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Justin Tuck, Post-Game 09.16.12

Q: How would you characterize the game today?
A: I was hoping you were going to help me with that. I don't have the vocabulary, I don't have any adjectives for today. All that matters is we got a win and we'll try to look at the positives and build on that.

Q: What was said at halftime or was there nothing to be said?
A: I think it was just guys reiterating the fact that we had been there before. We've been in dog fights like this and we got that first half out of the way so just go out there and just continue to do good things - not turn the football over, get some turnovers, I don't think we had a turnover in the second half for our offense. We came right off the bat with the Corey Webster interception and I think that was a good turning point for us. That's all that was said at halftime - it was no Hall of Fame speech or anything like that. We just came in, got the corrections and stayed positive.

Q: Did Kenny Phillips' hit kind of give you guys a jolt out there?
A: Of course, it definitely did. There were a lot of plays that gave us jolts, but I think the way he came down and made that hit got the crowd excited, it got the electricity in the stadium back, and I think we fed off that and obviously more plays occurred after that but I think that was the initial one.

Q: You guys were very upset with the pass rush last week. How would you say you feel today?
A: I think our reputation is kind of hurting us. They're camping out and double-teaming and tripping and that's a respect factor - you look at it and say that's because we've got a good pass rush. It's affecting our offense in different ways and we've just got to continue to not press and stay within the defense and our numbers will get there. We'll start getting pressures, but I think one thing we did upfront that I was encouraged by was play physical. We stopped that run and we put a lot of pressure on Freeman to beat us and he made some plays out there but it wasn't enough so we'll take it.

Q: I'm sure you weren't surprised with Eli's performance in the second half.
A: No. We've seen it before. This team doesn't panic being down; it doesn't really rattle us much. What we were concerned with was just our play. We weren't playing well enough to win that football game in the first half so it was no panic throughout and especially to not have any disbelief in the capabilities of our team. He's going to stay in there and throw that ball. The good thing about him is that he has a short memory. He had three interceptions but he went out there in the second half like he had a perfect quarterback rating and kept firing and made some huge plays for us to get us back in the game which in turned helped us win it.

Q: Last play of the game, they tackled Eli as he took a knee. As a defensive player, is there some kind of protocol in that situation?
A: Well, it won't be forgotten, I'll just say that.

Q: Can you talk about the hectic pace of that second half and what it's like to play in a game like that?
A: It's exciting. I told some of the rookies, I know you've played in some big games in college but this is football. This is what you live for, to play in exciting games like this and obviously we would have liked to play better, but if I was a fan at the game and I didn't root for the Giants or the Bucs I would've enjoyed the atmosphere in the stadium today.