The Giants addressed a glaring need with their selection of Miami safety Kenny Phillips. Phillips, who is listed as a free safety, has seven interceptions and 15 tackles for a loss in three years at Miami, He’ll shore up a thin defensive secondary which currently has James Butler (who is on a one-year tender), second-year man Michael Johnson and veteran Sammy Knight).

It’s a sound move for the Giants, whom you’ll remember lost Gibril Wilson this year to free agency after Wilson, coming off a one-year tender, turned in a career year and earned himself an enormous contract from Oakland. With Butler not locked up long term and with Knight only on a two-year contract, Phillips provides the Giants with depth at a position that was thin.

Phillips, who said he can play either safety position, described himself as a versatile player who can fit into a number of roles. “I can be a ball hawk or a pure tackler or play special teams. Whatever they need me to do I’m going to go in and do it.”

He also said he was looking forward to coming to a Super Bowl winning defense, where he understands that he’s going to have to earn a starting job. “It’s a blessing to go to a defensive team that won the Super Bowl. My goal is to compete for a starting job, but I’m not going to rush it I want to learn as much as I can from the players and the coaches. I think I can definitely make an impact.”  

Phillips was asked his thoughts about why he slid so far in the first round. He opined that maybe his school’s won-loss record was a reason. “Teams generally don’t look much at guys who come from schools without winning records.” He also said that prior to today, the last time he spoke with the Giants was at the NFL Combines, though he also did say that the Giants had representatives present at Miami’s pro day.

As the latest Miami alumnus to join the Giants, Phillips said that he was very familiar with receiver Sinorice Moss, but said he didn’t know TE Jeremy Shockey, who continues to be rumored to be on the trading block. When asked if he was looking forward to playing with Shockey, he said. “I am, but if he’s not around, then I wish him the best.”

General manager Jerry Reese described the Phillips selection as one of “nice value and a needed position.” When asked if Miami’s won-loss record was a factor in their evaluation, Reese said, “No, we look at the player’s body of work.”

Head coach Tom Coughlin said he was pleased to have Phillips on board. At this point, he didn’t say whether Phillips would be a strong or free safety, but noted that the two safeties have to be interchangeable to a certain degree.

FAST FACT
Phillips becomes the first safety drafted in round one by the Giants since Shaun Williams was plucked 24th overall in the 1998 draft.

Finished with 15 PBUs and seven PICs. In 2007 he finished with five PBU, six TFL, three FF and two interceptions. Early entry but with good experience. Phillips was highly recruited out of high school and started as a true freshman. Terrific length and weight for position. Productive, generally physical and aggressive, a high effort guy. Plays with a nasty streak at times. Top athlete with long limbs. Good speed and very good explosiveness and quickness with rapid foot turnover. Instinctive, with quick reaction time to get to the ball carrier. Good acceleration. Has sideline-to-sideline range
and very good agility with loose hips, turns to run smoothly and fluidly. Instinctive, reacts very quickly. Strong and a good hitter and wrap up tackler.

Sound tackler in the open field. Has a solid understanding of offenses and makes plays in coverage or run support. Drives quickly on the ball carrier in run support. Very good leaping ability. Good blitzer. Hasn’t gotten a lot of interceptions in his three years as a starter. Will take some missteps in coverage at times. Will also go for the WOW hit occasionally and fail to wrap up securely. Last season Miami didn’t have a good team and Phillips had a lingering ankle injury, and he didn’t play with the same aggression all the time.

Needs technique improvement. Sometimes comes out of his backpedal too high. Will bite on play fakes at times. Doesn’t look as good as some of the sensational safeties that have come out of Miami (think Ed Reed) but he is NFL ready and should prove to be a very good professional.

Opening Statement:
We were pleased to have the opportunity to draft a player of Kenny Phillips’ ability when we did in the bottom of the first round.  We had him ranked high.  We had him as the best safety on the board.  It is a need position for us.  He is an excellent football player.  He is a guy that will come down in the box and tackle and can play in coverage.  He has played over wide receivers during his career.  He has a career which gives you the balance and the versatility of a player of his ability with his interceptions, his tackles, etc.  We are excited to have an opportunity to draft this player.  There is great value in this pick and it is a need position, so therefore we have been able to accomplish a bunch of things here with Kenny Phillips.

Everyone says he is not Ed Reed or Sean Taylor…
He is Kenny Phillips.  He is not either one of those guys.  He is Kenny Phillips and that is a plenty good football player.

Do you see him as more of a free or strong safety?
I don’t know.  We are going to look at that.  They do have to be interchangeable to a great extent.  We have talked about this before.  You can motion or whatever and put people in position where whoever you think is free is down and whoever you think is strong is back deep.  There is so much four across the board coverage and rolled up coverage one way or the other that they end up with multiple responsibilities anyway.  We will talk about exactly where, but as I said, he is a good football player and we certainly will find a spot for him.

He can play in the box versus going back and playing center field?
That is what you see when you study him, too.  He is down and he does play well when he is down and he also plays well… his range is good, you can see that on film.  He can go to the sideline for a ball.

Do you think you were fortunate that he was there at 31?
Well, we do because we had him ranked as high as we did.  I think what happens when you talk about that is you may have some people in the mix in terms of who you are talking about who have, for some reason or another, not that same evaluation.  In other words, it may be a medical, it may be a character, or it may be something.  This is a very, very sound, solid young man who does have all these attributes going for him.  This was good. 

At what point did you think you could get him?
I think we started talking probably around 22 or 23.  We quickly discussed four or five players and then held for a minute and then saw a guy go off the board and then jumped back into discussions.  We were pretty well set with four, I think four, guys with three picks to go.

Do you think he can come in and make an impact on this team next year?
I do.  I think that he will compete.  Obviously he is a young player with a lot to learn.  I think he has demonstrated that attitude to you and he is a sharp kid.  He is going to come in and he is going to be humble and try to learn as much as he possibly can, but there is no doubt that he has to be excited because of the opportunity.

What did you say to him when you spoke on the phone?
My job is really to greet, to tell him how excited we are to be in a position where we are going to make the pick, to ask him if they are excited about being a New York Giant, and just make sure that they are healthy and their status is exactly the same as we knew it when we went into the draft.  That is basically the conversation.  There are three or four people that do get involved.  Position coach Dave Merritt talked to Kenny right after that and then all the arrangements etc., etc.

What is the situation with Jeremy Shockey?
Jeremy Shockey is our starting tight end and that is the way it is.  Despite all that has been said and what have you, as I stand here right now, he is our starting tight end.

Were you ever close to trading him?
I don’t know that.  There has been a lot of talk, very little activity.

Has there been any communication between you and Jeremy?
No.

Is the trade possibility dead?
I don’t… there is so much that goes on with regard to the draft in terms of picks and players that you learn over the years that the discussions come and go.  Whether there is any seriousness to them that is probably for someone else to say.  These conversations are made all the time.  The phone does ring.  This has been reported in the paper.  There have been comments about it and I don’t really have anything else to say other than the fact that Jeremy Shockey, while a New York Giant, while playing in our program, has worked very hard.  He has done a good job in mentoring, if you will, a lot of these young guys that had to come through and play for us this year, and he has outstanding ability, as you all know, and there is no change in that status as of right now. 

Q:  Any thoughts on trading Jeremy Shockey?
A:  Can we talk about our draft pick?

Q:  I figured I would get to the big stuff right off the bat.
A:  Let’s talk about Kenny Phillips, okay?  Jeremy Shockey is our starting tight end.  And I’m going to leave it at that.  Let’s talk about the draft pick.  There is really nothing to talk about.  Jeremy Shockey is our starting tight end, and really that is the end of the story.  Anybody want to talk about the draft pick?

Q:  What do you like about him?
A:  Who? Kenny Phillips?  There are a lot of things we like about Kenny Phillips.  We like his size; we like his speed.  He is multi-dimensional.  We like those kinds of players – guys that have played corner before.  We think he can do down and play on your third receiver if he has to.  He is smart and he is a good person.  We like all of that stuff about him. He was clean.  He has been a three-year starter at a high level of competition.  And he is young kid that is going to only get better; nothing but upside for this guy. 

Q:  He said he had not really had a lot of contact with you guys since the Combine…
A:  Some guys are clean and you really don’t have to do a lot of extra work on.  So we had him targeted and he was clean.  You don’t spend a lot of extra time with clean guys.  You spend a lot of extra time with guys you may have some issues with and you need to clear some things up about.  So we didn’t have a lot to clear up about him.  We like Kenny; we like him a lot.

Q:  Player of need?
A:  Absolutely.  We got nice value and we got a need position as well.  So that is what we like to do in the draft.  We talk about it all of the time.  We don’t want to reach for guys.  We got what we wanted.  We got the need and we got value with the player; with this pick.

Q:  Some picks are ‘easy’ for you?
A:  Yeah, I think it was a pretty good pick.  You never know what you are going to get with these guys.  But it was a pretty good pick for us.  We felt good about him; we felt great about him, as a matter of fact – that the guy fell down to us.  We felt like he was a really good player in the first row.

Q:  Was there much discussion of other guys?
A:  There were several other guys.  We always discuss enough guys in your window to have enough to pick when it is your time to pick.  So if your number one guy goes, you have several other guys to pick from.  So we had several discussions about several other people; players we had in the first row.

Q:  Does the Miami safety pedigree play into this at all?
A:  Not for us.  Obviously they have had good safeties to come out of there.  We just left like he was a good player; not that he played in Miami.  We just felt like he was a really good football player that was only going to continue get better and have a lot of upside.

Q:  Is he more of a free or strong safety?
A:  I think he can play both. He is a free safety.  He can invert and do anything you want him to do back there.  So we love those kind of guys; versatile guys; versatile guys.  I talked to one of his coaches.  He said, “This guy is a really good athlete.  He can play corner.”  At Miami they think he can play corner.  So that is what kind of athlete we have with him.  So it is exciting to get a good, young player like that.

Q:  Were you sure he would slide to 31?
A:  Absolutely not.  I didn’t think he would make it that long.

Q:  How hard was it to judge him due to fact that his team did not do well?
A:  That didn’t play into anything for us.  We look at the player.  We really don’t look at the record and what is going on.  Just like Kawika Mitchell.  People probably said that about him.  He didn’t play on a good defense.  But we look at the player.  We really don’t care if the defense is not very good.  We are looking at what the player is doing.  So that is how I try to evaluate players.

Q: Will he get on the field as a rookie?
A:  Well obviously he is going to come in and play on special teams anyway, if nothing else, until he learns what to do.  And we feel like in time he should challenge for some playing time back there and eventually become a starter for us I think.

Q:  You seemed to be the consensus as to who they were going to pick?  Were you surprised at all?
A:  Yeah, I am.  Because I knew a lot of mock drafts have said that I was going to go to the Giants.  But I really don’t feed into all of that, and I haven’t talked to them a lot.  So I definitely was surprised. 

Q:  What do you bring to the table?
A:  I bring versatility.  I can come down and stay in the box.  I can go back there and be a ball hawk.  ….. I can go down there – be that guy on special teams.  Or just whatever the team needs me to do I, can do that.

Q:  How does it feel to be joining a team and the defense that won the Super Bowl last year?
A:  To me it is a blessing.  A lot of guys want to go as high as possible and they don’t fall into teams and fall into situations just like I did.  I am going to the reigning Super Bowl champs with a great defense.  So I’m going to come in and I’m going to learn and try to make a statement. 

Q:  What kind of statement do you think you are going to make?
A:  Just basically the statement they want me to make.  They want me to come in and be that playmaker, they want me to come in and make tackles, make big plays and just be a difference-maker.

Q:  With that kind of confidence do you expect that you will be competing for a starting job for opening day?
A:  That is the goal.  When it all falls down I definitely want to be competing for the starting job.  But I am not going to rush into the game.  I’m just going to come in, listen to the veteran players and learn from the coaches, and just try to get my feet wet.

Q:  There have been a lot of safeties recently that come from Miami.  You are the fourth one to get drafted in the first round this decade.   Is there anything you can point to for that or is it just a coincidence?
A:  I think I can say ……. It is huge.  We have great secondary coaches.  And the reason I think ….. because those guys that went before us like Ed Reed, ……Brandon Merriweather, those guys come back and they teach us like us and they tell us …………. And we just add it to our game.

Q:  Were you worried that Miami might not have a first rounder this year?
A:  No.  Every year there is a big write up down here in our papers saying, “Will the streak end here?”   I definitely thought about it but in the end it really wasn’t something I felt that was going to end.  I definitely thought I was going to go in the first round.  And it happened so I’m just happy.

Q:  Are you strictly a free safety do you think?
A:  No sir.  I played both in college.  We were interchangeable.  So I can do either one; whatever they want me to do.

Q: There seemed to be some mixed feelings that you would go a lot higher and then there were others who thought you might actually drop as far as 31 to the Giants.  Why do you suppose you dropped down to 31?
A:  I am really not too sure.  I had a great record at the Combine, Pro Day.  I had a great junior season……..  We just didn’t do well as a team.  And I think organizations don’t want to take someone from a losing team.  And I think the team record kind of hurt me. 

Q:  Being a Miami guy, do you know Jeremy Shockey at all?
A:  I know him.  I haven’t spoken to him or anything like that.  But I do know him.  But I am really close with Sinorice Moss.

Q:  Are you looking forward to playing with Jeremy Shockey?
A:  Oh yeah, definitely man.  I watched him come along.  The intensity that he brings to the game is amazing.  So I’m looking forward to playing with him.

Q:  Are you sure that is going happen, because we are not?
A:  Well, I hope it does.  And if not I wish him the best.  But right now I’m just glad to have him as a teammate.

Q:  Who called you from the Giants?  Was it Coach Coughlin?
A:  No, I spoke to him second.  I can’t remember what the first guy’s name was because it was so loud.  But he passed me along to Coach Coughlin.

Q:  What do you know about Coach Coughlin?
A:  Honestly I don’t know much.  I don’t know a lot about him.  I’m looking forward to learning a lot about him.  I want to be there for the next few years.  Pretty much to me, seeing him on TV, he seems like a real cool guy; a really nice guy; someone who is going to push you and expect the best.

Q:  Did you have any experience talking to Steve Spagnuolo?  And what did you get from him?
A:  I’m not sure.  I probably talked to him …… when they first called.  I remember going into the meeting room and drawing up some plays on the board and stuff like that at the Combine.  But other than that I really didn’t have any interaction with him.

Q:  Was that the last time you spoke to the Giants before today?
A:  Yes.  One of the guys came to the Pro Day but other than that, no.

Q:  Did you watch parts of the Giants defense last year in the playoffs?
A: Yes, basically I was just watching the guys up front.  They set out to be the most --- they…….. a young guy like me needs those guys in front.  Putting that pressure on the quarterback; allow the corners and DBs to make plays.

Q:  To some people, playing in New York especially as a first round pick can be very intimidating?  What you are expecting from yourself in order to melt in here and not get caught up in the spotlight?
A:  Just come and just learn; learn from the players, the veterans, listen to the coaches.  And just go out there and play football.  Of course guys are going to be bigger, faster, and stronger.  But I’m not slow; I’m not small.  So I definitely feel that I’m going to come in and make an impact.