Giant Football Blog

Old School Tom doesn't mind the trash talk

Tom Coughlin has heard plenty of big talk from his players during the run-up to Super Bowl XLVI. He also hasn’t forgotten that Tom Brady kicked the week off by doing some talking, too.

Though the Giants downplayed it all week, Coughlin clearly took notice of what Brady said at a pep rally back in Foxborough last Sunday when he told the crowd of 25,000, “Hopefully we have a lot more people at our party next weekend.” It was trash talk in its mildest form.

And Coughlin said the constant chatter coming from his players all week long wasn’t any worse.

“I know that there are one or two quotes out there, but to be honest with you, I don’t know that either one of them is any different than Tom Brady’s quotes,” Coughlin said Friday at his final press conference before Super Bowl Sunday. “I think it’s just a matter of our team has played good football against great football teams. (continue)

Coughlin's last stand

Chris Mara was only 12 years old when he stood on the sideline for the first preseason meeting between the Giants and Jets at the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Conn. He'll never forget the look on his father's face after the Jets, who had won Super Bowl III only seven months earlier, walloped the Giants, 37-14, in front of more than 70,000.

"He was absolutely livid," Mara, now the Giants' vice president of player evaluations, said of the reaction from his father, former Giants president and co-owner Wellington Mara. "Just seeing his face in the locker room, you could tell. Both teams were fighting for New York in terms of who was more relevant, and it was very important to him."

Wellington Mara didn't say much after that game, but it didn't take long to realize the depths of his outrage. Even though it was only a preseason game, Mara couldn't contain himself much longer. After two more preseason losses, he fired coach Allie Sherman before the start of the regular season, replacing him with former Giants running back Alex Webster.

With the teams now set to play the most important game in the 43-year history of the Giants-Jets rivalry, and the stakes even higher, another loss to the Jets on Saturday might have similar ramifications. If Tom Coughlin can't beat the Jets and outspoken coach Rex Ryan -- whose father, Buddy, was on the Jets' coaching staff in 1969 -- the oldest of Wellington's sons could very well have the same reaction in response to a loss. (continue)

Could this be Coughlin's last stand

The Giants desperately need to beat the Saints on Monday night or the undefeated Super Bowl champion Packers next Sunday at home. A victory in either game would guarantee when they go to Dallas in two weeks they would be playing for first place in the NFC East.

Assuming the Cowboys beat the Cardinals in Arizona next Sunday to get to 8-4, as long as the Giants, who are 6-4, do no worse than split against the Saints and Packers, then they would be 7-5 when they play at Cowboys Stadium on Dec. 11. At that point, a victory would put them back in first place based on the head-to-head tiebreaker.

The outcome of the next three games could be the determining factor whether Tom Coughlin is back next year. The Giants do not want to fire Coughlin. Stability and continuity are rare in the NFL. Coughlin is in his eighth season with the Giants and only Andy Reid, Bill Belichick and Marvin Lewis have been with their teams longer.

But these second-half collapses are getting a little old. It’s the same thing with the Giants every season: They start off 6-2 and then it’s a different team over the final eight games. (continue)

Players not to exceed 15 plays vs Carolina

Giants coach Tom Coughlin said the starters will play 15 to 18 snaps in Saturday’s preseason opener. There will be players affected by injuries who might be on a different pace.

Coughlin expects both Matt Dodge and Steve Weatherford to punt, although only three of the four quarterbacks will play.

“There hasn’t been any evaluation so here we go,” Coughlin said.

“And, you’re playing a preseason game with about 11 practices.”

Tight end Travis Beckum missed his second consecutive practice with a hamstring injury.

The time away is especially costly for Beckum, who is the first-team tight end with the expectations of replacing Kevin Boss. (continue)

 

Giants extend Coughlin one year

Tom Coughlin has agreed to a contract extension through 2012, the Giants announced today. His deal was set to expire at the end of this season.

“As we said after the season, we strongly believe in Tom,” president John Mara said. “We believe in the job he has done, and we believe in his ability to lead our team in the future. Everybody was on the same page in arriving at the extension.” 

Coughlin, who will be 65 next month, faced speculation at the end of last season about his job security. Even though the Giants won the Super Bowl in 2008, the team has failed to make the postseason the last two seasons.The team made it clear at the end of last season that he'd return. (continue)

Plaxico takes shot at Coughlin

It sure sounds as if Plaxico Burress would prefer to play for Rex Ryan than Tom Coughlin.

In an interview yesterday with ESPN's Stephen A. Smith, Burress, who will be a free agent when the NFL lockout ends, called playing for the Jets "appealing," while at the same time terming his relationship with Coughlin, "ambivalent, to say the least."

While Burress mused about a potential second New York Super Bowl-- with Ryan and the Jets -- he said Coughlin too often took the fun out of playing for the Giants. (Post)

Coughlin glad to see players practicing

Coughlin read the accounts of the player workouts and was happy that the practices were organized. He knew enough about the workouts to mention that reports misidentified one of the players, which is why he did not put much stock on who went as much as the fact that it was organized. "I’m glad to see there’s an attempt on the part of the player to do some things together,” Coughlin said. “A big part of what we do in the offseason is team building. We haven’t had the opportunity to do that. Any time you get to spend together is a good thing.” He did not know what the players did during the workouts, but was “sure it was conducted by Eli [Manning],” which encouraged Coughlin. (Ledger)

Coughlin thrilled with OBL death

For nearly an hour on Sept. 11, 2001, Tom Coughlin didn't know if his son was one of Osama Bin Laden's victims. Tim Coughlin was working on the 60th floor of the WTC that day. He was one of the lucky ones who got out alive.

So Coughlin knows at least a little about the pain Bin Laden caused. He learned more by visiting injured soldiers at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington. D.C., after Super Bowl XLII, and still more visiting with soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan in the summer of 2009.

It's an emotional subject for the Giants' coach, who admitted he had "goosebumps on top of my goosebumps" Sunday night as he watched the reaction around the world to the news that Bin Laden was finally dead.

"Well, it's not an easy thing to put into words because of all the emotions that run when you think of the flag, when you think of 9/11, when you think of Ground Zero, when you think of all the people who've been affected by this," Coughlin said on Sirius NFL Radio's The Opening Drive. "But one of the things that does put the goosebumps on top of my goosebumps is the reaction of all Americans to this news and what's going on on the college campuses, what has taken place spontaneously in downtown NYC and Washington, D.C., to the Mets-Philles game last night, those type of things. (News)

Coughlin will get an extension

Giants owner John Mara said Thursday head coach Tom Coughlin will receive a new contract "sooner rather than later," NJ.com reports.

Mara, speaking at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, said he has had brief conversations with Coughlin's agent. He said the NFL's uncertain labor situation is not a factor in the delay.

Coughlin has one year remaining on his current deal. Without an extension, he would enter the season as a lame duck, a situation both sides have said they want to avoid.

"(The contract) will get done," Mara said, according to the report.

Mara also reportedly said the team does not plan to use its franchise tag on any of its free agents, with running back Ahmad Bradshaw, defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka, and wide receiver Steve Smith most prominent among them. (Post)

Rolle likes Jets chemistry better than Giants

Antrel Rolle said he doesn't think the Giants have to change head coaches. But he would like to see the head coach change.

In an interview Monday with WQAM in Miami, Rolle and fellow Giants safety Kenny Phillips - both of whom were raised in South Florida and played at the University of Miami- said that Tom Coughlin needs to "loosen up" with the players and let them have more fun.

Essentially, they want a little less Tom, a little more Rex.

"If you match us up against the Jets, do I think they're a better team? No, I don't think so at all," Rolle said. "But when it comes to their chemistry, I think their chemistry might be better than ours. I think they have a lot more fun than we have ... People want to talk about Rex Ryan and this, that and the other. That team is going to war for him. They would die for him." (Newsday)