GIANTS HEAD COACH TOM COUGHLIN
POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE September 1, 2011
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TC: I thought these young guys played hard. They did make a lot of errors, particularly in the first half, with the obvious turnovers, and what have you, but they kept playing. They played hard. We talked about that at the half and I was glad to see us finish – finish – the game. You know we had the real bad penalty there on the first fourth down, but we did play hard. A lot of guys played a lot of snaps, which I think is going to benefit us. The obvious, the fake punt, the fumble recovery to run in the end zone, the two-point play and a lot people played. And the good thing is, sometimes you see more in the game than you do during practice and I thought Ryan [Perrilloux] showed a lot of poise tonight and you know, and so we go from here. But it's a nice way to finish the pre-season.
Q: Any word on Clint Sintim and the severity of his injury?
TC: It's bad, you know, a ruptured patella tendon to start with…
Q: Can you talk about how that might open some things up for some of the younger linebackers?
TC: Well, there have been quite a few of these guys who have been competing and playing well. And they were all in the mix, Clint included. And it is most unfortunate. I mean, you got to feel badly for a guy who is coming back off a serious knee, works his tail off, really didn't say a word the whole pre-season, did what he had to do, worked on the field, and then to see that happen tonight, it was devastating. I mean, he'll bounce back; he'll be back out there. But to have to go through what he's got to go through in terms of the rehab, etcetera. We feel real bad for Clint.
Q: Jerrel Jernigan?
TC: It was a wrist and they are looking at it right now and I wouldn't speculate.
Q: Can you go forward with him as a punt returner?
TC: He'll be one of them, for sure. You leave him out there long enough, he learns, you know. And he did some good things, as well as some bad things. He's going to be in the mix.
Q: You mean for the season opener?
TC: Sure, why not. We are 10 days away; I say whatever I want right now.
Q: What weighs more on your mind: more mistakes or that he keeps bouncing back and to make plays?
TC: Well, he's young and I'm going to give him a little bit of credit for that, but it's now time that there can't be any mistakes like that…so, we'll just keep working with him. He's a completely honest young man, never blames anyone except himself, so I like that part about him.
Q: Are they just rookie nerves?
TC: There is more to it than that, I think.
Q: Can you talk about David Carr's performance tonight?
TC: You know, he had some moments when he played very well and he had some moments when he didn't. You know, I thought he picked us up after a real poor start. [He] threw the ball into coverage, gave you one of those 'Oh my, here we go' type of deals, but then I thought he went and did some really good things. I mean, we got the ball on the one-inch line and I would say the fumble, I mean, you are going to give it to the two of them but it was more of the center than was the quarterback. But, you know, then he came back and missed a couple series to wide open guys, so there was an accuracy issue there and we're looking for consistency, obviously. But, you know the one good thing [is] he played himself – he started the game and it wasn't too spectacular, [but] he played himself into a better performance and got a chance to play a lot of snaps.
Q: What's the status of Sage Rosenfels. Was he not available tonight?
TC: He was not, no.
Q: Does he still have the back injury?
TC: He still has that, yeah.
Q: I know this is just a preseason game, but I don't know if you've ever called for a fake punt before. What was your thinking behind that?
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TC: We practiced it and were ready to use it and, you know, it's always good to get something on film in preseason. You'd have to go back a ways to find me fake a punt, but I'm glad we did it, obviously.
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Q: Do you know when the last time was?
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TC: 1971 or something like that. Out in the pasture, with 37 fans watching.
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Q: Did anything happen tonight to make cuts easier?
TC: I don't know about easier – I hope it's made it tougher. That's what I was looking for: make it harder. Come on, make it harder.
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Q: Can you just talk about Mark Herzlich's level of interest?
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TC: He's an outstanding young man. He's [a] special guy to work with [and] he does whatever you ask him to do. He loves to play, loves to practice and he's been impressive in the preseason.
Q: Both special teams and defensively?
TC: Both, yeah.
Q: If there hadn't been the short turnaround would you have benched all the starters tonight?
TC: No, we usually play them. Our offensive team could have used a good solid quarter.
Q: Are you upset that that kind of interfered with your preparation like that?
TC: Sure. This is probably the tenth time I've said it and I hope I won't get asked again – you do with what you're dealt. This was nobody's fault; it happened, so we adjusted and went forward with it. Is it an ideal preseason to have no practices the last week of preseason? No.
