Former Giants coach McAdoo takes shots at ex-foes, players

[July 13, 2018]  Speaking publicly for the first time Thursday since he was fired last December, former New York Giants head coach Ben McAdoo still sounded very much like a fan of the club. However, between his criticisms of NFC East rivals and praise for the Giants' new regime, he took a couple shots at some of his old players, as well.

According to a report by the New York Post's Paul Schwartz, McAdoo likes New York's offseason so much, he has some serious aspirations for the club.

"I think they're gonna win the division," said McAdoo, who just turned 41 and is spending this offseason in Florida, out of football. "I think Philly, how much success has Philly had? I think they're gonna have a hard time handling success.

"Dallas, I like their offensive line, but how long have we been saying that? Their defense, they got a bunch of young guys playing DB, Sean Lee is banged up a lot, and their D-line, they got a bunch of guys getting in trouble all the time. And Washington is Washington, right?"

McAdoo said of the Giants' offseason decisions, "I think they've made a lot of the moves I wanted to make," he said.

That included both free agency (he thinks they overpaid for new left tackle Nate Solder, but understands why they did it) and the draft -- particularly taking running back Saquon Barkley at No. 2 rather than a quarterback.

"With the (quarterbacks) that came out this year, I'm not surprised they went the route they went by not drafting a (quarterback)," McAdoo said. "I wouldn't have stood on the table to draft any quarterback No. 2 either."

As for Barkley? "I know this: If you can just turn around and hand the ball to a player and he's a helluva player and he's a threat to take it to the house each time, that really helps."

But McAdoo didn't pull all of his punches when it came to some of his former players. In justifying the Solder pickup, in particular, McAdoo mentioned two guys he coached in New York.

New York Giants head coach Ben McAdoo coaches against the Detroit Lions during the fourth quarter at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

"It was good they could get rid of (defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul's) salary. I guess you kind of just flipped JPP for Solder, and I think that's a good move, really."

As for Ereck Flowers, who will move from left tackle to right tackle to make room for Solder? Let's just say McAdoo doesn't think the side Flowers plays on is the issue.

"He can't bend, you got to be able to bend," McAdoo said. "You can run around him on that side just like you can on the other side, Eli just gets to see it, which may help Eli. It's not the blind side, it's in his vision, so if he's comfortable with what's going on over on the left side, it can help him move in the pocket a little bit better."

After leading the Giants to an 11-5 record and a playoff berth in his first season as a head coach in 2016, McAdoo was fired, along with general manager Jerry Reese, with four games remaining and the Giants sporting a 2-10 record in 2017.

The Giants hired Dave Gettleman to be their new GM just before the end of last season and he hired Pat Shurmur to be their new head coach this offseason.

--Field Level Media

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