Head coach Joe Judge, tight end Evan Engram, and safety Xavier McKinney were the three Giants that spoke to the media in Monday’s day-after session. A number of topics were covered in depth – Darqueze Dennard’s special teams not-miscue and Evan Engram’s take on the offense, for example – but a few questions were either one-offs or topics that didn’t go much further.
That gives us an opportunity to give you a Tuesday edition if Giants Quotebook, so you’re in the know with everything that was covered.
Judge on why he thinks the Giants haven’t had a second-half surge like last year: “I think there are a number of things that we're looking to focus on that we have to improve collectively going into next season and there's a lot of things that we have to improve on. I'm not one that's going to sit here and make excuses, so I'm not going to go ahead and list a bunch of things that people are going to turn around and misinterpret, but obviously, as a coaching staff, we've got to make sure that we go ahead and we build on things that have shown we've done well. I've seen a lot of things and aspects of this team really improve throughout the second half of the year. We've seen a lot of things that have been better in the second half than the first half of the year and collectively in all three phases. That being said, it hasn't been good enough overall, and we've got to do a better job in all three phases to keep having success and have to eliminate mistakes.”
McKinney on if he thinks he should’ve made the Pro Bowl: “I do. It played out how it played out. It is what it is. Obviously, things haven't worked out for our team, and individually for myself this year, but it is what it is. Like you said, it's not the only year that I can make the Pro Bowl. I've just got to keep working, get back in the lab, and find a way to ensure that next year and years to come that I don't miss it. It is what it is, just got to go back to work.”
Judge on Mike Glennon: “I like the way Mike puts the team first and comes out and works. There are some things collectively that we have to do better as an offense all around. I like the way that Mike comes in with a positive attitude every week and stays ready. I know he's going to do that this week and he'll go into Chicago. It's going to be a tough challenge for all of us and I know Mike and Jake (Fromm) will both be getting ready for the opportunity.”
Engram on what he told Jake Fromm after a tough first NFL start: “I just gave him my respect. I think that the way that he came in and operated and the way that he came in to work from day one, just attention to detail and everything. The way he handled himself day one in the building, that doesn't go unnoticed. He'll be back out there, so just try to give him my respect.”
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Judge on whether or not he ever sits back and gets fed up with the Giants’ season: “No, I think you come back every week and you go to work. That doesn't mean there's not frustrations within it, whether you're winning or losing. There's been a lot of times where I've come in from winning postseason games and you sit down and you feel disgusted with the way you played or your units may have played, and all you're thinking about as a coach is what you did wrong. I don't think there's ever been a game that I sit back afterward and say, 'Man, that was really, really good. We did this well.' It could be a great win, it could be a terrible loss, but what you're thinking about are the things you have to improve on. Coaching is teaching and that's eliminating mistakes and making sure that you can give someone something that's going to help them go out there and perform.
The thing that we really enjoy as coaches is when you have the opportunity to work with someone, give them a tool to incorporate into the game, and see them have success with it. That's really the addiction you have. That's really the adrenaline kick you really have as a coach, that high you get from really working with the team and being able to share in their success. That's really what you live for, as far as what a coach lives for. In terms of the flow of the season, no, you've got to show up and go to work all the time. That's what we preach to our players, but you've got to really go ahead and walk that walk.
You can't just tell the players they have to show up and do that.”
McKinney on the defense’s second half struggles in Philly: “I don't know. It's kind of hard to say. I think for us, we've just got to keep locking in on the small details. Obviously, we can't make many mistakes defensively, we know that. But I thought we played well to start off in the first half, we just kind of let some things slip in the second half and that's kind of what happened. But like I said, we've just got to focus in more on the detail part of it, and just make sure that we don't make those mistakes because the team doesn't need us to make those mistakes.”
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And finally, Judge reflects on his career: “I've coached in all different realms. I'm very, very fortunate to be at the level I am and the position I am in. I've coached at Division III Birmingham Southern where we played in front of close friends and family only, high school stadiums where I could look out of the press box and I knew when my wife walked up exactly with my son. You see them walk because there's no one else in the stadium, but I enjoy that every bit as much as I enjoy this. You have to love the coaching, you have to love the process, the players, the team aspect of it. It's not about the results of the season. You play to have team success. You perform to have team success, but the week-in and week-out work, you have to enjoy that process. You have to really thrive and enjoy those long hours. It truly has to be something you love. This can't be just a job, it has to be more of a lifestyle in terms of you can't just say I have to show up, work these hours, and then go on home. It's got to be something that when you leave, you think about it driving home the entire time.
When you wake up, you think about it driving in the entire time. You get excited in the middle of the night and you text your defensive coordinator a good idea you have for a scheme. You text your special teams coordinator an idea you have for a blocked punt, whatever it may be. It's got to be something that's always on your mind and you're always thinking. At least the ones I've been around that have been pretty good, that's the way that their minds always work. One thing that's in common with guys that are good coaches is they're always talking ball. You ask me all the time about what we do hobby-wise, what we do away from ball. The reality is, most of us don't do much because our hobby is ball and that just happens to be what you get paid for.”
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