Sean Mannion

Q: Sean, when you look at QB Tanner Mckee’s first few games, what’s kind of the priority that he needs to work on, get better at, improve on? (Reuben Frank)

Sean Mannion: Yeah, I think it’s always, with the quarterback position, always starts with decision making. I thought there’s been a lot of good moments in that regard for him. I think there’s other ones that he can learn from and grow from, but the quarterback and the center are the two people that touch the ball on every play. So we’re relying on great decision making, both pre-snap and post-snap. Tanner does a great job with that. I think there’s some that we can continue to improve on. I think as he’s gotten more practice reps, more work in the game, I’m confident he’ll continue to trend upward. There’s always going to be things to learn from any game, and that goes for all of us. So I think with more and more time, Tanner will grow more comfortable. I think just the one thing that you’re always relying on the quarterback to do is make good decisions. And I think there’s been some growth there and some room to keep growing as well.

Q: So now that we’re about halfway through this thing, how do you handle the pressure of being in this job, especially when things aren’t going well? (Dave Zangaro)

Sean Mannion: Yeah, that’s a good question. I really just try to be as impartial, as unemotional, if you will, just really think about the task at hand and how to put our guys in the best position possible. I try not to think about the circumstances surrounding the game or the circumstances surrounding a call that I have to make. Just try to be really objective about, “Hey, this is the situation, this is the scheme that we’ve put in, this is what the defense is doing to us.” And really just try to be as objective as possible with every call and as objective as possible each week with building our plan and trying to view the guys that we have and how we can best attack our opponent. I try to block out all the outside noise or circumstances surrounding what may or may not be going on with the team and just try to attack each day with that mindset of just being really task oriented like, “Hey, we have to build a great plan. Let’s think about our players. Let’s think about our opponent and put them in the best position possible.”

Q: TE Grant Calcaterra as an H-back, as a lead blocker on a run play and you also had him kind of as the front side blocker on the bootleg there. What made you like him as a blocker in this situation? (Jeff McLane)

Sean Mannion: Yeah, Grant’s a very versatile player for us. I think his ability to align in multiple spots has been a strength throughout his career. I know throughout the game, there’s a lot of things that can be better, but we trust Grant. He’s done a great job with things like that, both in his past, when he’s coming back from injury, did a nice job throughout the week. With anything, and it’s not just Grant, with anything, there’s always things that can be executed a little bit better. I know on those two specific plays you’re talking about, there’s a lot of things to clean up that I think will yield a better result. But Grant’s a flexible piece. He’s someone we really value. He does a little bit of everything for us. So we felt his versatility was suited for what we were asking him to do there. We trust that he’s going to be able to get that done. Like I said, he’s done that. He’s proven he can do that. We have a ton of faith in him to execute the things we’re asking him to do out there on the field.

Q: What is the Giants defense doing well? (Merrill Reese)

Sean Mannion: Yeah, I think it starts with their front, really talented players up front. [OLB Abdul] Carter, [OLB Kayvon] Thibodeaux, very disruptive edge players. I think you look at the second level of their defense as well. I mean, a lot of talent, I think really disruptive at the line of scrimmage and they have good guys who can cover as well. So they present a good challenge for us this week. I know a division game, it’s always like that. There’s always a heightened level of intensity and I think they’re playing at a high level and we’re in the process today, yesterday, throughout the week of putting together a plan, but I think there’s a lot of talent over there, particularly on the line of scrimmage that we have to account for.

Q: What’s the dynamic been like with Head Coach Nick Sirianni as you guys try to problem solve on offense and in what ways do you lean on him? (Tim McManus)

Sean Mannion: Yeah, it’s been great. Nick has a ton of experience in this league. He has a ton of experience obviously here with this roster and with the guys on the team and know their strengths, their weaknesses, the things that they’ve had success with in the past and he’s been super supportive. He’s a great person to work for. I think when we’re in there and we’re building these plans, there’s always good back and forth and the sharpening of the plan throughout the week. And obviously I work for him. It’s been a joy to work for him, but I’m learning a lot from him every day. He’s a great resource for me and for our staff and for our team. That’s all aside from the leader of this organization from an on-field perspective, I think he’s been super supportive. As we look to get sharper and sharper as an offense, and obviously we have room to grow in that regard, he’s been a great person to seek for guidance on, “Hey, I think these players on the roster do this at a really high level.” Or lessons that he’s learned throughout his coaching career. It’s been a great working relationship that way.

Q: How do you navigate RB Saquon Barkley with what he’s dealing with physically, whether to play him, whether to not play him and what’s the best way to use him? And he’s a guy that doesn’t want to come off the field. How do you work through that? (Reuben Frank)

Sean Mannion: Yeah, he’s a tremendous talent and he’s an absolute warrior. He’s as tough as they come and he’s the ultimate team guy and obviously working through some things these last couple of weeks, but you respect the hell out of a guy for going out there and giving his all. I think we just try to manage him within the game. We try to manage him throughout the week and consider, “Hey, this is what we feel most comfortable with him doing.” But that’s what you love about the guy. He never wants to come off. I think he’s been getting better and better physically and he’s been dealing with some bumps and bruises throughout the year, but this guy attacks it every day. He wants to be out there. He’s a tremendous competitor and he’s a tremendous talent. And so it’s our job as coaches to kind of manage those things around him as he’s getting fresher and fresher moving forward and put him in the best position possible for the snaps he is in there.

He’s been getting better and better physically. And like I said, he’s an amazing player and he’s been getting better and better from a physical perspective. I think we’ll find our rhythm with him in-game moving forward.

Q: How are you addressing communication errors in the operation, checks or otherwise in terms of getting to the plays? (Brooks Kubena)

Sean Mannion: Yeah. I think as always, I always start looking at myself, am I teaching this the best way possible? Am I putting the players in the position to succeed? So I’m always going to be evaluating myself first in terms of the plan that we’re building, how it’s being taught, how it’s being installed. Then it really comes down to the week of practice and going out there and just being totally unrelenting in terms of your detail and your level of communication, your level of intensity out there on the practice field and the walkthrough setting. I think we’ve largely done a good job of it. I know two weeks ago that we took a big step forward in that regard and then there was ones that have to be cleaner from the Washington game. So the thing is we’re going to be totally process oriented and really think about everything we’re doing on the walkthrough field, everything we’re doing in the meeting room, everything we’re doing on the practice field, and ultimately just be as relentless as we can be in pursuit of those details when it comes to the communication, when it comes to getting lined up quickly, initiating the process at the line of scrimmage quickly, making sure the communication is clear so that we eliminate those errors because those are ones that are correctable and must be corrected.

Q: What do you think from Washington game contributed to not being clean? (Brooks Kubena)

Sean Mannion: It’s hard to put it on any one thing because I think it’s just miscues of communication. The biggest thing we need to improve on I think is getting lined up quickly and getting that process started quickly. And then just having crystal clear communication, over communicate, whether it be verbally, non-verbally, echoing the call. I think there’s a lot of things that are kind of the little things on the margin that they’re not necessarily the critical error, but just the little things that can help you along the way to avoid a lapse in communication.

Q: When it comes to the fourth-and-four specifically, as much as you can, it looked like Tanner was trying to hurry later and trying to clap, hurry as much as possible. It could be a multitude of things and then T Markel Bell kind of jumped off. Is that just late getting to the play call? Is that just him trying to decipher information? As much information as you can possibly give us. (John McMullen)

Sean Mannion: Yeah. I think any quarterback’s going to want to gather some degree of information at the line of scrimmage. Sometimes it’s because you may have a kill on the play, sometimes it’s not. I’m not going to get into specifics of that call necessarily, but with anything, I try to get all these calls in as quickly as possible. Some of them have motions, some of them demand a little bit more diagnosis at the line of scrimmage than others. So sometimes when you see the clock winding down, it can be a multitude of factors there. But we want to give Tanner the opportunity to use his cadence, to use a motion to undress things that he may or may not need to see. Sometimes it might be a call it run it play, but he just wants a little bit extra intel in terms of how to execute it.

Obviously that was unfortunate with us jumping off sides there. It was a critical moment in the game. We work that mechanic where, hey, if we’re up against the clock and we are on a silent count, so it’s something we work on, we just didn’t execute it at the level that we need to.

Q: With getting to the line, we talked about early in the season by having more time at the line. It looks like the last three games you guys have been getting less plays with one or two seconds left on the play clock. So is it just those specific moments or do you see that you guys are actually getting to the line quicker? (Brooks Kubena)

Sean Mannion: Yeah, I think we’re pushing constantly to be as quick as we possibly can be. Different calls demand a different kind of amount of time at the line of scrimmage if there’s motions, if there’s two motions, if there’s a check on the play. So in terms of the time required for each play, it’s a little bit different in terms of the time demands. And then sometimes you just want to be able to use your cadence, try to get the defense to break their disguise or to jump. So those things take some time as well, but we’re always pushing to have our operation be as fast and as efficient as it can be. I think we can grow in that area and it’s a big point of emphasis each week, but especially going in this next game.

Q: Pre-snap stuff and communication between the quarterback and the O-line, how do you guys delineate or how do you decide who is responsible ultimately for doling out that information to the players? (Jeff McLane)

Sean Mannion: Yeah, it’s a little bit play dependent. Some plays, the communication, the adjustments really run through the center. Other plays, it runs through more so the quarterback. So it’s a little bit play specific on that, but ultimately it all needs to get corrected. So we’re going to be super hard on ourselves and our process of building the plan and how we teach our communication. Then we’re going to be super diligent in making the correction so that it doesn’t happen again. I know I’m kind of giving you a vague answer on that, but it is truthfully a little bit play specific in terms of whether the center or the quarterback is a little bit more involved in the level of communication at the line.

Q: With the unblocked rusher specifically, is that a matter of communication or is there more that goes beyond communication fixing that issue? (Zach Berman)

Sean Mannion: Yeah, I think the communication’s always a starting point. That kind of tells you who’s accounting for whom, who’s doing what. Then from that point, it’s the fundamentals and the execution of the blocking. So it’s something we have to keep hammering, we got to keep working on. I know communication’s been kind of a focal point for us this week and making sure we’re sharper there, but I think it starts with just getting everybody on the same page then you give yourself a chance to physically execute the block. That’s where the fundamentals and things like that really help you win the down. So to answer your question, I think throughout times this year, it’s been a little bit of both, but I think communication clearly at the line of scrimmage in the huddle, I think gives yourself a chance to execute the block. And there were times in last game where we didn’t achieve the level of communication that we need and we’re attacking it this week and have to get it corrected.

Q: Those two players added to the offensive mix, RB Elijah Mitchell, who I know got some reps the week before, but him and Eli Stowers, how did you evaluate how they played? (Ed Kracz)

Sean Mannion: Yeah. Elijah obviously has a track record in this league, did some nice things in the game, was able to make some great blitz pickups for us and ran the ball effectively at times. We have a ton of trust in him. I know he was here earlier in the off season, got injured and came back. He’s played in this league at a high level. He has familiarity with what we’re doing in terms of our offensive system. And so it’s been seamless for him to step right back in here and play a role and be up on game day for us. In terms of [TE] Eli [Stowers], he’s been working his tail off to get healthy. It was similar to kind of what [WR] Makai [Lemon] went through earlier in camp and earlier in the season, being a little bit dinged up, you lose those physical reps, but in his return to play window, he was practicing his butt off.

He’s mentally really, really sharp, especially that position where there’s a lot of different things that we’re going to ask of you. His mental preparation’s been outstanding. I think getting a chance for him to get into the games a little bit and kind of generate some more confidence while he’s out there, I think will ultimately serve him well moving forward. Been really happy with what [WR] Makai’s [Lemon] been doing. I think you’ve seen and you’ve felt his confidence grow with more and more time and more and more reps. And I’m optimistic that Eli will be kind of on that similar trajectory with just more time spent on the practice field, more time spent up on game day and he did some nice things. I think he’ll keep growing from there.

Q: When you’re problem solving these pass protection issues specifically with [Offensive Line Coach Chris Kuper, a guy you’re working with for the first time, what are y’all digging into when you’re looking into that, not having had that experience until this year? (Brooks Kubena)

Sean Mannion: Yeah. I think [Offensive Line Coach Chris Kuper] Koop’s s been doing an outstanding job. I know, like I said, everything ultimately starts with me and making sure I’m charting the right course for us in terms of our protection plan, in terms of how we’re getting it taught, in terms of our install meetings and everything like that. But Chris is doing a great job. He’s a tremendous teacher of the fundamentals. He’s great with those guys in the room. I think ultimately we try to, when we’re reviewing the tape after the game, we try to get to the bottom of, okay, what was the communication that happened here? What was our call? And then from there, what led to a miscue? Was it a technique issue? Was it a communication issue? Was it a different adjustment that we maybe needed to make to solve this problem that the defense might be challenging us with?

So it’s a little bit of diagnosing and then making the correction from there, whether it be the call, the communication, or the fundamentals to execute the block. It’s been great working with Coop. I knew him as a player and I could tell he was a great teacher of the fundamentals and a great communicator. He’s doing good work with those guys and we got to keep growing from there and I’m confident we will.