GaryMrMets
02-10-2007, 12:12 AM
http://www.nypost.com/seven/02092007/sports/5_questions_for_michael_irvin_sports_.htm
5 Questions For Michael Irvin
Q: What was your reaction when you heard the news?
A: I was totally elated. I was overjoyed. I had gone through two years of getting to that point and then not making it. And I was expecting the best, but getting absolutely the worst.
Q: Let's fast-forward 12 months from now. Who is the Super Bowl champion and who is it they beat?
A: I think once you get to this point and you feel confident and comfortable with who you are, it makes it easier to repeat when you know you are this good. I'm thinking maybe Indianapolis repeating. This time they will be playing, and probably even beating, the Dallas Cowboys.
Q: A lot of people have a negative opinion of Terrell Owens. You don't share that. What I hear from people is, "Oh, Irvin is always defending Terrell Owens.''
A: The word "defending'' would be a bit strong. It may come off as defending because they do know that Terrell is a friend of mine. I hold a different perspective on things. When we talk about Terrell being late for a meeting and he is fined $9,500, right? And Tom [Jackson] and Ron Jaworski and all the guys on the desk are killing Terrell, saying, "Man, there is no room for this,'' I make this observation: "Why is this the only guy we are talking about being late for a meeting?'' There are thousands of players in the NFL. I'm sure there are other guys that have been late. I'm not defending him being late, because there is no defense for that. There is no defense for falling asleep in a meeting. I'm not defending that. I certainly want to know why we are talking about him doing these things when other guys do it and we never talk about it.
Q: What kind of season do you think the Giants will have next year under Tom Coughlin?
A: I think he deserved to have another year at least. They need to give Eli Manning a chance to try and be a leader. It is hard. We keep talking about, "When will Eli Manning stand up and be the leader?'' How could he be, because Tiki [Barber] was the man. It either came through Tiki or Tiki was going to call out Tom.
For Eli to absolutely not have Tiki, he becomes their first option. [Coughlin] deserves that chance to coach his team without being undermined every week by someone saying that he got outcoached because they got outplayed. You can say all you want about whatever I have ever done. You can pull up archives, but I never bashed my head coach.
Q: Are the Jets for real?
A: Oh, yeah. I think Mangini is for real and they bought into his system.
5 Questions For Michael Irvin
Q: What was your reaction when you heard the news?
A: I was totally elated. I was overjoyed. I had gone through two years of getting to that point and then not making it. And I was expecting the best, but getting absolutely the worst.
Q: Let's fast-forward 12 months from now. Who is the Super Bowl champion and who is it they beat?
A: I think once you get to this point and you feel confident and comfortable with who you are, it makes it easier to repeat when you know you are this good. I'm thinking maybe Indianapolis repeating. This time they will be playing, and probably even beating, the Dallas Cowboys.
Q: A lot of people have a negative opinion of Terrell Owens. You don't share that. What I hear from people is, "Oh, Irvin is always defending Terrell Owens.''
A: The word "defending'' would be a bit strong. It may come off as defending because they do know that Terrell is a friend of mine. I hold a different perspective on things. When we talk about Terrell being late for a meeting and he is fined $9,500, right? And Tom [Jackson] and Ron Jaworski and all the guys on the desk are killing Terrell, saying, "Man, there is no room for this,'' I make this observation: "Why is this the only guy we are talking about being late for a meeting?'' There are thousands of players in the NFL. I'm sure there are other guys that have been late. I'm not defending him being late, because there is no defense for that. There is no defense for falling asleep in a meeting. I'm not defending that. I certainly want to know why we are talking about him doing these things when other guys do it and we never talk about it.
Q: What kind of season do you think the Giants will have next year under Tom Coughlin?
A: I think he deserved to have another year at least. They need to give Eli Manning a chance to try and be a leader. It is hard. We keep talking about, "When will Eli Manning stand up and be the leader?'' How could he be, because Tiki [Barber] was the man. It either came through Tiki or Tiki was going to call out Tom.
For Eli to absolutely not have Tiki, he becomes their first option. [Coughlin] deserves that chance to coach his team without being undermined every week by someone saying that he got outcoached because they got outplayed. You can say all you want about whatever I have ever done. You can pull up archives, but I never bashed my head coach.
Q: Are the Jets for real?
A: Oh, yeah. I think Mangini is for real and they bought into his system.