Jerome Baker – December 15, 2019 (Postgame)
Sunday, December 15, 2019
Postgame – N.Y. Giants
LB Jerome Baker (transcribed by New York Giants)
(You guys didn’t have an answer for a long time. In the beginning it was a lot of back and forth. Can you speak to what happened today?) – “We didn’t come out in the second half and play as a team. That’s really all it is. We didn’t come out an execute. Giants did a great job of coming out in the second half and capitalizing on that. We can’t blame anybody, we can only look at ourselves in the mirror and just say we came up short.”
(Is it hard for players to come out when its been a hard year and its late into the season?) – “No, we’re NFL players – every time you step on that field if you don’t take it serious you’re going to get hurt. I don’t think we’re about that to much, it’s still a pride thing. It’s our job, we still have to come out and execute and play as a team.”
(How much of it was a turning point after the safety and after the punt getting great field position and then scoring right away?) – “Yeah that was tough, as a defense we have to have our offenses back, so we didn’t do that and Giants did a great job at capitalizing on it.”
(You pick off Eli three times and lose. When you pick him off three times do you feel like you should have the upper hand?) – “Yeah. It’s a team game, it is not just one thing. We all have to play better on all three phases. We just have to comeback tomorrow and go back to work.”
(When you guys face a guy like Saquon as a runner how difficult is that?) – “It’s hard, he’s one of the great backs in this league. He gets after it, we respect it and it’s our job to stop that. You can’t stop a guy like that you can only contain him and we didn’t really contain him at all.”
Daniel Kilgore – December 15, 2019 (Postgame)
Sunday, December 15, 2019
Postgame – N.Y. Giants
C Daniel Kilgore (transcribed by New York Giants)
(I wanted to ask you about the safety, what happened on that drive?) –“Miscommunication upfront; they [the Giants] brought the house and we weren’t in the right spot.”
(Just in general, how did you feel about the way the offensive line performed today?) – “We have to get better every week; it’s the same story of guys rotating in, they have to come in and do their job and I have to do my job. We just have to be better. It’s the same story every week; we have to look at it [the game film] tomorrow and work at it, fix it and fix our problems.”
(As a team leader, do you say to these guys ‘”keep fighting and just play hard the rest of the way?) – “Yeah, you have to. You cant’ let guys get down on themselves. We have to keep fighting. It’s a long season; we said this in Week 4 that it was a long season and we still have a job to do and that’s to go out and perform well and try to win ballgames.”
(How much of a frustration is it when your defense gets three takeaways and you guys aren’t able to convert?) – “Yeah, that’s not complementary football where we don’t score points [off of turnovers]. The defense for the most part from what I could see from sitting on the sideline, they did their thing and offensively, the offensive line, we have to come up with plays, man. It’s the same story every week, that’s not just pointing fingers, that’s just me and everyone else involved.”
Vince Biegel – December 15, 2019 (Postgame)
Sunday, December 15, 2019
Postgame – N.Y. Giants
LB Vince Biegel (transcribed by New York Giants)
(What was difficult for you guys in the second half?) – “I think the biggest thing for us in the second half was we couldn’t stop the run. We weren’t solid on our edges and that starts with the front, setting the edge, it starts with the secondary. Through and through we weren’t able to accomplish that in the second half and it showed. We didn’t put our offense in the best field position. We didn’t give them enough opportunities so I think there are a lot of things we can do as a defense that we can correct and get better for next week.”
(This is the first time in a while that you guys didn’t fight back. What was different today?) – “I feel like the Giants, credit to them, they got momentum and they made the plays when they needed to make them. Flat out we didn’t make the stops when we had to so it’s a credit to the Giants. They were able to come out and execute at a high level. I think it goes back to us, self-inflicted wounds and those are the things we have to clean up if we want to be a great team and if we want to be a team that can win week in and week out. I believe in all of these guys in the locker room. We want to get better. If you come to practice, we’re grinding. We work hard and the effort is not the question, it’s going out there and being able to execute at a high level.”
(What happened on the play where you made an interception?) – “Slot curl drop and I was able to re-route. I fell right into coverage and PG (Patrick Graham) talked about all week how one of Eli’s (Manning) favorite routes is a slant so I felt the slant behind me and I was able to get one thrown right to me in the bread basket and was thankfully able to make the play and put our offense in good field position. It was my first career interception and it wasn’t up against that bad of a quarterback so I was very, very thankful. And it was a good play call as well on PG’s end.
(How tough has it been when you go into the huddle and you might not know the people in there because things have been changing so much?) – “I think it’s a credit to the coaching staff to be able to get our guys [ready] – I look back sometimes in our secondary and I’m still learning the names. It’s a credit to our coaching, it’s a credit to the guys in our locker room. To be able to go out there and understand our assignments, our techniques and to go out there and be competitive. As we finish the season here, those guys will be able to continue to come into fruition and finish strong with us. Obviously, a lot of work. Most importantly, I think it falls on guys like me, who have been here the whole season. We have to go out there and continue to lead and continue to get this organization in the right direction.”
(You said you intercepted a guy that wasn’t bad, what did you think about the amount of respect that he has here?) – “I’ve got a ton, a ton of respect for Eli Manning. He’s been doing this for a very, very long time. I remember being a kid in middle school watching him so to be able to go out there and line up against him is truly an honor and there is a strong possibility this could be his last game here. Credit to him, but I think most importantly, focusing on us, there were a lot of things that we need to improve on and I think it starts tomorrow on those corrections and moving forward.”
Ryan Fitzpatrick – December 15, 2019 (Postgame)
Sunday, December 15, 2019
Postgame – N.Y. Giants
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick (transcribed by New York Giants)
(What changed between the first half and the second half?) – “When we came out, we were a different team. We weren’t executing. I don’t know if they made adjustments or that we needed to make many adjustments just in terms of the way the first half went. I thought we moved the ball well. Just frustrating that we couldn’t get things going. That obviously starts with me as the quarterback, just moving the sticks a little bit and finding completions. It got out of hand in a hurry, especially after the safety, which was a big momentum change. Just couldn’t get anything going offensively.”
(What was the difference in the first quarter, basically the first half? You guys were able to spread the football around. You ran it pretty well in the first quarter, but didn’t cash in on points. Is that discouraging?) – “It’s always tough, not getting the fourth-and-one or not getting points out of good drives. So there’s always stuff you leave out there that you’re disappointed about. But we came into halftime feeling pretty good – not necessarily the score, but the way we moved the ball. We felt like we had a good plan and guys were playing well. We had good matchups on the outside. We were able to move the ball really well. It was a matter of not being able to pick up first downs in the second half and stay on the field. It wasn’t a great performance. ”
(What happened on the fumble. It looked like you took a pretty good shot.) – “Yes. I tried to cut back. It was a third-and-long and I was trying to somehow, some way find a way to pick up the first down. He got me pretty good on that one.”
(The safety was an off tackle play and there was no hole and he cut it outside? ) – “Yes, sometimes you have to take your hat off to them too. They obviously played better than us on that play.”
(You seem very comfortable with DeVante Parker as the season progresses. Can you talk about why you guys have been so in sync recently?) – “I just think the type of receiver he is – big, physical, makes the tough catches, really smart, really consistent – the things we’ve said in the past about him, every day he wants to get better, continues to work hard – all that stuff, his size and his catch radius – are all very good things for a quarterback. ”
(What did you think when he got that contract extension?) – “I was excited for him. It’s nice to see guys rewarded when they play well. I was really excited because I know he’s had some ups and downs and he’s worked really hard this year. So it was really good to see him get rewarded for it.”
(There’s been a trend of hiring offensive minds as coaches. Head coach Brian Flores comes from the defensive side of the ball. Does that make a difference to you as far as you’ve seen and what goes into being a good coach?) – “I don’t know. I think offense, defense, special teams coach, young, old – I don’t know that any of that matters. I think what matters is clear vision, everyone headed in the same direction, and coach has the pulse of the team. He knows what’s going on and I don’t think it really matters what age or what side of the ball the coach comes from. There’s just important qualities to have and we have a good one.”
(Ryan, today the Dolphins set an NFL record for using the most players in one season—the most different players.) – “I was wondering what you could possibly say for the record. [Laughs]”
(I know a lot of changes today at least were on defense, but when you look at it from a team perspective, how much of a challenge is that when you’re trying to incorporate so many moving pieces?) – “You know, just speaking offensively for me, we’ve had some, but maybe not as many as the other side of the ball, so continuity is a big thing in this league, just in terms of trying to be consistent and all that. And you know for us, offensively, that was not our problem today because we were at full strength at receiver and just didn’t play well enough, but there’s been a lot of moving pieces this year and you know part of it, I think, guys that come in are getting a chance to play and some have stepped up, some haven’t and the coaches are really showing how well they can coach with bringing guys in and trying to get up to speed as fast as possible.”
(You’ve talked about how the playing, the competition, is fun for you—the starting, the work. A game like today, is that…) – “Uh, yes the second half is brutal. I mean that’s a tough situation to be in when you can’t get anything going and you’re running out on the field and then running right back off with a punt or a fumble or whatever it was. This is, this game is so much fun, but it’s difficult too and today was a tough day and it’s, you know, throughout my whole career. I think when guys come to the NFL I think they learn that it’s a very humbling game. Once you think you’ve got it, you’re going to get knocked down and it doesn’t matter how many wins you have or how many wins the opponent has, you’ve got to come out and play every game and we didn’t show up in the second half today.”
(You shook hands with Eli [Manning] after the game. Was there anything you can tell us about that moment or what you guys might have said to each other?) – “I thought, you know, just that it was a nice moment that he had with the fans there at the end and then a classy gesture to kind of bring him out and get his ovation. I just think he’s meant a lot to this league, obviously he’s been a face of not just the Giants franchise, but of the league for a long time now and he’s been the model of consistency for sixteen years too in terms of staying level-headed and with all the stuff that you have to deal with in this media market. He’s been a class act the whole way and has really handled himself well, so I think there’s a lot of things that I like to just sit back and take from different quarterbacks and our playing styles are a little bit different and he’s had a lot more success than I have, so I’m not even trying to compare our careers, I’m just, the class act that he is and always watching from afar the way that he handles himself, that’s something that all of us NFL quarterbacks can learn from that example and you know he’s had a great career and I was happy to see that for him today.”
DeVante Parker – December 15, 2019 (Postgame)
Sunday, December 15, 2019
Postgame – N.Y. Giants
WR DeVante Parker (transcribed by New York Giants)
(What did you feel like was the biggest difference in today’s game for the team?) – “We just didn’t convert when we needed to. ”
(How did it feel just getting back out there, especially being in the [concussion] protocol this week?) – “It felt good just being out there playing with my brothers and I just enjoyed it.”
(What was it that the offense wasn’t able to do over the course of the game and especially in the second half?) – “Too many dropped balls and like I said before, we just didn’t execute the little things.”
(Since the last time we talked to you, you signed a new contract extension, what was your motivation to get that done now?) – “I don’t know. I didn’t have any motivation [to get it done now]. I don’t know; we just got it done.”
(Why was it important to you to get it done now?) – “Why was it important? I don’t know.”
(What does it mean to you to know that the organization made a decision to commit to you long-term?) – “It means a lot, man, for them [the Dolphins] to have confidence in me, man. I’m just grateful for another chance [to play here]. We’ll see.”
(Are you happy with the two touchdowns today and continuing to kind of further your progress that you have made this season?) – “No, I am not happy. We didn’t win.”
(I know you didn’t win today, but how do you feel about the future for you as it relates to the franchise improving in the years to come?) – “I’m only focused on right now. We still have a couple more games left and that’s what I am focused on right now.”
Brian Flores – December 15, 2019 (Postgame)
Sunday, December 15, 2019
Postgame – N.Y. Giants
Head Coach Brian Flores (transcribed by New York Giants)
(It was a much more competitive second half here last week. What happened today? Why did the game get away from you?) – “We didn’t play well. Dropped passes, penalties, we kind of beat ourselves in a lot of areas. They played well, they made a lot of plays. (Saquon) Barkley, (Sterling) Shepard, those guys, Eli (Manning) played well. But, we just didn’t do enough to win.”
(It seemed like the momentum changed a little bit in that third quarter when you guys came out. Field position, the safety that turns into a short field, they get a couple of quick scores, how did you see the momentum in that second half change?) – “Yeah, they made a few plays. They got us backed up with the punt, we got a penalty on that, got another penalty, so we’re on the one-yard line, can’t get back to the line of scrimmage, that turned into a safety. Then, they got a good return and punched it in again. So, we didn’t play well in the second half.”
(The way the game started, it seemed like Ryan (Fitzpatrick) was getting the ball to a lot of different people, getting guys involved, and it seemed like the run was there too. So, I think in the first half you ran 40 offensive plays, in the second half couldn’t stay on the field. What was the difference there?) – “Well, I mean, we did a good job with time of possession in the first half, we moved the ball efficiently. But, at the end of the day, we didn’t finish those drives. We got stopped on a fourth and one in the red zone, we missed a field goal. It’s those types of plays that come back to haunt you in this league. So, we played okay in the first half, come out there with a lead, then they played a lot better than us in the second half.”
(Can you talk about what your feelings were about their pass rush and your pass protection?) – “I felt in the first half we did a good job from the protection standpoint. They brought a few more blitzes in the second half, we struggled to pick them up, and same, conversely for us, I thought we had a little bit better rush in the first half than we did in the second half.”
(Do you anticipate Ryan Fitzpatrick being your quarterback next week?) – “Yes.”
(Despite today’s result, people have been surprised by the way you guys have been competitive more or less since the beginning of the season. In the offseason, a lot of the coaches that were hired were offensive minds. You came from the other side, a defensive mind–do you find that kind of trend will continue, or do you think it matters, or do you have any opinion on it?) – “I mean, I can’t speak for other teams and what they’re going to do. There’s no way for me to know that. I know this is a leadership position. I think you’ve got to lead a team of players, coaches. That’s what this is. That’s kind of my thought process.”
(On the fumble by Fitz (QB Ryan Fitzpatrick), he took a pretty good hit. Did he get shook up there?) – “I think, you know, he’s a tough guy. I’m sure he got dinged a little bit, but like any other play, he hopped right back up and was ready to go.”
(This team today set an NFL record for most players used in one season. How much more of a challenge does that present to this team from a continuity standpoint, from a standpoint of being competitive today, for example?) – “This team, we’ve dealt with adversity the entire year. So, it’s nothing that’s very new, we’ve had a lot of guys in and out of the lineup and I think they’ve worked hard to try to get to a point where we could play at a competitive level. Today we just didn’t play well enough as a total team. That’s for a myriad of reasons—penalties, dropping passes—but, it starts with me. I’ve got to do a better job of getting us ready. Whoever we have, we’re going to play with, and I’ve got to do a better job of getting us ready to go.”
(What did you learn about your team over the last two weeks?) – “The same thing I’ve learned about this team over the course of the entire season–they’re tough, they compete, it’s important to them, they don’t make excuses, they don’t point fingers. We just try to play hard and play the game the right way.”
(What was the reason for Charles Harris being inactive?) – “Game plan.”
(And (Walt) Aikens?) – “That was a violation of team rules.”
Brian Flores – December 13, 2019
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Friday, December 13, 2019
Head Coach Brian Flores
(The Giants announced QB Eli Manning will start. Your reaction to that?) – “(He’s a) good quarterback. He played last week (and) played well. It’ll be a tough test. They’ve got a lot of good players, so I’m sure Eli’s going to try to get it those guys – Saquon (Barkley), (Darius) Slayton, the rest of the group, (Sterling) Shepard, Golden Tate, (Evan) Engram – we’ll see about that one, too.”
(Do you think there’s any emotional element to this for Giants QB Eli Manning considering this could be his final game in the Meadowlands?) – “I can’t speak for Eli. I have no idea.”
(In terms of – Giants TE Evan Engram is not going to be playing as well. How does that change things for you guys matchup-wise?) – “Was that announced? I’ve been out here (at practice).”
(It was.) – “So (Engram’s) not playing?”
(Yeah.) – “Okay. (Evan Engram is a) good player, a very good player. If he’s not out there, then they’ve got other players at the position who’ve actually played – (Rhett) Ellison – guys who have gone in and played and been productive, so it’ll still be a tough test. They’ve got guys all over the place. You’ve got to play well to stop this group.”
(If TE Evan Engram doesn’t play, does that change maybe what you do with a guy like CB Eric Rowe or some of your DBs?) – “I think we’d have some discussions about whether we’d want to do that or not. We’ve practiced a specific way the entire week. There’s always – we leave room to make adjustments and to make changes, so potentially. I would say we could change a few things, but I would say right now we’ll probably stick to the script.”
(Rod Graves put out his list for coaching candidates for next year. Assistant Head Coach/Quarterbacks Jim Caldwell was on his list. He said that he was fully healthy. Is he in a position where he can come back and help you guys at some point?) – “I’m not going to speak about Jim’s situation. He’s a great coach. He’s been a great coach for a long time. He’s been someone who – Jim I’m talking about – is someone who’s been a mentor and someone I can bounce ideas off of the entire season, which he’s been that. He’s a great football coach. I’ll leave it at that. (He’s a) great, great coach. He’d be very worthy as a head coach in this league. I’d say that over and over and over and over again. I have nothing but praise for him.”
(With RB Patrick Laird, obviously he’s dinged up a little bit. Does that alter how you approach the running back position?) – “Yeah. Whether it’s Myles (Gaskin), whether it’s De’Lance (Turner), those guys will be obviously the next guys in. Patrick is doing everything he can to get himself ready to play. Those other guys are ready to play, as well. We’ll have somebody out there. We’ll see if we need to cut reps or change some roles. Those are things we talk about really throughout the week and we try to practice the situation guys will be in. We’ll see.”
(With the concussions, when will you get a final word on WR DeVante Parker and WR Albert Wilson? Is it tomorrow when they go through the final testing?) – “The protocol is, it goes day-to-day. Right now those guys are still in concussion protocol and we’ll just wait until they get cleared. It’s really more a medical thing more than it is my decision. It’s not my decision at all, so when they give me the call whether it’s today, tomorrow – it’s the protocol. I don’t know. It’s out of my hands.”
(I know we aren’t expecting to see him this week, but what have you seen QB Josh Rosen that makes you think that whenever he’s able to hit the field again, he’ll be more successful than he was early in the season?) – “He’s doing a really good job in the huddle, taking command of the huddle, going through his progression, making the right reads, putting the ball where he needs to put it whether it’s a check down or throwing the football away, sliding when he has to slide – we do that in practice. I think he’s made a lot of progress. He made a lot of good throws today. The kid’s talented. He’s got a big arm. You watch him out in practice fire the ball in there from time to time – actually a lot more consistently now. I think he’ll be ready when his number is called, but at the same time he’s a team player who wants to see ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) and guys in the quarterback room have success. When Jake (Rudock) goes in there, he’s happy for him. When he makes a couple plays, he’s fired up for him. He’s a team guy, but I think he’ll be ready when his number is called.”
Raekwon McMillan – December 12, 2019
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Thursday, December 12, 2019
LB Raekwon McMillan
(When you had been with the backups at first during part of the offseason program before your injury, did you and Head Coach Brian Flores ever have a discussion where you asked, “okay, how do I fit in this defense? What’s your vision for me?” Was there every any heart-to-heart you had with him or Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham?) – “Yeah, we sat down. I sat down with all of the coaches and they talked about how they see me in the defense. It all started off by getting healthy. I couldn’t help the defense (and) help this team if I wasn’t healthy, so once I finally got healthy, I was able to do my thing; but I met with all the coaches. They told me what they wanted me to do.”
(I don’t know if I want to use the word “pressure,” but you were a second-round pick. Your first year went out because of the injury. Then your second year is basically coming back from that and this year you’re kind of showing why you were a second-round pick in the first place. How much of that has been in your mind? I don’t want to say “wanting to show” that it was the right to move make you a second-round pick, but does that ever enter your mind?) – “As a high-round guy, you want to come in and show, ‘I’m not a bust’ or whatever. ‘I’m worth everything that they put into me.’ But I really wasn’t worried about that because it was always reiterated (to me) by (General Manager Chris) Grier and everybody from the head up that I’m their guy and they want to see me do good, so it was never a situation where they were trying to put me on a back-burner. Anything that happened was because of something that I did out there on the field, not because of them.”
(The run defense statistics for the team have improved after a bad start the first four or five games. What are some of the things that have gotten better from your perspective for the group?) – “We’re just playing together, playing smarter together. At first it was watching individuals and we didn’t know each other. I talk about this all the time: we were just a bunch of individuals out there trying to play defense, and from the outside looking in when I wasn’t playing a lot, when I finally got a chance to play, that’s one thing that I wanted to help on this defense. When I came in, I wanted to bring everybody together so we could play defense collectively and not just individually.”
(I wanted to follow up on what General Manager Chris Grier said to you when Chris was telling you, “We’ve got your back. You’re our guy. We believe in you.” How much does that mean to you?) – “It means a lot. When I wasn’t playing and stuff like that, I sat down and talked with all the coaches, and they basically all told me I need to get healthy so I can go out there and ‘show me.’ And he was saying from the jump that he had confidence in me and he can’t wait until I get back. That was basically our conversation. I’m not knocking anybody else, he just was ready for me to come back.”
(And this took place this summer?) – “No, at the beginning of the season.”
(In a traditional 4-3 defense like last year, you were just right in the middle there. If you can just help me understand a little bit of the football X’s and O’s, because this defense is multiple, sometimes three down linemen, sometimes four, sometimes three linebackers, sometimes four, sometimes two or one – you could have any combination of that – has that changed in any way how you’re being positioned on the field from game-to-game?) – “Yeah, you’ve got to get comfortable as a – I’ve always been a stand-up linebacker – I had to get comfortable on the edge. My first time playing on the edge was against the Patriots in Week 2. I showed them that I could play on the edge, so that opens up the packages that I can play in. It’s not just, ‘oh, he can only play when we’re four down linemen and three linebackers,’ but he can also play on the edge. If you build your versatility as a player, it helps you be in more packages on defense. Say if we’ve got 10 packages, but you only fit two, you can’t complain about playing time because your skillset only fits two; but if your skillset fits six, seven or eight, then you get more playing time. That’s what I showed over the whole season.”
(How much on the edge have you played since that Week 2 game?) – “Not a lot because we’ve got some good edge guys. I’ll be over there every now and then.”
(When had been the last time you played on the edge?) – “I played on the – oh, you’re talking about before this year?”
(Before New England, yeah.) – “Never. (laughter)”
(At Ohio State at all?) – “No. I probably came off the edge on third down, but no, I was a stand-up Mike (linebacker).”
(What are some other areas of your game that you’ve improved that have allowed you to play in more packages?) – “Getting my body right. Not even just X’s and O’s, just getting my body right. I couldn’t have the excess fat, the excess body weight on me. Losing the weight and being more agile, being able to move with the scat backs in the league helped me a lot.”
(I know LB Vince Biegel’s said he’s played over a half dozen positions this year. How many have you played in terms of all the linebacker spots and any other role?) – “Every linebacker spot. Everybody in our core group has played every linebacker spot and on the edge. Sometimes…”
(So you’ve played you think four different positions this year?) – “Probably about five or six.”
