COACH TOM COUGHLIN
Nobody likes to lose and we certainly didn't like to lose that one. Some people that were given some opportunities did well. Some did well, some didn't so well, so that's how you put a team together and hopefully we'll be strong enough in certain areas to go out and play the schedule that we have to play. I didn't like the way we finished that game and I didn't like the… There was no production on offense whatsoever. Hit or miss. We had a ball on the ground right before the half that we knocked out on kickoff coverage and they got the ball back. They got two of them on the ground back today and that could have easily been the difference in the game right there. It was kind of a back and forth second half and not a lot of plays being made. They were better offensively than we were and that's what it came down to.
Q: Did David Wilson show you some things?
A: He did. That was a nice thing to see. Ramses Barden did some nice things. That was good to see. That was the plan to see those people and some others. There were some others put in positions that we'll have to look at the tape before I make any comments on them.
Q: How bad is the injury to Prince?
A: I'm going to have to get more information. It's not fractured. They were saying high ankle. Dr. Warren thought it was mild so that's what was told to me. That term, high ankle, if it's a mild sprain, perhaps it's not going to take as much time to get back. Kiwanuka, I understand, has a groin.
Q: David Wilson has never seemed overwhelmed by any of it…
A: He may not have seemed overwhelmed but all the young people have trouble with protection. Just the knowledge of how to get to the person you're responsible for and that took place. So he's battled that and he still is. He still is. He has some play-making ability, which was shown tonight and that's something that we certainly can use.
Q: How did the other cornerbacks look after the Prince Amukamara injury?
A: Michael Coe seemed to go in and play pretty well. I didn't think they went after him. Can't really say much about the other guys.
Q: Mild or not, there's only 11 days left before the opener. You also have Terrell Thomas out there. Is that a pretty big area of concern for you right now?
A: It's one of a few. Yes.
Q: Prince has obviously struggled with a lot of injuries. Is he just having trouble staying on the field?
A: Well I've got to give him credit. Even when he was injured, he made that tackle over there on the sideline. We don't think anybody knew what the injury was and we couldn't get him off the field fast enough. He didn't go down so he played one more play and they went right at him and he made the play. So yea, he's had some injuries, but he is a tough kid and I think he'll come from this as fast as possible. How fast that is, I'm not sure.
Q: What does a guy like Scott show you on the blocked punt?
A: His speed and his versatility. I think that we've been able to utilize him on special teams and we'll continue to do that, but he has the outstanding speed and he has enough size and power to where he can contribute.
Q: You gave David Douglas a lot of opportunities. Did anything flash to you when you watched him today?
A: The play that we got the holding called on, he did a nice job. I thought he was going to run out the other end. Danny did a nice job, too, of his. He fumbled the ball but he went and got it back. That was good to see. Robinson caught a couple of balls over the middle. We had our obvious breakdowns in protection. Each one of them seemed to have issues
QB ELI MANNING
Overall, I thought we had a good 10-play drive, went down there and scored a touchdown. So, that was good. A couple of guys stepped up, made some plays. So, I thought overall, there was more good than bad.
Q: How did David Wilson do overall, tonight?
A: Obviously, you see the potential. You see the playmaking ability. A couple of the big runs, he ran hard, and got outside, got a good chunk. He had the short pass thrown to him, he got down the sideline for a big gain. So, those are the things you're looking for. He also had a catch on the second play of the game, he went the wrong way. So, there's some good and bad, but you have to go with that. So, it's still a process of just continuing to learn the ins and outs of the offense. He's a young guy, we'll go slowly with him, put him in certain situations, and see if he can do some good things for us.
Q: Barden? What are your thoughts on…
A: Ramses played great. He had a good slant, had a couple of other catches, quick little slant routes. He had another fade that they called pass interference on, that could've been another touchdown for him. He had a skinny post, so he had a couple of nice catches and big plays. That's what we've been looking for from Ramses over the past couple of years. See if he can step up and make some plays for us, and today, he did it.
Q: Eli, you talked about getting comfortable early. Were you planning on targeting him early? Is it something you worked on in practice?
A: With who?
Q: With Ramses.
A: No. It's just something… We've got a number of receivers that work in different spots. So, you don't always know who's going to be in there, and who's not. He's a smart player who knows what he's doing, he knows the offense well. The defense gave us a few opportunities to go his way, and he did a good job taking advantage of it.
Q: What makes him (Barden) particularly dangerous in the red zone?
A: Well, he's just a big target. Those guys, the corners see them, and a lot of times you see a 6'6 receiver, they're going to be scared of throwing the fade on them, and if he gets outside, you can back shoulder, you can throw it up. You have all of those options, so the first time, we ran a slant down there, and he did a good job being physical, running the guy down, coming inside, big target. Ran the fade route, he beat the guy who held onto him. So, he's a big body, big target, and you can box out the DBs a little bit. That's what you hope to get from a big guy.
Q: You said David ran the wrong way. On which play was it?
A: The second play of the game. I hit him on a little swing route. So, it's the way it works sometimes. You run the wrong way.
Q: How do you feel, heading into the regular season?
A: I feel good. It's good to get some good play in against a good defense. I think the hardest thing to get back in the flow as a quarterback is that you're used to moving around in the pocket, seeing the rush, feeling the rush. Knowing you can step around, knowing you got to bail out, and knowing where you can buy an extra second. Those are the things that make the preseason so helpful. You go such a long period of time without being hit. It's different knowing there's a guy who is coming after you, and a guy who can't hit you.
WR RAMSES BARDEN
*Q: I think this was your first NFL touchdown. *
A: I could tell you that it was.
Q: So you feel like you got into a little grove? It seemed like Eli was feeding you.
A: It doesn't take much. A couple of plays go positive early on, either when there is blocking or it could be somebody else, you see one of your teammates do something positive, it feeds the rest of the team. That's all it is. I got a catch early, gave me some confidence, I was able to build on it, and I watched plenty of tape this week and had a good week of practice, everything came together.
Q: What makes you so good at running that slant? It seems like that's your "go to."
A: I don't know. I have a bigger body, I'm a bigger target, it's a comfort zone with the quarterback, or whomever is throwing the ball. Whether it is David, or Eli, or even Ryan, it kind of feels like I have a natural box out position, regardless of when they decide to throw it. Whether it's the slant or the skinny post, being on the inside position with my size can give the quarterback a lot of confidence and a lot of range to throw the ball.
Q: How much did you need this performance for your confidence, for the team's confidence, and you?
A: I don't know. I didn't think about it too much like that. As it came I was excited that it did come and hopefully I continue to build on it.
Q: Do you feel like this is an important training camp for you? Or important preseason?
A: They're all important. They're all extremely important, but for me, absolutely. I've been here for a few years and this is the healthiest I've been for a while and I want to show that good feeling isn't going to waste. I want to be here for whatever my team needs me to do. Whether it is teams, whether it's on offense, whether it's green zone, I like to contribute in every way that I can and the more touchdowns I can get, the happier I'll be.
LB MATHIAS KIWANUKAQ: Thoughts on injury during the game:
A: I had a little groin issue there, but we'll get some studies or whatever done on it. I don't think it's going to be serious, it shouldn't affect me for the beginning of the season.
Q: Just miss some practice probably?
A: Yeah. Unfortunately I've been in this situation with the same injury before, and I'll be back before the first week.
Q: What happened there exactly?
A: I was on the ground, and somebody fell on top of me. Legs aren't made to go that way, so it was a "side swipe" or whatever you want to call it. Shouldn't be too serious.
Q: What tests do you think will be done?
A: We'll see, whatever they want to do.
Q: When has this happened before?
A: Last year, and then 2008 maybe.
Q: What's the plan to get back?
A: Just take a couple of days off, rest it, rehab it, whatever they have scheduled. I actually just told them to look up what they did last time with it, and go from there. I have a timetable, but I do not anticipate being more than a week, week and a half, something like that.
Q: You'll be ready for Week 1?
A: I'll be ready.
ADDITIONAL QUOTES
KEITH RIVERS ON TONIGHT'S DEFENSIVE PERFORMANCE:
We did real well in the first half, but you know it is a game of four quarters. We are going to have to continue that for the whole course of the game. There were some errors that need to be corrected. So we will have to get back to it on Wednesday. You are never exactly where you want to be, but we are going in the right direction. We did scheme for Chicago, but that is not the full game plan as we are trying to get ourselves ready for the regular season.
ZAK DeOSSIE ON SPECIALS TEAMS TONIGHT:
We still have some kinks that we have to get out in the preseason. Some guys are just not used to it yet. It doesn't matter if there are six guys in the box or 11 – it doesn't matter because every snap is a real snap. It is great that we had an opportunity to block one of their punts. Scott did a great job executing. Every play is an opportunity for these young guys to contribute. I'm happy for Da'Rel because he certainly has a lot of potential. A block like that gives you great field position. You don't want to show too much in the preseason, but we do work on blocking punts because it is so important and it is such a game changer. It is something that we stress every single training camp.
VICTOR CRUZ ON OVERALL PERFORMANCE OF THE OFFENSE:
I think we are on a good pace right now. There are always kinks and little things you want to work out. But I think we are in a good place. We just have to make sure everyone is healthy and finish the preseason strong. I'm very happy for Ramses today. He puts in a lot of hard work in the training room and on the practice field. And he got a chance to put it all together and make some big plays for us.
Da'REL SCOTT ON BLOCKED PUNT:
It was just a scheme that we have been working on. We got a couple of returns and I was just trying to set him up. I had a couple of speed rushes up the field and I just stuck it and went inside. I was hoping that would definitely give us a chance to get great field position – which it did. Hopefully I will get an opportunity to get another one.
SEAN LOCKLEAR ON OFFENSIVE LINE:
Tonight we wanted to come and not just kick field goals – we wanted to get some drives together and put some points on the board. We sputtered a little bit and had some clock issues – which you don't want coming into games. All in all, I think we played well and took advantage of the field position. We can always improve, but I think we showed signs of being where we want to be. I feel the offensive line is starting to develop a cohesiveness and chemistry at this point in the season.
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KEITH RIVERS ON TONIGHT'S DEFENSIVE PERFORMANCE:
We did real well in the first half, but you know it is a game of four quarters. We are going to have to continue that for the whole course of the game. There were some errors that need to be corrected. So we will have to get back to it on Wednesday. You are never exactly where you want to be, but we are going in the right direction. We did scheme for Chicago, but that is not the full game plan as we are trying to get ourselves ready for the regular season.
ZAK DeOSSIE ON SPECIALS TEAMS TONIGHT:
We still have some kinks that we have to get out in the preseason. Some guys are just not used to it yet. It doesn't matter if there are six guys in the box or 11 – it doesn't matter because every snap is a real snap. It is great that we had an opportunity to block one of their punts. Scott did a great job executing. Every play is an opportunity for these young guys to contribute. I'm happy for Da'Rel because he certainly has a lot of potential. A block like that gives you great field position. You don't want to show too much in the preseason, but we do work on blocking punts because it is so important and it is such a game changer. It is something that we stress every single training camp.
VICTOR CRUZ ON OVERALL PERFORMANCE OF THE OFFENSE:
I think we are on a good pace right now. There are always kinks and little things you want to work out. But I think we are in a good place. We just have to make sure everyone is healthy and finish the preseason strong. I'm very happy for Ramses today. He puts in a lot of hard work in the training room and on the practice field. And he got a chance to put it all together and make some big plays for us.
Da'REL SCOTT ON BLOCKED PUNT:
It was just a scheme that we have been working on. We got a couple of returns and I was just trying to set him up. I had a couple of speed rushes up the field and I just stuck it and went inside. I was hoping that would definitely give us a chance to get great field position – which it did. Hopefully I will get an opportunity to get another one.
SEAN LOCKLEAR ON OFFENSIVE LINE:
Tonight we wanted to come and not just kick field goals – we wanted to get some drives together and put some points on the board. We sputtered a little bit and had some clock issues – which you don't want coming into games. All in all, I think we played well and took advantage of the field position. We can always improve, but I think we showed signs of being where we want to be. I feel the offensive line is starting to develop a cohesiveness* *and chemistry at this point in the season.
