Q. Tell us a little bit about how your foot is feeling? We know you are battling the stress reaction. Has there been any kind of increase in discomfort for you?
A. No, it has been the same probably for the last three or four weeks. Nothing new, I feel like I can go out there in practice and do everything I need to do.
Q. Is it something that is going to need surgery after the season?
A. Not that I know of, I don't think so. I think it's one of those things, with time and rest is probably the biggest thing. After having the weekend and the bye week has helped some. So having this past weekend to rest it is helpful. It's not something that I think will linger or bother me.
Q. Has it been frustrating not being 100 percent?
A. Yeah, it can be frustrating just because it's been one thing and then another. When you have to go to the training room and get treatment it kind of throws your schedule out of whack. You have to get there earlier in the morning, you have to stay after. Things that I normally do and it kind of pushes everything back and throws your normal schedule off. I am a guy who doesn't really like to be in the training room and try to avoid it as much as possible. I only go there when I truly need it, so that has probably been the biggest annoyance. Trying to deal with it, I am not thinking about it when I'm playing the games. I am not thinking about it and worried about it.
Q. One of the reports was that you were limping on the field…?
A. No, I wasn't limping on the field, and it's not something I think about when I am playing in the game or is something that bothers me while I am playing.
Q. We have been told that a stress reaction can lead to a stress fracture. What have the doctors told you about preventing that and how would that come about?
A. That is something you would have to ask the doctors. I am not an expert on it. I am going about my business and it hasn't affected my practicing and running, so hopefully it doesn't get worse and I feel like it is getting better though.
Q. Is the stress reaction injury hurting as much as the plantar fasciitis injury?
A. I don't know if one hurts more than the other. In the games it doesn't bother me, I don't think about it. I am not overly concerned with it. Obviously this is kind of new news to you all but something that has been around and I have been playing with it for four weeks. It's not something that is truly annoying me or bothering me and I don't feel like it is affecting my performance on the field.
Q. Did you think you got to a point where it wasn't discussed as much?
A. Right, and I don't think that it has been an issue for me. I am going to go out there and play at the level I want to play at. It's a matter of going out there and doing it. I thought in the San Diego game I played well, moved around. I thought in the Atlanta game I moved around well and threw the ball well. I didn't play as well in Denver as I wanted to. I thought the second half we played a lot better, got into a rhythm, moved the ball, and did some good things. We had some self-inflicted problems that kept us from scoring points, but I still feel good. I feel like I can go out there and perform at the level I want to play.
Q. Are you at all concerned that you might be shut down for the season?
A. No, not concerned about that.
Q. A lot of fans and people watched that Thanksgiving night game and came away looking at the offense as almost looking disinterested and not wanting to be there. As the leader of that unit, how do you explain such a complete breakdown on one side of the ball?
A. We just can't get ourselves into bad situations. We had some times where the first play we would be sacked. So then you have second and 19. Another series we would have an incompletion and then a fumble. It's those bad plays; we kind of had some third downs where we had some guys open and got sacked. A missed throw here, we never got into a rhythm, we had too many bad plays and were going backwards at times. It's hard to overcome those things when you start going backwards and have second and 18 and second and 19. I thought in the second half we came out and performed better. We didn't perform outstanding or well enough to win the game, but we had some drives, started hitting some throws, we started to run the ball a little bit better. But eventually we still had too many mistakes. We had two fumbles, we had the interception late, we had penalties down in the red zone that backed us up. I felt better about the second half than the first half and at least we responded and gave ourselves a shot. We need touchdowns in those situations instead of field goals. If we got some touchdowns, it would have made it a closer game and put some pressure on Denver and maybe something else happens. But settling for field goals really never put any pressure on them. It wasn't our best game, we have responded back from not playing well and I thought the two previous games we played before this one we played at a better level and were doing better things. We just have to get back to that and have a great week of practice. We know Dallas is a tough team, their defense is good and we know we have to play our best football.
Q. Last week the Broncos players held a meeting of their own. Have the Giants players done that, and if not, should they?
A. We have meetings and have done things. It's one of those things that we do at certain times. Just because one team does it doesn't mean it will automatically work. Talking doesn't always solve a lot of things. You just have to go out there and play well.
Q. Have you had one recently?
A. We have had one in the last (few) weeks.
Q. Do you feel a sense of urgency now?
A. There has to be a sense of urgency. We don't have time to kind of figure out and slowly become a better team and take strides. We have to make a jump, jump back to playing good football. We have done it. Versus Atlanta offensively, we played great football. We looked sharp, we were on top of things and we've got to get back to playing like that. Sometimes we are going to falter and we have a lot, but we are still capable of beating teams and playing at a high level. We have to stick with it, stick with each other. We know we have a lot of people doubting us right now and there is probably reason for them to. We have to stick together as a team, we have to fight together and if we want to pull this out and make a run and get back to playing good football and having some fun. It's going to be about the players and the coaches all coming together, trusting each other and going out there and just doing it.
Q. How many days do you take treatment and how long do you need it everyday?
A. I probably get treatment almost every day. Most of it is maintenance, I don't have a specific time, and it kind of depends on the day, whether it's an hour or more than an hour.
Q. Has the treatment regimen changed at all since they have found the stress reaction?
A. Yeah, I have been doing some different things but a lot of the same stuff.
Q. It started around the bye week?
A. Yeah, right around the bye week.
Q. Is just everyday walking, walking around the building, walking around the house, walking to your car, is that painful for you?
A. No, walking around is not painful. Like I said, I feel I can go out there and practice and perform at the level I want to. I don't feel like it's affecting me. I am able to move in the pocket and run around, make throws and push off. It's kind of a thing that is there but once I start playing, it's not anything I am thinking about.
Q. Did you watch football yesterday?
A. I watched football yesterday.
Q. Did you watch the other teams in the NFC?
A. Yeah, I was kind of back and forth. I watched Peyton's (Manning) game and watched the end of Philly versus Washington. I watched the end of the Atlanta game, so I was kind of flipping back and forth watching a few.
Q. The Jets have a similar short week like you did last week. Looking back, what were some of the biggest challenges that you guys faced during that short week?
A. You have to get your body back healthy, got to get prepared on a short week and come in on a Monday and Tuesday and practice and go through walk-throughs. I thought we prepared well, thought we had good practices during the week. I thought we had a good plan; we just didn't execute it.
Q. You have three divisional opponents coming up. You couldn't have asked for a better schedule as far as what little destiny you have in your own hands. Do you agree with that?
A. I agree with that. We just have to go out there and handle our business. We can't get all concerned with what other teams are doing. At this point, you just say, 'Hey, let's get back to winning games and playing our football.' If anything, it is more fun when you win a game and perform at a high level. We are out here practicing and putting in the time to prepare and put in all these hours to get ready for the game, let's still enjoy it. That is the fun part about playing at a high level is being in some tight games and trying to pull out some victories. That's where we stand right now. We are not in the perfect situation, but we have been in tight situations before. We have been is situations where we have been fighting for playoff spots. Two years ago we were fighting for a playoff spot. We had to go into Buffalo and win that game to get into the playoffs. That is kind of what we are fighting right now. We have to know it's not going to be easy; we have a tough road but we are going to see how the character and what kind of team we've got, what type of fight we've got in this team, in these players and see if we can pull this off and enjoy these last five games.
Q. It's not uncommon for you to go back to other examples from previous times. Is there a sense that guys are waiting for that to happen a little bit too much?
A. No, I don't think we are waiting for it to happen. It's not the situation we want to be in. We have some new players, but for the most part we have the same core of guys. It's about coming around; we can't lose that hope and that focus. We know nothing is guaranteed, nothing is easy, nothing is going to come easy. It's about how much we want it, who has the desire, who has the right attitude towards fighting through the tough times, and see if we can come out stronger and finish out.
