Q. How about some injury updates? How did Chris Carson make it through the game and what's the latest on Carlos Dunlap?
PETE CARROLL: We can just start questions with all of these props we have out here? We can't even --
Q. Okay. I tell you what, I don't usually see props like that when you are doing a press conference?
PETE CARROLL: I know that's why I would think it would have drawn your attention.
Q. You're right. I totally should have.
PETE CARROLL: My Cause, My Cleats. This is the program that the league has been had in order for some time now. I'm going to wear some cleats, some shoes in the game here that one of or local artist created for us, Curran (Phonetic) Hernandez, working with a group called Urban Artworks has brought this to me, I think they look pretty sharp, I can't wait to put them on and wear them and whenever I'm wearing Monarchs I'm doing okay, so this will look strong.
This is, I would say, that this local group Urban Artworks is doing a bunch of great work, they are helping young artists in terms of jobs and placement and giving them a chance to be seen and heard, we have a group that we work with our company is called Amplified Voices and we have worked with them on a couple causes here, also Coach the Vote we spent some time and we're really proud to be able to represent and help young artists be seen and be heard and amplifying people's work is really something we're excited about.
So that's what's happening. So thanks for bringing it up. That was a good idea. (Laughing.)
Q. I tell you what, how did you get involved in that organization how did you get connected with them?
PETE CARROLL: We heard about them and we heard about Urban Artworks and we were looking for people that in essence we want to help amplify the work they're doing too. So that's what our group has done and so it's a good start for us and we're excited about it and just trying to do the good work locally.
Q. How did Chris Carson make it through the game, what do you know about Dunlap's injury?
PETE CARROLL: Okay, Chris is a little sore coming out of the, of the game, first time he's played in a while. I'm anxious to see how he feels this week. We'll work him through it. Didn't have a lot of carries in the game, but did get some good, he took some good hits and delivered some really good ones.
So we'll see how he's feeling. Should be fine for the ball game.
As far as Carlos is concerned, he's got a sore foot. There's a little something going on, but nothing serious and so we just need to see how he goes and handles the week. I can't tell you how he'll be on game day yet, but we're hopeful and he's hopeful he'll be able to play.
Q. I'll bite on the props there. You have been an advocate for giving since you were down at USC back then. When did you, when did you become aware or just start giving to the disadvantaged?
PETE CARROLL: Yeah, I really woke up a little bit when I was at SC. The fact that the school was right in the middle of L.A. and there was so much going on around it, I was alerted one day to problems that hit me right between the eyes that had occurred in the neighborhoods. And I just followed it along, a week later I was calling a meeting to see who would show up in Los Angeles and to talk about the issues in the streets and what was going on. And we had an extraordinary collection of people that showed up from the mayor showed up and the chief of police and Maxine Waters showed up all kind of people showed up and I realized that there was a lot of people that were really excited about doing something positively and helping out.
And from that point on it's just been an ongoing pursuit, it's been something that I've really been connected to and excited about and like to continue the work. Right now we're working on amplifying young people's works and people that need to be heard and seen, because they really deserve it and they have got something, a story to tell. So that's how we're really trying to exercise it now.
Q. On the football question, the Giants seem to be committed to the run, irregardless of who is back there. Can you just talk about their commitment to the run game?
PETE CARROLL: Yeah, they are, I think just under Coach Judge they're a tough, committed football team, in terms of special teams, the way they're playing defense, really playing good up front and it fits. You've heard me talk about it a lot, it's the running game that really brings it all together.
They look like a team, at this early stage in his coaching there, that they have made the commitment to be physical and tough and so it's definitely part of their game, we're counting on it.
Q. Do you have any update on Darrell Taylor and Rashaad Penny?
PETE CARROLL: We're going to get word by the end of the week here on Darrell.
Rashaad's getting real close to doing some stuff. So I'm excited to see if it's going to be these next couple days or next Monday but, we're right there for Rashaad to jump back in here.
Q. A couple weeks ago you expressed that Darrell was coming back. You felt pretty confident. Did he have a setback?
PETE CARROLL: He didn't have a setback, but there was a point there where they wanted to clarify what's going to happen when he does come back. So we went back to the docs and he's got a couple interviews this week to clear the air on where we're going.
We got him as far as we could take him at this point and now he's looking for final assurance that he's doing the right thing and all that. So we'll find that and we'll let you know when we know.
Q. I know in the past there have been some key field goals that have been missed and it's obviously affecting guys. But Jason Myers has been about as automatic as he can get. I'm just wondering, how comforting that is to see him be able to do that and just what you think of his consistency.
PETE CARROLL: Yeah, it's interesting you would go to the ones that's missed because I don't look at it that way, I look at --
Q. Not the one that he's missed, I meant like previous kickers.
PETE CARROLL: Actually, I can't remember those. So he's having an incredible year, he's just been rock solid. He's such a tremendous athlete for this position, he's just so well tuned and fitted to be really consistent, he's just got that makeup and he's a great worker and he's a good competitor and his mindset is strong and the kind of competitor that you like as your kicker.
So he's having a great year and we're counting on him. It was really a clutch decision to make at the end of that game whether we kick the ball and take a chance of giving them an opportunity and we just went with the continuity of our group and the snapper, holder, kicker, they're awesome. So we counted on him to come through and he did, so we're fortunate to have him.
Q. You're known for your roots and the 4-3 defense, but it sees like this year in particular you that guys are running a lot more bear fronts. How much of that is the Jamal Adams affect with what his strengths and what does it say about Ken Norton, Jr's to scheme to his personnel, especially as of late with the defense playing better?
PETE CARROLL: That's a very astute observation. It is -- you have seen us adapt to our personnel and we have, we have enough background that we can do a lot of things, we have been through so much over the years and I think Kenny is exhibiting to you that the use of our talent. And Jamal's part of it, Jordan coming to us as well is part of it. And absolutely it fits, like we have said to you, about Carlos, his work as a nine technique which puts him outside edge on, to the field in our defense puts him exactly where he can be really most effective and so I'm thrilled that you can see it coming together, it's taken a us a few weeks, we weren't quite there, we wanted to work with Bruce and that edge position and when we lost him we took a couple steps back to get kind of re-oriented, but I think the defense is really moving now and I'm really excited about where we're going.
Q. How much of the way the defense has played over the last couple of games feels like they're turning that corner away from the struggles from the beginning of the season?
PETE CARROLL: Well you guys wouldn't have thought, I wouldn't have thought that it might be possible to be a top-10 rushing group. What are we? We're up in the top-10 numbers in terms of sacks and hits on the quarterbacks and we have turned that thing around in a hurry. So we definitely can feel the momentum of the shift happening and this is what we have been waiting for we all had to be patient because we all wanted to see it going, but now it's time to keep proving it and because we did something last week doesn't mean anything unless we do it again.
So these guys are determined to, like you say, make that turn in a real positive way to add to this football team and to the season. And if we can play like we have been playing, we got a chance and it could be a real good complimentary aspect of our club and we're really anticipating that it's going to happen and we're excited for it and we're going to work real hard to get that done.
Q. You're going against a very good tight end who is coming from a big game. What are some of the difficulties that Ingram brings to the table?
PETE CARROLL: Yeah, he's a tremendously fast tight end. He's got great speed, very athletic, as natural as you can get, running routes, getting out much breaks running with the ball after catch, catching the football. He's a fantastic talent and so he does cause problems. When we play tight ends of that kind of makeup or similar where they're really obviously good, I like it, we got great matchup and Jamal's going to be a matchup for anybody. So that doesn't mean it's going to be easy, it's going to be very difficult and all that, because he brings that, but we do feel like we match up well.
Q. My mute button wasn't working. Going back to the shoes real quick.
PETE CARROLL: Use your finger and tap that thing you know.
Q. I got it now. Can you hear me?
PETE CARROLL: Yeah. Just joking with you.
Q. Back to the shoes for a second. You've always been a coach who likes players who express themselves in a lot of different ways, the league's always been known with uniforms and everything so strict and button down. Do you like that this is away for players to not just express themselves but for a good cause?
PETE CARROLL: Yeah, I think it's the cause is why I like it. I don't know about that they need to express themselves, they get to express themselves every time they take a step on the field and do what they do. And whatever we can find room for I think it's just fine.
I love the fact that these guys that make up these teams are all individuals and they all have their own way and they all have their special unique qualities and I always hope that they can be seen and heard and all that. This is another way. I think the league has, just with celebrations and some movement that they have made in recent years, they have agreed with that thought that the players deserve an opportunity.
So it doesn't mean that you can't be a team, it doesn't mean that you can't be a team player and you can't be all-in and all of that, it's just, I think it's a real colorful part of the game that's fun and it's part of our growth as a club, I mean as a league and as we express ourselves and I really positively support it.
Q. You talked about Jason Myers already, but just special teams as a whole, with what Dixon's doing, with the coverage guys, is this as good as you've been across the board, in special teams in quite awhile?
PETE CARROLL: This is as consistent as we have been. The kicking has just been phenomenal. Mike's averaging 49 something and 44 something nets. He's only had four touchbacks during the season. He's having a great year and the placement has been exquisite. But I love the consistency of our coverage groups. They have just been making plays week-in and week-out, it's a really, really good group and it's a championship part of a club that we need to come together and match their consistency and then we'll be doing pretty good on offense and defense. So it's a really positive part of our team.
Q. Have you given much thought to the idea of quarantining a quarterback? Obviously we see what happened with the Broncos and everything. And then the second part of that question is, who would be your emergency quarterback if all else failed?
PETE CARROLL: Well Danny Etling is our third quarterback and we have, we have been in the conversation of this for a long time and we actually kicked into a new gear just by the -- I hate to say we had to wait to see something bad happen -- but we have stepped forward in terms of taking care of Danny, so to make sure that he is apart from the other QB's. So if we had, heaven forbid, some kind of a circumstance, he would not be considered connected to those guys. So in essence he is separated from the QB's for now. And he has done a fantastic job to this point where we trust that he can go to all the meetings, all the, virtually, stay with us, he'll work out and all that kind of stuff, apart from those guys and we'll keep him available. So that is our guy.
Q. And who would have been your emergency guy if like a player from another position if it went to that?
PETE CARROLL: Oh, we have got a couple guys that can do different things. You would be surprised at the versatility of some of our guys. Jacob Hollister has quarterback background, DJ has quarterback background and we have some surprises as well. So, but those are the guys that would jump in for us if we needed it.
Q. With all the questions surrounding Daniel Jones's availability what are the unique challenges that come with having to prepare for two different quarterbacks?
PETE CARROLL: You know, the media asks that question a lot and so rarely are the quarterbacks drastically different from one another and so, like when we had the same discussion last week playing Philadelphia, the offenses can really only do what they do, pretty much.
Now we're witnessing a really good example in New Orleans, what's going on with their guys, they're doing a marvelous job of it. But for the most part if the quarterbacks kind of fit the same kind of makeup, even though, you know, Colt is 6'-5" or whatever and he's, he's still a guy that kind of plays within the system, he's a good accurate thrower, he can move around and run a little bit. So we expect to see basically the same stuff. And then from there we have to be ready to adapt. If they want to change modes and do something different, then that's something we'll adapt to. But we're not, we don't prepare differently, we don't practice differently.
If it was a drastically different guy, if you had Peyton Manning and Steve Young you might think of it differently because he's a guy can run around all over the place and all that. No knock on Peyton. We should talk about Peyton later anyway.
But it has to be a really drastically different athlete to really make our, make us change what we're doing.
Q. And then the defensive side of the ball for the Giants they have been a big catalyst for their current run right now, what have you seen from them, just they have players at all three levels on their defense.
PETE CARROLL: Yeah, they're really solid, they're really physical up front, they play the run really well, very disciplined. Blake Martinez is a terrific leader for them. He really directs the show, it seems, and over a hundred tackles, he's everywhere, he's all over the place. They're real big and solid up front where it all begins. They're a good group.
And this, you can see why these guys are winning now, the formula is there, they're running the football, they're playing good defense, they're tough on special teams, all of that. Good kicker. They got all the elements and I can see why they're getting hot and we got our hands full with these guys.
Q. NFC East this year is a little reminiscent of what the NFC West was back in your first season in 2010. What do you remember maybe about some of the comments that you heard about you guys having a losing record and making the post-season?
PETE CARROLL: Yeah, there were disparaging comments and people appalled at the thought that a team with a losing record would be in the playoffs, which I thought was hilarious at the time.
But, you know, you're in your own division, you got to win your own division, and that means you got to have a better record than the rest of the guys in your division, nobody said what the numbers had to be. So I find it funny that the same conversation has come up. I get it. But they're going to have a champion in that division and they're going to play in the playoffs at home. And that's the way the rules are set up and that doesn't mean that you're not going to be effective in the playoffs.
We have a good recollect of that. The thing we screwed up is we didn't win in Chicago, we should have kept going, we messed that thing up.
Q. I was kind of curious how you feel like Tre Flowers has been playing the last few weeks and the kind of corner back group as a whole now that Shaquill Griffin is back out there and DJ Reed has been a part of it as well?
PETE CARROLL: Tre has been doing well. He's been way more consistent than he was earlier in the year and his confidence really is in a good place. So he's, as you hope, you see guys get better during the season. We're going to see how he is -- hamstring is bothering him a little bit coming out of the game -- we'll see how he looks today.
Q. Couple questions, do you have an outfit to go with the shoes and if not, why not?
PETE CARROLL: If not why not? No, I'm going to go with my regular coaching duds on game day and it's just so that the shoes just jump out at you. I got my Amplified Voices T-shirt on today, because I'm kind of in the spirit of it all. But I don't think I have to go any farther than that, to answer your question, I think that's enough of a statement and I would want the work to come through, I don't want to cause any kind of a distraction from the great stuff that he did.
Q. Football question. Jamal Adams has brought a skill set that I don't think you've had in that position in your time here. What was the trickiest aspect of getting him integrated into your scheme based on what he brought?
PETE CARROLL: Yeah, really there hasn't been anything that he hasn't been wide open to, receptive to, excited about. I mean this has been, it's just been a world-class relationship from the moment that we started talking about it. He's just been so on board, so ready for the, for this opportunity, he couldn't have been -- whatever happened before I don't know, but where he is now, he's in a great place and he's been all in. So there's been no hitches to it, it's just been the process -- we're asking him to do quite a few things that are allow him to express his ability as we always try to figure out how to do that. He has so many talents that there's a lot of stuff, you can see where we place him, he's in coverage, he's in zone, he's in man-to-man, he's in stuff over the top, he's pressured, he's up in the running game, he has a role to play in all of that in our scheme.
And I'm fortunate that I've been through a lot of safeties that have a lot of really unique talents over the years and been able to do a lot of stuff. Just go back to our years with our guys here, you've seen big guys and small guys and hammers and quickness and speed, well it's been that way for years. What we can do with Jamal is everything we have ever done with everybody. He can do all of the stuff. He's really aggressive and really on the attack with excellent speed and movement and a guilty, the best part about it is his instincts that allow him to show how tough he is. He's just nails. He just goes for it and tries to make things happen every chance he gets and he's right a lot. So sometimes -- all those guys that play with that kind of a mentality will make some errors at times because they have to be willing to walk the line. He's a blast to coach.
Q. When you talk about offensive balance do you have numbers in your head or is it just more of a feel thing for like you know it when you see it kind of thing?
PETE CARROLL: Yeah, okay, I'll give you something, there's an old number that I think I give credit to Vince Lombardi for this, just because that's how I remember it, that he had a number that, in games, if you can combine your completed passes and your total rush attempts and they combine, they connect for 50 or more attempts, then -- and that happens in a game -- you're going to win.
And that, if you got, if you -- I never said that to you guys, maybe I have, I don't know, but look at stats, look at the stats and see how accurate that is. It's at least an 80 something percent win connection.
So if I was going to give you something and I'm looking every time I look at the stats after the game I'm looking to add up how many completions we had and how many rushes we took and it almost always wins for you.
So that's maybe more definitive than you thought you would get, but that's, it's a great stat.
Q. Quinton Dunbar, where is he at recovery-wise, is he close at all?
PETE CARROLL: Yeah, yeah, he's got to wait one more week before he can come ban will back and I think he's going to be ready to do that. I think from the way things are going he's got a chance.
Q. We all know about Bobby Wagner's tackles and the tackle strip you talked about Monday night. But the play he made on Goedert 40 yards down the field, in coverage on Larry Fitzgerald there in one of the last plays against the Cardinals, how under estimated is that part of Bobby Wagner's game that you can count on him to be 30, 40 yards down the field covering?
PETE CARROLL: I'm glad you bring it up, because it isn't just the tackles that he makes. He's a marvelous athlete just an all-around athlete, coordination-wise and timing and feel and all of that and it takes all of those faculties to make choices in that kind of space and that kind of speed and that kind of depth and all to come through. And he just has all that.
So he's -- that's, like I talked about him, he's a Hall of Famer, he is exactly what you would hope to write up as almost the definition for the position. And there's been some great ones and he's one of them.
Q. When you drafted him did you see any of that? Everyone knew about the hitting.
PETE CARROLL: Oh, yeah, I had it nailed, I had it nailed, to a T. No, we saw a lot of stuff. We saw, he, his natural strength and all that was, we understood that, he's got a really powerful body, but he had great speed, he was very, very fluid as an athlete and so we hoped, we hoped that he would come through and be an all-timer and we couldn't have predicted that, but we had hoped, and he surpassed our expectations with his consistency, which all is based on his character, it's the person that he is. He's just got his act together in the world and it shows up in his play.
Q. The Tell the Truth Monday, Competition Thursday, or Competition Wednesday, all that stuff, where did you get the structure of that from?
PETE CARROLL: That came to me out of the clear blue head. Earl Bruce once said that. I'm just quoting Earl Bruce. It's really clear blue sky, but he said clear blue head.
I just made it up, frankly, just made it up. It was different in college because we didn't have a day off in college during the week. But it was confusing it for a couple years, but I figured it out. But it's really, it's really, it's a philosophical approach to emphasis and you get what you emphasize.
So the fact that we started out telling the truth on the first day of the week and then we get back to competition, which is the central theme in the program and then my philosophy is built around the football, so that's a whole day dedicated to it, and then we got to get ready to play the game, so we got to get right on Friday.
So that, it's just been good tools for me to really to make the points of what's important to us.
Q. And that was when you got here you made that up?
PETE CARROLL: No, back at the Trojans.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports