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Post-Game Transcript: Head Coach Tom Coughlin

Eric from BBI : Admin : 12/14/2014 5:55 pm

Head Coach Tom Coughlin

Postgame vs. Washington, Dec. 14, 2014



Opening Statement:

Tough divisional game. I’m glad we were able to hang in there and win it. I thought the defense did a nice job basically for the whole fourth quarter. Offense – not much of a first half, but came out in the second half and did a better job. We got some nice kickoff returns, had field position any number of times but didn’t do much with it early on, but finally got going a little bit better in the second half. We knew going in that it would be a tough football game. The first game down there, everything went well for us and not much went well for them. They had been shut out last week. They had been beaten by us down there by a large score. It’s in the division. They came in and played hard. It was a difficult team to run on – we didn’t the run the ball for anything against them, so they did a nice job of that. Despite it all, we kept battling and kept battling and found a way to win it. It feels good to win again on Sunday.



Q: Coach, can you talk about your special teams today aside from [Odell] Beckham not catching that last punt at the end of the game?



A: Well, that should’ve never happened. Special teams has done well. They’ve basically improved from one week to the next all year long, so I was pleased with that. As I said, I thought our kickoff returns were really good today. We faced an exceptional punter with tremendous hang time and the ability to put the ball way up in the air. I thought we might be able to have some punt return success today. Not quite as much, as I said – we had established field position with kickoff returns, we covered kicks very well and did a nice job covering punts.



Q: What was your view and reaction to the end of the first half sequence and how much of a difference did that make?



A: Well, obviously, as it turned out, it wasn’t a (ten)-point game, but it was quite a feeling to go in 10-7 rather than 17. I didn’t have any idea how that would come out or whatever. When you watch it live, the guys in the booth were yelling about the juggling the ball, but until the word came back on the field, I didn’t know.



Q: Is that something you noticed on the sideline?

A: Not on the sideline, but as I just said, from upstairs they were saying words to the effect that the ball was being bobbled.



Q: Have you ever had a playmaker as dynamic as [Odell] Beckham and what does that do for you offensively in terms of game plans?

A: The young man is having outstanding success. When we are getting the ball to him, he’s doing very well with it. He’s a very good football player. He has the ability to go the distance, I think, any time he gets it – whether as a punt returner or as an offensive player. He can run the football; he can throw the football, so we’ve tried to create a lot of situations. He does have the talent to exploit the defense in a lot of different ways.



Q: Considering the fact that you’re focusing obviously a lot of offensive attention on him, and I would assume the defense is, too, are you amazed he’s able to get so wide open so often?

A: Well, I don’t know. Today was kind of sticky, I thought. Early on, for example, really in the first half, it wasn’t a lot to speak of except for the one score. I think they did a good job. They played us well.



Q: He (Odell Beckham, Jr.) finished with 12 catches or whatever, plus he touched the ball almost 20 times. Is there anything he does at this point that surprises you?

A: Well I’m cheering for him every time he gets the ball. He does the best he can and can excite everybody in the building.



Q: You guys often talk in terms of who, on the other side, scares you. What do you think the other side’s impression is of Beckham?

A: There’s a bunch of guys on the other team that scared us – I’ll tell you that. That number 11 (DeSean Jackson) usually comes to town and we don’t have a lot of fun with that.



Q: Fair enough, but what do you think of the ripples that Odell [Beckham] is making around the league?

A: He’s a young player who missed a lot of this season, so a lot of people are basically seeing him for the first time, and so I’m sure they’re very impressed when they watch him on film. Then they go in the other room and try to decide how to take the ball out of his hands. We’ve got to continue to try to be innovative in that regard.



Q: What happened with Rueben Randle?

A: That’s between Rueben and I.



Q: When [Colt] McCoy went down, did you know what to expect from RGIII?

A: Well, we had to know that the expectation was that the ball somehow remained in his hands, and I thought they kept the ball on the perimeter as a plan and they were successful for some time doing that. McCoy did it, and obviously when RGIII came in, he did the same thing.



Q: Was that the plan with Rueben [Randle] to not have him in the first quarter?

A: Not necessarily.



Q: You were 4th and 1; you didn’t go for the field goal. Can you talk about your thought process at that point?

A: I thought we had moved the ball down well. I thought we had some momentum on our side. They could not take the lead with a field goal. I thought if it was a time where we could’ve made that and push it in for a score, it would’ve been the score that eventually we ended up and would’ve had another opportunity to score. It was a risk, no question. Given the way our kicker has been doing, it was no question that I think the three points would’ve been there and put us up seven. There was some risk involved, but I thought it was worth taking.



Q: Even after Rueben [Randle] got back in, you still seemed to rely on [Kevin] Ogletree and [Preston] Parker more at times. Has he fallen behind them on the depth chart?

A: No, I think they all mix in and play. Parker’s played steadily since the beginning of the year. Ogletree’s had a chance to work his way in this week and did a pretty good job, so the more people you have, the better.



Q: I know you don’t play “what if’s,” but Victor Cruz and Odell [Beckham] out on the same field?

A: That would be a good idea.



Q: After the Dallas game, where you didn’t use pressure to close out the game, the last games since then, you’ve had a lot of more pressure from the defense. Can you talk about any adjustments, or are these guys showing more pride? What are your thoughts on that?

A: There’s more people involved in making a lot of plays, which is a good thing. JPP [Jason Pierre-Paul] has turned it up and he’s made a bunch of plays here in the last four or five games. You’re getting plays from the interior guys. When Damontre [Moore] had a couple plays a week ago; [Jonathan] Hankins had a play today or a couple of plays; Devon [Kennard] has a done a good job of that as well and gotten pressure. The more the merrier.



Q: Did [Rashad] Jennings get hurt on the one carry?

A: Right away, he did.



Q: Did [Odell] Beckham call for a fair catch on that last punt?

A: I think he did. The ball was fading away from him and he was trying to come in. He never really got planted in front of the ball.



Q: So it’s just a physical mistake?

A: I think so.



Q: Their running backs did a lot of damage in the first half with the receiving game. Did you guys do anything specific to get that under control?

A: The number one thing for us was to stop the run because we weren’t doing a very good job of it. We had prepared our entire plan around that and I think we just tooled it up. We didn’t do anything really different, but we got in better position and made some plays in the second half.


The Redskins  
RetroJint : 12/14/2014 8:05 pm : link
hurt the Giants with flat passes to the backs, which is a weakness of 3-deep. But the Giants do an excellent job on their wide receivers. RG3 was on today. He obviously wanted to show the liberals in DC that he can still play. The 4th quarter proved what Bill Walsh said years ago about the NFL. The team that rushes the quarterback better in the fourth quarter almost always wins the game. That would be the Giants today.
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