Transcript of head coach Eric Mangini's news conference with the New York Jets media Wednesday morning:
Adrian Jones will be excused today for personal reasons.
In terms of the Redskins, just as you watch the tape, this is very similar to some of the opponents we've had this year in the sense that it's the same family tree as what our offense is, where our offense is from. A lot of shifting and motioning, various personnel groups and different tough adjustments that you have to work through. Some very creative plays, creative use of personnel. They put their players in a position to make plays and create matchup problems. That's something that, as you're doing your adjustments, going through the ways you're going to play the different sets, you really have to do a very good job of communicating what the final call is going to be. I've always liked this offense and that's why Brian [Schottenheimer] is here. Al [Saunders, Washington's associate head coach–offense] does a great job with it.
Defensively, a little bit different than what we've historically seen, but it's a group that creates turnovers, a very opportunistic, ball-hogging secondary, rangy and with the ability to make big plays. In the run game you're looking at [London] Fletcher. He moves out of the division, you think you've seen the last of him, but he's back. He's just an impressive guy — 100-plus tackles in eight straight seasons, third in the NFL in tackles last year, hasn't missed a game, very active, great instincts and very good flow to the football. They're able to create pressure with their front four. Those three things combined will be things we're working through here today.
On special teams, they're pretty much in the top 10 in both of their coverage units. In the return game you're looking at Antwaan Randle El, who is always dangerous, and Rock Cartwright, first in the NFC in kickoff returns, fourth in the NFL. Each one of those areas is, like last week, something we're going to have to address and be very sound on in terms of not just our coverage but also our return game.
On whether there will be other lineup changes made on Sunday …
There have been changes over the course of the last three or four weeks, and really throughout the course of the season. Guys have gone in and started that hadn't been. Guys have become activated that hadn't been. Guys who were active got some play time, whether it be on special teams or subbing in for specific players in specific situations. That's been pretty consistent.
On if he plans on making a change at left guard …
We look at all the positions. That's no different. We've had different people working in at all the spots. You saw last week that Jacob [Bender] was up for the first time. We had Will Montgomery, who worked as well. Wade Smith, he's really a player that can play any of those positions. So we'll go through the course of the week like we always do and put together the best five.
On how some coaches cut players who've had bad games and why he hasn't done so …
I don't know what that situation was, but I know whenever making a decision, especially a decision about changing out a roster spot, you have to look at the body of work. You have to look at what happened in that game. Is it game-specific? Is it a pattern of behavior? With that situation, I couldn't tell you whether that was a pattern of behavior or just specific to that game. It could have been something that had been building for quite a long time and then that was really the tipping point. I know as I look at decisions and Mike [Tannenbaum] and I talk through things. We're never going to evaluate a guy on just one specific situation. It's going to have to be a collective decision on all the things he's done.
On whether he looks at the next eight games as a step toward next year …
Last year when we were in the situation we were in, it was one game at a time, and I really fundamentally believe in that approach. I think if you get too caught up in the future or too caught up in the past, that's when you lose track of what's important and that's right now. We've got to make improvements. That's what the focus has to be on. It's not going to be about next year or last year. It's going to be about the next game and looking as a group — coaching, playing, organizationally — what can we do at this point to improve.
On looking back at the Pete Kendall situation …
My thoughts really haven't changed on the situation. We made the decision we felt was best for the organization at that time. We're very comfortable with the value we got. It worked out well for all the parties involved. I wish Pete well. He looks like he's doing a good job for them. I know he's doing a good job. I'm happy for him. I'm happy that he's comfortable in his new situation.
On if the offensive line could be better with Kendall …
You're really looking at the guys you have. You don't know how things are going to play out. You don't know how injuries are going to play out. It's really evaluating where you are and what you're doing at this time.
On what he meant by saying that Kellen Clemens earned the right to start Sunday …
It's sort of like cutting a player. It's not just one small period of time. It's over time, it's all the different things. It starts in the off-season, OTAs, training camp, the different opportunities he's gotten playing in games, through the course of the season, his practice, his preparation. It's all those things. Whenever you make a decision, you try to look at it collectively and evaluate it from there as opposed to just a snapshot.
On what Clemens has done in practice that caught his attention …
I really like the way he's improved in terms of his huddle procedure, his ability to come to the line of scrimmage and read the defense, see what they're in, get us into the right check, get us out of the wrong check, operate not just from the huddle but the no-huddle, not just our standard no-huddle in the field but also the two-minute offense. I thought he did a really nice job against Baltimore with that. Those things take time, not only with the new system but with a system that has many shifts and motions and variations. Each week he gets a little bit better operating from that position.
On how his expectations of Clemens have changed since the Baltimore game …
I always have high expectations for all the players we play. Kellen will be no different. I've always respected his approach. Even as a young guy coming in and being in that competition, there was nothing he shied away from. He wasn't going to concede anything. He worked as hard as he could and while he was doing that, while he was competing, he was a good guy and a good teammate, similar to the way Chad [Pennington] handled it and Brooks [Bollinger] handled it, right on down the line.
You look for those traits. You look for those characteristics. You look for how people are going to respond in this situation. I was happy with that. After the season got through, I was really pleased with his approach addressing areas of need, addressing areas he felt were weaknesses both in the weightroom and the meeting room, and just in watching other quarterbacks develop. That's something I saw consistently.
On whether he feels differently about Clemens going into this game …
Going into Baltimore, I felt very good about that decision and very good about where he was. I thought he had an outstanding week of practice that week. Like with anything else, with more experience you become more comfortable. You work through that. [Darrelle] Revis is going through it. Different guys go through it, just depending on how quickly they start or they play.
On whether Clemens will be more prepared to deal with safety blitzes …
Hopefully, we'll do a better job of picking up the safety blitzes so he won't get hit. I thought Baltimore did a nice job disguising that stuff. Kellen definitely is not afraid about standing in the pocket. That can be positive and that can be negative. If you're going to take that hit, you want to do the cost-benefit ratio. These safeties, they're not small.
On whether Gregg Williams, Redskins assistant head coach–defense, will bring extra pressure on Clemens because of his inexperience …
It's hard to say. He's had a little bit different approach this season, and it hasn't been traditionally what you expect from Gregg. But that happens where you move away from one concept and you move into another concept. You may come back to it. It's game-plan-specific. You really have to look at how they're going to play you. You don't know philosophically what his approach is to a younger guy vs. an older guy. There's always the cost-benefit ratio as the defensive coordinator. Should the ball get into a guy like Jerricho [Cotchery]'s hands, in space, one-on-one, Laveranues [Coles], with the catch and run they've shown, how many times do you want to roll the dice there? We'll have to see what he does.
On how long it will take for Cotchery and Coles to get used to Clemens' style …
They've been working with him for the last two years. Kellen has gotten a lot of reps over that time period. They work together, not just during practice but after practice. There's a nice group mentality between the quarterbacks and the receivers regardless of who's throwing, "Tui" [Marques Tuiasosopo], Kellen, Chad. They've all worked together. They all want to have that feel because you don't know when you're going to go in and you don't want to have huge gaps in working together for when that situation does come up.
On if it's realistic to expect that changing QBs will have a positive impact …
All you're trying to do is have everybody focus on their area. You're looking for Kellen to do the best he can and play as well as he can. But each one of those areas has to focus on the needs they have and the things they have to do. We did some positive things defensively last week, but there were some plays we left on the field that, if you were just a little bit sharper on the check, a little bit quicker on the check, it's the difference between a strip sack and an incomplete pass. Those are things that you have to continue to work on.
With the secondary, there's been some flux there, some different guys there. You need that communication to keep improving. Inserting David Harris as a starter at linebacker, the defensive line communication needs to improve. There are a lot of different spots where you're working on improving the communication, the continuity and just the sense of working together.
On Clemens having a commanding presence …
Really where that stood out was in college. That's what you saw on tape, that presence. As you talked to his college coaches, the people that played with him, the people that knew him really well, that was one of the consistent characteristics that kept coming up. They'd also talk about his energy level and how his energy was contagious. Those are the things I liked in terms of his intangibles outside of what he had physically when we made the choice to draft him.
On whether he has any further information on Jonathan Vilma's situation …
We're actually still working through that.
On Vilma's injury decision being a big process …
It is. It's a big decision.
On whether Vilma has had surgery yet …
No.
On whether he needed to talk to Abram Elam about his overaggressive play …
With all of those safeties, you always have to talk to them. Really what you want to do is as you come down as a safety, the natural tendency is the first hole that opens up, you see the back coming to it, you want to go insert in that hole. You can't do that. If the running back is at 5 yards, you've got to be at 5 yards. If he's at 3, you have to be at 3. If there's any difference in your levels, he's going to see a cut differently than you're going to see a cut.
There's multiple times, you'll see it on tape all the time, where the safety comes screaming down, he gets right up on the line of scrimmage. The back cuts back and where he's supposed to be a flow guy all the way across the line of scrimmage, he's caught up in the traffic, in the wash, can't get there. You have to have that patience — it's not unique to our safeties by any means — to mirror his depth and mirror his path and If you get too close, or really if you're too deep, both those are an issue.
On Elam's unnecessary-roughness penalty at Cincinnati …
Looking at it, I don't think that was malicious. I don't think it was a sound decision. It's one that I'm sure he won't do again. I'm sure there was an excitement in the moment. He was trying to get the ball out. It was just a poor decision that he knows about and we've talked about and he's learned from. With the hit on Darrelle [Revis on the Lee Evans TD catch], you're aiming for the guy in blue and he missed him.
But you want those guys to attack. You want them to be aggressive. You want there to be a presence in the middle of the field so that if they do catch passes, there's a cost to it. I thought Victor Green always used to leave a calling card. People understood that he was around.
On whether the aggressiveness is a message to the other guys on how to play …
We talk about the mentality on defense all the time. In the secondary, it's controlled aggression because just like when we were discussing the box safety, you want to make sure you can deliver maximum impact, but you don't want to go so quickly that you either miss the tackle or you take a poor angle. Finding that balance between the two, there's that natural tendency to want to go quickly and blow things up as opposed to take your time and really blow things up.
On how GM Mike Tannenbaum is holding up …
He looked pretty relaxed to me today.
On how much this season is wearing on Tannenbaum …
Mike's pretty consistent moodwise. If he's not, you can usually change it with some type of sugared object [laughs].
On if it will be more of Thomas Jones' offense with Chad Pennington out …
I never really look at it as anybody's offense. We look at it as the Jets offense and everybody contributes to it. Thomas has contributed and will continue to contribute to it. But there are a lot of different guys that can make plays and there are a lot of different guys you'd like to see with the ball in their hands, whether it's Jerricho, Laveranues, Brad Smith, Justin McCareins, Leon Washington, Chris Baker, right on down the line.
All those guys can do some things with the ball in their hands. You'd like to see them all get involved and all be productive. That's the goal, to find the open receiver or, when we do have the numbers in the running game, be able to run the ball effectively as opposed to it's just going to feature this guy or that guy regardless of coverage, front, that sort of thing.
On the input Tannenbaum had on the QB decision …
Mike and I discuss all decisions. Whether it's that decision or other decisions, we discuss the team each night. That's a consistent practice for us.
On if the discussion to start Clemens was no different than the discussion to start Elam …
You go through discussions and ultimately it's my decision. But Mike and I are together on all these, whether it's bringing somebody in, whether it's changing somebody. I like his input, I like his insight, I like to get his feedback. Mike does a nice job of working with the scouting staff and the pro personnel staff to get their feedback because we're all really in this together. The relationship between coaching and scouting is so important that both sides understand not just where we are but where we'd like to go in terms of draft, free agency, things like that. You're always looking to increase the lines of communication as much as possible.
