On the special teams' performance against the Giants: "I'm very pleased with overall the way we played. We still need to get some things corrected, but we took a step in the right direction, that's for sure."
On where the most growth on special teams has been: "We're becoming more consistent in our coverage phases on punt and kickoff, as far as guys being in their right lanes, being more disciplined. That's beginning to come together. One mistake obviously can cost you, but right now that group has been playing better and making improvements. For the first time last week, I saw some consistency in our return unit. Guys upfront were doing a nice job. The wedge did an excellent job. (CB) Ellis (Hobbs) did an excellent job of finding seams."
On whether kickoff returns are going to be more difficult against the Cowboys: "They have an excellent kickoff guy, a rookie who has just come in to the league. I believe he is leading the league in touchbacks. He gets good height on the ball. It's going to be difficult; we are going to be challenged. They have an excellent kickoff coverage group too. It will be hard to do that, but as you can tell when you can start the game out with a big play on the kickoff return it just does wonders for everybody."
On whether he believes that one unit helps bring momentum to the others throughout the game: "I do. I believe it's intertwined all of them, if the defense makes a big play the offense takes the field. After (CB) Asante (Samuel's) interception, it just gives you life, momentum changing plays, and special teams can really do that, especially when you start the game out and you get the ball out to about the 40 yard line, your offense just has a little juice when they take the field."
On whether DE Jason Babin's misplay of the ball on the kickoff return was a result of inexperience: "It is. Just a guy in a situation where he should have just let the ball go and then he tried to field it and it was at his feet and he didn't try to knock it out of bounds. It's just an inexperienced guy. Most of the mistakes that we've made throughout the year have been from guys that are inexperienced or just beginning to play special teams and we have to clean that up."
On whether he sees progress among the inexperienced players: "Absolutely, that's probably the biggest improvement. We have quite a few young and experienced guys on our team playing special teams and as the year progresses you see them coming around and understanding things and fitting schemes and doing things a little bit better and that's what we're really trying to do. We're always just trying to get a little bit better each week and get those young guys to understand."
On whether WR Patrick Crayton is one of the most skilled punt returners in the league: "He has been the last two weeks, that's for sure. I give him a lot of credit. (He is an) excellent slasher returner, big strong guy. He gets north south in a hurry, has done a real nice job. Their punt unit as a whole has really stepped up."
On whether directional punting is more critical against the Cowboys: "We're always trying to do that with (P) Sav (Rocca). He has made a lot of improvement from that perspective. We are always trying to do that but no matter where (Crayton) catches the ball, he's a threat. Whenever he gets the ball in his hands, and they've done an excellent job the last two weeks, we'll have our hands full."
On whether CB Dimitri Patterson will play Sunday: "He's practicing again. It's a day-to-day to see how his health is. He's getting out there, running around. We'd love to have him back, but you just have to take it day-by-day and see how he feels."
On whether S Sean Jones' increased role on defense will decrease his play on special teams: "To some extent it does. He is still going to be involved on punt and hopefully kickoff. If a guy is playing full time on defense, you can't have him play four phases on special teams also, so we'll adjust and adapt."
On whether he needs to be especially vigilant about keeping the special teams disciplined given the rivalry and emotion surrounding this game: "They are going to be excited obviously, it's a huge game. We have a lot of respect for the Cowboys. We know they're playing well. We're starting to come around and play well, a little bit better on special teams each week. You just have to keep doing your job. You just have to stay focused and understand that what you do affects the game and make sure we're disciplined and not get too excited and just do our job and we'll be okay."
On who will play if LB Chris Gocong does not play: "We're still not sure whether or not he's going to be able to play. If he is not able to play, (LB) Joe Mays will step in and fill his role."
On the enforcement by referees of the wedge rule: "I think they've been consistent, I really do. I don't think anybody has really tried to push the envelope too far with the wedge situations. I think the coaches have done a good job of adjusting to the new rule and I don't see that being an issue."
