On the injury front, just to report on Kevin Boss, he is just sore today. I don't know where he will be on Wednesday, but he is sore today, and rightfully so.
Q. Concussion?
A. No, it is not a concussion. He took a heck of a blow and he is sore on the neck area, shoulders, all around.
Q. Were you surprised he was able to hang onto the ball?
A. Unbelievable play.
Q. What are your feelings today after watching the film?
A. Huge disappointment. Execution was very poor. I think the special teams play was poor. The field position battle was not accomplished on our part, something that we had set out to do and something that had a huge factor a year ago. Our starting point against them a year ago was the 44-yard line. The starting point this game was very much in their favor. Defensively, we made some plays, we improved. We still gave up some balls. Until we stop people in the red zone, we are really working hard to do something about that, but we are not seeing a whole lot of progress. Something is going to have to come along.
Q. Were they moving Larry Fitzgerald around to create mismatches in the third quarter?
A. They did, they moved him around. I thought there was one for sure play that really hurt us. He is a good football player.
Q. Was the offensive balance the way you wanted it last night?
A. Well, we didn't move the ball out of our end of the field. That is exactly what I said last night. We had 26 runs. We were not playing from behind. I would like to have had more. You are always thinking 30-35 runs to be truly balanced. To be honest with you, you have to realize in the middle of the game, there was eight in the box most of the time and seven in the box when we were three wide. So the initial look for the quarterback is that the run gaps were filled and then they did disperse and come out of there and played coverage. The initial look, the way that we started the game throwing the 'now's' and the fade stuff, that was good stuff. They did some things to keep us from doing that more often. You would like to be 50/50, it just didn't work out.
Q. Teams have been playing eight up front a lot against you. Does that force you to be more pass heavy than you want?
A. You would like to be able to take advantage of whatever the opponent does. If he is going to play people down like that and he is going to be one-on-one, then you have to win the one-on-one battles on the outside. We took a shot at the deep post ball, it didn't turn out in our favor, but it was one-on-one, and I think at the very least we could have knocked that ball down and they wouldn't have gotten it. They took the same shot and Terrell (Thomas) was in position to play that ball. Those are where you take them. Your play action stuff is when you get an opportunity to take a shot like that and you're going to do it.
Q. What about the tempo of your offense last night with the delay of games and running the play clock all the way down?
A. It is not what you want. I think it was due to the fact that we were trying to get so much into the right protection call that it slowed us down. I don't want to play like that. I don't like that tempo. Everybody agrees, it is not something that is new, I just don't want to be slowed down quite that much.
Q. When you let the play clock wind down to one second doesn't that give the defensive linemen a jump on the ball?
A. How do they know there is only one second?
Q. Because they can see the clock.
A. (Coughlin gets down in a three-point stance as if a defensive linemen) You must be one of those guys who has a great neck.
Q. One delay of game, two guys jumped right away?
A. There is no reason for it, there really isn't. At some point, the chess game is over and you live with what's there.
Q. You saw loaded fronts early in the season, but you guys were able to throw effectively. Last night there were on the balls overthrown, the deep balls that were missed, is it just matter of the throws aren't being made? In other words, are the receivers still finding ways to get open?
A. To some extent, they are. The ball on the sideline, I don't think it was a great technical execution of a route. The ball was thrown wide. I think for every one you can take a poll. I don't think there is necessarily any great answer. Sometimes the protection wasn't to the point where he could step up and throw it the way he wants to. Sometimes he is leaning to get the ball up. Other times, the protection was great and he just didn't connect. When I use the word execution, I am talking about all of those things. During the course of the game, that is when everything is at the max, speed wise. That is where you have, if you are going to continue to grow and improve as a team, that is how it has to happen.
Q. Have other teams figured out the receivers?
A. I don't think so, it is not a matter of that. It is play in and play out. Give a little credit to the other side, they are calculated in what they do, as well.
Q. How did Will Beatty do after you watched the film?
A. He did okay, he did okay. There were times when he sort of could have done better, but he was competitive. He is athletic, can run and once he gets it and it all comes together for him, probably a real good offseason where he is as strong as he is going to get, he is going to be a player.
Q. Growing pains at the receiver position?
A. It has to be corrected by us. You can see some of that, you see it. Even in the play of Hakeem, some of the things he does aren't as sharp as you would like them to be. Mario is the same way. You get a bunch of really good plays and then there is a bad play. The bad play unfortunately the last two weeks has shown up as big as you can get. It is an unfortunate drop because that is a touchdown. Now it is a field goal game. Now maybe Bradshaw is at the forty-yard line. It just goes to show you how important every snap is and how you can't give a snap away. You cannot give one away, on either side of the ball. Some of those runs, too much. For a team that really doesn't run the ball that well, they got too much. We have to do a better job.
Q. There seemed to be a lot of pressure coming up the middle on Eli, was there a problem there?
A. I don't think there was. There was an occasional issue, I wouldn't categorize it as just the middle. Their scheme brings it up the middle some, but they also came from the edge. We had a couple of times where there was just individual breakdowns. There were some pressures where the one on one situation didn't come out in our favor.
Q. Feagles. Off night?
A. I hope it is and it is over.
Q. Was Kurt Warner made uncomfortable enough for your liking?
A. No, but it was better, better than the week before.
Q. Michael Boley's absence. How critical has that been in your pass rush?
A. It is not just the pass rush, but it would also lend itself to the coverage part. I think we were just getting him, the last time he played, to show the kind of speed and versatility that he has. Whether he was rushing the passer or involved in coverage, it was a pretty good look. Anytime you take a guy with speed and versatility out of your lineup, obviously… But we have other good players and they have picked it up.
Q. Do you have any idea if you will get Canty or Ross back this week for practice?
A. Not really. I couldn't say that. I know they are going to be increased.
Q. Increased in terms of what? Rehab?
A. What they do on the practice field.
Q. Does it look like Eli is having rhythm issues, as he has suggested?
A. I don't know if it's Eli's rhythm as much as it is the offense's rhythm. I try to explain this, offensive rhythm and tempo is all associated with the momentum and building of confidence and the idea that making some first downs, increasing the availability of all the different calls you have ready. When it is just sporadic like it was, three and out, three and out, you are not able to fully utilize what you have. I think it is more the total rhythm, but I'm sure what Eli is saying has something to do with that.
Q. You have lost two games in a row, and confidence can begin to wane. Do you approach that?
A. I think you take the game itself and try to take it apart for them. Cite some examples of the team we played last night. They go into Philadelphia on Thanksgiving (last year) and get crushed. Yet they beat Philadelphia in the playoffs and are the NFC rep in the Super Bowl. It is a long season now and a lot of things are going to happen. I think it is important to realize and to go do something about it. We did make progress to a certain extent, although not all the way. We made progress in our coverage and the pressure was better and therefore the coverage was better and the players were better within it. Some people played pretty darn good. The explosive team of Arizona had 280 yards. There was real good progress made, but as I said last Monday, all three phases have to play together and we didn't do it. We found a way again not to do that. What I was really counting on when we saw last week's special teams, we didn't get that type of play.
Q. How do you become smarter with the football?
A. We preach it constantly, nothing is going to change. We really do believe that if you don't win the physical battle and the turnover battle, you are not going to win the game. We really believe that and have talked about it since day one. Does that take the ball out of the guy's hands? No. With the skill level we have at the quarterback position, absolutely not. Your eyes have to do a better job of telling you that perhaps it is not a great idea to put that one in there. That is all that you can do. Perhaps you can scheme to make it a little more obvious. The penalties and the turnovers, you are just not going to win.
Q. When Eli threw the fade to Manningham on the third and two, are you looking for something more high percentage there?
A. Yes. He did have a higher percentage type of play. If you go back to the second and two, it was a run call. It is because of what he saw that he went to the alert, the alert was a pass and it was tipped. Yes, no doubt, make the first down, please make the first down and then we will think about the next three calls. Another night, you get that matchup, he sticks it in there, it is a touchdown and everybody is happy. Last night, not the way it goes.
Q. All that is called on the line between Eli and Mario?
A. Not necessarily, sometimes it is signals. Sometimes it is just a huddle call and that is one of the options.
