Coaches Speak as Minicamp Concludes

The Giants concluded their three-day mandatory minicamp with what pretty much was a walk-though practice (no 11-on-11 work today). We also had access to the three coordinators, so let me run down some of the highlights worth noting from the three separate media sessions.

First up are some quotatables from defensive coordinator Perry Fewell.

On what they were able to accomplish in the OTAs and minicamp.
“I think we accomplished some basics, some fundamentals. It’s very hard to say because you’re running around in shorts. Established some evaluations in that they know who I am, I know who they are and some of the techniques they can play, and the things they can do I have a better appreciation for.”

On if the middle linebacker spot is any clearer at this point.
“I thought some guys stepped up. Jonathan Goff, I though, had a very good OTA and minicamp. I thought Phillip Dillard had a good OTA and minicamp. Gerris Wilkinson -- I know I’m leaving some names out and I don’t mean to, and I’m not calling in a pecking order. I thought all those guys competed and showed they could play the game. The real deal comes when you put the pads on. Who’s going to step up and be our leader? But I was not disappointed by what I saw.”

On Phillip Dillard’s progress.
“I think the rookie minicamp helped him a lot. The game’s not too big for Phillip from what I can see. He still has the rookie status, but the game’s not too big for him.”

On Clint Sintim’s progress.
“I thought he progressed well. We thought he grew from day one to this practice tremendously. I thought in yesterday’s practice, he showed us some stuff that Clint Sintim can do. We thought he made leaps and bounds in our practice sessions throughout. He played some middle linebacker for us at times. So I tried to find out as much as I possibly could about our players, not pegging them and putting them in one specific spot.”

On how much of his defense he was able to install this spring.
“We tried to install as much as we possibly could. Obviously there was some stuff that we did not install that we will install in camp because I’ve learned our players a little better to where we can say we can do this or do that. I tried to install at least 75 percent of what we’re going to do.”

On the coverage scheme leaning toward utilizing a little more zone than it has in the past, and how that might affect Corey Webster, who earlier in his career struggled in that type of coverage but who excelled in press.
“What I tried to do with our team is give them a structure or basic foundation they can hold onto and then their individual talents they can accomplish what we need to accomplish within the down. So yes, he’ll have that freedom to do that (press).”

On settling the matter of who starts along the defensive line.
"I want as much competition and to fight for the job. There’s no handouts or give-outs. We’re looking forward to the competition and fighting for their jobs. But it‘s not how you start; it’s how you finish.

"All of them will play and all of them will have the opportunity to be a starter. There are a lot of factors that go into a ball game and I think we have a luxury in that we have some really good defensive linemen and I plan to use them in a number of different ways. That’s what I did this spring, and that’s what I’ll talk to them about. It’s not how you start; it’s how you finish. They’ll all have different roles. How they’ll excel in those roles is what I’m trying to find out."

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Next up is special teams coordinator Tom Quinn.

On the magnitude of losing Domenik Hixon.
“It’s a very big loss. Not only is he a return specialist, he’s also a very good cover guys on kickoff and punt. So you really have to replace four positions on punt/kickoff return and the coverage teams.”

On whether he thinks they have someone on the roster who can fill Hixon’s shoes.
“You look to who you have and we have a lot of talented guys who can do that. We always put a big emphasis early in the OTAs on guys catching punts, so we’ll have about eight offensive guys, eight defensive guys and we’ll work them all out and have them catch. Aaron (Ross) has the experience from college and it’s something he’s always wanted to do. He’s been bugging us to let him do it, so this might be his opportunity. Mario(Manningham) is another guy. You also have Sinorice (Moss) and you have Chad Jones.

RE: IF Tim Brown is a possibility.
“He’s another you can look to. We’ll see if he can holdup size wise. He has good quickness and elusiveness.”

On whether he envisions having a starting player returning punts.
“It’s not the ideal situation but you put your best guy back there.”

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And now a few snippets of note from head coach Tom Coughlin.

On what the one thing is that he’s most unsure about as the team heads into the summer.
"I don’t know - so much has been made of getting Kenny Phillips back, I think, at full speed. And I’m very confident - he is, also, that he will be back. We look forward to that part of it. It is always a challenge integrating these young guys into the program and solving some of the issues that we had last year. Obviously always staying healthy and that type of thing."

On whether any of the rookies stood out in terms of showing progress in this minicamp.
"I think they have all competed and from time to time we have certainly spotted them. Jason (Pierre-Paul) stood out, (Joseph) Linval stood out. Chad (Jones) has had a pretty good – and I think right at the end of the OTA’s he was starting to emerge and doing things very well on special teams and in the secondary. (Phillip) Dillard from time to time has been a guy that has kind of jumped out at us. Mitch has done some good things. He gained attention that way. So I think pretty much they have hung in there well. They have taken advantage of the number of snaps that they have gotten for the most part. They have stayed out here. And it has been a real good experience for them."

On what he stressed to his team before the broke for the summer.
"What you talk about here is when you make a choice make sure it is in the best interest of you and your family. And always make sure that whatever you decide to do, don’t do anything that you wouldn’t be proud of if it was on the front page."

Regarding his impressions about the defense and if it’s starting to gel.
"They seem to be a group that had some fun working together. There are some personalities back there – (Antrel) Rolle and (Deon) Grant are gregarious kind of guys and that has been a real plus. And I think, hopefully, there is some confidence growing at the linebacker spot. And certainly you can see that there is some depth emerging in the front. So I think they are anxious to prove what they can do."

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Last but not least is offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride.

On Ramses Barden’s progress and what he needs to do to show that he’s worthy of more playing time.
“The spring you see little glimpses where you get encouragement and you say, “Ok, it’s there. Now can we get it out of you on a consistent basis. Can you take advantage of your size and make some of those catches we think you’re capable of making. Once in a while we don’t see it enough, and no one wants it more than him.”

Gilbride then cited a specific example from yesterday’s practice on a thrown by QB Rhett Bomar that appeared to be a little high that Barden tried to leap up to get.
“That’s an example of what I’m talking about. He tried too hard. He wants to make a spectacular catch, but if he kept running, the ball would have hit him right in the hands.”

On RB Andre Brown’s progress.
“It’s hard to tell physically. Soreness wise I think he’ll tell you that he still has a ways to go. It’s more of the fact that he missed the whole season and is starting all over again. I see the slowness, which shows up – it’s like he’s starting from scratch. There’s a few more mistakes than right now we could afford if we had to put him in. We couldn’t afford to put him in right now. Hopefully as the camp goes, those things disappear.”

If Will Beatty, who received snaps at left tackle, played well enough to convince the coaches that he’s still an option.
“It’s definitely an option. Will it wind up that way? It’s the best five guys playing. It’s not can Will Beatty beat out David Diehl at left tackle. Can he play well enough at left tackle to where you can move David in. So he’s really beating out rich Seubert. Has Will played well. He’s had a real good spring and that’s good to see.”

On what Beatty needs to show.
“Technique. He’s a very athletic gifted guy, but he’ll still find himself in some of the most awkward positions you can imagine. When he can eliminate that, I think he’ll take full advantage of really very special athletic qualities he has.”

On where Guy Whimper fits in.
“We’re trying to see where he can fit in. Right now we’d love to have him exhibit some flexibility where we could use him at a couple of different positions. He’s been here long enough to warrant some consideration and it will be all assessed during training camp.”

On whether Brandon Jacobs still has that good initial burst.
“He hasn’t practiced a lot out there. He looks okay running there. I don’t see anything extraordinary yet. I think the acid test will come when we get into the exhibition season and we can see if that acceleration to get to the hole shows itself.”

On the backup quarterback situation.
“Right now you figure that Jim (Sorgi) is going to be the backup unless some extraordinary thing happens differently.”

On what he’s seen with Travis Beckum.
“It’s just like what was mentioned with William Beatty; he has to do the same thing. There’s some athleticism that you want to take advantage of, but he’s got a long way to go in terms of utilizing that athleticism and doing things right and in a consistent way. He’s not going to be your point of attack prototypical tight end -- that’s not his forte. When we put him out in space, he has some special abilities, but you still have to block out there, you still have to run the routes the right way, and you still have to get open. He’s made some spectacular catches, but he’s not necessarily doing some of the things that you have to do to get yourself open on a consistent basis.”