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Transcript: Coach Tom Coughlin

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DECEMBER 1, 2008

We looked at the tape this morning and of course we are pleased to come away with a victory yesterday.  We expected a very physical battle.  And as I mentioned after the game, the idea that two teams had rushed the ball as well as we did - as Washington and the Giants have - and two teams that played defense the way that the Redskins and the Giants have, you would expect a battle.  And of course we add to that the last day of November and the rain and the cold and what have you, and it is a typical late November-December NFC East battle. But I think certainly we did have success stopping the outstanding runner, Clinton Portis.  And that was a must-do for us going into the game. That was a key that we had to do something about their rushing game.  Now the quarterback rushed for 38 yards and they did come out with quite a few yards.  But overall they rushed 18 times and I think if you track things that they have done so well they had rushing numbers in the 40's even in ..... days when they have done an outstanding job of that.  I think the defense of the Redskins was determined that they were not going to allow us to rush the ball.  And we were confronted with eight and nine-man fronts.  And they were very effective, to be honest with you.  They played them very well and they schemed and so on and so forth.  They did give us some opportunities in the passing game and again Eli played very well and our receivers came to the front.  Amani had a big game and the contributions of Hixon and Boss and some of the runs after the catch were truly outstanding and well done.  And so we were able to do some things as we had similarly the week before with the ball in the air.  We ended up throwing for over 300 yards and had a good day with regard to that.  We also felt the turnover battle was the key, and it was a low turnover game on both sides.  With that last play of the game we ended up +1.  But most of the majority of the game it was one turnover to one turnover.  We had some opportunities in the green zone that we did not take advantage of.  Those are things that have to be improved upon.  I wasn't pleased that we didn't have a chance to continue with our two-minute drill right before the half, which we came up short of the fourth-and-one.  That was a little bit disappointing to me.  And we were able to convert the three-for-three on field goals.  They missed a field goal right before the half.  So there was not a momentum change at that point in time, either.  So it was a real battle; an outstanding game. We had a lot of yards.  A lot of good things happened.  But there are many things that we can coach to improve upon as we go forth into December in the National Football League. 

The other thing which I'm sure you are going to ask is if there is any more information that I would be willing to share on the Plaxico Burress situation.  I really do not have anything to add to that statement that I made last night.  Our concern for his health and well being is obviously number one.  But as you know, the NY Police Department and the NFL Security and the Commissioner's office are all conducting investigations.  Due to the nature of that, obviously there is not much that I'm going to say.  So I really don't have anything new for you along those lines.

Q:  Plaxico's lawyer had said today that he was healthy and able to play, which I guess puts the ball in your court to decide whether he can or not.  Do you have a sense of whether he is healthy enough to play?  And do you feel you have to make a decision on him sometime this week?

A:  I have no idea about the health status.  We are dealing with all of the issues right now. 

Q: In situations like this, I know that the Chiefs with Larry Johnson, that before the league has taken any action, they just deactivated him.  If Burress is healthy enough to play this week and this thing is still on-going, would you be inclined to let him play or do you think that you need to keep him off the field until there is more clarity in the situation?

A:  We are dealing with that. Today we have had some discussions.  Those discussions will be ongoing.  Basically we have just put the Redskin game to rest and we are going to be discussing those and other issues as we gain information over the next couple of days.

Q:  Do you expect him to show up for practice on Wednesday and be part of what you are doing?

A:  As I said, we are in the stages of trying to gather information and make decisions as to where we go from here.  And at this point in time, I'm not prepared to say anything.

Q:  Regardless of how this works out, are you satisfied - satisfied is not the word - are you confident that however it works out, one way or the other, the team will remain focused on the task at hand.

A:  I think that the team has demonstrated that on more than one occasion this year, that this is a outstanding group of young men who are focused on doing their job to their best of their ability and that they have been able to do that under whatever circumstances have come our way at this point in time.  Obviously they have to stay strong and make sure that the distractions are as minimal as they can be.  And I think the guys handled that very well over the weekend.

Q:  Do you feel that the team needs to take a strong stand here and make a statement?

A:  I'm not saying any more about the Burress situation.  I have said what I have said and that is it.

Q:  Have you issued any directives or spoken to the other players about avoiding these kinds of situations that could end up in trouble with the law?

A:  If you know anything about the National Football League, you know that all of these things are prioritized.  They are dictated by the League Office.  They are discussed from training camp on.  There is a very thorough  security lecture each year, whether it be late in the offseason or during training camp, and all of these things are discussed.   Videos, movies are employed.  The Commissioner speaks on the issue.  All of these things are done.

Q:  Do you feel that the players, including Plax, got that message?

A:  I am just going to pass over that question.

Q:  Amani Toomer has been valuable.  Is he more valuable now than ever?

A:  He has been extremely valuable ever since I have been here.  He obviously played very well yesterday.  He really made a great play there to start the game off - he and Eli.  The protection was outstanding.  And it was certainly a great way to start that game with a drive under those conditions and to make a play like that.  Thank you for asking.

Q:  Any injuries from the game?

A:  Bumps and bruises.  We will monitor and see where we are on Wednesday.

Q: If Domenik Hixon has to play a larger role here in the weeks to come, and he has already. As far as being a starting receiver, he has been a very good surprise I guess to you and certainly a player you would like.  But can he be a high-quality starting receiver in this league?

A:  He has played well.  He has played very well.  I will certainly believe that he will continue to improve.

Q:  You mentioned about the quarterback leading Washington in rushing yesterday.  I think it is three of the last four games that the quarterback has been the leading rusher for the other team.  Is some of that a good thing, though?

A:  Well it can be.  Obviously when the ball is out of the hands of the great rushers, the scrambles are, for the most part, coming off of plays in which their quarterback had intended to be able to throw the ball but for one reason or another found an opening.  Obviously you are not real happy with the quarterback running up and down the field, either.  But in situations like that when the quarterback is forced out of the pocket you need to contain and control that.  And certainly our goal going in, when we know that a quarterback is versatile, which Campbell is, that we have to continually cage him.  We broke down a few times and of course that is not good.

Q:  Is O'Hara's knee okay?

A:  He came right back in and he is obviously sore today.  And he is going to be in the training room working on that.  And we will see to what extent he is affected and whether or not he can practice, or practice full on Wednesday.  We will see as we go along.  I thought he showed great toughness going right back in.

Q:  Anything with Corey Webster?

A:  No, he was a little stiff and tight in the back today. But I don't know that that is an issue. 

Q:  Your impressions of Antonio Pierce playing.  Was that a difficult decision for you at all to let him play given all that was going on?

A:  We had discussions with Antonio on Saturday morning. And I felt after our conversation there really wasn't a reason not to allow him to play.

Q:  What is your concern for him for the future?  Anything yet?

A:  I don't know what the answer to that would be.  Again, I'm not in the position to say anything about that.  I don't know anything unless you know something.  I'm not aware of anything.

Q:  Would it be better to get all of this stuff resolved and done so that you can move on and concentrate just on football?

A:  We are going to move on and concentrate and focus on the Philadelphia Eagles.  And that is our next objective and our next goal.  And we are going to move on.  We have to deal with our responsibilities.  But our team will move forward; I feel confident in that.

Q:  Bradshaw was apparently at the club with Antonio and Plaxico.  Given his history is there a level of concern on your part that he was there?

A:  I'm disappointed, certainly.
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