General Manager Joe Schoen

JOE SCHOEN: Let me start off with two wins is not where we want to be right now, it's good enough. I understand the frustration from fans, ownership, the people inside the building. Nobody is more frustrated than myself, it starts with me, and I'm tasked with trying to get this organization going back in the proper direction. The standard is to compete for championships year in and year out and that's the plan moving forward. So, we're going to look at everything. Free agency, the draft, coaching, finishing, execution on the field, whatever it may be. We're going to look at all avenues in order to get this franchise back to where it belongs.

As for the coaching changes we made earlier in the year. This is the first time I've spoke with you guys since we moved on from Coach (Brian) Daboll and Shane Bowen. Dabs and I have an extended history together professionally and personally, difficult decision, but one we decided to make and he's a great football coach and he's going to be successful in whatever he does after the New York Giants. I'll say the same with Shane, appreciate everything Shane did for us, tireless worker, good coach, good man and wish him nothing but the best moving forward as well.

As for the coaching search, we're going to do everything we can right now to support (interim head coach Mike) Kafka.That's our primary focus right now is to give Kafka everything he needs in order to succeed over these next four weeks, support him and his staff. At the appropriate time, we'll get into potential coaches research and we'll do thorough collaborative research and come up with the best coach to lead the New York Giants going into the 2026 season.

As for the roster, I do believe there is a good young core to build around here and it will be an attractive job for many coaches and I'm excited to get that process going as we move forward.

I know you guys are going to have some questions on (outside linebacker) Abdul (Carter). I know Kafka just spoke upon that and I'm going to support him with whatever decision he makes in terms of player discipline. So again, I support him with that decision, and I'll just leave it at that. So, with that, I'll open it up for any questions you guys might have.

Q: You mentioned that your focus is getting the Giants back to routine contention and really turning this around. Why do you believe that you're the right person to help turn this thing around?

SCHOEN: Yeah, I understand the question. Again, my focus right now is on supporting Kafka as we go forward and we'll evaluate all aspects of the football operation as we go forward. Has it been perfect? No. But I'm very confident in my staff, myself and our ability to get this franchise back where it needs to go.

Q: Where does the confidence come from? You were 2-11 at this time last year, you were saying you're close and you're in the exact same spot now. So, what gives you that confidence?

CHOWEN: Yeah, I understand the question, and I know where you're coming from. It starts with me. I take responsibility for that. But we do have a good young quarterback that's on a rookie contract for the next four years and that's when it gets fun. When you're building around a young quarterback, you have a good nucleus, you have a good left tackle, you have a wide receiver that had a historic year as a rookie season, you got a good running back room, you got pass rushers. There's pieces in place and I understand the question and I do have confidence in our ability and our process to find the next coach to lead the organization. And again, I truly believe in that process and I know we're going to get it right.

Q: Have you been given any assurances that you'll be seeing the coaching search and into next year through?

SCHOEN: Yeah, again, our focus is going to be on supporting Kafka and his staff. Ownership will evaluate the entire football operation at the end of the season as they should, as they should, and then we'll go from there.

Q: You mentioned ownership frustration, what conversations have you had with (President and Chief Executive Officer, Board Director) John (Mara) and (Executive Vice President, Chairman of the Board) Steve (Tisch)?

SCHOEN: Yeah, again, you guys have seen the results, two wins, not good enough. I'll keep our conversations between us, but we all know two wins isn't good enough, where we are right now isn't good enough and it needs to change.

Q: You and Brian Daboll came in and worked as a collaborative pairing. So why is he held accountable for the results after four years, but you are not?

SCHOEN: Yeah, I understand the question there too. And again, my hands are in it just like Brian's is and ownership made a decision to move on and again, I'm going to control what I can control and that's support Kafka moving forward. And again, I wish Dabs nothing but the best and we're going to do everything we can to get this franchise back to where it should be.

Q: You said support Kafka in whatever decision he makes with Abdul, but are you concerned that this could be a lingering situation?

SCHOEN: No.

Q: Why?

SCHOEN: I have a lot of faith in the people in the building and the resources that we have. Abdul is a young man that's 21 years old, that's smart and understands the magnitude of his actions and also understands what it means to be a pro. And these kids are 21 years old, and they're thrust into the spotlight in New York City and it's not always going to be perfect. People make mistakes. Nobody's perfect. Part of our job is to develop them as football players, but also as people and we will continue to do that with everybody in this organization.

Q: What was your input on the decision to fire Daboll?

SCHOEN: Again, that was a decision that ownership made and I support them with the decision. And again, now we're supporting Kafka moving forward.

Q: There are players on social media criticizing the coach. There are players not giving an effort, not getting benched. Does the program, the organization, have an accountability problem?

SCHOEN: I'm not real familiar with who was and any specifics on criticizing the coaches …

Q: Yeah, I wasn't looking to single out (wide receiver) Malik (Nabers), but Malik's tweet about Kafka after the Lions game, or?

SCHOEN: It's no different than firing off a text. Like, you know, you should probably take a deep breath in the heat of the moment. Again, a 22-year-old kid that's going through a difficult time right now, not being able to be with his teammates and play and going through a tough rehab. It's not easy and there's a guy that's not playing and still watching, supporting and feeling the pain with us for not winning. So again, another young player, it's a different world. It's social media and we continue to educate these guys, and we'll continue to do that.

Q: Do you anticipate Mike Kafka being a candidate for the full-time job beyond this season?

SCHOEN: Yeah, Mike's going to get a real look. He's getting a real look right now. Hands-on, had very good communication with Mike throughout the process. He's coached for three games. Two of them, we had leads in the fourth quarter. Guys were ready to go and last night, we didn't show up in all three phases, unfortunately. But I have a good relationship with Mike. He's a good coach, good leader and, again, he's getting an opportunity over these next four weeks to continue to lead the team.

Q: How would you evaluate Jaxson? Obviously, when we last spoke, he wasn't a starter yet, but just, you were high on him. Now that he's starting to play, how would you evaluate what he's done so far up to this point?

SCHOEN: Jaxson's done a good job. I've been impressed with Jaxson, offensive rookie of the month in October. Played really well for a rookie. Again, I know whether it's throwing the ball downfield, off-platform, creating plays, the ability to extend plays has been impressive. His leadership, his knowledge of the offense. He's exceeded expectations so far, he's done a good job.

Q: That said, how do you try to balance out now? Obviously, everyone's talked about it, but have you talked to him or you talked to the coaches about just hey, we need to protect him better. He needs to protect himself. How have you been involved with that conversation?

SCHOEN: Yes, and having just lived it in Buffalo, we've been through this before and what makes these players great is their toughness, their competitiveness, their desire to win and you appreciate that about Jaxson, but you also have to be available and try not to take the unnecessary hits. I would say last night was probably unnecessary. Probably could have got it out of bounds and it's third and one and instead we get a penalty, and he takes a shot and now it's third and 16. So there's a fine line and what makes Jaxson great is his competitiveness, his desire to win and that's the way he's wired. So, you try to find a fine line between playing smart, but also not taking away what makes them great and he's not the only quarterback that scrambles. I mean, you guys watched us against Kansas City and (quarterback) Patrick Mahomes is running all over the place. (Washington Commanders quarterback) Jayden Daniels, (Buffalo Bills quarterback) Josh Allen, some of the best, like you can't be, there's very few that can be the pocket passer that's just a statue in there these days. So just got to be smart when you can get down and not have to take hits and unnecessary hits. You got to take advantage of those opportunities so you can live to see another day.

Q: The perception is out there, regarding Jaxson, that because of the video clips you guys maybe did in the summer back from the draft where you were saying to Dabs 'Are you convicted in Jaxson?' That the perception is that he was Daboll's guy, that he wasn't your guy. What insight or what can you speak to that? The idea that Jaxson wasn't necessarily your guy, but it was the head coach that decided that he would be drafted.

SCHOEN: Yeah, and again, there's context to those. Again, there's hundreds of conversations leading up to that conversation in the draft room starting when we met with Jaxson at the Senior Bowl. So, you could probably ask (sports agent) Jim Denton. It was the earliest 30 visit I've ever scheduled; it was in January when he was already on our calendar. So Jaxson was a guy that was on our radar very early in the scouting process before Dabs was even aware of him because he was coaching and anytime you're going to make a decision on a first-round quarterback, that's going to be an organizational decision and it was an organizational decision. Credit to my staff, they did a phenomenal job gathering information. Understanding the landscape of the draft that we could get Abdul at three and then when's the re-entry point into the first round where we could still get a quarterback and again kudos to my staff, (assistant general manager) Brandon Brown, (Director of Player Personnel)Tim McDonnell, (Assistant Director of Player Personnel) Dennis Hickey, all those guys, the research they did was spot on and if you're going to make the decision to move back up into the first round to get a quarterback, all hands are on deck. That was an organizational decision. We were all on board with it. I'm glad we were able to do it. We didn't have to sell the farm to go up and get the quarterback. We were able to get him where we were and again, it looks like that pick is going to pay off.

Q: There seemed to be a theme that year that if you got better quarterback play, this team would win more games. I think it's obvious this team is getting better quarterback play with pretty much all three quarterbacks, you know, maybe (quarterback) Russ (Wilson) not all the games and the record is still what it is. So how do you look at that and say we have a young nucleus of good talent, we're getting better quarterback play, which was an issue last year, and the record is just not there.

SCHOEN: Yeah, when you look at offensively before last night's game, we were number 10 in the league, I think we're 14 now. So offensively, we have gotten better. Run and pass, the numbers are better. Defensively. I believe we were 30th last year at this time. That's with the addition of Abdul Carter, (cornerback)Paulson Adebo, (safety) Jevón Holland, (defensive lineman) Chauncey Golston, (defensive tackle) Roy Robertson-Harris, and we're in that same area, unfortunately. So, to say I expected that, no, but again, it starts with me. We've got to do a better job. I didn't anticipate we would still be 30th in the league in defense at this point with the addition of those players, but we are, and we've got to do a better job of execution. We've got to do a better job of finishing games, and I've got to do a better job with the personnel.

Q: You mentioned that the roster is better right now, right? And in year four, year three and four with the win total, right? You're three wins last year, two wins. How do you explain that?

SCHOEN: Yeah, I understand the question, and I'll just say this like as we're looking through it as we go through the coaching search and what that may look like, there's feedback from outside sources. As you go through it in my mind, I'm like, okay, if I'm a coordinator and I maybe want to be a head coach, like would the Giants be an attractive job to me? Okay, they have a young quarterback that's played at a pretty good level for a rookie. They've got a number one receiver that had a historical rookie season. They've got a left tackle. They've got a left guard. They've got a center coming back. They've got a young running back room. (tight end) Theo Johnson has shown very good flashes this year of play. So that side of the ball, there's some pieces in place to build around. Defensively, there's pass rush, there's (defensive lineman) Dexter Lawrence, there's some pieces in the secondary. So, when you look at it individually, are there pieces? Yes, but like we got to come together collectively as a group and there's 11 guys on the field. They need to be doing the same thing. They need to be on the same page. And unfortunately, we haven't been able to do that. And again, that starts with me and that's what we got to figure out. It's not, it's not just talent. You all got to be on the same page, and everybody's got to be rowing in the same direction and doing their jobs. That's what we're tasked with. That's part of what we need to figure out moving forward is how to get these pieces to be on the same page and execute at a high level so we can win consistently.

Q: It's a bottom-line business, why do you deserve to be the one to see it through based on the results under your leadership?

SCHOEN: Yeah, I understand your question. Again, I think somebody asked the same thing earlier, but again, I'm going to control what I can control, which is support Kafka over the next four weeks. Ownership should and will evaluate the entire football operation at the end of it. I'm just going to continue to support Kafka and his staff and do the best we can over these last four weeks.

Q: Did you misevaluate the significance of leadership on your team by letting guys go like trading (defensive lineman) Leonard (Williams), letting (safety) Julian Love go, (safety) Xavier McKinney, (running back) Saquon Barkley. Do you think that has played a part in the fact that your team isn't able to finish and doesn't have enough leadership to get to the finish line and get wins?

SCHOEN: I think we have, I know we have leadership on this team, I'll say that. Like (outside linebacker) Brian Burns is a very good leader, he's done a good job. I hear you on those guys, but you're at different points in the build. Okay, you want to rush the passer, protect the passer and get a quarterback, okay. Rush the passer, protect the passer and have a quarterback. In the context of those decisions, if you bring back a safety, now you don't have a pass rusher. If you bring back a running back, you don't get (offensive lineman) Jermaine Eluemunor, you don't get (guard) Jon Runyan. In order to be productive at some of those positions, it helps to have the other. So, I understand the leadership portion. We do have leaders on this team. Offensively, Jaxson has stepped into that role. (Running back Cam Skattebo) Skatt is a future leader for us. (Tackle) Andrew Thomas has done a good job. Defensively, we've got guys. So, leadership is always going to be important and we try to have it in every room. Like nobody talks about (tight end) Chris Manhertz, but the development of Theo Johnson and (tight end Daniel Bellinger) Belly. (Running back) Devin Singletary, a guy in that room that has really been instrumental in Skatt and (Running back) Tyrone Tracy's development. So, your best players don't always have to be your leaders. You would like them to be but in today's day and age, it's getting harder and harder to find those guys, but we're always going to look for leadership and again, specifically at the quarterback position, I think we have a very good future leader in Jaxson Dart.

Q: On the defensive side of the ball, you've invested a significant amount of resources there, whether it's draft picks, whether it's free agent dollars, players you've let go but the guys that you've decided you want to turn the defense around with. To have the defense be in the current state that it is a wildly underwhelming or underperforming at this point. I mean, what went wrong and how do you need to change because these are your guys. This is the guys the organization pinpointed to add and it's been a failure to this point.

SCHOEN: Yeah, exactly. I mentioned it earlier. We were 30th last year, we're 30th this year with the addition of those talents. So, we have got to do a better job. We got to do a better job.

Q: How close do you think this team is to truly competing?

SCHOEN: We're two wins. We're not there. We got to do better. I mean, it is what it is. Two wins.

Q: You said a couple times that Jaxson makes this an attractive job. Do you have to take into consideration what Jaxson will find attractive in a head coach?

SCHOEN: You're going to take that into account if he has an opinion. But again, like all due respect to Jaxson, he's been here for nine months. You want to lean on him and if it's an offensive mind or concepts or something, but you've got people in the building that have been doing this for over 20 years and networks around the league and know what it looks like and have been doing it for a long time. So, I respect Jaxson a lot. We have great communication. Talk to him about a lot of things and as it gets closer, that's something we'll have conversations about. But, again, the weight of the decision won't …

Q: I didn't mean to say he's going to have a voice in it, but are you still playing matchmaker?

SCHOEN: Well, the entire team, it's not just offensively. Again, who can come in and lead the entire team offensively, defensively. Obviously, you do have a young quarterback and that's going to be important, the development of Jaxson that he continues to progress the way he has. That's obviously going to weigh heavy into the decision.

Q: What do you view as your part in five wins in the last 30 games? Because you said it starts with me. But what specifically do you think you have failed on and how is it translating in losses on the field. Is it drafting? Is it free agency? How do you view it?

SCHOEN: It's five wins over the last two years. It's not good enough. It's not good enough. Like you can go through, I'm not going to make excuses. It's not good enough. And I don't want to go through individually different scenarios. There's context to a lot of things, but it's five wins, it's not good enough and we've got to get better.

Q: Would you agree it's fair to talk about the details a little bit though, because like several coaches have lost their jobs now because they weren't good enough. So, what is your part specifically?

SCHOEN: Yeah, it's five wins and it's not good enough. I understand your question and I'm also a realist. I understand. It's what have you done for me lately? I've been in the league for 26 years and it's not good enough and we're going to look at the entire football operation. Everything. From free agency decisions, draft decisions, coaching, execution. What can we do better? What can we do better? Because there are pieces here. There are pieces here. Why aren't we maximizing what we have? And that's going to be our mission this offseason to figure that out.

Q: When you say why are we not maximizing what we have, I think some people would say you don't have enough. So, I'm asking where have you erred in that as far as composing the roster, building the roster, keeping draft picks on the roster who have not contributed, who don't look like they're going to contribute into the future and who create depth issues on the roster that seem to become glaring issues when these games are on the line?
SCHOEN: Well, I'll just say this, nobody's perfect and the chances of me batting a thousand are gone because I've made mistakes, okay. Everybody's going to make mistakes and we're going to get some things right. As long as you're learning from those mistakes and you reflect on the process in place and where you went wrong and you can continue to get better, that's what's most important. I'm better today than I was four years ago when I got this job. A year from now, God willing I'm standing here, I'm going to be better than I am today and that's all I can do. That's all I can do, that's all my staff can do. We continue to evaluate the process. Were there some things we did where we missed in our process or we strayed from what we believe in? There's a chance that happened. Okay, lesson learned. Lesson learned, don't make it again. But again, as you go through it there have been a lot of decisions that have went right. Okay, so what can we learn from that? As long as we're learning and continuing to get better and don't make the same mistakes twice, then that's progress and that's what we're going to continue to focus on our process to get this organization back where it belongs. Again, it's the gold standard, it's still the New York Giants, in the greatest city in the world, flagship franchise, great ownership, young quarterback, I'm excited about it. I'm excited about the guys that are here. Have I screwed up and have I made mistakes? Absolutely. Absolutely. But I'm not going to make the same mistake twice and we're going to continue to get better and we're going to look at everything, everything. Coaching, coordinators, strength (and conditioning), I mean, every single thing, every part of the organization. We're going to do everything we can to get this thing going in the right direction.

Q: Are you prepared if once these four games, once the season is over, if John and Steve and anyone else in ownership bring you into a room to prove to them, to convince them that you're the right guy to move forward as general manager here?

SCHOEN: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.

Q: Where do you think you strayed from the process? Can you talk about that? It sounds like you've already kind of evaluated that a little bit.

SCHOEN: Yeah, nobody focuses on what went wrong more than me, I'll just say that. You're continually beating yourself up because these aren't - it's not like the head coach and hey, we didn't get it last night against New England, but I'm going to go to the game plan next week and we're going to forget everything about what happened against New England. These are decisions that live on and whether it's the draft or free agency or hiring a coach, you've got to live with those decisions. Again, we're just going to continually evaluate the process. I do, I know I'm not going to get into details, but there are some early on where we strayed from maybe what we believe in and I've got to live with that, I've got to learn from it, educate my staff on what we can do better, and again, with the people we have in the building and the collaborative approach, we're going to get this thing right. We're going to get this thing right and we're just going to get it going in the right direction.

Q: Is it possible that a coaching candidate might want to have their own GM, that they might not necessarily want to have a pre-existing general manager in place?

SCHOEN: The calls we've gotten, I think we're going to be able to fill the job.

Quarterback Jaxson Dart

Q: What stood out to you when you went back and watched the film from last night? Did you get a chance to yet?

DART: Yeah, we just got done watching it. They beat us in all three phases. It's definitely an embarrassing loss to lose like that, so there's a lot to clean up. There are some good spots too, so hopefully we can have this time to self-reflect and finish the year out strong with these last four.

Q: Is that important to finish the year out strong? People don't say there's much carryover and momentum from season to season, what do you think? Will it last with guys if you guys get a couple wins here?

DART: I mean, obviously it's very important for us to finish these next four weeks out strong. We have a lot of guys that are coming back next year, so you want to carry that momentum over.

Q: You think it does carry over?

DART: 100 percent.

Q: I know you said that you're not playing soccer out there last night, but there's a fine line between taking care of yourself, getting that extra yard. How do you make that decision?

DART: There's a time and place for things. I mean, I watch quarterbacks who play kind of like me around the league. I watch how (Bills quarterback) Josh Allen plays, I watch how (Chiefs quarterback) Patrick Mahomes plays. They take hits, too, so I'm not an anomaly here.

Q: As you go into this bye week, for you, you just came back. Now you've got a couple of weeks to get ready for the next game. What's most important for you? What are your priorities the next week or so?

DART: I'm just going to be locked into the next game plan, continue to watch personal tape on things that I want to improve on, write those notes down, encourage the guys around me, continue to have that open line of communication with everybody while we have this time off. I think this time is more important than ever to make sure that we're taking steps in the right direction, even though we're not playing this week.

Q: When you're watching Patrick or when you're watching Josh, what do you see on the film or how do they come up with their thinking on deciding to run versus sliding, getting out of bounds? How does that impact (inaudible)?

DART: I just see that they play the game as competitive and as hard as they can. Like I've said, this is football, you're going to get tackled. They get tackled. Every quarterback gets tackled. They've taken big hits. Every single quarterback has taken big hits. I don't really watch it and be like, all right, I'm going to try to model exactly how they do it. We all play the game differently. I think the narrative is just a little funny to me, to be honest.

Q: What did you think when you went back and saw the big hit on the sideline? What did you see from that and what did you think of it?

DART: It was a good hit. Good hit. I appreciate my guys having my back. That's just something that I know they'd do for me, and I'd do the same thing for them.

Q: What do you want to improve on the most in these last four games?

DART: Winning.

Q: I mean personally from a quarterback perspective. Winning is a good answer, but just from your development.

DART: Just continue to control what I can control. Execute the play calls that are given. Be situationally aware to put our team in the best situation. I want to definitely capitalize on some more things down the field. We've got to make plays, I've got to make more plays, the guys around have got to make more plays, so we've all got to be in sync with that.

Q: How hard has this season been for you? Rookies come in sometimes and they have to catch up with the football. It seems like you were able to do that, but it's the other stuff that's kind of clogging it up. Losing coaches, losing the running back, the wide receiver, all those things. How hard has that been to sort of navigate through as a rookie?

DART: There's been a lot of adversity. Obviously, there are some things that have happened that aren't ideal, but I'm just trying to take the perspective of, like I said, control what I can control, keep these guys in the locker room together, continue to stay engaged, finish this year off the right way. Me and (quarterback) Jameis (Winston) have talked about like all this adversity is going to lead to success and it's all part of the plan. It may not be the plan that I expected or wanted to happen right out the gate, but I know what kind of player I am. I know what kind of leader I am. I know what the vision is here, and we have the right pieces that we can continue to step on. We just need a little momentum. We need to be able to make those plays at the end. You've got to have unwavering faith even when times are tough and continue to just try to have positivity.

Q: Do you still have that same belief in the plan and the organization that you did in April?

DART: 100 percent.

Q: There are a lot of franchise quarterbacks who have had a coaching change as a rookie or right after their rookie season. One of them is Jameis. I'm wondering if you have talked to him or anybody else in the league about what that's like to go through, to learn a playbook and then basically maybe have to learn a whole other one after your rookie year?

DART: No, I haven't talked about that at all. The season's not over, so I'm just focused on the season.

Q: Is there anything last night specifically that you can build on yourself, whether it's a play, whether it's a moment? It was at one point you were reminding everybody on the sidelines, I think, it's a two-score game, we're still in this. So, what specifically can you take and build on it?

DART: Our defense got a good stop right after that. Offensively, we could have made it a one-score game. So, just situationally, being able to capitalize on opportunities, play complementary football as a team. I think the biggest thing is just try to lead as much as I can.

Q: How do you handle the bye week? Is it more football, or are you kind of trying to get away from football? What's your approach?

DART: No, it's all ball for me. It's all ball.

Q: What are you planning on doing, all ball then? Coming to the facility every day?

DART: Just study, study the game plan, be ready for these next four weeks. I think more specifically this week, just self-reflecting, being able to look at any tendencies that we have on offense, being able to see different adjustments that I can make, checks, alerts at the line of scrimmage, and try to break those and then just continue to stack for these weeks coming forward.

Outside linebacker Abdul Carter

Q: After we spoke last night, how are you now that you've had time to process being benched?

CARTER: I'm doing good.

Q: You posted something, it seemed like refuting some stuff that's been out there. What was on your mind there with that post?

CARTER: Yeah, I'm not going to entertain that.

Q: What did you take away from watching the film?

CARTER: That we hurt ourselves. A lot of the plays that happened, the big plays that we gave up, there are things that we didn't do right, things that we can control, so it's just doing our job, doing what we're supposed to do.

Q: How will you approach this first bye week for you?

CARTER: Yeah, it's my first bye week in the NFL, so I'm just asking for advice from the guys that have been here, that have done it. Just enjoying this time off, decompress but at the same time, staying locked in.

Q: What are you hoping to show your teammates and coaches in the last few weeks of the season?

CARTER: Just finish. Finish in everything that I do.

Q: Will you look back at this first long chunk of the season and kind of look at yourself and tape and things and what you do well and what you do poorly?

CARTER: For sure do some self-reflection about some things I can improve on, come back stronger so after the bye week I can finish the last four weeks of the season strong.

Q: Is that important to you?

CARTER: Very important.

Q: There is not a lot of season left.

CARTER: Yeah, it's very important to finish strong.

Q: Why is that?

CARTER: That's just who I am as a man and just I want to do that for my team and as a team that's what we should do. No matter our situation, we got to finish and do our job.

Q: What have you learned from all of this in terms of where you can improve?

CARTER: I'm learning a lot in terms of just being a man, being in the NFL, just going through it. I'm learning a lot and I'm glad I'm going through it so I can be better prepared in the future.

Q: When you hear one of your teammates say that you have to grow up, what is your response?

CARTER: I take it. The guys who say that, those are guys I look up to, guys I respect. So, if they say something like that, I'm going to look at myself first, like 'alright, what am I doing? How can I get better?' and prove to them that I can earn their respect and go out and be who I'm supposed to be.

Q: Do you have guys in here that you can seek out and look for that advice? Or has anyone pulled you aside?

CARTER: I have both of that. I have plenty of guys in here that I can look to, I got coaches that give me great advice.

Q: I know you want to be a legend here, you feel like you could be a legend here, that's why you wanted L.T.'s (former Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor) number. When you hear a legend like (former Giants linebacker) Carl Banks have criticism for you and being benched for the second time, what's your response? How do you grow up? How do you take that criticism?

CARTER: I would say just what I do on the field after I've been through all this adversity, all the controversy. How do I respond? Do I shy away from it or do I accept the challenge and become better and improve, keep improving and be the man I'm supposed to be?