Coughlin Corner: Coach discusses Sunday night debacle vs. Eagles

New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin still seemed shocked Monday afternoon by the 27-0 thrashing his team took Sunday night at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles. Here is some of what Coughlin said during his Monday press conference.

Coughlin was asked why the Giants, during his tenure, have seemed to play well with their backs to the wall but have not handled prosperity well at times.

"I haven't thought a lot about that just yet, because of the nature of where we are now. The humility should and is deserved," Coughlin said. "The ability to continue to rise and to improve as a football team is my concern. Where is the consistency?

"There is no time for feeling sorry for ourselves or anything of that nature. Anything that happened yesterday was brought on by us, we did not play in any of the phases of the game ... We don't hide from anything, we lay it right on the line, and we will be prepared to go to Dallas this weekend. The idea is to rise up, we have been knocked down before, this hurts, there is no question about it. I am not trying to disguise that in any kind of way."

On the loss of Victor Cruz ...

"Victor Cruz is a very, very positive and popular young man who has meant an awful lot to this franchise. Just by virtue of his work ethic and the fact that he is a Pro Bowl playmaker. Yes, but again, it is another test for the team. I was going to say the offensive side of the ball, but really for our team. Leaders have to continue to come forward and this is an opportunity for someone else to get themselves into a position of leadership on this team, to be respected as Victor Cruz always has been by his teammates. There we go, you can't lament too long, we don't have time."

On how the Giants replace Cruz ...

"We will start with the ingredients that we have." Coughlin also indicated moving Odell Beckham Jr. into the slot "will become a topic with the offensive coaches" but that nothing has been decided, or even discussed.

On the poor play of the Giants on special teams ...

"We are continuously trying to improve all areas as you look at the guys that are in those positions. You see there are a lot changes and our players are our players and we got a couple kick-off returns yesterday from Michael Cox up to about the 25 and that was a good thing. I thought that was okay. I continue to be disappointed at one point or another with our punt game, but to be honest with you, we punted the ball six times in the first half. Going into the game, if you would have said that to me, I would have looked at you cross-eyed. I really did think our offense would have played much better than it did. It started as it always does, upfront, and we didn't do a good job of blocking their front. Special teams-wise, yeah, we do have to clean some things up. The punter has got to produce faster, we have to get the ball out, the production efficiency has got to improve there. We do a decent job of covering up until the 43-yard punt return, which drives you crazy. An outstanding returner back there, but nevertheless, we have worked on this all week long. That area right now is a real issue for us and we are continuing to try to work on it. As you know, it just is something that has been very difficult for us to wrap our arms around consistently."

On the breakdowns in the offensive line, which surrendered eight sacks and took six penalties ...

"You can't pick any one person out because we certainly took turns. The pass protection breakdowns were something that we haven't seen a lot of and I am giving a lot of credit to their defensive front, they played well. They played as well as I have seen them play, and I looked at every one of their games. They played as well, or better, against us as they had all season long and that is to their credit."

On the possibility that Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (ankle/hamstring and now back issues) will have to miss time ...

"Well, I would hope that we can figure out some way to try to take care of his medical issue. If it has to be this week, fine; if it isn't, it will be after this game here with the bye in front of us. That is a medical decision that is going to have to be made."

Other Notes

Coughlin said that injured offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz, out with a dislocated toe, will run this week for the first time. Schwartz is eligible to return Nov. 3 against the Indianapolis Colts ... Coughlin said middle linebacker Jon Beason "was obviously rusty, a little bit rusty. Nevertheless, he is a force when he is in the game."