Here are a collection of interviews with Michael Eisen over at Giants.com that highlight the first day of Giants training camp. First I’ll post the passage I found interesting, second I’ll unpack what I think it means:
Coach Tom Coughlin
"Q: What kind of energy does [Perry Fewell] have?A: A good energy. Great personality. Lively persona. Energy in the classroom, energy on the field. The players had spring with him so they had an opportunity to get to know a little bit about how he coaches and how he approaches things, his enthusiasm…Q: You’ve got some guys adding on to the defense – two veteran safeties that came in and Bulluck. The fact that they’re veterans, how easily or more quickly do you think they’ll be able to acclimate to a whole new system?A: I think they’ll pick it up fast. The two safeties were here all spring, so they’re pretty much embedded in how our approach is this season as of right now. I think Keith [Bulluck] will pick it up fast as well. He won’t be on the field both practices but he will have an opportunity to pick it up and he’ll get it back because he’s had a number of years in the league.Q: Do those guys add or change the personality of the defense?A: Hopefully the combination of the guys that we have and the new players and the veteran aspect of it and what they bring in terms of the experiences they’ve had, I think hopefully that will all lend itself to one defensive personality and then, of course, one team.[full transcript here]"
First and foremost, GM Jerry Reese and Coach Tom Coughlin needed to be sure their defense was up to par this year. No excuses — so they brought in the firery Perry Fewell to bring back the intensity from the upper most defensive level at head coordinator, they signed pro bowl safety Antrel Rolle, they drafted two game changing defensive linemen in Linval Joseph and Jason Pierre-Paul, and most recently they brought in veteran linebacker Keith Bulluck to own the captain spot in the middle of the defense. I’d say that’s one heck of a start. But it’s not just the bodies that makes the difference, adding and subtracting them in the roster. It’s the way they handle themselves, what energy they bring to the team is perhaps most important right now… and that is what Coughlin’s really getting at here – look at this again:
energy… personality… persona… energy… energy.
It’s clear that the intensity and passion at which he wants his players and coaches operating is at a high level, and I think comparatively the way Steve Spagnuolo ran his unit juxtaposed against the way Bill Sheridan ran things, and now the way Fewell is operating – scheme aside Coughlin is looking for that passion and energy that will allow the players to get on board.
Off. Coordinator Kevin Gilbride
"Q: One thing that wasn’t as good last year was the running game, how do you get back to that?A: You know there’s certainly a commitment right from Tom on down to restore it to where it was. I think it’s a combination of a lot of things but we weren’t as good. The key is how do we get it back and I think the effort will be made both technically, time wise, passion, commitment, all those things to get it going. But where we really fell off was not so much in efficiency or even average per carry, which we did a little bit, but the big plays, we didn’t have many big plays in the running game, and the year before that was what we were very, very good with. That was the negative, the positive was we continued to improve significantly in the passing game and we got a lot of big plays in the passing game. If we can get the running game going and get it back to close to where it was and continue to grow in the passing game, we’ll be all set.Q: With Brandon [Jacobs] last year there just didn’t seem to be something there. Having the chance to look at him in the off-season after surgery, was it the knee, was it a combination of things?A: I don’t know, we don’t know. He wasn’t as effective, so I’m going to say it’s his knee. That’s the only way I can try to begin to explain it, but with anything it’s never just one thing. Maybe we didn’t block some things so well, maybe he didn’t make some good decisions quite as often, maybe I didn’t call the plays at the right times. Who knows? But the bottom line is he’s a big, strong powerful back and when he’s playing effectively we’re a better football team. And so hopefully we can get him back to that. The thing that’s maybe unique about him is certainly his size but when you get him in the open space he can run very, very well. I’m talking speed wise. We somehow have to get him through the holes fast enough so he can take advantage of that. And that’s something we’re hoping to see.Q: In the spring what did you see in him?A: I wouldn’t judge him yet. It’s kind of premature, just because he was kind of feeling his way. I don’t know when we’ll be able to make an accurate assessment. It looks like he’s back or it looks like he’s got a ways to go. It may take the full exhibition season.Q: How much did all of these circumstances with the running game force you to grow in the passing game and the young receivers last year and then going into 2010 what are the benefits? A: As always, you’re looking to do whatever is necessary to move the football and be effective, so maybe not being as consistent with the running game, or not having big plays with the running game, we were able to rely a little bit more on the passing game so that probably helped to spur our growth in the passing game. Hopefully that will continue. You had two young guys that have never played before, and you expect they have nowhere to go but up. Steve Smith has continued to grow and develop as an inside receiver, which I think all of us expected, but he also did a great job when he was outside, which is something I don’t think all of us had anticipated. He’s just a complete, all around receiver, so I feel real good about where we are with Mario [Manningham] and Hakeem [Nicks], and someone was asking about Ramses [Barden], who knows, Ramses will be good, we lost Dominick [Hixon] so you’re waiting to see who will step up. So it should be a solid group because it’s a young group.Q: Has this camp become as much about finding an identity, because you had been something else before ’09, and then you became that?A: That’s a great question, I think our goal is to try to get our running game going again, that’s what our goal is. But having said that, we’re going to do whatever is necessary to move the football, so if it turns out our greatest strength is throwing the ball then I’m certainly not averse to doing that, but we would like to get the running game going again. There’s no question about that.[full transcript here]"
While I understand Kevin Gilbride has never been so straightforward as to completely enrapture us with his comments, whether it be about red zone issues or the lack of effectiveness of running the football with Brandon Jacobs last year – something about his comments here do not sit right with me:
“I don’t know, we don’t know. He wasn’t as effective, so I’m going to say it’s his knee. That’s the only way I can try to begin to explain it, but with anything it’s never just one thing. Maybe we didn’t block some things so well, maybe he didn’t make some good decisions quite as often, maybe I didn’t call the plays at the right times. Who knows?”
Am I the only one who thinks this interview sounded very ho-hum? At this point in the upcoming season, it seems to me that you had better be damn sure what the problem was. This is the kind of answer from a coach that drives me crazy, because to say you don’t know several times and then give a few possible answers which all sound pretty good actually, it cheapens the analysis. In the wisdom of it all, problems rarely are isolated to just one reason. Gilbride was right about that. But a knee injury was sustained in week one to the featured running back that required surgery, he opted not to do it.. and that is going to be a guaranteed problem for a running back. Jacobs went on record himself and said it was an issue, and that it was a mistake not to take the 6-8 weeks off and get surgery. He knows that now. So if anything, you as a coach should echo that to begin with. But you’ve now left the door open for a ton or criticism all season.
“maybe I didn’t call the plays at the right times.”
I can almost guarantee you that coach… particularly in the red zone. The line didn’t block as well, particularly all along the left side — and coach if you watch the tape you did keep telegraphing and calling plays to the left, with dismal results. Stats were there that isolated those problems along the way. It is a multi-faceted issue, I’m acknowledging that. What I want is some acknowledgment though from you that you are sure there were several problems and you are confident that they will be addressed this year, starting yesterday. I didn’t get that here… and it’s leaving me a bit perturbed.
But the best thing that happened last year in regard to Jacobs was you made a change coach, Ahmad Bradshaw became the answer down around the goal line. He could get to the hole quicker and get across the plane of the end zone. It worked… your change of direction worked. I for one would love to see that kind of decision making happen a whole lot sooner going forward, because toward the end of the season I really liked the way the running game had come along. Particularly in the divisional match ups. I liked seeing a more dynamic rotation throughout the game, rather than the backs splitting chunks of time. And I liked seeing Bradshaw in a larger role, to be honest. I think the backfield this year can regain that sense of identity that was lost, but its going to require a more certain sense of the ways you’re going to accomplish it this year.
Def. Coordinator Perry Fewell
"Q: Some say your energy on the field is one of your best attributes. What are you trying to accomplish out there?A: I just love the game so when you love the game you just coach from your heart and that’s what I love about football.Q: Can you talk about Pierre-Paul signing?A: That was big. He needs every rep, he needed to be in camp on time and that was huge on our administration’s part, so we’re very excited about that.Q: What do you think Pierre-Paul will bring to the team?A: Watching him in the spring I noticed that he was very strong with his hands and I like that because he’s physical and we want to return to the physical style of the New York Giant defense. He can rush the passer also. So, we just have to groom him, let him execute after learning his assignments and then watch him go to work.Q: Bulluck has been around a long time and has played a lot of football but not for the Giants and not in your system, so how difficult is it to bring a guy like that in?A: Number one, he is a very smart player; I have coached against him for a number of years. He’s very professional in what he does; we’ve had a phone conversation so he is going to be eager. We will probably have to hold him back so that he doesn’t hurt himself. It’s going to be a matter of reps, you can’t replace practice and you can’t replace reps, so we’ll just bring him along but he knows to take the middle reps because he is a smart veteran.Q: With his (Keith Bulluck) personality and experience do you see him as a leader? Are you counting on him being a leader out there?A: Oh definitely.Q: What did you see on film of the final couple of games last year that was lacking on defense?A: I’d rather not comment on what I saw and what occurred in the past because there’s a lot of things that could be said but it won’t do any good because that’s water under the bridge and I wasn’t here a year ago, so I’m just going to let that remain.Q: Does it make it easier to get the players to listen and be attentive after coming off of last season?A: I don’t know if it makes it easier but I will say this: they have been very attentive, they want to be good, they have been very cooperative and there’s a lot of pride in this group.[full transcript here]"
Obviously, there is a level of class involved here with coach Fewell not trashing former coordinator Bill Sheridan. He had an opportunity and passed on it. But what’s been clear from earlier this spring is that he’s been able to bring the defensive players back into the realm of energy and intensity – and it’s great he can recognize the sense of pride in the Giants players. I think there is more of chance Fewell will bring those emotions out on game day than there ever was with Sheridan.
Secondary Coach Peter Giunta
"Q: Last season you guys got a lot of pressure put on you because the line didn’t put pressure on the quarterback…if they generate more pressure, will you guys be able to snag more interceptions?A: Well, I think we will play with a little bit different scheme and a little different technique so hopefully our interception rate will go up and we want to prevent completions as well. You know, you want to keep the percentage of completions of the quarterback way down, and other times you want to have eyes on the quarterback so you can break and make plays on the ball. I think our interception rate will go up this year, definitely.Q: Has Perry Fewell changed anything with the way you guys approach and play the game?A: Yes, he changed some things we’re going to do defensively, more with takeaways and trying to see the quarterback more. In the past, we were always playing man, man, man really and identify whether we should use zone coverage or man coverage, we were set on the matchups. This year, we are going with more of a read the quarterback and see him with the ball and get to ball.Q: Does that match the personnel you have better?A: I think it’s good because we are going to mix whether we do a pattern read or whether we are going to read the quarterback and be more of a pure zone team. That good mix we have will really help us to keep the quarterback off balance.[full transcript here]"
There is no question in my mind that the secondary will have an easier year this year because the front 7 will absolutely get more pressure on the QB. However, it’s nice to know that there are some priority changes, some scheme changes. Anything that says “mix” and “off balance” sounds a whole lot better than “cover-2 again.”