New York Giants

Giants HC Tom Coughlin not sure he can trust Damontre Moore

Published Oct. 21, 2015 12:29 a.m. ET

foxsports

In 2014, Damontre Moore was the New York Giants' most productive pass rusher on a per snap basis, but the mental mistakes kept his snaps on defense down. Entering his third season in the NFL, many expected Moore to clean up his act and take the next step forward. That hasn't been the case, and head coach Tom Coughlin is sick of waiting around for Moore to become a professional.

In the Giants' Week 6 27-7 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, Moore was called for an unnecessary roughness penalty after slamming Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford to the ground well after he threw the ball. The penalty came on a botched third down play and it extended the Eagles' second drive -- they would later score on this drive and swing momentum back in their favor.

On Tuesday, Coughlin stopped short of guaranteeing that we would see the Giants' talented but troubled defensive end on the field again in any kind of extended role.

“I can’t honestly really say that,” Coughlin said to reports when asked if he still trusted Moore, per True Jersey. “With regard to that (penalty), there’s absolutely no excuse for anyone for the unnecessary roughness penalty that he committed. . . . You use the word trust. I don’t know. That’s a good word.”

This is not the first time Coughlin has had to sit down and talk with Moore, and quite frankly, he is concerned that his words aren't getting through to him.

“There’s been a lot of sitting down and talking,” he said of his interactions with Moore. “I certainly will do more of it and he is very good about listening, etc., etc. But we’ve got to see whether it can hold true on the field.”

With injuries to Jason Pierre-Paul and Robert Ayers -- the Giants' top two defensive ends in 2014 -- the defensive end position is extremely thing. Although Moore has proven to be an excellent pass rusher, his mistakes may prove to be too costly to earn him playing time on Coughlin's team.