Tom Coughlin officially opened his first-ever training camp as the head coach of a defending Super Bowl champion, and the first thing he did was defend his champs. He addressed a question that has been on the minds of many Giants fans this offseason about the perception that this team - especially without Michael Strahan and Jeremy Shockey - might not be as good as the team he had last year. “Well,” Coughlin said inside the University at Albany basketball arena, “perception is not necessarily reality.” Coughlin made it clear that he feels he has a strong team, ready and determined to mount a defense of the Super Bowl title. His opening message was all about “team over self,” and how that was “such a critical, critical part of the success that we had last season,” and how he’s sure - especially with Shockey gone - that he’s got a team that believes in that philosophy. “The reason we won (last year) was because of ‘team,’” the coach said. “Team over self is why we won. The unselfishness that was demonstrated throughout the year, the believing in one another, the supporting of one another, the idea that so many people contributed. One of the things that I was most proud of is we were not a team that ever really looked back. We constantly looked forward, and that was in the good times and the bad. And I think that that attitude will permeate the position we find ourselves in this year.” He will likely hammer the same themes into his ...
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Tom Coughlin officially opened his first-ever training camp as the head coach of a defending Super Bowl champion, and the first thing he did was defend his champs. He addressed a question that has been on the minds of many Giants fans this offseason about the perception that this team - especially without Michael Strahan and Jeremy Shockey - might not be as good as the team he had last year. “Well,” Coughlin said inside the University at Albany basketball arena, “perception is not necessarily reality.” Coughlin made it clear that he feels he has a strong team, ready and determined to mount a defense of the Super Bowl title. His opening message was all about “team over self,” and how that was “such a critical, critical part of the success that we had last season,” and how he’s sure - especially with Shockey gone - that he’s got a team that believes in that philosophy. “The reason we won (last year) was because of ‘team,’” the coach said. “Team over self is why we won. The unselfishness that was demonstrated throughout the year, the believing in one another, the supporting of one another, the idea that so many people contributed. One of the things that I was most proud of is we were not a team that ever really looked back. We constantly looked forward, and that was in the good times and the bad. And I think that that attitude will permeate the position we find ourselves in this year.” He will likely hammer the same themes into his ...