Head Coach Tom Coughlin
Q: Michael Boley?
A: He didn't practice today. We think he will tomorrow.
Q: What is his injury?
A: He has a little shoulder.
Q: Did he do that in the game?
A: Yeah, but not right away did he have an issue with it.
Q: Mario Manningham?
A: Manningham was just limited; didn't do much, to be honest with you; did some.
Q: What was the thinking on bringing Ballard up to the active roster?
A: We had a roster spot and we felt like we would need to protect ourselves at that spot.
Q: You looking at him at tight end?
A: Tight end, special teams, fullback – you name it.
Q: What did Chris Snee do today?
A: He did some limited. He moved around better.
Q: He hurt himself on the tackle he made on the interception the other night?
A: Yes.
Q: What was Shawn Andrews able to do?
A: Shawn is pretty much doing – we are calling it limited – but he does pretty much everything. We are just trying to find out to what extent – where he is the next morning.
Q: Did O'Hara do a little more, too?
A: He did more, yes.
Q: When you bring in a guy like Michael Clayton, a skilled player, what is the biggest challenge for a skill guy coming in mid-season?
A: To have to learn the offense. The way it was for Michael, he came in on a Tuesday and he had to literally play on Sunday. So he had to know the offense during the course of that week. But as I said, they learn what is in the game plan, period.
Q: When the opponent makes a change at linebacker, like the Eagles, with a rookie. Is that something where you have to learn about the new guy?
A: Well, you have all of the background from the college draft. Pro Personnel has a grade and a performance sheet on him from the preseason. And you have a lot of the game the other night.
Q: I know you were asked about Bear Pascoe yesterday. Do you see him as a fullback going forward in his career?
A: Multi-purpose, versatile.
Q: You are not going to define him by position?
A: No. He is able to do both.
Q: What are you hearing about Steve Smith and the procedure he has to go through? Are you concerned about him going forward?
A: The doctor said that he expected him to make a full recovery.
Q: In time for next season?
A: That is what I have been told. Non-weight bearing for a while and then progress very slowly, obviously. But hopefully if it all goes well, then what the doctor is projecting will be true.
Q: Will you have to handle him kind of the way you did with Kenny Phillips?
A: I'm sure. I'm sure there will be restrictions, sure. There has got to be.
Q: Kenny Phillips has been okay with his receovery? No problems?
A: He has worked hard. He has worked very hard. Behind the scenes, he has done an awful lot. He is pretty much in that weight room every day working lower body.
Q: How would you describe his recovery?
A: Probably steady. I would say that is a good word.
Q: When you look at Vick, is he doing many things differently than when you saw him a month ago?A: No.
Q: He is not in the pocket any longer?
A: Well, he is always trying to do something to gain more time down the field. And he does that – he has always done that and done it well.
Offensive Coordinator Kevin Gilbride
Q: How does it feel to have everybody back (O'Hara, Andrews) on the offensive line now? It's been a while.
A: Yeah, it has been a while. Hopefully they'll be playing. I haven't heard an official pronouncement yet, but it'll be good to get him back. I'm sure (Shaun) will be rusty like all of us would be under those circumstances, but just his experience, his knowledge and the fact is that he's an outstanding football player. If that does materialize, it certainly would be a benefit to us.
Q: Against the Eagles, how does the loss of Steve Smith, one of your most dependable wide receivers, affect your offense?
A: He's a great football player. He's a Pro Bowl receiver and somebody who is extremely adept at finding those windows, those cavities in zone coverages. He's basically uncoverable in two-man, so the things that they do are they're a blitzing team and they play two-man and those are two things that he shines at. You lose that, obviously it's a huge loss, but to (Derek) Hagan's credit, he's been with us and when we've asked him to do something, he's played very well for us, so we'll have to depend on him and we'll use some of the other guys – some of the focal points that normally would go to Steve will have to go to some of the other receivers and they'll have to step up. That will include Kevin Boss. Whenever we've asked Kevin to step up, he's done it. We'll ask the backs to do it, we'll ask some of the other receivers – Mario as well as Hakeem, so it is certainly a challenge but I think we've got enough – we need to have enough – and I think we do.
Q: The distribution last week between Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw was almost even in terms of carries and yards. Is that what you like to do?
A: We never set out to do that. It happens occasionally. Usually it's whoever has got the hot hand who seems to be having the most effectiveness and the most success and then you kind of lean on him and use the other one to give him a breather or just as a change of pace, but if it turns out that way and they both get 100 yards, that would be perfect.
Q: When Brandon Jacobs and Bear Pascoe are back there, is that the tallest backfield you've ever seen?
A: Yeah. I guess it is now that you mention it. I hadn't thought of it that way, but yeah it is, so maybe they'll be able to protect the quarterback because they won't know where he's standing, so maybe it'll be a help to us.
Q: Last week at fullback, was that the best game Bear has played?
A: Well, I think you saw the two plays he made catching the ball, which was great and he has just been one of those guys, kind of an unsung guy that doesn't get a lot of attention and he just goes out very quietly and does his job. I think he's got great toughness and is really a determined guy so he takes full advantage of whatever ability level he has and he's been very effective for us and I think he's not only earned the respect of his teammates, but he's earned my respect in terms of play calling. I don't hesitate to run behind him at all because I know he'll do the right thing.
Special Teams Coordiantor Tom Quinn
Q: Tom was saying he thought the poor coverage was a result of heavy legs?
A: I don't know what it was, but it wasn't good enough. We did look slow. We've got to play a lot faster than that. That's one of the things we try to do is play fast and play physical and we did not do that on Monday night at all.
Q: Will Phillip Dillard come in for Clint Sintim?
A: Probably he's the next guy up. It's tough losing Clint. He had just started to really latch on to the special teams role. It's unfortunate that he got hurt.
Q: What do you make of this whole wall fiasco?
A: I haven't really studied their tapes. Sidelines are a busy, busy place. I've gotten hit once by one of our own guys – Domenik Hixon in 2007, he released and I'm watching the punt go and all of the sudden he slammed right into my back. There are a lot of people on the sidelines. I counted the other day and I think we had 40 people that weren't in uniform that were there – the coaches or trainers or whoever else – there is a lot of collateral on the sidelines and those guys do run into people at times.
Q: What do you teach your gunners?
A: We never really talk about it. The tough thing is that the rule is that you can't keep running down the sideline. You have to get back in and as you make an attempt you've got to make sure that you're in more than the other people as you do it.
Q: So this isn't a league-wide epidemic?
A: I don't think so, no. It also depends on where the ball is being kicked. With punts there are only a few instances where it would come into play.
Q: In '07 did you get a minus for blocking your own guy?
A: My neck still hurts. Those guys are coming fast. It's dangerous.
DE Osi Umenyiora
Q: Can the same game plan be effective against the Eagles?
I think we're going to adjust some of the things we did, and they're going to adjust some of the things they did also. We're going to do some different things. We did give up a lot of yards, and we don't want to give up that many this time.
A: How effective has the three safety package been for you guys this year?
It's been very effective for us this year. Obviously our safeties are very physical players and can play the run as well as the pass. So it's a good matchup for us when you have guys that can do those types of things.
Q: Do you think about how close you came to swatting that ball down before McCoy broke that run?
A: I don't think about it. Like I told them earlier, sometimes you make those plays and sometimes you don't. That was a situation I wasn't able to make the play.
Q: How frustrating was it to lose and does it make this game a must win now?
A: We have to win this game. I was frustrated because I thought we should have won and we gave them the game. Anytime you do that, I know how tough it is to win in this league and you don't want to give anyone the game, and that's what we did. Hopefully, if we limit a lot of the mistakes we made last time, we'll be alright.
Q: Did you feel like you were just one play away from a big win last time?
A: It was a game we shouldn't have lost, but we did. We get them back on our home turf this time and hopefully it's different.
Q: When you say we have to win this game, do you mean for the division?
It's a must win game for both of us. We have to win, they have to win. It's going to be a very tough, physical battle and hopefully we can come out on top.
Q: Do you think that Andy Reid could decide to change the game plan so the Eagles run more? How will that affect the plan the defense has to contain Vick?
A: I don't think so. That's not their game. What they do, they do it well and they've done it well for a number of years. If he tries to do that, he's going to be getting away from his game plan and it might come back to bite him. I think he's going to stick to what he does and what they've been successful.
Q: You guys ran Vick a lot to the right last game. What do you do if they change that plan and he runs to your side of the field?A: You just have to take your shot at him. I think most people try to play a little tentative when they're playing against him and he still makes you want to throw. We have the option that everybody will cover, so hopefully if you take a shot and miss, your friends back there will be able to recover.
