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Coughlin's Corner
By Michael Eisen, Giants.com

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January 11, 2007

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - The Coughlin Corner, Giants.com's exclusive weekly interview with head coach Tom Coughlin:

A: Is there such a thing as team psyche, and if so, did your team clear a psychological hurdle by winning the Wild Card Game last week at Tampa Bay.

Coughlin: "I don't know. We never talked about it. We never discussed the winning of the first playoff game. We talked about winning. We didn't talk about anything else. We didn't talk about the fact that as soon as we were in the playoffs the very next question was an attempt to try to create a stir over what we were going to do in terms of winning your first game. The next day the next question was what are you going to do about your next playoff game. So we never talked about that. You know the exact situation that you are in, the fact that you are in the tournament, that the tournament is single-elimination. So you win, you are in; you lose, you go home. That's not a pleasant alternative."

Q: You talked about excitement at this time of year. Do you sense now that you have won and you are going into the second round that there is more excitement among the players?

Coughlin: "There is always a buildup. The simple equation is 12 to eight (teams that are alive) and the amount of focus on the playoffs and the magnifying effect that the media and the networks put on the game is an exciting thing. Obviously, the players are aware. The first meeting of the week they are all bouncing around and they are ready to get into the meeting. So you know it is a different time."

Q: You have talked often about winning on the road. But you have also been frequent underdogs. Do you sense that the players enjoy being viewed as underdogs?

Coughlin: "We are always underdogs. It doesn't matter who we play, it always comes around to - we are underdogs in our own stadium, sometimes by a lot of points. I don't necessarily play that role up either. But I make it obvious to them that we are. We are the underdog or we are a team that is not picked to win, or whatever. They don't discuss that in meetings. We certainly make sure they are aware of it. We have signs and indicators. So whatever we want to psychologically make an impression on them, we have done with signs and we have done that for quite some time this year."

Q: Eli Manning was under intense scrutiny before the New England and Tampa Bay games the previous two weeks. Were you pleased with how he responded?

Coughlin: "I am pleased with what he did in Buffalo (the week prior to the Patriots game). Nobody else is. But you try to stand out there in that weather and in that circumstance. We hung in there. When you turn it over, there is no good time. But the start of the third wasn't a very good time. But we battled back and he directed us into all of that run yardage (289 yards), which he does all of the time. He did a good job of that. We won a game that we had to win when our backs were to the wall. He has performed in his role very well the last two games. He has done the things to lead our team to give us a chance to win. If there is a time to be at your very best, it certainly is now."

Q: Did he play a particularly smart game the other day in that he kept you out of trouble and did not throw an interception?

Coughlin: "A very smart game; very smart game. He took very, very good care of the ball. He used his eyes and his body language to direct the defense into some of the positions that they got themselves into as he converted touchdowns and first downs and moved us up the field despite a very good defensive team - second in the league. So he certainly did an outstanding job of that. And as I said, he knew the circumstances, he knew how we wanted to play the game, and he knew how critical it was in the playoffs. When a team doesn't turn the ball over in the playoffs they win it 86 percent of the time; no giveaways, they win it 86 percent. So he was very much aware of that."

Q: Was your plan going into the Tampa Bay game to have Brandon Jacobs run the ball for three quarters and then give the ball to Ahmad Bradshaw?

Coughlin: "No, not necessarily. It just worked that way. We were going to use both players. But it worked that way."

Q: Was there any, for lack of a better word, trepidation on your part in giving the ball to a rookie in the fourth quarter of a playoff game?

Coughlin: "It was another very good experience for Ahmad and another opportunity for him to prove his ability to keep ball security as the very, very biggest priority. And he did a good job of that. He also moved the chains and that was a good thing, too."

Q: You are really getting great contributions from your rookie class. All eight draft choices played the other day. In your experience, is it unusual for so many first-year players to fill these roles in the playoffs?

Coughlin: "If there is a time when the rookies will be able to contribute, it is now because it has been a buildup thing for them over the course of the season, where they had roles to play and they have been exposed to different things. They have been able to meet the task and rise up to the occasion, if you will, from the standpoint of their physical ability and their mental ability to comprehend the importance of each play. They have worked themselves into this. Sometimes because of injuries they don't get a chance. But in the case of this week they have all had at least one opportunity to make a contribution. And for the most part, they have done a good job."

Q: Jeff Feagles didn't get much attention after last week's game. But he had a couple of big punts, particularly when the drive after Corey Webster's interception stalled, and he's handled several difficult snaps as the holder. Are his contributions overlooked?

Coughlin: "He is not overlooked by any of us. His contributions have been extremely major. Any number of times he has won the game ball. The big thing he did the other day, of course, was change the field. The one particular drive that was very backed up and was potentially a dangerous situation for us because, by all accounts, they would take the ball at midfield, they started at the minus-33. So that was huge. And again, under pressure, and of course, look at (rookie snapper) Zak DeOssie under pressure. The last two punts were critical to us winning the game. Both punts were there. In one situation at the end of the game was the potential of an 11-man rush. It became a nine-man rush. But it was critical that the ball get out of there. And it was and he was able to meet that challenge as well."

Q: Lawrence Tynes made 24 of 27 field goal attempts this season, but he did not have to try a pressure kick to win or tie at the end of a game. That might happen in the playoffs. Do you try to create pressure situations in practice? Can you?

Coughlin: "Every time we do it, every time we kick in practice, we simulate the pressure because all of the coaches are around, I'm around. I'm telling him and giving him situations. Whenver he kicks it - for example on Friday we kicked the May Day field goal that is sort of a way in which you launch yourself into the rest of the practice. And you get a feeling that if we make that, then it is going to be a good practice and it starts us the right way. He feels that as well. So that goes on. There were times in training camp where we surrounded him. The whole team would be there and he would sense the feel of that. One day we had a kick-off in which the winning team got to stay out an extra hour. So they sense that, no question. But he is under pressure every time he kicks in a game. When you look at these games, they are so close."

Q: Prior to last week, Corey Webster had not played a lot. When he did play, he was maligned in the media. When it became obvious that he was going to start last week, did you or one of your coaches go to him and say, "I have faith in you and the team has faith in you?"

Coughlin: "Maybe not in so many words. But the idea that he could perform and do the job and do it well was conveyed in the fact that he had kept himself prepared mentally. He never went in the tank, if you will, when he was a starter, then he was a non-starter. And he still practiced, worked hard, did the things that were necessary. I watch the guys real closely that are in that situation. He was very, very supportive of the guys playing. And on the sideline he was all over the corners that were in the game in terms of calls and in terms of his ability to help in any way he could from a coverage standpoint, a tip standpoint. What he saw he was very good about that. Early in the game they went up on top and tried to get (Joey) Galloway and he had covered well. The play that he intercepted was just an outstanding play. He created the situation where the ball was more of his than it was Galloway's because of his body position."

Q: Last week your chief concern seemed to be scoring against the NFL's No. 2 defense. Is it too simplistic to say your primary goal this week is to shut down the league's second-highest scoring offense in Dallas?

Coughlin: "That is way too simple. They are ninth on defense, fourth on offense. So you are talking about a team that is just a good football team. They are big, they are strong and they are powerful on both sides of the ball. They have a lot of skill. Let's face it, this is a team that was 12-1 when they settled the issue of winning the division. So it is a good football team without a doubt. Every play is critical. And you have to fight for every yard, every yard. Because you never know which play it is that will be the play which will decide a game of this nature. Our game at home against them, if you just look at it, you would say, 'Oh well, it was 31-20.' But you can pick that game apart. We had the ball in the end zone (a Brandon Jacobs touchdown run that was nullified by a holding penalty), we had an 83-yard kickoff return (negated by another holding infraction). We gave up a couple of scores that we shouldn't have in the air. There are so many things that you can pick apart. So I just think that it is different. This is the time of the year when execution is the key. Everybody is going to be intense, everybody is going to be excited, everybody is going to play hard. The effort is going to be good. But you have to make the plays when the plays are there to be made. And you have to be enough of an instinctive football player to know when those plays are taking place. For example, we had third-and-one. We had them in the backfield, but we missed the tackle. They make six yards. On first-and-10 they throw a 50-yard touchdown pass. If they are stopped, they punt and it's our ball. So those things happen all year long both ways, for you and against you. When the plays are there they have to be made."

Q: Most quarterbacks you try to flush out of the pocket. Because Tony Romo is so effective on the move, do you try to keep him in the pocket?

Coughlin: "(Tampa Bay's Jeff) Garcia was the same way. This guy, against us, has been very, very instinctive, very aware when someone is close. And has either gotten the ball out or moved. He doesn't necessarily go around, he goes up and out - something of that nature to create more time for himself. You have to be very, very aware because he does have that unique ability where he can just flash quickly and then he can still get rid of the ball. There are a couple of things that he does that you don't see much. You see it out of this one guy."