Q: So all of a sudden this guy [Keith Bulluck] walks in the room…
A: That's the nature of the business. He's a veteran guy. He's been around a long time. He's played in a lot of big games. He's a very good person. I've watched him his whole career so I know a little about him.
Q: Did you have any relationship with him?
A: No, not prior. I had just watched him. You watch other guys and he's always played the game at a high level. His experience will be great in the room. I think younger guys always need to hear an older voice other than an old, old guy like myself. It will be helpful.
Q: Now that he is here, how much does he help?
* *A: Well I think the real big thing for our room, that I really believe the most, is competition. When the competition's there, everybody gets better. There's going to be competition and guys working for the starting position and that's the big thing. It brings a great competition to our room. They're all smart guys, they're all good guys, so it will be good.
Q: Any problem with bringing a guy in who will compete for the job, but obviously has a leg up?
* *A: Obviously, our number one goal here at the Giants is to win a championship and I think guys see the other guys come in and they're trying to make our team better as a whole. I think things we've done here at the Giants, our staff is amazing in terms of getting us the right players. So I think the competition and getting us better as a team, I think that's the big thing that everybody sees.
Q: Where do you start with Bulluck?
* *A: I think the biggest thing is for (ten) years of his career he's been hearing a language that's the Tennessee language. For me, my job is to introduce him to the Giant language of football. It's the same thing, but I may say it different than his linebacker coach said it at Tennessee or we may call something different than they called it at Tennessee. Just that language barrier of teaching someone a new language is number one. The guys are going to go on the field and compete and perform, but for me, it's getting him to the point where he feels comfortable – Okay, this is the playbook, yes I remember this is this so now I just have to remember the names – So I think that's the biggest thing for a guy coming into a new position.
Q: Do you have to translate?
* *A: I know as a coach, as I went from one, to one, to one it is. It's okay, I've done this. This is what I called it, now we're calling it this. It's just like learning English, Arabic, Spanish. It's one of those deals, you just got to do it.
Q: You want to get to the point where it's…
* *A: Second nature. I think that's the great thing about our group. They're all highly competitive men. So they understand, I must know this like that and they study that way.
Q: How long does that take?
A: Well for the young guys, the new guys, the rookie, it's a little bit longer. For a guy like the older guys, a guy like Keith and when Michael Boley came in, it's a very quick transition. Because they've done it, they understand the technique, it's just named something different. So it's a very easy transition.
Q: The words, not the definitions?
A: Yeah, because they know the technique and I think that's the big thing.
Q: How much of this has started in his week as a Giant?
A: Well it will start today. He has the playbook and he's looked at it and I'm sure he's probably highlighted and wrote question marks here and there, which is fine.
Q: You know that the trainers will give him some limitations, but as a football coach, when you look at him as a football player, how much do you need to see in the preseason to feel comfortable with him being where he needs to be?
A: Well I think that comes with the reps and as he's out there and he starts to feel towards 100 per cent. Those things are day-to-day, practice-to-practice. I think those are the things he's going to have to get a feel for and we're going to have to get a feel for as he goes out there. You never know until you go out there the first day and you go to practice. Where is he? He's been around a long time so he'll know, hey I'm here, I need to get here. He's a veteran guy so I don't think that's going to be a real problem. It's just going to be getting back in the swing of it. All these other guys have had OTAs and minicamps and he has not, but he's been training hard. Football on the grass is different than training so I think that's the biggest transition for him.
