Adam Henry Believes Brandon Marshall’s Experience Will Help Receivers

The New York Giants made several position coaches available to the media on Wednesday, including secondary/safeties coach Dave Merritt and offensive line coach Mike Solari.

Second year wide receivers coach Adam Henry also spoke to the media, and it doesn’t take much imagination to guess who most of the questions were about.

On Odell Beckham Jr. ...

Obviously, many of the early questions to Henry were about Beckham’s widely noted absence from OTAs. The coach responded to them with variations on “I coach who is here,” echoing Ben McAdoo from last Friday’s press conference.

Henry does believe that Beckham — who has posted several videos of himself working out — will be in shape when the coaches are able to get their hands on him.

He also said that he believes that Beckham can continue to improve as a wide receiver.

“You can always work to get better,” he said. “There are stages to getting better in the maturation process. When he is here he works and we’re just going to get him better.”

“Route techniques,” he added, when asked for clarification “things like that getting better.”

On Brandon Marshall ...

Reporters first wanted to know what the 6’4”, 230-pound, six-time Pro Bowl receiver brings to the team.

“Experience,” Henry answered. “He is soaking in the offense every day. He is getting more familiar with it and more comfortable. He has been really good and a really good professional. Just helping the guys with little things for us, just pulling them to the side and helping them on different techniques and things like that. He has been really good in the meeting.”

Once Marshall was signed as a free agent, the speculation immediately began that there might not be enough passes to go around between he and Beckham — not to mention Sterling Shepard the Giants’ other options.

Henry doesn’t believe that will be an issue. “No,” he said, when asked about it, “because he’s made it clear that he came here to help and do whatever he can in that capacity and he has done that thus far, so he has never shown me any type of wavering on what he needs to do. That’s what’s great about in the room because guys just want to get work and get better.”

Of course more than just his experience, Marshall does bring a physical element to the Giants’ offense that they have largely lacked since Hakeem Nicks’ foot injury, or even losing Plaxico Burress in 2008.

“Just the size and just the experience of making plays,” Henry said of Marshall’s physical presence. “The thing is he goes out there and blocks. He does like the dirty work and he is not scared to do that. It’s just him finding a role and he knows he embraces whatever we ask him to do. He’s been good about it.”

“It will help in the [physical] dimension,” he added. I like all types of receivers. I like big, small, fast so it is just how you use them in that capacity. The biggest thing is you have to beat the defender with your feet. It doesn’t matter how big you are, you still have to beat them with your feet. It’s about the foot speed and it’s about things like that but, this helps though.”

Henry also hinted that his coaching might be tough than what Marshall is used to from his other stops around the NFL.

“He has a good resume,” he said. “But again, you know I coach him hard now. It has been a new experience for him so it has been good.”

Asked to elaborate he said, “Because I’m more of a details person. Just getting the little things out of him and coaching him on every play to improve whether good or bad. But, he’s embraced it. He turns around and gives me that look every now and then, but it’s been good.”

On Sterling Shepard ...

On whether Shepard will play more outside:

It just depends. The thing is we just have to create matchups and him playing outside a little bit more could be in the cards. Right now he has been working hard and he has been out there and he looks really good right now.

On Evan Engram ...

What he has seen from Engram:

He is, as I see, he works hard and is a hard worker. He finishes everything and I have been pleasantly surprised about him.

Whether the additions of Engram and Marshall will cut into opportunities for other players.

Not really. I don’t see it. It is just how teams are going to play you. Strategically it will be different so we will see how they are going to play us and then as a coach we just make adjustments off of that.