PAT SHURMUR: Good morning.  Obviously the game against the Cowboys was very disappointing.  We're not discouraged, we're not frustrated.  We're disappointed from an offensive perspective that we didn't do some of the things that we had done in previous weeks, and we didn't do certainly enough to win the football game.  Defense played extremely well, and we didn't do our part.

That being said, I got a chance to watch the Giants play last night.  They had a pretty good performance against an outstanding runner.  They kept Minnesota's offense very ineffective against them.  They're getting healthier on defense, and I think they played extremely well.  So it's going to be a big challenge for us to get it right and go out and play winning football.  So we're looking forward to being out here today.  I like the fact that we train on Tuesday, because we get out here and get going.  We've got to put together what is our best Tuesday of the year and get ready to play the Giants, so that's where we're at.

You said you're not discouraged. Why weren't you discouraged by Nick Foles' performance?

PAT SHURMUR:  I didn't say that, Nick's performance.  You're adding words to my deal.

You said you weren't discouraged about Sunday.

PAT SHURMUR: No, I'm not discouraged, because I know everything that happened there, all the mistakes are correctible, and I think that's a good thing.  Everything that happened in the game we can correct, and that's what we're going to do starting today.

Why wasn't Nick as accurate?

PAT SHURMUR: Well, I think let's first of all say that there were 11 guys playing.  It wasn't all Nick.  We, as coaches and every other player that was out there have to do a better job.  There are a lot of reasons why we weren't successful.  When you throw the football, there were times when the throw was inaccurate.  There are times when the route has to be sharper.  There are certainly times when we need to protect better.  So it was just a mixture of things.  It all kind of got to us.

I'm talking specifically in the plays where he had time in the pocket and there were receivers down field that were open, raising their hands and he just didn't see them?

PAT SHURMUR:  There were times we had guys open that Nick missed them certainly, but there were other times there were some good throws and we didn't get it done.  Lot of times you go back and look at the fundamentals of playing each position.  That's what we'll get corrected with Nick.

When Nick's been in, he's been pretty accurate even since last year with his passes and he was confident and decisive.  It seemed like some of those things on the pass where there were guys open that weren't there, was it just a bad day or did he get caught up?

PAT SHURMUR: Well, there were some bad plays.  Nick certainly had some bad plays, and I think other guys did as well.  When you go back to it, there are reasons for it.  As I just mentioned, it comes back to the fundamentals, whether it be the footwork, the release of the ball, scrambling to get something done.  Whatever it is, you can point to the fundamentals normally when an error is made.

What about DeSean Jackson?  You guys never really got him going.

PAT SHURMUR: Yeah, DeSean was targeted a few times.  DeSean is having an outstanding year by his standards.  He was out there battling just like everybody else.  As I said before, the catches come in bunches, and we're looking forward to getting him the ball this week.

Were they doing anything differently this year?

PAT SHURMUR:  No, teams are playing us and each team plays us a little bit differently.  But they're starting to develop a common theme.  We've just got to go out and battle and do a better job.

Just in general, were you able to talk to Nick?

PAT SHURMUR:  I've communicated with Nick.  But Nick today has been with the trainers.  It's my understanding he won't be out here practicing today.

LeSean McCoy was hard on himself after the game.  Saying it was one of his worst games since the rookie season.  What did you see out of him and the run game specifically?

PAT SHURMUR:  Again, we try to take, and I'm glad he feels that way.  I think we all did.  That we need to play better and perform better.

But he's a competitor.  He's taken a very mature approach to this season.  And he just wants to do what he can to help us win games.  I think when a guy says that, he's saying I want to try to do better.  I think he could be an outstanding player in this league.  He did some really good things the other night.  In his mind, he was just saying I've got to do more.

Will Mike Vick be taking first-team reps?

PAT SHURMUR:  Mike will be out here taking first-team reps.

Last week you signed B.J. Cunningham, where is he in his state of readiness?  Is he somebody that could contribute as a wide receiver?

PAT SHURMUR:  Yeah, we brought B.J. back last week.  He had a good week of practice.  He was actually active and contributed on special teams.  He's ready to make an impact.  I can't tell you exactly whether he'll be active again this week, but if he's up, we'll try to use him a little bit.

When a quarterback does struggle with his footwork, he's been in the league a couple years now.  Is it kind of alarming that all of a sudden he gets back into something he really didn't show before?

PAT SHURMUR:  No, I think every once in a while all players at all levels will have a play or two where their fundamentals go away from them, and you just get yourself settled and get back to it.  I don't think there is any kind of a weird trend there.  Just a couple bad plays that were very noticeable to everybody watching, and we just get it right and get it going.

With Mike taking the first team reps today, are we to assume he's 100 percent healthy and will start on Sunday?

PAT SHURMUR:  He'll be out there practicing and taking the reps.  I wouldn't encourage you to assume anything.  We'll just see what ‑‑ coach talked about it -- who the starter is based on the health of the quarterbacks.  He'll be out there working with Matt Barkley.  And you saw we signed G.J. Kinne back for a lot of reasons.  He's done a lot of things for us.  He can help us on the look squad, and of course he's familiar with our system and did some good things during camp.

When you put together a game plan though, do you look at ‑‑ do you do it around the thought that maybe Michael will probably be playing?

PAT SHURMUR:  We put together a plan that fits all the quarterbacks, so it's not like we're all the way over here if say Nick's playing or all the way over here if Mike's playing.  We put together a plan that fits all of our quarterbacks.

Do you expect Mike to play during the team drills and all that today?

PAT SHURMUR:  Yeah, he'll be out there practicing.

11 on 11s?

PAT SHURMUR: Yeah, he'll be out there.

The Giants used eight in the box, sometimes nine in the box yesterday.  Do you go in thinking they're most likely to do something like that and maybe exploit?

PAT SHURMUR:  They were successful ‑‑ I mean, yeah.  What they did last night was very successful against one of the premier rushers in the league.  So I imagine they'll have some of those thoughts that will carry over to our game in an attempt to stop LeSean from gaining yards.  So, yeah, we anticipate we'll see some of that. What was it like when you played the Giants a few weeks ago and turned around and game planned again?  What were some of the challenges?

Pat Shurmur: Yeah, it happens when you're within the division.  There are times when you play a team within a month or so.  I think the game that we played and the preparation of the game we just played was very fresh in our minds.  We've only got a couple of new games to watch.  They're the same Giants team.  The only thing I would say is they're getting healthier.  We hit them earlier in the year when they were dealing with injuries.  Especially in the secondary.  They're getting some guys back.  They've got a win under their belt now.  I'm sure they're excited and they'll go into their preparation trying to get their second one.  So it's important for us to play our best ball and beat them.

A lot of young quarterbacks in their career, when they take a step back as Nick did on Sunday, how do you build them back up?  Do you always kind of move on since it's the minority of his overall resume or do you look at it and try to go over it and get him to learn from his mistakes?

PAT SHURMUR:  Yeah, it was less than his best game.  I wouldn't call it a step back.  We just correct and move forward.  I think that's what you do.  You don't make much more out of it than that.  That's what's nice about the process of preparing for the next team.  This is a game you have to practice, and we'll be out here training today, getting ready for our next opponent and matching up what we do against the Giants.  You're always working on the fundamentals of playing the position.  So that's what we work on.  Talking like that sounds cliché, but that's the way you have to do it.  That's what we're going to do.

Your offensive line, it looked like just finishing blocks in the run game, was that kind of an issue to get to the second level?  Sometimes you have guys on linebackers, trying to finish them off or pass protection and getting them to that point?

PAT SHURMUR:  I thought the offensive line battled well in the pass protection end of things.  There are teams that will get pressure on you.  That's why the quarterback will get in the scramble mode and have something happen.  That happens at times, but they battled.  I think it's important that we always try to finish our blocks.  It's important you don't grab and let your feet stop.  So we work on that as well.

Did you see them not finishing as cleanly?

PAT SHURMUR:  No, I wouldn't paint to a trend there.  I thought our guys battled.  But that group's no different than the quarterback group or the receiver group.  We didn't do what we do well enough for enough plays and we got beat.  Those are the reasons for it.

The Giants had some success with that nut-stunt.  Your linemen were calling it that on the inside zone read where Mike Patterson and a couple other guys were shooting it back?

PAT SHURMUR:  They've got to be able to block movement.  That is plain and simple.  Teams have been moving on us, and they'll continue to do it.  But we've got to block movement.  We have ways to try to combat it.

If you look at Barkley, where's he at to this point?

PAT SHURMUR: We saw him do some really nice things in the preseason, then he got in the game, and had he some good plays.  Now he had some bad plays that he'll learn from.  Again, I think the next time he goes out there ‑‑ when we put him out there, we expect him to play winning football, the next time that is, whenever that is.  I think his opportunity to play the other night, he'll learn from the bad plays that he had.

So the three interceptions in nine minutes, was that the product of the situation he was in or was he overmatched out there?

PAT SHURMUR: Those are three bad plays.  It's not a product of anything.  Those are three bad plays.  There are reasons why they occurred, and he'll find ways to correct it.

You mentioned that defenses are adopting a common theme.  How would you quantify that?  What would you say?

PAT SHURMUR: I don't know.  I think as we play more and more games, teams are going to try to do things.  They watch other people.  I'll leave it at that.

If both Vick ad Foles are healthy, who is the starter?

PAT SHURMUR: Coach names the starter.  We come out here and ask trainer the ones that are healthy.  Like coach said, he'll make that determination based on the health of the guys that you just mentioned. Back to Barkley for a second.  Did you get a sense that he was overwhelmed at times out there being the first NFL regular season game?

PAT SHURMUR:  Not at all.  He wasn't overwhelmed at all.  He was out there ‑‑ the one thing about Matt is he makes quick decisions and delivers the football.  Couple of them he'd like to have back.  But I don't think he was overwhelmed at all.

Is this something you have to expect when you have young quarterbacks in this league?  Those kind of games are almost expected to happen sometimes?

PAT SHURMUR: No, we don't expect bad play from anybody, no matter how old they are.  We expect them to go out and perform well.  That's what we expect.  If there are bad plays or bad games, you do what you can to correct it.

Getting back to Nick real quick.  Does it hurt him a little bit the fact that he I'm sure ideally you want to get to him right away after a game and coach him up.  But now with the concussion might there be an extended period before you can get him back out on the field and correct the mistakes?

PAT SHURMUR:  I'd like to see him out here as quickly as possible, but there is protocol.  If you have concussion‑like symptoms and all of that.  There is protocol that the league mandates.  We're going to follow that because we believe in that process.  So when he's out there, and again, I'm looking out at the field beyond the cameras here.  Whoever is out there, we're going to work with.  Our guys do a good job of trying to get healthy and get to practice.  As soon as he's out there, we'll get him better.

Last year with Bryce Brown, there were some really good games, really high average per carry.  This year what are the reasons it's not there.  What are you seeing?  Is he a rhythm guy where he's not getting a lot of carries?  Is it tough for him to be at his best?

PAT SHURMUR:  No, I don't think that is the case.  Bryce has done a good job.  He may not have the production that you're trying to compare last year to.  But I think LeSean is having an outstanding year as well.  So he keeps batting, and he's out there playing.

What is Bryce doing well?

PAT SHURMUR: I think he's a hard runner, a physical runner, and when he's been in there, he's done a good job with his pass protection.  I think as the year goes on, there are games when guys will play more than they did the week before.  We anticipate it.  If he has to play more of a role than he has to this point, he'll go in there and do fine.