SHANE WALDRON: Good afternoon. Another day practicing, 70 and sunny in Seattle, getting ready for the Monday night forecast.
Q. Shane, this is kind of -- you look over there, Jason Peters, can you talk about the presence he brings and what he does --
SHANE WALDRON: Yeah, he's brought a great deal of wisdom and experience, all the things that you would expect. But then more importantly, like his ability to communicate with the young guys and teach them some of the things that he's used in the past or different tricks that he's been a part of to execute a block and his willingness to share.
I think it's not just the knowledge and the experience, but it's his willingness to be a leader and to be someone walking into a new setting and be comfortable enough to go ahead and share his experience and help guys to get better.
Q. The Giants are known for blitzing an awful lot. What's the challenge in preparing for that?
SHANE WALDRON: Yeah, I think every week you're always going to have your blitz plan. You're going to be ready for that. You're expecting it.
But just knowing this week percentage-wise, it's going to be double or triple of that normal expected blitz rate within a game. So making sure we're clean with our eyes, clear with our communication, especially on the road, and then executing at a high level, knowing there's going to be blitzes not just on 3rd down scenarios but 1st, 2nd, 3rd and any other situation you can name, we're expecting a pressure.
Q. What makes Geno Smith well equipped to handle that?
SHANE WALDRON: I think Geno is a guy that's gained a lot of experience throughout the years, and I think part of operating and handling pressure from the defense right there is banking those reps and having those experiences where different blitzes that may have worked in the past or understanding what defensive structures can present the most problems to us offensively, and so Geno has done a great job of just banking those reps, and rarely do you see Geno have a look that he's had in the past that comes back again and hurts him.
He just does a good job of executing it and communicating when those things happen.
Q. Jackson's product so far hasn't been what people expected. What have you made of that?
SHANE WALDRON: Yeah, I think Jackson has done a great job of coming out and working hard and doing his thing every single day.
I know the unfortunate thing as far as the production goes right now, the opportunities, different coverage contours maybe for a play that's going his way and it doesn't quite work out that way, and a lot of other guys are getting the ball, as well.
I think with him, it's about working hard. It's about still progressing every single day and knowing that sometimes at the receiver position the ball doesn't go your way based on things that are totally out of your control.
He's done a great job controlling the things he can control, and we'll keep working with him and keep progressing and expecting nothing but positive things moving forward with him.
Q. How much of it has been you guys have just leaned more on tight end formations the last few games?
SHANE WALDRON: Yeah, I think there's a mix of that, and then some of the times in our 3rd down stuff, just going back to it, we want to execute at a high level on 3rd down. Some of those things haven't worked out quite as well, and knowing those are some of those ops, especially for the receivers, where the ball does get spread around once we get rolling there.
I think just all 11 playing better, not necessarily being in 12 personnel or being in 13 that's taking away from it, but just maybe executing it at a higher level when we get into some of those known passing situations when we're out there, we'll present better opportunities and more opportunities for him and all the receiving crew as we're moving forward.
Q. The 3rd downs, I know we've asked you a couple times, but what did you see last week in that? What is the challenge going forward to get those 3rd down numbers up?
SHANE WALDRON: I think the challenge is always going to be finding that consistent rhythm. We know we're not where we want to be right now on 3rd downs, and it's been something that we've stressed, we're worked at, but also making sure that we know that 3rd down, it's an important down. We know it's that, but it's not making it more than it is.
We had some great drives where we were executing at such a high level on 1st and 2nd down and then getting into the red zone, so we just add the 3rd down into making it normal like it is on 1st and 2nd down and operating and executing at a high level, that's something that can really come full circle for us offensively and allow us to operate at an even more efficient level.
Q. 146 rushing yards, averaged like four and a half a carry. Pete said yesterday still not maybe the consistency he wants out of the run game. What does that look like when you have the consistency?
SHANE WALDRON: Yeah, I think when you look about those, how many times can you avoid any sort of zero or minus plays in the run game, and it is getting better. The guys are getting more and more in sync each week. I think the offensive line has done an incredible job when we've had to mix and match some groups out there. Different guys have had to step up and play, and understood their assignments.
So I think it's getting better. We're building towards that. But the down in, down out execution of being on the same page with all the targets, finishing the runs with the right reads, all those things that come into play, we're doing a good job with it. Just again, the expectations and the standard that we want to set there is still a little bit higher than what we've produced so far.
Q. (Indiscernible) runs with no gain?
SHANE WALDRON: Yeah, there was a couple opportunities especially in this past game where he had a couple decisions where he might hold on for a 2nd and bounce it and run to the edge or he could just press it for two or three yards on that play, and I think that mindset, those decisions, like those are split-second decisions where you never want to take away his unique athletic ability to make some of those jump cuts, and then when the right opportunity presented itself on his 30-plus yarder, he's able to press the line of scrimmage and get the DB to really tuck down in there and then he's able to jump cut and get around the edge right there.
So I think just being patient and understanding when those moments are right, he can explode with those runs, and then when is the right moment to go ahead and take that good two, three, four yard positive gain, and then that really accumulates, and then you take it into the fourth quarter where I thought him and Zach did a nice job of really complementing each other there, and then the O-line takes over in that situation.
Q. What are you thinking usually as those happen and he's either cutting back or jump cutting --
SHANE WALDRON: When he's running down the field for 30 plus yards, I'm thinking, okay, that's a totally different next call right here, I wasn't expecting it, it's awesome. And it's happened throughout his rookie year and then this year a couple times where he just has these explosive runs that really just appear out of nowhere, where it doesn't seem like there's much space.
It's a nice feeling as a play caller to all of a sudden say, okay, we thought we were going to be maybe in a 2nd and 8, next thing you know we're in plus territory and we're attacking.
Q. Could you sort of see the long pass to him develop a little bit? You were almost standing right there, I think.
SHANE WALDRON: Yeah, I think that was just a great job by Geno, understanding what the route concept was to that side, and the back not necessarily getting honored by the corner in that situation looking to jump Kolby on his route right there, and it also goes back to every single route running to win, knowing that a lot of times in that scenario the ball might not be going your way, but there's that one chance every now and then where, all right, we've got a chance, and it's a great reaction by Geno to be able to see that, and that's a good full-field vision by Geno, not a standard read on that play in a three-deep look right there, but it played out each individual rep, and he was able to take advantage of it.
Q. You and Andy go back a ways, obviously. The job he's done with three starters missing last week, what about Andy as a coach allows him to handle these challenges?
SHANE WALDRON: I think Andy's commitment to fundamentals and his teaching progression where the starters, the guys that are backups, the guys that are free agents, it really hasn't mattered since the start the OTAs or since I've been around him who he's coaching. He's coaching everybody the same.
Then with the help of Keli'i Kekuewa and Donovan Jackson, those three guys, just getting everybody in sync, in unison, so when guys that aren't getting all the starters' reps are getting thrown in there all of a sudden, they've had all the same coaching, all the same fundamentals, and they're just applying them in a gamelike setting, and we're fortunate to have these guys with Jake and Stone and had experience, and then it was great to see AB be able to step in there and function at a high level in his first start of his career.
It's just a compliment to those guys and then the commitment of the players to really buy into the fundamentals.
Q. What's Evan brown's role been in all of that?
SHANE WALDRON: Evan's role been in developing those guys, keeping those guys in sync and --
Q. Yeah, just in terms of communication and everything.
SHANE WALDRON: Yeah, I think Evan has done a great job of taking that center of communication role over. Like we were really hoping for. Knowing that Olu has done a great job, as well, in that backup center role, but those guys taking that leadership, that ownership, so then you've got new guards that are in there, you've got a center that communicates at a high level, those guys can go and think and not have to think too much and play fast because the thing is under control through Evan's eyes.
Q. Are teams playing off you guys a little bit more --
SHANE WALDRON: I still think it's such a mixed coverage league now where we're getting a little bit of everything. You're getting some off coverage, still getting some press here and there, still getting clouds on both sides, not one or the other, and I just think there's such a mix. Now our approach has been more we want to be in that attacking mode, knowing we're going to see a little bit of everything, and if we do see some of the off-coverage stuff, I think that's where Geno has done a nice job, especially in the play action game, if we have some off coverage, then it might be a shot called and he's taking the completion to the flat or kept that positive chain progression moving right there.
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