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Coach Tom Coughlin**
We found a way to win. We came in with the idea that we'd play everybody and we did. Unfortunately we had a couple of injuries tonight. Kris Adams and Chris DeGeare. We hung in there when it didn't look very good at the end and found a way to win. We played a lot of people. The effort was very good. Some of the defensive kids rose up there at the end. Ryan Nassib made a play down the field, which got us going and let us run the ball a little bit and get in field goal range there at the end. It was good that Josh Brown really lined up to kick a 47-yard field goal to win the game and that was a good thing for our team. We had the score early on. Eli Manning to Victor Cruz. We weren't having much success otherwise but we did jump up with a decent lead there. I felt bad with the snap. We should have never let that happen. It was just one of those things. You try a lot of people at the center position. We were okay except with the shotgun snap, which wasn't really something that had been mastered by Matt McCants. Overall we came in and had a good effort and won the game. I told the players that's what we came for.
Thoughts on the running game...
It wasn't much to talk about. I don't know how many chances we had. It wasn't anything great. We played that first offensive line a few more plays than we intended. We'll have to improve in that area. No question.
Overall impression of the rookies...
For the first opportunity to play in a preseason professional football game, they were excited. They ran around and made some plays. I thought Michael Cox really ran the ball hard when he had his opportunities tonight. Moore obviously was a problem for Pittsburgh from the pass rush standpoint. He did a nice job of that. I thought Johnathan Hankins held his own in there. He's had a nice camp. Hopefully we're going to keep that going.
Effectiveness of Pittsburgh's running game...
I would say probably not. They had some first downs and ran the ball on us right off the bat early on. We'll just have to take a look at it. It wasn't a rejection. We did stop some of the runs, but we're going to have to be better.
Damontre Moore on defense...
He keeps coming and he likes it. Of course we had the punt block which was nice. We shared circumstances there. I was disappointed we didn't score from the five-yard line. The fact that we did get the block and recover the ball and line up in that situation was a good thing.
Eli Manning and Victor Cruz connecting...
Anytime that happens, we're over there cheering.
The fumbled exchange...
His eyes never went to the ball. He never looked at the ball. He was looking at the rush and fumbled the ball. By the time he got to where he started looking for the ball, the defenders were on him. That was disappointing.
Rueben Randle's catch on third down...
He did. We thought he probably would have gotten another one early on. It didn't quite work out that way but he shows. He's going to have to grow as we go along here but we're interested in seeing his development. He'll help us as another weapon.
Larry Donnell at fullback...
He's been working in there. We use that B tight end there for that spot. In practice he's had pretty good leverage even though he's a big, tall man.
Keeping penalties to a minimum...
That was a good thing. I wasn't very happy about the turnover or the snap. But we held the penalties down. I thought we did a pretty good job of that. That's a good starting point from that standpoint.
Ryan Nassib getting more comfortable...
We'll have to let Ryan play some. He was chased all over the place. He made the one play down the sidelines. We thought he might have gotten another one but he didn't have a whole lot of time. We need to work on that. He did make the play though that got the drive going to kick the field goal that kept it out of field goal range for them.
Was Chris DeGeare's injury a fracture?...
I think Adams was the fracture. I think DeGeare was the ACL, but I'll have to find out for you.
QB Eli Manning
His overall impressions of the game...
Obviously we got the win, which is nice. The first group, the first possession could have been a little bit better. We had great field position and ending up with a field goal is a little disappointing. The next drive had a nice third down conversion to [WR] Rueben Randle and hit [WR] Victor Cruz on the deep one. He had a nice catch and a run for a touchdown. So I think overall, two possessions, two scoring drives, long scoring drives is kind of what you want out of it from the first group. So that was good to see.
How he would grade his own performance...
Good and bad. Obviously hit a couple nice things. Sometimes that first game you just have to get back to getting used to knowing that the defense can hit you now. You get used to practice and they can't touch you so you're just getting your feet settled and those things and that's what you're looking at. Obviously I think I can improve on that. These next weeks should get better and better throughout the preseason. You kind of like to get tackled or hit a few times in preseason to get used to that for the regular season.
On if it was it fun to finally hook up with WR Victor Cruz...
Yes. Obviously we've hooked up on a lot of passes over the years. So it's good to get off to a good start. He ran a great route and the safety was a little aggressive and lost the ball over the top and he made a good catch. So it's good to know that we can get back to making plays when we need to.
The long pass he overthrew to WR Rueben Randle...
Yes. Looks like I just overthrew it a little bit. We had press coverage so I tried to throw it out there for him and [it was] just a little off. So we'll have to look at it on film and see if there was any reason to why we couldn't connect on that one. That would have been another big play for us.
On whether he made an adjustment to connect with Cruz...
Yes. The safety was just a little tight. I think he was predicting. We run a lot of out-breaking routes in the slot and so I think the safety maybe was predicting that we were running that. That's not what we had called and he just had a basic seem route and read the body language for what he was going to do and threw it out there for him and he made a good play.
Whether Cruz just has another gear...
Yes. He seems to be very fast when he has the football in his hands and when he sees that endzone, all of a sudden he picks up a little extra speed. There's not many guys that catch him once he gets the ball in his hands when he's past them.
On the one pass tonight that he'd rather take back...
Just the third-down pass to Rueben Randle. I probably could have hung in there a little bit stronger and made a better throw. They had an all-out blitz. I knew there was going to be one guy unblocked, but I think if I had a little bit more time than I thought. That was probably one that I could have been better.
Safety Antrel Rolle
I think there were definitely some positive things we did defensively. The communication was good for the most part and guys seemed to be flying around and making some plays. Obviously, there are somethings we need to clean up, but some of it is just getting that first-game rust knocked off. There is still plenty of work for us to do to become the defense we want to be, but that's what training camp and the preseason are for.
DE Damontre Moore
Overall performance of the team...
We got a win. That is the most important thing, first and foremost. We listened to what the coaches said, we've been practicing hard all week and we were given great looks throughout the game. My coaches put me in great situations, so overall I am very pleased.
Can you talk about the blocked punt?
I just ran in and got a little hitch step, and I was there to make a play. It was all surprising to me. I'm just glad that coach put me in a great situation.
Did you feel really active on defense tonight as a team?
I feel like it was alright. There is always room for improvement. I made a lot of mistakes out there. I'm just ready to watch some film and get better.
DT Cullen Jenkins
How do your teammates think you played?
Obviously, there are things we can improve on. I felt there were some snaps that I could have played better. I'm going to go back and look at film and see where I can improve that. I think the energy was great, the toughness was there. For the first time being in a game situation I think everybody stepped up and played a really good game.
Talk about your first sack...
I just had a feeling I was going to be one-on-one, and I pushed him up the field a little bit. I had a good inside move on him. In addition, the opposite side defensive end had some good push and I was able to get him down.
QB Ryan Nassib
One pass you made that Coach Coughlin was raving about...
The receiver made a great play and ran to the corner. He made a great catch. That kept the drive alive, and we were able to put some points on the board as a result.
First time out there...
It was fun to be out there playing in a real game again, especially at this level. We definitely had some good and bad things happen, but I will learn from it. One great thing about that is you can learn from it next week.
How would you rate your overall performance tonight?
It was up-and-down. We definitely didn't have the efficiency that we wanted. We will go back and learn from it.
