POSTED: Friday January 2nd 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
GIANTS NOTEBOOK, JANUARY 2, 2008
By Michael Eisen
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – For the first time in 14 weeks, the Giants will not play a football game this weekend. But that doesn’t mean they’ll have two days without football. Most of the players and coaches will watch the NFL Wild Card games on television.
“I will watch all of the games,” Coach Tom Coughlin said today. “Everybody will. It is this time of year. What else – this is it. This is what it is all about. I’m not going to miss these games.”
“That’s the only plan I have – sit down, relax on the couch and enjoy some football,” tight end Kevin Boss said.
The Giants earned their week off. Their 12-4 record was not only good enough to win the NFC East title, but it clinched the No. 1 seed in the conference playoffs. The Giants locked up the top seed with an overtime victory on Dec. 21 over the Carolina Panthers, who are seeded second.
This weekend, the Giants will pay particularly close interest to the two NFC games – Atlanta at Arizona tomorrow and Philadelphia at Minnesota. If the Eagles win, they will visit Giants Stadium for an NFC Divisional Playoff Game on Jan. 11. But if the Vikings defeat Philadelphia, the Giants will host the winner of the Falcons-Cardinals game.
No matter who they play, the Giants will hit the ground running when they return to work on Monday.
“We have all of the information done,” Coughlin said. “Everything is done, everything is in the computer. We have taken a couple of teams and looked at some tape with the players. But as far as sitting down and putting a plan together, no, we wouldn’t do that until we see what happens after that second game on Sunday and we know who we play.”
Some players will watch the games with an eye on the man they’ll face. Others just want to do what millions of other people do on the weekend.
“Not only are we players, but we’re fans of the game,” tackle David Diehl said. “This is a sport you grew up loving and watching. Of course, this is an exciting time; it’s what we work our entire offseason and training camp for. You never know what’s going to happen. Anybody who shows up and plays better, mistake-free football can do it whether they are on the road or at home. It’s awesome and it’s an exciting time.
“A lot of times there is an opportunity to watch a team you might play in the future and I think when you’re an offensive lineman it’s pretty funny when you’re sitting with someone and you say, ‘Did you see that block’ and they’re saying, ‘What are you talking about, that was a great run.’ It’s watching, studying and just watching the game. It‘s exciting, it’s awesome and it’s what we all play the game for – to get yourself into the postseason.”
“You just try to get a feel for the other teams,” defensive tackle Fred Robbins said. “The tempo picks up this time of year and we have the bye week, so it’s a chance to sit back, relax and see what teams are doing well, which is something we can prepare for. So yeah, I’ll definitely be watching.”
The Giants have been predictably diplomatic in discussing their potential opponents. There is no way the defending Super Bowl champions will get caught expressing a preference for one team or another.
Philadelphia is the most familiar foe, because the Eagles play in the NFC East and faced the Giants twice this season. The teams split their two games, including a 20-14 Eagles victory in Giants Stadium just four weeks ago. The Giants won at Arizona on Nov. 23 and did not play the Falcons this season.
So would the Giants like see Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook and have a chance to enjoy a little revenge against a team responsible for one of their three December defeats? Or would they prefer to bypass the Eagles and face another type of bird in the Falcons or Cardinals?
“I want to see whoever comes here,” defensive end Justin Tuck said. “It really doesn’t matter at this point. Obviously, we feel that we can have success against any team that comes here. Whether that’s McNabb and his group, Kurt Warner and his or Matt Ryan and those guys down there, too - we don’t care who we play.”
“Playing somebody we’ve already played, we know them,” wide receiver Steve Smith said. “We are familiar with them and that goes for them, too. They know us, so we can work on some of the things we did well in the game and correct some of the mistakes we had and if we play somebody new, it would be exciting to play a different team and have someone new come in here.”
The excitement will endure only if the Giants win the game.
“The thing is, you never know what can happen in the playoffs,” Robbins said. “Every team did something good to get here. Everybody’s record is 0-0 and a lot of teams have a lot of play for, so anything can happen. We have to prepare for any team from the NFC.”
Many Giants will do that this weekend by watching the playoffs on television.
*The Giants held their second bye-week practice today before getting the weekend off. Coughlin said he was pleased with the team’s attitude and execution during the workouts.
“We have worked on the areas that we really wanted to work on,” Coughlin said. “We were very thorough, very fundamental with a lot of things. And hopefully, just by virtue of the emphasis, we will get that. Do you know what I am saying? Just by virtue of the circumstance, what is at stake and the emphasis, we get better.
“I told them we wanted the full speed deal. I didn’t want them to do anything stupid, but I wanted the speed. We ran to the ball pretty well and finished our plays pretty well. So it was good.”
*Larry Ennis, a highly-respected and beloved part-time member of the Giants’ pro personnel department, passed away on New Year’s Day. He was 78.
“Larry was a humble, wonderful person with a great sports mind and an unmatched sense of humor,” general manager Jerry Reese said. “He will be truly missed by the Giants family.”
Ennis was a graduate of Montclair State University who became an industrial arts teacher and football and baseball coach at Emerson (N.J.) High School for 34 years. He joined the Giants in 1990 and worked for the organization for the rest of his life.
Ennis was stationed at West Point while serving in the US Army from 1952-1954 and was a parishioner of the Church of the Assumption in Emerson.
He is survived by his wide, Ida Ennis (nee) Formoso, four children: Larry (Sandra), Mickey (Amy), Kevin, and Sharon deMarrais (Glenn), six grandchildren: Casey, Mickey, Steven, Glenn, Kalette, and Garrett, as well and four siblings: brother Ed (Betty), Joe (Vivienne), Bob (Barbara), Roger and sister in law Mary. He was predeceased by his siblings Richard, Bill, and Margaret. He is also survived by his many loving nieces and nephews.
Family and friends are invited to visit Saturday and Sunday from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Volk Leber Funeral Home, 268 Kinderkamack Rd., Oradell, N.J. There will be a Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. Monday at the Church of the Assumption.
In lieu of flowers donations in his name may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Pl., Memphis, TN 38105 or to Pitch in for Baseball, 719 Locust La., Ambler, PA 19002.
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