Head Coach Tom Coughlin

Q:  What happened on Thursday that caused Shawn Andrews to have to go to the hospital?

A:  He had texted Ronnie late at night saying he was having a lot of pain and so when he came in Thursday morning nothing had changed.  So they wanted to make sure what they were doing – sent him to the hospital.  They thought they needed to keep him there to treat him.  So he has been there and he continues to be there.

Q:  What is the update on his condition?

A:  He is still in the hospital – I have no idea what the update is.

Q:  Do you list him as out?

A:  No, listed as doubtful.

Q:  Is this the same stuff that has been happening?

A:  Yes. 

Q:  Anything structural?

A:  He experienced so much discomfort that he was having trouble sleeping.  That affected him.  So they tried to relieve the tension.

Q:  What is the latest on David Diehl?

A:  He is running and working and making good progress.  And hopefully we will have something to report next week.

Q:  Shawn had an epidural before the last game.  Does that have anything to do with this latest thing?

A:  No, none.

Q:  Aaron Ross wasn't out there today also.  What is his status?

A:  He was sick.

Q:  Flu like symptoms?

A:  Yeah, it was abdominal, I believe.

Q:  If Will Beatty is at left tackle, who takes over that lineman/tight end spot?

A:  Either Mitch Petrus or Jamon Meredith have done that.

Q:  How has Michael Clayton come along since he got here?

A:  He has done a good job because he is a veteran in terms of learning fast, knowing what to do.  He has practiced well.  He has run into some difficulties as we experienced for example, the adjustment part of it.  But overall he has done a good job.

Q:  Jon Gruden – the volume of his offensive playbook has always been legendary.  Do you take that into account and how maybe that would make life a little bit easier for him here?

A:  That fact and the fact that he has been in the league in for six years.  Other than the fact that it is foreign language, he has experienced it.  He has adjusted well.  He seems to be real excited about having the opportunity.

Q:  How about Devin Thomas?

A:  He got here late mid-week and he has helped us out as best as he can.  So we will bring him along gradually. 

Q:  In the last few weeks what have you seen from Travis Beckum?

A:  He has improved steadily.  There is a certain aspect of what you try to do with Travis.  And when you call upon him he normally does a good job of that. 

Q:  Have you been able to ask more of him, though?

A:  Yeah, we have asked more.

Q:  In Devin Thomas' case he is experienced as a return guy.  Is that a spot that you are looking at for him?

A:  Possibly, yeah.

Q:  Has Eli done much extra work with the new receivers?

A:  It is interesting that Michael Clayton and Eli were roommates prior to the draft for about a month as they worked out.  So they know each other pretty well.  He hasn't done a whole lot extra out here.  If you were to go inside right now, you would see him in the meeting room with the receivers.  That is what he does every Friday afternoon.  They look at tape together.  He selects what he wants them to see and then goes over it with them and what his expectations is.

Q:  So the extra has been more mental than on the field?

A:  Yes.

Q:  What have you seen out of Mario Manningham this week that makes you feel that he is ready to be the number one?

A:  I told him earlier in the week, "You had better get going; you had better make some plays for us."  He has had a good week of practice.

Q:  How so?

A:  He has caught the ball, he has given what we expect out of him which is a deep ball, the go-route, the deep flags.  He has done a good job with the sudden aspects of the routes. 

Q:  Have you sensed any change in either Ahmad Bradshaw or Brandon Jacobs since making the switch Wednesday?

A:  Change?

Q: In attitude, in hunger?

A:  Hunger.  I have nothing to say.

Q:  Brandon Jacobs said repeatedly on Wednesday that this is only a temporary situation.  Why do you think he is saying that?

A:  He is a very good teammate.  And it may very well be that way.  There is nothing written in stone.  It is a new week.  And we will see how this goes.  One of the things that was really interesting to me is – I got home last night and saw a little bit of the end of the Cowboy game.  And so this morning we talked about that in my meeting – how one play – one play – and the responsibility that the – and it is not just the ball carriers – it is the receivers, it is the tight ends, it is the defensive backs after interceptions, linebackers, anybody.  Because in this day and age a lot of people don't go for the tackle – they go for the strip.  And as you saw last night, a receiver switching the ball in his arms and didn't really see someone coming in.  So we talked about that again.  And hopefully that part of it will start to sink in.

Q:  Were you able to take that conversation and implement it on the field – just in terms of drills, strip drills, stuff like that?

A:  We have done a couple of drills this week with that in mind.  And I would like to do some more.  Actually we can be a little bit more creative with that based on some of the things that you are seeing around the league. 

Q:  Is Will Beatty fully healthy now?

A:  He has had a couple of weeks work.  And he had nothing for a long time.  So he has been pretty well with that.  What you are really after is him to get his quickness and his timing, if you will, get that down.  That is what is missing is when a guy hasn't competed and everyone else is so far advanced into the year.  And he comes back and he finds himself just a tick late, or whatever.  The first week he was a little bit late.  He was a little bit better last week.  And hopefully a lot better this week.

Q:  I don't know if you have asked this, but is there any extra emotion facing the Jaguars since you basically helped create that franchise?

A:  No.  No, not at all.  It is a very important football game; the most important game of the year for us.  It is the next game.  That is just basically the only way I look at it.

Q:  Defensive side of the ball – you are facing a mobile quarterback for the second straight week in David Garrard.  How do think maybe just having faced Michael Vick helps in terms of preparation?

A:  Well, it does help.  A lot of the things that you talk about in terms of the contain aspect will apply; different athlete, different style athlete, creates different problems.  But nevertheless, we have worked on the mobile quarterback for a couple of weeks now and hopefully that will help us.

Q: The responsibility will fall largely on Jonathan Goff's shoulders in terms of covering Maurice Jones-Drew.  What makes him equipped to do that?

A:  I start out with the run game first.  We all know about the screens and that type of thing.  And a lot of it depends on the coverage that you are in.  But this guy is an outstanding ball carrier.  And of course, that is their number one deal, is to run the ball and to set up the play actions and the nakeds and all of that stuff off of that.  So it will be an 11-man chore. 

* OC Kevin Gilbride*

Q: Do you have to adjust your game plan considering that you only have one receiver who is really fully versed in the offense?
A: You're going to have to be intelligent about what you ask guys to do who haven't been around, so between the verbiage – it's learning a new language – so they'll know what an incut is, they'll know what a post is, but they may not know how we call it here, so that's a challenge and that'll fall really on the quarterback within the timeframe of the huddle – that's a challenge. But we'll try to ask them things that they're both a) physically able to do and then b) intellectually can pick up, but I think we'll have enough variety and enough diversity that we'll have a chance to move the ball the way we're going to have to.

Q: How challenging is execution when so much of your offense's success is predicated on timing?
A: It's obviously very difficult. You've got a lot of new bodies and you've got some of the bodies that you've had before who haven't been asked to perform the roles they're going to be asked to perform, but the bottom line is that you try to do the best you can with what you've got and we think we have enough.

Q: How much do you feel like you're back in training camp all over again with all the new faces?
A: Yeah, there's no question – it's not the way you'd draw it up or plan it. Unfortunately we were playing at about as high a level as you could play and then all of the sudden you lose as many guys as we've lost, but it's the hand that we've been dealt. The key is now, regardless of how you have to do it, some how, some way you've got to manufacture enough yardage, enough offense, enough points that you give yourself and your team a chance to win.

Q: Michael Clayton has been known as a very good blocking receiver. Is it as hard to incorporate a guy into your running game as the passing game?
A: It depends. Again, things that he's familiar with, we certainly will try to capitalize on. Again, it's the nomenclature and the timing that is a little bit different, but if a guy is big and strong and of the predisposition that he is not afraid to go in and block the safety, I think that regardless of the run, it's a hard ball run, he can do that, so hopefully he'll do that effectively for us, at least that's our intention.

Q: What are Clayton's greatest strengths?
A: Just the blocking, a big strong receiver that is difficult for a smaller corner to match up with. I think he can do some of those things where you ask him to maybe take advantage of his size and once he gets running down the field it looks like he moves pretty well. Again, we're not going to ask him to do some of the nuanced things where there are a lot of options and the parameters of what he can do in a particular route or particular pattern are multiple, we're not going to ask him to do that, but if all he's got to do is come out and run a post or a go or an incut or a hitch, those things he's been doing since he's been in high school, so those are the things that we think we can ask him.

Q: How big is the package of plays that you give him?
A: The package…he'll be part of the entire offense, but we'll only ask him to do certain portions of those plays.

Q: How limiting is it to have the left side of your offensive line in constant flux with injuries?
A: Again, it's not the way you'd – certainly if you had your druthers, it would not be number one on the hit parade. It's not the way you'd go about your business, but when we put Shawn Andrews in there, he performed tremendously well for us. He was a significant part of why we didn't have a sack the last three weeks. Now we're going to ask William Beatty to go up and do the same thing – it's your chance, it's your opportunity, you've been clamoring for it and you wanted an opportunity, we've wanted to give it and now it's here. We didn't want it to happen under these circumstances, but it's happened, it's a chance to step up and contribute and play the way that we believe he has the potential to do. It's a challenge and there's no question – it's not the way you'd like it, but it's the way it is and we think that we have enough ability and he has enough ability for a singular example that he can go out and compete and do well and give the rest of the guys a chance to win the game.

Q: What are you looking for from Jacobs as a starter?
A: Consistency. Consistency with the running game. That's the reason that we made the change initially is we weren't running the ball as well as we thought we should last year, so we gave Ahmad a chance, he did some great things for us and now we're asking Brandon Jacobs to do the same.

Q: Does your play calling change much from one running back to another?
A: No. Not really. There are certain things that they do better than others, but if all you did was an inside run with Brandon and an outside run with Ahmad, it wouldn't take them very long to figure it out defensively, so there are maybe certain things that you accentuate or emphasize, but I think you've got to be able to do both.

Q: The fumbles are his main concern, but his production hasn't been as high the last three weeks. Why?
A: I think it's all of it. The protection has been outstanding, but I think that… I don't know if it's more difficult, but it certainly is very difficult to get the coordination and the cohesion in the running game when you have guys that haven't been playing together – not only are they new guys, but they haven't been next to each other, so I think it's a combination of a lot of different things.

Q: Brandon Jacobs views this as a temporary change. What have you said to him about the possibility of this being permanent?
A: We haven't said anything. We're just playing it week by week. Ahmad will still carry the ball and he's still going to get chances, it's just that here's an opportunity for him if he wants to be the starter, he's got to go out and produce and that's what we expect him to do.

Q: How do you change your approach in the end zone without Hakeem Nicks?
A: I don't know that you change the approach. We've never just said hey, it's Hakeem. A lot of his touchdowns have been from farther out, far removed, it really has been controlled and always will be controlled by who you have and what they do defensively and schematically, so we'll put people over there that can make the plays that need to be made by that position that he was occupying and hopefully when that opportunity arises for those guys, they'll step up and do the same thing that Hakeem did.

Q: Injuries on the left side of the line, quite a bit of run right against Philly…
A: Well, it's as much – it's not only the injuries on the left side, it's also the quality of the defensive players in Philly on the right side, so it was both. You had some new people on the left side and it was also that you have Trent Cole over there on the right side, which makes it challenging even if you had your guys you've had there for six years, so it's a combination of all of those things.

DC Perry Fewell

Q: Is Jacksonville different because they like to run so much between the tackles and on the inside?
A: Big inside running team. They'd like to run the football. That's going to be the challenge, being able to stop the run, and that running back is phenomenal.

Q: Is there a misconception that because he's short and fast that he's not as much of a power back?
A: He is a power back – I think he's a speed back, too, because when he gets out there, he scoots pretty good. He's a talented young man – he catches the ball well in the backfield, he runs the ball well, he blocks, he's tough, he's a complete guy, in my opinion.

Q: They have injuries at tackle right now. Do you have to keep it in the back of your mind that this is a team that will be doing a lot of chipping?
A: I don't really go into it saying that. If they do, you try to adjust from there. Whoever they put in there, you think that they have confidence in that person that they can block our guys, but no, I don't really go into it thinking like that.

Q: Will Blackmon has experience at safety and corner. Do you think he's ready to contribute on defense?
A: He did contribute against Seattle and made a couple plays against Seattle, so we've been spoon feeding him and he's been drinking the water and so hopefully he's ready to take all the kool aid.

Q: Are the systems that he's played in the past similar enough to this one?
A: They're not that similar, but he's a pretty smart guy. The first day that we got him and we signed him, we got with him immediately and started talking about coverages and how we play things and how we do things, so he's a pretty sharp guy because he's got some veteran experience and he has made that transition well.

Q: Do you see him more as a corner or a safety?
A: More of a corner for us.

Q: Have you tried to talk to your guys more about getting turnovers on defense?
A: We definitely try to get more. We have preached it, we're trying to create more opportunities, which gets us off the field, puts our offense in a position to score. We want to create turnovers so that we can score on defense. We haven't been able to do that this year and so we definitely have emphasized that.

Q: With so many injuries on offense, have you talked to your guys about tightening up your defense?
A: No. We're just going into it with an approach that we've got to play solid football. We've got to play better than we did a week ago and better than we did two weeks ago and we've just got to play at the top of our game. We should be getting better – this is November and December and so we should be getting better, but from that standpoint, no, I don't go in and emphasize something.

Q: How do they use Maurice Jones-Drew and why is he such a dangerous weapon?
A: I don't know why he's such a dangerous weapon because they use him all over the field. He's a phenomenal little player – running back, blocker, pass receiver – he's just a good football player. He's going to touch the ball anywhere from 15 to 26 times during the football game and when he touches the ball, you've got to limit the yards per catch or yards per carry that he touches the ball because he produces really good numbers when he's in there.

Q: Their offense has had issues with turnovers this year. Have you seen things on film that maybe you can take advantage of?
A: We have seen some things that we will try to take advantage of. We definitely need to create some more turnovers to help our cause, but we have employed some things that we feel can help us.

WR Devin Thomas

Q: When you were dropped by Carolina, did you see this opportunity happening?
A: Actually when they released me, they told me they were going to give New York a call because they knew they were light on receivers. I was hoping that would be the case and it would work out for me. Low and behold, it happened. I'm really happy right now.

Q: How quickly can you contribute and how much of the package for Sunday were you able to pick up?
A: Right now, I'm just trying to learn the terminology. The plan isn't for me this weekend, so I'm just trying to catch up on everything and trying to do that as fast as possible. The sooner I can do that, the sooner I can start playing. I'm shooting for next week, definitely.

Q: Can you help with special teams, too?
A: Yeah, whatever. Not much (with punt returns), but wherever I can contribute. I'm pretty much an all-around football player, and wherever they plug me in, I'm ready to take that responsibility.

Q: So you're not thinking about this weekend then?
A: No, I don't think that's in the plans.

Q: Why haven't things worked out for you so far in Washington or Carolina?
A: I just feel like different situations cause that to happen. Things are a little bit unstable in Washington, and it didn't work out quite that well there. In Carolina, they have other issues to worry about other than receivers. They have a lot of problems going on there. I'm just thankful to be somewhere that's stable. They have a stable organization, a stable quarterback situation, and so it should be a good opportunity for me to come in and make some plays. I want to stay here as long as possible.

Q: What makes this team a good fit for you?
A: They throw it a lot. That definitely makes for a good fit. They have a smart quarterback, and a guy that knows how to read the defense and spread the ball around. It's not just that one guy, it's a whole bunch of different guys making plays. That makes me really excited, and that's why I'm looking forward to it.

Q: You know who is on the schedule next week, too:
A: I'm not quite sure who that would be, but we'll see. I'll be ready to play, that's for sure.

Q: You surprised about how it went down in Washington?
A: Yeah, I definitely was surprised. When things happen like that, other opportunities present themselves. Right now for me to be here is a blessing. Unfortunately, I wasn't up to speed with that team but they had other things going on and I'm here now. Like I said, it's a blessing.

* *

Q: Did the Giants talk to you coming out of college?
A: Yeah, at the combine and having different conversations with people, I definitely talked to the New York Giants. They actually told me they had me really high on the board. They said they're happy to have me.

Q: Do you think that this could actually work out for you long term even though this seems like a short term fix?
A: That's my mentality. I'm just going to take it day-by-day, learn the play book, go out there and try to make some plays, and just contribute as much as possible and let it go from there.

Q: What do you say you would bring to the Giants receiving corps?
A: A guy that's physical. It's pretty much the same mentality that the guys already have. I've been in D.C. and I know the mentality that the guys have here, and I feel like I can add on to it. I have big play speed, and all that stuff.

Q: You know the division well, too:
A: Definitely.

Q: Does that help?
A: I think so. The NFC East is a tough division, and I'm a tough receiver.