Coughlin: As I mentioned last night, I thought that particularly in the second half, certainly defensively throughout the game, the young men who had the opportunity to play, and play a lot of snaps, it worked out well for us. There were 60 snaps on defense, so that worked out very well. In terms of our distribution, we let some of our starters play what amounted to a quarter, just enough to get in the game, get out of the game, to have some contact because we do play in a week. It's not like we have a long duration, we have to step it up and continue to play and prepare ourselves for game-type conditions. We did that, and to step in with the remainder of our defensive outfit was very good for us. We had a total of 60 plays that were recorded from the standpoint of the New England offense. We had 63 on the other side of the ball. What I'm trying to say is when the substitute guys came into the game, some of the spots were very thin, they got a nice opportunity to play, they played hard, they were physical, and it wasn't an overwhelming number of snaps.
Q: What do you do with Tyler Sash with cuts coming up tomorrow?
Coughlin: He's suspended. He'll be out of the building.
Q: What's his designation, he's not injured reserve?
Coughlin: Suspended.
Q: Can you bring him back any time after the four weeks?
Coughlin: Yeah, the suspension is four weeks, and then he would return to the club.
Q: How will you monitor his injury during that time?
Coughlin: I think medical, I wouldn't equate it to the work stoppage, but we were certainly able to keep track of the medical people through our doctors. We intend to keep track of that as well.
Q: It seems like you have some tough decisions to make on the defensive line. Is that how you would characterize it?
Coughlin: I think you're right there; yeah, I do. That's a good thing, that's a good thing for us.
Q: Have you heard any updates about Marvin Austin?
Coughlin: I don't have any more clarity, I know that there's optimism. I don't know how long for Marvin, that they would feel it's necessary to hold him. I can understand the longer the better. It's a little bit frustrating because of the lack of time he had to spend on the field during preseason, and that definitely, definitely, is going to prevent him from being where he should be once he comes off of the injury. There are some issues that have to be dealt with there.
Q: How does the new Injured Reserve rule affect the decision for cuts?
Coughlin: Well, that depends on the team. The various teams will have the opportunity to go back as far as the start of training camp. I think it's up to the club. It's up to the club to have one designation. Who do you choose to use it on and when?
Q: With Shaun Rogers, Marvin Austin, and Terrell Thomas, you have options for that spot. Is that something you may exercise?
Coughlin: Every case is under consideration. As I said, it just depends on the team and the injury. Each club has the same designation, every injury that is a reasonable length of time is probably being considered by all the clubs.
Q: At this point, how close is Terrell Thomas?
Coughlin: I wouldn't even guess. I'm not capable of that. Medically it has not been indicated to me.
Q: Could you talk about the challenges of being the defending Super Bowl champions?
Coughlin: We've put it this way, to be honest with you: our goal is just, as it is for all 31 teams in this league, is to win the World Championship and that's where we go with this thing. We know that certainly another goal is to win the division, which puts you in position to be in the playoffs, but we don't talk about anything other than that. It's a new year. It's a new season; we're very excited about that. Our goal is exactly where it is. As is all 31 teams and that's the way we present it to our team. We don't talk about defending. We don't talk about any of that stuff. We talk about being as good as we can possibly be, knowing full well we have a very, very difficult schedule to play but understanding that to get where we want to go, you've got to beat the very best and the very best are right on the schedule.
Q: Do you have to guard against complacency?
Coughlin: No. I don't think that's ever showed up in anything that has transpired in this preseason in terms of our players and their mentality, so I'm aware of that word. I don't like that word. I'm also aware of the words such as 'satisfied' and what have you. And you're right, all this was discussed in July, but I don't sense that. I think there's a new set of challenges and I think our players are very much aware of it.
Q: Andre Brown got an extended look last night. What did you see from him?
Coughlin: He played well. He ran hard. He made some good, solid, powerful runs. He missed a cut here or there and, of course, he put the ball on the ground. Bear Pascoe really, really helped by being on the spot, but I liked the way in which he played and the effort that he displayed and the speed with which he played and caught the ball coming out of the backfield as did Da'Rel. They both played a lot of special teams and showed speed and some power on special teams, which is a real plus. I think both of them distinguished themselves.
Q: How did they look on pass protection? That's obviously going to be a big job if they're the number three guy.
Coughlin: I think they both were involved in a lot of chipping and both were involved as Da'Rel as the fullback on the punt team and Andre as a wing, so they did have to take people on in the course of the game that way and I think they are a work in progress, but they're definitely making progress.
Q: Terrell Thomas said he was visiting a doctor yesterday. He might be cleared to run. How did that meeting go?
Coughlin: I didn't receive any word from the training staff as to any change in his routine.
Q: Is there any change in Will Beatty's situation?
Coughlin: He practiced a little bit at the end of the week last week and it was encouraging and he's continuing to work hard on his core and his conditioning and he seemed to be okay after having a few snaps in practice and so I'm really looking forward to seeing the continuation of this routine, this physical strengthening session that Will has started and he's making some progress and I'm looking forward to seeing him on Saturday.
Q: As much progress as he can make, do you think that he can be game ready by next Wednesday?
Coughlin: We will see. We will see.
Q: If Will isn't ready, are you confident with what you can put on the field in a real game?
Coughlin: I think Sean (Locklear) has played well and he's come in here; he's accepted that situation, he's played on the left side. He's played well for us in these preseason games and we like the fact that when Sean came with us, we thought we had three tackles and he's certainly done a good job in preseason. I'd like to have Beatty back without a doubt to put us back in at least a three-tackle situation and we'll have to see how Beatty is. I think if he continues to make progress, then we should be able to get him back for the game.
