Special Teams Coordinator Rory Segrest, Offensive Coordinator Marty Mornhinweg, Defensive Coordinator Jim Johnson and linebacker Takeo Spikes all talked to the media today and here are the transcipts.
Special Teams Coordinator Rory Segrest Press Conference
12/6/07
On whether he feels good about the punt return game from last week:
“Yeah, I felt like we made a little progress there. It’s one of those deals where hopefully, that wasn’t the only week. We can go back out there and can continue to build on where we left off. I think our guys are working hard now and we have picked up the pace a little bit there. Like I said, hopefully we continue to improve.”
On what specifically is improving in their return game:
“I think our blocking in general. We’ve got some guys staying on blocks a lot better now, understanding angles, understanding the depths of their sets depending on the kick. Wedge timing has gotten a lot better there. So again, it’s just something we’ve been working on throughout the course of the year and hopefully we can continue to improve.”
On what went into the decision to put RB Brian Westbrook back at punt returner in that last series:
“Well, we had him in the one before that as well. It was just a situation where we went to him and felt like he was fresh enough to get back there and give us an explosive return. So, we decided to go with him on that one.”
On whether Westbrook’s return was due to good blocking or his talent:
“It was a combination of everything. I thought we had some pretty nice blocks there on the play. At the same time, Brian’s a great returner. He’s able to set up the blocks and get up the field and create a good return there.”
On whether the timing on punt returns has improved because guys now have more experience or whether it is because players are clicking:
“We do have a couple young guys up there and they’re trying to understand the game, just the speed of it. Again, those angles, they’re all developed through reps and I felt like they’ve made some progress there. I felt like that’s a big part of it, just the repetition aspect.”
On whether Westbrook gets reps at practice catching punts:
“He catches them usually Wednesdays and Thursdays. We’ll get him out there to field a few balls.”
On how P Sav Rocca has done this year:
“He’s made some improvements. He’s a first-year punter, obviously he hasn’t ever done it. He’s had a lot to learn there, both from a punting standpoint and from a holding standpoint. He’s made a lot of progress there. He’s had some really good punts throughout the course of the year and I feel like he’s making a little progress, being a little more steady there.”
On whether there is more length to Rocca’s punts:
“Sure. It’s one of those deals where he had a couple short punts there, his average isn’t great. But, at the same time he’s definitely capable of the long ball. I don’t think that weather has a lot to do with that as much as it is his mechanics. So, hopefully these last four games he’ll continue to kick some long balls for us.”
On how they account for Giants P Jeff Feagles:
“He does a great job. He’s a directional punter, he’s very good with that. He can put it right on the boundary and try to pin you in there in the corner. So, I guess it’s just from a standpoint of being consistent with him and that’s probably our biggest key.”
On how concerned he is with K David Akers’ range right now:
“I don’t think so. Like I said, we’ve been in some tough weather conditions there. The kick the other night was a 48-yarder, so it’s just difficult situations there. He does a good job in practice so hopefully, we’ll just see a little more carry-over in games.”
On what happened with Akers’ missed kick at the game last week:
“Again, it was just a long kick. I didn’t feel like we got the best of holds. The ball was tilted a little bit in the last second. Obviously, that affects Dave as far as where he’s trying to kick. But, that’s something we’ll continue to work on during practice and we’ll get better there.”
On whether his job is easier when they play a team that they’ve already seen before:
“I don’t think so. You go through and try to find their strengths and find their weaknesses and see where you’re going to attack, just as if you have not played them yet. They’ve obviously made some adjustments as far as personnel goes. They had some injuries, they’ve got some new guys on the field. Just like starting over, you go out and made the plans just like you haven’t played them before.”
On whether Rocca and Akers are getting more comfortable with each other:
“With Sav being in his first year, there’s obviously going to be things that come up in the course of the year. But, I feel like he’s been pretty solid for the most part. They have gotten a lot better together, so they’re making progress there.”
Defensive Coordinator Jim Johnson Press Conference
12-6-07
On Giants QB Eli Manning:
“The bottom line is that in the last several games, he’s won some games in the 4th quarter. He did a great job. There has been inconsistency, but he’s got talent. He’s had some good games and bad games, but he has won some games. They’re a winning football team right now, so give him credit; it still starts with the quarterback.”
On whether S Quintin Mikell will play:
“I think he looks healthy. He looks fresh right now and he had a great practice yesterday, so he’ll be starting.”
On Giants WR Plaxico Burress:
“He’s still dangerous down in the red zone. He has still had a lot of touchdown catches. You don’t see that burst like he’s had. I’m sure the foot is bothering him, but he’s playing through it. I have to give that guy credit; he’s playing through a lot of pain right now. You do notice it. He’s still coming up with big plays, especially in the red zone.”
On whether he will use S J.R. Reed even with a healthy Mikell:
“We’ll do the same thing with J.R. [that we did with Mikell when he was the third safety]. We’ll be using some of our three-safety sets.”
On Reed’s performance over the past two games:
“He’s shown a lot of heart, like I said. I knew he was a good, physical player, but he’s shown that he’s really a good hitter. He’s made some great tackles, and he’s played well. Give him credit. For a guy who has been out of football for a while, to come back and play the way he did, showed a lot of heart.”
On CB Lito Sheppard’s status:
“He’s better. He’s going to practice, probably half today. We’re going to rest on that artificial turf inside. I think he’s going to be okay. It’s day-by-day with him, it really is.”
On Sheppard’s performance against the Seahawks:
“It was a long time ago, I’m trying to think. I can’t remember; it was a long time ago (jokingly). I know what you’re talking about now, he was hurt and I took him out and put [CB] Will [James in]. He felt that he was a little banged up, so we went with Will. It was more of a slight injury.”
On whether that’s something Sheppard will have to continue to deal with:
“Yes, he’ll have to keep pushing.”
On how hard it is for him to judge when Sheppard isn’t able to continue playing in a game:
“If you’re not full speed at cornerback, it’s a difficult position to play. If he’s not full speed, we’re probably going to make that switch again. I think he was for a while, but I’m not sure. I think he’s fighting through it and that’s all you can ask.”
On the lack of takeaways:
“It’s a fine line. You take the Seattle Seahawks, who are 8-4. They had two takeaways in the last series to win two ballgames. Otherwise, they’re a 6-6 team. We had a couple more chances the other day to get two turnovers and we didn’t get them. It makes a difference in games. Down the stretch, you have to get them to get field position for the offense, and to stop drives. It’s a big part of the NFL and it’s frustrating.”
On whether Sheppard is injury prone:
“I don’t think so. He’s one of those athletes. He’s got so much athletic ability. He’s not a really physical type guy, he’s a cover corner. He does get banged up sometimes. Sometimes he just has to fight through it. I think, mentally, the same way with him, he thinks he has to be full-go, which you do sometimes when you’re a corner and you have to cover people downfield. I think it’s frustrating for him, but I don’t think he’s injury prone that much.”
On LB Omar Gaither’s progress this season:
“Steady. He has control of the defense; he does a great job with that. He’s been a good influence in there, as far as handling the [defensive] tackles, getting them lined up. He’s done a steady job. I’d like to see him have a few more [forced] fumbles, better on blitzes, like we all would, and better on interceptions, but he’s been a steady football player for us.”
On whether Gaither has the ability to be a playmaker:
“Yes, that’s the thing about him; he’s always been a playmaker type guy.”
On how he explains the number of dropped balls:
“I don’t know. You see it in practice, we make [interceptions]. That one that [LB] Takeo [Spikes] dropped the other day, he had it for a while and started running and dropped it. I can’t explain it, I wish I could. We emphasize it, work on it. Takeo, the other day after practice, caught 100 balls. That’s the kind of guy he is. If you keep working on it, hopefully they start falling into place.”
On whether he plans to continue using LB Chris Gocong as “Joker”:
“He’s still going to be a part of our package. How much we use it, we’ll see. That’s still part of our package. Chris can handle that stuff, so we’ll mix it up a little bit.”
On whether he has to be careful with DT Brodrick Bunkley this week after coming off of an injury:
“The thing about it, is that [DT] Kimo [von Oelhoffen] played really well. I’m really happy with the way Kimo played last week. We’re going to rotate those three, [DT Mike] Patterson, Kimo, and Bunkley, in there quite a bit. Kimo did an excellent job against the run and he’s a very physical player. I think we’re probably going to use him more this week.”
On why it took so long to get von Oelhoffen on the field:
“When we first had him on, we didn’t see it. I think it’s just learning things and learning the system. Also, he was hungry. He couldn’t wait to get back on the field, and he showed it. He is a very physical player and he showed how physical he was last Sunday.”
On whether the complexity of the defense has any influence on the lack of takeaways:
“It could be. That’s hard to answer. Hopefully it’s not. We want to keep being aggressive. I see some dropped balls, I see guys like [FS Brian] Dawkins, one of the best defenders in the NFL, dropping passes. I see guys like Omar, who has good hands, dropping passes. I don’t think it’s that, I really don’t.”
Offensive Coordinator Marty Mornhinweg Press Conference
12/6/07
Opening Remarks:
“Obviously, with the last game, we simply have to do the things to win the game. Small things, normally, three, four or five plays throughout the game will win you games. We haven’t gotten that done in the last couple of weeks. Moving on to the upcoming ballgame, [the Giants] have a pressure defense. They lead the league in sacks. They’ve got outstanding pass-rushers and multiple pass-rushers. They’re also pretty good in coverage and their linebackers are pretty active. It looks like they’ve got some good leadership on that defense. They’re ranked pretty high in many categories, so we’ve got a good challenge ahead of us.”
On having QB Donovan McNabb back:
“It’s good to have Donovan back. I think the key there is that he looks to be pretty healthy. He’s moving well and throwing the ball well. It’s good to have Donovan back and healthy.”
On his expectation of McNabb after being out:
“We expect all of our players to play well.”
On how it is determined if a player is ready to play:
“It’s a whole process. Our trainers and [head] coach [Andy] Reid, they really had the pulse there of exactly where Donovan was in the past two weeks. Certainly he’s gotten significantly better on a daily basis. It looks like he’s ready to go.”
On how he plans to avoid making the same mistakes against the Giants:
“There are a couple of things that we do schematically. I hate to go backwards and talk about that game because that was a bad thing that happened there. We normally concern ourselves with #92 there, [DE Michael] Strahan. The real challenge is when you have one great pass-rusher, you can do some things to keep him away from the quarterback. When you have two, you’ve got some problems there, but you can still do a couple things. When you have three, now it becomes a pretty good problem and they’ve done a nice job of trying to get those guys matched up one-on-one without any help [for the offense]. We’ve got a good challenge, the backs and the tight ends, and certainly the offensive line.”
On RB Tony Hunt’s role in the future:
“Coach Reid makes that decision on who’s active, and he just hasn’t been active all that many times this year. Earlier in the season, when he was active, we used him situationally on occasion. Tony’s doing a nice job. He’s impressive in many things that he does on the practice field. He’s certainly progressive within what we do.”
On his experience with former 49ers RB Garrison Hearst and the similarities he had to RB Correll Buckhalter’s injury:
“It took Garrison two years. That was a very, very bad injury, which is most of the time, career-ending. They were two totally different types of injuries. Correll had one that was very serious as well, and sometimes career-ending. Correll is much quicker, stronger and faster than he was at this time last year. In many cases, it’s that second gear. Garrison took two full years to even get back on the field and start to play football again.”
On incorporating Buckhalter into the offense:
“It depends on how the game unfolds. [RB] Brian [Westbrook] is having a heck of a year. [Buckhalter is] staying relatively healthy and he’s doing a nice job. You’d like to get the ball in his hands a little bit throughout the game. He rushed for over a hundred yards last game that he played, when Brian wasn’t available. [TE] L.J. [Smith] wasn’t there either, and our left tackle [T Williams Thomas].”
LB Takeo Spikes Press Conference
12/6/07
On whether he spent extra time catching balls after last game:
“Yeah, I just felt the opportunities had been there for the big plays, especially interceptions over the last couple of weeks. Just compare it to the beginning of the season up until the later part. My game has changed because the mental aspect is there now. Now, I can go out and react. The reason why I spend so much time Monday and Tuesday catching balls, yesterday too, is you never know when the opportunity may come. It hurts so bad because a lot of guys joke around, but I’ve never been in a situation where I’ve dropped more than I caught. It’s always been the other way around, so that’s why it’s trying to take care of the final points as far as attention to detail.”
On whether he is trying too hard and that’s causing mistakes:
“I think so. If you look at certain plays and the play happens within less than a second. You ask yourself, ‘What can you possibly think of in less than a second?’ But, you would be amazed at how fast the brain works. So, a lot of it is from the time that you see it coming to the time that it actually touches your hands, ‘Okay, I’ve got to catch it. Here it comes. Focus, grab it, tuck it. Don’t run before looking.’ There are so many things. So, for me doing that the past couple of days was to try to become one with the ball.”
On whether practicing in full pads would help:
“No, with me it’s been all hands. I don’t think it’s a pads thing, it’s just getting comfortable. I’m feeling confident knowing that there’s no question in my mind.”
On how the team can stop pressing and just make plays naturally:
“I think it’s just, you have to get that one play. But, in order to get that one play you can’t press. The way for me to stop pressing is try to do it throughout the week. You’re going to have opportunities on certain plays to where, in your coverage, the ball is going to get thrown to your side of the field or to your guy, so you have to make the play. Then, spending that extra little time, it’s not too much, but then you have to spend enough time to get acclimated as far as catching the ball in different angles.”
On whether he’s thinking too much even though he’s been playing football his whole life:
“Yeah, and I think that’s just sports period, that’s why it’s so challenging. As soon as you think you have it, you really don’t. There’s always something that you have to work on. I’m always trying to be perfect, a perfectionist out there. It’s always something.”
On the mood of the team:
“The mood of the team [after the Seahawks game], we were upset because of the way we lost. Of course, it was unacceptable, but there were plays that we left out there on the field, especially myself, I’ll take credit for that. We’re eager now. There’s no secret, we have to win every game from here on out. Before we talk about the other three, the Giants are the most important.”
On whether team leaders have been saying things during the games to try to correct mistakes:
“Yes, you hear guys say certain things. One guy may say something and another guy may think about it and end up saying something a little bit later. I don’t collectively get everybody together, but if I hear one guy talking, I make sure that [people listen]. It’s a fine line in playing this game, as far as catching the tipped ball or making the play that you’re supposed to make early in the game because it would turn the game around, confidence wise, for everybody, not only for that one player.”
On the unlucky breaks that have happened for the defense this season:
“A prime example is seeing other players on other teams. One guy may get three sacks, but two out of the three sacks, he was clean; nobody ever blocked him. Why does that never happen to us? It’s just those types of things.”
On Giants RB Brandon Jacobs:
“I’ve never played against him. Every time, when I did have the opportunity to play against him, he was always hurt. I look forward to the opportunity. He’s a big boy, he’s big. To be able to have that size, speed, and power that he has, it makes it hard for a tackler to come in. At the same time, being as big as he is, he’s an easy target.”
On whether Giants QB Eli Manning has grown since the last time they played the Giants:
“I think he’s pretty much the same quarterback in our eyes, looking at him throughout the weeks. A lot of people might talk about his passer rating or his completion percentage, but the bottom line is that they win games. I don’t care about numbers if our quarterback is helping our team win games. I just want a football player. He’s helping the rest of the guys around him win games.”
