HEAD COACH BRIAN DABOLL

BRIAN DABOLL: We're on really our third practice day today. We'll be inside. A little slick outside. Working on some 1st and 2nd down stuff. We've had two good days. I'd say we've improved a little bit each day, worked on some different situations. Still a long way to go, but it's been a good start.

Q. How is attendance since it's voluntary?

BRIAN DABOLL: We've had everybody here. Today Wan'Dale won't be here today because he's got a mandatory NFL rookie symposium. But we've had, I'd say, exceptional attendance.

Q. Joint practices, are you planning any this summer?

BRIAN DABOLL: Talking about it right now. I'd say that the training camp schedule, whether or not we practice with another team, we're still working through that. Probably have an answer for you by next week, but we're still going through that, myself, Laura Young, the strength staff, sports science. Just need a little bit more time on that. But definitely talking about it.

Q. Have Kenny and Kadarius been practicing the first two days?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, so we'll have some guys in red jerseys today. Some can do a little bit more than others. Some are rehabbing. There will be I'd say a number of guys right now in red jerseys. I'm not going to get into the specifics of it right now at this point in time, but you guys will end up seeing them.

Q. Were those two guys on the field Monday and Tuesday?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, they're on the field. They'll be two of the guys that are in red jerseys, but they've been in all the meetings. They're doing a good job. It's just good to have all the guys here so we can implement our stuff.

Q. Is there anyone you don't expect to be ready for the summer training camp?

BRIAN DABOLL: Probably give me a few more weeks on that. I think everybody is moving in the right direction. They've done a good job. The training staff has really done a good job. We'll end up talking about that before we leave, but I'm not ready to give you an answer on that one yet.

Q. How about Nick Gates, how has he been progressing?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, same as the other guys. He had a tough injury, but he's done a good job with his rehab. Probably still a little bit a ways away. I'd say him and Matt Peart, they're rehabbing every single day, getting better each day, so we'll see where they're at.

Q. I know it's the Giants' offensive playbook, but if you would circle things that maybe Mike Kafka has brought, would there be a lot of circles?

BRIAN DABOLL: We're working through that right now. I'd say Mike has contributed very positive in terms of additions and plays. So have the other coaches. Mike Groh has been around some different spots, and DeAndre (Smith) is coming from college and has some unique things, and Bisch (Andy Bischoff) was at Baltimore. We're trying to put together a package that we think our players do best. That's what we're trying to find out out here. Obviously there's no pads, so we're still a work in progress. But I said it last week, Mike is a really smart guy. He's done a really good job of leading that room as the offensive coordinator and in the meetings and out here on the practice field, and we're lucky to have him.

Q. A lot of coaches especially when they get this for the first time, you always hire some people you know or you sort of know, and you didn't really sort of know him at all, right?

BRIAN DABOLL: No, he was at New England for a quick second when I was there. I wasn't the quarterback coach. But just knowing him throughout the years, I would say that we never worked together or had a close relationship but had a lot of respect for what he did with Patrick (Mahomes) and obviously the system they used at Kansas City was an explosive system, spread the field, get your playmakers in space, and that's the type of offense that I subscribe to. He's had a lot of success where he's come from. We've done some stuff there where I came from. But at the end of the day none of that really matters. We've got to figure out who our guys do best, and if that's a change in philosophy based on what we have or don't have, that's what we've got to do as a staff.

Q. The natural assumption is that your offense is going to look like it did in Buffalo, that was your offense there. What do you say to that thought?

BRIAN DABOLL: I say we've got a lot of work to do to still figure it out. The guys have done a great job. Look, we've installed a lot of plays. I tell the players, the train is not slowing down, we're just speeding up. The more we can install and the more they can learn, the more we can figure out what they do better. We were just doing a little install right there today, and I told KT, I said, look, if you feel comfortable with this route, we can call it this way versus Kenny, if you feel more comfortable with this route, we can call it that way. I think that's the job of the coach, too, you just don't take the system that you ran. You've got to figure out the plays you have, their strengths, their weaknesses. Some are quick, some are more physical and implement them in that regard in terms of the passing game and the running game.

Q. With that being the case, there is never a definitive end time of installation. Is that something that happens all throughout the time you're going to be here?

BRIAN DABOLL: You're talking about end time? No, we're always adding. Again, and I think you have to know when to pull back, too. There's a lot of things that run together, but I believe in putting as much pressure as we can on the players during this time. If they go out there and mess up a play or here, it's May right now. It's May. May 19th. Like we learn from it, and we keep growing and getting better. A lot different than when you're getting ready to play in September. Now is a good time to see. It's the same thing with Daniel. I tell him to try to fit tight throws in there. You go out there and throw a few picks at practice, no sweat. That's why we do this, to see what we can do and what we can't do. I think that's the mindset we all have to have is just figure out what we do best and then let them go out there and do it, and there's going to be mistakes along the way from all of us, starting with me.

Q. How vocal is Daniel being, telling you, I don't like this, I like that, because I know you solicit that feedback from the quarterback.

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, I think it's improved really since the day we got here. It takes a lot of trust to do that. You're a player and you're trying to learn the system that the new coaching staff is bringing in, so usually everything, I can do that, I can do that, but as you build a relationship with the player, I think it's a lot easier for him to say, hey, give me that one again tomorrow or give me that next week, let me get another rep of that or I'm just not really feeling comfortable with this play, and then we just throw it out.

Again, everybody has a ton of plays in their playbook. It's not anything new. But I do think it's important for that position in particular to have a say in what he likes or what he doesn't like. I want all the players to be able to do that.

Again, that route I was talking about as an example in there between Kenny and KT. If one guy feels a little bit more comfortable with this type of stem or this type of double move, let's go ahead and do that versus the other guy just likes to just bang a body on you and get open, I'm okay with that, too.

Q. You were talking about how you're okay with Daniel throwing interceptions out here in practice. I think on the radio you were saying you want him not to be afraid of consequences. Once the season comes, is there a line where you're okay with the quarterback throwing interceptions? Obviously you don't want them, but you just want him to be free?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, look, we want to make sure we protect the ball. But again, you can't go out there and play afraid. Be smart, not reckless, if you will. If he's got a shot on the right read, let it go.

There's going to be things that happen in every game. The defense is going to make a good play, there might be a tipped ball. We're going to have to do a good job of taking care of the football, but I want him to turn it loose.

Q. Is that an adjustment for him mentally? His rookie year everyone harped on turnovers, and it seemed like he did go the other way the last two years. Is that something you've had to work on with him?

BRIAN DABOLL: I don't know, he's been good. The meetings that we've had, again, it's not like we want to go out there and throw three or four picks in a game. If we do that, these press conferences won't be too fun.

Q. It seems in recent coaching tenures here, when you guys come in, they tend to bring in players who they've had a history with. Is there a reason for that?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, I think that happens around the league. I don't want to speak for a lot of other teams, but you usually see that. Might be three, four, five. But I think when there's familiarity with a player, that person understands the system that you're running and the expectations in terms of the culture that you want to build, I think those guys add value in the rooms. I'd say we have a few of them here. Look, we're always going to try to improve the team any way we can, starting with Joe (Schoen) and myself and the scouts and the coaches. I know there's been some turnover here the last few days. Hopefully you don't have a ton of turnover, but I think you have to continue to work guys out on off days and if you think they can improve you or at least take a look at them, then you do that.

Q. Some new guys yesterday, you just sort of referenced it. Three of those guys are defensive backs. I'm curious your thoughts on those guys, particularly on Canady.

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, I don't know, I don't want to give you too many thoughts right now. We've got to get them in our system, get them in our culture, let them do things. Some of them have some familiarity with some of the coaches. We needed some numbers there at corner relative to where we were at, so I think we've added, what, three, four secondary guys, a defensive linemen that Dre (Andre Patterson) had at Minnesota, just get them in the system, see how they do here the next couple weeks.

Q. Can you talk about Darius Slayton, what you've seen from him so far in these OTAs?

BRIAN DABOLL: He's been out there, he's been dependable, he's known what to do. He doesn't talk a whole lot. Pretty quiet guy but a pro. I've got a lot of respect for him, how he handles his business both on and off the field. He's done a good job.

OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR MIKE KAFKA

Q. With the playbook, how much of it is this is what we're going to do juxtaposed to how much we actually have?

MIKE KAFKA: Yeah, we're working through that right now. I think it's been really productive. We're throwing a lot at the guys. We're giving them a good amount of installs over the last few days. We did the same thing in phase 2, so they're kind of hearing it for the second time. But we've thrown a lot, a lot of concepts, and that's by design. We want to see how they think, how they operate under stress, how they operate kind of when bullets are flying a little bit, so it's been good for them.

Q. At what point does execution trump installation?

MIKE KAFKA: No, execution is always a primary focus. That's why we're giving them a lot, so we can see how they execute it. Then we can go back, watch the film, review it, the details on those, but it's been fun moving some pieces around and seeing guys in different spots, and again, learning. This is the part of that process right now in OTAs is learning the system, developing, growing within the system. We're happy where it's at.

Q. What were your impressions of Daniel Jones, if any, from afar, and what have you learned about him in particular here getting a chance to work with him?

MIKE KAFKA: Yeah, I really enjoy working with him right now. He's a smart kid. He works hard. Those are all things that I had heard about him but being able to see it in person has been great. Right now, just developing that relationship with him is the most important thing, and out here in practice seeing him operate, seeing him communicate with the players and how he talks to each and every group has been really cool.

Q. You mentioned him being a smart guy. How do you see that for example?

MIKE KAFKA: Well, the amount of installs we're giving these guys, the plays, the load that we're going to give our players as far as install-wise, he's absorbing it and he's able to spit it back out, get guys fixed and cleaned up on the field. Those are things I'm looking just out of the gate, getting guys lined up correctly, getting the huddle, sharp, crisp. Those are things that are important for pre-snap stuff.

Q. You and Brian Daboll obviously hadn't worked together before and you both come from different systems. What's the process been like of combining your thoughts and your process for the playbook and all that?

MIKE KAFKA: We actually did. I played for New England when he was in New England for a year back in 2014, so we had a little bit of a relationship. We've been building that over the years, at combines, texting in the offseason and stuff like that. Dabs has been great. Our relationship has continued to build as we go through the phases.

Q. Was it hard for you to leave Kansas City?

MIKE KAFKA: Yes, it's a great team. It was an awesome experience. But this opportunity was something that was special to me and my family. It wasn't just something I took on a whim. I wasn't just going to go to any team. It had to be built the right way with the people, the Mara family, Dabs, Joe (Schoen), the players that we had here. So it was all that encompassed. But of course, I have a lot of great relationships and great people in the Chiefs organization, and I respect them and have a lot of respect for the coaching staff and the guys there.

Q. How much did the potential to call plays factor into that? Obviously coaches when they want to go to the next level, that usually plays a significant part of it.

MIKE KAFKA: Yeah, I think Dabs kind of touched on that. Right now in phase 3, we're just taking it kind of day by day. I'm calling the plays for the quarterbacks in practice, and then we'll let Dabs evaluate that, and he has every right to evaluate how he wants to handle that.

Q. You would like to do that at some point for your progression, your professional advancement?

MIKE KAFKA: Of course. I think every offensive coordinator aspires to call plays, so yes.

Q. And you have not done that before; is that correct, called plays?

MIKE KAFKA: Have not.

Q. Is there a special quality to being a good play caller? You watched a pretty good one the last three years.

MIKE KAFKA: Yeah.

Q. What would you aspire to be in that role?

MIKE KAFKA: Yeah, I think the preparation. You have to have a feel for the game, understand what your players do best, put them in a good spot to be successful, understanding what the defense is presenting you and how you can attack it. So it's kind of all encompassing.

Q. You talked a lot about you guys having to kind of meld your offense. How similar are they? How do you decide what kind of comes, what doesn't?

MIKE KAFKA: Yeah, that's been interesting. So when I was in New England with him, obviously the grassroots of it are kind of built from that system, but it's evolved so much since that time. Really when I came in here, we were kind of starting to talk about the offense and realized how similar it really was to when we were in Kansas City. Some of the verbiage is different, but that has been a great process. We understand the concepts, we understand how we want to get it done, now it's just about communicating it and tightening it up and making it simple for the players.

Q. The word explosive has been used in describing the offense. How do you make an offense that's going to generate explosive plays? What are the keys to doing that?

MIKE KAFKA: Putting your players in the right spot and understanding that if we can find 'tells' with the defense that they're going to be in a certain coverage or in a certain look, we can get a certain matchup. I've always believed it's a players' game, so giving our guys an opportunity to make plays down the field is a part of that, too.

Q. A position that you guys have probably turned over the most since you got here is offensive line. Where do you feel like that group is as a whole? And then you played quarterback, so how would you feel about having two young bookend tackles blocking for you, high draft picks but young guys?

MIKE KAFKA: First off, I think Joe (Schoen) and his staff have done a good job of adding competition to the room, adding talent to the room. That's been great. We're in phase 3 right now. There's no pads out here, but I like the group. They're working. Bobby (Johnson) and Tony (Sparano) are doing a great job, phenomenal job of getting those guys in the right spot. I'm happy where they're at right now. We still have a long way to go and improve, but it's a talented group, great personalities, so love the room right now.

Q. What's been your impression of Kadarius Toney so far and what he can bring to your offense?

MIKE KAFKA: Yeah, he's been really attentive in meetings. He's doing all the right things on and off the field. I love his personality. He's one of those guys that brings a smile to the room. He has a bright personality. He's been great to work with.

Q. What about in terms of his skills? What do you like about him as a receiver?

MIKE KAFKA: Yeah, he's a dynamic player. He has play-making ability on the perimeter, inside, downfield, in short area. He's one of those guys that you look for to make plays for us.

Q. At Kansas City you guys did a lot of sharing the ball with the running backs certainly, different kind of guys. You did not have a Saquon Barkley type of guy I don't think or a very high draft pick. What do you see when you inherit him, and can he be a work horse for you do you think?

MIKE KAFKA: Yeah, absolutely. I think Saquon is that type of player that you want to be able to give him the ball and you want him to touch the ball as much as you can. I think he's dynamic out in space, and he's done a good job in this camp here just being assignment sound, working on the fundamentals. Right now that's what we're looking for.

I think as we start to understand our players, understand who we want to be on offense, I think we have a good plan and a good vision for what that is, but right now on the practice field is what's kind of declaring it. So Saquon is a part of that as well as the rest of that running back room.

Q. When we watch you, how much of what we will see is Andy Reid?

MIKE KAFKA: Well, I think what you're going to see here is the Giants' offense. I think right now as a coaching staff what Dabs is figuring out how we want to put our guys in the right spots, but we're working towards making it the Giants' offense, not the Bills or any other team, the Chiefs. Those are great experiences we can lean on, but this is the Giants' offense.

Q. How did he develop you, though? How are you different from having worked with him?

MIKE KAFKA: With Andy?

Q. Yeah.

MIKE KAFKA: I think everyone has to have their own personality to it. Again, those were great learning experiences that I had there, but that's in the past. Right now is today in phase 3. We have our installs. We have all our installs scripted for the remainder of the camp. We're working within the daily installs, working out the details, making sure we continue to fine tune those things in our offense.

Q. What about Kenny Golladay? He didn't have a great year here last year. What have you learned about him and how can you maximize him?

MIKE KAFKA: Love Kenny Golladay. St. Rita guy, a St. Rita guy, so my alma mater, so nothing but great things to say about Kenny. But he's done a great job. In that receiver room, he's one of those guys that you lean on for veteran leadership in that room. There's several other guys in there, too, that bring that. So he brings that dynamic. He's been around. He's played some football and kind of that veteran experience there.

Q. Given that experience with Andy, Brian has also taken a lot in the past of 21 personnel. How has that personnel shaped your outlook as far as using the fullback or maybe two running backs?

MIKE KAFKA: I think that's interesting because you can kind of declare some looks from the defense. I think that definitely opens up some certain packages on offense. Again, we're going to evaluate all of that on a week-to-week basis, on a daily basis, understanding who's that guy, how we want to use him, what looks are we going to potentially get from the defense and how can we use that to our advantage. It's absolutely on the table so we'll just keep on evaluating it.

Q. In regards to Daniel, how do you think you can help get him to the next level, and in what ways can you provide him support?

MIKE KAFKA: Yeah, we're very early in the offense, in the offensive program really. We're continuing to work daily on just our job, working his fundamentals, his techniques. I think as he gets more comfortable in the system and with what we're doing offensively, you'll see him continue to get better. That's every player really. I think Daniel is a smart guy. He's going to work at it. You tell him one thing he's going to spend all day thinking about it and working at it, and that's what I appreciate. And that is what all the coaching staff has appreciated.

SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR THOMAS MCGAUGHEY

THOMAS McGAUGHEY: You know, it's a process. When there's change, there's change. You've got to go through the process. I'm happy to be back here. Obviously this is going on my 10th year here, so anytime I can put on this red, white and blue, I'm excited.

Q. You've been through four regimes now?

THOMAS McGAUGHEY: Yeah.

Q. What do you think the reason for you -- them liking you as each new guy comes in?

THOMAS McGAUGHEY: You know, all I try and do is treat people right and do my job. To me, I think that's the bottom line. I think you take care of the people in the building, you handle yourself the right way, you try and be as good a servant as you can to the organization, and that's just been my mentality, just trying to help out guys and give. What you give grows; what you keep, you lose. So I try and give as much as I can to everybody around me.

Q. How would you describe the vibe in the building right now, the Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll era?

THOMAS McGAUGHEY: Well, just the vibe, period, is awesome, and it starts at the top. Dabs is awesome. He brings a lot of energy every single day. The players feel it. The coaches feel it. I think everybody in the building feels it.

We're excited about the opportunity we've got, working with Dabs and the new staff. It's amazing how fast we've come together so quick. I feel like a lot of guys on the staff, we've known of each other, have never worked with each other, but we've gravitated to each other quickly, and it's been a lot of fun.

Q. Everyone talks about in the draft room, offensive coordinator wants this guy, the quarterback coach wants this guy. What about the special teams coordinator and some of the guys that you wanted, and what have you seen so far from some of the rookies?

THOMAS McGAUGHEY: You know, I tell you guys this all the time. Yeah, there are certain guys that I like, but my job is to make do with what I have. We're making gumbo every week. I don't have an issue -- I don't have a feeling one way or the other. Do I like certain guys? Absolutely. But whoever shows up, that's who I'm going to coach. Whoever is in the building, they're going to get coached up to the best of our ability and make sure that they're doing the little things the right way all the time.

These young guys are doing a really good job. They're all working hard. They're all trying to figure it out. They're drinking through a fire hose right now. So we're trying to make it -- special teams wise, we're trying to make it as simple as possible to where they can pick the schemes up quick so they can play fast and we can get an honest evaluation on them. So that's what we're doing with those young guys right now.

Q. Does the new head coach want you to do different things?

THOMAS McGAUGHEY: No. I mean, it's kind of more of the same. Just being consistent in our approach every day, making sure the players understand what we're trying to do so they can execute and play fast and have success. That's their job.

Q. You've got a new punter in the building; just some early thoughts on Jamie Gillan?

THOMAS McGAUGHEY: He's working hard, like I said. He's trying to figure it out, too. He's a young punter. It's not like this guy is like Graham (Gano) where he's been around for years. He's still trying to figure it out. We're working every day with him. He's doing a good job of taking the coaching, and he's very talented.

Q. Is he still that rugby style punter?

THOMAS McGAUGHEY: He can do a lot of different things. Obviously, he was a rugby player, but Jamie can do a lot of different things. He's a talented guy.

Q. You try and upgrade the punting, but is a part of you, you don't want to mess with Graham, either, with the holding? How important is that?

THOMAS McGAUGHEY: Extremely important. The chemistry between those two is really big, your chemistry between your holder and your kicker obviously. Actually the whole battery is extremely important. They've been working at it, had a good session yesterday on the sideline, and then will work again today. It's a work in progress and we'll keep working to try to get back to where we were.

Q. Do you envision Wan'Dale as an option as one of your returners?

THOMAS McGAUGHEY: Yeah, Wan'Dale is definitely an option. We've got a bunch of options. We've got like six or seven guys that can return kicks and punts, which is good. Creates competition.

I think these guys, they're excited about it. It's fun watching them back there trying to catch that lefty spin in the wind. It's adventurous at times, but it's good for them. It's going to harden them, callus them up a little bit, and we'll be battle tested once we get into the season.

Q. Will KT be back there?

THOMAS McGAUGHEY: Yeah, again, obviously that's one of the reasons why he's here. KT is a super talented guy. With the ball in his hands, he's dynamic. Again, it'll be fun just to see those guys compete for a spot.

Q. With the roster turnover, do you look at the roster and say, I know I can count on this guy, this guy, this guy? Or do you have to be a blank sheet and say I don't know?

THOMAS McGAUGHEY: Well, it's a fresh start for everybody, and the guys that have done it before you know you can lean on, guys like a Julian Love and some of those guys, but some of these other young guys have got to come on, and it's some of the guys that didn't get a lot of opportunities last year, and now they've got to step up and take advantage of the opportunities they get this year. It's exciting to watch them grow, and we're heading in the right direction.

QUARTERBACK DANIEL JONES

Q. What was your reaction to the team not picking up the fifth year option?

DANIEL JONES: Yeah, you know, that was certainly out of my control, out of my hands, and that's the business part of it. I understand that.

My job is to prepare to play as well as I can, help the team win games, and that's certainly what I'm focused on.

Q. Was it disappointing?

DANIEL JONES: You know, just kind of is what it is. You're focused on preparing to play as well as you can, and that's my goal. That's what my focus is on.

Q. Do you think about your future? Now that you know, this is going to be the last year, how do you sort of look at that moving into this year now?

DANIEL JONES: I think it's natural to think about a little bit, but I think you're better off focusing on what you're doing now and preparing as well as you can now. So taking advantage of every day to prepare. We're in an important part of the off-season right now, starting up our OTA practices.

They're valuable opportunities you can't afford to miss out on, so that's certainly what I'm focused on and working on.

Q. What does that mean to you? What do you have to do this year to prove you're the franchise QB and get the next contract?

DANIEL JONES: You know, I don't think that's really the mindset or the focus. I think it's more about winning games and knowing that if we win games and we have a good season, then that should take care of a lot of things for everyone.

That's the focus I think we have as a group, as a team throughout the locker room, coaching staff. I think it's to play well and win games. That's what it's about. Everything we do is about that goal, pushing to that, and that's certainly my focus.

Q. What's your confidence level and why do you have the confidence that this will be the year that you put it all together and be consistent?

DANIEL JONES: Yeah, I'm certainly confident in myself. I'm confident in the team we have and the coaches and the system.

I think we're all learning it, and we're improving daily with it. There's a lot of reasons to be confident, I think, when you look at all those pieces. We've got to focus on what we're doing now. We can't focus on results and the season. That's a long way away.

We're focused on preparing now, practicing well, improving every day and making progress.

Q. Daniel, the head coach was hired to be the coach of the team, but he's a coach who's an offensive guy and he works with quarterbacks. What do you think Brian Daboll and this offense and Mike Kafka can do to help you as a quarterback that you have not maybe had before?

DANIEL JONES: They both bring a ton of ideas, new ideas from different systems, systems that have had a lot of success, had quarterbacks with a lot of success.

I think all those ideas here, new thoughts here, new concepts, new plays, I think all that stuff, but yeah, I think so just trying to pick up those little things here and there and listening to some of their philosophy on playing the position, playing offense, looking for opportunities to make plays at times when they aren't there and to protect the ball.

I think all those conversations, just learning from their experience and what they've been around, the success that they've had.

Q. It's new; anybody that came in would have been new. But it's new and improved. Does this seem new and improved from what you can tell as far as success for a quarterback?

DANIEL JONES: Yeah, I don't know. I think you get into trouble comparing different situations. I think it's different, and they're different ideas. Anything would be -- any new situation is different.

I don't think it's very productive to compare necessarily, but just trying to learn as much as I can from different ways of looking at it.

Q. Dabs was saying that his message to you is throw practice interceptions, throw the ball in tight windows, be aggressive, that's what practice is for. What do you take from that message?

DANIEL JONES: Yeah, I mean, you never want to throw interceptions, but I think just the idea to be aggressive and take your shots and see if you can make something happen, kind of let the receivers know that we're going to do that, we're going to give you all opportunities to make plays and we're counting on you to make plays in situations.

I think that's kind of a mindset he has to attack a defense, attack downfield and as a quarterback, a decision maker, you're a big part of that.

That's something we've talked about a lot and something he wants to see in practice.

Q. My 30,000-foot view on you would be that maybe -- did you get away from that a little bit after your first year where it seemed like you were really aggressive and everybody wrote about turnovers and fumbles and ball security and that became such a huge narrative around you, did you become so cautious of that that you lost some aggressiveness?

DANIEL JONES: I mean, I don't think it was what was written or was not written. I think the facts were we were turning the ball over a lot and I was turning the ball over a lot.

I don't know, I think as a quarterback you've got to be able to do both. You've got to be able to be aggressive, take shots and also protect the ball.

It's finding the balance there and the best guys can do that. I'm always working to improve that piece of the decision making process, and yeah, being smart in those situations.

Q. How much does your mindset have to change then, knowing that he's telling you this now, like hey, sort of let it go, throw the ball, don't be afraid, fire?

DANIEL JONES: It's not like a hard change in mindset. I think a lot of it is just understanding plays, understanding situations, understanding the philosophy on when to be aggressive and when not to be aggressive.

I think those are all specific to certain situations. I don't think it's like a big overarching mindset you apply aimlessly every play. I think it's specific and to what the play is trying to do, what the coverage is doing, and understanding that piece of it.

Q. Were you curious during the draft if they were going to take a quarterback?

DANIEL JONES: You know, I was just watching like everyone else was to see how it worked out. I'm excited with the guys we've got, and they've looked good.

Q. How did you feel about them taking an offensive tackle?

DANIEL JONES: Yeah, I was excited. I think excited about Evan, excited about all our guys. Evan has looked great so far, and you can tell he really wants to learn it. He wants to pick it up. It's important to him. He's working hard.

Yeah, we'll keep working as a group to improve.

Q. When Daboll solicits your feedback on what you want to see from the offense, what do you tell him? What do you want more of in an offense to succeed?

DANIEL JONES: I don't know if there's like one thing or another. I think it's a lot of different concepts. In certain situations, maybe tweaking a route, having them run it a certain way or maybe something you're used to, and those are conversations.

I think obviously I'm trying to learn his system, I'm trying to learn the way they've done it, and they've had a ton of success, so there's a healthy balance between how I see it and how he sees it, and those are a lot of conversations and back and forths.

I've learned a ton from how they've done it, and it's early on in that process, too. We've got to rep things over and over again, and that's why this time is so valuable here in the spring to get it.

It's specific kind of play to play.

DEFENSIVE LINEMAN LEONARD WILLIAMS

Q. Did you give Thibodeaux any advice on what to expect coming in here?

LEONARD WILLIAMS: Not so much advice yet. I've been kind of like more like paying attention to him, seeing what type of guy he is. I'm liking what I'm seeing so far. It's like small things where we have a few guys on defense giving the ones like -- or giving whoever like a show look, and if they need like an offensive lineman or something like that, he's one of the first ones to run in there and give a look.

I appreciate things like that from top picks because he knows that there's still more that he has to give to the team. Just because he got drafted high doesn't mean that he can't help out.

Q. He's a pretty big personality.

LEONARD WILLIAMS: Honestly, I thought he was going to be more than he actually is just because from what you see on TV and from his draft dance, stuff like that. I was like, this guy is definitely a character. But meeting him in person, he's a humble guy and he's ready to work, and like I said, he's one of the first people to go in there when we need a look and things like that. I'm definitely impressed with those things.

Q. How are you impressed by his play?

LEONARD WILLIAMS: I mean, it's just been a few practices so far, but you can still see guys' attributes, and in the three practices we've had so far he's shown great speed, great pass rush IQ, and stuff like that.

Q. You have not always had that going for you, having guys on the edge who can apply so much pressure. With Kayvon and Azeez, if that can manifest itself, how does that help the defense and how does it help you?

LEONARD WILLIAMS: I think it will help the defense a lot. Whenever you have top guys in any position it's going to help out a lot. I definitely have a lot of confidence in him and Azeez.

And like you said, it's going to be great for me inside and playing with guys like that that are going to make the quarterback step up, and if I'm playing in the middle and they're doing their job, I'm going to make them roll out to them and vice versa. We feed off of each other.

Q. Did you lose weight?

LEONARD WILLIAMS: No, 310.

Q. You said Thibodeaux, you were impressed with his pass rush IQ. Could you elaborate on that?

LEONARD WILLIAMS: He knows when to try to speed around a corner; he knows when to try to beat a guy inside; he knows -- so far what I've seen, he seems to have a good understanding of like reading the offensive lineman's set and stuff like that.

Q. High football character IQ, is that what you see?

LEONARD WILLIAMS: Yeah, that's what I'm saying, good character. Some people from the media or from TV might think that he's a big personality, and he is. He's definitely a confident guy, in a good way, though. He's confident, not too cocky or anything like that, and he knows he's a rookie. He knows when it's time for him to like do his duties as a rookie and stuff like that. He's a good kid.

Q. Has he been asking a lot of questions in the film room?

LEONARD WILLIAMS: Not so much yet. We're not really in the same room, so I think we would have to go out of our way to meet up and talk about things because we're not really in the same room.

My room just got loaded with a bunch of young guys and new guys, so I'm kind of giving them a lot of my attention right now. But I definitely want to chop it up with him and see where he's at.

Q. I know it's only three OTA practices; are you seeing anything different from the offensive line with Bobby Johnson running the show?

LEONARD WILLIAMS: I mean, the whole team feels different as a whole, so I don't really think I've put too much emphasis on the offensive line. But overall Drew (Andrew Thomas) is not back full yet, so I feel like there's still a lot of moving pieces, so it's hard for me to say what it's looking like right now knowing that it's going to be different come camp or a season.

But I know so far it's been a really good competition level on both sides of the ball. We've been doing a good job of taking care of each other. But the O-line and D-line have been competing pretty well.

Q. What is the vibe that the new regime gives out?

LEONARD WILLIAMS: The vibe I'm getting is the excitement people are coming into work with. I think guys are happy to be here. They're happy about the teammates that they have next to them. They're happy about the coaches that are coaching them. I think when you're happy about all those things that I just said, it makes it easier to come into work and have a great attitude and great energy, and it shows in practice how we're flying around out there.

And even today when we had that small little competition period, like you hear all the defense like getting loud and stuff like that, and it's just a contagious energy that's being brought right now.

Q. Obviously you guys had a lot of turnover in the secondary. You're going to be putting some young guys back there. Wink is blitz heavy, man to man. How much of an onus do you feel as pass rushers to get there or get home and to not leave those guys, those young guys, sitting back there?

LEONARD WILLIAMS: Right. I definitely have confidence in whoever we end up bringing in and playing corner back there. Like you said, this is an aggressive defense. You know, we have so many blitz and pressure patterns that we're definitely -- not that we're not relying on them, too, but in that type of defense, no matter who you have, you're relying on getting home no matter what type of players you have on the team.

It's just the style of defense, you know.

Q. Was it eye opening at all to you that as well as the defense played, as well as James Bradberry and Logan Ryan played that as far as the business aspect that they're not here anymore, was that eye opening to you? Even guys that play well aren't secure?

LEONARD WILLIAMS: It's not eye opening for me because I'm going into year eight, but it's definitely eye opening for a lot of the guys in the locker room.

You know, even Wednesday, yesterday, we had a bunch of new people come in and people leave and people are like, wow, week one it's already happening.

I'm like, I don't know if I'm just like getting numb to it or, I don't know what it is. I'm just so used to seeing it and knowing that this is a business. You know what I mean? You see it all around the league, too. You see top guys being traded and top guys moving around.

LT and some of the older guys came and talked to us the other day and they just said it's different from how it used to be. Back in the day people would stay on the team they got drafted to for their whole career.

Now you see people bouncing around. It's like basketball nowadays.

Q. What if anything about Wink has surprised you?

LEONARD WILLIAMS: I don't think like his play calling has surprised me, just because as I found out we had Wink, everybody said, oh, wow, we love it. Aggressive, aggressive. That's what you hear about him and that's what we been seeing.

Q. What about his personality?

LEONARD WILLIAMS: I think personality he's impressed me, and --

Q. What's he like?

LEONARD WILLIAMS: He's obviously like an older white guy so I thought he probably wasn't going to -- but I didn't know how to see it, his humor or personality, but he's one of the funniest guys in the defense.

He throws out little comments and disses around and stuff like that and I think he has a great humor and kind of like sheds on the defense, and we kind of all like have a more family environment because he's like that.

Q. Every defensive coordinator says they're going to be aggressive. Is this different schematically? Do you notice a difference?

LEONARD WILLIAMS: Yeah, for sure. Like you said, a lot of people claim to be aggressive but they'll blitz on occasions or like when the timing is right.

Whereas I think with Wink, he's like make them deal with us; we're going to bring it. I love that type of mentality. Like the way I'm seeing it, he's making the offense react to us instead of the opposite way around.

Q. Is this by far the most aggressive defense you have played in? Does it remind you of any previous ones?

LEONARD WILLIAMS: This probably is one of the most aggressive defenses for sure, just because already in OTAs we've been showing a lot of blitz patterns and pressures, and also what I like about it is we talk about learning the defense as a concept, because even though it's like showing the D-linemen on paper doing this, at any moment that could be an outside linebacker, a linebacker, or I could be outside. It's just we to learn the whole defense because it could be the same pattern but different guys moving around running the same pattern.

I think that makes it even more aggressive and harder for offenses to read.

LINEBACKER AZEEZ OJULARI

Q. How much weight did you put on?

AZEEZ OJULARI: I'm at like 255.

Q. What were you at before?

AZEEZ OJULARI: Around like 245, 246.

Q. Why did you do that? Why did you add 10 pounds?

AZEEZ OJULARI: Man, I just felt like trying to improve my game, my weight to just hold up. I just feel good. Just wanted to get bigger.

Q. Was that the team told you or you did it on your own?

AZEEZ OJULARI: I did it on my own.

Q. How would you assess your rookie season? Are you happy with it or was there more to do?

AZEEZ OJULARI: No, there's definitely more to do for sure. The season didn't go how we wanted it to go for sure. You know, it's a team game, so you've got to come out there, try to get better every day, try to do what we can to win, whatever we can to win at the end of the day.

Q. Did you set any goals for yourself this season?

AZEEZ OJULARI: Not yet. The season is coming. We've still got a long way to go. Just taking it day by day. OTA day 3 just finished today, so just taking it day by day and going from there.

Q. Nothing like double digit sacks or anything like that?

AZEEZ OJULARI: Obviously I want to hit double digits for sure, but you've just got to work every day, try to improve every single day matter what it is.

Q. What was your reaction on draft night when they drafted Kayvon?

AZEEZ OJULARI: I was excited. I was like, man, bring him on, let's work, because I know how elite he is and how good of a player he is, so why not. Just ready to go.

Q. Did you think about how it'll help you?

AZEEZ OJULARI: You know, players help each other every day. He's a great dude, so I was just happy to have him.

Q. Do you notice anything specifically about him so far?

AZEEZ OJULARI: He's explosive for sure, a great athlete, too. Just can't wait to keep playing with him and getting better every day with him.

Q. Early thoughts on this defense that Wink is installing?

AZEEZ OJULARI: You know, I mean, it's a great defense. We're just trying to get better every day. Trying to still learn it as we progress throughout the season and just improve day by day. OTA 3 just ended today, so as we progress and try to get better.

Q. Do you like the aggressive nature of it?

AZEEZ OJULARI: Oh, I mean, for sure, definitely. Either way, it's defense, all 11 hats to the ball, it's aggressive. So hey, got to play D.

Q. Around the league a lot of premier edge rushers, they do come in pairs. A lot of times they play off each other. Do you see that possibility here with Kayvon?

AZEEZ OJULARI: You know, wherever Coach puts us in, we're going to play our role, do our job, and as the season goes, we'll see.

Q. I don't know what side you lined up on in college, but did you ever have to rush against Evan Neal in those?

AZEEZ OJULARI: Yeah, we did. I actually played Evan Neal. He's a good player for sure. We definitely went against him.

Q. Do you remember anything about how hard he was to get around?

AZEEZ OJULARI: No, he was a great athlete, good big guy, could move. Happy to have him here with us for sure.

Q. He said that your brother got a sack against him. Did you know that?

AZEEZ OJULARI: No, I don't remember. I know he probably did. I don't know. I don't know.

Q. What, 12, 14 sacks, what do you think?

AZEEZ OJULARI: Hey, man, leave it up to God, you know. We're just trying to win. We're just trying to win out here for sure.

Q. What makes you a pass rush threat do you think? What traits do you have?

AZEEZ OJULARI: I mean, speed, power, got a little wiggle, you know, could bend, so just trying to improve my game every year, every day.

When I come out here, take it day by day, focus on one thing and just keep going like that.

Q. Are you explosive? Do you consider yourself explosive?

AZEEZ OJULARI: Yes, sir, for sure.

Q. Was a power aspect something you wanted to gain? How much did that factor into the gaining of the weight?

AZEEZ OJULARI: Yeah, I feel like as a rusher you've got to have some type of power with you when you rush. You can't just always go speed.

These tackles today nowadays are so athletic and good, everyone is very professional. So you've got to add -- you've got to switch it up a little bit.

Q. How much did you notice last year that these guys are bigger and stronger that you're facing?

AZEEZ OJULARI: Yeah, we're in the NFL so everyone is going to be big and strong, so it's just that little niche, what you can do to get yourself a little ahead.

Q. Gaining weight you also want to have your body fat down and your quickness; when you have all your measurables there, are they all right there?

AZEEZ OJULARI: Yes, sir, they have to be, because you can't be off balance. You know it's not going to work out.

Q. So your speed hasn't been affected at all by your weight?

AZEEZ OJULARI: No, sir, not at all.