q: What is your level of patience and frustration with kicker Aldrick Rosas?
A: Again, none of those. I have confidence in Aldrick. Again, I see him kick on a day-to-day basis, he’s a young player that is improving. He missed a kick, we want to have that kick, it ties the ballgame in the fourth quarter. He needs to learn from it, he needs to grow from it. But again, there’s none of those things that you were referring to. I have a lot of confidence in Aldrick.
Q: On tight end Evan Engram’s long reception that was called back because he stepped out of bounds, is there anything different that he could have done there?
A: Yeah, again, he needs to have awareness of the sideline. I believe he realized where he was on the field late, but we can never go out of bounds there early. It was a big play opportunity, made a nice play after the catch, but we need to stay in bounds there.
Q: Do you envision anything happening at the trade deadline?
A: Again, never say never. But I go back to yesterday, we played hard, we played physical against a very good football team. We didn’t get the results we were looking for, but we’ve got a lot of fight in us.
Q: Did you think the receivers were getting open yesterday?
A: Again, when you look at the tape, we need better execution and better details in our pass protection and in our pass game. I think you’ve got to take a look at each play individually, each play tells its own story. I think we had some opportunities there and we didn’t cash in on our opportunities.
Q: Do you have any more clarification on the Seattle wide receiver Paul Richardson touchdown on safety Landon Collins?
A: No. That’s something that we have to turn into the league and wait for a response back from the league. We won’t get that until later in the week.
Q: Did you notice the Seahawks chants and boos at the end of the game yesterday, and how do you prevent that from becoming a pattern?
A: Well, we have a great home field advantage and we need to work to take advantage of it.
Q: How concerned are you with the injuries that were suffered yesterday, and are you anticipating you may not have any of the players that got injured yesterday moving forward?
A: We’re fortunate to get the bye when we got the bye. [Offensive lineman] Justin [Pugh] is going to be sore with his back. [Defensive end] Kerry [Wynn] came back and fought through it with his knee. [Linebacker] B.J. [Goodson], again, we’ll have to see how he heals up. And we’re just going to have to see how guys respond, we have a week of treatment to see if we can get healthy.
Q: What will be your message to the team when you send them away for the Bye Week?
A: I think we need to get away from it for a little bit. We need to get away from it, we need to clear our minds, get our bodies back and get back with a fresh outlook, as tough as that may be. We need to come back, we have a lot of football left to play. We had a lot of fight in us yesterday and that needs to continue.
Q: Is a quarterback change just a coaching decision, or is that something that you would have to make with the organization, ownership and General Manager Jerry Reese?
A: It’s a coaching decision, but it’d be something that – it’s a coaching decision, but it’s something that if it ever were to get to that point, I’d want to have a conversation with Jerry and ownership on it. But it’s not to that point, and I don’t see that point coming. Eli’s our quarterback, I have 100 percent confidence in Eli. We’re going to get a week away from it and we’re going to come back fresh mind, fresh bodies and play better football.
Q: What do you see in the development of quarterback Davis Webb since you drafted him?
A: He’s a young player who works hard at it, the fundamentals. Helps Eli prepare for the games each and every week and he’s a gym rat.
ARTICLES…
- Giants need rest of ruined season to be Eli Manning’s finest hours by James Kratch for NJ.com
- Giants remain all-in on Eli Manning even as season spirals out of control by Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com
- Is it time for the Giants to find out what they have behind Eli Manning? by Tara Sullivan of The Bergen Record
WHAT’S UP NEXT…
General Manager Jerry Reese and select players will address the media on Tuesday.
Eric Kennedy
Eric Kennedy is Editor-in-Chief of BigBlueInteractive.com, a publication of Big Blue Interactive, LLC. Follow @BigBlueInteract on Twitter.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.