Giants Tight End Evan Engram spoke with the media after the big win against Washington. Here are some the interview highlights:
Q: What has Daniel (Jones) done for this offense in terms of rejuvenation?
A: He’s just been himself. A lot of people doubted him, he heard it all, and we definitely heard it all. I don’t think it affected him. I think it pissed me off more than him (laughter). He just comes in and is being himself. He’s making plays. He’s trying to improve, and he’s definitely bringing a great energy to our offense and to our team.
Q: What do you think when you see him running with the ball?
A: He needs to learn how to slide feet first (laughter). I love the fight, and it was a huge play, but we have to practice on sliding.
Q: It seems like his ball, and this is nothing against Eli, but it seems like it’s in the right place for you and (Sterling Shepard) Shep, and soon Golden (Tate), to catch and run with it. Is he just always putting the ball out in front of you guys like that?
A: Yeah, he’s very accurate. He takes pride in making sure that we’re comfortable as pass catchers, and he’s always communicating with us, definitely throughout the week of preparation, on where we want the ball and stuff like that. It’s something he works on, something he takes pride in, and something that he’s going to keep improving.
Q: How much has he changed the feel of the team in general? You’re 2-2 now.
A: It’s definitely a group effort. I wouldn’t say (just) him. Obviously, he’s brought a great energy to our team and has played his butt off the last two weeks, but I think it’s a group effort that we have fought. We’ve stuck together, believed in each other, and fought it these past two weeks. We also know that there’s a long season left, so we have to keep finding ways to improve so we can have more days like this.
Q: Would it be fair to say that he gave you a spark and now everybody is feeding off it?
A: He asked the same question. Yeah, he’s definitely brought something special to our team. He works his butt of for it, so it helps us. We have to go out and play as a team at the end of the day. As long as he comes in and does his job, and we come in and help him by doing our job, we can keep it rolling.
Q: What did you think of your buddy Wayne (Gallman)?
A: He showed up today. He showed up. He prepared all week, he was ready for this moment. He’ll tell you the things that he could’ve done better as well, but that’s just the nature of him, and the nature of this team. That’s the thing, we all believe in each other and we’re very proud of him. We have to keep going and keep improving.
Q: You can have mistakes on offense, especially rookies. Daniel had two interceptions this game, it happens. Did you see any change in him after those mistakes when you get back in the huddle after those possessions?
A: No, you can definitely tell he was a little pissed off at first, but that’s the thing— he brings the edge. He wants to be perfect. We understand that’s not going to happen, but he kept his cool, kept his composure, and stayed in the moment.
Q: How does the play of the defense, especially all of the takeaways they got today, help you guys on the offensive side of the ball?
A: Huge. All of the heat they were taking throughout the season, they came out and played their butts off today. We have to be better at the end of the game for them. We had a couple three and outs to put the game away and put them on the field more than they needed to be. But they played their butts off today and we have to continue to be better as an offense to keep putting them in position to do what they were doing today.
Q: As a guy who scores a lot of touchdowns, what did you think of Jabrill’s leap into the crowd?
A: Oh, he jumped in the crowd? I didn’t see that. Me and Pep, we went at it all camp. We talk about it all of the time how much better we made each other. I was very happy to see that and I’m looking forward to the more he’s going to get.
Q: I think this is the first time in your career you’re at .500 in the season.
A: Wow, yeah. It feels good. We have to keep going and keep getting better.