Giants Head Coach Tom Coughlin Press Conference
Opening Remarks:
"This disregard for the ball, which has been going on for probably a year and a half here, and no one seems to be able to do anything about it, again, cost us the football game. And it would have been interesting to tell, even at the end there. [QB] Eli [Manning] did get a first down, if he would have slid, there would have been no discussion on the ball. It would have been interesting to see what would have happened from that point on. But very frustrating. I thought we prepared well. We obviously did an awful lot of good things defensively. They made some plays, there's no doubt about that, and they will. But we did a pretty good job of minimizing the big plays and we did a good job of getting after the quarterback. He made a few runs, but he didn't hurt us necessarily with the number of runs that he had made in previous games. So we're very disappointed. We have six games to play. We play the Eagles again a little bit later. But we've got to take care of our situation. We've got to stop the—somehow, some way—stop the turnover. This is our team, these are the guys that are going to play, and we can make a couple of changes here and there but it's not going to be anything much. This is our team, we got to solve it, we got to be smarter than we are and hopefully we can do that."
On if Manning gave him an explanation on why he dove instead of sliding:
* *"No. Is that something we work on? Diving forward? Yeah we go over it. Same thing happened a year ago. You were watching the game. Got to slide."
On keeping QB Michael Vick contained:
"We did a variety of things so there wasn't any one thing. But we did get pressure, we did get it up the middle some. He made some incredible escapes, to his left, that one time in particular, I thought we had him hemmed in and he got out of that—but it wasn't a long run for a first down, it was like a five yard run. We changed it up, we chased, we put pressure from the outside to his left, our right. We came up the middle fairly, effectively. We did a good job throughout most of the evening. You know, the long run on 4th and 1 that should have never happened. I think that when the ball was fumbled, that we got out position a little bit. They had used that play, they used it from a different formation. It's a shame that that had to take place."
On how much having four offensive players out of the game hampered the team:
"You got to play with the guys that are available. The guys that are there provide you with the team for the day and those guys have got to win."
On his decision to go for it on 4th down:
"No, I considered going for it. Thought about it all along."
On what he can do to fix the turnover problem:
"That's a good question. I'm not sure what the answer to that is. It's up to the individual. You got to realize it. From what I can understand [RB Ahmad] Bradshaw did have both hands on the ball when the ball was knocked out. So they must have just ripped his arms down and got the ball. We had one tipped-ball interception. We had the late just toss-the-ball-up-in-the-air interception, which frustrates the heck out of me too."
On if he expects Manning to know to slide in that situation at this point in his career:
"Well, he should have slid, yeah. I mean competitively he was trying to get as much yardage as he could. And then you could see him start to lunge and I don't think we would have said a thing if the ball didn't come out. But it did. And it has happened before, so obviously we've got to learn from it."
On if Bradshaw's trouble protecting the ball will affect his playing time:
"You got to be able to hang on to the football. You got to be able to hang on to the football. He has certainly earned the right to be out there. He had some outstanding games and played very well for us and will continue to work at this. But he's obviously a guy that is very much a part of our offensive team."
On LE Justin Tuck's game tonight:
"He played very well. He was a force and he made things happen from his side. That, combined with some of the pressures we had and the eventual single protection that was shown to him, he did play well."
On holding the Eagles to field goals in the first half:
"As the game went on, that was the thing that we were counting on. If we could get back in it, which we did, that our defense--despite the letdown, if you will, of back-to-back turnovers there in the second quarter, giving them the ball in point blank range--we were able to hold them to two field goals. And that gave us hope that should we able to mount something, that we could overcome that margin. And we did."
On whether his team can rebound next week:
"I think so. I think we fought, we fought hard. We made very terrible errors that cost us a chance to win a game, but there was no denying the effort."
Giants QB Eli Manning
On the defense making key stops early:
"[The Eagles] had chances and the defense kept us in it in the first half. We had one good drive there and settled for a field goal. Second half we had a great drive, went down there and scored, defense gets us a turnover, we had a big play to [RB] Brandon [Jacobs], scored another touchdown and all of a sudden we have the lead. We had a couple series in the fourth quarter that didn't go our way. With eight minutes we had a couple chances. I missed [WR] Hakeem [Nicks] high on a third down. On a second down we could have got some yardage and we were a slide away from being right in the game."
On why he dove rather than dive:
"No reason, I have to slide. Sometimes you're just going with your momentum and you're trying to get us much yardage as you can and you're just kind of running and it comes to the point where you don't want to slow down, or maybe it's too late, and you just go down the fastest way you know how to. It has happened to me before, I just got to not worry about the yardage, we already have the first down and I need to go feet first and move the chains."
On whether or not he thought it was a fumble:
"No, I didn't think anyone touched me unless someone got a foot or I kicked up or something, but I knew no one hit me. When I hit the ground the ball popped up."
On whether he is comfortable sliding:
"I always slide, sometimes you are trying to get yardage and trying to do as much as you can. I had a lot of running room and you are trying to get as much as you possibly can, maybe you spin some more, and it kind of comes to the point. I'm not the best spinner and I had a couple guys coming at me and I have to go down and it comes to the point where it is too late to just go down and slide and you have to take the hit, so you just go down the fastest way you can and if you do that you have to hold on to the ball."
On whether the personnel changes made things trickier:
"Not trickier. [WR] Derek Hagan came in and got a touchdown, he did some good stuff, and he has been in this offense before the last couple of years he played. Philadelphia did a good job, they had a good plan for us and they played hard and they did a go0d job mixing up the coverage. They did a good job against our running game and, again, we had chances. We were playing well, they are a good team, and we had chances in the fourth quarter to go down, they had the lead and we had a chance to go down and tie the game up and see what happens from there, but obviously we didn't do that."
On what was going through his mind during the fumble and challenge:
"I was just hoping that a guy happened to touch me, or that my leg kicked up and touched a hand or anything. That's all I was hoping for, but after that there was still time and we still had two timeouts left after the challenge and the two-minute warning, so I was just hoping that we could get the ball back and give yourself a little chance."
On how turnovers are becoming a recurring theme:
"Well, if we want to go anywhere we have to fix it. I have to stop the turnovers. The interceptions are obviously a problem, they are adding up. Some of them you can control and I don't feel like I am forcing them into tight spots. [CB] [Asante] Samuel jumped one and the next one it was kind of tipped, I didn't see exactly what happened, if it tipped off of a helmet or if he just tipped it up and got it. Some of those are just good plays by the defense. I don't feel like I am forcing it into crowds or making arrogant throws."
On losing a big game:
"Obviously it was a big game and we were playing Philadelphia for a chance to take a lead in the division at this point, but again it is not the end of the world. We still have a lot of football left, a lot of divisional games left and we have to find ways to bounce back, to get back to playing better football. We have things to fix. Obviously we can't afford to turn the ball over. The defense did a good job holding them to field goals, and one that got blocked, but we can't afford to make mistakes."
On what he though would have happened if he did not fumble:
"You never know, you can't really 'what if'. Obviously we were close to the end zone and we'll never know if we go in and score or if they buckle down and stop us, but it is a first down and we still have a shot and that is all you can ask for. You want a shot to win the game at the end, we had a shot, and we didn't take advantage of it."
On whether or not this team can bounce back:
"Well, we can fight through it and we have talent and we fought through it tonight. We hung in there. When we needed to make plays, we did that. When we needed a drive in the second half to get it within a touchdown we went in there, had a long drive, converted on third downs, and did a lot of good stuff. Put some pressure on Philadelphia, all of a sudden our defense gets a turnover and we take advantage and go down there and score again. We had some momentum going, but we didn't take care of business in the fourth quarter. We didn't win the fourth quarter and that is what it came down to."
On whether Coach Coughlin said anything about his fumble:
"Yea, I know my mistake and I just have to get it through my head. Slow down, don't worry about the yardage, I got the first down, I need to go down and go from there."
On if he is comfortable with the mechanics of the slide:
"Yes, I have slid this year and I have slid a lot. I think every time I have run this year I have slid feet first except for this time."
Giants DE Justin Tuck
On if he felt they should have won while containing Vick:
"We contained [QB Michael Vick's] running, but it wasn't enough. We had opportunities to get off the field on third down situations and they took advantage of it, especially late in the game. You give credit. Philadelphia played well, [QB Michael] Vick played well, and they beat us."
On the 4th and 1 McCoy run:
"I didn't see it, but I heard the fumble threw us off. We had a guy who was supposed to be man-to-man on [RB LeSean] McCoy, so it should have been a tackle for a loss. The fumble, you saw the fumble, he went forward. It is just the break of the game. McCoy, once he got out on the edge it was a foot race and he out ran us."
On the success of the Giants blitz:
"We did. We tried some different things early in the game, we found some things that were working for us and we kept doing it. That is basically what it was. It's a chess game. If you blitz and someone misses a tackle and the corners and safeties are in man-coverage, Vick can run for days. I liked our scheme against them, we played well, but they made some big plays in big situations."
On the turnover problem:
"You know it is frustrating, but the good thing about it is we can fix it. It is something that can be fixed. It is nothing that is unfixable. The speed of the game for us is there. We just need to limit the turnovers and make plays on defense. Anytime you do that against a caliber team like Philadelphia is, we're lucky that it was as close as it was even with how well we played despite the mistakes.
On how the team can climb out of the two game losing streak:
"We've been there. People forget after you win five games in a row when you lose one or two and people are trying to fire coach. I like our schedule down the stretch. I like that it is a tough schedule on the road because we can't overlook anybody. We have to get ourselves to play the game and I think it will bode well for us."
Giants Locker Room Quotes
RB Brandon Jacobs
On whether he feels the Giants are beating themselves:
"I think the Eagles and other teams are paid just like we are and they have won. We cannot continue to beat ourselves. I do not think that we are being outcoached or outplayed in many of these games. I think we are just finding ways to beat ourselves."
On whether it is possible after ten games to make the same mistakes:
"It is still hanging around here and there is a dark cloud hanging over us right now. I have no doubt though that it is going to get sunny around here again."
On whether he has really been encouraging RB Ahmad Bradshaw when he fumbles:
"I have been encouraging him on and just working to make sure he keeps his head on straight. I am just working with him to remind him to keep the two hands on the ball. On the play that he fumbled he had two hands out it but it got stripped and it was just his turn to fumble. We all have times that we do it. He did all he was supposed to do but it was just his time to fumble and the play happened."
On whether he is frustrated because they are just not getting breaks right now:
"I think right now I am more frustrated because it does just seem like it is us that are not getting the breaks right now. There just seems to be a lot of disasters right now and it is not allowing us to win games. We just have to correct these mistakes in a hurry and really learn from them right now."
On what he can do to help his team get back to playing well:
"I think that as a teammate and a brother, with many of these guys we just have to encourage one another to play better. If a guy makes a mistake we have to pick one another up because we are not trying to do what we are doing. We get paid to do good things and we have to start doing these things."
RB Ahmad Bradshaw
On whether he gets worried that he might not get carries if he keeps fumbling:
"Of course I do worry about it but right now I just have to keep playing. I just have to make plays and sometimes I just want to get the extra yardage and I let go of the ball. I am a little made at myself right now but I will bounce back."
On whether because he is fumbling guys are going after him hard:
"I am sure they really are going after me and some teams teach it more then others. I just have to protect the ball so that they cannot make the plays against me."
On whether this lost is a really tough one on the Giants:
"I do not know if this is any worse then some of the other ones we have had. We play the Eagles in our house in a couple of weeks and we can get our revenge."
On what changes the team must make to win games:
"We just have to move on to the next game and correct our mistakes quickly, and I am sure we are going to do what it is we need to do to win."
On what he was thinking when he caused CB Asante Samuel to fumble:
"I was just thinking that I wanted to hit him enough to lodge the ball out and to get the ball back. I played defense in high school and I do know how to tackle and can get a guy to cough it up. I just tried to hit him right on the ball and I did that and fortunately we were able to get the ball back on that play."
OL Shaun Andrews
On whether it felt good to be back in Philadelphia:
"It was a game I have been looking forward to and I feel relatively healthy and I really wanted to play in this game. This game was special to me and yesterday felt like Christmas Eve because I so looked forward to coming back here. People around here are telling me, I owe them 20 million dollars and I do not know how. I am managing my back well and I am glad I have been able to get in to games like this."
On whether the games are helping him to get his back strong again:
"When I first started playing with tight end packages I was only getting in like 18-20 plays. Then I was off to Seattle and was getting like 85 plays a game. That was a big jump in plays after being out almost two years and it really strained my back. Now that I am here I am taking it game to game and just working it back structurally. But the play in the games is definitely helping it to get stronger."
On whether he is encouraged that he is finishing games and feeling good:
"I am definitely feeling better and I am going to have to continue to rehab my back and work hard. I really have learned so much the second time as I rehabbed this second time and I think it is going to really pay off. I am going to do whatever is necessary to get strong and help this team to win games."
On whether the fumble by [QB Eli] Manning really took the wind out of him:
"I think Eli's fumble was not the only thing that cost us the game. We made some other mistakes and turned the ball over in the game. It was just a mistake at a pivotal time but collectively as a team we made many mistakes. This game just did not go our way and the Eagles found ways to capitalize on our mistakes."
DE Osi Umenyiora
On whether this defeat was extremely disappointing:
"This game was just ridiculous that we let it get away from us. I am not happy with the play of our defense because we let them win the game. This is one of the tougher loses I have been around in a long time. We have been talking about a lot of the same mistakes lately and we are still making some of them."
On whether he was close to knocking the ball out of [QB Michael] Vick's hand:
"I am so disappointed by the outcome of this game I do not even totally recall the play.
I think I am just sick about this game because I feel like we gave it to them. I just really think that we have made some of the same mistakes and it is costing us."
On whether he is so frustrated because they had the game won at the end:
"We just did not win the game and it was fourth and inches on a big play and we did not get it done. We just need to win games and effort will not get us the wins all the time. We fought hard and to have the game end without us getting a win is just ridiculous."
On how close he was to making a key sack on Vick:
"At this point it really does not matter how close I was to making the play because the Eagles scored and we let it happen. I really expected this was a game we were going to win and we lost and I am not happy about it at all. I got penetration on the play but it just was not good enough."
