 You've got to get in the start to the season and just the mood around the locker room this week. Everybody's excited on week one. Can't get no more excited than that back to football and ready to go. What do you think of the body of work that you got to do through training camp and everything to get ready for this season opener? I feel good. Appreciate Coach taking care of me and working with the strength and training staff and doing everything I need to do to get ready. Prepared for the game this week and still doing that until Sunday comes, but yeah, I feel good. What do you expect to see from the Giants? Will they do well on defense? Yeah, I mean they're different. Defense coordinator Wink, he came from Baltimore, so we're very familiar with his type of defense. The thing that he does, the different looks that he brings and he has all exotic blixes and different fronts that he brings to the table. So we're just focusing in on that in the film room and then come out here and get the looks and try to be as crisp as possible until we get to Sunday. Derek, he also said that you remain the king, that you're the guy who deserves to sit on the Iron Throne for any Game of Thrones fans. Considering what you went through last year, is it nice to at least, do you take his words as being completely truthful or do you think he's trying to build you up a little bit before Sunday? He's probably going to build me up and then go in the locker room and knock my head off, but no, it's always tough to go against him. I feel like he's great at what he does and it's always hard days of work when you go against his defense, but I appreciate the words, but yeah, it's going to be a slow face when we get to Sunday. What's the feeling like there, I guess a week one when you're out there for the anthem though, you're getting ready to kick off another season? Yeah, I'll just take it all in and get ready into that ball to snap, but yeah, it's all the feels on week one and the first game. So yeah, it'll be a lot of hype going on, but just get ready and get settled in and get ready to play. Derek, the NFL had a stat the other day. It said last year teams with a 100 plus rusher had a better winning percentage than a quarterback through for 300 yards or a receiver for 100 yards. Surprised you at all or is that kind of a testament to what a running game can do? So your running backs are important, maybe important in the quarterback, but yeah, you've got a good run game and you're able to control the line of scrimmage. That's always big and I feel like it gives you the momentum throughout the game if you're pushing piles, getting tough yards and then at least a big one. So anytime you got momentum in the run game, I feel like usually it ends up good on your side of the ball. This team's changed a lot since last year, a lot of new players on both sides of the ball. Just from what you've seen through camp heading into week one, how do you like this team and how good do you think it can be? Yeah, it's been fun to watch some of the new guys grow, some of the rookies, some of the guys that are new get acclimated to how we do things and seeing the carry on into week one. And like I said, we're still improving until Sunday comes, but it's going to be exciting to watch the rookies as new guys and see how well they play and us playing together on all three phases as a team. Is there any carry over from season to season where it's like last year you didn't have the same amount of carries obviously with the season being cut short for you. Do you feel fresher this year? Like is there any carry over from that perspective? I mean, I didn't get to finish the whole season. So I mean, I didn't get much of the carries I usually do in the season. And you know, going through camp, you know, I felt good. I did my regular plan in coming to week one. So I feel good. So I'm just focused on what I can do this week to be ready for Sunday and not try to get too carried away with how many carries and all that. But I feel good and I'm excited to be back. At 28 years old, you're ancient closer to that quote unquote, you know, 30 year old cliff for running backs. I talked to Adrian Peterson. He said, you know, it's just a number and he gets stronger with age. Is that something that you could reason to? You know, man, I hope I can be like, you know, him and Frank Gore, you know, those guys play for a long time. And, you know, they are like the pedestal as far as like running backs playing, you know, more than they're expected, you know, in the recent years. So if I can make it through just like those guys, but just focus on the right now. You know, he's been a big role model for me, him and Frank, you know, since I've been playing football. So they set the standard highs. I hope I can live up to it. What motivates you head into a season? You pay attention to what the people say about this team, what they say about you, what they say about your age. Do you listen to any of that? I'm just hungry. It's always going to be he say, she say. I mean, that goes on every day, but I can't really worry about that. Just focus on what I need to do. And I'm hungry. I'm ready to go. It's week one. Want to get better. Let my teammates get better. You know, just focus on Sunday. When you're monitoring your workload, you've talked that length about how much just trust you have in the game plan that your coach has set for you. How long did it really take for you to build that trust with them? And how much more important is that trust the game plan your coaches have for you this season coming off of last year? I mean, we've been together going on five years now. So I think that they understand me and I understand them and they know what works for me. And, you know, that's all that we can try to do, you know, together as well. And then if it works, you know, don't try to change anything just keep sticking to it, but focus on getting better. And every aspect that we can, you know, they coaching me up and make sure I'm ready to go on Sunday. What are your thoughts of the running back on the other side? Is he a guy you maybe have respect of? Someone you've, you know, say, hey, you know, he's kind of, he's nice. Yeah, I mean, my game is not like Saquon's game. I feel like he's a, he's a, he can do, I feel like he can do it all. And I think he's a generational talent. You know, with this game, it comes injuries and, you know, he's had some hiccups there. But I mean, everybody goes to adversity type of player as Saquon is, I'm sure he'll bounce back. I hope it's not week one, but, you know, I wish him all the best and be excited to see him after the game. Ready to roll. Back to the old baton order, you know. Yeah, you know, I think it's similar to how we've approached it in the past. You know, get him going and see where we're at in the game and what the flow of the game is, you know, a lot feeds into that from a standpoint of how long drives are, right? Or how many snaps we've had on offense early. So I think there are a lot of factors in, in play there. And, you know, I've liked what I've seen out here on the practice field. So excited to see what he's got with that flow of the game. DC on the other side, he said he likes to dictate what offenses do. But for you as a play caller, like how much do you want to dictate how that flow of the game goes? Yeah, I think as a play caller, it's always important to try to find a rhythm and a flow of the game, you know, and to be able to pair things between things that maybe you've seen on tape or scouted, you know, versus, you know, just your bread and butter stuff. And so, you know, always looking for ways to make sure that I'm helping our guys get into a rhythm and find a groove. And with a coordinator like that, so aggressive, that blitzes so much, how much more important is cadence coming to play this week as opposed to maybe others? Yeah, you know, I think we've played similar schemes on defense, both at home and on the road. But being at home, the communication, you know, is absolutely critical. And we've got to take advantage of that opportunity to be able to use not only cadence, but, you know, discuss some protections and things like that. Was your success in the red zone last year? I mean, you guys probably didn't score as often as you wanted, but you were able to score when you got it down there. And, you know, maybe looking forward to, is that a key as well? Yeah, you know, red zone is something that we've certainly spent a lot of time on around here, at least the years that I've been here. You know, and that's been a staple of, you know, how we're going to win games, right? Taking advantage of your opportunities to put up sevens as opposed to threes. And so that's going to be a key or an area of focus any single week. But, you know, that's certainly something that we take a lot of pride in. You get a trey line as far as improvement goes. And what do you think his readiness level is heading into the year? You know, I think he's on a steady trajectory in a good way. You know, I think he's been getting more and more reps and opportunities in practice that, you know, have shown some good things. So we'll see where he's at and how this thing progresses. What's the balance like for you in terms of improvement over the course from season to season and yet allowing him to follow a path that he's been following for a long time himself? Man, it's been awesome this process with Ryan this year and just from the off season and kind of stripping things down from a teaching standpoint and getting receivers on the same page of what he's looking for and where he expects them to be watching his command, his leadership. And then, you know, us being able to kind of tie together now that we're into some game plan and phases of things he likes he's comfortable with and maybe some new wrinkles that, you know, we're trying to add in there. And there's definitely a balance there between trying to push the envelope too much for improvement and necessarily getting back to, you know, some foundational aspects of things. But I'm excited about where we're at and I'm appreciative of Ryan's hard work and how he's taken command through this last couple of months. He's talked about a burning fire, you know, the way last season ended. Have you seen that in him? I think Ryan's a pretty high competitive spirit guy to begin with. You know, is there extra motivation? Does he have a burning fire? That's a question for him. I think if you spend too much time looking in the rearview mirror, you're going to hit something that you're driving right into. So, you know, I'm focused on the future and what we're going to do, you know, hopefully start in Sunday and get this thing off to the right start. You get some early impressions on Josh Gordon yet and how has he come along in terms of learning things? Yeah, he seems like a good guy. I haven't seen him out there a lot in terms of our snaps just yet, but he's progressing each day, you know, getting used to the way we do things around here. And I mean, shoot the guys just getting our schedule and practice routine down right now. So we're in the early stages of that, but, you know, glad to have him. Glad to have him around. He's like, I guess, Todd Benenoff is a coordinated head of the new season where you've got so many new parts yourself and your face in the team and week one that you don't know exactly what to expect. Yeah, I think whenever you're going into a week one, you know, environment like this with some unpredictability and some unknowns, you got to rely on your rules. And that's what we spent the last several weeks of training camp in the off season developing that foundation, developing those rules, trying to test them against, you know, different looks and different, you know, kind of variances to defense. And so you definitely want to be able to get to a place where you can confidently just go rely on your rules for whatever looks they may throw at you. It's inevitable that we're going to see something that we didn't see on tape and we just want to put our guys in the best position possible with their foundational rules. Do you feel a little bit more cohesiveness headed into the season that everybody was kind of available? You know, each year is going to have kind of its own challenge and really its own rhythm to training camp, right? And that can have a lot of factors. I won't speak on past training camps, but I'll tell you that this training camp has been an absolute blessing to be able to get out there and make sure we're building some chemistry and getting people on the same page. And again, just the approach our veterans have taken, even guys that have been limited at times, finding ways to, you know, be involved in that process. So I'm very, very fortunate and, you know, thankful to have that. What is the kind of kind of like letter of Williams being, not only with this ability to rush a passer, but his length and kind of clogging passing lanes? Yeah, extremely talented guy, you know, an absolute presence in there. Fortunately, we got some work over the last couple of weeks at a decent player on the interior defensive line. So, you know, we're well aware that, you know, he can wreck games if you give him the opportunity to, and, you know, very, very impressed with his skill set and his resume. Todd, what has Nicholas Petey Freire done to win that right tackle job and maybe what's the message for him heading into his first game where, you know, the speed of the game is probably going to be different, guys screaming off the edge and whatnot? Yeah, you know, again, I think it goes back to relying on that foundation, right? To answer the first part of your question, he's shown that steady progress, that commitment to growth, trying to do things the way we're asking him to do it, even if it's new from what he had done in college to get him to this point. You know, and I think that relying on your training, the techniques, communicating with the guy next to you, those are all things that are going to help you just calm down and let football be football. Will there be moments where the game is fast? I'm sure there will be. I've never had to line up at right tackle, but I'd imagine that, you know, there are going to be some times where it's like, wow, this game is pretty fast. But I believe that his poise, his confidence, and his relying on those techniques that he's learned is going to serve him well, and we're excited to see what he can do. So, Craig, you've got a rookie now starting at punter. What did Ryan do to earn that job considering, you know, he was going up against a veteran in Brett? Yeah, you know, we thought Stoney obviously had a great camp starting a training camp, and he really worked on developing his craft and to get better, and, you know, obviously Brett Kern did a great job here for this organization, and Stoney earned the right to start. So, we were really pleased, obviously, with his field punt. He's got a big-time leg. That was one of the things that attracted us when he was at Colorado State, and he's really focused in on a little things that we wanted him to work on, plus 50 punts, you know, getting the ball close to the sideline. So, he earned the right to start for us, and we're excited for him. Extremely tough. You know, Brett, what he did for a long time here with the Tennessee Titans, and he had a great camp, you know, taking nothing away from Brett because he had a really good camp. But, you know, Ryan just earned the right to start, and he did everything that we asked him to, and we're excited for him because he did earn it. Randy, maybe tweak anything or make any changes during the off-season because the leg look maybe a little more and more powerful. I know that the accuracy on the field goes long distance. It was pretty strong, too. Yeah, you know, during the off-season and during training camp, we want to talk to him a little bit about certain techniques of getting his hip through, and he's really focused in on that. And, you know, we noticed a little bit last year when he made his kicks, it was a little bit to the right. And we really want to focus in on really attacking the ball and really try to aim for the middle, which everyone does, anyways. But he's really, you know, sat down, spoke with us, really went through all the different techniques that we really wanted him to work with, and he's really improved on a lot of that stuff because most of his kicks now are going right down the middle. How do you like where you are in the returning game as far as Kyle or whoever you end up with a kick returner? Yeah, excited about Kyle. We think he did a really good job as a punt returner in the pre-season games. You know, really caught the ball well and got vertical and even hit some of the outside. So we're excited to have him back there. And, you know, most importantly, him just securing the ball for our offense once he catches it. You know, that's one of the big things that we're looking for. As far as kickoff return, we had some guys back there that we thought did a pretty good job. We'll continue to work through that this week to see who's up and who's not. But we've got a couple guys that we expect back there to do some good things for us. Can you mention who's in the pool? Oh, yeah. I mean, obviously Don Trell will be back there. He'll be in the pool. Trenton Cannon, Kyle Phillips. Those are the guys that we're going to continue to work with this week and see what we want to do starting on Sunday. I mean, new guys you think you have on the return team or guys who have never done it before maybe start the season on special teams? Yeah. I mean, not a specific number, but we'll have quite a few guys that'll be new to it. But, you know, they've done a really good job during practice and during training camp and then during the preseason game. So we're looking forward to those guys going in there and, you know, really defining a role for themselves. And we look forward to them doing their job and doing it well. Craig, Ola was voted a captain of the special teams unit just over the, you know, since he came in last year, what has he brought to that unit? Maybe not just on the field, but just from a leadership standpoint. Yeah. Ola is vocal when he wants to be. And that's what we're excited about, whether he's out on the field or in the classroom. He's been vocal, especially to our younger guys. And we really saw him take a step in training camp to be more vocal in leadership. So that's one of the things that we talked to him about in the off season, being a little bit more vocal, especially to the younger guys. And he's really accepted that and did a really good job answering questions, taking guys under his wing a little bit. And I'm proud of him for that step that he took. What has the Giants done well from what you've seen on tape on, you know, the special teams? Yeah, I mean, the first thing they do is they do a good job protecting their punter. You know, that's one of our main goals, too, is we want to protect our punter. And they did a really good job in the preseason. You know, their punters got a really strong leg, so they're going to try to get the ball out and try to flip the field as much as they possibly can. But we thought they did an excellent job in protection. They got some weapons back there as far as the return game is going. You know, they've got a bunch of guys listed, too, as far as punt returner and kickoff returners. So we'll see who they end up bringing back there, but overall, they're a solid group. You know, I have a lot of respect for Team Act, their special teams coordinator. He does a really good job with those guys. So we'll expect their best and, you know, we'll try to do what we can. Apparently, Saquan's been lobbying to return kicks for them. All right. Going back to Penn State, huh? You know, if he goes back there, great. You know, I know our guys will be up for the challenge. We'll have some veteran players that would probably want that. Because, you know, they're always looking for a challenge. You know, whether they have Saquan back there or anyone else, you know, I know our players will be up for the challenge. And if he's back there, that's going to be great. You know, we'll kick off and we'll see what's going on. What was it to have a rookie like Roger McCrary be able to come in and do more than one position right off the bat, both in slot and outside? Yeah, I think that's a tribute to him. And kind of how he's come in and approached it, right? I put a lot on those guys. Really, you can see what they can handle. And if they can't, you got to kind of slow things down. But he's been able to manage it throughout, not only schematically, but also technique-wise, being able to play outside and inside. So I'm pleased with him. Harold's injury, how upsetting was that for you? And then what was your challenge to everybody else that's going to try to step it up? Yeah, man. I hate it for Harold. I mean, nobody works harder. He's committed to this team. He's always been a very selfless player for us. We asked him to do a lot of different things for us. And he does them all pretty well. But at the same time, it's the nature of the league, right? We lived it a little bit last year. Fortunately for us, I think we got some pretty good depth in that room. And guys are going to have to step up. And they're going to get their opportunities. They're going to take the most of them. So I'm excited to see those guys here this weekend just to see how they compete and kind of see who kind of takes hold of that thing. With him being a part of West Front 4, that was so good at getting that pressure with all the blitz. How are you going to be able to maintain it? What makes you feel that guys left over can still get that pressure? Yeah, I think we've seen those guys, the guys behind Harold, the Olas, the Weavers, David, right? We've seen those guys go in there and rush and win some one-on-ones, right? And then, ultimately, when there's schematic things that we do, they just got to be able to go out and execute. But I mean, we have full confidence in those guys, ability to rush. And again, you still got Bud, Danico, obviously Jeff, possibly Walker, right? Like you got some pieces in there. So, I mean, as one guy, we got to be able to pick up the slack and hopefully those guys make the most of their opportunities. Shane, what's the balance, though, of like kind of needing those guys to step up but also knowing that they're their own players and maybe not to get too ahead of themselves and like, oh, I have to replace Harold and whatnot? Yeah, no doubt. I think they got to focus on doing their job. What we ask of them, I mean, as coaches, it's our job to put those guys in positions to do what they do best and not overload them and put them in positions that they might struggle with, right? Like that's the job of the coaches, to find the best 11, get them out there and figure out a way to let them do what they do best. So, a lot of that's going to be on us as coaches and then whatever role these guys have in the game, they got to go out there and perform and execute it and do it where we've been working on all along with technique and fundamentals and the details of your job but just not being overwhelmed ultimately by having a bunch of different roles. Shane, it seems like everybody has an opinion about Daniel Jones and wondering when you see him on tape, what do you see? Yeah, I think he had a really good pre-season. I think there's a comfort level with what they're doing schematically up there with him. I mean, I think the one game, he was 14 to 16. Offensively, I don't know if there was anyone better in pre-season than the New York Giants, just in terms of yardage and what they were doing. So, I think schematically, there's a lot of comfort there for him. He can make all the throws, obviously the running ability, right? He's got some of that Josh Allen in him, you know? So, I mean, it's going to be a big challenge. They got a lot of weapons outside, too. So, it's going to be a big challenge. They're going to find ways to get those guys to ball and he's done a good job getting it to him here in the pre-season. How old is the guy that is obviously not super fast but he's really good at, you know, attacking the ball in the air? How much do you have to school your DB's up on that to let them know that he's really good at high-pointing the ball? No doubt. I think any week and probably, especially this week, like, we've got to know their skill sets. We've got to know who we're going up against. Whether it's Galaday to Tony, they get Robinson in their shepherd, like they're all different in their own right. So, it's a big part of the game is these match-ups and understanding the skill sets of these guys you're going against and how they change throughout the game based on where you're lined up, where they're lined up. So, I think that understanding is something that we preach throughout the week. We talk about it early on in the week. Just understanding who we're going against. Also, just comparing for a guy like St. Juan and there are a lot of the guys and they're excited for that type of a challenge too. I know he's kind of coming in here this year with a lot of juice as well. Yeah, big challenge. Obviously, I mean, he's been one of the best in the league when he's rolling, you know. So, I mean, we're expecting him at full force, 100%. I mean, you hear all the reports about him coming out of camp. So, our guys know. Our guys know he's going to be a big part of what they do as he should be. And we're going to have to find ways to stop him. We're going to hopefully not let him get started in the run game and then we know if he's going to be in different spots to utilize the skill set in the passing game. So, we got to make sure that he's a focal point of what we're trying to do here this weekend to stop them. When you're facing guys like him, or even like Jonathan Taylor, like the break tackles and the home run hitters, what are the main things you hone in on as far as technique and those type of things for that week? Yeah, I think tackling it goes back to understanding what type of tackle you're in, right? Like, are we in the box? Do we have some help? Can we go shoot our gun a little bit versus the open field? Now, it's a totally different animal where we got to be able to stay on our feet and find ways to get them to the ground. It ain't going to be pretty, but we got to find ways to get them to the ground in those situations. I think our effort is going to be vital in this game, making sure we got hats going to the ball. Always, we preach it every week. But, I mean, the more guys you can get around them, all these guys, whether it's Saquon, whether it's some of these guys with the ball and their hands on the perimeter, the more guys you can get around them, the less likely you are to have a big one if you do miss. Right? So, I think that's going to be big, is just making sure we try to get two-plus to the ball on every play. How are you feeling about your depth in the secondary? You seem to be a little turnover during camp there and got some new guys. Yeah, we got some new pieces and they've come in and done a really good job for us. Like, I'm excited about the group. That's another group. I'm really excited to see play on Sunday. There's some versatility with different pieces. So, we'll kind of see how it shakes out on Sunday with that. They're all going to be out there. They're all going to be playing. And again, I'm excited to see them go out there and compete. Shane, what's your challenge for Jeff this season? Where do you think he can continue to make strides? Yeah, I want Jeff to be Jeff, right? I want him to be the leader of our defense. I want him to set the tone. I want him to play with technique and fundamentals. I think that's where he's grown tremendously over the past, probably from two years ago to last year, right? You take all the talent in the world because he's got it. But then you add the technique and fundamentals and he is probably one of the better effort player, D. Lyman, in the NFL. And that's where you get elite, right? You get pro-bow level play is when you take that talent and it's about the fundamentals, the technique, right? And then ultimately playing his butt off, which he does. So, I mean, just continue to not lose sight of that as we go, more so than anything. And his leadership is vital to us, right? Like, that's the one thing I'll say, like, up front, he takes control. He's a smart kid who understands the game, understands how we're trying to attack different things and he takes control out there and helps those other guys.