Giants Confident if Colt McCoy Has to Run the Show

If Daniel Jones can't play against the Seahawks, the Giants feel that backup Colt McCoy can run a productive enough offense to give them a fighting chance.

Barring a miracle, quarterback Daniel Jones (hamstring) will miss the game against the Seahawks. That much isn’t a surprise.

But what is a surprise is how the coaching staff wants us to believe that things won’t drastically change with Colt McCoy under center.

But that’s not quite how it is, at least not according to offensive coordinator Jason Garrett.

“I think the biggest thing you try to do for a backup quarterback is just try to create a comfortable environment for him,” he said. “That’s what you’re trying to do every week for your starting quarterback.”

As in scaling back the playbook?

“I don’t know that it’s scale back or cut down,” Garrett said. “There’s nothing mentally or physically that Colt (McCoy) is not capable of doing. You’re always trying to create an environment where your players are comfortable with what they’re doing.”

That includes getting used to the speed of the game, an area in which a backup quarterback whose starting reps are few and far between can lose a feel for.

“Typically, your starting quarterback gets a ton of reps with the ones all throughout training camp, all throughout the week. The backup quarterback has fewer opportunities to do that,” Garrett said.

“You just have to be mindful of that and understand that he is going into a game that’s being played at full speed by guys who have been playing at that speed all throughout the year. He has to kind of catch up to that speed, if you will.”

• RELATED: Colt McCoy: The Good, the Great, and the Ugly

McCoy shook his head and grinned--or maybe that was a wince--when someone asked him if he viewed himself as a liability given his backup quarterback status.

"No, you can’t ever look at yourself that way," he said. "I think that’s why the scout team is valuable. You’re not necessarily getting your team’s offensive reps, but you’re getting reps. You’re working on footwork, and you’re working on IDs. You’re working on seeing coverages--different protection looks.

However, the scout team is not necessarily the offense that the Giants will be running that week. So isn't the backup quarterback's "grasp" of what the Giants are planning to run more mental than it is execution?

"You’re right, running our offense, executing our offense and what we do is all mental for me," McCoy said. "At least up to this point it has been. (Daniel Jones) and I spend a lot of time together studying. ‘How are we going to play this if they do this? How are we going to see it if they do this?’ The communication has been great. But again, there’s nothing like reps, so you’re right."

The good news for the Giants is they believe McCoy is indeed up to speed and ready to roll if he indeed gets the start.

“I thought Colt did a really good job last week in the game getting comfortable and allowing us to function as an offense,” Garrett said. “I thought he handled himself really well.

“If he does have to play in the ball game this week, hopefully, he’ll be comfortable. You look for things in his past he’s comfortable with. With you or with somebody else. Just so when that ball is snapped, it’s all internalized in him. He’s just going out there and playing football.”

And hopefully bringing home a win.

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