Giants Vs. Cowboys, Post-Game Quotebook

Here is some of the reaction from the New York Giants following Wednesday's 24-17 season-opening loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

Tom Coughlin on his post-game message to the team:

"Take a bite out of humble pie is basically what it is. It brings you right back to earth. There won’t be any blowing smoke up their rear ends as far as that. Last year is last year and this year is this year. Every team is a new team, every year is a new year, we have our work cut out for us, it’s a great challenge for us now." [Full Coughlin Transcript]

Justin Tuck on the Giants' defensive effort:

"They made some big plays on us, especially in the second half. ... Just little things, here and there. You take away the Dez Bryant over-the-top double move, I think we’re right there. So, it’s tough. I thought we would’ve come out with a little more energy for the entire game. I think in the first half, we played great. In the second half, I think we had lulls. In those lulls, they took advantage of it."

Eli Manning on the offensive struggles:

"We got off to a little bit of a slow start. We had opportunities – obviously the first third down could have easily converted and we didn’t execute on that one. They were driving pretty well and had a turnover. We made a lot of mistakes – physical mistakes – that we need to improve on, and you’d rather have those. When guys are making mental mistakes and doing the wrong things – I think that’s harder to correct. With physical mistakes, sometimes you just have a bad day. That will be correctable and something we can work on." [Full Manning Transcript]

Martellus Bennett on the Giants' running game:

"I just think we didn’t get a lot of movement. Those guys get paid up front over there and they got a lot of high paid guys on the other end and the good thing is our offensive line fought their ass off and we just weren’t able to open up big enough holes or get the right reads on the run, so it’s a collective thing. It’s on the offensive line, the tight ends, the receivers and the running backs. It’s something that we can continue to work on." [Full Bennett Transcript]

Domenik Hixon on the loss:

"It is a home opener in the division. This is going to be tough to swallow but like you said, it is a marathon but this one is tough. And not capitalizing on certain plays put us in a position, especially at the end."

Center David Baas:

"We can do better and we have to do better. It was kind of sloppy. There are a lot of things we need to clean up. We just have to keep improving. We didn’t come out there and play our best game today. That is where you have to correct the mistakes and get ready for next week. We didn’t execute well enough and that is the clear point."

David Wilson on not playing after his fumble:

"When you fumble, you want to put it behind you and move forward with the game, but I didn’t get another offensive play in. It’s hard to put it behind you when that’s the last play you can remember, but I understand the coaches… I know I didn’t have much room for error being a rookie and then having a critical error like that, like a turnover. You just live and you learn and you move forward."