Coughlin's Excited

It only happens a couple of times a year, but Tom Coughlin was utterly animated at the beginning of his press conference. He darned near went into jumping jacks.

Beginning of the season and all that.

"It's exciting," he said. "Here we go! Here we go! Step lively! That was the message. We're not talking about preseason. Obviously, we're talking about the Washington Redskins in the division. It doesn't get any more exciting than this.

"The players are excited. The players are looking forward to, obviously, the opportunity to play in the first game of the 2009 season. Lots of things running through our head; lots of things that fall back on the principles in which we believe."

Coughlin said one of those will be winning the physical battle, which won't be easy now that the Redskins have added DT Albert Haynesworth, he of the notorious foot-stomp on Dallas center Andre Gurode's face a few years ago. He's taken anger management classes since, but those lessons tend to go out the window once the game starts. So Shaun O'Hara, Chris Snee, and Rich Seubert will have their hands full trying to contain him.

"The thing about Albert," Redskins coach Jim Zorn said, "is he's 340 pounds. When he warms up, he runs like any other linebacker would run. He can really move the 340. That's what's interesting about this guy. He's big, he likes to play, and he likes to penetrate. He likes to be physical."

We've got the locker room in a few. Be back with a little something more on Canty and the rest of the wounded.