Transcript of head coach Eric Mangini's news conference with the New York Jets media after Monday's morning training camp practice:
I talked to the players a lot yesterday. I didn't think practice yesterday was very good in terms of the concentration, focus, effort and all of those things that we look for on a consistent basis. You can't let a practice slip by. We talked about that quite a bit last night. I thought they responded well to that. I thought the focus was good this morning. I thought the effort was better this morning.
This is always one of the most difficult times in camp because you've got all the installation up to this point that you've put in. There are still new things going in, so you're drawing on plays, coverages or whatever the case may be that you put in however many weeks ago or practices ago, as well as the new information. You also have the element of game planning with the preseason games. People are tired, they're sore, they're tired of looking at each other and hearing my voice and everybody else's voice. But that's just part of the process.
These days are crucial because you need to get through all of those things and you need to be able to deal with all those issues and continue to make progress. If you let days slip away, you can't get them back. You let enough of them slip away, and you're really behind the eight ball. So I thought they responded well. I'm looking for similar effort, focus and progress here this evening.
On if seeing the No. 1 running back on the sideline was a distraction …
I don't think that necessarily is the case. I think we're going to be in situations throughout the course of the season where injuries are going to happen, and it could happen in any number of different spots. You'll be in those situations during games where someone may go down and that person may represent a bulk of the game plan. Things don't stop. The game doesn't stop. You're not given a special dispensation at that point. You have to play through it.
It's the same thing with practice or whatever the situation is. That creates an opportunity for the person who is behind to demonstrate what they can do. With the running backs, there's been some tremendous opportunity for them to show that. Some guys have done well with that opportunity, some guys haven't. It's what we always talk about: At some point opportunity is going to knock, and it's what you do at that point that's really going to define whether or not you're here moving forward.
On Thomas Jones' status …
I can tell you that he is working extremely hard and he'll be back as quickly as he can. Thomas has a pretty strong track record. He missed three games [in four seasons], but he's been pretty durable.
On if he expects Jones to play Friday vs. Minnesota …
I can only tell you that he'll be back as quickly as he possibly can.
On when he expects Jones back …
I expect him as soon as he can go.
On which part of camp he is most pleased with at this point …
There are a lot of things going on defensively and offensively in terms of the reactions to the other side's moves. It could be the defense's disguise, it could be the types of shifts and motions that the offense is doing. It's putting a lot of pressure on both sides to get into the right defense, to get into the right check, and I think that both sides have made a lot of progress. It's getting more and more difficult, and it's really almost like a chess match a lot of days. That's going to happen during the games as well. There was a play in the Green & White Game where Kellen [Clemens] made a check, [Brad] Kassell made a check, Kellen checked back, Kassell checked back, and that was all within 25 seconds, and they were all right. At any one of those points, one guy could have not done what he was supposed to do and the other side would have won.
On what he's looking for from Pete Kendall at center …
We made a lot of moves yesterday with the offensive line. A lot of guys moved around. Wade [Smith] is getting some work at guard, Adrian Jones is getting some work at tackle, and [Jacob] Bender is working at guard. What we're doing with that group, like all the other groups, is trying to build in flexibility. During the course of the practice week, you don't have a chance to give a guy a lot of reps at a position that's not his own because you have the plays that you have to rep out with that group. During camp, you always try to build the base, should you have to go to some kind of change due to injury, so that you can draw on that experience.
I guess the biggest example I can draw on is that Troy Brown got a lot of work as defensive back during camp, really didn't come up until I forget how many games into the season, but he was able to draw on all that experience. And you want to have that flexibility when you have the time to really work on it and see the different combinations.
On why Kendall would be moved back at center after he was moved there in 2005 ...
I couldn't tell you what the thinking was in terms of what happened in '05, but what I can tell you is if someone does have a deficiency at a certain position, you need flexibility. What you do is you practice it, and that's what we're doing. We're practicing it so that there aren't deficiencies. You're always limited with the amount of offensive linemen you can bring to a game, and if you get one or two injuries, the whole configuration of the line changes dramatically. If there's nothing to draw on, it's really hard to function. If you look at the secondary, or the receivers — if you don't have them working at both X and Z and now suddenly they're thrust into the other spot, you're really lost at that point. It's hard to get enough reps during a practice week to make the guy feel comfortable with that.
On if flexibility is something he stresses with linemen …
It's something we've talked about, that I've personally talked about with the team multiple times. It's never in response to a specific move. It's in response to the overall composition of the team. You're always trying to build that in. You guys probably saw Hank [Poteat] work some at safety — I think it was a week ago. You've seen [David] Barrett back there, you've seen [Andre] Dyson back there. That's just if you need to make a change or if they give you a specific offensive grouping where you want to play with three corners but you want to be able to play split-safety concepts. They need to have worked some at that spot to do that.
With the linebackers, you'll see [Eric] Barton and [Jonathan] Vilma will switch and Vilma will work with the twos, David Harris will go to Vilma's spot and those three will rotate around. With the defensive line, you'll see guys moving from nose to end. It's nothing that's unique to one group. It's really something that's built into the concept of building the team.
On if he's emphasized flexibility to the team as a whole …
This concept isn't player-specific. This concept is team-specific. That's how we approach it. That's our philosophical approach to having flexibility. We talk about that all the time, the need to constantly have the flexibility to adjust to either what you're given or what you'd like to do.
On if Kendall has expressed being unhappy with his position change …
I haven't had any personal conversations with him about it, but like with any player, I'm always in the same spot.
On if flexibility takes on a larger role this week with a large group sidelined …
It definitely helps in that type of situation, but really, it helps in every situation. Things happen so quickly, and you go to a game, and this week you might have left an extra safety home because you needed an extra wide receiver or you needed an extra tight end. You build that 45-man roster. Now in doing that, if you have multiple injuries, someone has got to play that spot, and they need to have the ability to do that and have a comfort level at it, and you need to have the comfort level as a staff that he can do that. Jerricho [Cotchery] working at corner last year, Wallace Wright working on offense and defense, Stacy Tutt working on offense and defense, Brad Smith — you've just got to be able to do it.
On what changes he's seen in Justin McCareins since last training camp …
I've been really happy with Justin. I think he's made some outstanding catches. He made a really nice catch in the game coming back for the ball when he had the receiver beat and he was underthrown. Yesterday in practice, he made a really incredible catch over the defensive back where he was leaping up, the defensive back was trying to come through the pocket, and he snatched the ball out. The other day, it might have been two or three practices ago, in the corner of the end zone he reached around the defensive back's back and caught it with one hand. I mean, those are really good concentration plays, and they're hard to make. He's made a few of them.
On if he feels McCareins' attitude is different from last year …
I think he's been working hard. I've seen consistency for a long time from him in his approach.
On if he feels it's tough for Andre Dyson to play with a lack of continuity on the opposite corner …
I'm sure as a player or a coach, you'd always like to be able to say, 'These guys are going to be the same.' But it's not realistic. I don't know how many countless corners Ty Law worked with over the years when I was working with him, and you just get to the point where that's part of the process. Just like noise at practice, really now it's stranger if it's quiet than if it's noisy. I'm sure for Ty at that point, it would be stranger if he had the same guy than if he didn't. You just adjust and you get used to it.
On what he's seen from Dyson …
I think he's done some good things. I thought that in the Green & White Game where he had the two deep plays, one of them really was a function of multiple people, another one was a technique error. You had those plays. Then, I don't know if you guys remember, when Kellen was driving, they had gone for it on fourth down, Green had gone for it, Kellen was starting a drive, they could have gone up by 10 with a field goal at that point. Then Dyson makes the pick on the deep ball, takes the ball away.
That's the type of stuff I really like to see because you've dealt with some adversity through the game. There were some plays that you could easily have said, 'This isn't my day.' But he responded the next time he was challenged — he took the ball away. I think he ran it back 30 or 40 yards, and it changed the whole momentum of the game. That's going to happen where you may have a series of plays that are frustrating and difficult and you get beat on, but it's what do you do with the next one because there always is going to be a next one.
On if working with the twos reflects his idea of flexibility …
They just rotate through, and seeing the different combination of people, that's another part of adding stress to the communication. If you're used to hearing the same voice, if you're always used to hearing Jonathan make the checks and then suddenly Jonathan isn't in that series, you've got to listen to a different voice, you have to get the checks. There may have been some sort of chemistry that you had with that signalcaller that's now not there, but the play goes on and the call goes on. You have to develop that chemistry with the next guy, and that guy has to do the same thing with you.
On the team's approach to injuries …
With injuries it's a consistent approach with all players, and we try to always do what's best in those situations and not force somebody back too early, make sure they go through the whole process of working with the doctors, working with the trainers, going through the rehab process, being able to test him out physically prior to putting him back on the field to make sure that they're good decisions. Everybody on the team is important, and every person is important, so it's a consistent approach.
On if he can specify if Jones' injury is a calf or an ankle …
It's a lower leg. I think that's the official distinction.
On which defensive linemen have stuck out to him as consistent pass rushers …
I think as a group they've improved their pass rush. They're consistently doing it. I think that's something we need to continue to improve on. There have been flashes by a lot of different guys, and one of the things we're really working on is having a go-to move, but then having a changeup move, and sometimes when you're working on that move that you're not as good at, it doesn't hit the same way. But that's just part of the process. If you're going to get good at the second one, you've got to drill it even though you may lose eight out of 10. Soon it's going to be seven out of 10, six out of 10, and now you have two things that you're really good at.
On Sione Pouha in the first preseason game…
I think a lot of the things we've seen in practice, we've seen in games. I think it was really good for Sione to be able to get out there and experience it against a new opponent. A lot of times when you've been hitting the same couple of guys over and over again, you get a real good feel for what they're going to do and they get a feel for what you're going to do. Now you go into the game against a totally different center and there may be multiple centers because it's preseason. You have to react to each style of guy. That's great because he's going to see multiple styles. You could have a really stout player, you could have the quicker-type center, the guy that's maybe really light, and you can do some things against him that you can't do against the bigger guys. So seeing that range of guys is really positive for him.
On if he's seen any changes in Mike Nugent's leg strength …
He's improved in that area. He's hit quite a few long field goals. I thought we were going to get that one [52-yarder vs. Atlanta] the other night. I felt pretty good about that. He's just very disciplined in his approach. He's always been a disciplined guy. I think he's just getting more and more comfortable in his routine. He did a lot of work in the off-season on strengthening his whole body and his lower body, working on the kickoffs, and it's becoming more and more consistent with his depth of kickoffs.
On what the thinking was behind Pouha losing weight …
You want big bodies to play in there, and he's a stout guy. But there are different ranges of how big a body you want in there. I think that at this weight he still has the same sort of power and strength, but his wind is better and his conditioning is better. I think his first-step quickness is better. In talking to him as we went through the process, he feels comfortable at this weight. It's not one of those things where we're shrinking him down so much that he could be on the runway, but he still is effective.
