BY PAUL SCHWARTZ
Rain did not dampen the spirits of Tom Coughlin has he ushered in the start of Giants training camp with a forceful message to anyone still wondering how his team managed to defy staggering odds and win Super Bowl XLII.
“Team over self is why we won,” Coughlin stated as a press conference inside the basketball arena at the University at Albany, where steady precipitation forced a scheduled introductory welcome-to-camp picnic to be moved indoors.
Coughlin is set for the arrival tomorrow of all 80 players, who will take part in a conditioning run, check into their dorm rooms and begin the grind that is training camp. One player who won’t be on the scene is Jeremy Shockey, traded away to the Saints, and Coughlin admitted the selfish attitude of his former tight end helped sway the decision to send him packing.
“I am sure at some point that was part of the discussion,” Coughlin said.
Mainly, the head coach of the defending champions wants to make sure his team realizes how its stunning success was achieved. “I think that attitude will permeate the position we find ourselves in this year,” he said. “And I think that with the quality of the individuals we have, the character of our team, that they certainly are going to realize that the attitude about believing in one another, about supporting one another, about the idea of taking the names off the back of the jerseys, that is what served us best last year.”
The main topics for Coughlin and his coaching staff to sort through on a day of media availability were the departure of Shockey, the retirement and replacement of defensive end Michael Strahan and the general health of the team. Here’s what some of the appropriate coaches had to say:
On replacing Shockey:
“The best thing I can do is make the analogy between this year with Jeremy and the loss of Tiki [Barber] last year,” offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride said. “I wasn’t sure how we were gonna replace him. I donât know how we’re gonna fill it. We’ll have to see what adaptations and modifications we have to do with the tight end role. Do we play less two tights? Do we have certain restrictions with certain players? Maybe instead of doing scheme blocking on certain plays we work in conjunction with the tackle in zone blocking.”
On Shockey leaving:
“A player in some cases can be at a place too long,” tight ends coach Mike Pope said. “I think the circumstances that happened with the injuries and the things that went on in his mind, having to sit and win the Super Bowl, I donât think his worth in his own mind diminished but I think he realized, as this organization realized and the fans realized, organizations and teams can keep moving when individuals arenât there. With what went on and the way all of those things took place he obviously felt maybe a new place, a new start. It was time to move on.”
On replacing Strahan:
“You donât replace, in my opinion a Hall of Famer, with one guy,” defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said. “But you certainly can fill people in there, if everybody picks up the slack you can get the same result.”
On the weak side linebacker competition between Gerris Wilkinson and Barry Clark:
“They will be splitting reps,” linebackers coach Bill Sheridan said. “The players understand that. It’s wide open, Danny Clark came here to win a starting job and Gerris Wilkinson every bit sees himself as wining the starting job. It will be wonderful competition.”
The only player not expected to be able to practice at the start of camp is WR David Tyree, who is coming off off-season knee surgery and likely headed to the Physically Unable to Perform list. Two players coming off procedures for sports hernias, CB Sam Madison and LB Danny Clark, are expected to be able to practice but will likely participate on a limited basis.
