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New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin strode to the podium following Sunday night's 20-12 loss to the Indianapolis Colts and quickly admitted he was "disappointed" with the way the Giants played.
"We didn't make any plays," Coughlin said. "Might have made one or two, but certainly nowhere near enough. You know, we had many opportunities and then didn't come away with anything; I thought we had two interceptions there on two touchdowns of theirs, and we were down in scoring territory a bunch of times and didn't come away with touchdowns, so that continues to be an area of concern for us."
Let's look at some of the takeaways from Sunday night.
Red Zone Woes
The Giants went 0-for-4 in the red zone Sunday, 0-for-3 with the starting offense. They are now 0-for-6 in the red zone in two games.
"It’s something we’ve got to get better at," said quarterback Eli Manning. "We’ve just got to look at the game film and make sure everything is happening in a timely fashion, we’re getting good protection, guys are running their routes correctly, and we’re getting the ball off and hopefully do a little better on those conversions."
Coughlin's penalty
The Giants coach was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct near the end of the first half, turning a 30-yard Josh Brown field goal into a 45-yarder -- which Brown made. Coughlin was apparently penalized for being on the field too much, a penalty he called "foolish."
"I’m taking full responsibility for that, I was wrong," Coughlin said. "I was out on the field too many times, they warned me about that ... wasn’t a very smart move, but the frustration in terms of how we played was there and I am disappointed in tonight’s game."
Larry Donnell Plays, Impresses Coughlin
Tight end Larry Donnell, fighting for a spot on the 53-man roster, suffered a scary-looking knee injury Friday during practice and was originally listed among players not expected to suit up Sunday night. Donnell not only suited up -- he played five snaps.
"I take my hat off to Larry Donnell, he hurt himself the other day in practice. I was afraid of the seriousness; he came back with the ligaments intact but we thought he would be sore. He vowed that he wanted to play, he had the doctors and the trainers with him on the field this morning and he ran and went through a series of exercises and the medical people cleared him to play," Coughlin said. "So his attitude, really more than anything else, determined that he wanted to play and he did."
Justin Pugh Makes Debut
Pugh played 20 snaps at left tackle Sunday night. He surrendered one sack, but held his own against a variety of Colts' pass rushers.
"I think I did all right," Pugh said. "I had some real good plays there. Obviously that one, that one with the sack, you’ve just got to keep getting better and keep working on your technique. I definitely feel like I had more positive plays than negative. There are a couple of plays where obviously you wish you could get back, but you learn from those and you get better."
Connor Starts At MLB
Dan Connor got the start at middle linebacker Sunday and did a nice job, recording three solo tackles. The Giants' first unit played better against the run this week. Coughlin said the competition between Connor and Mark Herzlich has yet to be decided.
"it’s very competitive, so we flipped it around and just wanted to see him [Connor] operate with the ones," Coughlin said.
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