On whether Giants Stadium makes him nervous because of its wind patterns: "I don't know if I'd say it makes me nervous, but it's definitely a concern going in. Anytime you've got the wind condition you have to deal with—if you look at our last game, for example, the wind in our face on those field goals that we had to contend with—it's always an issue. I think, this week going in, it's going to be a matter of going out in pregame and seeing what it's doing and, hopefully, we're not in a situation where we have to kick any long field goal with the wind in our face."
On P Sav Rocca's lower punting average after a strong start to the season and what needs to be done to get back to where he was: "I think he showed last week that there are, obviously, a lot of weather conditions involved with that. He can go into the dome and have a great game. I think, this week, it's just going to be a matter of him going out and not trying to overcompensate too much for the wind condition; just going out and sticking with his base fundamentals there and making sure we're making solid contact on the ball each time."
On whether the same approach applies to K David Akers: "Yeah. Again, a lot of it has to do with where the wind is coming from. If it's in your face, if it's right to left, left to right, depending on what the situation is there. Both of those guys have kicked in windy conditions before and had success there. Each and every game is just a little bit different and we're just hoping we go out this week and go out and execute."
On whether Akers has corrected his early-season struggles kicking with wind: "I think so. Earlier in the season, with the longer field goals, he probably overcompensated just a little bit for the wind. I think, now, he's realizing, with his leg strength, he's not having to compensate quite as much. He's making the right adjustments there and making them go through."
On whether Akers has a problem with over-thinking kicks: "Each kick presents its own challenge. In terms of the weather, again, I think, early in the season, David just overcompensated just a little bit for that. Long explanation short, I think that's what it was; just thinking the wind was blowing harder than it was and trying to aim too far, one direction or the other. Again, I think he's a veteran guy and he understands how to go out and make those adjustments and he's done a good job of that the rest of the season here."
On Giants P Jeff Feagles' success punting away from WR/PR DeSean Jackson this season and whether there's a way to put pressure on him to change that: "Jeff's, he's been punting 100 years it seems like and he's just a veteran guy and the best in the business, from that standpoint. The pressure end of it really doesn't seem to bother him. We've tried some different things there. We've tried to come after him where we thought he was going to punt the football and he still ends up putting it down. He's got a quick operation and so, really, I don't think that kind of thing affects him that much. I think the same thing, though, in terms of the wind conditions. Here over the last three or four games, he's kept the ball in bounds a little bit more and I think that has something to do with it. He's not wanting to punt a really short ball and taking the chance of having the wind push it out of bounds, so it depends on what the wind conditions are, that we may or may not get a returnable ball there. Again, I just don't think the pressure end of it really affects him that much."
On players like S Sean Considine and LB Omar Gaither playing on special teams after having been starters earlier in their careers and whether that's hard for those players: "Those guys really had a great attitude as far as coming in and, really, just understanding their roles and knowing that special teams is a big part of the win/loss column. They've gone out and really helped us execute. We still have a couple guys, you look at (LB) Akeem Jordan, you look at (S) Quintin Mikell, those guys are starters and they're still contributing on special teams. I think they just understand that field position is critical. Especially here in the playoffs, once you get to that point, you have to do whatever it takes to win and those guys are doing a nice job of that."
On the Giants giving up the 2nd-worst starting field position (30.7 yard line) in the NFL in the regular season and what contributes to that: "I think one of the things they're doing is, with (Giants K John) Carney, he'll get the ball down there, he'll hang it up really high and it usually comes down anywhere between the five-six yard line; somewhere along those lines. So, they're getting a little bit of return yardage, but they're solid in terms of not giving up any big returns. If you look at their average start, it's probably not one of the best in the league, but they're not giving up a lot of return yardage. They're kind of sacrificing one for the other in terms of just being consistent getting the ball where they want to have it start, as opposed to having that long return given up against them."
On Jackson's game at Minnesota in which he set an Eagles record for most punt return yards in a playoff game with 109 (2nd most ever in an Eagles game) and whether he's being more decisive with his returns: "That's where DeSean's had his most success, when he'll just catch the ball and get straight up the field. At the same time, he did have a little bit of room there to get started. We did a nice job, I thought, the core guys, of blocking and giving him some separation there between the defenders and the catch-point. Hopefully, if we get a returnable ball this week, we can just go out and execute with our blockers again and get him some room to get going."
