Interviews after the Jets' 20-12 victory over the Giants at the Meadowlands on Saturday night:
HEAD COACH ERIC MANGINI
I was pleased the way the team came out in the second half. I thought we did a real nice job in all three phases responding to what we talked about at halftime. We made some big plays. I thought we did a much better job with third-down conversions. Our special teams were much more efficient.
There are some things we need to work on, we need to collectively continue to work on. That backed-up situation where we had the ball on the minus-one. We had some opportunities to make some plays there, then come back and had to punt the ball there, got the holding penalty, give up two points, have the free kick. That translates into a field goal on the ensuing drive with field position. That's a five-point situation and we work on the backed-up play quite a bit and it's something we need to execute better.
Overall, though, I was pleased with the response we had in the second half and I was pleased with the first half as well. But we're going to continue to work and continue to focus on making progress.
On the performance of the offense in the first half ...
I thought we did a nice job on that first play. That was something we liked there early and were able to execute that well and it turned into points. The ensuing drive, there were just too many collective mistakes that were made. Anytime you don't execute well, it's not one person, it's not one phase, it's the group and collectively we all need to execute better on offense.
On why the starters in general don't seem to be jelling as you might have hoped in the third preseason game ...
It's different seeing different looks and working with different people and that takes time. The consistency is something that has to be a group effort, and if you have a breakdown with one guy one play and one guy another play, those add up. You've got to do a better job as a group because it's really not just one area, it's multiple areas that we have to clean up.
On the second-half spark that Kellen Clemens gave the team ...
I liked the approach of the whole group in the second half. I thought defensively we did a nice job as well. I thought there were some really positive things on special teams. The first drive was all running plays and we were able to run the ball into the end zone and then come back and, since we had gone to the run so much, we were able to hit those [two pass] plays that we did.
On Darrelle Revis ...
I thought he did a good job. I'm sure it's a little dramatic change from being home watching TV to transitioning into the game. He played different spots. He played inside, he played outside, he had a chance to return a few punts. That was important, to give him some reps at the different roles that he'll be playing.
On the defense's inability to get off the field vs. the Giants in the first half ...
It was 12-6 at halftime and two points came from a safety and whether you get it in one play or you get it in multiple plays, what's important is the score.
On how little of the offense was shown in this game ...
It's been pretty vanilla here during the preseason and that's the approach we're taking. We're looking at more of the basic stuff and I think with this opponent, facing them early in the season and having familiarity with them through this game, it's important to have some things that you may have liked and studied during the week but you're really not going to show until you play them in the regular season.
QB KELLEN CLEMENS
On how he felt about his performance vs. the Giants ...
It was good. Justin McCareins had the big catch. We started out with Danny Ware running the football, and the offensive line blocked really well. It was a great collective effort. We were very happy to move the ball and put some points on the board.
On the hurry-up to run the QB sneak for the TD ...
Yeah, on a big play like that, we tried to catch them off guard and fortunately it worked.
On the long back-to-back completions on his second drive ...
It definitely boosts your confidence. And again, I credit Justin McCareins and Brad Smith — both those guys made great catches. And the offensive line blocked pretty well, and the execution was pretty good.
On what happened on the interception ...
What a bad way to end a good day. It really is. Frisman Jackson ran a great route on the right side. Dropped back and tried to hold the safety with single high coverage. The fellow's name [J.R. Reed] escapes me, but No. 30 made a great play, he really did.
On whether he should be given consideration to start ...
Right now, going out to each practice and each preseason game, my goal is to get better and to improve, try to help the team any time that I can.
On the 45-yard completion to McCareins ...
Yeah, it was a great time to call it on Schotty [OC Brian Schottenheimer]'s part. Offensive line gave great protection, and with a guy like Justin McCareins you just have to give him a chance. I will tell you he hit fifth gear to go get that ball, though. Great job by him, great catch. It was a great drive starter.
On his growing confidence in the preseason games ...
With each game I have a chance to play in, with each rep I take in practice, I am growing in confidence. And I think the offense is as well. Anytime you get experience it's a good thing.
On RB Danny Ware ...
Danny Ware is a good back, especially for a younger guy like him in his first year in the system. He is running the ball well. I think he is doing some really good things out there. That one drive was all him and the offensive line.
On his "quantum leap from last year to this year ...
Quantum leap? It really all comes down to experience at this point. More reps, more time. I had a good off-season. I was able to spend extra time in the books, get more tutelage from the coaches and from Chad.
CB DARRELLE REVIS
On if he's feeling any soreness having missed two-a-day practices ...
No, no. While the team was doing two-a-days, I was, too. I was working out in Phoenix, Ariz. I wasn't in pads, but I was still working out, keeping up.
On getting his body in shape for hitting ...
Yeah, I was out there, I made a couple of tackles. Just getting bodies on bodies, and just tackling.
On his confidence level increasing after playing vs. the Giants ...
I think that's just how I play. I play confident. I don't try to play scared. Just go out there and play football, that's what I try to do.
On walking out vs. the Giants and "acting like it's no big deal" ...
First, just having confidence. Second, it was exciting. Just to be out there, I was telling some of the veterans, "I'm just happy to be out here with you guys and finally get to play." I haven't played contact football since November when I was at the University of Pittsburgh.
On expecting QB Eli Manning and the Giants to pick on him ...
Yeah, I expected him to come at me. The coaches expected him to come at me. They were prepping me a lot. You know, "They are going to come at you. You're a rookie. They are going to test you." In my mind, I just had to bring my "A" game.
On his reaction that they played him as they might've played a veteran like Andre Dyson ...
I don't know. I was just playing football. You think guys are going to come at you, and sometimes that may not be in their game plan. And tonight they were working guys in and out; they were doing the same thing we were doing, evaluating guys and trying to get productivity out of their players.
On the speed of the game ...
It was fast, it was fast. It's a different transition from college, but you just have to slow the game down. The schemes that we run, and what we do as a team and as a defense, you just go out there and do what the coaches are teaching you.
On his emotions in his pro debut ...
Nervous. It was my first game back, so I was nervous and had a little bit of butterflies. But after the first play was over, I was excited.
On what advice his uncle, Sean Gilbert, gave him before his first NFL game ...
"Just go out and play football. You know how to play that, you've been playing it your whole life. Just come out here and relax and have fun."
On being glad to get his first punt return out of the way ...
Yeah, it was exciting for me to go out there and catch a couple of punts. Coach wanted me to do that so it was fun.
WR LAVERANUES COLES
On the game vs. the Giants ...
We are trying to learn the game plan and do exactly what we are told, especially myself. By making a few mistakes, we just have to get things corrected and try and move in the right direction.
On approaching this game differently than a regular-season game ...
As an offense we still have a lot of work to do. It's not that we haven't worked hard. We worked hard all this off-season all the way up to training camp to try and get things going in the right direction. It's about us sitting down and looking at film and getting the mistakes corrected and moving forward.
LB JONATHAN VILMA
On beating the Giants ...
It's always good to win. Everything always feels better when you win. It's good to learn from mistakes from the wins than from the losses. I think the guys are doing a good job of trying to execute. Once we do that and we have all 11 guys trying to do the right thing every time, it makes it a good defense.
WR JERRICHO COTCHERY
On the game ...
We still have to continue to work and hopefully we can get things moving in the right direction.
On the six three-and-out drives by the first offense ...
We got into a funk and it was pretty bad from that point on. They turned it up another notch and at that point in time we just got caught in a bad funk and couldn't get out of it. We just tried to work through it. In the second half our second group came in and worked through it and they got things accomplished.
C NICK MANGOLD
On being a team leader ...
It's a natural progression. I embrace the role and I think it helps you learn the material even more when you can teach it to somebody else. It gives me a great opportunity to learn even more and get even more in-depth with different things.
On the offensive line ...
It comes down to we all have to be on the same page. I think our lack of communication is what hurt us the most. The Giants are a good team and they are going to game-plan and bring different looks and we have to talk those out and get it done on the field.
On rookie LG Jacob Bender's performance ...
I think Jacob did a great job today. He kept getting better as the game went on and that is all you can expect.
