Head Coach Tom Coughlin
October 29, 2015
Q: How did Jason Pierre-Paul look moving around a little bit?
A: Moved around well. He moved well and I think he proved to the medical people that he’s in good shape. That’s not to include all the back and forth, sideways stuff. He’s going to have to work his way through some of that, too. But he’s in excellent condition.
Q: So what’s the next step?
A: He’s going to get a couple of reps in scout squad today.
Q: Is he maybe further along than you even expected?
A: No, not necessarily. His first visit, he was in pretty good cardiovascular shape and he’s even better now.
Q: The eye test is not obviously reliable, but he doesn’t look as big as he was. Is there a strength concern?
A: I don’t know that it’s a strength concern. He’s not 278, but I think he’s probably better to be 268, to be honest with you. I think that where he is right now, with some time spent in the weight room under the tutelage of our group, I think he’ll be fine.
Q: Was that sort of his plan even before all this happened? I think he had mentioned possibly dropping weight and playing at a lower weight.
A: He’s 268.
Q: Tom, you remember that worked for Strahan.
A: It always does. Later in the career, it works very well. It’s an excellent formula at certain spots. Michael did very, very well much lighter than that, to be honest with you.
Q: How does he seem to you personally?
A: Excited. Very, very glad to be back. I think he was really, really moved—if the word is right—to be in the practice yesterday, to be stretching with the guys etc. etc. I think that only gets better.
Q: He had kind of a, for a lack of a better word, goofy aspect to him in the past. Does he seem subdued in any way or altered?
A: I don’t know about subdued. I think anyone who has experienced the trauma that he’s gone through will kind of feel their way back into their place. He’s a very confident young man, but he obviously has some things to prove.
Q: As far as you’re aware, does he have to use his left hand on the ground at all times? Is that restrictive in any way?
A: I don’t think he has to do that.
Q: How would you assess Steve Spagnuolo this season? You guys have had challenges with injuries.
A: Hard-working coach. Again, we’re doing a good job as best we can. The guys work very, very hard at it and the defensive staff. We’re where we are.
Q: How much more, if any, do you stress the run defense this week because of the last two weeks? Or is it the same?
A: Same as it’s always stressed. We knew exactly what to expect last week and there wasn’t any surprise along those lines. Each opponent is different and they feature different styles, so we see exactly what… Will they ramp the run up a little bit? Perhaps.
Q: What have you seen as the reason that you had the drop off in that category the last couple weeks?
A: They blocked us pretty good, the guys running the ball were pretty good, and we didn’t play it as well.
Q: What’s your level of concern with Josh Brown and the kickoffs?
A: Well, there’s always going to be concern when a guy doesn’t knock it out of the park every time. Hopefully he’ll just settle down and go through his mechanics and trust himself, because I think sometimes he gets a little anxious. The result of that hasn’t been as good as you’d like. I think he’ll settle down.
Q: I think you’ve scored two offensive touchdowns in the last two weeks, is that right?
A: You tell me.
Q: It’s not a malaise obviously, but how do you jumpstart the whole process? You’re going to need points against the Saints.
A: One thing, if we can continue the turnover aspect of it and then also convert at the other end in the green zone, that would help. I think one drive was very frustrating, not getting in the end zone with a touchdown.
Q: But the turnover aspect is a defensive spark.
A: It’s an offensive spark, too, if it comes at the right spot.
Q: But your team is going to have to drive the ball repeatedly, I would think. When this started, there appeared to be more answers on offense than defense. Is that kind of troubling at this point?
A: Anytime you don’t score the way you feel you should, it’s an issue for you. I think everybody is aware of it and working hard to do something about it. The fact that the run game came along a little bit, that’s going to help.
Q: Every coach emphasizes turnovers and forcing them, have you guys done anything differently in terms of emphasis this year? Is it just a luck thing?
A: No, no, it’s not luck. It’s hard work. It starts from day one and that’s the emphasis. We have fundamental drills, core drills that I call them. The first two, however you want to put them, are tackling and takeaways.
Q: Can you count on takeaways?
A: You can coach the heck of it, yeah, you sure can. Look around the league, watch the number of people that are punching the ball out. It’s well-coached.
Q: Is there anything different that Spagnuolo has brought in with that?
A: Emphasis. Continued emphasis on it.
Q: The running backs, in terms of the distribution for the guys. Obviously you have four guys. Is it game specific do you think or is it one of those things where Darkwa showed enough that he’s going to get more of a role?
A: There are roles and, fortunately, we have four guys to do that. Can you have enough snaps for four? Maybe not. But on a game to game basis, you can, you certainly can. We’ll continue to analyze the opponent, where we think we need to be able to utilize the talents of the guys we have.
Q: How much difference did you see in Odell Beckham this week than maybe the last few weeks?
A: He practiced well yesterday.
Q: Did he come through it okay?
A: Yup.
