Day 2: More With Coughlin
By author
Michael Eisen of the Giants has another transcript up of coach Tom Coughlin on day 1 of training camp, here are some highlights:
"Q: All the one-a-day guys will be this afternoon?A: Bulluck (knee), Boss (ankle), Osi (hip), Nicks (toe). O’Hara (ankle) would be but he’s probably not going to go at all."
Bradshaw was expected to go once a day but he’s been going twice and showing some off some cuts and nice runs. Coughlin had some comments on Bradshaw specifically getting back to form.
"Q: Coming off his foot/ankle issues, what do you want to see out of Ahmad (Bradshaw) and what have you seen so far?A: Well, we have to see over time. He made some nice cuts and nice runs this morning. He caught the ball in the individual drill. I’d like to see first he have confidence in himself, what he can and can’t do. I want to see him extend that and fight his way through some of the tough days and continue out here with his teammates without having to take a step back. If you thought you could utilize Ahmad to the full extent, he’s a guy who has run kickoffs back and has run punts back. He obviously is an outstanding runner in his own right and used in with a combination with Brandon and some of the other guys that we’ve got. You see how Danny (Ware) looks just to keep some of those guys on the field. I think that with Ahmad it’s just practice, practice, and stay out there and prove to everyone, himself included."
Not sure what exactly coach means by “just to keep some of those guys on the field,” maybe he’s just not that impressed with Ware. Yesterday he said of 4th string running back Gartrell Johnson who had a rough day: “Rigor mortis set in.” We’ll see if that means Johnson’s days are numbered as a Giant or whether his muscles were just extremely tight. Either way – it doesn’t bode well for him.
"Q: Talking about tempo, it seemed a little faster this morning in-between plays:A: I’d like it to be better. A little bit quicker in and out and a little bit quicker switching drills. We had one young guy who missed a substitution, and that won’t work very long.Q: You’d like to get more plays in?A: Not necessarily. I like the energy level up. It’s 70 degrees. It’s been 95 degrees all summer and everybody here has sweated their tails off going to work and doing what you’re doing. It’s nice here and I’d like to see it. We don’t have any pads on so it’s a good time for us to show some enthusiasm."
Fine. But let’s just not pull any hamstrings, coach. Last year the intensity got up perhaps a little too quickly and half the team went down with a pull or strain.
"Q: Throughout the spring and here, have you seen the defense feeding off of Perry’s energy?A: Oh, I think they are much aware of it. It is inspirational and they do know what’s coming. I think it’s a good thing. I’ve always been in favor of that over anything else. I don’t care, even if you’re wrong, if you’re yelling and screaming, it creates something for you. They respond to it, they’ve been, and they do a nice of job it."
Quite a difference from a year ago… Enough said.
"Q: What about Corey Webster…any strides from last year?A: Webster is a good football player. You see the type of play he made this morning and what he is capable of doing. Again, it’s the idea of staying away from the nicks and staying on the field. Wouldn’t it be great to see Corey for 16 games? It’d be something."
It would be something, and I think at corner you’re going to have one of the more solid units on the field at any time. Webster, Ross, Thomas, Johnson… even with the young guys it’s quite a group.
"Q: How are you melding the old defense and the new defense?A: Melding? It’s the New York Giants defense. It’s what we pretty much have always believed in, our core defense. It has the added strategy, if you will, or the way situationally we will play based on Perry. So it’s just going to be integrated. We tried to keep much of the terminology the same but you couldn’t tell that if you took the two books and put them side-by-side. There is a lot of different terminology. As much as we can, we held onto our old terminology. I always put the coordinator in the position where in split second game-time stuff he’s not struggling for language stuff. The players learn it and they’ll be fine with it. We have a standardized way to view our defensive teams as far as our down and distance situations, the pressure packages and how we play and what we play. We use that as a guideline, and we will have Perry’s talent and ability to add to that."