Q: Have you met Prince yet?A: Yes, we met him right after the draft. He came in for the day and we were able to say hello, tell him to get in good shape and come on back. That was it and I haven't seen him since. I talked to him a couple times on the phone since the lockout has ended and that's it. That has been it.
Q: How much is it hurting him not being here in training camp?A: He will have to come in and compete and he will have to spend the extra time studying to get caught up with these guys as far as the mental aspect of the game goes. We will start working on his technique and try to grab him as much as we can when he is free. We have some volunteer days when players get the days off and we will try to catch him up as best as we can
Q: What did you like about him coming out of college?A: He is a big and physical corner that can play and cover.
Q: What is the biggest thing a rookie can miss during the first week of camp?A: The speed of the pro game and just how good the quarterbacks are. They can put the ball away from your leverage so he will miss that and the communication. Our language is different than the Nebraska Husker language. The Giants language is so much different and that's the biggest change for those guys. Learning our language and learning our terminology and learning the nuances of the program like the illegal contact rule. When can you get your hands on and when can you get your hands off, that will be a big adjustment for him.
Q: What role can you see Aaron Ross in?A: You can't have enough good corners in this league. If that allows us to play dime, we will play dime. We will do whatever our personnel allows. Perry did a great job using three safeties last year because of Deon coming up and making a couple great plays in the first game. You want to get playmakers on the field and we want to put the best eleven guys on the field and if that is four corners and three safeties then it will be that way.
Q: Having those safeties last year was the reason why you played so much with three safeties?A: Yes, Deon Grant was making a lot of plays for us. Coach Fewell is going to put the best eleven players we have on the football field. Sometimes we will have three or four defensive ends on the field and take the tackles out to try to match up with the offensive personnel. We are going to put our best football players on the field.
Q: How do you feel about Terrell Thomas this year?A: Terrell has done a great job. He is the ultimate professional. He is in here working hard all the time. He was in here yesterday on his day off for quite a few hours. He has worked his tail off to become a very good football player. He is a complete corner. He will run support as well as cover. He led the team in tackles and interceptions two years in a row. He was on the all Joe team last year. People around the league are starting to recognize him because he can do so many good things, as far as coverage and he can blitz. He can play run support and he can tackle well. All those things make him a complete football player and that's what people like about him.
Q: Have you ever coached a corner who has led his team in tackles?A: No. Just these two years in a row now. Usually it is the linebackers or safeties that led the team in tackles but he has done such a great job for us. He has played the nickel spot where he is kind of like a linebacker but in the corner spot, when we ask him to run support, he has done a great job of run support. He runs all over the field and hustles all over the field and he makes plays for us.
Q: What is the next step in order for him to make the Pro Bowl?A: I think if he continues being consistent and continues to make plays on the ball. It is a big thing to do and play the ball in the air. How many interceptions do you have? If you are one of the tops in the league in interceptions when the voting goes out, you have a great chance of making the Pro Bowl. When you get on Sportscenter, you get the votes from the people. If you don't show up on Sportscenter and the other guys are scoring touchdowns, that is huge. You gain notoriety that way and that's what you have to do, making big plays.
Q: Are there other things?A: When the players vote, it's the guys that they can't get away from the jam on. The guys the have trouble at the line of scrimmage with. When you are like that then all the receivers will vote for you because they will say, I don't want to play against him. They're voting for you and the fans will vote for you when you are making plays. When the players vote, they vote because they say, 'Man, he is kicking my tail at the line of scrimmage.'
Q: How is Terrell on that?A: He is tremendous. He does a great job of getting his hands on people. He is a big, physical corner and all our guys are big and physical, which we like. They all have long arms, they can get their hands on people.
Q: How have things changed without having OTA's?A: It is a blessing that coach Fewell stayed here because it is the same system and all the guys that have been here. It will take a little bit of time to recall what we had last year but those guys are doing a great job studying. We tried to give them stuff in the offseason. We may not be here with you next season but here is some stuff to take home and study and most of them did a great job of studying and came back in great shape. So the learning curve won't be that drastic and we are all in the same boat. Everybody is coming in the same way.
