Did you have this date circled on your calendar?

Everybody keeps saying that, obviously because there are friends there, but to me all the games are exactly the same.  They are always tough.  I look forward to them all. 

There isn’t even a little bit of a different feeling?

I would be lying if I said there wasn’t a little but in a good way.  I said this way back I think when I first came here that it is like playing a pick up basketball game outside with your brother.  Sometimes you try harder to beat them than in a real deal.  I am looking forward to it.

Jim Johnson said there was a love-hate relationship?

He was saying that about me?  Ok.  I have a lot of respect for Jim, I have said that before.  When Jim and I talked on the phone a month ago, whenever it was before the season started, even at the end of the conversation you want to say ‘good luck’ and you have to be careful because you are in the same division.  Hopefully it will be fun.  I say fun but you can use that loosely, it is only fun when you win.

How concerned are you about Donavan McNabb’s mobility and how does that dictate how much pressure you would look to put on him with the pass rush?

He is a concern because he is one of the stars and I have watched him for a lot of years do a lot of good, extremely good, things.  We have talked about it.  I think you go about it like you would any quarterback who is mobile.  You try to stress them; you try to do some little things.  He is certainly a focal point but they have so many weapons that you can’t just concentrate on one. That is what makes them so explosive. 

How do you account for Brian Westbrook since he is just as dangerous running the ball as he is catching it?

Well, it is an awareness thing first and that was stressed right from the first meeting.  Then you just take it from there with scheme and little things that you will do. Of course I am not going to into those, but I think first and foremost it is an awareness and I think the guys have been doing a pretty good job of that.

Were you under the assumption that Westbrook was taken out in last week’s game because he was hurt or because they had such a large lead?

I assume it was because of the score.  I know he had a minor injury.  They are certainly not going to take a chance on losing an extremely good player like that.  I am sure we will see him and I’m sure he will be fine.

How much of a chess match do you think this game will be with Donavan McNabb and you being so familiar with each other?

I’ll be honest with you, I don’t think Donavan is worried about me. To be quite honest with you, I think he is more worried about the players.  It is a players’ game.  I believe that, I have always believed that, and I have been preaching that to our guys because once the two calls are made, it is the players who execute.  I really don’t think he is worried about me.  He will be more familiar with certain things that we do just because he has seen it every day.  He is probably really looking forward to it.

With his knee injury is he still just as dangerous to scramble?

He still is very scary.  I noticed he took his brace off last week.  He is a warrior.  The years I was down there with him we could always bank on him fighting through whatever and he has done that a lot.  You all recall the game he played against Arizona with the broken leg or broken foot.  I have a lot of respect for him and we treat him as if he is still the athlete he was when he first came up. We are not going to change that.

How much do you help the offense by coming from the Eagle’s defense?

I think there are some things here and there.  We visited back in the spring and had a little bit of time. I don’t have a great deal of time now to be over there so that is kind of a conflict.  There are little things but I still think it comes down to… I know one thing that will help is that some of the things that we do here obviously Jimmy does down there in Philadelphia so they have seen it all spring and all of training camp.  I think them being familiar with certain things will help them, but again, it will come back to the players.

Have you put in more time this week to help prepare?

That would probably be a ‘yes.’  Every game is treated the same.  As you all know, you have been around long enough, that as each game goes you put more and more plays so you put more and more time in it.

Do you see all the points they put up last week as how good their offense is or how poorly Detroit’s defense played?

In my opinion it was only a matter of time.  I know they struggled those first two games but you could see it; they were just missing here and just missing there, it was just a matter of time before they put it together.  I was hoping it would be like three weeks from now but they have it going now.

Does that go for your defense also?

I hope so. 

Did you think it was just a matter of time?

I am hoping.  Time will tell.

Do you think it has to do with everyone picking up your schemes?

We are there.  We are where we probably should be right now.  I still believe this and I know I have said this a lot of times, but I still don’t think it comes down to scheme.  The game is still the game.  It really doesn’t matter what you are playing, you could call the same defense every play and if guys are really getting after it, playing physical, the way football is supposed to be played with tackling and catching balls, then you can have some success. 

From your time in Philly, why is Plaxico Burress so important to the Giants’ offense?

Plaxico is one of those outstanding players.  He is the equal of some weapons that they have and any time in this league you are defending an offense and one of their premier weapons is not there it makes a big difference.  If he is there, it makes it that much tougher.  It is tough in this league in any game because all of the athletes out there are extremely well conditioned and very athletic, but when you have a star that you have to be aware of and bring into account it makes it that much more challenging.

Can you talk about your evaluation of Corey Webster and if we are going to see Aaron Ross in his spot?

I know I have answered this kind of question in the same way and I believe in it, we are going to need all of the guys that we have.  Corey had a couple of plays where he was in a little bit of a rut but he has practiced really well the last few days and we are going to need that.  Everybody is going to have to help us somewhere along the line.

How tough were the first two weeks for you in this season?

Yeah they were rough.  I didn’t expect that to have happened, but this is the NFL and it can.  On the flip side I am extremely encouraged with the way the guys responded last week.

Is there anything you can point to as to why there was such a turnaround?

I think when something like that happens… we went through that a year ago when we lost three in a row and Indianapolis beat us by 40 points or something and then the players just rallied and that is what they did here.  I would just be a little cautious.  It was only one game.  We still have a long ways to go and when you really feel good about things is when maybe you can string a few together. We are still trying to do that.

Do you think Strahan is turning the corner?

Yeah, we hope so.  I think he feels that way.  You would have to ask him but it was encouraging to see what he did at the end and just from a leadership standpoint he took it upon himself to kind of rally the guys and that was big in that situation, in that situation that was big.

Do you see Mathias Kiwanuka doing a little bit of everything including some more work on the defensive line?

You saw what he did last week and he is versatile, which always helps you.  We will keep trying to do things with all our players to take advantage of their abilities and he is certainly one of those guys.