One of the great stories about this New York Giants team is the personality transformation of the head coach. During his first three years Tom Coughlin was known as a hard nosed, no nonsense disciplinarian whose stubborn coaching methods held him back from truly connecting with his players. This season, however, it is evident that Coughlin has become much more approachable, not just to his players, but to the media as well. In interviews Coughlin is much more animated than in past years, engaging reporters in conversation and sometimes even joking around And the players don't have to duck their heads anymore when they pass Coughlin in the weight room.
From Boston College to Jacksonville, Coughlin was always known as the ultimate hardass. Now, there is no question that Coughlin's new "nice guy" persona is having a positive impact on his football team. While people were skeptical that Coughlin could pull off these changes, one must realize that Coughlin is still just as hard nosed as he has ever been. Just because he is more available to the team does not mean that Coughlin's fire is not burning. Did you see his reaction when Lawrence Tynes missed those field goals? How about his facial expression throughout the entire Green Bay game? The man looked like a general at war.
While Coughlin has become more pleasant, you have to realize that he still knows when he has to get tough with his team. Right now he just might have to get tough with Plaxico Burress. It was the star wide receiver who, prior to the team's flight to Phoenix, predicted a 23-17 Giants' victory in the New York Post. And while it's clear that Burress did not put much thought into the numbers of his prediction (he based it on a combination of his high school basketball number and his current Giants number) there was no need for him to throw extra motivation to the New England Patriots
The reason the Giants are playing in the Super Bowl is because of the team's focus. The team is always completely focused on the next game. (In this case, it's the last game, win or lose.) But, if we take this a step further, we can say that one of the big reasons for the Giants' success is that the team has finally bought into Coughlin's system. Not only have the players established a faith and trust in the coach, but there are even some, like Antonio Pierce, who would jump through a brick wall for the man.
When Plaxico made his prediction, it went against what the team stands for. In the days leading up to the Super Bowl, the team needs to be completely focused and understand that they cannot add any extra fuel to motivate the Patriots. We all know that Bellicheck could motivate an ant with some solid bulletin board material.
XLII is four days away. The G-men need to keep quiet. While I believe that Plax's prediction will not effect the final outcome of Sunday's game, it cannot help Big Blue. It is already a distraction for the head coach who now has to admonish Burress for his pointless prediction. Let's just say that Burress is lucky he is dealing with the new Tom Coughlin on this one. The Giants have to focus on football and forget about engaging the media.
