A look Inside The TC Speech That Saved The Season

[Mr. P]

EAST RUTHERFORD – Tuesday morning, Dec. 20, 8 a.m.

 

Tom Coughlin took to the stage in the auditorium of the Timex Performance Center, and the captive audience in his sights prepared for the worst. Not 36 hours after their most disappointing performance of the season, Giants players sat side by side, expecting a dissection of all they’d done wrong in an embarrassing 13-point loss to the Redskins.

 

Instead, Coughlin delivered a simple, optimistic message. “We still have our destiny in our own hands,” the coach told them. “Win two games and we’re in the playoffs.”

 

With that, the page was turned. Discussion turned to the upcoming opponent, which in this case, was the memorable Christmas Eve clash with the crosstown Jets. Stunned but happy players rose with the tide, focused solely on what they could still do rather than what they hadn’t done.

 

Call it the speech that saved the season.

 

“That’s what it did,” veteran safety Deon Grant said, “because it was simple and straight to the point. We had won the game before that [at Dallas], and he took the same approach. Let it go. We’ve got something more important on our hands. Let’s see how good we can fight.”

 

Successive wins over the Jets and Cowboys provided the emphatic answer to the question of what the Giants still had in them, two do-or-die victories that secured the NFC East title and set up the team’s first playoff appearance in three years Sunday afternoon against the Falcons. Surviving such critical stakes wasn’t easy, but a cross-section of locker room interviews Wednesday put the roots of success to that early December morning, by a coach who swapped anger for optimism.

 

“It was probably a four-minute meeting, one of our shortest,” backup quarterback David Carr recalled. “I

know I wasn’t the only one who walked into that room and thought we were going to get killed. What he did was perfect.”

 

Outside perception already had buried the Giants’ flickering playoff dream in the heaping pile of rubbish that was the 23-10 loss to Washington, but Coughlin found just the right way to let his players wipe their mental slates clean. Yes, he told them, the game was an enormous disappointment. No, he admitted, we didn’t play well. But, he cautioned, don’t get caught in a negative spiral. Don’t bother looking back at that film. It’s all about the future.

 

He summed it up with the eight-word message that saved the season: “Win two games and we’re in the playoffs.’’

 

“It’s over and done with and now we have no choice but to focus on the next two games,” is what long-snapper Zac DeOssie remembered. “Our destiny’s in our own hands and that’s exactly how we wanted it. We appreciated that. … It was so important – probably the most important thing he’s said all year.”

 

If Coughlin has long since been defined by his strictness and rigidity, by “I’m-in-control” decisions like setting the clocks at the training facility five minutes ahead of real time to ensure punctuality, his players define him in other ways. One is for his devotion to statistics, weekly numerical reminders that players can repeat by rote, ones regularly delivered through power point presentations. But this wasn’t a time for turnover breakdowns or takeaway touchdowns, or any lengthy lectures.

 

Only one number was needed for the speech that saved the season: “Win two games and we’re in the playoffs.”

 

“Totally straightforward,” running back D.J Ware said. “No questions, no guessing, no wondering. Coach Coughlin loves his stats. When he didn’t come in and do that, we knew he was already on his game. It was huge.”

 

http://www.northjersey.com/sports/sports_rotator/Sullivan_Coughlin_has_super-charged_the_Giants.html

[Sephiroth]

I heard on the radio (I think it was Mike and Mike) that Tuck had credited a private meeting with Coughlin prior to his resurgence as well. Cough basically asked, "are you ok? Why are you playing like this? You're one of MY guys... I need you to play like Justin Tuck." He responded with his best game of the season.

 

People say the players don't like Coughlin but that's bullshit.

[BlueInCanada]

Coughlin has obviously lost this team, fire him.

[boohyah]

You'd think pride might have fixed that problem?

[Firstnten]

There's allot of feel good flowers floating in the sky right now. Can't say i'm not enjoying it .....but and it's a huge but....., our defense has looked like garbage a good majority of the season, countless key dropped passes and a oline that has been in flux almost the entire year. The defense was so depleted from INJ's that they picked up Chase Blackburn end of the season AGAIN!.

 

yeah guys are back yeah they looked good the last game but no one here can tell me they where not worried we could still lose with a 21 point lead last week.

 

If they come out flat Sunday would anyone be surprised? After seeing the loses to Washington philly and the Saints I have huge doubts that these guy have a deep playoff run in them

[JMFP]

I heard on the radio (I think it was Mike and Mike) that Tuck had credited a private meeting with Coughlin prior to his resurgence as well. Cough basically asked, "are you ok? Why are you playing like this? You're one of MY guys... I need you to play like Justin Tuck." He responded with his best game of the season.

 

People say the players don't like Coughlin but that's bullshit.

 

Amen.....he's consistently tough and uniform on the small stuff, but when the season is hanging in the balance, he pushes the right buttons.

 

Contrast that with Rex Ryan.....you've got guys publicly calling it "a Zoo".....so-called Captains throwing their QB under the bus, players flipping off the media, etc., etc.

 

"Everybody wants to play for Rex".....what a fucking joke.

[fringe]

There's allot of feel good flowers floating in the sky right now. Can't say i'm not enjoying it .....but and it's a huge but....., our defense has looked like garbage a good majority of the season, countless key dropped passes and a oline that has been in flux almost the entire year. The defense was so depleted from INJ's that they picked up Chase Blackburn end of the season AGAIN!.

 

yeah guys are back yeah they looked good the last game but no one here can tell me they where not worried we could still lose with a 21 point lead last week.

 

If they come out flat Sunday would anyone be surprised? After seeing the loses to Washington philly and the Saints I have huge doubts that these guy have a deep playoff run in them

http://instantrimshot.com/index.php?sound=downer&play=true

[Nas]

There's allot of feel good flowers floating in the sky right now. Can't say i'm not enjoying it .....but and it's a huge but....., our defense has looked like garbage a good majority of the season, countless key dropped passes and a oline that has been in flux almost the entire year. The defense was so depleted from INJ's that they picked up Chase Blackburn end of the season AGAIN!.

 

yeah guys are back yeah they looked good the last game but no one here can tell me they where not worried we could still lose with a 21 point lead last week.

 

If they come out flat Sunday would anyone be surprised? After seeing the loses to Washington philly and the Saints I have huge doubts that these guy have a deep playoff run in them

 

Totally... Glad we won the division.. but let's not forget the debacles to the Seahawks, Eagles, and Skins.. TWICE.. and NO... we were embarrassed.

[Steitzenhaus]

It's a new year. They have certainly given us fits all season but whatever has happened up to this point is moot now. Hopefully they will give us something to feel good about come Sunday evening. We know when playing well they can hang with the upper echelon teams in the league(New Orleans notwithstanding). They just need to go out and do it.

[Firstnten]

http://instantrimsho...owner&play=true

 

LMAO!!!