Giants head coach Pat Shurmur discusses leadership, practice

The New York Giants were back on the practice field Wednesday after a day off on Tuesday. Head coach Pat Shurmur addressed the media to discuss the team’s return.

“Our guys are coming off of an off day, so I encouraged them to get back up to speed here and let’s have a good practice,” Shurmur said.

On if his plan for practice coming off an off day: “No, we are going to be in pads. The idea is we have four days now before our next off day so I would like to be in pads at least three of those days.”

On what he learned from the physicality of the padded practices: “Well, they were physical prior to that, so I didn’t actually ask them to be any more physical. I asked them to come out here with more energy, so that was what I asked them to do. In fact, I gave them four words – energy, expertise, enthusiasm and execution. So that’s what I asked of them and that’s what they did.”

On 11-on-11 field goal drills: “We actually did, early in practice, on the line. At the very beginning of practice, if you leak out just a little bit earlier, you’ll see it. We actually try to do that most days, so yes we did it. I’m sorry you missed it.”

On long snapper Zak DeOssie: “He’s got a lot of experience. He is very, very, very accomplished as a long snapper, he’s got a great way about him and has a great feel for things, he’s seen a lot and so he’s doing a lot of the things that we were just discussing in terms of leadership.”

On nose tackle Damon Harrison: “He needs to be a good football player, he has to be stout, he needs to be what Snacks is. He’s a force in the run game – he’s very good against the run. He needs to makes sure he does that, especially on first and second down.”

On if he considers Harrison a team leader: “I think we talk frequently about leadership, that’s where everybody goes. I also think we need to talk about followership. In other words, there are some guys that are outstanding players, and have been outstanding players their whole lives and they want to come to work and do their jobs.

“We need to embrace those guys, too. Now, I am not speaking in regards to Snacks, but the leadership piece, you play football and guys rise to the top and you try and inspire guys to lead the team, but sometimes we don’t talk enough about the other part of that.”

On who the team leaders have been so far: “I think the ones that we all think about, certainly the quarterback. We’ve had guys that have stepped up. Alec Ogletree has done a nice job, Nate Solder, Landon Collins, I can go through the list. There are a lot of guys who have displayed leadership, in my opinion.

“And I’ve said this before, it’s probably somewhere, you don’t have to be extraordinary to be a leader, you just have to do the right thing for the right reason at the right time all the time and then you can lead. I think sometimes we really get this thing distorted; you have to be loud and boisterous and call a team meeting. That’s not what it’s about. It’s about having the courage to do the right thing at the right time for the right reason and then you’ll lead. People will follow you if you do that on a consistent basis.”

On the challenge for a player like Alec Ogletree, who is new to the team, learning a new defense, and being a team leader: “I think Alec has done a good job of learning our new system, it is very similar to what he did at the Rams. He just has to be the best Alec he can be everyday and then all those things we just discussed will rise to the top.”

On if it’s hard to find team leaders, especially amongst young players: “Not really. I think when you watch them function, you see them work within a group, see their personalities. Sometimes your best leaders truly are your rookies because they come in with something to add and some of the older players that have supposedly been the leaders are smart enough to listen, ‘Hey, I might learn something new from this new guy.’ Leaders come in all shapes and sizes.”

On how he’s seen leadership from rookie running back Saquon Barkley: “Because he is doing those things that we have talked about. Since he has been here, he has done the right thing at the right time for the right reasons. Everybody says he’s a star, but he’s been out here working everyday to get better and so to me, that shows me that he understands what he was talking about more than, ‘Let’s have a players only meeting.’”

On how team captains will be selected: “We will worry about that later, but I have an idea of how I want to do it. Typically, at the places I have been, you vote and then decide who those guys are.”

On reuniting wide receivers coach Tyke Tolbert with Kalif Raymond, Cody Latimer and Hunter Sharp, who were all together on the Denver Broncos: “Well, certainly there is familiarity, I think that helps initially. Some of what we do is some of what they did, there is some of that initial familiarity, which is good, and then beyond that they just have to grow and have to do it the Giants way.”

On if he consults his coaches prior to signing players they have previous experience with: “When a player is available, the typical process is (geneal manager) Dave (Gettleman) and his staff will say, ‘Hey, listen, this guy is available, we feel like it’s an upgrade.’ Then we put our heads together, ‘What do we know about this player?’ Everyone is running around with a grade on it and then we just try to put together all the information we have on the player to make and educated decision.”

On defensive back Kenneth Durden showing flashes in practice: “He did, to your point, he has flashed. He has gotten his hands on a couple of balls. He was out there competing, we like what we’ve seen so far. Unfortunately, sometimes when you are shaping up the roster, a guy may be let go and it’s less about him and more about what you are trying to do. So we have liked him all the way and now he is back with us.”

On defensive back Curtis Riley‘s leg injury during Monday’s practice: “We will have to see, it’s a little hamstring thing. We will have to see how far he has come and if we can get him out here, so possibly.”

On linebacker Avery Moss‘ return from hip surgery: “ No, different but I’ll let you guys see if he is out here or not. You know, we don’t have much time together and, I don’t mean to be, you’ll see if they’re out there or not but they’re kind of minor things.”

– Carlos Rodriguez is a Contributor for Full Press Coverage and covers the NFL and the New York Giants. Please like and follow on Facebook and Twitter. Christian can be followed on Twitter @openurmnd.