Q. What can you say about the defensive performance today?
COACH KELLY: Yeah, I thought they were outstanding, especially after that first drive where they just went right down the field and went 80 yards; it's 7-0 right off the bat, kind of neutralized the crowd, kind of hushed everybody up. And then I think they only had 160 yards after that. And then, I think our defense, the rush, the ability to get to [QB] Eli [Manning], which is difficult, and going into this, they had only given up a short amount of sacks and they had only turned the ball over not very much either. So for us to come up with [CB] Nolan's [Carroll] pick-six was big. I thought the play by [LB] DeMeco Ryans on the interception really stemmed the tide because they were moving the ball again on that drive. And then DeMeco made a nice play on the wheel route and kind of knocked the ball up. But, I thought our defense played outstanding all game long.
Q. Did something change after that first drive?
COACH KELLY: No, I mean not call-wise or anything like that. I just think our guys settled down. Again, I think that interception by DeMeco was kind of key and that almost -- everybody took a deep breath, alright, let's go. Then, the rush started getting there and the next series, we got Nolan on the interception for a touchdown and then our guys really started playing, I thought.
Q. Even before that, the third-and-1, and fourth-and-1, the two stops there kind of turned it around a little bit, too.
COACH KELLY: Yeah, I think they played -- but again, besides the opening drive, I thought our defense played outstanding all game long.
Q. Do you get a sense LB DeMeco Ryans is motivated by the fact that LB Jordan Hicks is getting a lot of attention; as a veteran, do you think he's motivated by that, by the younger guy?
COACH KELLY: No, I think DeMeco is motivated 24/7. He's, and I've said it before, he's our Mufasa; he's the leader of our defense; he's the leader of this football team; he's motivated every day we're around him and every second I'm around the guy. So, he's been an unbelievable mentor to Jordan and there's no one that wants to see Jordan succeed more than DeMeco. I don't think that motivates him; I just think that's the type of guy he is.
Q. When it comes to limiting turnovers, how can QB Sam Bradford get better?
COACH KELLY: We had some miscommunication today on a couple routes where the quarterback and the receiver were not on the same page, but we have to clean that up. We've talked about that. He's getting more familiar, in terms of what we're doing, but we can't continue to do that against really good football teams. We were fortunate that we did it and got away with it today, but in this league, you can't do that and sustain things and sustain winning. So, we've really got to clean that up on the offensive side of the ball.
Q. Is that miscommunication on the quarterback or is that on --
COACH KELLY: It's on both. Sometimes we're reading coverages and routes are supposed to work a certain way. So it's not all on Sam, it's on both.
Q. In terms of Bradford's development within the system, where is he on that continuum?
COACH KELLY: I don't have an answer on a continuum. I just know he needs to improve, and we all need to improve, on the offensive side of the ball. I think we are starting to run the ball better as a group. We hit him with some good play-action passes and really got some big chunk plays for us. Obviously, the first touchdown to Coop [WR Riley Cooper], we hit [WR] Miles [Austin] on a nice seam route. We are doing some good things, but we have to be able to finish, especially in the red zone.
Q. How were you able to get RB DeMarco Murray going in the second half?
COACH KELLY: I think our offensive line is really starting to come together as a group, and the one thing about DeMarco, he's a downhill, physical runner that runs behind his pads. If we can get him started, and I think we started to get a little push at the line of scrimmage and then get him to the second level, he can run through a lot of arm tackles and obviously was really good to see him get going tonight.
Q. After they had that roughing-the-kicker penalty, you guys came back out and were able to score right there; what do you think that meant for your momentum there?
COACH KELLY: It helped. Obviously, I think we got stalled on that drive, but then you get the penalty. They ran in and we knew they were a big rush team anyways. It was a good job by [P] Donnie [Jones] getting the ball off because that's a tough group to block; they have a lot of guys on their special teams. So for the fact that we could capitalize on that, I thought, was big. That was a deal, we think we capitalized, whether it be the penalty or their turnovers, we capitalized and scored points. And then when we turned it over, again, credit our defense, we didn't give up any points after we turned it over. I thought our defense did a great job in their response after the turnover.
Q. The sequence at the end of the first half, you had two time-outs, I believe, and you completed a pass to the 19 with 33 seconds to go; why not call a time-out there?
COACH KELLY: Because we were trying to save it and then we took a sack because, again, the receiver ran a wrong route. So Sam is expecting the receiver to do something else, so we just were not on the right page. So I wanted to get away with just a field goal; let's take the points and let's get into halftime and let's get this straightened out. But, there was a miscommunication on the route before that and there was a miscommunication on the route he took a sack on.
Q. The Cooper touchdown came from under center; is that a look you have been waiting for?
COACH KELLY: A look? No.
Q. I know during the week you didn't really get into how important this game was, other than one game. But, being it's a first win in the division, it's a game that really kind of set the season back on the right way; how important was this?
COACH KELLY: Every game is important. So it's not -- every single game you play is important. At the end of the year, what's your final record -- you can't say "Well, we lost that one, but it wasn't that important." Every game is important and that is what we talk about. So we have a huge one coming up --
Q. But division games are more important, correct?
COACH KELLY: Whatever you want, [FOX sports analyst] Howard [Eskin]. Every game is important when we are trying to win.
Q. You mentioned --
COACH KELLY: I don't go in and say, "Hey, it's an AFC opponent, let's just take it easy this week because it doesn't count; they all count. At the end of the day, they all count. So this is -- it's live, full go and we're getting ready to go play Carolina. We are not going to say it's not a division opponent, so let's kick our feet up and take it easy this week in practice. We have to get ready against a real good football team this week.
Q. It seemed like LB Brandon Graham and DE Vinny Curry had a lot of pressure on Giants QB Eli Manning; what were they able to do?
COACH KELLY: They did. I think a lot of times, with what they do, because they get the ball – a lot of quicks where they are releasing five guys into the route, there's a lot of single blocks going across the front. So, obviously, it becomes a match up with our D-Line against their O-line. And I thought Vinny played really well; I thought Fletch [DE Fletcher Cox] played well; I thought all those guys -- it was good to see that. And the one thing that you have to do to disrupt the rhythm and timing, because the ball is out so quick, is get a push and pass rush and I thought we did that.
Q. Bradford had another interception thrown into the end zone; what did you see in that?
COACH KELLY: We had a match up, we felt like we had [TE Zach] Ertz on the safety and the ball was just a little bit behind him. But, as we were going, that's what we were trying to do; that's what the play call was; that's what we tried to do. The ball was just a little bit behind him, from where I saw it.
Q. I think no X-plays, coverage-wise; what did you do better today?
COACH KELLY: I think we were on -- did a combination of both things. I think it's the pass rush and, in terms of what they do, the ball is out quick. So then we talked about if the ball is out quick and it's completed, we have to tackle, and I thought we tackled better on the back end.
Q. The miscommunication between the receivers and the quarterbacks, is that happening at a little bit of an alarming rate for you?
COACH KELLY: Any time we are not on the right page, then we are concerned.
Q. Can you trace the miscommunication; is it from the sideline going in? Is that where it is? You've had these guys together since spring.
COACH KELLY: Yeah, we know that.
Q. Can you trace where --
COACH KELLY: It's not one specific thing; it's not always the same thing. So it is not just, "Hey, this happened, so let's correct it." At one point in time, it's the receiver, and at the other point in time we didn't get it communicated. So it's a group of guys, so we've got to get it straightened out.
