Head Coach Tom Coughlin
Opening Statement:"It's nice to win, we were miserable around here for a month, it's nice to win. We knew going in it would be this kind of game. If you looked at the way the games have played out for Atlanta, most of our games with the exception of two, they all come down to this type of thing. I didn't anticipate overtime, but we knew it would be a full four quarters, a full sixty minutes. We did do a lot of soul searching, probably, this past two weeks, although not as much the first week as we did the second week. Just in terms of believing in each other, trusting, that type of thing. We didn't necessarily start the game out all that well. We did finish it okay. We feel really good about winning today. Atlanta is a very, very good football team. Mike's done a great job over there. Battle in the NFC, and I think you told folks last week that when I saw this game on the schedule at this time of the year, I knew this would be a very important game in the NFC. So, of our seven game schedule we have six games to go, and of course, a very important game on Thursday night."
Q: Can you talk about Eli and his command today?
A: "Did a nice job today. I haven't seen any of the numbers or anything like that but certainly that was a big part of the game. The style of defense that they played, as we watched it unfold, we thought for a little bit it would be difficult because of all the line charges, but that stayed the way that it was for most of the day. We are going to have to take a hard look at that in terms of the run. Our receivers, our quarterback, came up with a lot of big plays today. That was the difference maker in terms of field position and points. We thought going in 'x' amount of points would do it, but it didn't."
Q: What is your assessment of the penalties that the defense had?
A: "I can't comment on that. I've got to look at the tape. I get awful upset when there are two teams there, I think in total (they had) a few less penalties than we had coming in, but we were averaging six a game and they seem to be on one side, which doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me."
Q: Is this the kind of win where it doesn't matter how it happens?
A: "Oh no, win, just like I said in the beginning of the week. Someone asked me and I said 'we just need to win'. It's not where or whatever. I am very happy for our fans, I thought our fans were great when we asked them all game long to get involved and get emotional and they did. They had their emotions on their sleeve with 13 seconds left. Nevertheless, that was the way to play that."
Q: Can you talk about the use of Kevin Boss? Was it part of the game plan to get him more involved today?A: "We have had the idea that this would be one way to help ourselves in the green zone. It proved true today. Kevin made some big plays. The play before the touchdown to Madison was a big play."
Q: Did you feel that you were close enough there at the end?
A: "We were 23 yards. We were fine. That was fine."
Q: Did you feel the need to get any closer?A: "No, not at all. No. We had opportunities. I thought our quarterback was in control of his game, so we continued to try to move the ball down."
Q: Two games in the row at the end of the game the defense has let up a touchdown. Did you have a feel that the defense had a handle on this?A: "Well, I did, but that didn't prove to be true. We knew when it was a one-touchdown difference we had to keep the ball on offense. We didn't. That is something that we continue to have to work on. When those situations are there. You know, we always do a lot of situational work and we do it with our quarterbacks on Saturday morning and inevitably we will include some four-minute drives in there as well. You will see a team like for six minutes is running the ball and running the clock out and that continues to be something that we have to be better at."
Q: What is your level of concern with the defense?
A: "I am concerned. We won a game and we will look at it. I think we are capable of playing better. I hope we are able to learn some things from watching the coverage here. The first half and into the third quarter was fine and then they seemed to be able to move the ball in the air against whatever we were in. They did a good job of changing personnel up, getting some matchups that they wanted, we've just got to keep working."
Q: Will we see Aaron Ross playing more safety?
A: "We'll see."
Q: You mentioned the soul searching that has gone on recently. When your quarterback plays like that, how much does that elevate the team?
A: "Very much so, yeah, very much so. When you really believe that you are going to take the ball, you know we kept talking about defensively three-and-out and offensively finish the drives, finish the drives, finish with touchdowns, finish with touchdowns. When Eli is playing like that and we have great confidence. He did some things today, on third and one and a half he stuck the ball way down the field and Mario made a really nice play on that. When he is playing with that kind of confidence the whole team really rides right along with that confidence."
Q: How badly is Jacobs injured?
A: "I really don't know. I thought they said he could have gone back in the game but we'll have to see."
Q: How did Michael Boley play?
A: "I really have to look at the tape. I know what you saw when he caught on that touchdown there in the end with the all-pro tight end. He scrapped, he worked, he played hard. He was in position to make some plays, which he did. Hopefully we are going to keep getting better as he gets more time."
Quarterback Eli Manning
Q: What was happening early with all the pressure they were bringing?
A: "Yeah, they brought some blitzes. They got some pressure early. We had some opportunities to hit some big plays and just couldn't quite hold it long enough to get it. The interception, I just kind of got hit as I threw it and the ball fluttered. They did a good job of getting some pressure early, but we settled down, started picking things up, getting the ball out quickly and hit some big plays on them."
Q: Can you talk about cashing in with touchdowns when you get in the green zone?
A: "Every time you get down there close and don't score, you feel you can do better, but we did score a couple times down there. The one right before halftime was a big one to Kevin Boss. It was good to get a touchdown in that situation. We definitely did better, did some good things. There were a couple that we were close on that we just didn't quite hit that we can definitely improve on, but we were scoring touchdowns today and that is what we need to do."
Q: Was it more about making in-game adjustments this week or changes during the bye week to focus more on Kevin Boss and Madison Hedgecock?
A: "No, it was just a matter of just executing. It wasn't saying we have to focus on these guys more; it was just a matter of saying we just have to play better football. It wasn't a secret. It is not like we went in and changed our philosophy or changed our offense. We were just trying to be more consistent, just trusting guys to get open and they are doing a good job. We have to keep that mentality. Obviously we have a short week this week where we have to learn a lot of stuff very quickly and just keep working. We have ability all around us, a lot of great players; it is just a matter of always doing the right thing. In this game, on any given play, you never know what drive it is, what possession is going to be the game winner. You just can't afford to have mistakes and today we did a lot of things very, very well and we have to keep that going."
Q: What was your level of confidence after winning the coin toss in overtime?A: "I knew we had moved the ball very well most of the game, especially in the second half. We had some drives, we were throwing it well, guys were protecting, we were running pretty well, so I felt good. I am glad we got the ball first and we had the opportunity to go out there and win the game."
Q: Your thoughts on your first time ever passing for 300 yards in Giants Stadium?
A: "Hopefully I get a few more. I would have thought I would have had one by now, but I'll take it any way it comes and especially if it comes in a win. This was definitely a game I will remember for a while. It is a big win for us, we needed one at this time, and hopefully this will keep us going, get a little rally, and continue to play well. We talked a lot this past week and we have a seven-game season right now. What happened before this didn't really matter, we have seven games, this was the first game, and it was good to get off to a good start."
Q: What does Kevin Boss mean in the green zone?
A: "He is a big target. He is 6' 7". On the second touchdown he just got inside the safety with his big body where you can just throw it. Another time I hit him on a seam. I really had the chance to hit him on a couple touchdowns on our first drive. I overthrew him on the corner route and he kind of got banged up on the seam where I wanted to hit his back shoulder and the ball came out a little too high than I wanted it to. In the fourth quarter I hit him kind of on a back shoulder on the seam on a third down conversion that we eventually went down to score and hit Hedgecock, but it was a big third down conversion for us. He is playing well. He got off to a slow start, he was playing very well, but he has just been banged up taking a lot of hits. He is tough as nails with some of the things he has been dealing with. I know the two weeks really helped him getting back healthy. He showed he was running well in practice and played really well today."
Kicker Lawrence Tynes
Q: Take us through the last kick?
A: "Knocked it home, we made it to win the game. There wasn't a whole lot to it. I started towards the right a little bit more than I would've liked, but eventually it went in. It's a good win for our team. It gets us going in the right direction again. Very happy to have gotten that opportunity after what happened earlier in the first half."
Q: The second one you missed left, was something going on there?A: "No, because the first one was on the left hash. I hit that very well. I probably didn't play it far enough right as I should have, but you know what, it went in. The second one, I will look at film, but I'm pretty sure I know what I did. Can't miss those under 40; that's my fourth one this year."
Q: Did the miss affect your mentality?
A: "I knew that was going to haunt us even though we were up 14, I knew I had to make amends and fortunately I got an opportunity to do that."
Q: Do you enjoy the clutch kicks?
A: "I love those situations. I am not nervous. It is a really good feeling to kind of be a hero for 30 seconds and help your team win a football. I was really looking forward to overtime when we got the ball for sure."
Tight End Kevin Boss
Q: On today's game.
A: "Coming in to today's game, I knew I had a couple of plays that might be coming my way down in the Green Zone. Eli took advantage of it and threw me a couple of great balls. (On the first touchdown reception): I ran a deep flag out there and when I caught the ball I saw that I was pretty close. I knew that I was going to do everything I could to get into that end zone. (On second touchdown): It was a play that has always worked for us. It was just a shallow cross there at the goal line and Eli put it right on me. It was a great call and a great pass. The overtime win was a little too close for comfort. It would have been nice if we could have finished them off earlier and stronger. But we will take it because we needed it."
Defensive End Justin Tuck
Q: On forced fumble.
A: "It was just one of the plays of the game today. I think this team collectively played really, really good. On defense we definitely gave up too many points. The heart and the energy were there. But hopefully this is something that we can build on. I really didn't get nervous because I have seen Tynes make those kicks before, especially pressure kicks like that. He has made many of them. When we got down there I was hoping we were going to punch it in but when it came down to the field goal we had the utmost confidence in him. Atlanta did a great job. When you have a guy like Gonzalez, he hurt us a lot on third down. We couldn't get them in a lot of third and long situations. They are going to have a lot of high percentage plays, especially with a guy like Gonzalez. He is like a chain mover all by himself. I think that really hurt us. But all in all, I think we played pretty well."
Cornerback Aaron Ross
Q: On today's game.
A:"It felt great to be back and it felt great to be able to contribute in a game like this. I was able to knock the dust off a little bit. I felt really comfortable back there. I still have to learn a lot of techniques at the safety position. But I'll play wherever they want me to play, wherever they need me. We definitely have to tighten up our defense and we actually have to come out and play a better defensive game. But this is a real confidence builder, especially winning in OT."
Wide Receiver Hakeem Nicks
Q: On today's game.A: "We just went out there and competed. We had a good week of practice this week. We believed in ourselves and as long as we stuck to the game plan, we would be fine. We did spread the ball around a lot today. Everybody had an opportunity to make plays today. We know that we are all capable of doing our job when the ball comes our way. I felt confident at the end. I knew we were making plays all day so there would be no reason for us not to do it in OT. I felt pretty confident and I also believe in our kicker. We were feeding off of each other."
MORE FROM THE FALCONS-GIANTS GAME:
GAMEDAY LIVE:Complete game coverage from AtlantaFalcons.com * GAME CENTER:Stats and more in the NFL.com Game Center * THE BEAT BLOG:Thoughts on the game from John Manasso * FIRST TAKE:Postgame interviews with Mike Smith and players from AF.com * GAME VIDEO:More interviews and multimedia from AF.com * GAME NOTES:Official game notes from the Giants Stadium press box * QUOTABLE:Comments from Falcons players postgame | Giants * J. MIKE'S MISSIVES:Thoughts on the game from the AF.com managing editor * IMAGES:Exclusive photos from the game by team photographers * FORUMS:Talk about the game with other fans on FalconsLFE
