 after not playing in the preseason, how ready are you for Sunday to get back out on the field and play in a game? I'm really excited. It's been a long training camp of playing our own defense and going through that back and forth battle each and every day. I'm excited to face the challenge of playing another defense. Ryan, you talked in the offseason about how kind of the dark place you were in and whatnot. Is that game maybe still like a central fuel for you entering 2022, or is it at the point to where it's just, all right, new season, just kind of do what I've always done? Yeah, no doubt I have a burning fire inside of me. Yeah, there's no question about that. But at this point, it's a new season. What happened last year doesn't matter, but no doubt there's a passion in fire burning. You've talked about the struggles getting over that loss, just playing another game, starting a new season, kind of put all that behind you, or maybe officially? It's been behind me. I think, like I mentioned, the past, the past is the past. It's a fuel. It's a fire, like I said, inside of me. But the past is the past, and I'm ready for this year. What about the Giants? And what's maybe going to be the biggest challenge in a week one? It's a multiple defense. I think that's something Wink does a really good job of over the years. Faced him several times at Baltimore. He's going to throw a lot of different stuff at you. They have a strong athletic front, some secondary players. Dory, who's been here, athletic, can run, can match guys. So it's a talented defense, but they're going to throw the kitchen sink at you, and you've got to be ready. So you know the Blitzes are coming. What's sort of your responsibility in helping the offensive line out pre-snap there? Yeah, just making sure we're trying to get into a good play, whether it's a protection check, a run check, whatever the case may be. Having a plan, they're going to throw something that we haven't seen at us. They do every time. So just being able to adjust to it within the game and try to get yourselves in good situations. Do you find yourself spending a little more time with the receivers this week? Just fine tune the side adjustments and those things? Yeah, we've been going against our defense, so it hasn't been a whole lot of nuances outside the normal meetings. There's constantly that back and forth, but this is the first game plan we've had with a few of these guys on this team. So going through that process of what it looks like on third down, what it looks like in situational football against this specific defense. What do you kind of expect? I've been in the past about developing trust with the receivers and learning what they want and then learning what you want. Does the circle of trust get a little smaller and tighter on third down sometimes? Well, I think just the course of the season, right? I mean, we started out with, I don't know how many receivers and tight ends. And now that we're up to week one, that circle has shrunk. So yeah, there's definitely a natural process there of fine-tuning the guys who are going to be getting the majority of the reps with us on Sunday. And then specifically within that, certain plays, certain guys are going to be highlighted or have the key adjustments. So just making sure we're on the same page throughout that process. Do you have a question for Big Place? How much of it is receivers doing more, gaining more separation, winning? And how much of it is what you guys can do scheme-wise? I think there's a balance to all of it. I think it all works together. It's cliche, but it's the truth. You have to have the right play call to catch the right defense, then you have to be able to execute it. Have the receivers run a good route, get open, have time to make the throw, and then obviously make the throw in a good location to make the play. So yeah, there's a lot that goes into it. But when you do get those advantages and you've got the right play call, then it's up to the players to make it happen. How imperative do you guys do better in that department? Well, we want to be effective each and every time we get a chance to execute a play, whether it's a short yardage play, a third down play, or you get a chance to take a shot down the field. You only get a few real chances at it per game and want them to take advantage of them. Right. Pass protection, by any measure, took a pretty big nosedive last year for you guys. What's your sense right now for how that was addressed in the offseason? How do you feel about that aspect of the offense going into Sunday? I'm excited about our guys. I think we've had a good camp. Guys are playing with a lot of confidence, feeling healthy. I think that was part of the challenge last year. But our guys are playing well. They're playing together. They're growing together each and every day. And I have a lot of confidence in them in front of me. On that point with LaWan, I'm especially coming up the ACL last year, remember having the first game. Strike one. What's your sense specifically for him and how different maybe he looks because he hasn't had a rehab offseason and then also Aaron and Taylor next to each other in that partnership? Yeah, you have to ask Taylor exactly how he feels. I don't know, just from a look at him, he looks good, he's moving around well. I have a ton of confidence in the way he's playing. And then Bruce stepped in. He's a guy who's stepped in for us in specific situations in the past. At center, I guard, played some big roles in key games for us. And he's earned the spot to go out there and be our starting left guard. So excited for him, excited for this opportunity in him. And then Nick on the right side, young guy coming in. Obviously has all the physical tools that you look for and has really settled into that right side. So excited to have all those guys in front of me. And Traylon missed a lot of the... Josh's only been here a few days, but obviously you look at him, he checks all the boxes of looking the part, made a bunch of plays in his career. So as he gets assimilated into our offense and learns what we're doing and what we're about here, hopefully he can keep progressing. Ryan, Traylon missed a lot of the off-season, obviously, but I guess from the start of camp to now, what kind of progress have you seen? How has he maybe kind of made up for some of that lost time that he had? Yeah, you know, some of that lost time is tough. You don't get it back, but, you know, he's done a good job of trying to take advantage of opportunities he's had when he's been out there. You know, he's made some plays for me, you know, throughout training camp, down the field, made some physical tough catches, shown to win on press coverage, shown to win on off coverage. So has some range, tracks the ball really well. So I have a lot of confidence, even though we may not have the number of reps that we wished, you know, if he would have been healthy the whole off-season. He's taken advantage of plays when he's been in there, so I have a ton of confidence going his way. Is it a work in progress for him and maybe for most rookie receivers, I guess, as their first year goes? Yeah, no doubt. I mean, you're constantly learning. I'm still a work in progress in year 11. So you try to take advantage of every day you get out there on the practice field, every rep is a growing experience, whether it worked out the way we wanted to or it didn't, we can learn from it and be better for it. Coach, you mentioned the pain and discomfort he's kind of been working through in practice. Maybe it's not always easy to do that as a rookie, but how helpful is that just to kind of push him through that because knowing the season is long, you're gonna have those bumps and bruises. Yeah, no doubt. It's been huge for me, you know, give me a lot of confidence in him, you know, seeing him, you know, get nicked in practice and then come back and battle through it. You know, you can tell he's hurting, but he's out there, he's pushing through. I think, you know, we all gain respect for each other and we know, you know, things aren't perfect and they're not gonna be perfect, but if you can find a way to battle through and try to rally for your guys around you, it makes an impact. You know, we did that in the game, I think the last pre-season game, we kind of got deemed up and, you know, wanted to be back in there and show that he can continue to make plays even while maybe nicked up. So definitely, definitely a good thing to see from a young guy. How much do you admire a guy like Cody Hollister's stick to it and it serves to resolve, you know, as long as he's been in the league and as little as he's actually played? A guy's a warrior, you know, you look at, you know, what he's done in his career and in his time here, you know, just the ups and the downs, the ends and the outs, but he shows up every day in this building, he works hard, you can count on him. He knows what he's gonna be, he knows what he's gonna be doing and so it gives the guys around him a lot of trust in knowing that, hey, he may not get every rep, he may not constantly be the guy that's out there, but if he does get in there, he's gonna know exactly what to do and give us a chance. For you as a quarterback, have you noticed like any difference in playing for a defensive minded coach like Mike Raeba as opposed to some of the other ones, maybe Coach Philbin or whoever in the past? No, there's definitely differences. Not gonna get into all of them, but there's definitely a difference playing for a defensive head coach compared to an offensive. What is it that you feel makes Mike Raeba such a successful head coach? There's a lot that goes into that, it's kind of a loaded question, many layers to it, but I think at the end of the day, he has a clear vision for this team, for this program, sets a standard and holds us to it. So if you have that foundation, and then obviously the X's and the O's and everything else that goes on top of it, but if you have that clear vision and everyone knows what to expect and what this program, what this team expects and it holds everyone accountable, then it gets you off on the right foot. Ryan, you say you're still at work in progress, beyond just the last game last year when you look back at last season, what kind of jumped out to you is something you'd like to do better, something you've worked on, something you kind of pointed out to yourself this camp? Yeah, I'm sorry, I'm not gonna, I'm going to sidestep your question here, but I'm focused on this year, just really looking forward to getting back out on the field, competing at home in front of our fans at our home field and attacking this 22 season. Do you think this season sets the course for the rest of your career, Ryan? I don't know, I attack each and every season, I could be your last. You never know what's gonna happen and whether it's physically or something else, that's kind of just how I live my life, right? Whether it's time with family or time with friends or in this situation, football is, you never know what's gonna happen in life, so you gotta attack each and every day with a purpose, with an intention, being where your feet are and trying to take advantage of each and every opportunity you get. You've been through a lot of week ones, I mean, what's it feel like during the week and maybe when you're staying in for the anthem or before kickoff? Oh, it's exciting, you get those butterflies first week of the year. It's been a long build up, right? Through spring, through training camp, and now you're finally getting to go late on the line with your brothers out there, so there's no doubt it's an exciting feeling and I'm looking forward to it. Is that, are you actually one of those people that like celebrates the birth month? Is there something wrong with that? I just think that that's a little much. No, no, no. And I wouldn't expect that from you, but go ahead. Mike, you can't celebrate enough is what I'm saying. Okay. Good, Terry. Mike, now that you're getting ready for the season, neither Ryan nor Derek, you know, took a snap during a game in the preseason. Any worries, I mean, obviously they're both veterans, but any worries about monitoring their snaps on Sunday? No, we're not going to monitor starting quarterbacks snaps on Sunday. And, you know, we'll see how Derek's going, how he feels and the flow of the game. You've talked for a couple of years about sort of, I guess, monitoring, but monitoring may be not the right word, but look, I mean, are you looking for opportunities to lessen Derek's load early this season is the question? I mean, I think we have to just go in with the approach that, you know, there's a game plan and we're going to try to execute it and we're going to do everything we can to win. You know, we feel really good about the guys that we have and try to find a role for each of those backs. And, you know, but Derek's a large part of what we do. Is a guy like McCreery who can play inside and out and what kind of skill set is necessary to kind of do both like that? Well, I think there has to be obviously a lot of match factors involved in short area quickness inside the slot. You know, there's some instincts that are required you're seeing different routes. Usually the players that you're covering are different, you know, they have a different skill set outside. I think that, you know, it's more of a, you know, you're trying to, there's some contested opportunities and being able to be on guys, especially down the field and being, you know, having an opportunity to play through the pocket. You know, he's not the tallest guy, but you know, he's usually, you know, close to his man. Kyle, some of the ones that are going to be playing big roles. Do you, as a staff, do you kind of let them know that the intensity is going to ramp up for their first regular season NFL game or do you leave that to the players to kind of police that? Well, I think that that's just all part of the process of trying to get guys ready for, you know, I think the opening weekend is trying to give them everything we can out in practice, trying to practice how we want to play, showing them a lot of looks. And I think, you know, that's our job as coaches to explain to them that, you know, things are going to come up that they haven't seen and they're going to have to work through it. That's all part of, you know, our process. With so much newness from the Giants, how much goes into just like that filling out period initially in the game? Like, does that, something that goes first quarter, first two quarters? You just have to see how the flow of the game goes. I think that that's, you know, we really don't want to feel anything. We want to go out and be aggressive and move the football and convert opportunities, especially in the red zone. It's going to be difficult, you know, but same thing on defense. I mean, we want to try to disrupt the football. We want to try to make plays on the football and force them into, you know, hopefully mistakes. That's what you want to try to do in every football game and then be sound, you know, for things that may come up that you haven't seen. But I don't think we're going to go out and play cautious by any means. Mike, you've been complimentary of the camp Ryan has had to this point. What have you liked about what you've seen out of him? I think he's been accurate. I think he's been decisive. I think he's had command of what we're trying to do. I think his leadership has been really good. In the past in any way has he amped up anything? Well, we're just focused on this year's entry and how we did this camp and what we're going to do today and what we're going to do this season. Mike, Ola is a first-time captain for you guys on special teams. Just maybe what, how have you kind of seen him establish himself as a voice on that unit in the time he's been here? Yeah, I think he brings the physical presence and we've, you know, Ola and I have, I feel like have, you know, a great relationship since coming here. I think it's only gotten better. He, you know, carved out a role for himself on defense and really helped us at times last year. Would anticipate that continuing to happen, but not lose in sight of what, you know, really his bread and butter is. And that was, you know, special teams and being a, you know, a physical presence who puts a lot into it. You see him, you know, talking to younger guys. You see him taking a leadership role, which is really good. In the search for big plays from the passing game, how much of that is about guys playing better? How much of it is about scheme? Yeah, you can go and check, you know, PFF, which, you know, I've done in the past and it's about 70% guys making plays and about 30%, damn, that's a really good design. So I did that one time and I'm not gonna waste my time on it anymore. We're gonna try to, you know, have some good plays and we're gonna have to try to have an opportunity to go make some plays down the field or break some tackles, whatever it may be. So, because I was curious, you know, what that number was. And so I watched a lot of them and said, you know, from my eye, hey, that's a, you know, schemed-up play, a guy's running free. Didn't look like there was anything wrong with the defense. It just was kind of a, you know, a well-designed play and then there's a lot of times where guys go up and make plays. How crucial do you consider it that you guys do significantly better in that department? I think it's crucial that we score points and win and take care of the foot. Coach, when you look at a guy like Snake One, he's come, I think, two years off of that injury. I mean, how do you stop a guy like that and you know that that's kind of a red and butter piece for them? Everybody has to be at the point of attack and by that mean he can, you know, take it inside, bounce it, jump cut. You know, if there's a crease there, he's gonna take it. You know, you just have to build a wall. We, you know, we played against him. It was a couple years ago, but, you know, our good plays were ones where we had the edge set and there was, you know, not a whole lot of space inside and trying to avoid those opportunities where there's just one guy making a tackle on him because those are difficult. When it comes to this weekend, I know that first game sometimes, you know, missed tackles that can occur. How much do you guys emphasize that and practice this week? Well, that'll be one of the keys of the game, you know, defensively. That's something that we'll practice. You know, you put pads on and, you know, looking for all those opportunities. Again, just to explain to them that we won't have as many reps as we will in the game today or tomorrow, but we have to start practicing and continue to practice like we want to play the game. Understand the keys, understand the game plan, try to show them as many different looks as we can. What are some of those other keys in the sense that you just mentioned? Well, you know, when you look at special teams, you know, week one, we really focusin' on the operation, the execution, you know, penalties. Penalties can be so critical on, you know, special teams. It's a difference in 20 yards, you know, on a punt return. And that's been a strength for us. We have to try to continue to make that a strength and do it without, without fouling, you know, offensively. I think, you know, we have to anticipate, we have to beat man coverage. And that's something that we'll have to do. So, trying to appreciate you cuttin' me off. Go ahead. Well, you have a defensive, like a coordinator like Martindale that, you know, you never know who's blitzin', they always overload. How much stress does that put on like your protection rules and just having to have the side adjustment? It's a long protection meeting. You know, it's, you can't basically cover everything. You're not sure which, which package you're gonna get. Each and every week, they, you know, a lot of credit to the, to the players that they have. The scheme is very good, but, you know, being able to bring guys and essentially run the same pressure, but just from different guys doing it and different guys dropping into those zones or the man that they have. So they've done a great job of it and it's certainly gonna be something that we'll have to be prepared for on Sunday. And then having a rookie right tackle, how do you balance? Okay, I need to help him out. I don't need to help him out. How do you balance that equation? Well, we'll see how the game goes. And I mean, there'll be protections where we'll slide to the right. There'll be protections where we slide to the left. And, you know, we'll see, we'll have to see how the game's going. From what you've seen so far, how would you kind of describe the mood, attitude, energy this first week, maybe different from what you saw in training camp in preseason? Well, I think Monday was probably, you know, a little bit better than training camp. And I would say today was much better. I think we all realize it's a Wednesday of the regular season in week one. And, you know, just trying to look to string some days together, focus on the day, continue to build momentum as the week goes on. Big picture from trailing, maybe since the start of camp in terms of what ways he's progressed. I think there's an overall understanding of what we're trying to get him to do, his skill set and how it translates to our offense. Talked about blocking and his willingness to do that. And, you know, I think it's been good to see him play through, you know, a little bit of pain and a little bit of discomfort and want to be out there at practice and just some maturity and growth and all those little details about just the daily grind of professional football. Josh, you have a chance in a week of getting to the 53 or is it more... Every morning that we come in here, I talk to the team, I talk to everybody that they should prepare as a starter. So if that's the 16 guys on the practice squad or the guys on the active roster, they're all trying to and should prepare as a starter. And if we bring them up and they practice, well, we think practice is important. And so, you know, we'll evaluate that. We look for new captains and we think about the group that was elected. I don't, you know, it's not what I look for. It's what the team and the representative of the team that they, what they want. And I asked them before they went on the break, I said, just give it some thought so that, you know, it's not just a random answer on Monday. I would hope that you guys would give some thought into who you want to represent your football team. Now, everybody here has a voice, but I thought, you know, they did a great job of electing captains and we still have a lot of good leaders even though, you know, they're not a captain. In that sense, practice squad guys, do you have an idea going into the week who might be a candidate to be promoted and be up, or is that something that you just want them to be prepared and then on Friday you spring it on? You know, I think through the course of practice, I think guys, you know, if there's injuries, I think you kind of have a good idea, you know, this week is probably a little different. But as you start to get into it and injuries and, you know, guys understand, you know, what role they may have in the game and if they'll get, you know, elevated. Seeing a story or two saying illegal contact is going to be kind of one of those points of emphasis. I didn't see that. No, I was just saying that. That's not certainly something that, you know, what storage you hear. From the Washington Post, actually, they're a reporter. But do you try? I hope not. I mean, I just, I wanted, again, the points of emphasis, we should stop using them. We should emphasize the entire rules of the game and clarify what we want done so that we can have 17 crews that are as consistent as possible. Enjoyed our visits with the four crews that we had here, but as evident by those meetings, you know, one guy sees, one person, excuse me, sees it differently than the other person. You know, what's roughing the passer as opposed to what's incidental contact at the helmet, what's not playing the ball, contact, you know, what's enough, what's not enough. So, you know, we'll try to just continue to explain to our players what's being called and function within the rules the best that we can. Jerome Boger, does the right person make that clear to everybody on opening day? We can't control who the crew is. We just, we'll go out there and we'll do businesses, businesses being done and hopefully not do anything dumb that hurts the team. Thanks guys.