Transcript of head coach Eric Mangini's news conference with the Jets media after Friday's morning minicamp practice:
Today we moved into the red zone, a typical Friday-type deal. We are able to touch on a little bit of goal line, too. Obviously, it's nowhere near the tempo you normally have but there are goal line coverage things that are challenging. There's blocking schemes that you want to get on tape and at least be able to coach off it. It's nowhere near tempo but you can show them visually "That is what we want to do, this is where we're trying to hit, this is how the linebackers are going to respond."
So that just becomes another teaching tool as we move into training camp, for them to see themselves doing the jobs they have to do in that area even though we know that it doesn't have the intensity or the physicalness or any of those elements that you'll have in training camp and in the season.
Vernon [Gholston] made his appearance today. I asked him a couple questions during the meeting this morning, one [answer] was OK, one was okay with an asterisk and one wasn't bad, a little bit better. I'm sure his head is spinning. He looked a couple times like he needed directions out there on the practice field, but that's what you have. It's just a situation that he was in, but he's back in the building and he's working with the coaches, the players and the other rookies and we'll work to get him up to speed as quickly as we can.
On Gholston doing extra work …
We won't require him to stay up here to get in extra work, but I'm pretty sure he's buying a home in New Jersey and getting settled in there, so I'm sure he will be in the area. And even if he's not, we'll be able to do some things with him and have a way to communicate with him. But the fact that he's with his teammates, the other rookies, that's really positive as well, because they can catch him up on some stuff after hours.
On Gholston's arms …
It's good to have someone on defense with comparable arms to Thomas Jones. They can go head-to-head in the weightroom. We'll see what that looks like [smiles]. He's going to have to roll up his sleeves like Thomas does.
On Gholston's progress compared to everyone else …
You don't know what to anticipate. It's hard to really give you a level of where he could be or where you could anticipate him to be vs. [Nick] Mangold [in 2006]. Each guy is a little different.
On whether Gholston looked totally lost …
No, he didn't look totally lost. Like the first few times I drove home to Garden City, I was on the right main street, I just missed my street to the house. It was that type of thing. He was on the road. He just missed a couple of turns.
On the rule that prohibited Gholston from coming to camp before today …
I'm sure the rationale was for the NCAA to keep the kids in school as long as possible and not give them an incentive to leave school early or to drop out and prepare for the draft. I think it's a good rule. I think the more those guys can stay in school, the more they can complete their degree, the better off they are. It makes total sense and I understand it completely and I'm happy to work with it.
On whether Gholston's case should be an exception …
I think once you start making a lot of exceptions, there are so many universities, so many different scenarios, it's a management issue to try to judge it case by case. You have to have a whole division to process that.
On whether he will cut Gholston some slack …
It's not his fault that he couldn't be here, but it's not like he was getting his master's [at Ohio State]. He had plenty of free time. In between "Judge Judy" and what is it, "Days of Our Lives", whatever is on during the daytime, you can study. There are enough hours in the day regardless of how many curls you're going to do [smiles].
On whether Chris Baker was held out of practice …
He wasn't held out. His back tightened up. He was not held out.
On having lunch with Baker recently …
When we sat down, besides an opportunity to get out of the building and have lunch, it was an opportunity to keep him up to date with what we are doing, that he had all the resources available and that I could help him as much as possible while he wasn't here. That's really what my goal was in getting together.
On if he could intervene in Baker's contract issue …
Mike [Tannenbaum] does a great job with contracts, that whole department does. I'm perfectly happy with the way that he handles all of those things. He's been doing it a long time. So I'm pretty confident in Mike.
On if he would tell Tannenbaum to resolve Baker's contract issue …
Mike doesn't come in and say, "Hey, run the ball in when you're on the 1-yard line." He's confident in me to make those decisions. I'm confident in him to make the contract-related decisions and all of the things associated with his job. Obviously, we talk about things and give each other feedback and we have a great relationship. But I appreciate the fact that he doesn't do that to me, and I really don't do that to him, either.
On handling situations like Baker's …
You're going to have different situations, whether it's this situation, injury situations. You just have to move forward and work with the guys that are there. If it's an injury situation, or whatever it is, you just respond and adjust and move forward.
On if he questioned Baker's injury …
I don't question any injuries.
On Baker's injury …
What happens sometimes at practice, you tweak something, it tightens, and it happens. It's happened throughout the OTAs already. [Artrell] Hawkins started early and then something happened. So he was working on the bikes. [Andre] Woolfolk, same situation. So it's nothing new.
On whether he's worried about how Baker's situation can affect the whole team …
I don't think one guy can affect the group. You move forward as a group. The concept of one situation affecting the course of a whole season — with the group of guys that we have, the group of coaches that we have, the way that those guys work, the consistent effort, it's just not a reality.
On whether he's concerned about the Baker situation repeating …
Through the NFL there's always going to be the business side of things and it's going to show up year in and year out. That's nothing new, nothing ground-breaking, and you just move forward.
On how Bryan Thomas compares to Baker …
Every position is different. Every contract's different. Every negotiation's different. You can't compare one [to the other]. I don't really think we have enough time to go in and analyze all of the different positions and assign value because that's part of negotiations. It's based on where you are when you're a free agent and what the situation is. There is variable upon variable, and when you look at multiple positions, the variables just increase.
On comparing Damien Woody to Baker …
Like I said, it's variable upon variable, different situations, different people, different times.
On whether he's saying that Baker's situation was created by bad timing …
What I'm saying is that each situation is completely different.
On what's wrong with Artrell Hawkins …
He's working on a [leg] injury.
On if Kerry Rhodes had any physical issues today …
Yeah. [It] was [his] leg, too.
On whether Rhodes will take on a bigger leadership role this season ...
He's done a nice job. He's been communicating well with the group. He's been working and he's got young guys in that group, new guys in that group and he's doing a nice job in the meeting room with that personnel. When we get out there, the safeties and the Mike linebacker tend to make the majority of the calls. Safeties have to get it out to the corners, the linebacker and the safety need to be on the same page in terms of getting the front organized and the secondary organized. It's a natural progression and really what you're looking for is to have those two positions be vocal and be in a leadership-type role.
On whether Rhodes is as vocal as Jonathan Vilma …
Kerry is pretty vocal. I'm sure you guys know that he can talk and it's good to see him talking the football language.
On Chad Pennington being quoted as saying he is fine-tuning his mechanics …
Everybody is trying to fine-tune their mechanics. Whether it's [weight] transition for the DBs, or the running backs on hand plays. That's all part of the individual process of getting better. Mechanics for quarterbacks are vital, but you'll see some good examples of guys falling down because their weight distribution wasn't very good in the secondary, and that would be mechanics as well.
On what has stood out among the quarterbacks, specifically Brett Ratliff's work …
Brett's made some good strides from last year when we first got him. With [Erik] Ainge not participating at this point, he does have that opportunity to get some more reps because he is working with the threes instead of the fours. I think that's been good for him, mixing with different groups. He got some reps with the twos today and we'll throw him in every now and then with the ones to be able to gauge his progress.
On Erik Ainge …
He won't be [working] today. He'll be out there but he won't be throwing today.
On if there is a timeline for Ainge to come back …
No.
On whether you see a difference in Thomas Jones given the addition of two new offensive linemen …
Thomas is spending a lot of time with the offensive linemen. They will go out sometimes together and spend time, not just football-wise but socially. With the running backs, it's very important that their paths are consistent and their depths are consistent and their breaks are consistent because the offensive line, just like the backs, need to get used to the way the offensive line is going to block things, they need to anticipate where he's going to be. A lot of times they need his help to set up the box, so a lot of times his path can make things easier for them, just like they can make things easier for him.
On the backs and the line working on timing …
I think with all of the backs, just the working together and feeling the timing of the runs. There are some new runs this year, as well. That's the time of year we're in. And I like the things Leon [Washington] is doing when he's working through.
On how the addition of Bill Callahan changes the offensive line's approach, and whether his use of larger linemen in Oakland is a factor …
Philosophically, I'm not exactly sure how [Oakland] wanted to build the offensive line. You look at the structure of the offensive line, what type of runs that you want to have and some of that also plays into what type of backs you have.
What I like about Bill is he's incredibly flexible. He's got the West Coast experience, he's got the coordinator experience, he's got the head coaching experience. He's called plays and he's able to give those guys a real insight into the "why" — why we're running this blocking scheme, why the hot [read] is where it is, what we have to do on each play and how it fits into the quarterback's depth. He can give a lot more detail because he has a great understanding of the big picture.
On whether Tony Richardson needs to adjust similar to the offensive line …
As many years as Tony has played, he's probably run every run and he's worked with every different kind of back. He's another guy that you can do multiple things with. He's not just a downhill guy. He's not just an interior guy. He can do a lot of different roles.
On how he found Callahan …
That was Mike's suggestion. Mike had brought him up when we were going through the process, and we had talked to a couple different guys, and then sat down with Bill, and we really liked Bill. We liked what he brought to the table. It was Mike's initiative.
On the depth at offensive line …
I think it's coming along. We're playing guys in a few different spots, especially with the second group. You see [Will] Montgomery and [Robert] Turner swap out between guard and center, and that's really important. The quarterbacks take snaps from both those guys, so that gives you some extra depth there, and they can play either guard spot. You can slide them in wherever you want- [Wayne] Hunter, [Jacob] Bender, [Clint] Oldenburg, [Nate] Garner. At this point, you are just trying to see what the weaknesses are on the right or the left, what the strengths are, what the combinations are, can they go inside, can they go outside? It's a lot of that.
On Saturday's Belmont Stakes …
Yeah, I've gone to the Belmont [before]. I went to the Belmont several times when I was here in the past. You know, I scheduled minicamp [this year] and I didn't even realize Belmont was this weekend. Yeah, I would love to [go], but, what time is it on? 6:15? Yeah, I'll probably be able to see it.
On Marcus Henry's progress …
Good. It's a whole new world for him because in college they didn't play a lot of press [coverage]. Now people are up in his face, he's having to deal with that, it's totally different, and as a bigger receiver, it's harder to get your pads on.
