Skins Quotes 9/25/19: Gruden, Shurmur

September 25, 2019

Head Coach Jay Gruden

Opening statement:
“Did not participate: [TE Jordan] Reed, concussion; [QB Case] Keenum, foot; [C Chase] Roullier, knee; [G Brandon] Scherff, ankle. Limited were: [CB Quinton] Dunbar, knee; [LB Cassanova] McKinzy, hip. Everybody else was full, granted we just had a walkthrough today.”

On QB Case Keenum's injury:
“Today, like I said, was a walkthrough, so we thought it was important to keep him off his feet for the day. Same with [G] Brandon Scherff and [C] Chase [Roullier]. We'll see how he is tomorrow.”

On whether QB Colt McCoy did the walk through:
“He did some of the walkthrough. He and [QB] Dwayne [Haskins] split it up. Mainly Dwayne and [QB] Colt [McCoy] just got in there, got his feet wet a little bit.”

On whether Keenum's injury happened during the game:
“I sure hope so. Yes, it happened. I don't know when, he got tangled up in a pile a couple times and just came out after the game, was pretty sore, and got checked out. He got an MRI. Everything's pretty stable, just got to rest it for a day.”

On who the backup quarterback is:
“Right now, it's Dwayne [Haskins]. Depending on Case [Keenum]'s foot, that could be the case. Obviously, if Case can't play then the backup usually does play, depending on how Colt [McCoy] is tomorrow. We'll see how he is. I haven't seen him throw a ball in about a month and a half.”

On whether McCoy threw today:
“He did not, no.”

On whether McCoy can miss so much time and still play:
“That I don't know. We'll have to see him in individuals tomorrow and have him throw some balls and see where he's at. We will see how he feels as far as pushing off is concerned. He's been doing a lot on the side on his own, so I don't think he'd be cleared to practice unless he felt pretty good about it, but still we want to see him take the snap with people coming at him and making some throws.”

On whether there's a chance that McCoy can return and supplant Haskins as backup:
“There is a chance that could happen. I don't know yet, we just want to get through today, it's a walkthrough. Tomorrow we'll evaluate everything to see where Case [Keenum] is. I assume Case is going to be able to play -- he's a tough guy -- and then we'll deal with the ‘ifs' tomorrow and Friday.”

On how the game plan changes depending on the quarterback:
“Well, if he can't go tomorrow then obviously the other guys will get the reps which will be good, so that's a win-win. And if he's better Friday and Case [Keenum] feels like he can go, he can go, but we'll just wait and see. We'll get these other two guys some reps tomorrow. We don't have a lot of time in practice to get everybody ample reps to get them ready for a game, but we will get Dwayne [Haskins] a lot of reps tomorrow, see where he's at.”

On [QB Colt] McCoy's injuries and whether that influences how he's handled:
“I think the biggest thing in how to handle Colt [McCoy] is how he's feeling mentally and physically. If he feels like he's ready to go, then I'll have to make that decision and I'll see where Dwayne [Haskins] is as far as the game plan prep is concerned. If I feel great about Dwayne and Case [Keenum] can't go, we'll go with Dwayne. We'll see how it goes. Like I said already, we have a little ways to go before I make any crazy decision.”

On offensive linemen's injuries and availability:
“That I don't know either. I really don't know.”

On how recent Keenum's injury was:
“It came up yesterday a little bit, he was sore. He just had an MRI this morning and we got everything checked out to make sure everything's good.We're just being [overprotective] on the foot right now. We anticipate him being okay, hopefully tomorrow or Friday.”

On how confident he is in the backup OL:
“Well, if Chase [Roullier] couldn't go, obviously [OL Tony] Bergstrom would be the starting center and then [C Ross] Pierschbacher would be the backup. If [Brandon] Scherff couldn't go, obviously [G] Wes Martin would be the guard. So that's kind of how we're doing it, but I'm hoping at least one of them will be able to go.”

On how to prepare for Giants QB Daniel Jones:
“Well, he's very talented. I think the biggest thing you have to understand is fortunately we've played [Eagles QB Carson] Wentz, we've played [Cowboys QB] Prescott and [Bears QB] Trubisky. All of them can move around and I think that was the effect that he had, [QB] Daniel Jones, on the offense last week against Tampa Bay. He had three or four plays outside the pocket that were good -- two touchdowns, he had another scramble play for a first down, I believe, and then he stepped up in the pocket and made some people miss in the pocket, made a big throw for a 40-yard gain. So, I think his mobility is something the Giants haven't had. Now [QB] Eli [Manning's] leadership is obviously second to none over there, but this guy is a little more mobile and can give you some issues outside the pocket.”

On whether Eli Manning's has fallen off:
“No, I think Eli [Manning] attacked us pretty well. He attacked us pretty good last year, they were up 34 to nothing at the half. So, I've always had a lot of respect for Eli [Manning], but right now they gave the job over to Daniel [Jones] and we'll see how he does.”

On if Haskins has received extra preparation to start:
“He better be preparing like he's ready to play. That's the biggest thing you have to do as a backup. You have to be prepared to come in on the second play of the game. So he better be prepared, I think he is. He's been working.”

On what the team has done to help Haskins progress:
“We're meeting with him every day. Meeting with him, going over film. [Quarterback Coach] Tim [Rattay] is doing some individual time with him. That's the role of a backup. That's the backup's job. You're not going to get every rep in practice, but it's your job to be ready and learn everything.”

On Haskins' knowledge from preseason to now:
“On the chalkboard it's good. On the field, we'll have to see. I think he'll be fine but we'll have to wait and see. That's something you can't really gauge until you get out there and you see the defensive front for the Giants and the coverages changing and the blitzes changing and how you react.”

On how to maintain positive morale in spite of 0-3 start:
“Well you have to. I think if you walk around hanging your head all day, it's going to be a miserable atmosphere and nobody is going to want to get better. I think the most important thing is to be positive and understand that we still have a job to do, we're working hard and we can still dig ourselves out of this hole. Tougher things have been done in the world than coming back from an 0-3 start. We have the people in the locker room to do it, I feel like we have the talent to do it. We've just got to go out and do it. Play smart and play consistently for four quarters, not just two.”

On Landon Collins' impact:
“I think he's done some good things, without a doubt. Glad we have him, that's for sure.But we expect everybody to step up on defense. He's the main guy, him and [CB] Josh [Norman] and the secondary got to step up, our pass rush got to step up, our backers got to play better. We've all got to play better. We've got to coach better. We've got to call better defenses, we got to attack.

On what makes Collins such a good tackler:
“He's always in good position. I think he missed one tackle last week on a screen, but for the most part he's in good position, uses his eyes, gets his pads down, and wraps up.”

On what to expect from Collins against former team:
“I think the reason why we like Landon [Collins] is because he plays highly motivated every Sunday, but I'm sure he will personally have some added incentive, you'll have to ask him. But we expect Landon to play hard like he does every game and if he some added incentive, then great. The incentive should be we're 0-3, we're playing another division game -- that's enough incentive for me, for everybody. But if he has a little bit more, that's fine.”


New York Giants Head Coach Pat Shurmur Conference Call

On what advice he will give QB Daniel Jones before his first home game:
“The big advice is stay in the moment, go out and play and try to basically just execute. Play football and enjoy the experience of playing in front of the home crowd. I think the big thing is stay in the moment and execute.”

On what excitement Jones brings to the fan base after the win in Week 3:
“I think it was an exciting game. I'm certainly happy for our fans to be able to enjoy that. That's probably a better question for our fans. We had a long flight home, didn't get home until late and got right back to work on Monday. So, I'm a little isolated from some of that. I think when you have a quarterback go out and play well and have a hand in a victory, makes [the fans] feel good.”

On how Jones handled third downs:
“Third downs are certainly the money downs – in the red zone and especially on third downs, I thought he did a good job of throwing the ball accurately. Thought he did a good job of handling some of the pressures, there were some adjustments he had to make to the protection that he did effectively. Then there were a couple times when he scrambled. The ability to extend the drive by using your foot is important.”

On how the offense changes without RB Saquon Barkley:
“I've always said it takes a village. Obviously, you don't replace a player like Saquon [Barkley], but everybody that's in there needs to step up and be their very best. I think it'll put who the quarterback is, but [RB] Wayne Gallman, we trust him and the receivers that we've put out there, we trust them. And we trust that our line is going to block well.”

On if Jones took reps with the starters prior to the season:
“He would take reps with the ones. I always reserve a rep or two each practice for the backups. This time of year, unfortunately, most of your time is spent on the guy who is going to be the starter. A lot of the work he was getting, it was really only a couple week stretch, it was off to the side or in between drills in scout.”

On his progression that led to him earning the starting position:
“A lot of what we saw was obviously in competitive practice situations – whether it be the offseason program, the OTAs, the minicamps, training camp, preseason games. So, we got to see a pretty large sample size of what we might expect. Anytime you go do it for the first time in a real game, [it] could be different. So, there's a little bit of uncertainty there, but I thought he did O.K.”

On balancing Jones' reps as a backup versus being a top-five pick:
“I don't know. I think each situation is different. Each coach handles it differently. I think it's fair to say, and [Head Coach] Jay [Gruden] does an outstanding job with quarterbacks and I think he'll agree with me, you do everything you can in your power to develop all the players all the time. There's constant development when it comes to quarterbacks. Jay and I learned it sort of the same way from that West Coast [scheme] upbringing where when a play goes into a starter and the quarterback coach is in the back and he makes the quarterbacks that aren't in there call it, ‘Hey go ahead and flip this one.' Or in between drills or when special teams are going, it's constant drill work for all the quarterbacks. Running after practice, extra meeting time, after practice throwing to the practice squad guys. There's constant development behind the scenes and I think we all do that.”

On what they thought of Redskins QB Dwayne Haskins prior to the draft:
“We had a very, very high opinion of him. I thought he was an outstanding player that was going to have a bright future. There was nothing about him that we disliked. Got a chance to go visit with him at Ohio State, he was here, we had many exposures with him. I worked with [Ohio State Head Coach] Ryan Day, his head coach, who had nothing but great things to say. So, we certainly had a very, very high opinion of him.”

On how he thinks Redskins QB Case Keenum has performed thus far in Washington:
“Listen, Case [Keenum] and I were together in Minnesota. He was the third quarterback in after two injuries and he was a part of a team that went 13-3 and he had significant impact in those victories, so I have a very, very high opinion of him as well. I think he's a winner.”

On how the Redskins are using S Landon Collins:
“I think the Redskins are using him well. He's doing the things that he can do. He's very physical in and around the line of scrimmage. They have him covering tight ends, appears that he's doing a good job of that. Playing the safety position, you're sort of thrusted into a position of authority because I'm sure he's making the calls. I was with him one year here at the Giants and he was a captain and I spent a lot of time with him at the captains meetings and I gained a very strong appreciation for him as a player and a person.”

‘Dwayne is the backup pending how Colt looks tomorrow'..........

Really? You are going to potentially start a guy that hasn't thrown passes on a field regularly since April?

Gruden's affinity for the mutt McCoy is worthy of a dog's love 🐶