Tom Coughlin.Tim Heitman-US PRESSWIRE

Justin Tuck. Andrew Weber-US PRESSWIRE

Earlier this week New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin and defensive lineman Justin Tuck conducted a phone conference call with members of the media covering the Green Bay Packers.

This weekly endeavor gives each team’s media a chance to ask some questions of the head coach and at least one member of the opposing team.

As always, Coughlin is as gruff and direct, while Tuck says all the right things so as not to produce an bulletin board material for the Packers’ locker room.

This conversation is posted on the Packers official website and I’ve embedded the mp3 from each call for your listening pleasure below.

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This banner hangs outside Lambeau Field. Today it's about all we can cling to after yesterday's disappointment. Raymond T. Rivard photograph

Waking from our groggy nightmare, the reality of an end to a superb season hit all of us this Black Monday morning.

No more Packers football; no chance at a second consecutive Super Bowl appearance; no chance at a repeat championship.

And with the reality that the Packers may never again, at least in the near future, have a shot at a season like this, the dose is a hard pill to swallow.

For the second time in four years, the Tom Coughlin-led New York Giants rushed into Lambeau Field and ran roughshod over the highly-favored and maybe overrated Green Bay Packers. It wasn’t pretty on either side of the ball for both teams, but it was the Giants that made the plays when they had to – including the completion of a hail Mary pass for a touchdown as the clock ran down in the first half. That play alone was probably the straw that broke not only the Packers’ back, but the team’s pride.

The Packers would never recover from the 10-point halftime deficit and played a second half seemingly rocking on their heels, despite chances for a comeback. However, it seemed like every time the Packers took a step forward – mostly on the running abilities of its quarterback, they would take two steps back – mainly from the inability of their receivers to consistently catch the ball.

Throw in three fumbles and you’ve got a recipe for defeat – something the Packers and their faithful haven’t felt much the past year.

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Here are his answers:

Q. The Giants have been hit by the injury bug this season, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Do the Giants have the depth to still make a run at the NFC East title?

 A. The Giants have some young talent that has become healthy recently.  One in particular is Prince Amukamara.  Prince was our first round pick this year and unfortunately broke his foot in training camp.  With Prince getting more and more comfortable, this allows for players like Antrel Rolle, Kenny Phillips, and Deon Grant to go back to their natural positions.  We probably couldn’t recover from the loss of another linebacker though.  It looks like Michael Boley might return this week, and be in the position to help in the last 4 games also.

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It was a classic tragedy.  Only the Giants and Eagles could have delivered such a finish.  It was extremely depressing for everyone – coaches, players, fans, everyone.  But reports indicate they’ve moved on and the fact that they control their own destiny and can clinch a playoff spot with a win in Green Bay makes things easier.

Coughlin seems to be in the hot seat yet again this season.  The Packers have gained a reputation of being Coach Killers due to the firing of both Wade Phillips and Brad Childress after the Packers blew them out.  Is there any concern that this trend might continue, should the Giants find themselves in another big loss?

I think Coughlin puts everything on him for better or worse.  Players win game sand he loses them… something like that was said this week in the wake of the Eagles mess.  But Coughlin wasn’t executing the plays when they held the Eagles to 3 points in the first half, and I didn’t see him miss any tackles in the second half either that let the Eagles score 28 unanswered points. It is interesting to think about a difference coach in there, Cowher for example, but I think Coughlin has done a good job since he’s been in NY.  The team can only go as far as the defense takes them, we learned that last year and last week was yet another reminder of that. The right offseason moves were made, they have a top defense this year — AND offense — Coughlin has done a nice job at the end of the day. (more…)

Step 1: Hire Dom Capers.

The vacancy Bob Sanders left at defensive coordinator is particularly glaring for the Packers.  The defense, although ravaged by injuries, always seemed to be a step behind the offense in certain games, most notably the Packers 51-29 defeat against the New Orleans Saints.  After a 2007 season where the defense was fantastic, the Packers defense looked old and out of sync in 2008.  The schemes were stale and bringing in Capers would add a breath of fresh air.

But if the Packers want Capers, they will have to move quickly.  The New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys also have interest in Capers as the Giants lost Steve Spagnoulo to the St. Louis Rams and Dallas fired Brian Stewart.  The Cowboys could be an enticing option for Capers, as owner Jerry Jones has deep pockets and the Cowboys already run a 3-4, Capers’ preferred scheme.  Capers also has ties with Giants head coach Tom Coughlin, making the Giants look like a good option to him.  However, Dallas is currently a cesspool of unrest and the personnel in New York is more suited towards a 4-3 defense.

The Packers have been a 4-3 team for as long as I can remember, but head coach Mike McCarthy has said that he is open to changing the scheme to a 3-4.  A 3-4 defense could work pretty successfully in Green Bay with the right personnel.  Which brings us to…

Step 2: Sign Julius Peppers.

The Carolina Panthers freak athlete/defensive end wants out of Carolina.  From a Toronto Star report:

Four-time Pro Bowl defensive end Julius Peppers has decided he won’t sign a long-term deal with the Carolina Panthers when he becomes an unrestricted free agent Feb.26.

Peppers, who grew up in tiny Bailey, N.C., starred in college at North Carolina and was the Panthers’ first-round pick in 2002, believes Carolina’s defensive system is not for him – even after recording a career-high 14 1/2 sacks this season.

Agent Carl Carey said Peppers wants to play in a 3-4 defence. The Panthers use a 4-3 alignment.

The key to this is that last line.  “Peppers wants to play in a 3-4 defence.”  Bringing Capers up to Green Bay and inserting the 3-4 would make an inviting situation for Peppers.  The Packers had difficulty getting pressure on the quarterback this season.  Aaron Kampman was steady as always, but Cullen Jenkins was ill-suited to be a defensive end before his season-ending shoulder injury, leaving the Packers with Jason Hunter, Michael Montgomery, and rookie Jeremy Thompson to get pressure on the quarterback, which was not too successful.

Signing Peppers would allow the team to move Jenkins back to defensive tackle, allowing him to team with Johnny Jolly, Ryan Pickett, and Colin Cole, and push injury-riddled super-bust Justin Harrell out of the lineup until the Packers can finally figure out what’s wrong with him.  Teaming Peppers with Kampman would give opposing offensive lines and offensive coordinators headaches for weeks.  Peppers, being the freak athlete he is, could be used as the fourth linebacker as well, adding more versatility to the defense.  The Packers would be able to have their top four linebackers, Nick Barnett, A.J. Hawk, Brady Poppinga, and Brandon Chillar, on the field at the same time.  Young Desmond Bishop would also get more time to see the field.

The catch to this is that I don’t see Peppers signing with the Packers unless Capers and the 3-4 is in place.  This would mean that the Packers have to move fast on signing Capers, giving Peppers time to see that Green Bay would be a welcoming scenario for him.

Peppers will command a lot of money, but he would be a big splash for a team that has been quiet on the free agency market for the past few years.  Even the signing of Charles Woodson was low-key, but has turned into a great move for the team.  Ted Thompson can’t be afraid to make a move right now.  It’s not the end of the world if the Packers miss out on Capers and Peppers, but it would most definitely turn the Packers into a contending defense.

Some of you will argue that the Packers need to shore up the secondary before they can focus on the front seven.  Sure, Woodson and Al Harris are aging, and Tramon Williams, Jarrett Bush, and Pat Lee aren’t the best options out there, but teams in the past, most likely the Super Bowl XLII Champion New York Giants showed that a great pass rush can help cancel out shoddy defensive backs.  Did you really think that Corey Webster and Sam Madison would be Super Bowl Champion corners against an the explosive New England Patriots offense?  Not really.  But the relentless pass rush of Michael Strahan, Osi Umenyiora, and Justin Tuck turned a decent defensive backfield into a Super Bowl Champion defensive backfield.

Don’t underestimate what the addition of Capers and Peppers could have on the Packers in 2009.