A fired-up Tom Coughlin met with reporters Wednesday as the 0-3 New York Giants began preparations for their visit to Arrowhead Stadium Sunday to face the 3-0 Kansas City Chiefs, As expected, the veteran coach is hardly tossing in the towel despite his team's awful start.
"It's a long season. We've played three games, we have a lot of games to go," Coughlin said. "Certainly we want to win, and that's our entire objective.
"Are we standing on the edge of the cliff? I don't look at it that way. I see a lot of football to be played."
Coughlin said the Giants need to "regain the respect that we've always had throughout the league for being a physical football team."
"For me it's always about our team. There's been enough said by me and in here to talk about transitioning from the practice field to the game field, not getting discouraged when things don't go your way, playing as hard as you can, being as physical as you can, staying together as a team, being able to ward off all the questions that are intended to divide."
Coughlin was asked about changes the Giants could make and said there may be "a little bit of tinkering," but "basically we are who we are and we've gotta make corrections and go on. We've got to get better."
"It all starts with being a better participant, a more involved individual ... meetings, practices, doing the best you can to contribute to our team and then hopefully that will carry over," Coughlin said. "It's about getting better."
One change the Giants did make on Wednesday was signing fullback John Conner to replace Henry Hynoski, who was placed on injured reserve with a fractured shoulder.
"We need a fullback, we need a leading blocker. He is a physical guy, we think he'll go up in the hole and clear the hole for the running back," Coughlin said.
The Chiefs won only two games last season, but are off to a 3-0 start with former Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid on the sideline.
"The difference in their football, does anybody know what it is?," Coughlin asked. "Thirty-seven giveaways last year and zero this year. They're plus 9 after three games with no giveaways."
The Giants, of course, are a league-worst -9 in takeaways/giveaways with 13 turnovers.
Injury Notes
Coughlin said Terrell Thomas is on the injury list because "he needs to be managed" due to his three-time surgically repaired knee. ... Chris Snee's hip injury is to his right hip, not the surgically repaired left one, Coughlin said. ... Offensive lineman David Diehl will practice Wednesday. "We're just trying to see how far we can go with him. It's his first day back from a very long time away from the game," Coughlin said.
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