New York Giants youngster Evan Engram claims he didn't mind Ben McAdoo going after his inability to catch a football right before the coach was fired.

This might not seem like a big deal, but it could have been easier for Evan Engram to join everyone else, and simply pile on Ben McAdoo and the coach's firing. Instead, he touched on respecting his former head coach.

First, the context:

When McAdoo was still the coach of the Giants, he was asked what Engram needed to do to get out of his slump. He responded in kind:

“I believe he needs to catch the damn ball.’’ McAdoo said. “And I believe he will catch the ball.’’

That seems harsh. Apparently, however, it is a good thing.

“It was really plain and simple: I just had to catch the rock,’’ Engram told The New York Post. “That’s why I respect Ben. He pushed me. Held me to a high standard. I put that in the tank when I go to work. I respect that. I didn’t see any backlash from that. I saw it, he told me straight up, I just had to lock in on some basic, small things. It’s my job to run around and catch the ball. Dropping balls is me not doing my job. Had to make some corrections and make some plays.’’

“It’s tough, it’s real tough,’’ Engram said. “Coach Mac, I respect the heck out of him, owe him a lot in helping me transition and come in and teaching me. We still got four games left, so it’s weird coming in, and we got to keep focused, keep working. That’s just me learning how things work in this league. I was praying for Ben, but we got to keep moving. He would want us to be focused and locked in on Dallas.’’

Welp, it appears Big Bad Ben had at least one fan in the locker room.