Coach Mangini Press Conference - After MONDAY Practice

[Dan in Florida]

(Opening statement)- “Good afternoon everybody. How are we doing? When I talked to the team this morning, it was really the same approach as we had last week and that’s important. It’s important for us to understand that, win or lose, it’s going to be the same approach and the value is in the game. The value is in the lessons that we can take from the game and how can use those to improve leading into the next week. As we talked about, sometimes when you lose you can be overly critical and not be as open to the corrections as you need to be and sometimes when you win you can gloss over it. Teddy Atlas, who was here this past week, used to say, ‘Success is like a martini, it relaxes you,’ and you can get some of that as well. What I’m always stressing to the guys is the importance of viewing it the same way, taking the information, correcting the information. I thought we had a better week of practice and that translates into better play. That’s another good point to reinforce.

 

 

“I would also like to, I mentioned Teddy, thank him for coming out. He worked with us in New York some. How I got to know Teddy, is, I was sitting at my desk, I had the nickname ‘Penguin’ at the time, that’s a really flattering nickname, this 78-year old woman sent me a letter and I happened to open it up that day. She had sent some nice penguin figurines and a penguin stuffed animal that I gave to the kids. In her letter, she said, ‘I’m a big boxing fan and there’s this phenomena in boxing called ‘Coming out cold’ and you should check into it.’ The team wasn’t getting the fast start that we were looking for, so I knew Bill (Belichick) had a friend, Teddy, and I knew (Mike) Tannenbaum had his number, so I just called him up out of the blue. I said, ‘Look Teddy, I’m the head coach of the Jets,’ and I explained the story to him, ‘What do you think?’ We talked a long time. It didn’t take me very long to see what a great insight he had on people. What a great insight he had on competition and success and creating championships and champions. The work he did with Michael Moorer, his early work with (Mike) Tyson, all those different things. He’s a great guy to talk to. He quotes Cus D’Amato all the time, just insight that’s nice to hear from a different sport, because regardless of what sport you’re in, the challenges are usually the same.”

 

(On which quarterback Teddy Atlas liked)- “The one that I pick.”

 

(On what he saw out of Derek Anderson from the game film)- “He did a nice job throwing the ball. There are some things that we need to continue to work on, in terms of assessing where we need to go. That’s in no way unique to DA, but both quarterbacks. There were a lot of positives in that area, too, where we did see the front, or we did see the box counter or we did use the cadence effectively. Those things, to me, are real progress. Not just from that position, that position runs it, but from the group as well.”

 

(On not typically running the two-minute drill when up 20-0)- “We wouldn’t typically do that, in the field position that we were in. It was something that I wanted to try. I wanted to see how it operated. Sometimes you get in those situations, especially at the end of the first half, depending what the score is, where you just either take the sack or, you don’t really throw it away because you want to eat up the clock, but you do what you need to do at that point to be able to punt the ball or run out the clock. It was a good lesson.”

 

(On if Derek Anderson’s pass at the end of the half should have been caught)- “It depends on who you talk to. The running backs coach always says it’s a catchable ball. The receivers coach always says it’s a catchable ball, because they expect their guys to make catches whether their perfectly thrown or not perfectly thrown. Nothing really good ever comes from a ball that’s batted up.”

 

(On if the quarterback competition could go until September 12 for a competitive advantage)- “I’m looking at it from the perspective of just trying to make the best decision based on all of the information. That’s really my goal, is to make the best decision, giving each guy the maximum amount of opportunities, equal opportunities, the same breakdown in situations and let it play out the way it plays out. That’s really my goal.”

 

(On the possibility of using a multi-back system this season)- “I’ve used multiple backs in the past and I’m not opposed to it. It just depends on what package you’re using, where you think a guy fits best in that package, how much that package is going to be used. You want guys to be able to work in any package that you have, so even if he weren’t in, maybe it’s a sub group, he’d need to know those things, because you don’t carry that volume of backs to the game. I’m not opposed to one guy carrying it a lot. I’m not opposed to multiple guys carrying it. It’s really, what’s going to work best?”

 

(On the concept of Jamal Lewis as a rhythm back)- “I’m getting to know Jamal and one thing I know about Jamal is he is a team player and he is going to do whatever is best for the team. That’s what’s important, is that everybody has a role, everybody has to do their role, the roles can change. The important thing is to know your role and do your role really effectively and be ready in case that changes.”

 

(On his quarterback plan for the third game)- “I’ll let you know at the end of the week and we’ll go from there.”

 

(On Josh Cribbs as a receiver)- “I think he’s making some progress, I really do. He’s run a range of routes in games. He caught a little deeper ball, here, over the weekend. There’s a lot to learn at that position. I like the way he’s approaching it. I like his blocking. I think he’s an aggressive blocker. Really, I liked the receivers blocking as a group this past weekend. I thought they did a nice job on the perimeter and that was important that first touchdown drive. Braylon (Edwards) came in, had a nice block on the perimeter on the first counter that we ran, and then the other side it was just flipped over and it was either Josh or Mohammed (Massaquoi). Throughout the game, I thought those guys were very conscious of how important that is. It’s huge, because it can change games if you get those guys blocked outside.”

 

(On if he thinks he could play Josh Cribbs a fair amount as a receiver this season)- “He’s definitely shown that he can continue to grow in the position. He’s shown an aptitude for it. Now, we have to keep seeing the improvement to really know what level that’s going be on.”

 

(On if Cribbs could be a starting wide receiver and still return kicks and punts)- “Yes, there’s been a lot of starters at other positions that have been kickoff returners and punt returners. Ideally, you have the depth where you can swap guys in and out, in case he has a long return, which I hope there’ll be many, and needs a breather. However it works out.”

 

(On if Cribbs will give up coverage units if he plays more receiver)- “I never said that to him, so I don’t know. I haven’t had that conversation with him.”

 

(On Eric Wright’s demonstration penalty)- “That’s something that we talked about this morning, too. What’s important to me is that when something good happens, you celebrate as a team. You’re happy for each other’s success and that’s who you should be looking to celebrate with, is your teammates, but do it in a way that doesn’t create any negative result for the team. Whether it’s celebrating and you get a penalty for that, or somebody’s trying to get you off your game through the way they talk to you or they hit you, or whatever that is, and you strike back. They always catch the second guy. Everybody’s in full pads. It may make you feel good for about 10 seconds, but it’s selfish. What I’m looking for is for the emotion to be focused in the right direction. It wasn’t unique to Eric, in terms of those things, and it’s something that’s important to us as a team.”

 

(On his take on player’s celebrations)- “I’m not going to set up any celebration police force or anything like that. I think everybody is different. I’m not asking somebody to be outside their personality, or something like that, just put it in the right context. Dan O’Brien, his whole thing is, whether you do something good or you do something bad, either celebrate it or be angry for about five seconds, because life moves on and you have to get on to the next thing. It’s true in games.”

 

(On if he fines a player for causing a 15-yard penalty)- “The fines that we have in places, all that stuff is internal. What I can tell you is, I want the team to direct their emotion in the right way. I think that guys should be happy about the things that they do well and other guys should be happy for their success and it should be celebrated in a team fashion, but not out of context and in perspective of, we have to move on to the next play. We have to play the next play. There are other things happening.”

 

(On if a team can fine a player if the league fines him as well per the CBA)- “I’ve never really researched that Jeff (Schudel). I wouldn’t be the best person to answer that.”

 

(On if the quarterback competition is as close now as when training camp began)- “I think it’s very close. I think that it really comes down to the same thing that we’ve talked about throughout, is the consistency, the ability to run the offense. That’s a big picture criteria, that’s not one specific thing. It’s a big picture thing, because if you’re outnumbered at the point of attack, you want to be able to get out of those plays. If a blitz is coming, you want to be able to repoint the protection and get it picked it up. If you’re going to use cadence, you want to be able to do that effectively. If you’re running no huddle, then you have to understand what the dynamics are of each situation and how to move the team down the field, understanding all the other things that come into play. There are a lot of different things that go into that and they’re all important. I’m looking for consistency. The other things will take care of themselves.”

 

(On if he is still confident that the quarterback competition will decide itself in the next two weeks)- “Yes, I do. I’ve had experience with this before, a couple different times. I feel that it will probably follow the same path, and if it doesn’t and it’s close, then I’ll make the decision and that will be the decision. It will be based on what I feel will give us the best chance to win.”

 

(On how much input the assistant coaches have on the quarterback competition)- “In any decision that is made, you want to get as much information as possible. Just like anything else, you gather it up, you look at it, you analyze it, be objective, unemotional and make it. That’s what I’ll do with that, too.”

 

(On how much of the quarterback competition is objective)- “The whole nature of the way it’s set up is to make it as objective as possible and that’s why things have been split so evenly. That’s why there’s been so much care taken into the process, because I believe in that. That’s true with other positions, as well. At some point, a decision needs to be made. Everybody will have a different opinion, but that’s what makes it so great, so much interest in the game, so much excitement, there is always going to be different opinions.”

 

(On Alex Hall and Kamerion Wimbley against Detroit)- “I felt like Alex made some strides last game. He did a pretty nice job on the edge with some of the perimeter runs that they ran. He made some improvement on special teams, which was something that I was looking for. I think Kamerion had some increased production from the previous game. He’s working in a new spot, and some new spots in sub as well, so there’s some learning curve that goes into that. Overall, I thought both of them made strides.”

 

(On if Josh Cribbs can skew a teams’ kicking game and the impact that has)- “He’s a strong runner. He’s a physical runner. Anytime you approach a guy that has the ability to score like Josh does, and has done that in the past, you may look for where he’s not as effective. Maybe there’s a spot on the field, and each coach is going to have a different perspective on what they think will be the best way to do it. They’ll always try to find, where’s the weak point? How can we manipulate the weak point and how can we exploit it? Our job is to figure out where they may try to attack and be able to deal with that and figure out how we want to minimize that and maximize what we have.”

 

(On if money would be a factor in the quarterback competition if everything else was equal)- “Not one bit.”

 

(On bringing an ex-official on staff)- “What I’m hoping to do there, is have someone in the booth for replays that really understands not just the calls and the rule, but there’s nuances to each rule and there’s things that are challengeable, but really unlikely that you’re going to get. There are things that are challengeable and you have a higher percentage of getting something overturned. You have to make that decision. You may have a challengeable play, you feel really good about it, the view’s not very good and it just doesn’t make sense to challenge at that point to risk the timeout, for whatever the game was. I think having someone who has insight into that is valuable. He’ll also work with our local officials and help them become better officials, so that our players get a more realistic sense of how things are going to be called and that will have value. He’s also a good resource for me as different changes come out, or the coaching staff, or the players. ‘This is the change. This is how it’s written. This is how it’s explained and this is how it’s going to be called,’ which is sometimes very different, but understanding what it is, is very important and having a guy with insight, I think, is an asset. We’re trying to eliminate penalties and that’s a huge priority.”

 

(On when he expects to have the ex-official on staff)- “I don’t have a timeline on it.”

 

(On if there should be any concern about Shaun Rogers)- “It has nothing to do with anything besides getting him to the point where we want him to be. Sometimes with injuries, it’s precautionary. Sometimes they take different time. Sometimes it’s not even something that, typically, you would have this amount of time to work to the side, but we do have some time. Each one’s a little bit different and we make decisions based on what we think the best plan is.”

 

(On if he expects Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn to separate themselves in the next two weeks)- “Like I’ve said throughout, I haven’t set my timeline, ‘It has to be done by this day, this hour.’ It’s when I feel like I have the information I need and I’ve assessed it, then that’s when I’ll do it.”

 

(On if the quarterback competition could last until the week of the Vikings game)- “Like I said, it’s just going to be based on when I feel that I have the information to make the best decision.”

 

(On what he liked about the game against Detroit)- “I thought offensively, we did a nice job with the shifts. I thought they were meaningful. I liked the use of cadence. We were able to draw two offsides penalties. I liked some of the checks that we made. I thought they were sound and based off things that we had talked about. Defensively, I liked the fits better in the running game. I thought the fits were tighter. I thought that the edge was set with more authority, which is important. I like the fact that we were able to keep the quarterback, pretty much, in the pocket or prevent him from scrambling, which is how they had won the game the previous week. That was a positive. On special teams, I enjoy seeing touchdowns scored. That’s fun. I don’t enjoy seeing them called back. One thing I liked at the start of the game is, we had the kickoff return, it gets called back. As much momentum as you get, and emotion that you get, from scoring on a kickoff, you can sometimes, like getting punched in the stomach, have that taken out of you when you get a flag. The offense came out with their field position and went down the field and scored. I thought that was a really positive thing, because you had a pretty big swing. A high, a low and then the reaction and come out to deal with that. The penalties tick me off. It’s a problem. It’s going to lose games. It doesn’t work. It doesn’t work. It’s not good football. That’s a focal point. It’s been a focal point. It’ll continue to be a focal point. There’s another great example, where we had the punt, went down to the 15-yard line. We had to repunt. Nothing ever good happens when you repunt. You repunt it and they’re at the, I think it was the 47 yard line. It was like a 37-yard swing in field position based on an alignment error, which was about eight inches, and 100 percent under our control. 37 yards worth of field position, it’s dramatic, for six inches and a little more concentration.”

 

(On if John St. Clair lined up offsides)- “Yes, and that’s been a point of emphasis with the officials is, you have to be on the line of scrimmage and you can’t be too far back. Often times, there’s not that much distance separating the two, so whatever advantage you may feel you’re getting by getting a little bit further back, we’re not talking being in the backfield, it’s not worth it.”

 

(On David Veikune playing at outside linebacker)- “He played there quite a bit this past game, Mary Kay (Cabot). We got him some reps there. We’ve been working him primarily inside, but having him pay attention to the outside stuff. We worked him some there last week. It’s tough for a rookie. You have a lot of information, now you’re getting a lot of different spots. You try to keep them in one area as much as possible, sometimes you can, sometimes you can’t. The other benefit of moving around is, you do get exposed to a lot and you take in a lot and that can be really helpful down the line as well.”

 

 

[Guest Aloysius]

I had the nickname ‘Penguin’ at the time, that’s a really flattering nickname

LOL

 

Even some of the journos laughed when he said that.