Tom Coughlin
December 2, 2015
We’re excited to be preparing against a very good New York Jet football team. I’ll just review a couple things for you, you know them well.
They are plus-four in the turnover ratio. They’re 30:54 time of possession is 11th highest in the league. Of interest, I thought, was the second half in which they’ve scored 76 points in the third and 85 points in the fourth quarter. Their offense is 14th in the National Football League—14th in the run, 20th in the pass. They average 29 runs a game, which is second in the NFL. They’re the first offensive team in the green zone, scoring touchdowns at 73 percent. They’ve given up 14 sacks, which is tied for the fewest in the NFL. They have an outstanding veteran offensive line. Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick is having an outstanding year with 20 touchdowns, tied for ninth-most in the NFL. They’re a talented wide receiver group and Brandon Marshall is the fifth most-targeted player in the National Football League.
Defensively, they’re third in the NFL—first versus the run, giving up 84.4 per game, 12th versus the pass. They’re the number one defense in the red zone, giving up touchdowns at 38.5 percent. They have the third-most takeaways in the NFL. Very talented front, led by (Muhammad) Wilkerson. Linebackers led by (David) Harris and the secondary by (Darrelle) Revis and (Antonio) Cromartie.
Their special teams is led by punter (Ryan) Quigley and kicker (Randy) Bullock. They’re 13th on punt return with (Jeremy) Kerley at 9.3 and 16th in kickoff coverage at 23.8 per. It’s December in the NFL and both teams are fighting for an opportunity in their respective conferences.
Let me just tell you about our practice today. Today who will not practice is (Larry) Donnell, (Brandon) Meriweather, (Marshall) Newhouse. Newhouse has a back, Meriweather with a knee, Donnell with a neck. (Justin) Pugh will practice in a limited fashion, (Weston) Richburg will practice, as well, in a limited fashion.
Q: How do you shuffle your offensive line with those injuries or is there hope that Richburg and Pugh will be back in their usual spots on Sunday?
A: Well, the hope is that they both make it. Whether that’s realistic, I’ll let you know. Today, I think, hopefully, Pugh will be able to go and feel better after practicing and then he can increase the workload the next day. And we’ll do what we have to do on the right side. With Newhouse missing today, Hart will be in there, have an opportunity there. We’ll see how Newhouse does tomorrow.
Q: What went into John Jerry being on that side and Geoff Schwartz on the other side? Was that you just wanting to have Jerry specifically on the right side?
A: Schwartz was on the left so that he could communicate with the rookie left tackle. Jerry was on the right, and both Jerry and Newhouse are veterans.
Q: In the past, the Jets have kind of brought out the best in your team. Do you believe that this could happen this week with the emotional game against the Jets?
A: Well, I do and I think we’re going to bounce back and play a much better, complete football game than we did last weekend.
Q: Compared to how things went with Jordan Reed when you faced the Washington Redskins last week, how would you characterize and kind of compare that to what you will face in the Jets tight ends this week?
A: The Jets use their tight ends in a number of different ways. They’re factors primarily in the red zone and down on the goal line area. They use Kellen Davis as a protector, he does an outstanding job of that. They wall off the front and give the quarterback an opportunity to go downfield to the talented wide receiver group.
Q: There are some teams who have faced the Jets that have sort of abandoned the run against their front. The Patriots, in particular, I don’t think ran the ball very much.
A: Nine times.
Q: Is that something you would consider?
A: Well, I’d consider anything, but I would rather play like they play, to be honest with you, I’d rather have 29 runs, too. I think we’d be a much better team if we were balanced that way. But the Patriots, your question deals with how people strategically plan and play—the Patriots will plan according to what success, obviously, they think they can have. If it doesn’t regard the run—all the way back to, I remember, Pittsburgh years and years ago, you might remember as well, I think they threw it 65 times on a Monday night to open the season or something. So they do what they believe they can do and they take good care of the ball while they’re doing it. So however you can move the ball, that’s the way to go.
Q: You’ve had the running back by committee, but if a guy gets hot, are you opposed to just leaving him in there?
A: No, but what’s hot and when does it happen?
Q: Six yards, five yards, two yards.
A: I’m not opposed to anything. We’ve done it that way in the past many times. We have some people that we can utilize on first and second down, and we have a good player we can utilize on third down, and that’s the way we’ve played.
Q: We’ve seen obviously that Eli Manning can’t be responsible for everything that happens, but this time of year and these big games, how much do you need him to and expect him to, sort of, rise above the circumstances?
A: Well, he has to. He’s our guy and he’s done it so many times before. You just said a mouthful. What am I going to tell you other than, perhaps, something that’s irrelevant about somebody who should catch the ball—you’ve got to catch the ball when the ball is thrown to you, as well. That’s part of the responsibility. We all know—I had a coach in college that believed a couple bad things happened when you threw it, but that’s not the case today in this league. So guys have got to catch the ball.
Q: The fact that you’ve seen him to do it before--rise to the occasion when things may be collapsing around him--does that give you and the team a sense of confidence heading into the stretch run?
A: No doubt, no doubt. He can do it, he’s done it before. We’ve got to have some help. He’s not out there by himself. People have got to—they’ve got to extend themselves this time of year. If it’s that important to them, extend yourselves, and by that, I mean, hey, it’s no different than you guys—go to office early, stay late, make sure you’re responsible for you assignments, make sure you’re prepared, make sure you know the guy you’re going to play against, do everything in your power. We’re in December now, there’s not many games left to play. There’s no reason not to commit yourself totally and completely to something you’ve spent your life wishing and hoping for. That’s the attitude I take.
Q: Curious about JPP, is this a part of his process with the hand or did something happen to him?
A: No, it’s just that his hand is sore. If that’s the case, then we’ll put him on there, but it’s nothing that he can’t deal with.
Q: How about Donnell, where is he with his neck? Are you just waiting?
A: He’s in the process of trying to get better.
Q: I hate to go down the list, but Devon Kennard?
A: He’s going to practice. You saw him limping in the game, that’s why we put him on there. But he told me this morning he’s going.
Q: It says on here, not practicing. That changed?
A: He’s practicing, he’s going to try it.
Q: They seem to go as Marshall goes. How much of a weapon is he for that offense?
A: As I’ve said, he’s clearly having an outstanding year and he has been targeted any number of times. He’s a big, strong guy that can go above the defense and make plays. He’s also done a nice job blocking for the run game. He’s certainly making a strong contribution to their team.
Is Jerry not "the Great Communicator"?
He could have said "Jerry has started more games on the right side in this offense than Schwartz." Or he could have said "We had planned to have Schwartz play the left side last year before Snee retired."
Any response would have made more sense than what he said!