Tom Coughlin
Q: Do you have an update on Ahmad Bradshaw?
A: We expect him to practice tomorrow like usual. He has struggled a little bit with the back but hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.
Q: What did you think about today’s practice?
A: It was good energy, real good energy. Still some stuff to clean up but good energy. Guys were flying around and did a nice job all the way through.
Q: What about Webster’s hamstring and Grant’s quad?
A: Just so we don’t get any issues. We did the same thing last week with Webster. Grant, you saw him in the game, so we thought we’d be careful of that and not have any problems going forward. Just limited.
Eli Manning
Q: Is it good to have the ‘us against the world’ mentality?
A: I have not sensed that for three or four weeks, but certainly we could take a straw poll here and it is ‘us against the world,’ no doubt about that. We haven’t really pushed any buttons in regards to that but the truth and the reality are what they are.
Q: What is your message about belief?
A: You have to believe. All things are possible for those who believe. We have been working that one real hard for a while. That is a major theme of ours and ‘keep the dream alive’ is another one.
Q: What is a ‘road warrior’ mentality?
A: Mental toughness is what I think it is. It is a perfectly disciplined will that refuses to give in, that is persistent and will battle through the good and the bad, the physical side of the game but also the mental side of the game, the resiliency and just the ability to see things through until the end and believing that you are going to win.
Q: Was Ware able to do something?
A: Yes, he did.
Q: Do you feel like he is on the path to play?
A: He is on the path.
Q: If one of your defenders were to get beat and gives the guy a tap on the butt, how would you feel about that?
A: I don’t see any of that happening. I know if I got beat, that would be the least likely thing that I would do. I am not sure if you have a specific reference or not. If you are talking about the game and the highly competitiveness of the game and the seriousness of the game and where the game is, guys are going to play hard. We have great respect for the Packers. They are going to play hard and guys are going to play hard on both sides of the ball. They are going to do the very, very best they can but during the course of the game, I think it is going to be competitive.
Q: Do you remember Woodson doing that fist bump to Hakeem and what did you think about that?
A: I remember that. I thought it was an acknowledgement of respect, that’s all. From a very, very good football player and a veteran player that leads the league in interceptions.
Q: Is that balance that you have on offense something you strive for?
A: It is what we strive for from day one and on but it has been very good that last few weeks. It has been very good because of the nature of the way our defense has played and improved and on special teams. We didn’t start out very good with the run but we stuck with it.
Q: What do you say about them missing some key players the first time around?
A: They were and they were missing a couple linebackers, too. It is a part of game and we were missing a couple, too. As I read, everyone is back now and they are healthy.
Q: Can your aggressiveness change during the game depending on the calls?
A: No, what we talk about is when the ball is snapped, play through the whistle and play great whistle effort. The physicality of the game, meaning turn the run back, run the ball and be aggressive but not anywhere near outside of the game. That is not what we talk about.
Q: Can you talk about the job Weatherford has done?
A: He was outstanding last week. When you have a weapon such as Weems or whoever, we have faced a number of good returners in the last weeks both punt return and kickoff return. The fact that there was no punt return yardage although we would like to have the touchback go out of bounds at the three, the three balls that he did kick out of bounds were well placed. They were good directional punts and helped us tremendously because of the nature of the returner.
Q: Does your physicality change from week to week?
A: No, you just try to win the physical battle.
IMG Speakers client Eli Manning is scheduled to appear on Saturday Night Live this weekend. He sat in the audience, laughing along, when his brother Peyton hosted in 2007. Eli said he and his brother were comfortable poking fun at themselves.
