Postgame Coach Coughlin
Good game. Nice way to wrap up preseason. A lot of people had a chance to play a lot of football so we're going to have some interesting discussions about some people going forward tomorrow morning. I was pleased with the way we battled. At the start of the third quarter there wasn't much going on either side of the ball offensively, so we just hung in there and kept battling. I thought we were going to be in position to kick a field goal in the series before and had some issues there with the headsets and whatever, but took the delay of game and that really set us back out. But we battled hard. We played hard. I'm just hoping that the injury situation is not too much.Q: Coach, when you think about the goals you set for yourself in the preseason, how do you make an early assessment of those goals?
A: All those goals, but also on top of the page is wins. We did win some games and that was a good thing. We do have a lot of work to do – there's no question about that. There were a lot of bright spots, and some things that we definitely need to improve upon.
Q: How's Henry [Hynoski] doing? Is it the same shoulder that he hurt last year?
A: I'm not sure exactly. The doctors haven't told me what it was. I heard him say that he thought it was some kind of cuff injury or something of that nature, but the official pronouncement from the medical team, I didn't hear.
Q: Was it the same shoulder?
A: I'd be just guessing.
Q: Tom, you were looking to get Eli [Manning] and the starting offense two or three series and get something going on. Is it hard to explain why you just can't get anything going with the passing game?
A: I thought the worst play of the night was, again, the misconnection between Rueben Randle and Eli [Manning]. "I thought, he thought" – one of those kinds of things. We're all – everyone in this room – is tired of hearing that stuff. There's no place for that.
Q: Did you see anything with your tight ends today?
A: Yeah, there was a lot of work today by the tight ends. They played a lot – all four. I thought Larry [Donnell] made some really nice catches again. Robbie (Adrien Robinson) would have been in great shape if he had been able to hang onto the ball. That would've probably created an opportunity for us to do something. They got a lot of work in today. I look forward to watching that group as well.
Q: The starters got a little less work than you had indicated. Was there any reason?
A: No, it just seemed to fall right. They had been in there two series. If they wanted to play more, they should've made some first downs and stayed out there.
Q: Did you contemplate keeping them out there because of the number of plays and it was less than what you were hoping for?
A: Yes, I did. I overruled myself, though.
Q: What was the determining factor?
A: Two series. We played two series and I think it was at eight or nine plays, and we were trying to get twelve to fifteen. They didn't all come out. Those interior guys stayed in there for quite some time.
Q: Tom, I'm sure you were hoping to build a little confidence and then have them sit the rest of the game.
A: We still ran the ball decently. We had a couple runs.
Q: Do you think this team can go into the regular season, offensively, with confidence, or do you think you have to manufacture it?
A: You have to have confidence. We've had preseasons before where we haven't had a lot of numbers with our first group, our first offense, for sure. Hopefully we can carry over.
Q: What was the thought process of keeping the interior guys in there longer?
A: We wanted them to play. We wanted them to get some play time.
Q: With [John] Jerry, in particular, you seemed to keep him out even longer.
A: He needed to play. He needed to play. I can't say it any more simply. The rookie (Weston Richburg) – we wanted to play because he needs the play time. John Jerry hasn't played much in the preseason so we left him in there to play a lot more, and I think JD [Walton] stayed in a couple more series.
Q: Mario [Manningham] had a calf?
A: Yeah, the calf.
Q: We didn't see Corey Washington until the third quarter.
A: That was the play rotation.
Postgame QB Eli ManningQ: How good has it been to kind of have a steady running game throughout the preseason?
A: It's been good. The running game's been good so that's the offensive line opening up holes, the running backs are running hard and making some big plays, so hopefully we can continue to do that.
Q: Is this the best the running game's looked to you in the past two or three seasons?A: Well, we've got to get to the regular season before we analyze that, but it seems like the guys are running well and the offensive line's opening some holes so hopefully that will continue.
Q: How do you feel overall as you head into the season?
A: I feel good, excited for next week to get ready for Detroit, get into a game plan situation and get with coach McAdoo, see what our thoughts are going to be, how we're going to attack Detroit and get into a live situation and go compete and make some plays.
Q: Are you glad the preseason is over?
A: I'm always glad the preseason's over with. My number one goal for the preseason is to get through it healthy. The only times I've ever missed games were getting injured in preseason games, so I don't want to experience that. I know there are things we need to improve on, there are things we have to get better at, but that's why we've got another week to work on a few things but also to get into Detroit and go play a real game and go compete and see what we can do.Q: Tom mentioned the miscommunication with Rueben, you thought one thing and he thought something else. He didn't really like that play very much. What happened on that?A: Well, we've just got to get the timing down so we'll look at it on film. I thought it was a little off so we've got to fix that. It's a play that we haven't really run in games much, we've run it in practice but never really quite got the look we wanted. I wanted to run it just so we got… I knew we needed to work on it in a live situation and sure enough, it didn't go like we wanted to so it's something we can continue to work on. Q: Does it matter, practicing and getting on the same page with all the guys, is there a confidence level between all the guys on the first team offense?A: Yeah, I think our confidence level is good. I think the more you can practice, the more you can practice the plays you're going to run. You get to look at it. Sometimes we're practicing a bunch of things and the second team is getting the play, different guys are running different things so I think the more we can get into a circumstance where the guys that will be running the plays will be running in the game and get a good feel and make corrections during the week and get it done right and we'll be good.Q: Did you want that one more series or are you just happy to get out of there safe?
A: I'm fine. You always… you'd like to get something going and go score. I knew we had limited time, we didn't get it done. It was just good to get out and get out healthy.**
WR Rueen RandleQ: What happened on that one play that was kind of off?**
A: The timing. We just didn't communicate on the sideline, so the next time we communicate we'll be able to connect on it.
Q: Eli said you haven't run that much in games? So he kind of said he wanted to run it and didn't know if it would work.
A: Yeah, it's something you're going to get better at. You know, we've got practice next week. I'm pretty sure we're going to run it. Do our practice and make sure the timing is right so if it happens next week, we'll be able to complete it.Q: What's your confidence level at 10-11 days from now, a lot of these problems will be worked out for the games that count?
A: Very high. I think we all know that when it's starting to count that we'll really click and get this offense rolling and we'll have a lot more reps on our belt, a lot more time to correct some things and make some more plays.Q: So this is not alarming, is it disturbing?
A: Not if you ask me, I don't think so.
Q: You said a lot of the interceptions last year were a miscommunication, how different is this from that?
A: Well, now it's just timing. We just have to make sure we communicate and make sure we're on the same page with the timing and all the concepts, wrapping my head around when the quarterback is ready to throw.Q: How do you work on timing, is that something you can do in practice?
A: Come to practice, and just got to learn the clock and the quarterback's head, what's going on, just comes with more reps.Q: Are you ready to get the regular season going?
A: Yeah, of course. I think preseason was good and now it's time to get things rolling and go out and show what we can do.Q: How confident are you that you guys can get a good start?
A: Yeah, I'm very confident. We're going to try and prepare this week and once we get our game plan in as soon as possible and make sure we're all communicating and on the same page we'll be able to start the weekend.Q: It's only preseason but how much does the 0-6 start from last season stick in your head?
A: I forgot about it. I'm not even thinking about it right now, I don't want to. It's a new start for everyone on this team. Trying to start over a new chapter in our careers so we're trying to worry about those.Q: I get a sense everyone is ready for a new start?
A: I think so, I think that's the vibe with everyone around this locker room, pretty excited about what we can do, what we have to set forth in the future. I don't think we want to dwell on the past and things that happened, it's about starting over and doing the right things now.Q: How about Eli, what's his frame of mind going into this?
A: I don't know, I think you have to ask him.Q: No, but I mean from what you see playing with him.
A: Oh, I think he's going to be ready, man. He's very talented… I'm pretty sure. We have a lot more time to game plan now than we have throughout this preseason, so I think we'll be well prepared and all ready to go.Q: Are you concerned at all about what's happened offensively?
A: No.
Postgame WR Victor Cruz
Q: Does any of this bother you, the lack of production, or are you just glad the preseason is over with and let's move on?
A: No, I'm ready to move on. I'm ready to move on to Week 1. I'm ready to get a good week of practice in come next week and get our focus onto Week 1 and starting the season off on the right foot, and I'm excited for that opportunity.
Q: With the limited number of plays you guys get in the preseason, is it hard to get into a rhythm and get some continuity?
A: It is, it is, because you want to get out there and have some reps to kind of build on, to get warmed up, to see how the defense is playing you, and you want to have that opportunity, and it's tough to do that in the preseason when you only get a certain number of plays to go out there and get your game right. So, it's definitely frustrating as a competitor with those amount of reps, but that's over with now and we have to get ready for Week 1 where we're going to be essentially playing the entire game, and playing to win and these games count now.
Q: Are you guys excited about this new offense?
A: Absolutely. We're excited about it. We see areas that we can execute and make big plays with, and we're excited for that opportunity. We're excited to put that on display come Monday night.Q: At the end of the game when [Bill] Belichick goes for it on 4th down, are you going 'thank you?'
A: I mean, I guess so. I mean at that point, we're just spectators, we're just fans of the game. We just want to see a good game and want to see our younger guys go out there and put their best foot forward. I mean that's all we want to see. The scenarios and stuff like that are secondary to us. Just being fans and watching those young guys play.
Q: … but the last thing you want to do is go into overtime?
A: I wouldn't mind, man. Whatever the case may be, we're just out there ready to see a game. Whether it goes to overtime, I'm not going to leave. I can't leave or anything like that. I'm going to stay out there and watch it, so I can't be mad at it, but thank God it didn't go to overtime, we'll leave it at that.
Q: Have you heard about the new NFL policy for domestic violence?
A: I haven't.
Q: … six games for first-time offenders and a lifetime ban for a second. Thoughts as a player?
A: I think it's good. I think that's not allowed in any scenario for a man to strike his significant other, or the other way around, however it may go. I think it's a stern rule and it's something that he kind of had to put his foot down on and it's something that the NFL needed. It's something that they hadn't addressed because essentially there haven't been any issues with that per say at least to the magnitude of Ray Rice. So it was something that he had to do, and I think he made the right choice.**
Center Weston RicburgQ: Do you feel like you personally are ready for the regular season?**
A: Well, I don't have a choice. Like I said, the preseason was good to me, I think. It gave me a lot of valuable experience and I am definitely ready to get into the regular season.
Q: You definitely saw a lot of snaps. Probably the most of all of the offensive linemen, right?
A: Uh, I'm not sure about that but it was very good for me. I am glad that I got the snaps that I got.Q: How did you feel with that first unit, with you and John (Jerry) with the three guys that had been starting? I know it was only eight snaps but did you get some continuity together?
A: Yeah. The thing about the offensive line, we are all using the same terminology, no matter who is in there. So if we can all just communicate like we do with our regular group that we are in there with, it should be fine. I think we communicated well and we did some good things, I think.
Q: You have said that you will play wherever but to spend a game at left guard knowing there is a strong possibility you will have to do that, is that a positive for you at this point? To stay at one spot and focus on that?
A: Yeah. It is just good to be able to have one spot to maybe focus more on this week, I guess. Because Geoff's (Schwartz) out. So maybe focus more on that. But it is important to me to continue to get better at those three interior positions because you never know where you may be needed to go in in case of an injury or anything like that.Q: Is there stuff that is specific to left guard that you focused more on this week? Or does it not really make a difference?
A: Yeah. Just technique. You are always working your technique to try to get better. When you are facing an opponent like you are going to face this week, it is important to work that and continue to work that, especially in a game like this. And then through next week as well.Q: What do you think it will take for you to look at yourself as the starter at left guard? You have said all along you are focused on three different positions even now. But it really looks like come next week you will be the starting left guard for this team. Do you see yourself as that? Do you need a coach to tell you that?
A: No, I don't think I need (a coach to tell me that). The way I see it is, as an offensive lineman, you have to be able to play multiple positions. Right now I may be slated as one of the first guys to go in at left guard and that's great. But I need to be prepared, always working on my craft just in case something happens to another guy so I can be able to go in there and play another position.
