BRADSHAW BIDING HIS TIME
Head coach TOM COUGHLIN today reiterated that the failure to get RB AHMAD BRADSHAW involved in Thursday’s home opener against Washington was nothing more than not having the opportunity to work the second year running back into the mix.
“It is discussed about how we are going to use them and if the situations come up, that is one thing,” Coughlin said of planning a rotation at any position. “If they don’t, then it becomes how we distribute guys on special teams. We have some talented guys that all can make strong contributions and throughout the course of the 16 games, they are going to have to. And just as we saw last year you will see that the opportunity will be there. Everybody will contribute.”
But not unless there’s an injury or if either BRANDON JACOBS or DERRICK WARD stumble. “They understand that throughout the course of a game there may not be as many opportunities,” Coughlin said. “There is not going to be an even distribution. When a guy has a chance, sometimes he gets the hot hand and you stay with him. But the other night we were rushing the ball pretty well and so the opportunity didn’t present itself.”
So how does Bradshaw feel about having to wait his turn for at least another week?
“I’m cool with it.”
TRAITOR MIKE?
If MICHAEL STRAHAN'S former teammates were upset about his selection of the Dallas Cowboys as the team to beat, no one was admitting top it. In fact, several of the Giants players actually got a kick out of Strahan’s prediction.
“It is fine,” said QB ELI MANNING. “Dallas is a good team and I have learned a long time ago that those predictions in pregame don’t mean a whole lot. Now they are even predicting people’s stats per game I saw, and that is before the game. They can predict whatever they want, but it is a matter of going out there and playing the game.”
“I think it is something about being on TV every day that makes guys say things like that,” said DE JUSTIN TUCK. “Give Stray credit to the fact that he didn’t say anything that was going to make it that every time they show his highlights on the jumbotron the stadium is going to boo. I think he accomplished exactly what he wanted to get accomplished. We are sitting here talking about it and I think that is exactly what he wanted out of it.”
Tuck added, “Do I really think he thinks that Dallas is going to win the Super Bowl? No, and even if he did think that, if he really thought it, I don’t think he would say it on national TV. He is a Giant at heart and he hates the Cowboys just as much as anybody else in this locker room, so for him to say that I think it has some underlying motives.”
Said WR PLAXICO BURRESS, “Coming from Mike, I wouldn’t expect anything less from him. He says things that kind of get you fired up a little bit, but he knows as well as we know that he is a New York Giant forever, but everybody has a job to do and if he feels that way, I don’t have a problem with it.”
Perhaps the best reaction came from LB ANTNIO PIERCE, who with a straight face said, “Hey if I was on TV, I’d probably pick Dallas too.”
PRACTICE SQUAD MOVE
The Giants signed former Ole Miss WR TAYE BIDDLE to their practice squad. Biddle, who had three catches for 37 yards last year with Carolina, takes the place of WR MARCUS MONK, who was waived.
HIXON STILL HURTING?
Although he returned to action last week against the Redskins after missing practice time with a sore back, one gets the feeling that WR DOMENIK HIXON isn’t quite at 100 percent. When asked if he was planning to get Hixon, who had won the kickoff returner job in training camp, back into the lineup at that position, Coughlin said, “We are inclined to use him in all the ways we prepared to use him once we have a pretty good feeling that he is out of woods in terms of (his back) --- I don’t want to set him back.”
INJURY UPDATE
Coughlin didn’t have any update on the status of PK LAWRENCE TYNES. We keep hearing that Tynes won’t be back until after the bye week at the soonest.
As for DE MATHIAS KIWANUKA, Coughlin didn’t sound very optimistic about having him for Wednesday’s practice. Kiwanuka, remember was injured on the final play of the Giants-Washington game when he was pulled down from behind by Redskins OT Chris Samuels. “He is sore and he does have some swelling so it takes time. I would hope Wednesday we are going to get something done with him. But that is just speculation.”
SPEAKING OF INJURIES
I know it’s big news in the NFL, but I still found it rather amusing that many of the questions coming from the TV reporters today were about the reported season-ending injury suffered by New England QB Tom Brady. So lest I be accused of not being on the ball when it comes to reporting the news, here is some of what the Giants had to say about the devastating loss suffered by the Patriots (and no, I’m not talking about Super Bowl XLII),
Head coach TOM COUGHLIN: “We as coaches in this league and as administrators, all of the franchises, really, we don’t want anybody to get hurt. To have a player of that magnitude to get hurt – and I don’t know any of the details; I just know what you know what you know -- it is just very, very unfortunate.”
QB ELI MANNING: “I don’t know the situation exactly, but hopefully it is not bad. As a quarterback, you like to see all quarterbacks stay healthy and all players stay healthy to play the season.”
DE JUSTIN TUCK: “I am glad he wasn’t number 10 on this team. I know what a quarterback, especially a quarterback of the caliber of Tom Brady, means to a team and in his case what it means to the NFL. He was our MVP last year and he is well-respected around this league not only as a great football player, but as a good human being, too. I wish Tom the best and I wish him a speedy recovery.”
IT’S EARLY BUT
The Giants haven’t formally been introduced to the St. Louis Rams, their next opponent on the schedule – that will come on Wednesday after the coaches spend tomorrow game-planning. But that doesn’t mean that some members the team didn’t spend Sunday watching the Philadelphia Eagles paste the Rams 38-3, a game in which QB Donovan McNabb and Kevin Kolbe threw for a combined 414 yards and three touchdowns.
So what can one learn from watching the game on television?
“Not a whole lot,” said QB ELI MANNING. “You can see little bits and pieces of what they are doing, but you really have to see the film that we have where you get all the angles and you can see what the safeties are doing and exactly how they are playing. We got the film in late today so we got to see about the first 15 plays or so, but it looks like they do have some complex things with different blitzes and different looks so we have to have a great week and prepare, have a great plan, and go out there and execute.”
“That gives you an idea just to watch how the personnel get utilized,” added head coach TOM COUGHLIN. “You are able to see some of the things; not everything you want to see. It does give you a better feeling than watching preseason.”
Coughlin cautioned reporters to not be fooled by the final score of the Rams-Eagles game. “They are a very talented team. All you have to do is look at their personnel. They are a very talented team.”
WHAT IF…
When asked what he would do if he ever had a kicker go down in a game similar to what happened with the Jets, Coughlin said he’d probably have P JEFF FEAGLES do something with the extra points. What e didn’t answer though is who would take Feagles’ spot as the holder.
ARMSTEAD JOINS TEAM FULL TIME
Former Giants LB JESSIE ARMSTEAD, who has worked for the Giants as a voluntary coach, has joined the team full-time. His new title is special assistant/consultant.
“He is primarily going to be working with the coaching staff with special projects for them and specialize in some defensive assignments,” general manager JERRY REESE said. “He will also assist CHARLES WAY in player development. Jessie’s duties will include recruiting free agents in as well. He’s really good with our football players, he’s a natural leader, good with the players, and he does a nice job staying in his lane but challenging the players to be better out there. We’re happy to have him back home.”
