Interviews in the Jets locker room after their 20-13 loss to the Ravens in Baltimore on Sunday: x
HEAD COACH ERIC MANGINI
On the message he gave to the Jets after the game ...
The message is I was proud of the way they fought. It's a good team that works hard. We had a lot of opportunities and things we need to work on to get better. When you play a team like the Ravens at home, and the success they've had, you have to stay consistent at high levels for four quarters.
On the Jets' halftime adjustments ...
We looked at the plays we had success with, and some of the pressure they were coming with, and it's an ongoing process with where they were bringing the pressure and what went right with the running game.
On the decision to start Kellen Clemens rather than Chad Pennington at QB ...
Chad did outstanding all week, to where he could be the No. 2 quarterback, and I felt very comfortable with that decision. He was as diligent as he always is. I just thought that at that point, Kellen gave us the best chance this week.
On Clemens' play in the fourth quarter ...
He did some really positive things throughout the game. I thought he showed great poise. This is a guy making his first start against an outstanding defense that gives multiple looks and pressure. He took their best shot and kept coming, and I was pleased with that. There obviously were some things to work on, but there were a lot of positives.
On if Pennington is still the Jets' starting QB ...
Chad is still the starter.
On protection and on Clemens being sacked twice on back-to-back plays ...
Those sacks are never all on the offensive line. Some of it's with the quarterback, on when to set the ball free and when to hold it. Some of it is with the receivers — they have to get to the spots. If everyone's not hitting the right spots every time, with a defense like the Ravens, then you're going to have a situation like we did on that drive.
On going for the field goal instead of trying for a TD five minutes into the fourth quarter ...
At that point, it was a three-possession game and we were trying to get it to a two-possession and work from there.
On his approach to the Jets' 0-2 start ...
We will handle it exactly the same way, regardless of what our record is.
LB VICTOR HOBSON
On playing better defensively in the second half ...
I wish we would have played that well throughout the entire game. The second half we came out and we played really well. We were getting the offense the ball back and they were doing what they do. They made some plays. We just got outplayed today.
On why the Jets played better in the second half ...
It's just a matter of going out and making plays, executing the defense that our coordinator was calling for. We went out there, we were able to do that and we were more successful.
On Kyle Boller starting at QB for the Ravens ...
We knew all week no matter what quarterback started, they were two very, very good quarterbacks that present a lot of problems. No matter if it was McNair or Boller, we knew we had to prepare for a good quarterback.
On playing a decent game against Willis McGahee ...
Every other time we played him you could tell we didn't play good against him. I remember saying, "Wow, he had a good day against us." Having said that, we could have played better [against him today].
On the fourth-quarter comeback attempt ...
We're a team with a lot of pride. We've always had pride and we always will. We're never going to give up. We're going to keep fighting no matter what the score is.
LB JONATHAN VILMA
On the defense's play in the second half ...
I wish we would have done that in the first half. We needed to give up field goals instead of touchdowns. It would have been a better game for us.
On limiting Willis McGahee ...
We did a good job. We thought he would be a key feature to their offense. We thought we did a good job, but we could have done a better job. Unfortunately, we didn't get the victory.
On whether the Jets' better second half was the result of adjustments or better play ...
I think it was a little bit of both. We made a couple of adjustments and we calmed down. We did a much better job of understanding how they were trying to attack us. Frankly, we just played well.
On whether he was surprised the Ravens threw the ball on their last possession ...
Not surprised at all. NFL games are always going to be like that when they're evenly matched. It all comes down to execution. They executed better in the first half and we executed better in the second half. We just didn't get the victory.
On the Jets' 0-2 start ...
It's a long season. There are tough teams and they're not going to break our spirit. It definitely hurts. We would have liked to come out with a victory. We're only 0-2 with 14 games left to play. We have to take it one game at a time.
On QB Kellen Clemens ...
I thought he did a very good job. I thought he gave us a chance to win the game. He went out there and did what he had to do. He made a couple mistakes, like every quarterback does, but he gave us a chance.
S KERRY RHODES
On Kellen Clemens' performance at the end of the game ...
He got the guys in position to get back into the game. We had a couple of stops on defense, gave the ball back to the offense, and they weren't able to capitalize. The last drive was close. A tipped ball got intercepted, but he did a good job.
On being 0-2 ...
It's a tough loss. But the morale of this team is great. We know that one got away today, but the Ravens played a great game as well. But we're going to be fine. We've got Miami next week, and we'll be ready to play.
On Ravens TE Todd Heap's performance ...
We played a lot of zone. He got a lot of catches in the zone. He's an All-Pro player.
On WR Jerricho Cotchery's performance ...
Jerricho played great today. He came out and got us back in the game.
CB DAVID BARRETT
On the Jets' play in the second half)
We just came out in the second half more fired up. And we were more consistent.
On TE Todd Heap's play ...
We knew coming in that he was one of their key guys. And we knew we had to be more focused on the key guys. We knew it was either going to be McNair or Boller, and we prepared the same way.
On the game ...
These are the ones we want to win. You never want to lose. But we've got to go out this week and corrected the things we messed up on, and come back next week and be ready.
QB KELLEN CLEMENS
(On the fourth quarter)
I think offensively the fourth quarter was our best quarter. We needed to score, and we needed to score quick. So we went to the no-huddle and we were fortunate to make some plays. Jerricho had the two big receptions, and we moved the football and got back into the game. So we had a shot down the stretch. The no-huddle offense helped us out and we had to do it. There was an extreme sense of urgency. There were a lot of guys who stepped up and made great plays. It was great to see us respond to the adversity we had been going through for the major part of the game. It's good to see us compete that way, but unfortunately it didn't go our way at the end, to see the competitiveness of this team and the way we responded down the stretch.
On going against the Ravens' defense ...
They were everything they were talked up to be, that's for sure. They're very talented. Ed Reed flying around back there in the secondary, and Ray Lewis and their defensive line. Very talented, and they made a lot of plays, and they held us pretty much in check for most of the game.
On the final pass to Justin McCareins that was intercepted ...
It was just a general read, and there was a defensive back kind of trailing one of our other receivers and Justin came open at the last minute. He ran a great route, he was right in the right spot. I rushed the throw a little bit but he was in traffic. So I rushed the throw a little bit and just didn't pull it down, and it was costly.
On if there was a key adjustment made in the fourth quarter ...
There wasn't anything real specific, I don't think. Things just kind of clicked for us. We had to score, we had to move the football. And some guys stepped up and made the plays. As the game grew on, I got more and more comfortable. My play in the first half was not what it should have been. By the second half, things slowed down a little bit and I calmed down, and we were able to move the football.
WR JERRICHO COTCHERY
On his 50 yard reception during the last drive ...
It was a matchup that we were taking notice of. We were trying to get back to that play during the course of the game. And you get different looks and you say, "OK, we're going to get back to this play, be alert for it," and finally we got back to that play and it was just a route where I have to get open in that coverage. And I made a move outside and I came back in and Kellen put the ball there and I was just trying to make a play after that.
On the offense ...
On the offense that we have, we have different looks. And whatever look we get, the guy has to get open. I've been saying all along it's the same thing over and over again, where a lot of teams are paying a lot of attention to Laveranues [Coles], and that's where I have to do my work and get open. Kellen noticed that and I was able to get open on a few routes. And after that I just tried to make something happen.
On the missed opportunity by Justin McCareins ...
I really didn't see the end of it because I was running my route. I heard the crowd because I had my back turned to the play. So I don't really know what happened on the play. But in those situations like that, you want to make a play for the team, and if something is as wide open as that, it seems like an eternity before the ball gets there. And you just try to grab it as fast as you can because you know that the defense is closing on you. I don't really know what happened on that play. Things happen in the course of the game.
WR JUSTIN MCCAREINS
On what Kellen Clemens said to him after the incompletion at the end of the game ...
We didn't need to say anything. We've got to move forward, and we had some more chances. And you just have to keep playing.
On trying to get into the end zone distracting him on his first drop ...
No, that ball was all on me. I got one hand on it and just didn't get the other hand up in time. And like I said, I just didn't get it done.
On if the final pass that was intercepted was catchable ...
No doubt. That was one of the plays I know I can make, and I just didn't get it done when it counted.
On the offense's improvement in the second half ...
We know we can move the ball. We know we can do good things on offense. We just need to do it consistently and throughout the entire game.
