Friday, October 3, 2008

Summing Up Mike Holmgren

by: Michael Steffes

Here are some of the highlights from Mitch Levy of KJRs little Friday morning chat with The Big Show.....

To see the Highlights.....

  • Mitch asked if this East coast travel think is unique to his time in Seattle, or if the great SF teams Mike was a part of had similar problems. Holmgren said it was talked about all the time. He said Bill Walsh worried more about it than he does. He said those SF teams used to sleep walk through the first quarter and then their talent would take over. Bottom line, even if there is something to the travel/time change, the team needs to play better.
  • Holmgren said the difference between this years Giants and the Superbowl Champs is that have changed their defensive scheme. Last year they could get home with 4. This year they are blitzing a lot more, which means they have to do some different things in coverage.
  • Holmgren said he talked with Coughlin at the combine about what was going on with their performance at home. Coughlin said that the team actually came together and played better on the road, because they were actually under more pressure at home. When things didn't go right, the home crowd would get one them real quick, and they had a young QB, and things would go downhill. On the road, they didn't get that reaction.
  • Coach said that Plaxico presents specail problems because he is so big and can run. He presents problems for any defensive backs. That said, the Giants will weather the storm. They will plug guys in and be fine. If the Hawks had only lost one receiver they could have managed. It was the number of guys who went down that presented us with problems.
  • Holmgren said that the Hawks are worried about the Giants balance. The natural inclination will be to shut down the Giants running attack, and take their chances through the air.
  • He called this a big week for the defense. He said they have come out of the bye knowing this is a big game and they have answered the challenge so far. They are approaching this game as test for who they are.
  • Holmgren wants to temper expectations for Deion Branch. He is not sure how many snaps he will get. Holmgren said 35 snaps would be a good game. It is tough coming back for the first time after an injury like that.
  • Levy asked if Holmgren thought Branch has underperformed since coming over. Holmgren said that part of the problem is that because of the trade and the big contract the expectations were really high, however in this offense it is really hard for a player to put up typical #1 receiver numbers. Also, the nagging injuries have held him back a bit.
  • Talking about the Koren situation.... Mike said a few things have effected this situation. First, is that Billy McMullen has blown away the expectations the team had for him. Plus he is a big guy which Mike really likes to have in this offense. So he doesn't really need to rush Koren. He wants to get him right before getting him out there. He said that before the season is over they expect Koren to play a big role. It sounds as if he is here to stay for a while.
  • He said in a perfect world the starting three WRs would be Deion, Bobby, and Koren. However, they really like what Colbert is doing too and McMullen would certainly push for time. He said the wild card is Bumpus because he returns punts. Coach says Koren can only return kicks.
  • Holmgren is very optimistic about the running game. He likes this game as a test. The Giants are very good vs the run. However, he said regardless of this game, he believes the line and running game are much improved. He is very pleased about it where it is heading.
  • Mitch.... who has be championing the idea of deferring the kickoff to the second half at home games because the crowd is so crazy at the start of the game and people aren't back in their seats to start the second half, pushed Holmgren on this issue. Holmgren said that Mitch had made some arguments that he had never considered. He will strongly consider it now. He has to take his time and think it through. Good luck with that one.....