I don't know if Moss will play, he's a high-speed player with a hamstring so that's tough. I'm certain he'll try to play.
I think Portis will play.
I don't think they'll change much without Moss, they may run some more. Patten is fast so he's the other speed guy, Cooley may get in the mix more.
They try to use Cooley like [Tony] Gonzalez. But Cooley could fit into any style of offense, he's athletic. We're getting more and more TE's with size, speed and hands. Maybe his blocking isn't like some of the others.
This is a big rivalry and we didn't do well up there last year, we'll have our hands full. We've played them once; our players know what they got. They know they're capable. The game here earlier this year could have gone the other way, especially there in the 3rd quarter.
On offense they do some quick stuff, quick screens to WR, screens to the RB. Their pass protection is a very veteran group. There aren't any weak links there.
You look for matchups on the line [to get pressure], but Coach Gibbs is a protection guy. They block for the passer fairly well. We need to do a good job of like we did here earlier in the season.
I showed the players the Cartwright and Randle El return clips. You have to watch El especially, you have to be conscious of him, he can go the distance, you must be cognizant of him, and he's a specialty player. They use him on screens and reverses. If Moss doesn't play Randle El might take a bigger role at WR.
We have to be careful on special teams this week. With Matt's punts they will get a chance to return it. We need speed on the punt coverage teams.
Tyson did a good job returning kicks, but he's not here, so I'll use what we have the best I can. Elam will be there, just a question of who else. I'm reluctant to put Barber back there because of our RB situation, but he could do the job. If I had to, I would put him back there.
The better kickoff returners are thicker body types; it's a high-collision job. Punt returners need to be brave and perform under pressure; they have to be confident with their hands. We've worked on that this week, reinforcing it everyday. It's easy to get into bad habits.
Skyler is doing much better, you haven't seen it yet, but he's grown up and got some maturity. We're trying to work him into some stuff, you may see it this week. He's a unique player, a specialty player. I'm hopeful to get him involved more.
We thought about using Nate Jones this week, its just a question of who we play where. We are short at RB, so we'll probably go to Skyler this week.
I'm taking 6 DL, and the LBers are core special teams, I've been taking 22 defense and 20 offense, so there's been no room for Nate Jones.
Watkins and Elam both good special teams player. But I got to have guys to play the positions. Elam plays a different position than Watkins, and I need a backup strong safety.
At the end of the press conference, Parcells mentioned Skyler Green returning kicks again, so it looks like Green will be our 3rd RB and will get first crack at returning kicks. If he falters, sounds like MB3 may get a chance, or Aaron Glenn is always a possibility.