COACH TOM COUGHLIN
Q: How is Justin Tuck feeling?
A: I think we'll get him some work tomorrow. He's feeling better every day.
Q: It sounded like he was going to the doctor yesterday:
A: Doctors are here. He went to the doctor Monday.
Q: How was practice today?
A: Pretty intense, pretty good.
OC KEVIN GILBRIDE
Q: The Ravens have a lot of injuries on defense, but they are generally a well-coached group. What do you see from them up-front and in the secondary and what are some of the difficulties they present?
A: You see size up front. They're very powerful, big, difficult to move, displace. It's hard to get a consistent running game. They've had some injuries with their linebackers, so I'm sure they're feeling inconsistent, but we see the ability level. We see the sparks as a good thing. We know we have our challenges. You couple that with: they're one of those teams that's going to make it difficult to get in a rhythm because they pressure so much. They're going to be willing to gamble and take chances and sometimes it's hard to get a consistent movement package going, but what you hope is that there's going to be some chances for some big plays and you capitalize on them when they're available.
Q: Anything in particular that they do in the red zone?
A: We're really in our process tonight when we zoom in on the red zone, so all I've watched is the game film and cut-ups and everything else but the red zone, but I'd be able to answer that for you tomorrow more effectively. Right now I'm making a guess. Not that you see, just that you've got some good players and you have some experienced players that are very capable of studying film and getting a sense of your tendencies and they're willing to gamble and take some chances. The names are well known.
Q: Ed Reed is one of the all-time great safeties in the NFL. Is it his athleticism?
A: That's certainly the starting point. The guy's got some ability. Once he has a pick or picks up a fumble, he looks like he's 22 years old again. You hear about the injuries and the age and this and that, but you don't see that when he starts running with the ball. You're kind of holding your breath. I think as much as the athleticism, which is obvious, is that he looks like a guy that does a lot of film study and has a great sense of what you're doing so his anticipation is tremendous. He really sees what's unfolding and he's one of those guys that has phenomenal confidence in his ability to diagnose what's happening so he's going to take chances that not everybody would take. Because of his knowledge coupled with his athleticism, many of those gambles pay off. He's somebody you have to be in-tune with and aware of at all times.
DC PERRY FEWELL
Q: 18 missed tackles?
A: We had a number of missed tackles in the football game. Yeah. We didn't tackle well. You've just got to emphasize it. We worked on it today. That was one of our focuses today. It's something that in the month of December you must focus and concentrate on and hopefully we got our message across. I think the players see it.
Q: Is it odd at this point in the season to have to go back to basics?
A: It kind of tells you as a coach to get back to the fundamentals and really go back to the basics and emphasize it even more because this is the time where you really need those fundamentals.
Q: Did you let these guys know that you were angry with them like last year against New Orleans?
A: I don't think I had to. We were all embarrassed by our performance. We can't explain why that happened. I know this group is determined. They've had a good focus all week. They've been very focused in the meetings and on the practice field, so I expect them to do something about it.
DE OSI UMENYIORA
Q: Do you guys feel a little responsibility to get the pass rush going for you to have the same kind of finish as last year?
A: I think it's definitely very important. No question about it, but I think from a team standpoint everybody just needs to elevate their level of play and I think it wasn't just the pass rush that did it. I think the DBs were covering. We were rushing. The offense was putting up points. Everything just fell into place the way we were supposed to and so far that really hasn't happened. But if there's any time to do it, it has to be now.
Q: Can you guys be the spark?
A: Yeah. We can definitely try, but a lot of times it just doesn't work. We can't just be like this is what's going to happen. The pass rush is going to kick up and everything is going to fall into place, but we definitely have to do our part. No question.
Q: Can you win this Sunday?
A: I hope so. We've been here entirely too many times, but that's the way things have played out for us and I don't know why it keeps on happening. But those past years are in the past. This year is a brand new year. I can't say that it's going to happen for us the same way it did in previous years, but hopefully it will.
