Opening Remarks: "The last game we played fine. There are many things that we can get a little bit better at there, and then we have an important week that we are in the middle of here. It's important for a lot of guys for many different reasons, so this game and these practices are important."
On whether RB Tony Hunt is still the starting fullback: "There's a battle going on. He's going to get another shot here with a certain amount of plays, and we'll see how he does. He did very well in some aspects, and there were a couple of things that we're looking for him to get a little bit better at."
On Hunt's performance during the last preseason game: "He did a couple of things real well. Then, there was more than a couple where he splattered just a little bit, so the fundamental and technique work there will come into play. Excellent effort. He ran the ball pretty well from the fullback spot. His pass protection was fine from there."
On whether they will run Hunt at tailback any during this last preseason game: "You saw last week that we, I don't want to go into too much detail, but we split a man out and then he carried the football really from a halfback spot even though he was playing fullback, so those are all of his possibilities."
On whether he has a good idea right now of what his half of the roster is going to look like: "We'll see. Like I said, this is an important week. Special teams production comes into play at multiple positions, so we'll see how this thing irons out after this ball game."
On QB Kevin Kolb's progression: "He's had an excellent offseason, and he's had a real good training camp. If you remember last preseason, he led the league in attempts by a bunch and so that was by plan. And this year he's had plenty of action and he certainly has been impressive in most situations. There are a couple of things there that we are working on, and I think we've got that nailed down. I think he has a chance to be a pretty good quarterback, so we'll see how he keeps progressing."
On the fullback position: "There's a battle there now. [FB] Jason Davis is a pretty good fullback there. I think he has some skill and ability, and then, Tony is progressing and he has to do that very quickly here, and then [FB] Jed [Collins] has had a fine training camp as well and had a couple of shots there early. We'll certainly go back and review that as well."
On whether he thinks blocking is one of the most important skills at the fullback position: "That's a big part of it, yes."
On whether there is an upside to keeping Hunt because of his versatility despite his inexperience at fullback: "That's a possibility. That's a good point. There are some situations that you get into where you may not be quite as good at that position for the first two, three, even six or eight ball games, but you may be better down the stretch. I was talking in general there."
On how G Shawn Andrews played and how the offensive line played as a unit: "Shawn did fine for his first outing. The offensive line played well. It always starts up there. Those guys have to play very well as a unit for us to be any good at all in that particular ball game, and they did a pretty good job last week."
On what specific positions he will be evaluating in the game this week: "All of the line because this is a big game for those guys. There are a couple of receivers that I'll try to get a real good look at. There are a couple of tight ends to get a good look at in this game as well. Like I said, again, the special teams production comes into play at those positions."
On the difference in Kolb from last year to this year: "Experience. That's the biggest thing there. Within the experience, the reps that he's seen, a certain amount of coverages that he hasn't seen at all yet. He's been through a full year, and going into your second year, most players are a little bit more comfortable with the system and the players around him. He can anticipate the upcoming events a little bit better."
On the Giants loss of DE Osi Umenyiora for the season: "He's an excellent player, no question about that. He's an excellent pass rusher. He is one of those players that you need to know where he's at every play, and he's proved that the last couple of years."
On how the loss of WR Kevin Curtis will affect what he's trying to do with the offense: "We go with the next guy who steps up and plays, and that's just our mentality. We'd like to have Kevin back as quick as possible. He's really a good player. I think he's a little underrated, and he's a good player. We'd like him back as quick we can. In the mean time, we have some pretty good players that will be able to step up and play at a high level."
On whether he feels like he could put WR DeSean Jackson anywhere on the field and be comfortable: "Yes, I do. We could put him anywhere on the field that would be mostly at the flanker position, but formationally we could move him around pretty much at will."
On why he likes DeSean at the flanker position: "There are a couple of reasons. A flanker, not always but most of the time, is off the ball and available to move. He could be in the slot very easily, so he has a bit more room there with releases. The flanker spot is built for a guy like him as far as the basic routes and adjustments. It fits his skills a little better than X. X is, in many cases, a little bit bigger, more powerful type of, stronger type of –I shouldn't say stronger, I should say big, strong, physical type of man, that in many cases you'll see at the split end spot."
On whether the split end spot is more suited for WR Hank Baskett: "That's right. Hank's a big, physical guy, and he plays all over the place. He's a really smart guy, but his main spot is that split end."
On whether he is surprised at how quickly QB Donovan McNabb and DeSean have connected: "I haven't thought about that much because those things just happen naturally, and I think that they do have a pretty good feel of each other and it has shown up. Some of that's naturally, I think, and the rest is the hard work and preparation that both of them have put in."
On WR DeSean Jackson's performance during the preseason and whether it will be hard to keep him as involved during the regular season: "He has, and I expect him to play at a high level. The key is to play at that high level at a consistent basis, and he's done a pretty good job of that, there are a couple of things [to work on] there. As far as touches, we're not big into touches. We use all of our eligible runners and receivers. We'll try and put some heat on the defense that way, and then we'll try to get [the ball] into our playmakers hands a little bit more. But I think we'll be –that's a positive there."
On C Nick Cole's size: "He's a big guy. He's a little shorter than people think; however, he's a little bit bigger. I think conditioning wise he's in pretty good shape there. He's a strong, powerful guy. He did a very nice job against a real good starting nose guard. I should say he did a real good job on most of the guys there."
On whether there is a night and day difference in TE L.J. Smith this year compared to last year: "Yeah, it is night and day. He was hurt when he came in. He was hurt the whole season. He was never healthy, so it is night and day that way. He's playing fast, and so that's a good thing. He's playing very consistent. Again, he's had a couple of things there that we've pin-pointed that he can get better at real quick, and he'll do that real quickly. I would expect him to play very well early in the season."
On the biggest thing he misses without WR Kevin Curtis on the field: "He's a heck of a player. I've already talked about that. I think he's a little bit underrated there. He's productive. He's consistent. You can count on him every play. He's smart. He does the right thing almost every time. Then, he's got a little bit of a dynamic in him that creates some explosiveness with the offense, so that's him. Now, I do think that we have other players that are capable of playing at a high level, so we'll just keep that thing going there."
