Thursday, April 22, 2010

Coughlin's Comments

Here's the transcript of Tom Coughlin's press conference on the No. 1 pick.

With our 15th pick we took Jason Pierre-Paul. We had an opportunity to investigate him quite thoroughly. We traveled down to South Florida for his pro day. We brought him in just prior to the draft and spent extra time with him with regard to that. Much has been said about his one-year stay at South Florida. But that is fine. That speculation is fine. He is a very, very talented young guy who is very healthy, who tests out in all categories very well; long arms, rushes the passer very well. He has played down inside on the guard. He gives you a nice mixture in combination of people utilized in pass rush combinations. I think he can play the run. He has played on both sides – left and right defensive end. He has done that. He is very well thought of by the coaching staff. His position coach was retained and we did have a chance to spend quite a considerable amount of time with him. He had a lot of very nice things to say this young guy. He comes from a very humble background. Interesting introduction to the sport - his high school coach got him to play in a playoff game when he was a junior in high school. He hadn’t played football – he was a basketball player. That started his career and of course his senior year in high school he became a football player. The rest is well documented. But this is a very, very talented young man with outstanding upside. It gives us tremendous flexibility in terms of the number of people that we have in our pass rush rotation. We expect that he will come in here and learn well. It will be an opportunity for him to spend a lot of time on the football – the playbook aspect of the game – probably something that he hasn’t had the opportunity to do in his short number of years that he has played the game. So it will be a very important part for him when he reports out here to our rookie camp first and then in mid-May.

Q: What did his college coach say?

A: That he is a very eager young man; eager to learn, obviously doesn’t have a great wealth of background in this sport but when you watch him play right away he certainly knows enough to adjust and maneuver on the field because he does. His pass rush arsenal includes inside moves and outside moves, a spin move. So he was very thorough in his description of this young guy and what he said is backed up by the tape.

Q: Did you get the impression that he can pick things up quickly?

A: I did. And according to all of the tests, that part of it is not an issue. The first thing that happens, as I have said many times before, is that the play book terminology is Chinese. It is something that they have to learn to understand what the terminology is. And that is the biggest problem for a young guy learning a new system. He has learned a new system each and ever year. But I think that he won’t have a problem with the learning part of it; some of which you will have some obvious inexperience, you will have some things that he is asked to do that he has never done before. But as I said, he has played down inside, he has played both left and right defensive end.

Q: At number 15, it is a relatively high pick; a little more of a risk/reward kind of pick?

A: Yeah, but I think one of the things that we all did was, as you looked at the grades that were given to this guy, he was substantially graded. All of his tests came through and verified exactly where he was taken in terms of not only his ability but his off the field – his medical and all of those kinds of things. And we felt that as the round unfolded that here was clearly a guy who had outstanding grades, who was the highest graded guy on board when we took him. And I think you could find something about a lot of people. Some of the players that went before him seemed to have some aspect of their game which is questionable. So I don’t think there is any greater risk here than another guy – a young guy who is very, very talented, who has tremendous upside, who we are looking forward to working with.

Q: When he played against Rutgers this year his name wasn’t called a lot in that game. Did you guys watch the film of that game?

A: Yeah, we saw it, sure. Although it wasn’t called a lot, am I wrong in saying there were two sacks in the game? Florida State, he had two sacks. So he may not have had his name called --- maybe they didn’t know how to say his name. It is that P-P thing, you know what I mean?

Q: You have a lot of defensive ends now.

A: That is a good thing.

Q: Exactly. Some of them though have said things about wanting to start and not being really happy. With so many of them, do you have a delicate balancing act now?

A: Go play; let’s play the game. Let’s get on the field. Everybody has a chance to play. Everybody is going to contribute. It is a long season. We didn’t rush the passer very well last year, so let’s get back to playing football and rushing the passer and stopping the run and doing those kinds of things. And let’s go back to what we did a couple of years ago. And we didn’t do a whole lot of talking; we played. And I think that is something that we can do. We have had an outstanding offseason. With all of these defensive ends that are here, they are working hard. And we certainly would like to think that we have added to that group of young men who are good people and good football players. We have had success when we had depth and let’s work at that aspect of it again.

Q: When you have a new coordinator like Perry Fewell, do you go to him and say, “Okay, when we get this guy, how are we going to use him? Do you see if it is on his agenda?

A: His agenda is my agenda. That is how the discussions will go. Have we talked about how this particular player will be used? Not yet, but we will when we approach the mini-camp and beyond.

EP

20 comments:

  1. Ern,

    I can't keep up with you! Great content and glad to see some ads so you can pay some bills.

    Chris B.

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  2. Great. We lead the league in most guys on DLine who can't stop the run. And yeah, Matt Millen does come to mind. Be glad to eat crow a few years from now....but for now, how do we stop getting blown 5 yards back at the DLINE? And can you name a single guy in the linebacking corp that anyone in the NFL gives a crap about? I hope Eli can keep scoring points.

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  3. Of course the internet at home crapped out last night. I was shocked when McClain and Spiller went back to back. I really, really hope that JPP makes me eat my words. I am very worried about this pick, given Morgan, Bulaga, and some other talent were still on the board. Wayno, my heart goes out to you. My first thoughts when Spiller went at 9, was "#$&% Wayno is going to jump".

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  4. ..check the posts, I called this. Once again JR gets caught sleeping on draft day. Let's see, we take the 2nd best DE at 15, when the #1 DE is still on the board; we pass up the #1 RB, #1 Center and #1 OG. The interior of our DL is terrible and we don't make any movement to improve this either.

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  5. I know that GOGOLACK posted that the Eagles would move up ahead of the giants; that Spiller and McCLain would both be gone and the Giants would take the best player available..in either Morgan or JPP

    ..GOGO is this you in above?

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  6. GOGO writes

    ..no that was not me. I'm still trying to figure out the Raiders grabbing McClain and I don't bash Jerry Reese.

    Does anyone think that a deal of OSI to Oakland is in the works, just depends on what is available in the later rounds as to what other picks to deal or swap?

    I think the LBs from Penn State (Bowman and Lee) come into play now, or the fast dropping Spikes (UF) or Donald Butler from Washington

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  7. Did Wayno move to buffalo?

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  8. does sound like TC was thrilled with the pick

    where's ernie accorsi when you need him? This was terrible, you don't draft for upside potential at #15. This is not the NBA, in the NFL first round picks should translate to immediate starters.

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  9. No on Spikes. Absolutely not. I know Ernie is not going to mind about this, but I am quoting Ed Valentine here, you can time Spikes' 40 with a sun dial!

    Butler or Lee are okay in my opinion. Can even go after Philip Dillard, MLB from Nebraska in the 5th. Any of these 3 guys are more athletic than Spikes.

    Osi is not going to get traded. No point to it. Tofellson is probably going to get cut. Tuck, Kiwi, Osi, and JPP are now are DEs. I just really hope that JPP turns into a booming player, not a bust. He only started 7 D1 college games. SEVEN! Wow, he can do a lot of back flips, big deal, I can drive my car really fast, doesn't mean I belong in the Indy.

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  10. What I didn't hear from the giants and I hope to hear soon, is their plan to "mold" this raw prospect. Me, I would hire Strahan in a second to be this kid's personal mentor. I know Strahan is a "star", but it's his downtime and money talks. Strahan is the most capable name I can think of to polish this kid. He can teach the moves, the philosophy, how to workout, etc., etc. Mike was one of the best at the position and he's not so far removed from the game that it has completely passed him by.

    Ernie - tried several time to log onto the chat last night with no success. I know lots of guys DID get on without any problems. Does your live chat program favor a particular browser? Have issues with AV programs or pop up blockers? I know you're not a tech guy, but if there are issues out there (the company should tell you), if we know what they are, we can usually work around them. Thanks!

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  11. thanks Ernie. Enjoyed the blog last night and the running commentary....and all the hard work I see you did after the Giants pick! Thanks again.

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  12. Just want to be clear about something....JR could be dead right, in fact most likely is dead right. This guy could be the next coming of Simon Rice or the Freak. Or Dwight F for that matter. In two or three years.

    Just please tell me: what happens this coming season? I asked my brother in law, a sports medicine guy and a knee surgeon, what he thought of Kenny P's chances of recovery could be...after the usual wiggle words like 'i gotta see the xrays and such, he wrote:

    "Chances aren't that good. Microfx is done to try to salvage severe joint surface roughness (meaning arthritis). No joint surface is a good place to have enough roughness to need resurfacing but the patello-femoral joint is a particularly difficult area to get a decent result with. Microfx - anywhere in the joint has, in my opinion, about a 30% success rate at best, and even if you get a decent early result, it is not likely to last.
    Football is not a good match with this kind of procedure."

    And in general I have little faith in 2-3 round LB's to turn a linebacking corp around THIS YEAR. Never mind the fact that I have very little faith in the Giants' ability to select and bring along LBs. Their track record sucks.

    Look, Reese has done very well in the draft. Gotta give him that. So he deserves a lot of leeway. But I just don't see how this defense is gonna stop the run. Glad to be wrong.

    And for the record....I think Reese is betting his job on this season. He has another season where the def quits....he is done. This is not your father's Giants. The Tish Family is about results. And even if they were not, the bills coming from the new stadium will turn anyone into a "i want it done yesterday' guy. Wellington Mara, and his legendary even keel is long gone. Reese should know he is on spot. Tom C already knows that.

    I have a LOT of faith in Eli and the offense. And were gonna need them.

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  13. wayno update - he was distraught and left the blog right after the Giants pick to watch real world road rules...or dream about CJ Spiller in Blue....buffalo blue.

    Russ update - he was flabbergasted that the Skins made what appeared to be a common sense pick. Likes the pick of JPP for the Giants to go up against the Skins kid for the next decade.

    Ernie update - you getting ready for round 2 & 3 ? Any Giants movement possible?

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  14. what does this mean for Morrison in Oakland, is he out of a job? Is this an easy fix for the giants to nab him post draft and get a solid stop gap MLB?

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  15. i was talking to merril hodge last night and he absolutely loves jpp

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  16. Anonymous, it is my understanding that the Raiders run a 3-4 base set. If that is correct, you will see McClain and Morrison starting next to each other.

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  17. There will be 8 teams kicking themselves they didnt take Spiller. The Bills who are in dire need of a qb are obviously on the rise as they ignored that need to take the most talented player in the draft. I think Jerry and Jax wouldve made a deal as Jax man woulda been there at 15. I won't hate on this pick but would love to see the Giants trade Osi now. Are they really gonna hold onto him rather than getting a 2 to pick more D?

    In about 6 months when the NFL season is well on their way I will start to send out my resume to be GM to one of these hapless teams that didnt realize CJ is HOF.

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  18. I would be phsyched if the Giants stole Morrison today or tomorrow.

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  19. I heard Al Davis wasn't thrilled with Morrison and was looking for an upgrade, hence the selection of McClain.

    I'm in agreement with the post above, I hear JPP could potentially be a stud next year, 12-15 sack per season potential, but what about this season?

    I didn't think the Giants would move up, and between JPP and Morgan, I would have probably picked JPP, but still, I'm surprised they didn't move back.

    I guess, at 15, who else would you have wanted the Giants to have picked (assuming they couldn't trade back)? Maybe the guard or center. Or Dan Williams. And I have heard JPP can also play on the inside, at times, like Tuck. So, who knows.

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  20. wayno i dont want you to lose respect for merril hodge, cause he is a real nice guy, but he thinks dexter mccluster is going to end up being the best back in this class

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