The man summoned to fix the offense John Mara assessed as broken stood at a podium on the patio outside the Quest Diagnostics Training Center, hands in the pockets of his sweatpants, looked his questioners in the eye, shot you straight, minced no words, no nonsense.
Eli Manning will be fixed.
The Giants offense will be fixed.
“Watching the film from last year, it’s no secret they didn’t protect the ball as well as they would have liked to,” Ben McAdoo said Thursday at the conclusion of Giants mini-camp. “And we’ve made strides already, I believe, this offseason in doing that. The fundamentals are a big part of it, decision-making is a big part of it …
“And, yes, it can be fixed and, yes, it will be fixed.”
He comes with rave reviews from Aaron Rodgers and Mike McCarthy, which better be good news for Manning, because if Manning isn’t fixed — if he throws 27 interceptions again — then Jerry Reese’s seismic roster shake-up will mean nothing.
“Outside looking in, always admired Eli,” McAdoo said. “Had some rough days versus Eli in the past, but I admire him as a pro. He’s a smart player. I like the way he thinks about the game. I’m excited to see him grow.”
And, yes, he can grow and, yes, he will grow.
“Eli and I’ll work hand in hand, as will the other coaches, and we always want the input of the guy under the center, and he’s going to be a big part of the things we do here,” McAdoo said.
Manning sounded refreshed and reenergized by the culture shock of change from longtime ally Kevin Gilbride to this New Age newcomer.
“We have a value system that we believe in,” McAdoo said, “and humility is one of those values, respect is another and dedication’s the third. And Eli’s very humble. He’s very anxious and very excited to be part of something, and he didn’t have the year that he wanted to have last year. We didn’t talk about this, but from what I see, [Manning] is a guy who is a consummate pro and is excited to move on.”
McAdoo’s fast-paced, West Coast offense with smashmouth principles is a marriage of Big Blue past and present.
“Our identity, we want to be sound, smart and tough, and we want to be committed to discipline and poise,” McAdoo said. “At this point in time, we’re not there, but we’re getting close.”
McAdoo, flecks of gray in his goatee, will be 37 next month, which means he will be a mere four years older than Manning. With his new coordinator role, he will assume play-calling duties for the first time. It can be a daunting task, especially here — Sean Payton was stripped once of the play-calling by Jim Fassel — but there’s no lump in McAdoo’s throat.
“I’ve been groomed for the position,” he said. “At the end of the day, you set the plan and you go out and you stick with the plan and you have to be ready to make adjustments on the fly.”
McAdoo was asked if he prefers to be on the field or in the coaches’ box.
“We haven’t spent a bunch of time talking about it, but early indications are I’ll be down [on the field],” McAdoo said.
Manning will be throwing screens this year, and running back Rashad Jennings will be the prime recipient.
“He’s someone I have a tremendous amount of respect for,” McAdoo said. “I think he has a nice skill set for the position.”
McAdoo hardly sounded disappointed Reese didn’t get him a tight end to beat out Adrien Robinson, Larry Donnell and Xavier Grimble.
“I think we have a nice group right there,” McAdoo said. “We have big men in the room. I like the way they think about the game, I like the way they’re moving around out on the field, and when we get the pads on, that’s when we’ll really know where we are.”
Tom Coughlin describes him as driven, so I asked McAdoo why that is a good word to describe him.
“What’s the alternative?” he cracked. “I’m not one to talk a bunch about myself. I got into coaching football ’cause I loved being around high-school athletes, and I like to see the look in somebody’s eyes when they have success. And whatever you have to do to make that happen, you have to do.”
I asked him: “How would you describe your coaching style?”
“I’m very consistent,” McAdoo said. “I’m going to treat everyone differently. The way that they need to be treated to get the most out of ’em is the way we have to operate.”
In his first meeting with his offense, McAdoo pulled no punches.
“We just talked about expectations, and what we should expect from each other,” he said. “There’s only one goal in this game. It’s to win the Super Bowl. That’s it.”
Mr. Fix-it to the rescue.