Head Coach Tom Coughlin

Conference Call

Monday, August 20, 2007

Opening Statement:

I will just update what I said last night about the injured players.  Michael Jennings and the left Achilles tendon rupture, obviously that will have to be a surgical repair.  Will Demps and the right elbow dislocation, again prognosis in the three-week range.  (Sam) Madison with the hamstring, I really don?t have a lot to report on that today.  Normally depending on the severity, it would be a couple of weeks. We will have to see what that is all about. (Grey) Ruegamer has the high ankle sprain and he will probably miss the rest of the preseason.  Steve Smith with the concussion seems to be doing well today.  We will have to take all the neuro-type examinations, as will Jonas Seawright, who also had a concussion.  They will have to have all of the tests before they are cleared to practice.  I do know that Steve is doing much better today. 

Are you worried about Madison being ready for the start of the season?

I think any time that you have one of these injuries and you are up in the air as you close in on the regular season, it certainly is a concern.  Obviously you have to strengthen, you have to condition, and you have to practice.  Hopefully this kind of timetable will put him right into game week ready to go. 

Because of his hamstring problems last season are you more apt to rest him if he is not ready to play?

We are going to see for sure and do the right thing for our team.  If the doctors do advise something other than allowing him to come back full speed, then we will have to follow that.  Speculating is a difficult thing because you are not aware of how this is going to be in two weeks.  Maybe he is ready to go, I don?t know. He has dealt with these things before.  From that standpoint he will know more about how his body is reacting to his rehabilitation. 

Was the turf an issue on any of the injuries? Specifically Jennings and Madison?

You always say when there is an Achilles involved, ?What really did take place??  Was it something that had been damaged and just was going to go at who knows when, a precise time when a certain action of your weight-bearing shift causes it?  What exactly takes place?  I don?t know if there is an answer.  I do know that the turf seemed to be in good shape and because it was wet normally that even makes it less responsible for injuries.  The interesting thing about Michael Jennings? play was that he not only pushed off and drove to the sideline, he dove and made the catch after the injury. 

Is Corey Webster going to take over for Sam Madison?

Corey is certainly a guy that has played well and played solid last night.  I will let you know once we get a chance.  We really haven?t had a chance to talk about a lot of things today.  It has just been one of those days.  Just trying to get the medical stuff straight and see how much time people were involved has been the majority of my time.  Corey will certainly get a lot of consideration. 

How do you feel Aaron Ross played?

Well, it was good to have him out there.  He got in the game and made a couple of tackles, gave up a couple of pass completions, but I am sure the more he plays the better he is going to be in regard to that.  He made a nice tackle on kickoff coverage.  Getting him involved, getting him in the game, and getting him the play-time was very, very positive.

Has Corey Webster progressed well now that he is back to practicing twice a day and how is hip doing?

He had the day last week when he did not work, but he came right back strong from it and played well in the game.  He has made good progress. 

How close is the kicking competition and how much did Josh Huston help himself?

That is something that we obviously want to keep going (with) the competition bringing out the best in each of the kickers.  Huston certainly helped himself last night with the 50-yard field goal and the 30-yard field goal and the kickoffs that were consistent and deep with some hang time so that the coverage was a factor.  He definitely helped himself and it was good to see.  Now, hopefully, we will get some opportunities for Lawrence (Tynes) as well.

How frustrating are injuries during the preseason?

To be honest with you, from the head coach?s standpoint, it is one of the most, I would have to say, not only frustrating but depressing things that you have to deal with.  It is a part of the game and we all understand that, but you would like to play through these preseason games with some kind of a clean slate so that the football team that you bring to camp, that you bring along during the course of camp, that you work with in the spring, you have an opportunity to play the regular season with.  Today I am very down about the Michael Jennings? thing.  Here is a guy who has just worked his ever-loving (ass) off and done everything that you asked him to do.  He had been spending an awful lot of time since the year he was on practice squad working on being a punt returner as well, so he had another opportunity to make the team from that standpoint.  He got better week in and week out, almost practice in and practice out.  He had a really nice night last night and then the injury struck.  It is a very difficult thing to deal with. 

How do you think the quarterbacks played?

Well, it was interesting. Eli (Manning) had 25 snaps, Jared Lorenzen had 27, and Tim Hasselbeck had 13.  I thought that given the set of circumstances Eli played very well.  Probably I guess if you just look at it from the standpoint of balls that were on the money was probably 12 of 13 with regard to that.  I thought the touchdown pass was a very good play.  I thought that he did a good job with the maneuvering of the protection schemes with the ability to adjust the play at the line of scrimmage.  The clock did run out on us one time, but for the most part he did a good job of that.  He played well in the opener and I think he played well last night against a very good defensive team.  Jared Lorenzen did some good things.  In addition to running the ball and keeping the ball, he did a pretty good job last night as well.  Then Tim Hasselbeck, you see the kind of competitor he is, having been able to drive the team in that four-minute issue there, just prior to the four minute issue.  I thought he did a good job of that. Of course you are always not satisfied if you don?t get the ball in the end zone and there was only the one touchdown last night.  You would like to have had the score from the long run by (Ahmad) Bradshaw, but we did get ourselves into field goal position.  We were able to get it down to just shy of a first down and punt the ball with very little time left.  I thought that there were contributions from all three that were very strong and there was some good field generalship that went on as well. 

Did you intend to give Anthony Wright some time?

No.  This was Tim?s opportunity this week.

How impressed were you with how the defense bounced back from that first game?

Anytime you keep an opponent in a strong, physical team like the Raven offense team out of the end zone, you?ve done a good job.  I was impressed with a couple of things.  One, we gave them the ball at the 12-yard line, point-blank range, and we were able to send them backwards and force a field a goal there, which I thought was a huge, huge statement in the game.  It also spoke to the point that with the kind of focus that went into last week, sudden change was not an issue for our defense.  Our defense still felt confidence even in that situation, going out and getting the job done.  I thought that one of the things that points out again about our sport is that our defensive team was not happy with the way we performed last week.  I think the players focused very well, the coaches focused very well, they prepared themselves, they were physical, they were intense, and they played like what you would obviously hope for.  It goes along with a sign that we have in our locker room which is ?Prepare, practice, and play as if you lost your last game,? and I think it speaks to the idea of concentration and how important that is in our game.  The fact that we weren?t satisfied and we went out and did something about it is a good thing. 

Do you think bringing in Manny Wright and Tui Alailefaleula during the week lit a fire underneath the defense?

I don?t know.  I think Manny made a nice play and Tui got a chance to play.  We brought them in for purposes of depth and for purposes of being more stout against the run and with the exception of a couple of plays, we were.  Their contribution came later on but the fact that they are there and hopefully making some progress is a plus. 

What is your reaction to the news that Michael Vick is going to plead guilty?

I just think that it is a very sad thing.  I never heard anything today; it is one of those days as I have said.  I heard that this was possibly going to be the case as of today and I just think that it is a sad thing, a tragic, horrific situation.  Certainly others will have more to say about it who are more aware of the circumstances than I, but I am very sorry to hear it. 

Have you heard anything more about Michael Strahan?

No.  I have not heard anything.  

Is there any update on Jeremy Shockey?s hamstring tightness?

He is in the limited category.  Hopefully there?s not much to it.  He does have tightness. Hopefully that can be worked out right away so that Jeremy can practice this week.  We will have to see. That is another one of those things that I can tell you what is the written word, but we are going to have to see how it goes. 

Did Amani Toomer come out of the game OK?

Yes he did.