*The transcript of head coach Eric Mangini's news conference with New York Jets reporters Monday afternoon:
*The message to the team this morning was consistent with the message to the team yesterday and it's going to be consistent through the course of the season: Move forward, whatever the situation is. Whether you win by one or lose by one or if you win by a lot or lose by a lot, the same approach needs to be taken week in and week out. That's the approach based on correcting the mistakes you have, trying to maintain the things you did well, and continue to make progress each week. That's what we're doing here today. We're going through the corrections from the game, getting those things addressed and explained to make sure we have those handled moving forward. Then after that, everybody is working on Baltimore.
I know there's a lot of interest in the injury situation, especially Chad [Pennington]'s. It is an ankle, same as what was announced during the game. We'll review it during the course of the week like we do with every injury situation. This is the same process for everybody that's injured. That's really all there is in terms of an update on him or any of the various injuries from Sunday.
On what the process was for examining Pennington's injury Monday …
John [Mellody] handles that and [director of orthopedics] Ken Montgomery, our physician, and [director of medical services] Elliot Pellman. They are all involved in the process. I couldn't tell you 100 percent all of the different tests. What I can tell you is it's very thorough and I'll meet with them later tonight and we'll move forward throughout the week.
On whether he'd spoken with Pennington Monday …
We've seen each other a little bit. I've talked to a lot of different guys today.
On how he's walking compared to Sunday night …
I think there are a lot of stiff guys today. Whenever you play a team like New England — and really any team you face — they are physical games and guys are usually pretty sore the day after.
On how the preparation for Sunday will be affected knowing Pennington may be out …
Each week you have to get the ones and twos as many reps as you possibly can and sometimes those reps come after practice. Sometimes those reps are distributed a little differently throughout the course of the week. But you're always trying to have those guys as caught up as possible. It gets more difficult as you get to the threes to get a significant amount of reps. So it's very important what those guys do when they get a chance to maximize the work. What I've always liked about Kellen [Clemens], Tui [Marques Tuiasosopo] and Brad [Smith] is they will get a group after practice and they will go through the same plays in the script so that they are calling it in the huddle, they are going through the verbiage, the process and the reads. That's a way to get some extra work you can't necessarily get during the designated practice time.
On whether Smith is attending quarterback meetings in case he's needed as a QB …
Brad still does a lot of work with the quarterbacks. It's in Brad's makeup. He likes to do the things associated with receivers and special teams. It's not like we have to chase him around to get that work. It's something he's very proactive about and we're very proactive about, not just for this situation but to be able to use him during the course of any game.
On whether Pennington could have a long-term injury …
With all of the injuries, the timetable is just when the guy is able to come back.
On if he'd label it as week-to-week or out indefinitely …
I'm saying as soon as he's ready to go, he'll be ready to go.
On whether he'll be able to practice this week …
With all of the injuries, you go through a process. We have a different protocol in place for different positions that we look at and have developed over time. A defensive back is different from a quarterback who is different from a defensive lineman. There's a process in place and we worked on that with the medical staff to make sure we're moving forward, the players are moving forward and everybody understands exactly where you are through the course of the week.
On how he felt Clemens performed in the game …
It's a tough spot to come into. That's when the defense has its ears pinned back. The running game isn't much of a threat at that point. It's really a one-dimensional game, which always makes it more difficult. There were a few plays I thought he executed pretty well and there were some that obviously we need to work on. But it's not unique to Kellen. That's all of us across the board. We've all got things we need to address and get better at. That will be the work we do today and the work we do each day.
On whether Clemens is fully functional within the system …
Spending time with [former NFL coach] Dan Henning, he had a really good system for this. He would always go into the game plan and he would have the plays that one quarterback may like the most and the plays the other quarterback may like the most. So if you ever did have to transition during the course of the game, you're not targeting plays that Chad [Pennington] really likes for Kellen or that Kellen really likes for Chad. During the course of the week, you work with the quarterbacks to talk through their comfort level on different things. Each guy is a little bit different and that's part of the process of being the signalcaller and the quarterback coach — being on the same page as to what will be the most effective for each person.
On Clemens' ability to run the no-huddle offense …
The nice thing that Kellen has is that since he's been in the system, every single play has been pretty much no-huddle — practice, training camp and OTAs. It's not as if you're transitioning into something or it was something that was developed specifically for Chad. I don't know if you remember Brooks [Bollinger] last year. He had a 22-play no-huddle drive in the [third] quarter of a game [Jets at Washington in 2006 preseason]. Right on down the line — Brad's done it. That's just how the operation is. So they are very used to doing that.
On how he's looking to mentally prepare the team for Baltimore …
In talking to them, just in talking about successful people, successful teams, it's never about the event. It's never about what happened. It's about how you respond to what happened. That's true in the course of the game. You get some type of adversity. It's not about the adversity, it's how you respond to the adversity. That's why the approach is always exactly the same — win, lose, whatever the score, it's exactly the same. Correct it, move forward and face the next opponent in the next game.
On what he saw from the offensive line after viewing the video …
Across the board I saw a lot of well-executed things in each unit, but there were too many times where it was one player on a given play that didn't execute well. So you had 10 guys doing what you're looking for, one guy who doesn't quite do what he's supposed to, and that's when those plays break down. With a team like New England, the margin for error is so small that everybody has to be executing the same way and everybody has to be doing the correct assignment on each play. Otherwise, they are able to take advantage of those mistakes. They are a very good team and they played extremely well yesterday.
On if a lot of the error was due to mistakes in technique …
That's really what I mean. Sometimes it was a technique error. Sometimes it was the footwork against the way they were stunting where you're supposed to take a lead step with your outside foot or near foot and you step underneath yourself. You can't have those things and you especially can't have those things against a team like New England. I didn't think the level of mental errors was significantly different than what you'd find in a normal game. I think it's just a function of everybody doing exactly what they are supposed to do on any given play, with the further understanding that's how efficient your opponent is.
On whether Pennington getting sacked on a three-man rush is a case of being physically beaten …
That could be a couple of different things. It could be breaking down the hands, where you set out and you don't punch the proper way and they are able to break down your hands. It could be you may set too light and they could go from speed to power. Usually on those three-man rushes, it does come down to some type of technique error that leads into a sack or a pressure.
The other thing that happens quite often is you try to give guys those three-man rushes as much as possible and get people to make adjustments or calls, assuming that's going to be max pressure or some different front. Then sometimes you can get a play there. That's pretty common throughout the league. When you're max-pressuring, try to show coverage, when you're max-covering, try to show pressure, constantly disguising to affect the roles, the line, receivers and the quarterback.
On whether the 51-yard Randy Moss reception was a result of poor coverage …
With that play, there were eight guys blocking and really it was a one-man route. When you have someone who is that fast and a quarterback with a very good, accurate arm, any pause can be the difference between a 51-yard touchdown and a pass breakup. It goes to my original point: It's a very efficient offense, very efficient defense and very efficient special teams. When you have just a slight separation like we had there, even with multiple people around it, and you can dump it in the right spot, that's where the margin for error comes in.
On if there was a similar mistake that resulted in the 108-yard kickoff return …
It's a classic play that could be either a loss or a 10-to-15-yard return. You get one slip or one missed tackle and that turns into a big play and there were some opportunities there to get the ball at the 8- or 10-yard line. Traditionally, people don't bring the ball out when they are 8 yards deep, and usually that translates into something very positive for the coverage team. Obviously, it didn't in that situation.
On his blitzing philosophy …
One thing I've never been accused of is not liking the blitz. It's something I've always been fond of. You just have to understand that there are things that can beat blitzes and there are ways to handle blitzes. You have to be able to strategically blitz. Offensively, being able to throw quick screens, quick gains, max-protect and things like that, it often times nullifies blitzes. So where you could be putting the secondary in a very bad position and still not getting pressure, it's the constant battle of trying to call those at the correct time and incorporate them effectively. In Buddy Ryan's words, "Usually in a blitz, somebody's band is going to play, either ours or theirs." You want to make sure it's yours a lot more often.
On his reaction to the crowd's reaction for Clemens coming in for Pennington …
I really wasn't focusing on the crowd. I was trying to focus on getting Kellen some snaps, assess where Chad was and talk to Brian [Schottenheimer] about transitioning to the different set of plays. I talked to Kellen a little bit before he went in just about some reminders that we had gone through. You like to give them those things prior to going in and starting to run the offense because it is so different. You're in the flow of the game but you're not quite in the game, and now you're running the offense.
On whether that's something they operationally practice …
You may have plays scripted: Chad is going to get the first five snaps, Kellen, you've got six through nine, Tui, you've got 10 through 12. Then you have the plays going and you just randomly throw a guy in for two or three plays because they can get into a rhythm at practice just like you can get into a rhythm in a game. You want to be able to disrupt that rhythm and force them into a totally different mentality.
On his comfort level with Clemens coming off his preseason …
With everybody — I know I've said this a bunch throughout the preseason — you're trying to build flexibility and you're trying to make people work with each other and constantly push guys to learn different spots because you can only go with 45 and I never know where the injuries are going to hit. It's the same thing on the offensive line where a guy is a backup left tackle by trade, but that's not all he can be. He may have to go in and play left guard. He may have to go in and play right tackle. You want to build those things in and practice those things so that when they do get the call they can operate effectively.
On whether he's comfortable enough with Clemens' preseason to have him step in for Pennington if necessary …
With any injury, it's going to be looked at the same way with each person. I think everybody is important on the team and I think player safety is extremely important. We're going to always view that the same way for every member of the team. I think Kellen had a very good preseason. I think he's made a lot of progress from last year's training camp to this year's training camp and that's why he's our No. 2, where last year he was primarily our No. 3 guy.
On whose decision it was to call the QB sneak on Pennington's last drive after he got hurt ...
That's something where the opportunity was knocking. They had 12 guys on the field, a chance to change the field position, change down and distance and things like that. With any play that we call, whether it's the quarterback sneak or any of the plays he executed, you have to take into account the limitations he may have. Those are not just called in a vacuum.
On whether it's fair to say he felt Pennington was OK after being hurt …
With any injury, you take into account the things the player can do and can't do and you are making sure you're not putting him in a situation where he's at risk for any further injury. We felt very comfortable with what he could do on that play.
On reports of the Patriots allegedly videotaping Jets coaches giving signals …
With anything along those lines, those are all league-related matters. Anything that deals with an issue like this or anything on a team-by-team basis, those all go to the league.
On whether the league has been notified …
It's all a league matter.
