Coach Coughlin
Good morning. What can I do for you?
Q: Got a story?A: No. Wish I did. Okay good, that's it.
Q: With Pascoe playing more tight end, you're putting Hynoski there with your first team. What do you see in him? Is that a lot for a rookie free agent?
A: He's done well with that part of it. That's a pure fullback in the pure fullback position. Hopefully, he'll be the physical presence that we need. He catches the ball very well. He hasn't had a lot of problems with assignments, which has been real good. As we advance, he basically has to master first and second down, which should be to his advantage.
Q: Is he an explosive type blocker?
A: That's the thing that we're encouraging him to do. We haven't been in pads a lot, so he's not been doing much of that. He does have to do that and clear the path and get people out of the way and that kind of thing.
Q: How much is Charles Way working with him? He's the only old fullback here.A: Works with him. You see him on the side with him a little bit. He sits next to him in meetings and stuff like that. He's helping.
Q: How is Pierre-Paul coming along?A: He's coming along well. He's a very physical presence. He's been very quick off the ball. He and Beatty have gone out there pretty much every day and whether they have pads on or not, they compete like heck. It's been a very good thing.
Re: more on Pierre-Paul's developmentA: He definitely could've used the offseason like a lot of the young guys can. He's come out here and he's made a couple of errors, but it hasn't been anything unusual, not anything different than a lot of young guys. I think he's picked it up well and he'll continue to get better.
Q: Could you talk about the flexibility he gives you?
A: That's the whole key for us is the flexibility we have with the defensive ends. He fits right in very well with that, whether he's playing over the guard, playing outside, standing up. He can do all those things. He can drop to a spot. He's very athletic. He can do all that. Even some of our tackles can get involved.
Q: With Steve Smith not here, is there concern of who's …A: We're going to find that out. We're going to work that out. Domenik has been the third. We unfortunately have to slow him down on occasion, say every other day, to get him stronger and healthier and feeling faster coming off of his surgery. There's a lot of room for a lot of people if they could just improve and come along. Barden, get out there for crying out loud. So there's plenty of opportunities. I'm hoping these guys will advance.
Q: Are you hearing Barden …A: I don't know what I'm hearing. I'm basically just using the needle on a couple of these guys. Don't let this time go by now without having been on the field because it's not going to be that helpful. I showed them this morning, which was a good idea, to be honest with you. We walk in, we start the meeting, and I say, 'Okay, look up here at the calendar, fellas. You're playing next Saturday. It's Saturday.' I don't know what day it is, but somebody said it was Saturday. 'Next Saturday we're playing a game.' And we have a day off. And the day before the game is normally a day off.
Q: You like having three receivers there. Until you establish that, that could be a factor?A: It could be. It could definitely be. The other side of the ball is observing these young guys. That's how you're going to go through the preseason, just hoping that people come along. It's time. It's a great opportunity for them.
Q: Even if you get Steve back, it could take him awhile right?
A: I think so. He's not going to step in right away.
Q: How long do you think it would be for him?A: Don't know. Wouldn't want to speculate on that.
Re: Tollefson's returnA: He's been working his butt off. He's about 268, 270. He can run. He can play on special teams. He could go in there and be one of our package guys on second and long or third down. He knows the system. He knows where we're coming from. The guys all wanted him back. He is back. Hopefully he's going to help.
Q: Did Andre Brown improve at all?
A: I like what I see out of Andre. It's no surprise to any of you just to say the fact that he looks fast. He has looked fast.
Q: Whether it be just weight or body fat, were you able to kind of get a picture at all about Prince after last night?
A: We didn't do much with him. We have to ease him into it. Dave will be eased into it also.
Q: I know we asked about young linebackers. I don't know if we asked specifically about Kenny Ingram. He's working with the second team. He looks to be in the right spot with a lot of effort.A: He is. Those other young linebackers are all making very favorable impressions, all three of them.
Q: Which guys are you referring to?A: Paysinger. There's more than three really. Jones. Williams. Herzlich made a play or two yesterday as well.
Q: How about Tracy?A: He's been impressive as well. I wish we had a lot more time. But in the time we have, they've done a good job and they've got to keep doing it.
Q: Ingram's been working with the second time. He's been back with you guys a couple of times. Is that a sign that you like what you see in him and there's potential there?
A: There's definitely something there.
Q: Osi's still status quo?A: Until somebody tells me different.
Q: We're talking about time. In this next week before this game, what do you hope to accomplish? What can happen?A: Some continuity. Like last night, for example, we try to get into some of the sophisticated cadence stuff. We have a lot of young, not young, but, a lot of linemen that haven't been here. So, naturally you have people jumping around. If you're going to be able to use all your weapons, they've got to have more time on the field. That's what I hope to find out.
Q: Is the first game to get your guys real time or is it to start weeding out the roster?
A: It's just to be able to look and as you always do, evaluate. You're trying to evaluate a lot of guys. They all will have a lot of play time.
Q: Have your doctors and trainers examined Osi's knee?
A: Before the physical, yeah, or during the physical. They're here every day, so I'm sure they are.
Q: Tyler Sash …A: I understand he had his entire hometown and everybody, probably 12 people who were here. He played well last night. He made a nice interception at center field and did a good job. You can tell. The coaches keep talking about how his angle has improved in just a couple of days.
Q: What do you think about Victor Cruz this camp?
A: He knows a little bit more about what he's doing and what's expected of him. He's athletic. He does a nice job on teams. He's flashed as a receiver. Again, a guy that would've definitely benefitted from the offseason.
**DE Justin Tuck
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Q: Are you optimistic about this Osi thing ending soon?A: I am optimistic about a lot of things. It will soon.
Q: Are you taking an vested interest in this?A: I take a vested interest in a lot of things that goes on with the Giants because I am invested in the Giants. Time will tell what will happen but until that time, I am focused on going out there and making this team a better team.
Q: Do you pay attention to what's going on because you may be in this situation in a few years.A: We will cross that bridge when we get there.
Q: How are you, other players and coaches making sure this doesn't become bigger than what it has to be?A: By concentrating on what you can control. As a player, I can only control my actions. I can't worry about what somebody else is doing. I can give my opinion but at the end of the day, I still have to go out there and perform so I can't allow any of that to clog any of my visions as far as what I need to do to better myself and better this football team.
**WR Hakeem Nicks
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Q: How are things developing between Eli Manning and the wide receivers?A: I think overall we still have work to do. It is still early in training camp. We just have to keep doing what we need to do to get better.
Q: Do you think the offseason workouts have helped so far in camp?A: I think it definitely helped but I don't think it has helped as much as if we would have had OTA's. We are here now so we have to put the timing in now on and off the field and get the job done.
Q: How much time do you need considering you are about to play in a week?A: I think it is just going to go over the course of time and practice. Each week it is going to progress more and more.
Q: How has camp been so far?A: We still have guys figuring out the ins and outs right now. It is going to all come together.
Q: How do you feel about going up against the Eagles?A: You definitely have to look at it as a challenge. That is a great secondary that they put together back there but that is apart of being an elite football player. You have to look forward to the challenge and stepping out there and competing.
Q: Do you still feel that people are looking for answers from this receiving corps?A: I don't really think about what other people are looking for. I know what I can do and control what I can't control and what I can get better at.
Q: Does it make you angry that people are saying they didn't get Plaxico Burress, now Kevin Boss is gone, Steve Smith is a question mark, what are these guys going to do?A: You can look at it in a negative way, but I don't ever take it negatively. Step up to the plate and do what I have to do.
Q: What did you think when you heard Kevin Boss was leaving?A: That's a decision that he made, great person and the best of luck to him.
Q: How does that affect you?A: He definitely played a big role at tight end, but we have guys that are going to step up and fill that void.
**DE Dave Tollefson
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Q: Before you were re-signed by the Giants, were you at all concerned about whether or not you were coming back?A: No, I wasn't. I have such good relationships with coach Nunn and Coach Coughlin and obviously they know my skill set and they wanted me back. It was just a matter of the timing of it and how it was going to work out but I never once was concerned that I didn't have a place here. I've done well here and I feel like the organization has respect for a guy like me.
Q: Were there other possibilities elsewhere?A: Yeah, obviously there was, but the grass isn't always greener, as they say.* *There are a lot of things that go into making a decision like this that aren't money and stuff like that, and I feel for me and my family I made the right decision.
Q: Dave, how are you? Good to see you.A: I'm good man, good. I've got a job. You guys have got a job obviously so we're good.
Q: Are you bigger?A: No, 267, maybe a little leaner. It's hot in Omaha. About 115 with the heat index so I don't have a choice.
Q: Speaking of numbers, I noticed they gave yours away?A: I got it back. I had it back the minute I signed.
Q: Did you have to pay for it?A: No, I don't have the kind of money to buy it back.
Q: You said it was a one-year deal right?A: Yeah, exactly.
Q: So, one-year deal – that's not much security.A: Yeah, it isn't, but I've always signed one year deals here and it's kind of like you're waiting, I want to get to free agency, I want to get to free agency and then you test the market. You know I've been buried on the depth chart here. You've got two All Pros in front of me, two first round picks also. Like I said, is the grass always greener? I kind of found out maybe it isn't. So, obviously I'll have to go through that again next year. It's going to be a little longer free agency period but at this point it's such a non-issue. I've signed one-year deals for the last five years so it has no bearing on anything that's happening now.
Q: You kind of know what your role will be here. Was there an opportunity elsewhere for a bigger role?A: Well I think the opportunities maybe somewhere else could've been a little better to play a little more on the d-line but that's all speculation. With the uncertainty of this whole thing, how the lockout unfolded and stuff, I don't make money speculating. That's up to the ESPN guys. My money is made in factual information and I've performed here well and that's why I came back.
Q: Osi's not practicing because of his contract. Are you feeling like you were brought back to put pressure on him?A: No, I ended my holdout. No, I don't think so. Like I said, we've been playing together for so long now. You could argue that maybe if they brought someone else in but I'm just Dave, man. Osi knows me, the Giants know me, I am what I am.
**DE Mathias Kiwanuka
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Q: …mental transition and learning the playbook, how big of an adjustment can that be?
A: The first time I did it, I would say it was definitely a big mental adjustment.
Q: Are you as comfortable standing up as coming off the edge?
A: Yeah, absolutely. I had a lot of time to actually get used to it. There were a lot of different things over the years that we did like pedaling, dropping and blitzing from the end.
Q: Is it a more a hybrid of…
A: Yeah, there will be a little bit of everything involved. I think being out here, being able to play as a linebacker and then being able to rush as the defensive end is probably the best fit for me, because then I learn the entire defense and I can be used in a number of different ways.
Re: versatility of the defense
A: Yeah. I think the versatility that I provide, along with the skill and the potential that the rest of the defensive line and the linebackers have—it should be dangerous.
Q: Did you consider signing elsewhere?
A: Yes. I'm not going to get into where I was going to go. At the end of the day, this was the best fit, the best chance, the best opportunity I have to get back to the Super Bowl.
Q: If there were other opportunities, were they strictly defensive end?
A: No, there were different possibilities. A lot of people have seen me on film standing up and they liked what they saw.
Q: How often did you hear from Tuck during that process?
A: We worked out together a few times and then it was me and my agent for the most part. People, when they go into that, you've just got to think about yourself and your family.
Re: deployment of defense
A: You have to wait and see. That's the fun part about it; you never how we're going to line up, you never know how we're going to attack and adjust to pass coverage and I think that's the exciting part.
Q: What are the positives you see there and where are maybe some of the holes that you guys need to fill?
A: I think everybody has done a good job. Obviously, Boley is a guy who is known for coverage. You can match him up pretty much on anybody and know that he's going to do just as good of a job. A lot of pressure is put on our middle linebackers and Jonathan Goff has really come into his own. He takes control of the huddle, of all the calls and checks. He's a very intelligent guy.
**WR Jerrel Jernigan
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Q: Do you sense that you're competing for the third receiver position or is there just too much going on?A: There's too much going on. I just go out there, run the stuff that coach is installing or will tell you on the day of practice and go out there and try to do my best.
Q: Did you play mostly in the slot?A: Mostly in the slot, but I played outside too. So whenever he needs me to go outside, I went outside. I pretty much went everywhere.
Q: Slot is a very natural place for you?A: Yeah, it's natural. I'm used to bumping with linebackers and nickel backs and stuff inside there. It's natural to me.
Q: What's hard about the slot position?A: The slot is really about a decent route. You're in there with the outside backers, the nickel backs. Going through the middle, getting bumped around. Getting hit around. Pretty much got to be tough to play in the slot. You take a lot of hits from there and run a lot of crossing routes.
Q: You also ran the ball a lot at Troy and you ran some option passes. Is that correct?A: Yeah, you're correct.
Q: How much playbook did you have there? Was it this huge thing that you had to absorb?A: Over time, since I was there, about four years. As time went on, coach put them in. Those plays, you don't forget when you get involved. You don't get forget those plays. So pretty much, those are in my head. Over the course of four years I learned the whole playbook. My first year there, learned a little bit, got further with it. In my second year, I caught on. The rest, I went on to learn the whole playbook.
Q: Have they tested your arm here?A: No. Not here yet. Hopefully coach gives me a chance to throw a little bit.
FB Henry Hynoski
Q: How has the transition been from being an undrafted rookie to taking snaps with the first team?
A: It's been great. The first day was tough learning new terminology, but I feel like I'm starting to pick up things quicker now and starting to adapt and get comfortable in the offense. I think the more I go out there the better I'll get.
Q: After the draft, how much did you examine different teams' rosters to see which would be a good fit?
A: My agent and I looked at a lot of different teams throughout the league. From day one, we were hoping that the Giants were a team that we would hear from, because of the opportunity here at the fullback spot, and we did. They were one of those fifteen teams that contacted me once free agency opened and this was the best fit. I wanted to be here from the start and I'm glad to be a Giant right now.
Q: Did the phone ring a lot after the lockout? Were there a couple teams seeking your services?
A: Yeah, there were about fifteen teams. My phone was ringing non-stop for about ten hours. It was a pretty hectic day, but I got where I needed to be.
Q: You have to make that decision quick, too, right?
A: Right, you have to make it within a day. Later on that night, I called the Giants and told them I was coming here and couldn't wait to get here.
Q: Not every team uses a traditional fullback like you are. Do you see that position fading away in this league?
A: I do in a way, but there are going to be teams that use it and you always need a fullback, somebody that's going to be a thumper out there. That's why they brought me in here, to be a battering ram and catch the ball out of the backfield, so I'm just real excited for the opportunity to do that.
Q: Is fullback a thankless job?
A: No, to be a fullback you have to love the game and you have to love hitting people—that's what I do. I don't care about the publicity, I don't need a thank you; I just love playing football and hitting people.
Q: Fullbacks are usually a little crazy, too. Do you fit that mold?
A: I think I do, definitely.
Q: You rushed for about 7,000 yards in high school. Was it hard going to college and making that transition over to being a full-time blocker at Pittsburgh?
A: I knew in college I was going to be a fullback, everybody called me that. It was just something I wanted to do. They told me I was going to have to run, block and catch and be a complete back. It was something I kind of looked forward to right from the start.
Q: Usually a guy gets undrafted and signs as a free agent within a few days. You had to wait…?
A: All I did was worry about the stuff I could control. All I did was work out, stay in shape and do the best things to fuel my body to get me ready for this. I couldn't worry about what was going to happen with the lockout; I had to train and keep getting ready.
Q: Have you heard much about the guy you're trying to replace, Madison Hedgecock?
A: I just heard he was a real tough kid. I kind of fit the same mold he does as far as a player.
Q: A little crazy? What did you hear about the crazy part; is that something you want to be?
A: Absolutely, you have to be to be a fullback. Off the field, I try to remain a gentleman and be a good guy, but on the field I'm a totally different person. Like I said, before a game I just work myself into a frenzy.
