Nov 3, 2008 9:13 pm US/Eastern
Giants Hardly Satisfied With 7-1 Start
Things Don't Get Easier As Week 10 Battle In Philly Looms
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) ―
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Kevin Boss of the New York Giants scores a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys on Nov. 2, 2008, at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
Al Bello/Getty Images
Over the past few seasons, Tom Coughlin has gotten into the habit of giving the New York Giants an extra day off on Mondays after a big win.
As Coughlin finished his postgame speech after the 35-14 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, a couple of the players told the coach they would be seeing him on Wednesday to start preparations for this weekend's game with Philadelphia.
Coughlin heard the pleas, and told everyone to come in on Monday despite the double-digit win that gave the defending Super Bowl champions a 7-1 record at the halfway point of the season.
Veteran receiver and team captain Amani Toomer was not surprised. The Giants turned the ball over three times and were called for eight penalties in the win that gave them a three-game lead over Dallas, the preseason pick to win the NFC.
"We're happy our record is what it is," Toomer said. "But I don't think we have played a game that we are super proud of. I think there were a lot of mistakes made in the game yesterday and opportunities missed, and we kept them in the game a lot longer than we should have."
Eli Manning did a lot of good things, and a lot not so good. The Super Bowl MVP threw three touchdown passes, but he also lost two fumbles and had an interception returned for a touchdown by Mike Jenkins with New York cruising 14-0 in the second quarter.
Manning said the Giants were proud they scored five touchdowns on their five trips inside the Cowboys 20, but he admitted there is room for improvement.
"We talk about the good plays, but we try to fix the bad plays," Manning said. "And we really concentrate more on those things and trying to see how we can improve that or what went wrong or why that bad play happened. And so we are trying to improve every week. We have a lot of drive in us. We know that we have a tough road ahead of us and it is matter of we have to keep playing at a high level."
While Coughlin wanted his players to lift weights and go over the videotapes of the game with their position coaches, he also said that this was not the time to cut back.
New York has eight games remaining, including two with Philadelphia. Seven of the eight opponents have winning records. Minnesota, which is the final regular-season game of the season, has a 4-4 record.
"As mentioned, you are in a very, very serious, very tough, difficult stretch and I want to make sure that everybody is on the same page and there are no illusions that certain things are being done well," Coughlin said.
Center Shaun O'Hara said everyone realizes that there will be no breaks the rest of the way.
"Believe me, the best thing about this team is that nobody is in here popping the champagne and ordering bottles of Cristal," O'Hara said. "We're 7-1 and we don't get a trophy for that."
Notes: Coughlin said that safety James Butler had tests on the knee he injured on Sunday. The results were not immediately available. Tight end Kevin Boss will be limited in practice this week because of a sprained ankle.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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