Transcript: Eric Mangini, 11/2 - Mon, Nov 2 2009 at 11:29 pm
(Opening statement)- “In talking to the players today about the game, it came back to the same thing offensively that I talked about yesterday. It’s the self inflicted wounds. That was a point of emphasis going into the week, knowing that Chicago was as effective as they have been over time with Lovie (Smith) in terms of getting the ball out and we need to protect the football and we didn’t do that very well. The ball was on the ground way too much and even when we got drives going they stalled because of it. You can’t win any games with that many turnovers, it’s too hard. I thought defensively, there were some good things throughout the course of the game, in terms of the pressure that we were able to generate, some of the different coverage combinations, which I think created some problems and [there were] some good things in the running game as well. On special teams I thought that, it’s a good unit, they have a good unit. Outside of the first punt return [we were] fairly productive, but really wasn’t as productive as we had been throughout the course of the season.
“In terms of the bye week, what we are going to do is, as a staff we’ll go through phase by phase and analyze it through the self-scout. Look at the self-scout tapes and then put together a plan for each one of the days of practice. Identify things that we do well that we want to continue to emphasize, the things that we don’t do well that we are either going to correct or remove and things that we want to add to the equation. Present that to the players in the context of the tape that we have over the course of the first eight games, with a plan with adjustments, go out and practice those things and be ready to move forward once we get back and start prepping for Baltimore. We’ll have first and second down, third down and then come back and then come back and do red area, goal line, things like that. Two minute will be mixed into all of those days. There is point of attack tapes that are made for each player on the team. That’s plays where they’re actually at the front side of the play or they were involved in some aspect of it, but more the front line aspect than anything else, that they can review individually, that they can review with their coaches or they can come up and meet with me to view. That’s something that I always do during the bye week, is open up to any player who either wants to have a greater role, wants to talk about their role, is sit down, to go through their tape, to hear from me my assessment of what they can do to improve their role or their amount of play time and have that dialogue. It’s something I’ve done each of the bye weeks since I’ve been a head coach. I think it’s very productive and look forward to meeting with the guys that decide to take advantage of that.”
(On if he met with Randy Lerner today)- “No, I talked to Randy this morning and it was very similar to all of our conversations.”
(On if he is convinced that the team is going in the right direction)- “Yes, this is a process. [I have] talked about that quite a bit and that doesn’t change. There are things that go along with that. That doesn’t mean that we’re not looking to win every game. It doesn’t mean that were not looking to improve each week, to the contrary, that’s exactly what we’re looking to do. It takes time and Randy and I share the same vision. That’s something that we talk about and what we do talk about quite a bit is what the best way is to achieve that. [I have] always had really good conversations with him and always will.”
(On if he has any thoughts about replacing Brian Daboll)- “No. I think that there have been things that we can improve offensively. Carl Smith is a guy that has a lot of experience. One of the reasons I wanted Carl to be a part of this staff, I think it was 11 years at New Orleans as the offensive coordinator, is to have a guy who’s called a lot of plays in the NFL to be able to provide insight into game planning, into play calling. Obviously there are things from a play calling perspective, from a scheme perspective, from a coaching perspective that we can improve, but that goes hand-in-hand with execution and individual performances as well.”
(On why he chose Daboll instead of Smith to be the offensive coordinator)- “When I looked at it, I’ve known Brian a long time. I think he’s very smart. I like the systems that he’s worked in, both in New England and in New York. I think we share the same vision offensively and I think Carl’s a great complement to that, just like all the members of the offensive staff are a great complement to that.”
(On if his vision has changed and if it is different than Lerner’s)- “No, I don’t think that’s the case at all. I think that what we’re always trying to do, both short term and long term, is get to the best way to achieve that objective and that won’t change. There are certain things that you adjust to, depending on the situation, depending on where you are in the process, what opportunities come up, things like that and that’s a normal part of the process. I don’t think the vision changes, you just constantly adapt, just like you would in game planning or anything else, to the circumstances.”
(On if he understands why fans are frustrated)- “I don’t think that anybody’s happy with the production that we have. I do understand the frustration and I think that we’re all frustrated. As you look at the different games, there have been opportunities, but that’s all they are if you don’t take advantage of them. If you get a first down, put the ball on the ground, that’s a problem. It stalls drives. It’s a self-inflicted wound. If you don’t take advantage of passes that are catchable, it’s the same thing. Those things are things that obviously we have to do better. The nice thing about a bye week is you can really focus on the scheme. You can focus on technique and spend some time really analyzing those things, taking a step back and putting a plan in place to address those things as effectively as possible and move forward into the second half of the season. I’ve been a part of a lot of different ways of getting to the same goal, but the consistent approach is important.”
(On his reaction to Jamal Lewis’ comments after the game)- “I think everybody makes decisions as to when they decide to leave football, but I know Jamal’s approach is consistent. I know Jamal works hard. I know that Jamal takes losses extremely hard, which is what you want, which is what you look for. If a player didn’t take a loss hard, to me, that’s a problem. If a coach didn’t take a loss hard, that’s a problem. You put a lot of time and effort and work into trying to achieve that goal. When you work hard, it’s harder to accept defeat.”
(On if he is still seeing progress from the team)- “I think yesterday, as I looked at it defensively, there were a lot of things I was happy with. We hadn’t generated as much pressure the week before. I thought between the four sacks and the amount of times that we were able to hit the quarterback, being able to stop them with a goal-line stand. You don’t want them in the red area as much as they were in the red area, but there was, I thought, a level of effectiveness there. I thought there was progress in the running game with the volume of adjustments that we had in based on their formations. I thought the communication was better, obviously much better than in the previous week, but I liked where we from that perspective. Yesterday you had the situation where Eric Barton went down. Between him and D’Qwell Jackson, there are two guys that have either taken almost all the reps inside or been responsible for calling all of the defenses inside and making all of the adjustments. The way that (David) Bowens and Kaluka (Maiava) and David Veikune and the different guys that went in responded, I thought was a good sign, especially for those young guys. With David (Veikune), he hadn’t been able, really, to carve out a role and by need he got a chance to play yesterday. There are a lot of things that go in there and it’s hard, but he went in and he did that. There were other guys that saw some of their first play time and I thought they did well. A guy like Blake Costanzo had to fill in I the nickel situation, which he hadn’t done, but put the pressure on (Jay) Cutler, we got a sack. It’s plays like that, guys getting a chance who haven’t had a chance, whether it be to injury or whatever the situation, and then being able to respond to that.”
(On how he reconciles progress from the team with lopsided losses)- “I think it comes down to complementary football. You have a drive going, you get a turnover and then turn the ball back over. The interception late for a touchdown, things like that. I know at one point we’re down by 10 points, we’re driving the ball, it’s on the 40-whatever yard line and it’s first down. [We had a] real chance, another chance with Mohamed (Massaquoi) and that completion and another drive stalls, another self-inflicted wound.”
(On if he talked with Lerner about bringing in a football authority)- “We talk about all the different things that involve, not just the football side, but the organizational side, or the organization side of things. As I said, the objective is the same for both of us, it’s to improve from a football perspective. It’s to improve from an organizational perspective and to analyze every opportunity, to look at every opportunity to do that. It’s no different organizationally than it is in building a team. If you can add quality people that can help you get better, than you do that. You’re always searching for opportunities.”
(On if he thinks there is a void in that realm on the team)- “What I think is that, just like we do with personnel, we’re looking to improve the organization at all points.”
(On if he met with Lerner or talked to him on the phone today)- “I talked to Randy.”
(On if he called Lerner today)- “I don’t remember. I might have called him. He might have called me. Maybe I missed his call. I’m not sure.”
(On if he had to convince Lerner that he has the team under control)- “That’s not the nature of our conversations. When we talk about things, again, there are different levels of conversation. There’s the right now, the short term things we’re doing whether it be today, this week, next week. Then there’s next year, it could be the draft, could be free agency, could be any range of topics. The good thing is that all those things are things that we want to talk about, we want to analyze, we want to figure out what the best approach is. That’s been great.”
(On how he feels about the state of the team)- “Yes, any range of emotions, but I also believe in the things that we’re doing. I understand that it doesn’t happen overnight. I’ve been fortunate enough to be part of this process in the past and seen it done in a lot of different ways and seen it evolve in a lot of different ways and I appreciate the fact that it doesn’t happen the same way each time. There’s not one formula, in terms of specific ingredients, but there is a very specific approach that you have to take. I believe in that. It’s been successful. It’ll be successful here.”
(On why he did not put Brady Quinn in after halftime)- “I think when you look at the things that we did in the second half, come out, drive down the field, score a touchdown. We’re driving again, the pass is complete and it’s fumbled. The pass is complete again and it’s fumbled. I don’t think those were a function of the throw. Unfortunately, it was a function of another element. I don’t think anybody has a different margin of error than anybody else. The criteria is always the same, it’s trying to win the game on the day.”
(On if he has a made a decision about who the quarterback will be)- “No, that’s really what this week is about, Mary Kay (Cabot). Not just the quarterback, but to be able to go through phase-by-phase and spend some real time, where you’re not game planning for a specific opponent, you’re analyzing your team. Taking that information, getting everybody’s contribution to it and, like I said, putting together the plan, presenting the plan, the adjustments, showing the tape, working on technique, practicing those things that you want to improve. I’ve always felt the bye week has been a very productive time.”
(On if the skill position players have the talent and experience to score sufficient points)- “I really believe if we protect the football better that those drives will produce a much different result. If we capitalize on the opportunities that we have, in terms of catching the football, those drives will be extended. That’s what has to be done. Whether you’re a first-year player or a 10-year vet, when you have those chances, you have to be able to take advantage of them. From a coaching perspective, we have to continue to work on the best ways to utilize the personnel, the best ways to create matchups that we like, the best way to take advantage of the things that they do and the things that we do, and that’s an ongoing process too. It’s all of us looking at those areas and improving.”
(On what Anderson did to deserve to say in the game)- “Tony (Grossi), as I said, the other drive we were in position. I don’t know where Mohamed (Massaquoi) was when he fumbled the ball, what yard line that was, 20-something. I think that was a drive that we could have potentially scored on. I’d like to think that we would have. I don’t know where Steve (Heiden) was when he had that fumble, but there’s another drive that I think we had a chance to at least get three out of, maybe six. Those are things that we have to take advantage of.”
(On if he still thinks Anderson gives the team the best chance to win)- “What I am saying is that this week I will look at all of those things. That will be a part of our analysis. The thing yesterday, in looking at the game, I think that we had opportunities and we put the ball on the ground too many times. We turned the ball over too many times. We didn’t play well enough on special teams. Defensively, there were times where we did good things but it just wasn’t enough.”
(On how he weighs opportunities versus Anderson’s statistics so far this year)- “You are trying to look at it in a context. That will be something that’s important this week, too. I’m not talking about the quarterback position but as you look at certain plays, you have to look at it as a complete package. For example, if you run a defense 12 times and the average isn’t very good but there’s one play that went for a significant amount of yards for a missed tackle, you don’t look at that scheme and say, ‘That’s flawed.’ At that point, you could be throwing out some things that are effective. You never just want to look at the numbers, you want to always look at it in the context of the game.”
(On what he did after the game)- “The door back in was locked so I walked around. Then I usually go into the training room to check to see where things are. It wasn’t necessarily a change in my normal post game. [It was] just a different walk.”
(On if players are reacting like they don’t care about losing)- “No, I don’t think that’s the case. Seeing these guys work through the course of the week, seeing the way that they have studied. The way that they have done things throughout my time here, I don’t get that sense at all. I think everybody wants to look and find the right way to proceed and that’s what we are committed to. That’s what we’ll do here this week. The thing I ask the players to do and the coaches to do is, be honest, seriously reflect on what you can do individually to improve. For us to analyze all of the things that we have done, everybody to contribute that process, and then find the things that we like moving forward in the second half of the season.”
(On if he feels like Lerner has his back)- “I’ve never gotten a feeling otherwise in all of my conversations with Randy.”
(On where the team is better now than when he took over)- “I think that there are some areas, especially defensively, where we have gotten better. I think we have done some things from a scheme perspective that I’ve liked. We’ve moved the ball at different points. Where I am probably the most frustrated is the give-away take-away ratio. That, to me, is usually the biggest indicator of success or failure. If you turn the ball over and don’t turn it over enough the other way, and can’t capitalize on the opportunities when they do turn it over, or aren’t very good in sudden change defense, it creates a wide gap in net points. That, to me, has to be fixed. I think that we’ve made a substantial amount of progress made in the amount of penalties that we have committed. I think that shows discipline. We need to continue to do that through the course of the rest of the season.”
(On how to fix turnovers when they become mental mistakes)- “I think that there’s a way to carry the football. It’s a proven way to protect the football, protecting both points. There are points of pressure. There are things that you see from guys that don’t put the ball on the ground very often. It’s a way that they protect the football. It’s an emphasis on that. It’s the same thing defensively, always emphasizing when you have a sack opportunity, being aware of where the football is. That awareness has to constantly be emphasized, and it is, and it will continue to be emphasized until we can do a much better job with turnovers on both sides.”
(On if he has thought about putting Daboll in the coaches’ booth)- “I’ve seen that both ways. In working with Brian Schottenheimer in New York when he was a rookie coordinator, he really liked being downstairs. We tried the booth at different points. We did it with Brian Schottenheimer again. The important thing is comfort level. This is the second time I’ve had a new offensive coordinator who hadn’t done it. I think Brian Schottenheimer has gotten better over time. It wasn’t always perfect his first year but he was another guy that was really smart, really talented. I think he’s doing good things in New York and will continue to do good things there, just like I believe Brian will continue to grow as a coordinator and do really good things here.”
