Train-a Thought

Coaches Speak as Minicamp Concludes

The Giants concluded their three-day mandatory minicamp with what pretty much was a walk-though practice (no 11-on-11 work today). We also had access to the three coordinators, so  let me run down some of the highlights worth noting from the three separate media sessions. 

Day 2 Minicamp Report: Afternoon Practice

Here’s your afternoon practice report.

OTA Practice Report: June 11, 2010

Today’s OTA, the last one before the mandatory three-day minicamp that starts on Tuesday, was actually a shortened affair as there was no 11-on-11s to report on. 

OTA Notebook: May 21, 2010

Although today was the third OTA for the Giants, this was the first time the offense and defense mixed to challenge each other.

Giants Notebook: April 9, 2010

It was a busy day yesterday between the tour of the new stadium and preparing for the latest installment of "NY Giants Talk."

Giants Notebook: April 8, 2010

Just a few bits and pieces.

Giants Notebook: March 25, 2010

The first media access day of the new offseason was a busy one.

Giants Look to Shore Up Defense Against Opposing Tight Ends

After Dallas’ TE Jason Witten’s big game against New York – 14 catches for 158 yards – against the Giants, head coach Tom Coughlin was asked about the success the opposing tight ends have had this year against his defense and if there’s something lacking in the scheme that still needs to be tweaked.

“If you go overboard trying to take one thing away, you’re giving yourself some problems in other areas,” he said. “You can always do something, but if you do, you have to be prepared to –- it is calculated –- where you are vulnerable.”

I went back and looked at the stats, and guess what? Witten isn't the only tight end that has enjoyed a big day against the Giants this season.

December 3, 2009 Notebook

As usual, there were some interesting nuggets to come out of the weekly media session with the two coordinators. Here are a few highlights...

== Several people have asked me if defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan might move upstairs to the press box like he originally wanted to do. Well today he was asked that question again, and his response, for those who missed it the first time, was as follows: "No.  And really that hasn’t been an issue.  I know I initially thought ideally that is the way I would like to do it.  But now after ‘x’ number of games, that is not even an issue at all, no. "

==Sheridan also confirmed that Jonathan Goff is going to play MLB this week. "We just want to play Jon.  He is a guy who has been developing and we have a lot of faith in him.  We just wanted to give him an opportunity to play.  Chase is still going to play.  We didn’t feel we needed to make a move. We just wanted to get Jon on the field – get some of the younger guys who haven’t played much that we think are going to be good players.  So that was our thinking there.  We were not disappointed in Chase at all and Chase is going to play." 

==Sheridan on whether Aaron Ross is ready to be a full time safety: "That is a good question.  We are working him that way and because Michael Johnson may very well be out he is getting more reps now even in first and second downs as a safety.  And so it is like any position, any guy playing a new position – there is a lot of development that goes on, not only from a technique but just learning the schemes and what it is like to play from that vantage point.  That is obviously completely different than lining up as a corner.  So he is developing and doing a good job.  We are working him that way – toward trying to be able to play more regular downs."

Sheridan also added that if MMichael Johnson is out this week, Ross will see increased snaps at safety.

==On the chemistry between Sheridan and the players:  "Excellent. It is good.  You would have to talk to the players about that, but in my mind it is excellent.  I have an excellent rapport with every single guy on our defensive team – unless you know something that I don’t know."

==Offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride on whether he can see a game in which Brandon Jacobs stays on the field: "Hopefully. I don’t know. Hopefully his health will allow him to." 

* * *

Still no roster move yet. As I suspected, the Giants are waiting to see how bad Michael Johnson and Ahmad Bradshaw really are for the long term rather than jumping the un and picking up a player for what might be a tetemporary situation.

Speaking of the injury report, RB DJ Ware (concussion), S Michael Johnson (groin), and RB Ahmad Bradshaw (foot/ankles) didn't practice today, (Bradshaw and Johnson did go through the team's morning job-thru however.). WR Derek Hagan (hamstring) was limited, and QB Eli Manning (foot) and LB Michael Boley (back) practiced fully.

* * *

In addition to the expected change at middle linebacker, don't be surprised if Mathias Kiwanuka is rotated a bit  more into the mix on certain rushing downs for Osi Umenyiora. Since head coach Tom Coughlin appears to be placing a premium on doing a better job of stopping the run,  this move would make sense. the Giants like to rotate their linemen anyway. 

Giants Notebook: December 2, 2009

== DT Chris Canty, in a conference call with the Dallas media, believes it’s simply a matter of the Giants returning to the formula that made them so successful earlier in the season. “We have to refocus on some things that it takes and understanding how we win football games and who we are, and we have to get back to those things and enjoy playing the game. I think if we do those things, we’ll give ourselves the best opportunity to be successful on the field."

== RB DJ Ware (concussion) did not practice today and has been declared out  by the Giants for Sunday’s game against Dallas.  With RB Ahmad Bradshaw (ankles/foot) also iffy for Sunday, that means rookie Gartrell Johnson could step up and see significant playing time in the Giants’ offense.

Johnson, who was active for the first time last week after being inactive for the previous four weeks, said that he prepares himself every week as though he’s going to play “It’s part of being a professional,” he said. “You have to get yourself ready every week.”

However he realizes that this week he might have to do a little bit more to get himself ready, something he has fully embraced. “This week I’m more honed into things; I could get thrown in any time, so I’m alert and I’m ready.”

== LB Jonathan Goff tried to downplay the likelihood that he’ll be making is first NFL start on Sunday in place of Chase Blackburn at middle linebacker. “That’s not certain yet,” he said when asked if the coaches had informed him of any promotions. “Whatever role they want to put me in, I’m ready for the team.”

Goff said that if he does receive an increased role, he’s more than ready to face the challenges. “I’ve been working hard all season. I’ve been studying just as much as the other guys so that whenever an opportunity would come along, I’d be ready to step in.  So whatever happens this week, I’m ready to step in,” he said.

An added bonus Goff will have if he is asked to step in will be having LB Antonio Pierce on the sideline. Goff, who has long been believed to be Pierce’s successor, gave a lot of credit to Pierce for helping him make the transition to the pros and in getting himself ready for increased responsibility.

“He’s been a great role model and a great leader for us all the way,” Goff said. “He was out there today, and just seeing him around is inspiring. He’s a great guy – he’s a leader.”

The second-year linebacker shrugged when asked if Pierce has given him any specific advice that’s made a difference in his preparation. “Nothing more than the usual because if I have a question about something, he’d be one of the guys that I’d ask.”

== Rounding out the rest of the Giants injury report, LB Michael Boley (back) went through the full practice as did QB Eli Manning (foot). WR Derek Hagan (hamstring) was limited. S Michael Johnson (groin) did not practice.

== According to a Giants team spokesperson, there won't be an announcement today regarding the open roster spot that became available when Antonio Pierce was placed on injured reserve. One theory is that the team is taking a wait-and-see approach regarding the availability of RB Ahmad Bradshaw for Sunday's game before deciding whether to bring in another running back or a player at a different position.
 

Giants Hoping Solid Practice Week Helps End Three-Game Skid

Giants RB Brandon Jacobs came into work on Wednesday morning determined to take control of a situation and make a difference.

“I said on Wednesday morning that I was going to be that guy to come in and jump on people’s backs when it doesn’t look like they’re working hard and about 40 other guys had the same mentality. It was crazy.”

Crazy or not, it’s worked so far as with two days of preparation in the books for their Sunday matchup against the San Diego Chargers, Jacobs and his teammates said they’ve noticed a definite change in attitude, preparation and attention to detail that might not have always been there during the last three weeks.

“I think yesterday and today were both solid days of practice,” Jacobs said. “Guys had a lot of energy and were flying around and making some plays. I think this will be a good week for us.  A lot of guys are willing to step up and go make plays.”

Cornerback Terrell Thomas said it was all a matter of going back to square one after realizing that the habits formed in practice the last three weeks were not getting them anywhere.

“Going into this week, we were like going to revamp everything and treat it like week one,” he said. “We were going to run to the ball and do whatever we need to do to change things around because obviously what we’ve been doing hasn’t been working.” 

The changes have been working so far as players have noticed a significant improvement in the little things. “Our attention to details is what’s stood out to me most,” said DE Mathias Kiwanuka. “Everyone is focused and ready to go as you’re doing the little things and trying to get everything right the first time, and that’s important to us in practice.”

Jacobs, who was sporting a T-shirt that was emblazoned with “LEADER” on the front and “FOLLOWER” on the back, agreed that some of the team’s urgency and fun has been lost during the three-game losing streak. But this week, the clouds are slowly dissipating as the Giants are remembering how much fun it is to play football again.

“I see it coming back --  there’s been a lot of laughs, a lot of giggles, and a lot of plays are being made,” he said. “I see a lot of guys who are ready to play football.  We have guys running around, flying around, making a lot of noise and everyone has been ‘that guy’ to get on someone else when they’re not doing it right.”

Despite the general consensus that the practice week has been productive, it won’t mean anything unless it transfers over to the playing field on Sunday. And that’s something that is impossible to gauge given the practices are not quite run at game speed. 

“You’ll never know,” Thomas allowed. “All you can do is practice good habits. When the ball is in the air, attack it. Turn the ball back on the run, run to the ball – all the fundamentals in practice you just want to keep harping on them and hopefully on Sunday by practicing better during the week it’s going to show on Sunday.”

“It was all pretty easy to correct once we knew what we needed to correct,” added Kiwanuka. “There were a lot of corrections that were made, so we’ll see this Sunday whether everyone really took it to heart.”

Pierce Calls Self “Biggest Culprit” in Defensive Woes

Giants MLB Antonio Pierce is a prideful individual who’s never been shy with sharing his thoughts.  But this week, Pierce said he’s done talking off the field and is instead focusing on revving up his game in hopes of being one of the contributing factors to help turn around a Giants defense that has been embarrassed beyond words the last three weeks.

“We don’t need to talk; we can talk on Sundays,” Pierce said. “Right now our talk is doing nothing for us so we have to go back to what Coach Coughlin preaches – ‘Talk is cheap, play the game.’ We have to go out there this Sunday as it’s one of our biggest games of the year.”

The Giants are hoping to steady a ship that has seen its defense repeatedly gashed and embarrassed by opponents. According to Pierce,  the problems on defense have extended beyond the Xs and Os. There have been mental errors, miscommunications, and guys not knowing where they’re supposed to be. In short, the Giants defense has made numerous mistakes that have resulted in their being knocked hard off their pedestal where earlier in the season, they enjoyed their position amongst the league’s top ranked defenses. 

“I think it’s about our star payers or who people considering to be our star players playing like stars. They guys who are solid and contribute need to contribute even more. Everyone needs to do a little more right now. Obviously what we’re doing right now isn’t working.

“It has nothing to do with Xs and Os. Sometimes you have to go above the Xs and Os, play a little harder and do the little things , have energy and show some kind of energy and passion about the game because it passes you by pretty quick and we don’t want to see the season pass us by.”

To his credit, Pierce acknowledged his partin the defense's problems.  “I’ve probably been the biggest culprit of everything,” he said. “If I’m the guy they call the leader of the defense , then I need to do a better job, and I plan on doing that this week.”

In the meantime, head coach Tom Coughlin said he plans on challenging his leaders to look within and do some constructive self scouting in terms of identifying what they can do better. Pierce, however, said it’s unnecessary for the coach to do so because the circumstances that have come about thanks to their three-game losing streak are all the challenge they need.

“We’re on a three-game losing streak, and we’re turning into pretty much the laughing stock as far as how we play on defense,  so he doesn’t need to call any of us out this week,”  he said. “We had a very good practice today. Guys were focused and energetic, just what we needed – probably one of our best Wednesdays so far. This is a big game coming up. We’re going into our bye week and the second half of our season, and we need to change things and get back on the winning track.”

* * *

LB Michael Boley, who is coming off knee surgery, estimated that he took about 50 percent of the snaps in today’s workout and he was optimistic about his recovery. However, Boley stopped short of saying that he would be ready to go this weekend when the Giants host the San Diego Chargers.

“It’s a young season. It’s not one of those cases where I say I’m rushing to get back.  The season is still young and we still have another half of the season. There’s no hurry.”

Boley though, didn’t deny that he was encouraged by the progress he’s made. “It was great to be able to run around a little bit with my teammates instead of working on the side with the trainers. If it were up to me, I’d play every week. But I think this is a big step forward. I think it’s one of those things where in my mind that starting with today and seeing how things go throughout the week, I could play, it’s possible but then again, we’ll have to see how things go."

Certainly the Giants would love to have Boley’s athleticism back in the lineup and Boley admitted that he’d like to be back in there. But he knows that he has to continue to be smart with managing his injury lest he suffer a setback.

 “I don’t think I suffered any setbacks today as far as the things I’ve done," he said. "The only thing I can do is take whatever my knee gives me. I can’t sit here and say I’m 100% right now, but we’ll see how the week goes.”

While Boley didn’t rule himself out for Sunday, he dismissed the notion that he would wait until after the bye week to return to action regardless. “I’m not going to look at the bye week as another chance to have a week off; that’s not what I want at all,” he said. “There’s no guy in here that will say he wants an extra week off from the game.”

* * *

Normally the Giants look at the season as a sprint rather than a marathon, which means they don’t place any extra emphasis on any one game. However, this week is the exception given what’s at stake, at least according to QB Eli Manning.

“You don’t like to put too much pressure on one game, but I think in this scenario, that’s what you have to do,” Manning said of the need for his team to snap its three-game losing streak. “We need to get a win going into the bye week and get back to paying our style of football and performing better than we have been. Don’t think too much about it; just do our job.”

Manning, meanwhile, continues to insist that he’s physically fine and that his foot has not been a factor in his performance when it comes to his mechanics. “I think my mechanics are fine,” he said. “You can get off a little bit, but it’s all repetition and getting back to it in practice. You can see something from week to week you want to fix.

“I think for the most part, I’m throwing the ball pretty accurately. There are always a few throws you want to have back but for us, it’s about getting back to being consistent and getting into our rhythm and not getting so down that we get out of our style of offense.”

* * *

DT Chris Canty said that as far as he was aware, he participated fully and he’s hoping that like in days past, he’ll come in tomorrow no worse for the wear.

When he does return to game action, Canty feels that one advantage he’ll have is his fresh legs. “I think that’s one of the biggest things I have going for me,” he said. “I haven’t through the grind of the last eight week like everyone else, so I have to use that to my advantage. There are some things I have to work on and there’s a lot of football I’ve missed. I have to use whatever I have going for me in those circumstances.”

Canty dismissed the idea that the defense has been missing a swagger during the losing streak. “I’m not going to say that. I think it’s just a matter of everyone getting on the same page and going out there and executing. We have some tremendous football players on this team in all three facets of the game. I really think it’s just a matter of going out there and playing together as a team.”

One challenge that still remains for Canty is getting into ‘football shape.’ “That definitely comes from the game,” he said. “Even though we try to simulate the game speed and temp in practice, there’s nothing like the game speed, game tempo.”

So does he think he'll be ready for Sunday? “Absolutely,” he said without hesitating.

* * *

CB Aaron Ross said he is optimistic of being able to return to at least individual drills next week during the team’s bye. Ross has been running and stretching on the sidelines and reported that he’s had no pain or soreness of late, which has him optimistic about his chances for a return. “I won’t know completely until there’s a guy standing in front of me,” he said about his precise progress, “But I do feel good right now.”

Hakeem Nicks Wins NFL "Offensive Rookie of the Month" Honors

Hakeem Nicks is only a rookie, but when he speaks sometimes, he sounds like a guy who’s been around the league for a number of years. So it was no surprised to hear the receiver speak in humble terms about his receiving the NFL’s "Offensive Rookie of the Month" honors for games played in October.

“I’m very excited about it, but I don’t want to let it get to my head,” he said. “I just want to keep on doing what I’m doing and stay humble and keep on competing.”

Head coach Tom Coughlin praised the rookie for accelerating his progress despite missing some time earlier in the year with a foot injury. “He has made outstanding progress and contributed pretty much game in and game out. When given opportunities, he has performed. And there is certainly more to go – refinement, detail work that type of thing.”

Nicks said he kept himself sharp during his downtime by staying focused in meetings and remaining alert. “I made sure I was in every single meeting and that I knew what was going on outside on the field when I couldn’t participate,” he said. “I also took a lot of advice from my teammates like (Domenik Hixon) and (Steve) Smith  -- those guys are always looking out for you and I look forward to hearing what they have to say.”

Nicks said it’s not hard for him to keep himself humble despite playing a position which has traditionally produced a lot of attention-seeking divas. “I think it’s just my character, my mentality,” he said of his ability to remain humble. “I really don’t think it’s hard to stay humble, not in my eyes. You just do your job, keep your mouth shut and produce.”

This weekend, he will have a chance on Sunday to continue his award-winning play as against the Philadelphia Eagles, he’s going to go against a defense that he said has a similar philosophy to what he practices against every day. “It’s going to be very competitive,” he said with a smile. “There are some opportunities there. They’re a good defense and they fly around. You have to get into the film room and pay attention to the little things that they do and just be good out there on the field.”

And if things don’t go according to plan, Nicks said it’s important to stay the course. “When things don’t go our way, we have to stay calm and keep on punching it and hopefully things will turn around.”

* * *

The Giants have certainly not forgotten how the Eagles embarrassed them last January in the NFC Divisional playoffs. They also haven’t forgotten the bush league move made by Eagles QB Donovan McNabb when following a scramble, McNabb continued into the Giants’ sideline and picked up a team phone, which inspired newspapers to run the headline “Tampa is calling!” the next day.

Nine months later, McNabb, who was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct for that action, refused to apologize for his actions and said he’s not worried about the Giants' using them as motivation on Sunday.

"No, I don’t have any regrets for doing it," McNabb said via conference call.  "In this game, do you really need any psychological motivation? I don’t think so. If you need any little thing that happened during a game last year or years before, then really you’re not truly focused on week in and week out trying to be the best at what you do."

Even Eagles head coach Andy Reid made light of McNabb’s action. "He must've had somebody he wanted to talk to," Reid quipped.

However, the Eagles head coach, who’s normally a very conservative leader, did say that he had a conversation with McNabb about the action, but then added, "He called me. He called me after the game."

* * *

The Giants injury list is shrinking. Not working today were DT Chris Canty (calf), CB Aaron Ross (hamstring),  LB Michael Boley (knee), and RB Ahmad Bradshaw (foot). Bradshaw was not out on the practice field for the part of practice open to the media.

RT Kareem McKenzie (groin) took about half of the snaps in today’s practice, sharing time with rookie Will Beatty, who started in McKenzie’s place on Sunday. McKenzie said on Monday that he was hopeful of being able to return to the starting lineup this weekend against the Eagles.

* * *

Speaking of Canty, he said he is starting to see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel regarding his calf injury, for which he had surgery three weeks ago.  “It’s getting to the point now where I can definitely start doing some things,” he said. “I felt good out there.”

Canty, who was limited to a few individual drills and working with the team trainers on pushing and pulling to make sure his power and ability were there, said that it’s going to be a matter of shaking off the rust for him these next few days.

“It’s a day-to-day thing;  it really is,” he said of his progress. “Last week I was very encouraged about how everything was progressing. We have definitely done some things to hasten the process of healing and it’s kind of carried over to this week, and we’re doing more on the practice field, and I’m looking forward to doing more tomorrow.

While he’s been sidelined, Canty has remained focused mentally on learning the defense by watching how his teammates playing various situations and , studying film. “I hate to use this term, but it’s almost been like being a ‘red-shirt’ freshman,” he said. “There are always way to constantly improve. If you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse. So hopefully I’ll be able to get out there very soon and help my team. “

But Canty is also a realist in that he knows that its’ been a while since he’s hit anyone in a game. But he is confident that will come together for him soon and that his fresh legs might give him a competitive advantage. “I hope so. I’d like to come in and have fresh legs and possibly be able to get a quick step on someone here and there,” he said. “At the same time,  I haven’t hit anyone since week one, so I have to get into hitting shape, and that’s a process.”

How long that process takes, though, is another story. “It’s hard to say,” Canty said when asked for an estimation as to how long it might take for him to get back to his old self once he’s fully cleared to do everything in practice. “I’ll tell you this much. It’s probably going to take a few games to get into a groove, but I’ve got to be able to help the team and execute the defense. If I can’t do that, then I won’t be on the football field. I don’t’ foresee that being an issue.”

It's a  process that Canty is eagerly looking forward to undertaking as soon as possible.

* * *

Eagles head coach Andy Reid said that RB Brian Westbrook (concussion) and WR DeSean Jackson (ankle) would not practice today. Westbrook is “day-to-day” while Jackson is expected to be back at practice later this week.

“He’s an excellent football player, and has been for a long time,” said Giants head coach Tom Coughlin. “We wish him well…maybe in another week or two.”

Back to the Drawing Board

The Giants wasted no time in getting right to work on cleaning up the numerous problems that emerged in yesterday’s blowout by the New Orleans Saints. Holding a rare “correction day” practice, the focus was on all aspects of the ball, not just the defensive side.

A more valid question though to ask is whether the problems that showed up in Sunday’s performance were simply a one-time deal or just problems that might have been overlooked in weeks’ past suddenly being magnified given the outcome.

“Not really,” said CB Corey Webster. “I think everyone was kind of doing what they were supposed to be doing. They had a great game plan with a lot of things we hadn’t seen before. We have to do a better job of scouting ourselves to see what people are going to throw at us and how they’re going to attack us.”

Safety C.C. Brown agreed. “I think this was something that just showed up this game.  We pretty much got on our high horse. It was an eye-opener. Bottom line is we didn’t do our technique right.”

“They just out-executed us,” said CB Terrell Thomas. “We just didn’t make plays when the ball was in the air. We were definitely on track with our calls and everyone had an understanding of what was going to be made. They made more plays than we did.”

Head coach Tom Coughlin said it was important to give credit where credit was due. “I think you have to start first by saying that they are the number one scoring team in the league they’re averaging 36 points a game, which is a lot of points.

“They made plays on some simple things where they just went up and got the ball. The quarterback is confident enough to throw it up and they got into position to make plays on the ball even though we had people in position on occasions. They just weren’t able to get up to where the receiver was to challenge the catch.

We didn’t cover the play action crosses very well. At times there were people who were out of position a little bit – not just the secondary people – but perhaps we could have gotten some pressure had we been absolutely aligned properly for some of our pressures. But we didn’t get it done.”

So where do the Giants go from here? “We take the film and the whipping we took, and we go back and start working hard,” said Webster. “We have to go back to the drawing board and work hard to correct all those things we made mistakes on.”

To do that, Webster said he anticipated a lot of teammates to be closely scrutinizing the film and to use the bad feeling that resulted from their poor showing as extra motivation to show people that they can hold their own against good passing offenses, such as the Arizona Cardinals, whom they’ll face this weekend. 

“We want to go out there and be great every game,” he said. “It’s all there in black and white on the film. We just have to study and work to get it all fixed.”

 Naturally, people wanted to know if the fix to the problems might include personnel changes, whether it’s via a trade or a shakeup of the existing personnel.

 “We’re aware of the availability of whomever,” Coughlin said regarding a possible trade or waiver wire transaction, “but at this point in time, I don’t have anything for you.”

When he was asked if he was considering moving a cornerback to safety Coughlin said, “I sure would like to get our whole roster back together.”

When asked if that mean would he have to wait for Aaron Ross to get back, he smiled and said, “That’s not for me to say just yet.”

* * *

Here’s an update on the injured players…

CB Aaron Ross (hamstring). Ross said he wanted to try to do some running today, but that the medical staff held him back because they didn’t feel he was ready. Ross has said he’s feeling better.

RT Kareem McKenzie (groin). Coughlin said that he’s doing “a little better” today. However, Coughlin wouldn’t say if McKenzie suffered a strain or a tear. “Whatever they call it – strain, I don’t know what the word was. I’m not going to tell you that word wasn’t – I didn’t hear that word. There wasn’t as much bleeding as there could have been. Strain, tear -- I’m not sure what the word is.”
Call it a gut feeling, but I suspect McKenzie won’t practice much if any this week.

WR Mario Manningham (back). Manningham insisted it was nothing serious while Coughlin was a bit more cautious in how he described the injury and whether it affects Manningham’s availability. “We won’t know till Wednesday, but we’re hoping he’s going to be fine.”

DT Chris Canty. Canty told reporters that “This is the best the calf has felt since I injured it” and that he’s “excited about the progress he’s made.”

Canty said that there have been no discussions about how soon he’d actually be able to get back into a game once he’s cleared to practice. He was asked if the team’s medical staff told him how soon he’d be able to return to practice. “Day to day,” he said, adding that the swelling “has gone down significantly” since last week.

Coughlin, however, said he didn’t think Canty would be able to do anything this week. “Right now he’s listed as out for Wednesday.”

LB Michael Boley. Boley said his meniscus injury wasn’t as bad as the doctors initially thought it was and that he was confident he’d be back “pretty quickly.”  

Giants Notebook: Frustrated Jacobs Confident Things Will Turn Around

It doesn’t take much guesswork to see that Giants RB Brandon Jacobs is clearly frustrated by his posted stats to date.

But despite his frustration, he’s determined to stay the course, confident that his 3.6 yards per carry average will improve.

“I’m carrying the ball and people see me, and see nothing else. So I’ll take the blame. A lot of people really don’t know what’s going on. When something happens, -- the wide receiver runs the route and there is a tipped ball, it’s on the quarterback because that’s what people see. It’s the same thing. I am going out there, I’m playing and I’m doing the best I can for my team.

I’m not worried; it's going to come together." 

Jacobs was asked if it makes it easier to see his running mate, Ahmad Bradshaw, excel. “Not really. He has a different running style that what I have and a lot of the stuff suits him perfectly. If someone’s running free, he is able to see him real quick, make him miss and do something. Me, I’m 6-4, 265 pounds. I’m supposed to run into people. I’m supposed to take someone out. If I don’t do that, I’m terrible.

"It is what it is.”

* * *

Nothing of significance from head coach Tom Coughlin today as his 89-second press conference was probably the shortest I can remember.

I guess the only things of note included David Carr taking some snaps as Eli Manning remains limited by design, and the news that RB Ahmad Bradshaw, who spends Wednesdays and Thursdays in a walking boot not practicing, could be seeing an increase in his practice reps as soon as next week.

“The original thought was maybe starting next week or the week after, he might get some snaps during the week too,” Coughlin said.

So there you have it – nothing really major from the coach – unless you count his revelation that Justin Tuck’s trip to the men’s room during the part of practice open to the media was nothing more than a routine potty break.