Mar 232016
 
Ben McAdoo, New York Giants (February 24, 2016)

Ben McAdoo – © USA TODAY Sports Images

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MORE FROM BEN MCADOO AT NFL SPRING MEETINGS…
New York Giants Head Coach Ben McAdoo answered questions from the press on Wednesday at the NFL spring meetings in Florida. McAdoo made the following comments (video is available at Giants.com):

  • On the offseason strength and conditioning program: “We’re making some renovations in the weight room. We wanted to be a little more forward thinking down there. I hired Aaron Wellman, who’s a guy – he and I go back a long ways. Open it up a little bit down there, do a little bit more movement-based, little more stick and move, so to speak, like you play the game. It’s going to reflect the way we practice, as well, with that mentality. We want to hit the ground running. When we step into the weight room, when we step onto the field, treat it all the same that way.”
  • On reducing injuries: “When you look at injuries, I don’t think you can just point your finger at one area. I think it’s something that we’re going to take a look at a variety of areas – whether it’s the way we practice, it’s how we practice, the intensities and the loads that we use there, the duration of practices. Again, take a look at the weight room as well, nutrition will play a factor. Sleep is huge, and probably the best tool for recovery. So we’re going to take a look at everything, (including) scheduling. Everything is a factor…First things first, in the season we’re going to give players Monday off. We’ll bring guys in on Tuesday to keep things a little more consistent that way, to give them an opportunity to get their rest. Because the NFL schedule now, on Sunday’s you play at a variety of different times. We’re on the East Coast, we’re not centrally located, so flying in and out, you get back at different times on Sundays if you do have a later game. We’ll take a look at that. We’ll vary the times that we’re on the field. Our end time will always be the same, what time we hit the field will be a reflection of the load of that day or the workload that we’re going to have that day. Just things like that.”
  • On convincing DE Olivier Vernon to come to the Giants: “We felt like we were recruiting in college again. We had everybody in the room passing the phone around, and just letting him know what we think of him. For me, it was simple. Going into the game on Monday night (vs. Miami last December) when we came down here to play, he was one of the most disruptive players I saw on film last year. We wanted him to be a part of it. QB rating differential is big in the game today, and the more you can impact the quarterback from a defensive standpoint, from that defensive end standpoint, from his blindside, the tougher it makes it on the opponent. We feel that he’s going to make a big impact for us, obviously.”
  • On QB Eli Manning: “Eli, I still think his best football is in front of him. I still think he’s going to take another jump. He really bought into the system and likes the controls that he has there. The fundamental part of things was probably the toughest thing for him to get used to, but he’s bought into the footwork and the training. Having another year under his belt with the reads is going to clean things up for him. He knows what he likes now, and it’s natural for him. He’s not thinking as much as he was the first year, and even toward the early part of the last year. It comes a little more naturally for him. Eli puts a lot of time and effort into making sure he’s prepared and ready to go. He did some things last year that changed up his upper body routine, the way he trained his upper body, the way he warmed up his upper body, and the way he cooled it down. It made an impact, it was noticeable. I think that he finished last year stronger than he did at any point in time in ’14. That was encouraging. I’m sure he’s out there right now working to get better.”
  • On what he wants Manning to work on: “Before he left, he and I had a conversation about some different things that we liked, that we didn’t like, and what we can make better. Eli’s a pro. He’s no spring chicken, so he knows what he needs to do to get ready. The only thing I ask him not to do is don’t mess with that throwing motion, because his throwing motion is pretty flawless. But anything else, anything he can do to get better and get stronger and stay healthy, we’re all for it and we’ll support it.”
  • On Manning’s durability: “Let’s knock on wood on that one. He is a durable guy. He’s a tough guy. He doesn’t get a lot of credit for that, and that factors in that as well. He plays through a lot. We need to do a good job of keeping him upright. To be able to push the ball down the field a little more, it takes a little longer to do that, so we would like to do that, so we need to keep him upright. We are throwing the ball down the field because we have some guys who can make plays down the field for us. Again, he’s in the office every day in the season. He’s in there every day. He’s like a coach on Tuesday’s in the past, and I assume he’ll be that way on Monday this year. The way he prepares, the way he takes care of his body. He’s a tough, gritty guy that he probably doesn’t get enough credit for.”
  • On whether WR Odell Beckham, Jr. should have been ejected from last year’s game against the Carolina Panthers: “That’s an interesting question. There are some things that I would have liked to have done different in that game. I look in the mirror first, and I feel that I could have helped that situation better…Odell and I have talked. A few weeks ago we sat down, we were talking about things; not football, just about life in general. I’m excited for Odell going into his third year. He really has an opportunity to put himself in that upper tier of player. He’s had some great production. And I also look forward to him growing into a leader. I feel that he can do that for our organization and for our team.”
  • On whether he has concerns about Tom Coughlin’s occasional visits to the Quest Diagnostics Training Center: “No, I don’t have those concerns. As long as Tom’s around, we want to welcome him and use him as a resource. We welcome him…Tom’s a phenomenal resource and was a mentor of mine. Anytime I can use him, I’m going to use him.”
  • On who will be the team’s play caller: “Am I going to call plays? There’s a possibility…I love calling plays…I think as an offensive play caller, you’re part of game management right from jump street; it’s a natural part of things. When defensive coaches get an opportunity to be coaches, it’s a little different. I think they may have to spend a little more time preparing themselves for the game management part of things. Being in the same room as the quarterback for years, I think that part of it comes natural. As far as who’s going to call plays for us this year, that hasn’t been determined. You’ll know the first Sunday of the season…I’m not willing to disclose. It’s a competitive advantage or disadvantage.”
  • On the team’s late-game time-management issues: “We’re going to have a game management team, so to speak. We’re going to meet, as we iron it out, it’s either going to be on Saturday mornings or Friday afternoons, depending on the schedule, and make sure we’re on the same page going into the game, and we’re seeing the same things as the game develops…It’s like anything else. It starts with communication first. We need to have open lines of communication. We need to be on the same page, especially at the end of games. You want to end each half with the ball. So the more we can be on the same page, have open lines of communication and have guys being willing to speak up at the end of games to make sure that gets done, it’s important.”
  • On DE Jason Pierre-Paul: “He came in and signed, sat down across the desk from me, and I really liked the look in his eye. It seems like he’s motivated, he has a chip on his shoulder, he’s going to have his legs underneath him. He’s going to have an offseason and a training camp under his belt. What he went through last year, for him to jump in and be as disruptive as he was says a lot about him. As far as the hand goes, we know he’s going to be a disruptive player. He’s going to get used to playing his hand in the condition that it is. Like I said before, I liked the look in his eye. He’s going to have a chip on his shoulder. He’s going to have an opportunity to train with his hand being in that condition, which will give him an opportunity to experiment and see how he can play with it and what’s best to put on it.”
  • On WR Victor Cruz: “What we need to do with Victor is we need to be smart. I think his knee feels pretty good and he’s just rehabbing the calf and when he’s ready to go we’ll put him out there. But it’s a little early to tell right now.”
  • On the Giants’ running backs: “Looks a lot, at this point, like we left it last year. Rashad (Jennings) took the bull by the horns, and that was great to see at the end of the year. Shane (Vereen) was a good addition; (he was) second on the team in receiving, played about 38 percent of the snaps. So that part was encouraging. A lot of guys are giving up on Andre (Williams). Don’t give up on Andre. He’s going into his third year and he’ll continue to grow. No one is going to outwork him. And then Orleans (Darkwa) is a guy who is a natural runner. He’s a good special teams player for us, he’s a core guy. He’s going to be in the mix as well.”
  • On the right side of the offensive line: “John Jerry is a battler now. He’s going to go out there, he’s going to give you what he has, and he’s going to fight you. We like John Jerry. Marshall Newhouse was a guy that we brought in for depth reasons. He stepped up when he had his opportunity and he played well for us. We’re glad to have Marshall back. He’s a smart guy who’s played a lot of football and he has some flexibility there. He’s just not a right tackle, he can play on the left side and he can play inside as well. At one point in time in Green Bay he had the ball in his hand a little bit just learning to snap, so he does have some flexibility for a veteran, which is nice to have.”
  • On Justin Pugh playing left guard: “I like having Justin at left guard. I think having that interior side of the pocket on the left side nice and solid for a right-handed quarterback is pretty important. We’re going to look at things and if we need to make adjustments we’ll make adjustments, but you’d hate to keep moving Justin. Give him a chance to grow at one spot.”
  • On offensive lineman Bobby Hart: “He’s a young guy who is developing and he has some flexibility, which is nice. He’s a player who likes to play football, he gets ball, so that gives him an opportunity to be flexible. He’s done a lot of work on himself physically to get in good condition. He’s a guy who has some opportunity for growth.”
  • On who might step up at safety: “(Nat) Berhe is definitely one of them. (Bennett) Jackson is one of them. There are a lot of guys who can factor in there. (Mykkele) Thompson. We’re going to get them healthy and get them out there and let them compete for it. We need to get them in and take a look at them, but to a certain degree they’ll each be able to contribute (in the spring workouts).
  • On young players who may surprise: “Guys going from their first year to their second year can make a jump, but also guys going from their second year to their third year like Andre Williams is a guy who can make a jump for us. Geremy Davis is a guy on the offensive side of the ball that I know it’s important to him. He works his tail off and I’m sure he’s out there right now working his tail off to get better and can help us and make a jump on special teams as well. On the defensive side Jay Bromley is a guy who can make a jump for us.”
  • On unrestricted free agent PK Josh Brown: “We’re looking at all our options. Being an offensive coach the last couple years, Josh has been great, he’s been money, he’s been accurate. We definitely value that part of his game…You look at everything that’s available and you make your decisions from there. It’s not a one guy thing, it’s, ‘Here’s what’s out there, here’s what’s available,’ and you take a look at everything and you weigh your options.”
  • On the new rule that spots the ball at the 25-yard line after a touchback on a kickoff: “Touchbacks at the 25, I think it’s probably good for safety reasons, because the kickoff is a play that, even taking the wedge out of things, there are some big collisions right there. But I think it would encourage returners to stay in the end zone maybe a little bit more.  I like the kickoff as a part of the game, but with that being said, we do have to take the injury part of things into consideration. Maybe I like it a little more, because we have Dwayne Harris and he’s an exciting player back there for us. Shane Vereen does a nice job as well. We’ve been pretty good in the return game…I think it would make the end of games interesting. If it’s a two-score game and you score, on the kickoff do you use a mortar kick, what type of kick do you use to give you a chance to get the ball back? I think it would make an impact.”
  • On the NFC East: “I think the division is getting better, and I think it’s getting more competitive. You see the turnaround that Washington made last year, they’re going to be a formidable opponent. Obviously Dallas, when they get their quarterback (Tony Romo) back, is a pretty darn good football team and has a good roster. Philadelphia, that’s a team right there that we’ve struggled with and we need to play better against.”
  • On whether he’s started working on the logistics for the Giants’ trip to London: “Absolutely. The week I got the job. We’re still finalizing some things. Look forward to the trip, should be a great experience for the organization, for the players. It will be great for our game.”

GIANTS.COM INTERVIEW WITH VICTOR CRUZ…
A video of a Giants.com “Insider” interview with wide receiver Victor Cruz is available at Giants.com.

ARTICLES…

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Eric Kennedy

Eric Kennedy is Editor-in-Chief of BigBlueInteractive.com, a publication of Big Blue Interactive, LLC. Follow @BigBlueInteract on Twitter.

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