*Interviews in the Jets locker room after their 38-31 loss to the Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium on Sunday: *
HEAD COACH ERIC MANGINI
I am tired of giving the same speech. I am tired of us walking in after a game where we have only played one good half of football. I am tired of seeing us play poor in the second half. No penalties in the first half, and multiple in the second half. We shanked a punt, couldn't get the snap count right, and gave away a fumble. We didn't do the things we talked about doing in all three phases of the game at halftime. It was not good enough coaching on my part. It was not good enough from our assistant coaches. It was not good enough from the players. I am tired of giving the same speech.
This loss should hurt. It should hurt deeply. We are going to find out the character of every single person in that locker room. It is easy to go to work when you are winning. It is easy to do the right thing when you are winning. We are going to evaluate every single person in that locker room, including coaches, players — everyone.
Our only chance to turn this situation around is by sticking together and working through these issues together. That is the only way. That is our only chance. This is a matter of playing complete football. We are just not doing that in all three phases of the game. From a coach's perspective, it all has to get better.
On why the Jets can't seem to finish a game ...
Some games we play from behind and finish fast. It is the same topics we have been talking about since the first game of the season. We go from no penalties in the first half to multiple penalties in the second. We had no penalties and then we gave away a fumble at a critical time in the second half. Our center and quarterback have taken thousands of snaps together. Today they had a miscommunication and we put the ball on the ground. The punting is good, and then it is not so good.
We obviously need to do a better job in all phases of the game. I need to do a better job. We need to do a better job of making adjustments in the second half. That's not working out, either. Everyone is accountable. We are going to watch the film and find out about everybody.
On whether the defensive struggles are due to talent or game plan ...
We were looking to stop the passing game against the Bengals. It was our goal to stop their passing attack by shutting down Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh. That was the plan going in, and I felt good about that plan. We could roll more men into the box to deal with the running element of the game, but I felt it was more important to concentrate on the passing game. We had some important things we needed to achieve defensively in this game and we didn't. We didn't execute our game plan effectively enough.
We could have put more players in the box to control the run game, but that opens us up to give up more big plays in the pass game with our secondary. We would have had some great receivers in man coverage then. There were times when we would do some nice things defensively and then we would get a penalty. The unsportsmanlike penalty also hurt us badly.
On what he'll do about his quarterback situation ...
I will have to watch the tape to evaluate that. I will watch the tape and personally evaluate every player on this team. I will meet with all of our players through the week and evaluate them. The conversations I have with the players are internal, and I hope you can respect that.
On whether he told Chad Pennington during the week that he was on a "short leash" in this game ...
I know this is a topic of extreme interest with our players, but these are internal issues. I have many conversations with our players each week and I hope you can respect that. I understand where you are coming from as well. All conversations are internal. I appreciate your interest, but I am not changing my answer.
On if he'll stick with Pennington as his starting QB ...
I am going to look at the film. I am going to assess every situation with coaches and players. Our current result is not good enough. The coaching is not good enough, and neither is the production from the players. Our current situation is just not good enough. There is plenty of accountability to go around for what is going on with the organization right now. It all starts right here. At this point I am going to evaluate each person on this roster from top to bottom. I am going to look at every situation. I am going to evaluate our coaching staff. The organization will be evaluated from top to bottom, and we will do some things that make it possible for us to play a complete football game.
On if he's starting to question the character of his team ...
No. It is always easier to come to work and do the right thing when you are winning. The important thing is to be able to do that no matter what the situation. Adversity doesn't build character, it reveals it. The chance that we have in front of us to make progress is based on the group working to move forward together. Collectively, we must move forward together. We will assess our situation and do some things differently in order to get the results we want. We will play a complete football game.
WR LAVERANUES COLES
On Cincinnati's coverage against the Jets WRs ...
I think they did a good job of mixing things up and changing coverage in the second half. They did a great job. They got the momentum in the second half and carried it throughout the rest of the game. That allowed them to get the win.
On if he sensed the loss was "extra tough" on Coach Mangini ...
I think it's tough on everybody from top to bottom. We all put in a lot of hours, sweat and tears. For us to work this hard and continue to lose, it's disheartening for a lot of guys right now. The main thing is for us to use this feeling in a positive way. Right now all we have is each other, so we need to stick together and find a way to turn things around.
On if he ever thought the Jets would be sitting at 1-6 ...
No, but you really learn a lot about the guys next to you when you're in a position like this. The locker room can explode or guys can come closer together. One good thing is the quality of guys that we have. Hopefully we can come close together as a team.
LB JONATHAN VILMA
On it being a tough game for the run defense ...
No doubt about that. They did a good job blocking. You've got to give them credit.
On not being able to bring down RB Kenny Watson ...
I don't think tackling was an issue. I think there were holes that opened up that he ran through and made plays.
On the state of the team ...
It's hard to gauge right now because we're fresh off a loss. We'll definitely find out Wednesday when we have practice.
LB VICTOR HOBSON
On reaction to Coach Mangini saying he's tired of giving the same speech after every game ...
We're tired of being in this situation. He has a right to be tired of giving that speech. We're all tired of losing. We dug the hole, now we need to dig ourselves out of it.
On what went wrong from the first half to the second half ...
We just need to play 60 minutes. We didn't do that today and it showed. It was our game to lose in the second half, and we have to give credit to Cincinnati for coming out fighting and being victorious.
On the difference between last season's 10-win team and this team ...
It's a lot of the same guys, but it's a different team.
C NICK MANGOLD
On what happened to cause the fumbled shotgun snap ...
It was just miscommunication. Obviously he wasn't ready for it, and that's something we can't have. You never want it to happen, so it's extremely difficult when it does.
