Offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury addressed the media before practice on Sept. 12. Here is a full transcript of the press conference.
On his thoughts of the wide receiver group after reviewing the film:
"Yeah, overall, I thought alignment assignment was really good, especially for a first game. Only two penalties, no turnovers, played good in the red zone, gotta be better on third down. But overall, I thought they played hard. We preached playing without the ball, and I thought that showed up a ton, and had some, some opportunities. I think as we go, we'll make some of the plays that you saw, but I liked what I saw from that group effort was there and pretty clean for a first game."
On how WR Luke McCaffery has developed and possibility of WR Noah Brown playing this week:
"Yeah, we'll see with Noah. He's coming off a little bit of an injury [clarified just easing him in], so we're easing him back in. But he's had some big games, been a very talented player in this league. I'm excited to see what he can do. And then, Luke just continues to progress, whether it's outside, inside, learning the entire system, can do a lot of different things. He's physical in the run game, so we'll continue to see what he can handle and expect him to continue to ascend."
On his biggest takeaway from QB Jayden Daniel's performance and what he can learn from the game:
"The competitive spirit. I think just to watch how he continued to fight, especially at the end. I called one of the worst plays I've ever called in my entire career, and he just took the ball and ran into the end zone, and it was like he was not gonna be denied there on the goal line, and it says a lot about him in that situation. A lot of people would not have taken that opportunity to drive that ball down and then put it in the end zone and he wanted the ball in his hands and wanted to score. So that was exciting to see. I think every day he gains more and more credibility in the locker room with his work ethic, his attention to detail, and then the competitive spirit is as good as I've ever been around."
On if Daniels has a tendency to predetermine reads as a rookie and what he means by the worst play he has called in his career:
"Just playing, you know. That you have to play to even come close to simulating what a live NFL game is in season on Sundays. And, I thought, like I said, his operation to not have any pre-snap penalties, to only have two penalties overall. One of them probably shouldn't have been a penalty was really good. No play clock violations. I mean I thought he handled himself well and as he plays again, we'll continue to slow down. But, yeah, as far as the play, I called a basically a speed option with no check and they overplayed it to one side. So, he just stuck his foot in the ground and got in the end zone with the highest paid safety in football chasing him and just found a way in. So it says a lot about, I mean, we knew he likes to compete, but it definitely showed on Sunday."
On how he interprets Daniels' 16 carries:
"Yeah, I think there's a couple calls where we thought we had premier looks that ended up hitting inside that you'd like to have back, you know, if he walks in then it looks really good. But, a lot of those, he did a great job. I'm not sure how many actually got contacted and taken to the ground on, but he does a great job finding the soft spot, finding out of bounds. But we understand he has to take care of himself and we want him to continue to grow and you can't do that if you're banged up on the sideline."
*On what he has seen from RB Austin Ekeler in the game and over the last few months: *"Yeah, he just has a lot of juice left. I think there's been a misnomer, like maybe he lost a step in LA [Chargers] or something was off, but since he showed up here, I mean, he's busted his tail every practice, every day, weight room, film study. And then he just is very available on check downs and things like that with the quarterbacks and does a great job drop-stepping and getting extra yards and that for a young guy to have a safety blanket like that or [TE] Zach Ertz is really invaluable."
On why the mentioned play call was the one of the worst of his career:
"Basically, I didn't give him a check to get out of it, so they didn't bump with a motion. There was about three guys outside on the option. And so he saw that and he ran it anyways and just stuck his foot on the ground and cut back and ran a couple guys over and got in the end zone. So with that look, he needs a play to check out of and he just said, 'Snap it' and said, 'I got you coach', got it in the end zone. But yeah, if I had that one back, I would rather him not get hit like that."
*On the designed run plays and the thought process on running him inside: *"Yeah, like I said earlier, we thought we had premier looks, really liked the scheme, thought it would hit in a different way and ended up forcing him inside and they have a really good front, and kind of collapsed it. And so second guessing it, would not have wanted him to get hit inside like that, but learning experience for all of us and we gotta be smarter. I gotta be a better coach moving forward."
On finding balance as a coach with Daniels' athletic ability and running too much:
"Yeah, I mean I don't, I don't, like, the first game with the reigning MVP of the league [Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson] had the same amount of rushes, right? I mean, I'm not saying he's the same guy, but your first game as a rookie, you're gonna have some survival mode, fight or flight going on. And he got out, like I said. Didn't get hit a ton, and made some big plays with his feet. So, you gotta walk that line. I've had a bunch of guys who could run and extend plays and you walk that line of when to pull back and when not to. And I think as he plays, he'll get a better comfort level and I'll get a better feel for him and we'll just progress together."
On how valuable the experience of playing in his first regular season game will be to help Daniels' moving forward:
"Yeah, that's as exotic as you're gonna see with what [Tampa Bay Buccaneers Head] Coach Bowles does and Coach Bowles having an entire off season to kind of prep for it. Gave him a bunch of different looks and I thought he handled a lot of them well, like I said, to not turn it over against those guys and really drove the ball down for five scoring opportunities. We didn't score on all of them, but I thought he was efficient in a lot of his processes and a lot of that stuff. The next time he sees it, it'll be slower and he'll be able to make a few more plays."
On his first impression of the offensive line and if the QB scrambles makes him change the way that he calls plays:
"Yeah, it's a really good front and like I said, a few of those were first read and get out, you know, as your first game as a rookie. And he knows he has a lot of faith in his legs and I would too if I could run like that. So, he made some plays early and got out of there, but I thought they battled against really good front and no pre-snap penalties. I don't know how many holds they had. I don't think many. And so, I thought that was from an execution standpoint, played a clean game. I mean we can all get better, coaches and players, but I thought as a group they played an efficient game."
*On the in-game rotations of OT Brandon Coleman and Cornelius Lucas and the possibility of having a set starting five: *"I think everybody would like that where it's pretty defined, but both those guys had earned the right to play in that game. And felt like we had a good rotation going, and Brandon's an ascending player and continues to get better, and Luke's been doing this a long year and so there's some comfort there. But, yeah, I think eventually you like to have your five that you can roll out there together and build that kinda unity."
On the problems New York Giants DT Dexter Lawrence II presents to an offensive line:
"I'd say now that [Aaron] Donald is gone, as much of a problem as anybody in the league. I think him and [Las Vegas Raiders DE] Maxx Crosby are probably the two most disruptive D-linemen in the league. [Kansas City Chiefs DT] Chris Jones is another one, but just watching him when he goes head up on your center, it's like good luck. I mean, you gotta find ways to try to neutralize him. He can blow up pass plays, run plays, he can do it all. So I think tremendous talent, the stamina is what really gets me for being a really big guy. He continues to play hard throughout the game, even if you try to keep him on the field and he just plays hard and has a high motor for being a guy of that that size."
On the growth of New York Giants CB Deonte Banks:
Yeah, I think continues to get better as a player. I think he's a guy that they can build with and they're excited about his future, so I'm excited to see how we kind of match up against both those guys on Sunday. Be a real test for us."
