New York Giants Official Website

Preseason Opener Looms
Several Giants talk about the start of the 2008 Preseason
By Michael Eisen, Giants.com

Take this story to go! -    RSS |  Podcast |  Mobile

AUGUST 6, 2008

ALBANY, NY - The Giants will play their first game since Super Bowl XLII tomorrow night when they open their four-game preseason schedule against the Detroit Lions in Ford Field. Besides the fact that the Giants will be one of the two competing teams, little about tomorrow's game will resemble the Super Bowl. The latter, of course, was for the NFL championship and included the most exciting fourth quarter in Super Bowl history, one that will be remembered for as long as football is played. Tomorrow's game will be played for much lower stakes, will be contested for the most part by backups and players who won't be in uniform a month from now and the score will quickly recede from memory.

But to the Giants players and coaches, the game is important. Here is a sampling of what several of them had to say about the Giants' first game of the 2008 preseason.

Head Coach Tom Coughlin:

"We are going to play a lot of people and see how they perform under game conditions, see how they do with the speed of the game, which I'm sure will be a surprise to a lot of these young guys. It's a turf game, it's an indoor game. See how they are under the pressure of having to execute assignments. How quickly they can react to what the opponent is doing. Be very conscious of who it is that is contributing on special teams and how they might be used going forward. (To) start on some of the objectives that were put forth in the offseason to our players in terms of our improvement. To assess, each and every time we play, but a big personnel-type of evaluation. I don't think there will be any mystery about how we play. I'm not sure what Detroit will have in mind."

Quarterback Eli Manning:

"Everybody is always looking forward to getting into a game situation. It's good to kind of mix it up instead of going up against the same guys every day in practice. We've prepared for Detroit; we've watched a lot of film on them. I think everybody is looking forward to going over there and playing the game.

"I think you learn from every practice and every game that you play in. This game will help us get back into game speed and will help me get back to throwing under pressure, getting the ball off on time, and getting used to taking the hits. You know guys are coming after you and you're going to get hit, knocked down, hopefully not too often, but it's going to happen. It's not a bad thing, because it will help you get back into form."

Middle linebacker Antonio Pierce:

"We're tired of hitting each other. I'm tired of seeing Brandon Jacobs, Derrick Ward, (Ahmad) Bradshaw and Eli. I want to hit someone else for once. You just want to get out there and compete and the only thing we've done at that kind of level was goal line and that's not realistic. The offensive line has the ball at the two-yard line and they didn't have to do any work for it. It will be good to go out there against another team. Detroit has a lot of weapons and we're excited to go out there and play. We've got new faces on the defense, so it'll be good to see the guys working well together in a game situation."

Defensive end Justin Tuck, who will start his first game on the left side as the replacement for the recently-retired Michael Strahan:

"I don't get bogged down with all that. It's just a little asterisk next to your name that says you're a starter now. Other than that, you continue to go out there and do what you did up until now. It's still the same.

"Obviously we won't play a whole game, but for the plays we are out there, we're going to take it like it's the Super Bowl. We're going to try and get our timing down and get a feeling for playing with one another again in a real live situation and work on the little things we didn't do well last season.

"I'm tired of having to go out there and tag off on Eli and running by quarterbacks and hitting running backs on the butt. It's going to be fun. It's good to get out there, get up field, and hit somebody in a different uniform. I'm looking forward to it."

Linebacker Danny Clark, a nine-year veteran who was signed on March 13 and is currently the first-team weakside linebacker:

"This first game means a lot. It's very important to establish a standard of my play and how I can compete. Ultimately I'm looking for the respect of my teammates and coaches and the fans. This is where it really counts and down after down you go out there and make plays. It's one thing to do it in practice where you know the guys you're lining up against. This is a different story.

"I want to bring somebody to the ground, make a big hit, and make my teammates go, 'Wow.' That's the way I play. I play with a lot of intensity and aggression. That's why I probably got into that scuffle with Rich (Seubert) the other day. I'm going a little too hard on my teammates. I look forward to going against an opponent."

Guard Rich Seubert:

"I think the first preseason game kind of starts the season. We've been up here for a couple of weeks and you get sick of doing the same things and hitting the same guys and going against Tuck, Osi, Barry (Cofield) and the rest of the D-line and linebackers. So we just want to hit somebody else. This is the time where we are supposed to put everything together and get ready for the season.

"Over the years I've learned that games are nothing like practice. You just have to get yourself ready for speed and for all the movements and all that stuff."

*Defensive end Dave Tollefson. He has had a good camp and should see plenty of action Thursday as the backup to defensive right end Osi Umenyiora. After the game, he will fly from Detroit to Omaha, where his wife, Megan, will give birth to the couple's first child, a son they will name Tucker.

"I'm excited, I get to play a football game and then have a kid," Tollefson said. "It's probably going to be one of the best weekends I've ever had. They are going to put her in the hospital the night of the game. After the game, obviously, because she said she wants to watch it. So she's going to go in, they are going to get her in bed and ready to go. I'm flying to Omaha at seven in the morning the next day and they'll start inducing her that morning. Then I'll get there in time for the good stuff.

"I'm really excited about the game. I have some new toys to play with, I have a few moves I've been working on. I'm excited, because I'm trying to make the transition from last year to this year and like to think I'm making it and it's just a work in progress."

*Rookie linebacker Bryan Kehl is the team's fourth-round draft choice from BYU. Linebackers coach Bill Sheridan said, "I think Bryan Kehl has had a really good camp."

Said Kehl, "I can't wait for the game. I'm so excited. I can't even describe it. I'm pumped. This is the real deal. This is why we come to training camp - to play the games. I can't wait to get out there and hopefully make some tackles, knock down a ball, and get a sack, whatever.

"I remember my first college game. It was August 29, 2002 against Syracuse University and I remember it like it was yesterday. I remember coming out of the tunnel as an 18-year-old wide-eyed freshman and I'll never forget that until the day I die. It will be the same for my first preseason game and first regular season game. It's something I always looked forward to and when you get there - in college it was signing the letter of intent, yeah that was cool, then it was getting drafted, yeah that was cool, but when you get to the game that's where it all happens and the magic begins."

*The following players have been declared out of tomorrow's game in Detroit because of injury: Wide receivers Plaxico Burress (foot), Steve Smith (groin), Mario Manningham (quad) and David Tyree (on the PUP list recovering from knee surgery); cornerback Sam Madison (sports hernia); offensive lineman Shane Olivea (back); linebacker Gerris Wilkinson (knee) and safety Craig Dahl (knee).

*Sheridan continues to rave about Kehl and Jonathan Goff. Kehl has been working primarily on the weak side. Goff, the fifth-round selection from Vanderbilt, has gotten snaps at middle and strongside linebacker.

"They're both really smart, so they've picked up the defense," Sheridan said. "They can learn in the classroom and then go out and apply it on the field, which is really encouraging. They both can run and Bryan can really run. He's a really good athlete, which is what we thought when we drafted him. Even in the padded practices we've had, even though we don't technically scrimmage and tackle, they've demonstrated that they're both going to be physical. You know, they'll come up and punch blockers and get off blocks and that kind of stuff. I think both him and Jon are going to be excellent players, I really do. They're showing to be good picks."

*In case anyone forgot...the Giants were 1-3 in the 2007 preseason. They opened with a loss to Carolina, won at Baltimore, then lost to the Jets and New England.

*The Giants trail the preseason series with Detroit 3-8-1. The two teams last met in the preseason on Aug. 21, 1966, a 17-7 Giants victory...Coughlin is 0-1 vs. the Lions in preseason play. His Jacksonville team lost at Detroit, 19-3, on Aug. 10, 1995, the Jaguars' inaugural season.

*The Giants defeated the Lions, 16-10, last Nov. 18 in Ford Field. Strongside linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka fractured his left fibula in that game. Kiwanuka will return to action tomorrow night on the same field.

Kiwanuka enters his third NFL season and second at strongside linebacker with higher expectations.

"I talked to him the other day and he completely understands," Sheridan said. "He's a guy that's got a lot of talent and each year as you have new guys coming into the defense and you know, we lost three of our starters in the Super Bowl, it's important for guys like him to step up and play better than just okay. And he understands that because he's a very talented player and we are counting on him to not just be a starter, but a productive starter. So, yes, I'm excited and I'm sure he is, too. He won't play a whole lot Thursday, but I'm sure he's itching to get out there."

*The attendance at this morning's walkthrough practice was 895, increasing the total for 11 practice days to 28,480. That is almost 10,000 more fans than last year's 11-day total of 18,960.

*The Giants' 2008 Kickoff Luncheon will be held on Wednesday, Aug. 27 at 11:45 a.m. at the Sheraton Hotel & Towers, 811 Seventh Avenue in Manhattan. Former running back Rodney Hampton will be honored as the Giants Alumni Man of the Year. Proceeds from the luncheon will benefit the John V. Mara Memorial Cancer Research Fund of St. Vincent's Hospital Manhattan and the John V. Mara CYO Camp. Tickets to the Giants' 42nd annual Kickoff Luncheon can be purchased by calling 212-604-6800.