Head Coach Brian Daboll

Q: Injury updates?

DABOLL: Like normal, there will be some guys out and whoever can practice will practice.

Q: What happened to (running back Cam) Skattebo yesterday?

DABOLL: He's working back from rehabbing something so had a little bit of setback yesterday and won't do anything today.

Q: Is this a multi-week thing? Where are you at with that?

DABOLL: Day-by-day.

Q: Is it his hamstring?

DABOLL: You know I'm not going to get into injuries right now. He's rehabbing. We'll get him out here as soon as we can.

Q: (Cornerback Cor'Dale) Flott?

DABOLL: Flott won't practice today.

Q: Because of injury or personal?

DABOLL: No, he's working through something.

Q: Is (guard Greg) Van Roten back yet?

DABOLL: Still. He's got probably one more day. He's got one more day. Everything's going well

Q: Will (wide receiver) Beaux Collins be back with the team or is he doing side stuff again?

DABOLL: Yeah, he'll do side stuff again.

Q: When (quarterback) Jaxson (Dart) was doing the two-minute drill and completes that pass – I think there was two seconds left. Why didn't you guys finish that drive?

DABOLL: Really, the last thing we got to do is a Hail Mary, so I'm not going to do a full-speed Hail Mary. We'll work on end-of-game situations, Hail Mary's and things like that in walk-throughs and make sure – really, for safety reasons – guys jumping up and getting an ankle on something like that. That's the reason.

Q: And then on (quarterback) Jameis (Winston)'s drive, why not kick the field goal?

DABOLL: (Kicker) Graham (Gano) wasn't – they weren't kicking that day. He had his tennis shoes on. If he was kicking that day, we would've kicked it.

Q: I'm not sure we've seen you kick a field goal here. If you have, it hasn't been many. How do you go about seeing how your kickers are doing when they're not kicking in live drills?

DABOLL: They kick. Whenever they're ready to kick each day – it's not every day for kickers – they kick, so we get good evaluation.

Q: Do you plan on adding that into the live portions of practice at some point?

DABOLL: Yeah, it depends on when they're kicking or the drill of it. Yesterday, he wasn't ready to kick so we're not going to kick them.

Q: Will you wait until the beginning of the week to start getting ready for the first preseason game? Is that a balance every year where you're focusing on getting guys ready to play a game but also still with the long-term focus of the season?

DABOLL: Yeah, I would say, the first week of preseason, we're focused on ourselves. We're doing the things we need to do for practice, making sure we're getting in the situations that we need to get, practicing the plays that we need to keep improving on. It's very vanilla, as you know, in the preseason, so there's not any game planning or anything like that. We need to have good weeks leading up here to the season and we'll continue to do that through our practices, be very minimal on Buffalo.

Q: The pre-snap penalties were an issue for you guys last year. We've seen a bunch so far in camp. How concerning is that for you in this setting and what's the best way for you to address them?

DABOLL: We address them every day. Part of it is hearing the snap counts and staying onsides, part of it is the rhythm with the snap count, and part of it is staying onsides – the defensive linemen, particularly in situations where they think you're throwing the ball and giving them a different cadence. We do it in walk-throughs, turn the music down and make sure we're very vocal in it and just continue to practice it.

Q: You started pulling guys out who jumped yesterday. Is that just something you need to make more repercussions if they do that?

DABOLL: Yeah, yesterday, we cut them in half from one practice to the next – we'll see if we can cut it in half today. Not have any but yeah, I took them out.

Q: What have you seen from (offensive lineman) Evan Neal, him filling in for GVR these past few days?

DABOLL: Evan's got a lot of reps. Even when GVR has been here, he's gotten reps with the ones and the twos. He's making progress, doing a good job getting movement in the running game, continuing to do the things that he needs to do to play at a high level at that position. He's making improvements every day.

Q: How do you view the right guard position battle so far in camp?

DABOLL: The guys are going out there and they're competing, they're doing what they need to do. Again, these preseason games will be important for evaluation when you can actually do everything you need to do to play, really all football, but preseason will be important for us. Tackling, open-space running, finishing blocks, cleaning the pocket. We're doing a good job with our games and our techniques, so that'll be a pretty good evaluation of that.

Q: You said multiple times that preseason is important. Does that mean you plan to play your guys more than you have in the past?

DABOLL: We'll do what we think is best.

Q: When you say preseason, especially that right guard spot, are you planning on Evan getting a lot of reps there because he hasn't played that position at this level?

DABOLL: We'll sit down as a coaching staff once preseason games hit. We'll make our decisions of what we want to do.

Q: Is (Rushawn) Baker practicing today? The backup running back?

DABOLL: Yes.

Q: At this time last year, you were getting ready for the joint practices with Detroit. Obviously, the joint practices are in Week 2 so how does that affect next week? Do you go harder? How do you balance when the joint practices are in terms of your intensity at practice?

DABOLL: Go harder?

Q: I just mean that was very competitive going into the first preseason game, but now it's going into the second preseason game so how does that affect it?

Daboll: That's one of the things we looked at, when to do the joint practices and some of the information that we've received is it's better to do them, for injury reasons, the second week rather than the first. That's why we switched it, so when we get there, we'll get there. Just try to get through this week here and today.

Q: Where is (tackle) Andrew Thomas in his progression?

DABOLL: Making progress, so he's had some good days here. He'll keep building them and when he's ready to go, he'll be out there, but I think he steadily improved. He feels a lot better, which is a good thing.

Q: Is he close? He doesn't look like it.

DABOLL: He's getting there. Making progress every day. As soon as he can be out there, he'll be out there. You guys will see him out there. I'd say from week-to-week, he's made continuous strides.

Q: It's possible that you start the same offensive line, the same five this year. How important is the continuity part to you?

DABOLL: Seeing the game through the same set of eyes with five guys, but again, we had the most injuries on the offensive line last year in the league, so you have to be able to have guys that play behind them, play different spots, but continuity – you'd love to play all five guys the entire year on the offensive line. I can't remember the numbers off the top of my head, but we had a lot of games where it was a lot of different guys, so you've got to make sure people are ready. Ideally, you'd like to have the same five guys, no question about it, but usually that's not the case. Hopefully we will this year.

Linebacker Bobby Okereke

Q: How does it feel to be back out there?

OKEREKE: It's been fun, playing the game I love, competing with my teammates, getting some warm weather so it feels like traditional camp.

Q: Going back to the offseason, the team is putting pieces together and bringing in new guys on the defense. I know there's only been eight practices in camp but is it coming together the way you'd hoped, being in the middle of the defense?

OKEREKE: 100%. (I have) great trust in our head coach and the front office, but we got a lot of dynamic pieces on our defense. From the back end, the leadership and the communication, from the safeties, the athletic ability and the ball skills at the corner position and obviously, just how dynamic and athletic our pass rush is up front. We're putting the building blocks together to be a very fearsome defense.

Q: I think (defensive linemen) Dex (Lawrence) said if you don't stop the run, none of the pass rush matters. How does that come together? What are you focusing on and what needs to happen for the run defense to go together?

OKEREKE: 100%. What we say is you got to earn the right to rush the passer. That's being dominate on first and second down, creating TFLs (tackles for loss), getting knocked back up front, playing downhill at the linebacker position. As we go through camp, and go through these practices, I feel like it's just building that continuity of the unit where the safeties understand how the D-line is fitting, the D-line understand how the linebackers are fitting and etcetera. We've been doing great work there. Obviously, the works not done, but we've been very detailed throughout that process.

Q: Any schematic changes to help the run defense?

OKEREKE: Yeah, a little bit. We got some movement. Obviously, we got some new, dynamic pieces up front that can create some havoc and create some knockback but I feel like it's just guys understanding the details of their position, the details of the job. (Defensive coordinator) Shane (Bowen) is a schematic mastermind, so I feel like, as we're going through these practices and we're understanding his philosophical mind of how he wants guys to play defense and executing the techniques and fundamentals of each position, we're only getting better.

Q: How's your back?

OKEREKE: Great. Fantastic. I feel healthy. I'm very fortunate for (senior vice president of medical services & head athletic trainer) Ronnie (Barnes), (executive director of player performance) Aaron (Wellman), Coach (Brian Daboll) Dabs taking care of me and just working with the GPS-load management stuff but I feel great, I feel blessed, I'm playing the game I love.

Q: Has anything stood out about (linebacker) Abdul (Carter) and just how he's moving and how he's reacting a little bit?

OKEREKE: 100%. His explosiveness and his instincts. As a rookie, it's not easy to be thrown out there at different positions, whether you're lining up at 3-tech or end or an inside linebacker and he's executing well and he's executing with speed. I've been very encouraged by what he's done, very impressed and I'm excited for what he's going to bring to this unit.

Q: Have you had a 'Wow' moment with him?

OKEREKE: I would just say to the explosive and instincts. You put him at inside linebacker and he's not necessarily trepidatious or asking what to do. He's got that demeanor and mentality (that) he's going to make a play at whatever position you line him up at. He's just a dog football player and I'm excited that he's on my team.

Q: What's Abdul like off the field?

OKEREKE: He's a quiet, confident guy. As a rookie, I feel like he's understanding that it's better to listen as opposed to talk but as I get to know him more, he's got a dominant personality and it shows on the field.

Q: There's been a lot of talk about the safeties and (safety) Jevón (Holland) came in as a leader and (safety) Tyler (Nubin) stepped into that role. How does that help you in the middle of the defense?

OKEREKE: It's big. I talked to those guys probably more than anybody on the field except (inside linebacker) Micah (McFadden) or (inside linebacker Darius Muasau) Moose, but just kind of empowering those guys to speak up in meetings, speak up on the field, because they've got the best vantage point on the field and their both such great leaders. Jevón, being a former captain, being a veteran, and Nubin, just his personality and leadership he has at such a young age, both those guys bolster the unit big time.

Q: What do you think when people say that this should be one of the best pass rushes in the league?

OKEREKE: What do I think about that? I think it's a great challenge and I know the mentality of those guys up front, Dex, (outside linebacker) Kayvon (Thibodeaux), (outside linebacker Brian) Burns, Abdul – they don't want anything handed to them and they talk about it every day, 'They say we're great on paper but we haven't show anything yet.' So, they're putting in the work, they're putting in the detail and I'm excited for that product to show on gameday.

Q: Have you seen tangible evidence that Nubin and (nickel Dru) Phillips have made improvements from last season? They were a part of this defense as rookies but they've admittedly said they were swimming a little bit.

OKEREKE: Yeah, big time. Dru is a freak athlete so for him, he's got All-Pro, Pro Bowl in his future. It's just as he gets mentally more in tune with the game and understanding concepts and playing the game, playing ahead of the game, seeing those pre-snap indicator. I sit next to him in meetings every day and you see the notes he's taking, the questions he's asking, so it's cool to see that maturation. And then Nubin, he's such a leader that just as time goes, he's going to step into that role and get even more confident. I feel like he's just learning from some of the pitfalls and mistakes of his rookie year and going through practices but he's a very sharp kid and I'm very excited for him.

Q: Does the turnover chest actually rally guys into buying in? Obviously, you guys didn't get a lot of takeaways last year. Is it gimmicky or does it actually fire guys up?

OKEREKE: No, it fires guys up. Whatever you can do to create more buy in, I think is better. We're with each other 18 hours of a day, we live, breath and die football so however you can get guys more involved, more juiced up to create a turnover to affect the game, even better.

Q: What're you seeing from the offensive line? It's a group that's pretty much the same as last year.

OKEREKE: Physicality. I go against those guys every day and you know, I'm physical, I'm punching them and the running backs and they're throwing it back in my face and it's fun. They're the engine of our offense, honestly. You see the way (wide receiver) Malik (Nabers) catches the ball, (wide receiver) Wan'Dale (Robinson)'s catching the ball, and they're running 10 yards, 15 down field to go rally with their teammates. They're building that mentality and demeanor.

Guard Jon Runyan Jr.

Q: How's the shoulder feel?

RUNYAN: Shoulder feels good. Something I was battling during training camp last year, and now, kind of full offseason to get the recovery process going. And sitting out during training camps, it's got its gives and takes. But having a full, healthy training camp, I feel like it's just going to put us and our offensive line in such a better position. So, staying healthy, I think, is the key. And I feel like we've been progressing super well as a offensive line and as an offensive unit. And I'm excited for where we got going.

Q: Can you tell you're not starting, like you were new last year, (offensive lineman, Jermaine) Eluemunor was new last year, could you tell that you're not starting from scratch as a five-man unit?

RUNYAN: Definitely, I think having that first year under our belt, especially with just the entire O-line room with (offensive line coach) Carm (Bricillo) and (assistant offensive line coach) James (Ferentz) in there. We kind of have an overhaul as the offensive line, the guys in there. We've had a full two offseason programs, two full training camps, and a full offseason with each other. And everybody's super comfortable. It's a great group of guys. Everybody works super hard. Carm works us really hard, takes care of us. But when it's time to go and we're in the team periods, got guys just playing for and with each other. And it's really inspiring to kind of see the difference, where we're at from last year compared to this year.

Q: Jon, you've obviously been in this league a long time. The idea of training camp and how perspective changes, I would imagine through the years. The idea of the focus is always week one of the regular season. But I guess for every player, every unit, every team, it's different. When do you start that focus? How do you know the balance of pulling back a little bit, to push forward? You're not seeing what you want after only eight practices. How do you kind of toe that line as far as a veteran and even as a group?

RUNYAN: Yeah, right now at this point, I mean, week one at Washington (Commanders), it's something you think about, but it's really in the back of our mind. Our mentality as an offensive line unit, as an offense, is we're taking it day by day. We're competing against our defense, which is, in my opinion, probably going to be one of the best defensive units in the NFL. So going out there and proving to ourselves and to our offensive unit that we can compete with these guys at a high level and showing it consistently on a day in and day out basis, and not even worrying about who our opponent's going to be because we necessarily can't control that. So as long as we're getting ourselves better, we're getting our teammate better, we're sharpening each other's abilities. That's all that we can really ask for, and not necessarily even looking towards joint practice or preseason one yet. Just taking it day by day, focusing on getting better.

Q: How frustrating was ending last season on IR for you? I think you have always been healthy. Well, that was one of the reasons they brought you here, actually, is because they were looking for guys who are durable. And you ended up, your first season, on IR.

RUNYAN: Yeah, like you said, I haven't missed a game my entire career. Going down the home stretch the last month of the season last year and sitting on IR definitely wasn't what I had planned or something that I was really happy about but couldn't really control it. For me, I just kind of try to take that as a mental reset for me. Trying to really dig in on what I could be doing to make myself better physically and mentally and felt like I had a pretty strong offseason recovering from that. And same with going into OTAs and now in training camp, can kind of feel really good right now. And hopefully, our entire team comes out of this training camp healthy and we're able to keep the ball rolling from where we're starting in training camp.

Q: Obviously, everybody wants (tackle) Andrew Thomas to be healthy.The numbers the last two years, you were only here for one of them, when he plays and when he doesn't, are starkly different. How, the four of you, other starters, whoever has been brought in, (offensive lineman, James) Hudson, do you feel like you're better equipped if Andrew misses a game or two this year to survive than the Giants have been in the past?

RUNYAN: Yeah, I mean, to answer your question, sure, I think we are. I think we are preparing for whatever that scenario may be. Andrew's probably the cornerstone of this offense and one of the longest tenured Giants on this team right now. So having him out there, he's a premier left tackle in this league. So, when he's out there, he leads his offensive unit and having him out there makes us that much better. But it's not just him, just across the board, it doesn't matter. I went down last year, guys stepped up around me. So, we're really focusing on, we're not necessarily caught up in what's happening with Andrew and his injury, but we're just trying to build up our offensive line, because in the NFL, offensive line injuries happen all the time and it's an unfortunate part of the game. But it's the next to man up mentality and that's the kind of mentality we have as an offensive line. And next guy in there's has to do just as good a job as the guy who was before him. That's what we're carrying.

Q: What have you seen from Evan (Neal) as he's transitioned to guard?

RUNYAN: Yeah, transitioning from tackle to guard, I did it, I mean, from a different level, I played tackle in college and moved inside to guard. The three interior positions are kind of a different world. Tackle, you're out in space and you have the luxury of running defensive ends just kind of up the field past the quarterback. But at guard, you're in a wrestling match, like kind of in a phone booth. You have to stay in front of the guys, you have to anchor, you have to set the depth of the pocket. And Evan, you see those flashes of him when he gets his feet under control and he's punching, he's a large human and not many people are able to bull rush him and set him back. So, Evan's doing a good job, he's progressing. It is like a world of difference moving from outside to inside, in my opinion. I think he's done a good job so far in training camp and can only see him getting better from here. So, it's been inspiring to see what he's done so far in there.

Q: Jon, people have talked about how defensive interior alignment has changed through the years, different sizes and shapes. For you, I know you've seen a lot of 51 (outside linebacker) (Abdul Carter) in this camp. What has Abdul showed you as a rookie and how different is it to see a guy of that caliber kind of taking the shots on the interior?

RUNYAN: Yeah, I think they have a rush package on the defense and practice where they've been doing a lot of things with him. They've been using it really similar to how they use (outside linebacker) (Brian) Burns here. They're super similar players, but they also have their own unique styles that they play with. And for a rookie coming in here, he's got fantastic bend, unreal quicks and speed. So being out there, especially when he comes inside, that's not his natural home. But when he gets in there, I think he'll be able to cause a lot of havoc in there on the inside when he goes against guards. And I'm really excited to see our rush package go to use. When we're playing other teams in a two-minute drill and whoever they have in there, (outside linebacker) Kayvon (Thibodeaux) Burns, Abdul, (defensive lineman) Dex (Lawrence II), (defensive lineman) Roy (Robertson-Harris), (defensive lineman) Nacho (Rakeem Nuñez-Roches), whoever's in there, it's going to be a lot of pass rushes. And it's going to be interesting to see how it works out. Abdul's been awesome.

Q: You mentioned his traits, I'm just curious, why is he such a difficult matchup for a guard on the interior?

RUNYAN: Yeah, because at guard, you really have to stay in front of people and mirror them. Like I was saying earlier, a tackle, you can kind of play inside out and run them by the quarterback. And a guard, you really have to cover guys up. So, a guy who's as shifty as Abdul, and he can give you a really quick hesitation, left, right, and kind of stutter your feet. And next thing you know, he's already around you. So being able to match that speed on the inside is something that you're not really used to when you're going against big guys that don't obviously move like that, that are more inclined to work bull rushes with their hands. When you get Abdul there, he's trying to work an edge around you. And that's just kind of a different thing that you're seeing on the inside. So, I think he's going to keep progressing there on the inside and use that to his advantage. And I'm excited to see him go against other guys. But it's been awesome going against him, trying to train myself and make each other better.

Q: What about (quarterback) Russ (Wilson)? Playing with Russ, how has that been for you? Obviously, we know your time in Green Bay, you had another Hall of Fame quarterback. I'm just curious, what are your impressions of Russ? Has it matched up to what you anticipated?

RUNYAN: Yeah, Russ has been great for our offense. Coming in here, he's really stepped into that leadership role. I feel like he was someone that we really needed to bring in here. He's been great bringing this offense together, extra offensive unit meetings. Kind of really getting guys on the same page and seeing the game and seeing the field, how he sees it. And I just can't talk enough about how good of a leader he is to the young guys, to the vets, and bringing everybody together. Just every day, he's the same person and brings that consistency. I think that's something we need around here, and he's been awesome for that. So, I have nothing but great things to say about Russ.