Coughlin

[Lughead]

Coughlin provides the hows and whys

December8 After he congratulated the Giants on their NFC East crown, Tom Coughlin began to break down the reasons behind a loss to Philadelphia that probably caught some in the locker room by surprise.

 

Maybe that was the problem.

 

Coughlin wasn't even a little worked up. It's not a crisis. He saw a number of positives on the film, and believes a series of plays that were not made at different points in the game proved costly.

 

One loss does not make a losing streak.

 

"I would say that we didn't swarm to the ball the way we have been probably defensively," Coughlin said. "That would be the one comment that I would make. And as an offense we did not have any rhythm or any continuity. It seemed like there would be two or three pretty good plays and then a setback play, a play that would knock us out of rhythm or would not allow us to go ahead and make the first down or continue the drive."

 

He specifically mentioned the sideline play where Kenny Phillips went low and missed L.J. Smith, and expressed concern that nobody was hustling over to back up the rookie safety. There were also several blown gap assignments that allowed Brian Westbrook to slip into the open.

 

The lack of pressure on Donovan McNabb also factored into this perfect storm.

 

"And the other issue is that they didn't have a lot of long third downs," Coughlin said. "And that is an issue, too."

 

Nobody brought up Plaxico Burress.

 

"They just wanted it more," James Butler said. "Hopefully, next week we come out with a greater sense of urgency and a greater sense of purpose. It bothers me. Losing is not cool. It's not good at all, but next week we're going to come out and play the way we're supposed to play."

 

Dallas cannot afford to lose, and will be just as desperate as the Eagles.

 

Coughlin didn't have a problem with the level of intensity he witnessed, and reminded everyone not to panic.

 

"It is interesting that we are in this frame of mind that we are in," Coughlin said. "We do have 11 wins. So let's not overreact."

 

Did you ever think Coughlin would utter those words?

 

 

 

 

 

Also from the desk of :

 

Ernie Palladino and Mike Dougherty

 

No sign of confetti

December8 I highly doubt Kool and The Gang was blaring in the meeting room, but Tom Coughlin did congratulate the Giants on winning the NFC East title before he started breaking down a disappointing loss.

 

Nobody was in the mood to celebrate.

 

"It's always nice to call yourselves division champs, but at the same time, what did we miss out on?" Shaun O'Hara asked. "High fives, hugs, a t-shirt and a hat. After you get that, it's back to business. Really, being division champs doesn't mean anything in the grand scheme of things. Last year, we weren't division champs and things worked out pretty well. It's not a milestone. It's just another step in the process."

 

Can you tell somebody pushed the reset button?

 

The mood in the locker room this afternoon was quite serious. It's similar to what happened after the loss in Cleveland.

 

And with three games left, the Giants need to regain momentum.

 

"That's our goal, to get back to playing our style of football and everything else will take care of itself," Eli Manning said.

 

I'll get into some of the reasoning for what happened yesterday after I transcribe and write for the paper. Nobody seems overly concerned. On the injury front, Aaron Ross has a sprained ankle, but Tom Coughlin indicated the medical staff was optimistic.

 

Brandon Jacobs is another story, and the sore knees might require some time off this week.

 

"Jacobs is sore," Coughlin said. "He's sore. This is an ongoing thing. Hopefully, we can get this under control."