**

Head Coach Tom Coughlin **Q: You had a little excitement there towards the end?

A: They got a little frisky… a couple of the young guys. There's no place for that.

Q: Is that common with young guys trying to make an impression?
A: Not really. Once every so often. You don't see it very often.

Q: You don't seem like you're babying Hakeem Nicks. Did he respond well to yesterday's activity?
A: Yeah. We knew exactly how much yardage he had and so we bumped it up a little bit today, but not too much. He had a good opportunity here again today and so we'll see. Maybe a little more tomorrow.

Q: Have you seen Mark Herzlich being more vocal?
A: I have.

Q: Where does that come from?
A: Study. Meet. He's a smart guy. He is verbal. I'm not surprised by any of that. It's a good thing. He enunciates well. People understand what he says.

Q: With the spread offense more prevalent now, is the middle linebacker position less important than it used to be?
A: I don't think so. Again, it depends. If you're talking about playing against the three and the four wides and that guy is not versatile enough to play on those special teams, the nickel teams and the dime teams, then it would be such. But if he can convert and play on those nickel and dime teams, those personnel-loaded teams, then fine. That enhances his value to the team.

Q: The position is not what it used to be.
A: Not if it's grind them out. That's where you're trying to associate with. If it's the ball-in-the-air kind of thing, it's a little bit different then. But there's plenty of teams, if you look at our division, that are going to run the football. So you've got to be able to step up in there and play. It's not all pass defense.

Q: What have you liked out of your backfield?
A: Actually, they have all worked well given the opportunities. The young kid (Cox) continues to do some good things. Between Andre (Brown) and David (Wilson), we've had good days, I think, pretty consistently. Da'Rel Scott has had a few good days. Ryan Torain, of course, has the hamstring right now.