(on having the Saturday walkthrough after practice)
“We have to leave early tomorrow with the long flight. What we’re doing is just
the things we normally do on Saturday mornings today so that they can sleep in a
little bit in the morning before we fly. It’s just a little change in schedule.”
(on whether it’s just a walkthrough) “Yes. Normally
on Saturday mornings we’ll have a walkthrough and stuff so we’ll let them sleep
in in the morning and get on the plane and go. That’s why we’re doing it right
now.”
(on if any decisions have been made now about injured
players) “No. Probably the biggest game time decision is (LB) Kailee Wong
and I just want to make sure that we’re being real smart with him. His hamstring
is bothering him, but he has practiced. I just want to make sure that what we do
with his progress, for the future here, we’re doing it right. That’ll be a game
time decision for him.”
(on offensive tackles remaining the same) “Yeah, (T)
Ephraim Salaam practiced today; he’ll be ready to go. But (T) Eric Winston will
play, so we’re going to rotate those guys.”
(on T Zach Wiegert playing) “Zach’s fine. He’s fine,
so we’re going to rotate those guys. But it’s time for Eric to grow up, so to
speak, and he’ll definitely be part of what we’re doing.”
(on the Giants being a tough team for T Eric Winston to
go against) “It’s a tough place to go, but it doesn’t change in this league.
The quicker you put those guys in those situations and they figure out, ‘Hey,
it’s okay; I can go in there and play,’ then the better football team we
become.”
(on Winston’s progress) “I just like the way he
keeps battling. He’s played right, he’s played left; we’re playing him at guard
a little bit. Of all of our young kids, he’s probably the one that didn’t get
the opportunity the quickest in a lot of ways, but he’s been patient so he
deserves an opportunity now.”
(on WR Andre Johnson being as well-known as he should
be) “Credit comes when your football team is winning. That’s what we’re
working toward. I can promise you, from a players’ perspective, he’s very well
respected. Just with me being somewhere else before, (there’s) tremendous
respect for him as a player. And then when you watch him work you get tremendous
respect as a coach. He’s on to a special season as a football player, and just
hopefully he’ll stay healthy and keep going.”
(on Johnson’s potential) “I think that he can be as
good as I’ve been around. He’s very young still, (and has) a long way to go. The
better we become as a team around him, it’s going to make his career a little
bit better.”
(on QB David Carr not having it any other way than at
Giants Stadium) “It means a lot to me and that’s the kid that I’ve watched
work this week. He’s got his chin strap buckled in a little tighter, he’s worked
hard, but he always works hard. His teammates see that and I expect him to go
out there and compete and play well. I just want him to compete, do his job and
battle. That’s all I want him to do.”
(on DE Mario Williams’ health) “He’s okay. We’re
just trying to monitor his foot. He’s had some problems with his arch, and that
can be a concern with plantar fasciitis. It can get bad, so we’re just trying to
monitor it and he seems like he’s okay. He practiced well today.”
(on Williams having plantar fasciitis) “A case of
it, sort of speak. It could get worse, but the way we’ve been working the past
few weeks, he’s been ok.”
(on the unfortunate timing for LB Kailee Wong’s injury)
“We definitely would like to play him more. He played a little on special teams
last week when he tweaked his hamstring. But the one thing that I make sure that
I do with him is that we bring him along the right way. He pushed to come back
for this team; he is way ahead of schedule and I don’t want to do absolutely
anything to set him back. I think he could play for us this weekend and still
may, but I just want to make sure that we’re doing what’s right for him as we
move forward.”
(on how much activity can aggravate plantar fasciitis)
“You’re asking the wrong guy. I don’t know; you’ve got to ask (head athletic
trainer) Kevin (Bastin). But I know that if it becomes a big-time problem with a
player, it can set him back weeks or months. We’re just trying to monitor right
now.”