HEAD COACH PAT SHURMUR

POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE
Thursday, October 10, 2019

PS: Olsen Pierre has got a concussion. That's the only injury of note. Otherwise, I think everyone pulled out of there alright. Well, you know, when you get a punt blocked and have a defensive score on the other side, I mean, certainly our defensive score was good, but those kind of plays, you know that kind of stretches out the score. They did a good job. We moved the ball a little bit at times, but we need to do a better job of staying on the field. We were only, I think, 2-for10 on third downs, which is not good. That hasn't been the way it's been the last couple weeks. Give them credit, they made more plays than we did. They won the game and I will take your questions.

Q: How difficult is it to operate without all of your skill position players?

PS: We had guys out there that were capable of making plays and we made some, we just didn't make enough.

Q: What did you think of Daniel Jones' performance overall?

PS: Gritty, you know. I mean, there's a couple plays there that – I mean, there were a handful of bad plays in there. But that happens, and I'm sure we will clean those up as we go along.

Q: Six interceptions in four starts –

PS: Yeah, we had a couple today, obviously you can't do that. But he's aggressive with the ball, and you know, we will get that cleaned up.

Q: There were a couple of plays there, like the pass to Rhett Ellison when the receiver cut inside and the ball went outside. Do you think there were misreads on some of them?

PS: Nope, one he [Daniel Jones] tried to throw away, late in the down and it was picked. That's one that comes to mind, right? Then there was a tipped ball. There was a tip, where we threw the ball inside and the ball was tipped up in the air.

Q: The last one I am talking about –

PS: Yeah, it was a seven route, corner route and the defender made a good play on it.

Q: Your defense only gave up one sustained scoring drive. What did you think of their effort?

PS: I thought they battled. They gave us a chance to win the game.

Q: Fourth-and2, down 14 points, why punt in that situation?

PS: I felt like it was the right thing to do.

Q: What did you think of the incomplete pass call in the first half. It seemed like a big turning point.

PS: Yeah, I don't know. I'm not going to go into any of that. I'm done talking about that kind of stuff.

Q: What was the thinking on the call for the challenge on the pass interference there at the end?

PS: The thinking? I thought we had a solid chance to get it, but we see that replay doesn't overturn much. So, I'm not surprised.

Q: What do you tell Daniel Jones after a night like this? Three turnovers obviously in a hostile environment. What's the message to him?

PS: Just keep playing. Just keep playing, clean up the mistakes and move on.

Q: Are the mistakes sort of just part of the growth of a rookie quarterback?

PS: Well, you can't obviously throw interceptions, but he made a lot of other good throws. We just didn't win the game, we didn't make enough plays.

Q: Did you learn something about your team tonight with the way you battled?

PS: Yeah, I mean we battled, we didn't win though. So, we've got to make more plays so we can win. But I was proud of the way we battled. I've never been disappointed with how hard our guys fight, but we got to find a way to make more plays than the other team and win the game.

Q: Do you take solace from that?

PS: No, no I don't. I don't. This is the second week you've asked me these questions. I don't. We didn't win. We didn't make enough plays. That's what this is about.

QUARTERBACK DANIEL JONES

POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE
Thursday, October 10, 2019

Q: Was tonight a little overwhelming?

DJ: I don't think so. I mean, I think I didn't play well by any means. I don't mean to confuse that, but I don't think it was overwhelming. I think it was just bad plays, bad decisions.

Q: How tough was it to come into the game knowing you wouldn't have Saquon Barkley, Sterling Shepard and Evan Engram?

DJ: I don't think – obviously those guys are good players and big parts of what we do, but I thought the guys that played, played well, and stepped up and played well for us. So, I'm not sure we've thought about that a whole lot. I think the guys played well.

Q: What do you think you could have done better or differently on the interceptions?

DJ: I think each of them are different issues, but the first one was late and forced it, second one just held onto the ball too long and should have tried to throw it away earlier, and the third one was just a bad decision. So, they're different issues and [I will] definitely look to correct them.

Q: After a solid first start, the offense has had trouble moving the ball and you've been throwing more interceptions the last two weeks. Do your struggles over the last two games frustrate you?

DJ: To say that we're happy not scoring points or moving the ball, or to say that I'm happy turning it over, I don't think, isn't accurate at all. I mean, I think we're pushing to play better, and by no means are we panicked or are we at all looking or questioning ourselves. But, I think we know we've got to play better and I certainly know I've got to play better. So, we're trying to do that.

Q: Did it feel like there were a lot of tight throwing windows tonight because of how good the coverage was?

DJ: Yeah. I mean, they deserve credit. They're a good defense and did a good job tonight. So, yeah.

Q: Your long pass to Golden Tate was probably your best throw of the night. Tell me about that one.

DJ: Yeah, just a match-up opportunity there with Golden and he made a great play on the ball. Did a good job getting open there and I just tried to give him a chance. I thought he played well for us.

Q: When you made that throw and your defense scores to tie the game, did you think you guys were going to do the impossible tonight?

DJ: We came into the game expecting to win. I don't think – to sound like we were surprised at that point, to be tied. I'm not sure anyone was thinking that. We expected to win and we came in confident.

Q: Did you just not read the coverage right on the third interception?

DJ: Yeah, just a bad read.

Q: Could you see that there were things that Coach Bill Belichick's defense does differently than others you've played?

DJ: Yeah, I mean, they're a good defense. Like I said, they deserve credit and they played well. I think every team is different. Every team you match-up with a little bit differently, but they played well and deserve credit.

Q: How much did the wind factor into your throwing tonight?

DJ: Not a whole lot, really. It's something we're used to. We practice in it at times, and yeah. I think it's part of the game.

Q: What's the lesson you take away from tonight?

DJ: To simplify it, I think it's just to take care of the ball. I mean, I think that's been the lesson a couple of times. Like I said, I think each one of those plays is a little bit different and I think I've got to learn things from each one of them. But overall I just need to take care of the ball better.

Q: Do the NFL's faster pass rushes force you to make decisions with the ball more quickly?

DJ: Yeah. I mean, I think you've got to be able to feel that and you've got to be able to have a sense for when it is time to get rid of the ball. Yeah, everyone's faster, everyone's bigger in this league. Yeah, I've got to make those decisions and kind of do that better.

Q: You have a chance to catch your breath this weekend. Will you step away, or what will your mindset be?

DJ: It'll be – you know, I'm going to have a little bit more time off, but we've got a chance to get started on Arizona, and to get focused on getting back on track. So, I'll try to do that.

Antoine Bethea, S

(On the game) 

"They made plays. We didn't make plays when they were presented. That's a good offense. The effort was great but we have to make another play or two and get off the field on third down. Overall I think guys played hard and guys played well but it just wasn't enough. Our job is to try to create turnovers, try to score on defense and try to get the ball back to the offense and stop them from scoring. At the end of the day, that is what you are supposed to do. There are no moral victories, we came here to win and we lost"

Lorenzo Carter, LB

(On the Giants defense) 

"I think we played hard. A lot of guys came out with a great effort. [David] Mayo stepped up big time. We played hard, we just didn't make enough plays at the end. We know we have to play great on defense. That is the standard we hold ourselves to. We have to keep getting better each week and I think we are doing that."

(On if the defense was tired from being on the field so much) 

"I wouldn't say gassed. They had the ball for a long time but I think we just kept trying to step up and make stops. They did have the ball for a long time. It's just unfortunate that we got scored on."

Markus Golden, LB

(On scoring a touchdown) 

"The energy was high, everybody was excited. I was determined to make sure I got the touchdown so we could have a little momentum and so we could have an opportunity to win the game. It brought some good energy, I just wish we could have been able to pull it off."

(On playing tough) 

"If we lose a game, I can't really accept losing. No matter what I feel, we can be motivated off of it and be able to get back in there and work hard and fly around in practice and be motivated to fix it. So I know that can help to be motivated to fix it, but you want to get that win. I wouldn't say we ran out of gas, that's part of the game."

(On missing key players) 

"No excuses. It's football, injuries are going to happen and other guys have to come in and step up. That's part of playing football, it is the most physical game in the world and that's part of it, so we have to be able to win with the guys we have."

B.J. Hill, DL

(On the game) 

"I believe we came out there and played hard and we just have to finish. We have to finish plays and don't turn over the ball and get more turnovers on defense."

(On the close score during the first half) 

"I feel that we came out on defense and played really hard and got some turnovers. We got a defensive score. We have to make more plays and help the offense any way possible."

(On building on this game) 

"We just have to move on and keep on playing hard and keep playing for each other. We need to just build off of it. We don't like to lose and it happened today but we just keep on moving and keep on fighting. I believe in this team, and I believe in the players in this room and the coaches."

(On playing against the Patriots and Tom Brady)

"They came out and played and they came out and won the game. Like I said, we have to do better and finish the game."

Jon Hilliman, RB

(On the game) 

"There was pretty good consistency, but we didn't make enough plays. We turned the ball over too many times, I was part of it. We just weren't consistent enough to make enough plays to beat a high caliber team like the Patriots."

(On the fumble) 

"It was kind of the same thing that happened in Washington. I turned around and his head was on the ball. That just can't happen."

(On the future of the team) 

"We don't make excuses, we didn't have everybody but that's an excuse. It is what it is and the next guy needs to step up. It's definitely something to build on, definitely something to be encouraged about. We just need to learn how to finish and learn how to be consistent."

Janoris Jenkins, CB

(On having Tom Brady off his game early) 

"You know we studied. We knew what was coming, when it was coming, how it was coming. We just played together. Like I said, we just need to continue to fight."

(On Brady's success later in the game and what he saw the Patriots do differently) 

"Nothing. They didn't do anything different. We just have to get off the field. We have to keep swarming to the ball, keep playing defense. We are going to be OK."

(On whether they can build off this defensive performance) 

"Of course we can build off this. That is a good team over there, don't want to take anything from them. A hall-of-fame quarterback. We just have to keep playing and playing better."

(On the Giants offensive injuries) 

"It hurts a lot. It's the NFL, everybody is missing starters. We miss those guys. But we understand there are no excuses. Like I said, we just have to play better. You can't blame anyone who isn't here and you can't say what if. There is no what if, you just have to come out and play better."

Jabrill Peppers, S

(On the game) 

"Every time you lose, you always have to take the lessons and learn from it and there is a positive in every loss I believe. There are no moral victories but it is a lot we can build on. ."

(On coming back from a 14-0 deficit and if they felt like they were in the game) 

"Definitely, we just need to be more consistent. We have to make the plays when they come to us and capitalize on our opportunities. We know we played a pretty good ball-team here, but we know we left a lot on the field today. We know we have to come in and get it corrected on film and prepare for Arizona this week."

(On building on the defensive effort) 

"Absolutely, we made a lot of plays on the ball. We just have to limit the big plays and the missed tackles. I think you guys will start to see a defense that the Giants are accustomed too."

(On having the Patriots offense off of their game)

"We were mixing up the looks and trying to have him [Tom Brady] hold the ball a bit. We know he has a quick release time and we were trying to take away his first initial read and we wanted to mix up the looks up front. I think they did a great job of adjusting but we still got some pressure on him. He was still making plays and we just have to be more consistent and play all the way to the last whistle blows."

Nate Solder, Tackle

(On Patriots defensive execution) 

"I don't know, they've got a great system. You plug in some guys that are willing to work hard and do what they are told, are physical and they put it them in the system and they make it work. I think you've got a couple of special guys. I think Hightower is a special guy. I think [Jamie] Collins is a special guy. They kind of are the versatile guys that can really make it dominant defensively."

(On Kyle Van Noy becoming a special player) 

"Van Noy is very smart and he is very capable and does a great job within the system for sure."

(On Giants preparation for the Patriots defensive scheme) 

Golden Tate III, WR

(On the pass interference non-call) 

"I thought we had a good chance to win that one, but I'm not the referee and I don't make the rules. We had this whole meeting during training camp, and I recall that play and it was pass interference or defensive holding or whatever you want to call it."

(On missing key players to injury and the game overall) 

"We're definitely excited to get those guys back. We need all the fire power we can get, especially going down the stretch. Ultimately we just have to play sound football. I haven't seen the films but we just screwed up more times than they did. It's as simple as that, we were right in that game for most of it, and we had achance to upset them on their home turf. There were time when we couldn't get out of our way. Against good teams it's going to be hard to win. I think we did some really good things, I think we're good on that. I'm a strong believer that it's never about who we're playing. It's about us doing our jobs the best we can. It's about us winning those one on one battles, and just finding a way. We have to get out of our own way."

(On his performance) 

"I felt like I played pretty fast. There were a few plays that I feel like I should have made earlier in the game and late in the game. I'm going to look at those and find a way to make those plays. Ultimately it doesn't matter how I played we lost the game. I'm here to help win ball games and that's what is important to me."

Michael Thomas, Safety

(On what the defense can take in playing well in this game) 

"There aren't any moral victories and aren't any excuses. But at the same time, this is the standard from here on out and we have to go out and correct the self-inflicting plays that we gave up. You know, the mental mistakes and the miscommunications. But how we played today, how we battled and made plays, that is the standard from here on out. If we clean up the rest of the stuff, that is how we will play moving forward. It's on us to hold us to that standard from here on out."

(On what the Patriots did differently late in the game) 

"It's a good team. They were battling and we were battling, you know. They tried to make plays but we blew it up. That's it. At the same time, I am proud of the way our men played today and we have to make corrections. But this is going to be the standard from here on out."