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Chris Mortensen archive: columns | ||
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Five questions for Jim Fassel |
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Giants head coach Jim Fassel answered five questions from ESPN's NFL reporter, Chris Mortensen, on Sept. 20. Mort: Why does your team look so different, and so good? Fassel: There are a lot of reasons, but the one that immediately jumps to mind is attitude, and the chemistry we have on this team. We've got some new faces, and the way our veterans have responded to the guys we brought in has been tremendous -- the new guys like Lomas Brown, Micheal Barrow, Dusty Zeigler, Dave Thomas. They're real professionals. I can't tell you how many times Michael Strahan and Keith Hamilton have pulled me aside to tell me how great these changes have been. Mort: That suggests, obviously, that you had some players who weren't professionals, who are no longer there, right? Fassel: Well, let's just say that we don't have the type of player with the "I don't care" attitude. We may have had some players who, you know, it was never their fault. It was always someone else's fault. Mort: This chemistry thing, you worked on it in the offseason, didn't you? Fassel: We had 100 percent attendance in our offseason program, which is the commitment we asked from the players. We did three or four functions as a team. We went to dinner as a team, we went on a boat cruise, we have a golf tournament. In training camp, we rented out a whole theater and went to the movies together. The thing is, the players were together, they hung around each other. They care about each other. There's a higher level of trust with each other. Mort: Of course, it helps that you're winning and that the offense is doing its part, maybe more than its part. Fassel: We've got the players in place. We've got balance, running the football, passing the football. We've got a quarterback (Kerry Collins) with some excellent tools and receivers (Amani Toomer and Ike Hilliard) who have really developed. We're a very well-balanced offense that can do a lot of things now. Mort: You've got Thunder and Lightning, too. Did you really visualize this kind of success with Ron Dayne and Tiki Barber rotating carries? Fassel: You've got two guys who complement each other. Diversification works. They know their roles. They understand their roles. It gives 'em a break. It's a tough thing to defend those two guys because it's such a change of pace. Plus, our offensive line is much-improved. |
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