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Transcripts

Super Bowl Quotes: Giants Coaches

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HEAD COACH TOM COUGHLIN

(opening remarks) "Good morning. We're really looking forward to getting back to a routine here which incorporates our very serious meeting time and our first practice since we've been out in Indianapolis. It looks today as if (RB) Ahmad Bradshaw will be the only player who will not practice. We do have some guys who will be somewhat limited. We should have (LB) Jacquian Williams, we'll test him over at the practice facility today to see just how much he can do but he's made very good progress since we've been here. We're excited about getting back to work, applying ourselves to the very difficult task at hand, bringing forward the work we put in last week back in New Jersey, and continuing to build and refine the preparation that we had there."

(on media day yesterday) "I don't know how any of you could have a question after yesterday, unbelievable. I was OK until that guy came over in the Adventureman suit and the other guy who had the number and leather helmet. Actually, that guy looked pretty good in that helmet. That was a little shaky."

(on whether Bradshaw is still following his weekly schedule of not practicing Wednesdays) "Normal routine, yeah."

(on whether he has enough time to do what he wants to do this week having already installed the game plan last week) "We're grinding. The coaches have been grinding since we got here. There's lots more to do and you have to do what you have to do and that's take the whole 16 (games) and the playoff games and take everything into consideration. We came knowing full well, and I told the coaches, that will continue to research and refine. If we like something, we'll keep it, and if we don't like it, we'll change it as we go forward since I'm sure the Patriots are doing the same thing. You can sense it and you know the game is right there. It doesn't really matter what you did last week. It's almost as if you're doing everything pretty much all over again. It's just the way it is, and it's the nature of the beast. It's that time, yesterday morning, evening, and again this morning, grinding away and realizing that you only have so many snaps in your jog-throughs and your practices to accomplish what you want to accomplish. If you look at it like most people do with first and second-down today and third-down tomorrow and you're red and green and all that stuff with short-yardage on Friday. You have a lot of information you're trying to pump into the players and the players are very, very excited about getting started themselves. They can sense it and they had a day of meeting and greeting, and now they're ready to go to work."

(on linebacker Chase Blackburn's journey from substitute teaching earlier this season and to being on the Giants 53-man roster) "That's question number 972 about Chase. Chase was prepared to come back prior to when we brought him back. He had worked out for his and he was anxious about it. From the moment he arrived, it was like he never left. He absorbed where we were really fast, jumped right back into special teams, jumped into the linebacker role and progressed into the linebacker role. He's playing a lot now on defense as well as special teams. He's probably one of three of our players who has the positive supportive role on the sidelines for offense and special teams. He's really jumped right in and done more than you can ask of anybody to help in as many ways as he can. He'll volunteer to do anything, he's just that kind of guy."

(on the similarities between the 2007 team and the run up to this point) "I look just as you do, and I see the things that have occurred and have taken place in terms of the way we played at the end of the year, the way we've played on the road, the field goal, and overtime in the championship game. Other than that, I really do believe that this is the 2011-12 New York Giants. This group of young men is trying to create history for themselves. We're very proud of what was accomplished a few years ago, but some of the phrases that are being used to identify this game and that game and the connections, I don't necessarily agree with all of those."

(on why WR Victor Cruz was not used in the first few weeks of the season) "In Philadelphia, he was certainly used well. That was pretty early in the season. I just think that what Victor's season has become…when the opportunity was presented, he was at a point in time where he actually understood how important and serious it was. The fact that these opportunities don't come along every day and he seized it. He took full advantage of it. Once he was able to accomplish what he did, the result was kind of eye-popping. Of course once that happened, the ball was going to go that way."

(on whether the recent success against the Patriots has been because of the Giants pass rush abilities) "I think it's a combination of things but certainly it doesn't just apply to our approach in the Patriot game, it applies to our approach over the course of the season. We feel that we certainly have a very strong group of men in the front, not only with the ends but with the tackles as well. We've had an opportunity to collect all of the people we had injured, and all the people who came back from being injured have played well. It's just the way we play and prefer to play. It's a pressure group, and we have played better in the back end as well, probably as a result of the ball having to come out faster than it has at certain times during the year."

(on the Giants stability at quarterback) "Continuity, the ability to…we always say that everything in the National Football League is accumulative. So when you start to develop a quarterback, you take him through all the things that he will see at that time as people throw the kitchen sink at that young guy. He absorbs that and learns from it. Then, he goes to the next step and so on and so forth. By the course of time, being the eighth year and the end of the eighth year, for a quarterback with Eli's ability, he's seen an awful lot and has prepared against the very, very best and that's one of the very good things about our schedule this year. I think is that we played a lot of very, very good football teams right on through. So, to have him in that spot as all other things around him change, you know and the team knows that they can always go back to that one spot and know that there is great stability, poise, leadership and ability coming out of that spot."

(on his working relationship with right guard and son-in-law Chris Snee) "He comes from great stock. Toughness. He's a guy that I remember, to be honest with you, going to Boston College and looking at a running back one time. This was way back and I think Chris was a redshirt freshman at the time. This runner had a front in front of him, and by the time that we finished watching this runner, the director of college personnel and I looked at each other and say, 'Who's (no.)76? Who's this guy right here?' The knowledge of Chris as a football player started at a very young age for him and just grew and grew. When we had the opportunity to draft him, a story that's been told many times, there wasn't any question that we felt like we were getting another first rounder, so let's go. That's proven true all the way through. The way that works for me, it's been very easy because he's a tough, hard-nosed guy. He's an offensive lineman. He grabs his lunch bucket every day and goes to work, and he doesn't say a whole lot. Again, he's another one of those guys that we rely heavily on for the stability factor that he brings and the type of player that he is."

(on how TE Rob Gronkowski's status changes the defensive game plan) "Not to belittle the question, I really do think he'll play. It sounds like he's making great progress. You could have somewhat of a difference in percentages, if you will, for the style of the type of personnel used. I don't see a lot of change in how they approach it. They always run the ball and they will always do that in whatever fashion they choose, whether it be by series or whether all of the sudden at the end, you realize that they've run the ball x-amount of times for x-amount of yards. I just think that we'll prepare as if he'll play and we'll do our due diligence with any of these other personnel combinations that come up. They've been very successful in that personnel set you're referring to. Whether it's two receivers, a runner, and two tight ends, or two tight ends and three receivers. They've been extremely successful with that and it's been tied into their no-huddle offense and the way in which we can do things. We are preparing naturally for different personnel sets, also including the fact that we think he'll play."

(on the luxury of having so many defensive ends who rush the passer well) "It's not a luxury. It's a style and a way in which we prefer to play. It's a position that we place a whole lot of stock in…one of the questions that had been asked this morning was to get pressure, how do you get by doing that. If you can do it with four rather than the rest, then you can cover. You have more people involved in coverage, obviously. The great skilled defensive lineman that come along, rare or not rare, if they have the other attributes that you're looking for, they're going to give you a number of weapons. Mentioning athleticism, speed, and that type of thing, they provide versatility for you as well."

OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR KEVIN GILBRIDE

(on if Eli Manning makes the building more fun to work in because of his pranks on teammates) "We do not see that as coaches. That is done behind the scenes with players. The thing is, what he does a great job of is he knows when to do it and when not to do it because he is very much a serious student of the game. It is very important to him. He wants things done right. The coaches, he would be crushed if we weren't disciplined in our presentations, if we weren't extensive and comprehensive in our presentations. Like most people, he wants to enjoy what he is doing. When the opportunity presents itself he has always enjoyed a prank being played, especially when he is the one committing it. Now the players love it when it is reversed and he is the recipient of it. It is a good give and take. I think what it does, is it probably keeps him grounded with the rest of the players. He is one of us. Even though he is the quarterback, he is the leader, he is a captain, he is one of us. We can fool with him when the moment is right."

(on if Eli Manning's jokes keep things relaxed) "I think so, but it is a little bit different too because jobs and careers are at stake. If you don't do your job right somebody can get injured. It is a violent game. I think the important thing is being able to know when to do it and when not to do it, and I think his timing is good."

(on what he said to Eli Manning about throwing 25 interceptions during the 2010 season) "The thing that we talk about all the time is that it was as good of a year as he has had with the exception of the interceptions. You can't divorce the two, but do not lose sight of the fact that you threw for more yards, you threw for more touchdowns, you threw for more yards per attempt. Where did the mistakes occur? Was it when you tried to exceed what the play was, the ceiling of that play? In some instances it definitely was. It is being sound of judgment. When are you taking your chances? Taking a chance when the probability of being successful is very, very low, then it is not worth doing. We are going to make some plays. Stay away from the bad ones. If that means you have to take a sack, which he loathes to do, he hates to do that. If that is the best thing to do on that play, then take it. Do those things. You are going to make enough plays. When the situation is such that the odds of you completing that pass, then don't do it. Take the other. There also seemed to be an inordinate amount of tipped balls. That last year was one of those years where partly the ball was a little high, partly the timing wasn't exactly right and the receiver was just getting around. It just seemed like there were more tipped balls that went in the air. If it went in the air, it was getting caught be the other team. It was really a combination of a lot of things. The things that he could control, which is what I just talked about, lets control those things. I think that he was embarrassed by the amount of interceptions, and he was fully committed to trying to solve that problem."

(on Eli Manning throwing with his left hand to avoid a sack) "He still does it. I go crazy. It is foolish, it is stupid. You are asking for disaster. Don't do that. Sometimes the instincts are just so strong that they take over."

(on Eli Manning being sacked more times, but throwing fewer interceptions) "That is a tradeoff that we will take. He hates doing it. He has his offensive line buddies that are constantly, but you know what, sometimes taking a sack is the best thing that you can do."

(on how head coach Tom Coughlin has evolved into being more focused on the passing game) "I don't know, you have to ask Tom. If Tom had the perfect world, we would run it 30, throw it 30 and we would win 14-2. Sometimes it doesn't play out that way and you have to recognize that what are people doing defensively. What is our best chance of moving the ball and if we have to run it 50 times, that is fine with me. If we have to throw it 50, whatever we have to do. We were struggling running the ball, and they are a great defense. Now we protected very well the first half. The problem we had in the second half, we struggled with our protection and they were knocking, so fortunately we made a couple of big plays in the passing game and that's how we got ourselves in position to win until the very end. We ran the ball and I was thinking, 'Where was that.' If we could have done that all game we could have been great, but weren't doing that. We were struggling. I think he, which I appreciate, has great faith that we are going to do whatever we have to do to try and be intelligent and prudent in what we are doing. We certainly try to function within the framework of what he is looking for philosophically. We do what we have to do to move the ball and try to win."

DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR PERRY FEWELL

(on being a defensive coordinator in New York) "It's a challenge every day, but I love living in New York City. I go to the office and work every day, but as long as my family is happy, I'm happy."

(on how different the game will be if TE Rob Gronkowski plays) "Very different. The speculation of if he will or if he won't, that's very difficult, because you can only use study. He's been in every football game they've played this year so what do they do without him. It's a difficult thing."

(on if he was fearful of losing his job during the season) "Not at all. I go back to faith. My faith is in my family and in myself and in football. Actually, I really didn't know, because I was so focused on how to make our football team better. As I told you in Buffalo, I like puzzles. I like puzzles and I knew I could figure it out. Once we figured it out and I knew we could make a run and we could do well. So, not at all."

(on how he figured out the Giants defense) "Getting some guys back. When we played some of the young guys I found out what they could do and what they couldn't do and what was not successful. I just said 'hey, let's put these pieces back and let's see if we can make these pieces work the way I think they can work.' and it happened."

(on advice on being in a market like New York) "Not necessarily New York. When I first broke into the league I was in Jacksonville and I just listened and learned through the years with him in Jacksonville. When it came to being exposed to a bigger market, I just reflected on those lessons I learned in Jacksonville."

(on what he learned in Jacksonville) I really never read the paper. I don't really read the internet. I don't listen to the outside influences. I focus on the job that I have to do, because that's the only way that I can do the best at the job I'm currently doing. I believe in what we do and how we do it."

(on blocking out the media) "My wife, she does a good job of letting me know what's important and what's not important. I really go into bunker during the season. Friends don't really have the access to tell me what's going on. My wife, if she tells me, she'll say it in passing, but she doesn't really harp on it. Really, I don't want to hear it, so I just go into a bunker."

(on the effect winning Sunday will have on his career) "I think it gives me more marketability in the future. Now I have the experience of coaching in the Super Bowl, knowing what the preparation is like for a Super Bowl week, because it does change. I think that adds value to what I can do."

(on if he can be viewed as more than just a defensive mind) "I would like to think so, because you have to know offense in order to coach defense. I really believe the people you go against in this league or offensive coordinators, or the people that you play against, you have great respect for what they do. You should know if presented the opportunity to be a head coach who you would like to be your offensive coordinator based on what they did to you."

(on his input on offense) "I think I have a lot of input on how an offense should work. I coached offense in college in order to learn defense. That was my goal when I entered the coaching profession. I started out coaching wide receivers, running backs, offensive lines, because I wanted to know how that thing thought, breathed and slept. So, I had an offensive background to learn defense."

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