POSTED: Friday August 28th 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Giants Notebook, August 28, 2009

By Michael Eisen

*Not expected to play against the Jets due to injury: Defensive linemen Chris Canty (hamstring) and Jay Alford (knee), cornerbacks Aaron Ross (hamstring) and Stoney Woodson (ankle), linebackers Antonio Pierce (foot) and Michael Boley (PUP/hip), wide receiver David Tyree (hamstring), offensive lineman Orrin Thompson (quad) and running back Andre Brown (Achilles).

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The very last of the hundreds of questions from the media that Tom Coughlin answered in training camp was: “What do you think about the Jets vs. the Giants preseason game?”

“What do I think about it?” Coughlin said. “Third preseason game. That’s what it is.”

 

So much for stoking the fires of a local rivalry.

 

In truth, Coughlin is not nearly as concerned with the identity of this week’s opponent as he is with the performance of his own team. The Giants did not play anywhere close to his – or anyone else’s - standards in last week’s 17-3 loss in Chicago. And tomorrow night’s meeting with the Jets is the game in which his starters will get their longest stint of the preseason. This is as close to a regular season game as the team is going to get until the Washington Redskins visit Giants Stadium on Sept. 13.

 

“It’s the dress rehearsal,” defensive end Justin Tuck said. “We know that. We know the third game of the preseason is normally the game that the starters play a little bit into the second half, at least the first half. We got a lot of guys that have been in a situation like this, so we know what to expect from it. Obviously, we are looking forward to it, we have a great opponent coming in. They have a new coach who will be trying to feel his team out, too. Hopefully, we can have a better showing than we had up in Chicago.”

 

“This is kind of the last preseason game where you’ll play an extended period of time,” quarterback Eli Manning said. “Kind of really the last dress rehearsal is how we think of it. We are going to play into the third quarter. Both teams have kind of put in all their blitzes and all their stuff. So whether they show it all or not, it’s kind of a game where you want to go out there and play your best because this will be the last time we will be out there for extended period, so you want to go out there and play well.”

 

No one on the Giants claims they did that last week. The game in Chicago was one of those in which little went right. The offense was out of sync, the defense surrendered big plays, and the special teams failed to light a spark. They’re not going to dwell on the final score in a preseason game, but the Giants would certainly like to turn toward the regular season with a better outing than what they showed in Soldier Field.

 

“When you have a poor performance it can be a wakeup call,” Manning said. “It can get the guys coming together, realizing we have to be focused.”

 

This is the 41st consecutive preseason in which the Giants and Jets are squaring off, and the last time in Giants Stadium, where the Giants have played since 1976 and the Jets since 1984. But the rivalry, if one exists, is more for the fans. The players and coaches certainly don’t obsess over it. They are more concerned with preparing for the season than vanquishing a foe that plays in the other conference.

 

But for the Giants, this game could prove very interesting in that light. The Jets have a new head coach in Rex Ryan, previously the Baltimore Ravens’ defensive coordinator. Ryan employs a defense that pressures quarterbacks from the time they run out of the tunnel until they return to the locker room. The game should be a good test for the Giants’ offensive line, which is always focused on keeping Manning upright.

 

“The Jets are a very aggressive defensive team, a pressure, pressure, pressure team,” Coughlin said. “That part of it will be interesting. You would obviously like to see (the receivers) have a chance with Eli and the offensive line, to have some protection so that the ball could be thrown. We know what we expect to see.”

 

“The Jets are going to have a complex blitz package,” Manning said. “We are going to have to watch film and probably have some more game preparation than we have these last few weeks for this preseason game. A lot of times we just kind of go into our base plays and you have to adjust. This week we’ll do a little bit more preparing for the Jets and their schemes. So we hope to go out there and play well because we know as the first group this will be kind of our last game preparation. In the last preseason game we only play about a series.”

 

Coughlin is not certain how long the starters will play. He generally lets them play into the third quarter in this game. But the number of snaps they get will help determine whether that holds true tomorrow. Another factor could be the weather. Showers and high winds are in the forecast, and the field could be wet.

 

“I saw the rain was predicted, but now it’s rain and wind and this storm,” Coughlin said. “We’ll have to wait and see. Hopefully, we can still do what we want to do in order to feature some people and try to get a look. We just have to react. We’ll go in thinking we can do everything that we talked about doing.”

 

 What they’ve talked most about is playing better than they did last week.

*Not expected to play against the Jets due to injury: Defensive linemen Chris Canty (hamstring) and Jay Alford (knee), cornerbacks Aaron Ross (hamstring) and Stoney Woodson (ankle), linebackers Aaron Pierce (foot) and Michael Boley (PUP/hip), wide receiver David Tyree (hamstring), offensive lineman Orrin Thompson (quad) and running back Andre Brown (Achilles).

*The Giants trail in the preseason series, 21-18-1. The Giants are 2-3 in preseason play vs. the Jets under Coughlin. The Jets won last year’s game, 10-7.

 

 

 

New York Giants 2009 Preseason

Media Schedule, Day-by-Day

 

 

 

Saturday, August 29

Jets at Giants, 8 p.m.

 

Sunday, August 30

TBD – Tom Coughlin Conference Call

 

Monday, August 31

11:10 – 11:55 a.m. - Player Interviews

1:55 – 3:40 p.m. Practice

After Practice – Tom Coughlin available on field

 

Tuesday, September 1

11:25 a.m. – 1:25 p.m. - Practice

After Practice – Tom Coughlin available on field

1:40 – 2:25 p.m. – Open Locker Room

 

Wednesday, September 2

No scheduled availability

Giants Kickoff Luncheon

Travel to New England

 

Thursday, September 3

Giants at Patriots, 7:30 p.m.

 

Friday, September 4

TBD – Tom Coughlin and Select Players Conference Call

 

Saturday, September 5

No scheduled availability

Players Day off

 

Sunday, September 6

No scheduled availability

Players Day off

 

Monday, September 7

Approx. 11:30 a.m. - Player Interviews

Approx. 12:30 p.m. – Tom Coughlin Available

 

Tuesday, September 8

No scheduled availability

Players Day off

 

Wednesday, September 9

11:00 a.m. – Tom Coughlin available, TPC Auditorium

11:35 a.m.-1:25 p.m. – Practice

1:40-2:25 p.m. – Player Interviews

T.B.D. – Conference call with Washington head coach Jim Zorn

T.B.D. – Conference call with Washington player

 

Thursday, September 10

11:35 a.m.-1:25 p.m. – Practice

After Practice – Tom Coughlin available on field

1:40-2:25 p.m. – Player Interviews

After Practice – Coordinators available

 

Friday, September 11

11:15 a.m.-12:55 p.m. – Practice

After Practice – Tom Coughlin available

1:15-2 p.m. – Player Interviews

 

Saturday, September 12

No scheduled availability

 

Sunday, September 13

Regular Season Opener: Redskins at Giants, 4:15 p.m.

 

Monday, September 14

2:15-3:00 p.m. – Player Interviews

3:05 p.m. – Tom Coughlin, TPC Auditorium

 

 

 

Normal In-Season Weekly Media Schedule

 

Monday

2:15-3:00 p.m. – Player Interviews

3:05 p.m. – Tom Coughlin, TPC Auditorium

 

Tuesday

No scheduled availability

 

Wednesday

11:00 a.m. – Tom Coughlin available, TPC Auditorium

11:35 a.m.-1:25 p.m. – Practice

1:40-2:25 p.m. – Player Interviews; Eli Manning Available

T.B.D. – Conference calls with opposing team

 

Thursday

11:35 a.m.-1:25 p.m. – Practice

After Practice – Tom Coughlin available in TPC Field House

After Practice – Coordinator availability

1:40-2:25 p.m. – Player Interviews

 

Friday

11:15 a.m.-12:55 p.m. – Practice

After Practice – Tom Coughlin available in TPC Field House

1:15-2 p.m. – Player Interviews

 

Saturday

No scheduled availability

 

Sunday

Game Day

 

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Keywords · New York Giants · NFL · Tom Coughlin

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Name: Avis Roper
Organization: New York Giants
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