Q. How's Oakland?
A. Well, the weather is nice.
Q. A bit of adjustment from New England?
A. Yeah, no question. Absolutely, definitely an adjustment period.
Q. How has that adjustment been, going from a perennial Super Bowl contender to a team that is in its rebuilding stage? You're one of the elder statesmen on a club with a lot of youth, what has that been like for you?
A. I come from the philosophy that everything happens for a reason. This is a new chapter in my life. I was telling the story, when I came to New England it wasn't a team that was always contending. We were coming off a 5-11 season. It is just something that we built over the course of time. The same thing it isn't just like we are going to turn around and be a contender right off the bat. I think we have to continue to pay attention to detail and we have to get better as a football team all the way across the board, everyone. Until that happens, there won't be many wins but I feel like guys are buying into what we are trying to do.
Q. You guys are 1-3, but is this team better than a 1-3 record?
A. Yeah, I definitely do believe that. I don't think we have put our performance out on the football field. I think that is the most disappointing thing because we definitely have talent. But, as we all know, talent alone isn't going to get the job done. It takes a group of guys that are all on the same page and are trying to fight for the same common goals. I think that is definitely what it takes. Like I said, we have that talent in the locker room but we just have to put it out on the football field.
Q. Shifting focus to this weekend, do you expect Eli (Manning) to play?
A. Do I? I don't know. I am playing for the guys that are out there. That is their decision and if he plays, he plays. If he doesn't, he doesn't.
Q. Last time you saw him was Super Bowl XLII , would you like to get another shot at him?
A. You always want to play against one of the elite quarterbacks in the league. He is definitely that. If he is in there, then we will have that opportunity.
Q. Is that play something that you still think about?
A. It is what it is. When you think back and look at that football game, I think we can always say 'what if this would have happened, what if that…' It didn't. The results are what they are. We live with it.
Q. The two running backs, (Brandon) Jacobs and (Ahmad) Bradshaw, have different styles. How do you prepare when you are dealing with two backs with such different styles?
A. You have to understand who is in the game and I think it is a great change of pace for the Giants and what they are trying to do. Jacobs is pounding and running it up in there, fighting for the tough yardage. Bradshaw is a guy who is going to bounce it out, he will still run between the tackles, but he is more of a jump-cut. You have to be aware of which back is in the game. It is a great change of pace for the Giants.
Q. How about the offensive line? This is the same unit that you went up against two years ago. They have been together for several years now, what makes them so successful?
A. I think that anytime you can have a group play together for as long as they have played together at a high level. Being able to run the ball and pass the ball. I think their youngest guy is maybe six years in (the league). So, it is a veteran group, they play well together. They are a well coached football team and they play tough. I think that is what you want in an offensive line. They go out and they try to prove that week in and week out. It is definitely a veteran group so we have to be aware of what challenges they present.
