New York Giants defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan is not a rah-rah motivator, that much has always been obvious. But, if Sheridan's comments Thursday that his defense has not been physical enough were intended to get under the skin of some players, mission accomplished.
Defensive end Justin Tuck is not too happy with Sheridan's assessment.
"I disagree," Tuck said when told about Sheridan's comments. "Everybody has an opinion. Maybe I'm completely wrong by saying I disagree. But in my opinion I don't think that is the case.
"Go ask the O-lines and the offensive tackles or the guards that I play against," Tuck continued. "I don't mean to make this an individual thing. I don't think (Sheridan) said I was unphysical but when you talk about the team, I am part of the team, so I take it personally. So go ask some of the people I play against and ask the how physical I am. If they come back and tell you I'm not, then maybe I'm just a guy that blows smoke all day because I don't know about myself."
My take: Good. Tuck is ticked, and I hope a bunch of the other defenders are, too. Defensive players never, ever want to be accused of being soft. Maybe they will do something about it. Which, I'm thinking, is exactly what Sheridan wants.
By the way, Tuck did a very entertaining interview with 103.3 FM ESPN Dallas-Fort Worth Thursday. Give it a listen if you have five minutes to kill.
The Dallas Morning News today has a story about how the Cowboys feel they have benefitted, both financially and on the field, from replacing Chris Canty with Igor Olshansky.
That part of the story wasn't what really caught my attention, though. Here is what did. Remember how we were killing Sheridan the other day for dropping Canty into coverage. Turns out this is something Wade Phillips asked him to do frequently last season, and that he did well. He had five -- yes, five -- passes defended for Dallas last season.
Some of you old-timers will appreciate this Q&A with legendary Giant Frank Gifford.
(E-mail Ed at bigblueview@gmail.com)