Dec 232015
 


[contentblock id=1 img=html.png]

ODELL BECKHAM LOSES APPEAL…
On Wednesday, New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham lost his appeal for his 1-game suspension by the NFL. Beckham was suspended without pay on Monday until December 28 due to “multiple violations of safety-related playing rules” in last weekend’s game against the Carolina Panthers. Beckham is not allowed to interact with the team during the suspension and will miss Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings.

Beckham issued the following statement:

“I owe some people an apology. I wasn’t raised to act like I did the other day. I am not here to make excuses for my conduct. This isn’t about anything that was said or done to me. This is about my behavior, and I am responsible for my behavior. People expect better from me, and I expect better from myself.

“First of all, I apologize to the organization I represent, the Giants, and our ownership, John Mara and his family and Steve Tisch and his family. And Jerry Reese, who drafted me and gave me the opportunity to be a part of this organization.

“I want to apologize to Giants fans. They want to be proud of us, and proud of players like me who represent their team. What happened the other day was embarrassing to them and embarrassing to me.

“A lot of kids look up to me as a role model. That is a responsibility I accept and take seriously. Many of the parents of those kids have asked since Sunday what they should say to their children about my conduct. I don’t have the perfect answer, but I think one thing they can say is how I handled myself the other day is an example of how not to conduct yourself. I displayed poor sportsmanship.  And those parents can also say that when you act like that, there are consequences. And I hope to be an example of somebody who did something wrong and learned from it.

“I owe Coach Coughlin, our coaches and my teammates an apology. They have had to answer for my actions, and that’s not fair to them. How I conduct myself is my responsibility. I let my coaches and teammates down.

“I am blessed and privileged to play the game I love, and I will do all I can to carry myself in a way that honors the game, the NFL, my team, my coaches, all my fans and my family moving forward.”

GIANTS RE-SIGN BRANDON MERIWEATHER…
As reported yesterday, the New York Giants have placed fullback/defensive tackle Nikita Whitlock on season-ending Injured Reserve with a knee injury that he suffered against the Carolina Panthers last Sunday. To fill the roster vacancy, the Giants have re-signed safety Brandon Meriweather, who was released by the Giants last week when the team signed defensive tackle Barry Cofield.

The Giants signed Meriweather in August 2015 after injuries hit the safety position hard. Meriweather was originally drafted in the 1st round of the 2007 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots. He has played with the Patriots (2007-10), Chicago Bears (2011), and Washington Redskins (2012-14). Meriweather started the first 11 games of this season for the Giants until a knee injury kept him out of two games in December. He accrued 53 tackles, 7 pass defenses, and 2 interceptions.

ODELL BECKHAM VOTED TO PRO BOWL…
Wide receiver Odell Beckham has been voted to the Pro Bowl by coaches, players, and fans for his performance during the 2015 NFL season. Through 14 games this year, Beckham has caught 91 passes for 1,396 yards and 13 touchdowns. Beckham also made the Pro Bowl his rookie season.

Beckham is the only New York Giant selected to the Pro Bowl. Place kick Josh Brown and return specialist Dwayne Harris were both named as first alternates and will get the opportunity to play if a player at their position cannot participate in the game.

NEW YORK GIANTS INJURY REPORT…
WR Dwayne Harris (shoulder), DT Markus Kuhn (knee), LB Devon Kennard (foot), and S Cooper Taylor (concussion) did not practice on Wednesday.

RB Orleans Darkwa (illness), DE George Selvie (concussion), and LB James Morris (quad) practiced on a limited basis.

TOM COUGHLIN AND THE COORDINATORS SPEAK…
Transcripts and video clips of the media sessions with the following coaches are available in The Corner Forum and at Giants.com:

THE PLAYERS SPEAK…
The following transcripts and video of player media sessions on Wednesday are available in The Corner Forum and at Giants.com:

ARTICLES

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
The Giants practice on Thursday and hold physical recovery cycles on Friday in advance of Sunday’s away game against the Minnesota Vikings.

Dec 162015
 
BBI'ers in Miami - Photo courtesy of Jim in South Florida

BBI’ers in Miami – Photo courtesy of Jim in South Florida

[contentblock id=1 img=html.png]

GIANTS SIGN BARRY COFIELD, CUT BRANDON MERIWEATHER…
Though not officially announced yet, the New York Giants have signed former Giant defensive tackle Barry Cofield. To make room for Cofield, the team officially released safety Brandon Meriweather.

The 31-year old Cofield was originally drafted in the 4th round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the Giants. He started 78 regular season games in five years in New York, accruing 210 tackles and 10.5 sacks. He signed with the Washington Redskins after the 2010 season and played four seasons in Washington, starting 51 games and accruing 100 tackles and 9 sacks. Cofield missed half of the 2014 season with a high ankle sprain and groin injury and was released by the Redskins in February 2015. In March 2015, he underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in his hip. Cofield is an average-sized defensive tackle, but he is strong, consistent, and occasionally flashes the ability to penetrate and make plays behind the line of scrimmage. While Cofield is not overly stout at the point-of-attack, he is a better-than-average run defender who fights hard and hustles. Cofield is smart and team-oriented.

The Giants signed Meriweather in August 2015 after injuries hit the safety position hard. Meriweather was originally drafted in the 1st round of the 2007 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots. He has played with the Patriots (2007-10), Chicago Bears (2011), and Washington Redskins (2012-14). Meriweather started the first 11 games of this season for the Giants until a knee injury kept him out of the past two games. He accrued 53 tackles, 7 pass defenses, and 2 interceptions.

NEW YORK GIANTS INJURY REPORT – DEVON KENNARD OUT AGAINST PANTHERS…
DE George Selvie (concussion), DT Markus Kuhn (knee), and LB Devon Kennard (hamstring/foot) did not practice on Wednesday despite practice being more of a walk-thru. Head Coach Tom Coughlin said Kennard will not play this weekend against the Carolina Panthers.

LT Ereck Flowers (ankle) practiced on a limited basis. “I practiced today, I felt good,” said Flowers. “It’s just one of those, after the season, I’ll get it right. There’s no time to (rest), you know what I’m saying.” Flowers said he is playing this weekend despite aggravating his high ankle sprain during Monday’s game against the Dolphins.

ELI MANNING NAMED “NFC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK”…
New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning has been named the “NFC Offensive Player of the Week” for his performance against the Miami Dolphins on Monday night. In that game, Manning completed 27-of-31 passes for 337 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions. He had a quarterback rating of 151.5. This is the second time this season that Manning has won the award. The first time was for his performance against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 5. This is Manning’s fourth career “NFC Player of the Week” award. He was also honored in 2006 Week 2 and 2011 Week 3, each for his performance in Giants’ victories in Philadelphia.

HEAD COACH TOM COUGHLIN…
The transcript of Tom Coughlin’s press conference on Wednesday is available in The Corner Forum while the video is available at Giants.com.

THE PLAYERS SPEAK…
The following transcripts and video of player media sessions on Wednesday are available in The Corner Forum and at Giants.com:

The audio of Tuesday’s WFAN interviews with QB Eli Manning and RB Shane Vereen are also available at CBS New York’s website.

GIANTS-DOLPHINS: SIGHTS AND SOUNDS…
A sights and sounds video from the Giants’ 31-24 win over the Miami Dolphins is now available at Giants.com.

ARTICLES

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
The Giants practice on Thursday and hold physical recovery cycles on Friday in advance of Sunday’s home game against the Carolina Panthers.

Nov 122015
 


[contentblock id=1 img=html.png]

NEW YORK GIANTS INJURY REPORT – WILL BEATTY DONE FOR THE SEASON…
The New York Giants announced on Thursday that OT Will Beatty will undergo surgery on his rotator cuff and will not play in 2015. Beatty originally tore his pectoral muscle in a weight training accident in May. He has been on the Reserve/Physically-Unable-to-Perform (PUP) List since the season started. He returned to practice for the first time since December 2014 only three weeks ago in anticipation that he would be added to the 53-man roster this week. Officially, Beatty will remain on the PUP for the remainder of the current season.

Will Beatty, New York Giants (October 19, 2014)

Will Beatty – © USA TODAY Sports Images

“He has an issue with a rotator cuff on the right side that’s going to require some surgery, so he remains on PUP,” said Head Coach Tom Coughlin. “He’s had an issue with that for quite a while…And on his behalf, he’s practiced and he’s worked hard to try to see what he was able to do with it, and it’s just not going to be something that will allow him to be the player that he can be. So that’s why the decision.”

Coughlin said the injury was not related to the previous pectoral injury. “It’s a new injury based on as he began to work in the offseason, and strength was such as issue, that this other thing cropped up and they did all the work on it,” said Coughlin. “He was trying to see what he could do with it. He wore a strap and so on and so forth, but it just wasn’t enough.”

Beatty is under contract until after the 2017 season with base salaries of $6.625 million (2016) and $6.775 (2017). He is set to count $9.175 million against the 2016 salary cap. If they cut Beatty in the offseason before June 1st, the move will save the Giants $4.175 million against the cap with $5 million in dead money. Beatty signed a 5-year, $38.75 million contract in 2013.

WR Victor Cruz (calf), TE Larry Donnell (neck), LB J.T. Thomas (ankle), and LB Uani ‘Unga (neck) did not practice on Thursday. Donnell told reporters he will not play on Sunday against the New England Patriots.

LG Justin Pugh (illness), CB Prince Amukamara (pectoral), and CB Leon McFadden (groin) practiced on a limited basis.

Pugh was examined on Wednesday by an independent neurologist, and the conclusion from that exam is that Pugh was suffering from the effects of dehydration/heat, not a concussion.

RG Geoff Schwartz (ankle) fully practiced.

TOM COUGHLIN AND THE COORDINATORS SPEAK…
Transcripts and video clips of the media sessions with the following coaches are available in The Corner Forum and at Giants.com:

THE PLAYERS SPEAK…
Transcripts and video clips of the media sessions with the following players are available in The Corner Forum and at Giants.com:

ARTICLES

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
Instead of practicing, the Giants will hold a “recovery day” on Friday. The players will select two of six recovery stations, based on seniority. Their choices are massage, yoga, FMS (Functional Movement Screen) exercises designed for the individual, air compression boots, contrast bath (between a hot and cold tub), and self-massage with stick rollers and elastic bands.

The Giants will also have a 45-minute, up-tempo “walk-thru” practice on Saturday that is not open to the media. The Giants play the New England Patriots at home on Sunday.

Nov 022015
 


[contentblock id=1 img=html.png]

HEAD COACH TOM COUGHLIN…
Tom Coughlin addressed the media by conference call on Monday:

Coughlin: I just have a couple thoughts to talk about today. I think, for one thing, it’s very important for everyone to understand we win and we lose as a team. There is none of this pointing the finger, there’s none of that. I don’t believe in that. What we spent last week trying to do, obviously, our goal—well not obviously, but our goal and our objective last week was to raise the level of our execution on all fronts, on all three phases, knowing full well that when you get to this time of the year, you better be playing your best football as you go through these more difficult games versus divisional, non-divisional, conference, non-conference opponents as you go through the meat and potatoes of your schedule here right in the middle of the year. You’ve got to be playing your best football or approaching that. So that was our goal. We did not accomplish that, obviously.

We had some difficulty on the defensive side of the ball, no doubt, and some errors did occur, but we played hard and their passing game was very sharp, they had the ball right on the money, right where they needed to, they did rush the ball when they needed to, as well, but I can tell you that we continued to battle. I really felt when we scored our defensive touchdown that we were going to win.

The end of the game pointed out another lesson for us, and we do come by our lessons in a very difficult and hard manner, we managed not to finish. We’ve always talked about finish, finish, finish and we needed to finish the game. We tried, even with 36 seconds left, we were trying to move the ball down the field to get our chance for a last-second field goal attempt ourselves. We had a couple of opportunities right there in that last three-and-out drive where the ball was very close, it was right on the finger tips twice, one would’ve given us a big play probably to midfield, another one would’ve given us a play to get us out-of-bounds and keep the ball, but that didn’t happen either.

Then the only special teams thing, which I didn’t like in the game—well, there were a couple things—for them to have a 24-yard punt return at that time of the game and then to have a penalty, a face mask penalty adding another 15 yards, that’s a very, very difficult way to lose and a difficult way for us to have gone in there to a very tough place to play, battled, and yet not be able to come away with a victory.

So what I spoke to our team about this morning was we’re still in first place in our division and we’ve got the Tampa Bay team coming up that just won a football game in overtime, obviously playing much better themselves than they had at the beginning of the year, and so we’ve got to get ready to play a very good Tampa Bay team.

Q: On a day when Eli Manning threw six touchdown passes, you mentioned the fumble return for a touchdown, would you ever envision that this game would go the other way with all the points that your offense and defense all scored.

A: You wouldn’t, unless you were standing on the other sideline watching them put points on the board, too. I mean, remember we’re down three scores twice and we battled back. Obviously, a very, very good score right before the half and then coming back after the half and making the big play to Odell down the middle of the field to give us the tying score, those things were outstanding. We had to scrap and we did. We scored 21 points in the fourth quarter, which normally you’d be in celebration. You’d be talking about an accomplishment that, I don’t care who you are, is very rare for a professional or any other football team to be able to score of that nature in the fourth quarter. We did and we lost the game. There are a lot of reasons to be shaking your head.

Q: The defense has been doing a relatively good job of keeping tight ends at bay. What exactly was Benjamin Watson doing to find the seams in the defense?

A: They run a series of schemes with Watson and with the tight ends, I mean not necessarily just with him, but when they play, mobile tight ends they have a very good running attack but they also can spread you out and throw the ball to people, tight ends, that can run. This guy, he just got in the middle of the field from a 3-1 set, which gave him either crossing to the other hash mark, to the other seam on the other side of the field or right down the middle of the field and he was able to beat us down the middle of the field. There were a couple of times when that occurred. Colston hurt us up the seam one time and then back inside another time when he was really uncontested.

Q: How do you regroup defensively?

A: You go back to fundamentals, you go back to some basics that obviously we struggled with a little bit. A couple times we didn’t line up properly or quickly enough, our communication sometimes was not as good as it should’ve been. I thought our guys basically did a nice job in a domed stadium, especially one of that nature where the noise level is such, but I thought we handled that very well. I just think there were a couple empty sets that they threw at us, a couple times we were late to the line. I think that happened a couple times in the game and those are the things that bother me the most. Get yourself lined up, get your eyes where they belong, play the technique you’re supposed to play, be ready to be a reactionary football player on the snap of the ball, definitely know what your assignment is, whether it be zone or whether it be man, and try to be at the right spot at the right time. So those are the things when issues arise, you’ve got to deal with them. So we will make sure those things get ironed out.

Q: You only had a short period of time with JPP last week and saw some encouraging things. Can you talk a little bit about what you’re looking for this week? What kind of things you might increase with him?

A: We’ll increase everything. We’ll increase number of snaps, we’ve had a couple sessions with him in pads when others are obviously not on the field, so we’ll take a good hard look at that, but we’ll have two good practice days with him and we’ll push the envelope a little bit to test the conditioning level. We probably can’t get, at this point of the season, a real physical practice but we can do some things and if we have to be creative in other areas, we would. But just the advancement of the player and the continuation of developing his conditioning in the uniform and then the ability to deliver a blow, to accept a blow, to have his hand placement be exactly where it has to be, and then, of course, the opportunity for him to gain his timing as he becomes a threat in the pass rush game.

Q: Is there any chance that he can show you enough this week that he could play on Sunday at Tampa?:

A: Everybody words it a little bit differently, but, again, if he practices and continues to advance in the way that he has over the last few days that he’s been with us, if we feel good where he is physically after he goes through this, then that would be a decision that we would be confident in making.

Q: You talked about the alignment problems on defense. How much of that is the fact you had to make the switch at middle linebacker?

A: Some of that is that. Some of that is that. That’s a key communication spot and there were some occasions there where perhaps the communication wasn’t necessarily the way you’d want it to be, but there weren’t many. The guys playing in there, even though you don’t think Brinkley’s been in there much, he’s been practicing, and also the other linebackers are involved in the communication process as well. So it’s not just that one spot.

Q: You spoke to fundamentals, are missed tackles becoming a concern?

A: They’re always a concern. You need to keep them at a minimum. Last week, the New Orleans Saints gained 57 percent of the yardage made in the passing game after the catch so that was a main concern going in, we were prepared with that and we had talked an awful lot about being able to tackle well. Tackling is, obviously, a very big fundamental. It’s the first thing we do every week. We tackle and then the next day, we take the ball away so we’re always practicing that particular fundamental, but when it occurs in a game, then you do have some missed tackles, certainly a concern.

Q: Do you have an update on Prince? Is he getting an MRI this week?

A: No. There’s a bunch of guys who are getting MRIs.

Q: Is Victor Cruz one of them or is he cleared this week to practice?

A: I have no information like that, no.

Q: How about Larry Donnell and Orleans Darkwa?

A: They’re being—all the tests are being done this morning, so hopefully we’ll get something today or tomorrow morning.

Q: On the drive that the Saints tied the game, you had New Orleans at a couple of third-and-short and fourth-and-short, was that just a case of a big physical back kind of just running down the defense at that point? What did you see on a couple of those things?

A: We were there. As a matter of fact, on the first one in their territory, we were in position—Kerry Wynn had really almost got to the point where he had one of the legs of the ball carrier and he went up over the top and made it. That’s always going to be the case like that. It was a physical match right in the middle there and certainly there wasn’t a whole lot of yardage gained, but there was enough to secure the first down.

Q: Did your offensive line not play as well as you hoped they would?

A: I always have high expectations for them. Certainly, they were the group that protected the passer yesterday who threw six touchdown passes. We had 21 runs, averaged 4.1 yards per carry. It’s not as many as I would like, but there’s always—the thing you’re not asking but you are asking is the goal line situations were not just a bowling ball effect where we knocked our way into the end zone. I thought they did a nice job of defending, but I also feel like where we were prepared to make an adjustment there, which really we just never got to because we didn’t get into that type of personnel again. We weren’t inside in the goal line situation again. Would I like to have run the ball into the end zone? Sure, I would. You bet I would. Would I like to see that our short yardage could be accomplished running the ball? Yes, I would and I’d give credit to what New Orleans was able to do in the goal line situation in their attempt to keep us out. We resorted to throwing the ball to score. But would I like to be able to line up and run it in? Yes, I would.

THE PLAYERS SPEAK…
Transcripts of Monday’s media conference calls with the following players:

NOTES…
The Elias Sports Bureau changed CB Trumaine McBride’s touchdown from a fumble return to an interception. It was determined that the intended receiver, Willie Snead, did not control the ball enough for it to be a catch. CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie is no longer credited with a forced fumble.

The Giants and Saints combined for 101 points, making this the second-highest scoring game in Giants history and tied for the third-highest ever in the NFL. The Redskins (72) and Giants (41) combined for 113 points on November 27, 1966.

The 49 points are the most the Giants have scored in a loss in their 91-year history.

The Giants’ seven touchdowns tied for the second-highest total in franchise history, achieved nine times previously, most recently in a victory the last time they faced New Orleans, on December 9, 2012. The franchise record is eight touchdowns in a game, which the Giants have done three times.

The teams combined to throw an NFL-record 13 touchdown passes (seven by Drew Brees, six by Eli Manning).

QB Drew Brees’ seven touchdown passes tied both the NFL record for most scoring passes in a game, and the most ever against the Giants. On November 14, 1943, QB Sid Luckman of the Chicago Bears threw seven touchdown passes in a 56-7 triumph over the Giants.

New Orleans gained 608 yards, the second-highest total ever by a Giants opponent. Chicago gained 682 yards on November 14, 1943, in the game in which Luckman threw seven touchdown passes. Previously, the second-highest yardage total given up the Giants was 577 – which occurred on their previous visit to New Orleans, on November 28, 2011.

New Orleans’ 35 first downs were the second-highest total ever for a Giants’ opponent. The Los Angeles Rams had 38 first downs in a 55-14 victory on November 13, 1966.

The Saints’ 505 net passing yards were a record for a Giants opponent. The previous mark of 488 was set by the Bears on November 14, 1943.

Manning threw a career-high six touchdown passes. His previous best was five against Philadelphia on December 30, 2012.

The six touchdown passes tied for the second-highest total in Giants history. Y.A. Tittle threw for seven scores at Washington on October 28, 1962, and for six vs. Dallas on December 16, 1962.

Manning’s six touchdown passes increased his career total to 276. That moved him past Joe Montana (273) and Vinny Testaverde (275) and into 10th place on the NFL’s career list.

WR Odell Beckham and WR Dwayne Harris became the first pair of Giants teammates with at least two touchdown receptions in the same game since October 10, 1993, when WR Mike Sherrard and TE Howard Cross had two apiece in a 41-7 victory at Washington.

The Giants have lost their last five games in New Orleans. The Giants last won in the Superdome in 1993.

ARTICLES…

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
The players are off Tuesday and return to practice on Wednesday to start preparing for Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Oct 172015
 
Rueben Randle, New York Giants (October 4, 2015)

Rueben Randle – © USA TODAY Sports Images

[contentblock id=1 img=html.png]

INJURY REPORT…
WR Victor Cruz (calf), LB Devon Kennard (hamstring), and CB Prince Amukamara (pectoral) have officially been ruled out of Monday night’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

WR Odell Beckham (hamstring), DE Robert Ayers (hamstring), LB Jon Beason (concussion), LB Jonathan Casillas (calf), and CB Trumaine McBride (groin/illness) are all “questionable” for the game.

WR Rueben Randle (hamstring), LG Justin Pugh (ankle), and DE George Selvie (calf) are “probable” for the game.

ARTICLES

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
The Giants will also have a 45-minute, up-tempo “walk-thru” practice on Sunday that is not open to the media. The Giants will then travel to Philadelphia to play the Eagles on Monday night.

Sep 162015
 


[contentblock id=1 img=html.png]

INJURY REPORT…
Not practicing on Wednesday due to injuries were WR Victor Cruz (calf), TE Daniel Fells (foot), LT Will Beatty (pectoral – on PUP), DE Owamagbe Odighizuwa (foot), DT Markus Kuhn (knee), and LB Jon Beason (knee).

LT Ereck Flowers (ankle) and LB Uani’ Unga (knee) practiced on a limited basis.

ELI MANNING CONTRACT DETAILS…
The New York Daily News provided the following summary on quarterback Eli Manning’s contract extension.

  • Total contract (last year plus 4-year extension): 5 years, $101.5 million
  • Signing Bonus: $31 million
  • Guaranteed Money: $65 million
  • 2015: $5.5 million salary, $500,000 workout bonus, total cap number $14.45 million
  • 2016: $17.5 million salary, $500,000 workout bonus, total cap number $24.2 million
  • 2017: $13 million salary, $500,000 workout bonus, total cap number $19.7 million
  • 2018: $10.5 million salary, $5 million roster bonus, $500,000 workout bonus, total cap number $22.2 million
  • 2019: $11.5 million salary, $5 million roster bonus, $500,000 workout bonus, total cap number $23.2 million

The new contract provides the Giants with $5.25 million in cap savings against the 2015 salary cap. Right now, including DE Jason Pierre-Paul’s Franchise tender, the Giants are $14,127,537 under the cap. They will gain an additional $871,352 for each week Pierre-Paul does not play. Any unspent money can be rolled over to next year’s cap.

PRACTICE SQUAD MOVES…
The New York Giants have signed guard Vinston Painter, linebacker James Morris, and cornerback Tramain Jacobs to the Practice Squad.

Painter was originally drafted in the 6th round of the 2013 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos. He spent the 2013 regular season on Denver’s Practice Squad and was added to the Practice Squad again in 2014. The Cleveland Browns signed Painter to their active roster in September 2014, but he was only active for three games. The Brown waived him in September 2015. Painter converted to offensive line from defensive tackle and only started one season in college. He has a nice combination of size and athletic ability, but he is still learning the game. Right now, he looks better than he plays.

Morris was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the New England Patriots after the 2014 NFL Draft. The Patriots placed him on Injured Reserve in August 2014 after tearing an ACL in the final preseason game against the Giants. Morris lacks ideal size and overall athleticism, but he is instinctive, tough, hard working, and competitive.

Jacobs was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the Baltimore Ravens after the 2014 NFL Draft. He played in three games as rookie after spending nine weeks on Baltimore’s Practice Squad. Jacobs finished the season on Injured Reserve with a thigh injury. The Ravens waived him in August 2015. Jacobs is an average-sized corner with good speed and quickness. He is also instinctive and competitive.

The team has also terminated the Practice Squad contracts of quarterback G.J. Kinne, linebacker Gerald Rivers, and safety C.J.  Conway.

HEAD COACH TOM COUGHLIN…
The transcript of Tom Coughlin’s press conference on Wednesday is available in The Corner Forum while the video is available at Giants.com.

THE PLAYERS SPEAK…
The following transcripts and video of player media sessions on Wednesday are available in The Corner Forum and at Giants.com:

ARTICLES

GIANTS-COWBOYS: SIGHTS AND SOUNDS…
A sights and sounds video from the Giants’ 27-26 loss to the Dallas Cowboys is now available at Giants.com.

NOTES…
QB Eli Manning started his 168th consecutive regular-season game in Dallas. DT Johnathan Hankins has the team’s second-longest starting streak at 17 games.

Manning’s 193 passing yards in Dallas increased his career total to 39,948. He needs 52 yards against Atlanta on Sunday to become the 15th quarterback in NFL history with at least 40,000 passing yards.

Manning threw neither a touchdown pass nor an interception vs. the Cowboys. That’s just the eighth time that’s happened in his 168 starts. The Giants are 4-4 in those games. It was the 29th time he didn’t throw a touchdown pass. The Giants are 9-20 when Manning does not throw for a score.

When Sam Bradford lined up under center for Philadelphia last night, he became the 29th different quarterback to start for the other three NFC East teams since Manning’s starting debut on Nov. 21, 2004. The Eagles lead the pack with 11 quarterbacks, followed by Washington (10) and Dallas (9). Donovan McNabb started for both Philadelphia and Washington. He counts in each team’s total, but just once in the division total.

Left tackle Ereck Flowers and safety Landon Collins, the Giants’ first two selections in this year’s NFL Draft, each started in Dallas. It was the first time the Giants’ first and second-round draft choices started the season opener as rookies since Aug. 31, 1997, when wide receiver Ike Hilliard (first round) and running back Tiki Barber (second) started in a victory over Philadelphia.

The Cowboys scored the game-winning points on an 11-yard pass from Tony Romo to Jason Witten with seven seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it is the first time a Giants opponent scored a go-ahead, game-winning touchdown with seven or fewer seconds remaining in the Super Bowl era (now in its 50th season).

The Giants had not lost a game with a turnover differential of plus-3 or better since Nov. 29, 1987 at Washington, where four takeaways and just one turnover couldn’t prevent a 23-19 defeat.

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
The Giants practice on Thursday and hold physical recovery cycles on Friday in advance of Sunday’s home opener against the Atlanta Falcons.

Aug 292015
 
Prince Amukamara and Stevie Brown, New York Giants (September 8, 2014)

Prince Amukamara and Stevie Brown – © USA TODAY Sports Images

[contentblock id=1 img=html.png]

Giants Express an Interest in Safety Stevie Brown: According to multiple press reports, the New York Giants have expressed an interest in safety Stevie Brown, who was released by the Houston Texans on Friday. Brown was with the Giants from 2012-14, although he missed the entire 2013 season with an ACL tear. An unrestricted free agent this past offseason, Brown signed a 1-year, $3 million deal with the Texans in late April.

Brown played in all 16 games for the Giants in 2014. He started the first three games of the season, lost his starting job for eight weeks to Quintin Demps, then regained it for the last five weeks of the season. Brown finished with 38 tackles, one sack, and one pass defense.

Article on RT Bobby Hart: Bobby Hart rookie check-in: Giants OT analyzes his game, compares Jameis Winston to Eli Manning by Jordan Raanan for NJ.com

Article on DE Owamagbe Odighizuwa: Rookie Owa Odighizuwa aspires to be the Giants’ next great pass rusher by James Kratch for NJ.com

Article on CB Jayron Hosley: Jayron Hosley knows it’s now or never to prove himself with Giants by Ebenezer Samuel of The New York Daily News

Article on S Brandon Meriweather: New Giants safety Brandon Meriweather insists aggressive play isn’t dirty by Ralph Vacchiano of The New York Daily News

Aug 272015
 
Tom Coughlin, New York Giants (August 14, 2015)

Tom Coughlin – © USA TODAY Sports Images

[contentblock id=1 img=html.png]

AUGUST 27, 2015 NEW YORK GIANTS TRAINING CAMP REPORT…
The New York Giants concluded their summer training camp on Thursday with a “recovery cycle” day of yoga, massage, contrast bath (hot and cold tubs), self-massage stuck rollers/bands, functional movement screen exercises, and air compression boots. With preferences based on seniority, players were able to choose from two of these six 15-minute recovery activities.

INJURY REPORT…
The injury that right tackle Marshall Newhouse suffered to his right ankle on Wednesday is apparently not serious. “He is fine. He just got stepped on,” said Head Coach Tom Coughlin. “That is a surface scratch. Someone stepped on his leg when he was on the ground and it was down relatively low and it scared him because of where the step occurred.”

Safety Nat Berhe, who has been sidelined with a calf injury since May, re-aggravated the injury in practice on Tuesday. “He re-injured his calf, that is all I can tell you,” said Coughlin. “Whatever the mechanism, whatever goes on, he had one day of practice, felt really good, came out here and had the same occurrence that happened the last time – occurred this time, so he is re-injured.”

Center Weston Richburg has been bothered by tendinitis in his left knee. “He actually feels pretty good today,” said Coughlin. “We should’ve called a practice for today. We’re going to keep working with him and seeing what the doctors and those people tell me. I don’t have anything new for you right now.” Coughlin would not indicate if Richburg would play on Saturday against the New York Jets.

“A little bit of swelling,” said Richburg. “That was the issue. The swelling can kind of take away from some muscle function. So trying to get that swelling down, get that figured out.”

Linebacker Mark Herzlich is still recovering from a concussion he suffered in the second preseason game. “He was coming along well and just didn’t feel real good yesterday,” said Coughlin. “(He’s) not (doing) as well as I would like.”

Coughlin said receiver Victor Cruz (calf) and linebacker Jon Beason (knee) would not play against the Jets. But he did say safety Landon Collins (knee) and cornerback Jayron Hosley (concussion) would play.

Left tackle Will Beatty (PUP – pectoral), defensive end George Selvie (knee), cornerback Chykie Brown (knee), and cornerback Chandler Fenner (hamstring) will miss the game.

According to NJ.com, wide receiver Rueben Randle (knee tendinitis) should play against the Jets. But NJ.com says offensive lineman Brandon Mosley (back) has not practiced all week.

HEAD COACH TOM COUGHLIN…
Tom Coughlin addressed the media on Thursday (video is available at Giants.com):

A little different week for us. This is what I call the GPS week. We’re following that to a ‘T.’ We’ve had two hard practices, followed by basically meetings, walk-throughs and a recovery cycle. So all three – special teams, defense and offense – had good, long meetings, they had walk-throughs and we finished that up with a recovery cycle. The recovery cycle has basically six elements and, by seniority, they can choose two. It is two fifteen-minute periods and we are currently right toward the end of the second cycle, so it is a unique kind of a day and I am interested in the feedback that I get from our leadership council and also from the assistant coaches as we go through the day and, of course, the proof will come later as to how we perform.

Q: What are those elements? What kind of things are they?

A: Yoga, massage. There are some fancy names for things we do with rollers and sticks and so on and so forth — cold tub, but it is basically just the recovery cycle muscular so on and so forth along with yoga and some of the other things we employed.

Q: Is this something you may implement during the season?

A: We are going to see. I will see what it looks like and again tomorrow is another day of this experimentation, so we are going to go through with that and we’ll see how we like it at the end of the week.

Q: Do you consider this the end of a certain segment? The last day of training camp, such as it is.

A: We just keep going. Nothing ended, everything keeps right on going. It is much different, as you know and as you have recognized in other years, and I think at this point in time the players who are able to have a home in this area, they have checked out of the hotel, the other guys will stay in the hotel and we just keep going.

Q: You talked about wanting to see more urgency in practice in the beginning of the week. Did you see that over the course of the week?

A: Yesterday, I saw a little bit more and I would like to continue to see more.

Q: Marshall Newhouse looked like he [got injured]?

A: He is fine. He just got stepped on.

Q: [What about] Nat Berhe?

A: Berhe re-injured his calf.

Q: Is it kind of back to square one with him?

A: He re-injured his calf, that is all I can tell you. Whatever the mechanism, whatever goes on, he had one day of practice, felt really good, came out here and had the same occurrence that happened the last time — occurred this time, so he is re-injured.

Q: You have all these new tools, you have the GPS and all this stuff. Can it prevent these things from happening or can it decrease the probability of these things happening?

A: Not in the case of a guy that has not been practicing. It can tell you — it can monitor the players under certain types of practices to tell you what their workload should be and if they approach that, you can back them down, but in the case of someone like Nat, he wasn’t even practicing, so there was no workload level other than the fact that he was doing a very, very limited amount of work the day before.

Q: How bad is Marshall Newhouse?

A: That is a surface scratch. Someone stepped on his leg when he was on the ground and it was down relatively low and it scared him because of where the step occurred.

Q: He should be able to play?

A: I think so.

Q: Just to be clear, this GPS day, recovery cycle day, that would be in place of a practice if you implemented this during the regular season?

A: That would be in the place of a practice. What you would do is you would load up according to the GPS system the first two days of the week. In other words, you cover a lot of territory. I don’t know if you noticed, but yesterday’s practice was quite long and could’ve actually been another five minutes. So you’re getting a lot of things done on an overload kind of a day and then you’re having an unloaded cycle and then the week’s not over yet.

Q: You don’t seem like a ‘less practice is better’ kind of guy?

A: Let’s not go there.

Q: Do you personally spend any time with the data? Do you find it interesting?

A: I have people that give me the feedback. It’s interesting, there’s no doubt about it.

Q: What about it has jumped out to you personally?

A: To be honest with you, they can tell you by virtue of the information the potential for a guy to have a soft tissue injury. When that happens, you back the guy down, and that’s the whole purpose. The whole purpose is to recognize someone who is headed for a strain, if you will, and try to do something about it.

Q: Have there been instances when you’ve gotten the information during a practice?

A: We’ve gotten the information that’s said to back off a guy, yes.

Q: Is Jayron Hosley okay?

A: Hosley practiced yesterday and he’s got the greenlight to go.

Q: You said he was doing some things before…

A: Yeah, he was. We’d like to see him do some more things. There’s a bunch of them we’d like to see some more things.

Q: After you see what happened with Nat Berhe, do you have to handle Victor Cruz any differently with his calf issue?

A: It’s the same basic area but two totally different injuries. We’ll do whatever we can if there are similarities. I’m sure the medical people follow that practice but each case is different. They’re not exactly the same.

Q: Victor is not going to play, correct?

A: He’s not going to play, no.

Q: With Weston Richburg, where do you stand with him?

A: He actually feels pretty good today. We should’ve called a practice for today. We’re going to keep working with him and seeing what the doctors and those people tell me. I don’t have anything new for you right now.

Q: Is it possible he plays then on Saturday?

A: Anything’s possible. It might rain. You never know.

Q: You just said Cruz is out, though. Is Richburg likely to be out as well?

A: I’m not answering that question. How much more—what can I do? I answered the Cruz question, that’s it.

Q: You said after a couple of days with the medical staff you may have a better idea on Jon Beason. Do you have that?

A: I don’t have any more for you. He won’t play this week.

Q: Will Landon Collins play?

A: Yes.

Q: How’s Mark Herzlich doing? Is he still…

A: He was coming along well and just didn’t feel real good yesterday. Not as well as I would like.

Q: So when that happens, it’s back to square one with the concussion thing?

A: Protocol has to be accomplished; otherwise, no.

THE PLAYERS SPEAK…
The following transcripts and video clips of player media Q&As are available at BigBlueInteractive.com and Giants.com:

RELATED ARTICLES…

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
The New York Giants training camp practices for this summer are now over. The team will conduct a walk-thru practice on Friday in advance of Saturday’s preseason game against the New York Jets.

Aug 182015
 
Jimmy Staten, Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (October 20, 2012)

Jimmy Staten (#90) – © USA TODAY Sports Images

[contentblock id=1 img=html.png]

Giants Claim DT Jimmy Staten Off of Waivers; Release DT Carlif Taylor: According to multiple press sources, the New York Giants have claimed defensive tackle Jimmy Staten off of waivers from the Seattle Seahawks. To make room for Staten, the Giants waived rookie free agent defensive tackle Carlif Taylor.

Staten was originally drafted in the 5th round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the Seahawks. He spent his rookie season on Seattle’s Practice Squad. Staten has decent size (6’3”, 311 pounds) with good strength. He is a better run defender than pass rusher. Staten is a raw, developmental type, but he is hard worker.

Injury Update on DE George Selvie and S Mykkele Thompson: According to NJ.com, the knee injury suffered by defensive end George Selvie in practice on Monday is thought to be a relatively minor knee strain.

Meanwhile, safety Mykkele Thompson, who suffered a season-ending torn Achilles’ tendon injury in the preseason game last Friday, tweeted he underwent successful surgery. Recovery from Achilles’ ruptures can be tricky and it remains to be seen if the injury is career-threatening.

Articles on Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo:

Articles on QB Eli Manning:

Article on RB Andre Williams: How Giants’ Andre Williams is fixing his biggest weakness by Paul Schwartz of The New York Post

Article on TE Larry Donnell: Giants’ Larry Donnell: Game vs. Cincinnati Bengals was ‘best I’ve felt blocking since I’ve been here’ by James Kratch for NJ.com

Articles on New York Giants Defensive Ends:

Articles on S Brandon Meriweather:

Article on the 2015 New York Giants: Latest Giants 53-man roster prediction doesn’t include James Jones, Adrien Robinson by Jordan Raanan for NJ.com

Aug 172015
 
Eli Manning, New York Giants (August 14, 2015)

Eli Manning – © USA TODAY Sports Images

[contentblock id=1 img=html.png]

AUGUST 17, 2015 NEW YORK GIANTS TRAINING CAMP REPORT…
The New York Giants held another training camp practice on Monday at Quest Diagnostics Training Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The full training camp schedule is available at Giants.com.

ELI MANNING WANTS TO BE HIGHEST PAID PLAYER IN NFL?…
The NFL Network is reporting that quarterback Eli Manning wants to be the highest paid quarterback in the NFL. Manning is entering the final year of his current contract.

INJURY REPORT…
Wide receiver Rueben Randle (knee tendinitis), left tackle Will Beatty (PUP – pectoral), cornerback Chykie Brown (knee), cornerback Jayron Hosley (neck/concussion), and safety Cooper Taylor (sore toe) did not practice.

Cornerback Prince Amukamara (groin) and safety Landon Collins (knee sprain) participated in walk-through drills. Safety Nat Berhe (calf strain) participated in some individual drills. Linebacker Jonathan Casillas (stiff neck) returned to practice.

Defensive end George Selvie left practice early with a knee injury. No word yet on the severity.

Safety Mykkele Thompson, who was placed on season-ending Injured Reserve on Sunday, underwent surgery today to repair his torn right Achilles’ tendon.

PRACTICE NOTES…
Some snippets from various media sources:

  • Geoff Schwartz continued to split time between right guard and right tackle.
  • Quarterback Eli Manning hit wide receiver Victor Cruz on a slant for a touchdown (Video) and then Odell Beckham in the corner of the end zone for another touchdown.
  • The first-team safeties were Jeromy Miles and Brandon Merriweather with Bennett Jackson playing in the slot corner position. Miles and Jackson also played first-team safety in 7-on-7 drills.
  • Linebacker Jonathan Casillas received some first-team reps in 7-on-7 drills.
  • Wide receiver Odell Beckham beat cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie on a “sick” out move.
  • Wide receiver Julian Talley also beat Rodgers-Cromartie on an out route.
  • Defensive tackle Kenrick Ellis “flattened” left guard guard Adam Gettis in red zone drills.
  • Bobby Hart saw second-team reps at right tackle and looked good. Brandon Mosley saw second-team reps at right guard.
  • Giants.com said the three standout players today were safety Jeromy Miles, wide receiver Odell Beckham, and linebacker Jon Beason.

GIANTS ON WFAN RADIO
The audio from the following interviews on WFAN Radio are available from CBS New York:

  • Team President/CEO John Mara (Audio)
  • General Manager Jerry Reese (Audio)
  • Head Coach Tom Coughlin (Audio)
  • Quarterback Eli Manning (Audio)
  • RB Shane Vereen (Audio)
  • WR Odell Beckham (Audio)
  • WR Victor Cruz (Audio)
  • LB Jon Beason (Audio)

HEAD COACH TOM COUGHLIN…
Tom Coughlin addressed the media in the early afternoon before the evening practice (video is available at Giants.com):

Coughlin: Good Afternoon. What can I do for you today? Who do you want to talk about — which one on the list do you want to talk about?

Q: Let’s talk about the new safety you signed?

A: Yeah — Brandon Meriweather, who we’ve played against before. He’s a very physical safety — comes down in the box very well. He’ll bring a degree of toughness to our secondary, to that position, so we welcome him.

Q: How much did you feel that you needed to get a veteran at that spot?

A: Well, it worked. It helped. It’ll help to have a veteran there — a guy that’s played and can share information with a lot of the young guys who are obviously trying to play but haven’t been there yet.

Q: He was not signed by anyone. How much does he [Meriweather] think — his legs and everything — how much does he think he has left?

A: Well, he [Meriweather] had a toe issue, which he had corrected. He’s 31 years old — he certainly doesn’t need to be put away to rest. He’s a young guy.

Q: He’s been on the other side of the NFL disciplinary system for a lot of hits that he can’t seem to have corrected…

A: Can’t seem to have corrected?

Q: Well, he’s been fined multiple times. I think he was suspended. What do you do with that? How do you coach that?

A: Well, the toughness part you want. The penalties and the issues, you don’t want. And he’s a young man who has expressed thanks in being here and having the opportunity, and I think he’ll take coaching. He’s competitive, he’s very competitive. And to a certain extent, obviously, we want that, but we don’t want what goes with it, obviously.

Q: Did you have to say something to him?

A: I will talk to him, yes. I will talk to him.

Q: How does he fit into the defensive system here?

A: How does he fit in?

Q: Yeah.

A: He’s a safety. And we’re looking for safeties, so there you go. When they blow the whistle, 11 are supposed to go out there, so that’s what we’re looking for.

Q: What has it meant for you to have had one quarterback [Eli Manning] your entire career here, and where do you see Eli as far as how much longer you think you two might be together?

A: Well, I think he’s better than — I think he’s prepared to be better than he’s ever been, to be honest with you. I thought last year his improvement was outstanding. His conditioning, his offseason work. Even right now, his recovery cycle work and flexibility is better than I’ve ever seen it. Again, he’s young, he’s obviously very driven, and he’s in a great frame of mind. (something bangs off the ground) That having been said, that’s an exclamation point.

Q: What do you — or I guess the medical staff at this point — need to see from Victor [Cruz] to get him into a preseason game?

A: Well, I think he’s showing it. We’ll pick when he goes, but he’s done everything. Yesterday he did everything — we didn’t even have a… he and Odell both had a full practice yesterday, and both did well and both are back ready to go today.

Q: Is that the plan again today? Not to be limited at all? Or do you have to back off a little bit after a full day like that?

A: He [Victor Cruz] is going to practice. That’s all I’m telling you. They’re [Cruz and Beckham Jr.] going to practice.

Q: Do you want to limit Victor to one preseason game?

A: Not necessarily. He has to do things gradually, and he’s doing them gradually. He’s getting to where he needs to be, and his mindset is outstanding. We brought him to the game [preseason opener at Cincinnati] for a reason. We put him into the workout in Cincinnati for a reason. He didn’t get a chance to play in the game, but he saw it. He was in it. He was involved. He was mentally involved, and he’s looking forward to going to the next step.

Q: We’re three weeks into camp now — where do you sort of gauge where your defense is at this point?

A: Well, obviously after last weekend, both offense, defense, and certain parts of special teams need to improve. And that’s what camp is for. So let’s take what we have on tape, let’s teach, and let’s go back out and correct some of the mistakes that we made.

Q: How did [Geoff] Schwartz come out yesterday after his first workout?

A: He’s practicing today.

Q: Is that a positive sign for him to go back-to-back [practices]?

A: Definitely. Definitely.

Q: Where do you see him on the line? Is he a guard or tackle?

A: Both. He’s played all those positions his whole career — both sides — so, wherever we need him. He’s smart enough, he understands it, he can play multiple positions.

Q: How’s [Marshall] Newhouse doing today?

A: He seems he’s going to be ready to go. We have to watch him, but he’s going to be ready to go.

Q: Is it an extra challenge when you have to add these new pieces in on the fly, during training camp? You know, the secondary…

A: Well obviously you can’t go back to day one. So it’s an issue for them — they have to catch up. But again, it’s the language. It’s the language — he’s [Brandon Meriweather] done it, he’s played all kinds of coverages — particularly in Washington. It’s just a matter of him understanding what the terminology represents and what his responsibilities are, and I’m sure he’ll be accelerated because of his number of years of service in the league.

Q: Would Geoff Schwartz — he obviously has a foot problem that he’s been dealing with — does that factor in for you as to how much you can use him at right tackle and how much more difficult maybe does that make it to put him out there?

A: I hope not. I hope not. I’m not thinking that way. I’m not thinking of any restriction. I’m thinking where he can best help us, and we’ll take it from there.

Q: Is it something you have to manage long-term with him? I know you kind of mentioned that before, that maybe you might have to do that.

A: Well, whatever happens, we’ll manage it. Whether he can go without anybody being concerned, whether he does have concerns and he gets a restricted amount — that’s all to be seen. But for now, after the time that he’s been away from the field, he’s ready to practice and we need him to practice to get going to see whether we can count on him.

Q: How long had Meriweather been on your radar, just as far as being an option?

A: There’s a list. Who’s available? Who isn’t? It happens everyday. Some come off, some come on. He’s been on that list since the non-signing in Washington, but he did have the toe issues, which anybody and everybody in the league, I’m sure, was monitoring. He hasn’t worked out that many places, to be honest with you, so the timing is just about right for our need.

Q: Is this the first time that you had him in to work out or did you have him in here beforehand?

A: First time.

DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR STEVE SPAGNUOLO…
Steve Spagnuolo addressed the media on Monday (video is available at Giants.com):

Q: What were your thoughts on the first preseason game?

A: I knew we were going to get general. Well, I’ll be honest, like I told the guys, I didn’t think we started out like we should have, that was a little disappointing—we talked about that the other day. Cincinnati came out and jumped us pretty quick, I thought got us on our heels a little bit. I think the guys felt that, too. Of course, in a preseason game, you’re taking some guys out, and it kind of gets out of whack a little bit. We did settle down a little bit. I thought the young guys did some good things. It was encouraging to see us play good in the red zone. Not encouraging to give up all of the long run plays, I think a lot of that can be fixed. There was a couple of pass plays where we challenged, our corners, we went into it saying, look, we’re going to stay very vanilla. We might do some things man-wise, it’ll challenge the corners on the outside. But that’s okay, we want to find out where we are. So some of that was planned, and it wasn’t a deep game plan to stop Cincinnati’s offense. We practiced against them for two days. All in all, I think we’ve got a long way to go, but I think the guys are willing to do the things they need to do to get there.

Q: When you have players talk about not playing fast and they wish they would have, why wouldn’t you?

A: You know what I attribute that to? And we talked about it. I think they were thinking too much because they wanted to be right, and it’s the first game, and there’s a lot of youth on our side of the ball. I think it was more that. Look, we focused a lot on that and we’re talking about it now. I’m hoping in this next go-around, that it will be think fast and just go. That’s what the defensive game is all about. I told them, don’t worry about making mistakes. Maybe I didn’t say that enough going into the game. If you’re a guy and you want to make the football team, and they’re always being corrected for an error, they want to be perfect. But we’re going to chase perfection, but we’re going to rely on relentless. That’s what we’re going to try to do.

Q: Is a guy like Trevin Wade kind of embodying that mentality right now? It seems like he’s always around the ball.

A: Yeah, I’m glad you brought Trevin [Wade] up, he’s done a nice job. When a guy steps up, he’s around the ball, he’s making plays—he made a big one at the end, I think you have to recognize that. At first I don’t think anybody really knew where he was, as a player. But it’s good to see him, I’d like to see more guys do that.

Q: What do you guys like about Brandon Meriweather?

A: You know, Brandon, I’ve seen from afar, obviously as an opponent. Very aggressive football player, experienced, has started in the NFL. From guys that played with him in college, because we’ve got some Miami guys here, obviously, the feedback from them was he was very vocal—I like that in a safety. I think Coach Coughlin and Jerry [Reese] like the same thing. Not afraid to make a mistake, bold—I think all those things are good attributes. We’ll have to find out where he is with all the other things, he hasn’t been in football for a little bit right now.

Q: How was the communication, especially among the first team defense, in getting everything lined up and what not?

A: Not too bad, could’ve been better. I think the first touchdown, I’m going to take the onus on that one. Again, we didn’t game plan against Cincinnati. Had we been game planning, we would have played that bunch route they had a little bit differently. In the way we were playing it, made it real challenging for our guys. So we certainly could have played that better, that wasn’t the players’ fault, it was just that particular play. We shouldn’t have let them down that close, but that particular play was really on the coaches, my fault.

Q: You’re more familiar with Jeromy Miles probably than anybody. What did you like about him to bring him here?

A: Well, Jeromy [Miles] has always been more of a special teams player, he was never really a pure starter in this league. But I felt he could at least provide depth, some veteran presence, and certainly special teams. We’ll see where it goes with regards to playing safety and how much. There was a comfort level there, when you know people, I knew what kind of effort you were going to get from Jeromy. I know he’s a pro, I know he works at it, I know he studies the game. I think that’s all been evident. And he’ll tell you he’d like to be playing a little bit better football than he did the other night.

Q: So he’s got a ways to go on defense?

A: Yeah, we all do. We all do, myself included.

Q: What do you see from your defensive end group? Does anybody stand out?

A: I think they’re all kind of clumped together. When I say that, I think we have some guys that will play relentless football. I was kind of impressed with some of the things that the guys did up front. Now, there are some tweaks and some mental errors that we have to get ironed out, and I think they’ll do that. A lot of those guys are ready, set, go—that’s not a bad quality in a defensive end, to do that. And Coach [Robert] Nunn is working technique with them. We’ve moved some guys around, I think you saw some of those defensive ends played inside the other night, which we like to do. We’ll continue to do that. We have to get into situations that will allow us to do that. But we’ll keep moving them around, I think all of them are doing about the same right now.

Q: What kind of leap has Kerry Wynn taken against the run, in particular?

A: Yeah, I didn’t know a lot about Kerry [Wynn] coming here. I’d seen him on film as I studied the Giants from last year. But he’s a solid football player, he knows what he’s doing. He made a couple of uncharacteristic mental errors in the game, and even in practice yesterday. But I trust Kerry because I know he knows what he’s doing. I think he’s getting better as a football player, as we start talking about technique and things he needs to do out there. I think he’s improved as we’ve gone on in training camp.

Q: Jon Beason almost sounded like a rookie the other day, saying he’s really trying to do the right thing and show you he knows the defense. Do you see it’s not quite there yet for him?

A: I think anytime it’s new language, new system—but look, I love Jon Beason. We do individual stuff, him and I get a lot. He’s a football player, he loves the game. When you’re passionate about football and want to do the right thing, that’s what comes out. I think he said to me, it might’ve been in the walk-through here. He was moving the trash cans around that we use and getting them perfect. I said, “You wanted to get those right?” He goes, “Yeah.” He goes, “I’m like that, I want it to be perfect.” He goes, “It’s a blessing and a curse.” And it is, we all know that. Sometimes you can try to be too perfect. But I love working with him. I watched him out here yesterday, and coming off a game, having a day off, and everybody being sore, it’s a little sluggish. I felt we were sluggish yesterday, but you watch Jon Beason, and he was flying around like a rookie. And good for him. I pointed that out in the meeting, and all the other guys need to follow suit. I love working with him.

Q: How much do you miss JPP?

A: Well, it’s hard for me to calculate that. I really haven’t worked with him. So we’ll keep our fingers crossed. Our prayers are with him for health. Until we can get him back here, we’ll just focus on the guys that we’ve got.

Q: You mentioned Meriweather with his aggressive play. Obviously he’s gotten in trouble in the past for being too aggressive. He’s also said that he doesn’t necessarily want to change his style. Is that a fine line for you to walk as a coach?

A: Very fine line for a coach, very fine line for a player in the league that we play in nowadays. But it’s all about target, and it’s a low target area, a strike zone. We’re talking from the chest down to the thigh. That’s what guys have to begin to do. I think that a lot of aggressive players in this league have adjusted to that, I think a lot of them are doing it. And we need to. So it’s preached, it’s talked about, and, again, we haven’t had him here but for a day. But that will be a focus, and I’m sure when you’re away from football for a little bit and you realize where that may have been one of the reasons—I don’t know if it is or not—I’m sure he’ll find a way to get it corrected.

Q: When you’re dealing with the issues in the secondary, how much can the ends help by getting pressure on the quarterback?

A: Yeah, all secondary players appreciate good defensive ends, we all know that from the past. We need that. It needs to all work together. I mean, look, you’ve got to cover them for a certain point, certain amount of time, so the defensive ends can get there. And defensive ends needs to get there quick enough so they’re not back there hanging out. It all works together, and hopefully with some things that we’ll do and some plays that we’ll have, and when we get all the guys where we want them, that’ll piece together and we’ll have something good.

Q: How concerned are you with Landon Collins’ knee and how it may kind of hold back his progression?

A: Yeah, the biggest concern is all the time he’s missing. I let Ronnie [Barnes] handle how long and when. He is staying in tune, he was standing by me most of yesterday as the calls went in. He gave me the feedback, he’s trying to stand behind there in the walkthroughs. That’s about all he can do right now, until he can get healthy. It’s just one of those things that sets you back. I don’t know where we are with game time and all of that, as far as these preseason games. But that’s valuable, valuable experience for any rookie, but especially a safety who we’re depending on to make calls and changes and adjustments, so it’ll be a challenge.

Q: There were obviously mistakes in the game, did you see the little things like hustle and physicality that make a defense?

A: Yeah, I did. I saw more of it in the practice against Cincinnati, to be honest with you. I don’t know if we—I’m not really sure in the game. I think if you were to ask every one of our guys to a man, we would’ve thought that we would have played more physical and faster. We’re all trying to put our finger on that, and I think everybody has to look in the mirror first. But that is the goal. I think you can make up for a lot of mistakes if you do that, we all know that. That’s the goal, that’s been a goal right from the beginning.

Q: What’s your impression of Damontre Moore?

A: I love Damontre. I love guys that like to have fun, I really do. Look, he pulled me aside in the walkthrough—because we had put one or two little wrinkles in, and he wanted to make sure he had it exactly right—this is what I’m hearing and this is what I’m doing. So he’s passionate, he wants to do well. We’re looking for him to do good things. We’ll fit him in there where we can, and fit him in the right spots.

Q: What had Landon shown you before he got hurt?

A: I’ll tell you what, he was progressing like you would hope when you take a guy as high as we did and with the expectation that he would fit in there. I’m normally—I’d prefer not to slot rookie’s right in there as starters—you make them earn it. But, it was obvious here that Landon is ahead of the game, playing at Alabama, I think, helps. He had come leaps and bounds in the verbal part of it, the mental part of it, handling the volume. I think some of the guys were starting to get confidence in him. It still has a ways to go, and then when you lose this amount of time, I think that sets him back a little bit. So he’s going to have to come back in and play catch up. Hopefully he can do that, and get everybody back on the same page.

Q: Had he kind of emerged as the voice of that safety group?

A: Yes and no. I think there’s a couple of safeties back there doing it, and certainly Jon Beason, in the middle, has a big part in that.

Q: How much will a guy like Brandon Meriweather help to develop the other safeties?

A: Well, I don’t know that yet. I’m not sure I know him well enough to know if he’s that kind of guy. Some veterans come in and look, they just worry about what they’re doing. And certainly he’s here trying to keep a job or get a job. I don’t know where that will go just yet. I’ve got to learn a little bit more about him.

Q: He’s been in the league a while, but you didn’t know him at all?

A: No, other than talking to him at the Combine, way back when. I know it seems like forever ago, when he came out. He’s played a lot of football, and that’s a good thing.

Q: How do you see using Devon Kennard?

A: Devon Kennard, in a lot of places right now. He’s a good football player. He looks like they’re supposed to look. He’s versatile in that he can play off the ball as a linebacker, in my opinion. He plays up on the line as what we call a SAM linebacker. And sometimes, we put him down there to rush. That means we’ve got a pretty good football player. So keep him healthy, don’t overload him. And yet he wants more and more. So I think those are all good qualities.

THE PLAYERS SPEAK…
The following transcripts and video clips of player media Q&As are available at BigBlueInteractive.com and Giants.com:

RELATED ARTICLES…

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
The players are off on Tuesday. The next training camp practice will be held on Wednesday. For a complete listing of training camp practices as well as a handy fan Q&A about training camp, see our Training Camp section of the website. Only three remaining training camp practices at Quest Diagnostics Training Center will be open to the public this year:

  • Wednesday, August 19: 5:50 – 7:50PM
  • Thursday, August 20: 5:50 – 7:50PM
  • Tuesday, August 25: 2:30 – 4:30PM