Transcript: Eric Mangini Press Conference (6/13) - Sat, Jun 13 2009 at 5:30 pm
(Opening statement) – “Good morning everybody. How we doing? Today we finished up minicamp here this morning. We had another segment planned for this evening, but the deal with that was, if we went out and had an excellent practice, they’d get three chances to get the next practice removed. If it was above average it would be two, and if it was okay, give them one, depending. They got two chances and they nailed it on the first. It was going to be an o-lineman catching a punt and then a d-lineman catching a kickoff. The first one you probably saw was a warm-up to give Rex (Hadnot) a chance to really assess where the ball was going to go and make his adjustments accordingly.
He nailed the second one. I talked to them about that this morning. That’s really how it is always going to be, you have to create opportunities for yourself to be successful. When those opportunities come up, you have to be able execute on the opportunity. They are not always going to show up in a conventional fashion, just like it wasn’t this morning.
“Where we are right now is, I thought we had a good group of voluntary minicamp, OTAs and mandatory minicamp in terms of install, in terms of the amount of information that the guys were exposed to, getting to know the players, them getting to know us, them getting to know the process, the system and all of those things that you go through when you are with a new team. There was a lot of good work done and obviously there is a lot of work to do.”
“I expressed to the players how important this time was between the end of mandatory minicamp and the start of training camp. You don’t want to just head off to the beach, throw on some suntan lotion and pick up a book. The book you want to pick up, if you are, is the playbook. You want to be studying and making the information that you have been given just second nature. So now you are not thinking, you are reacting and you are playing, and your true ability comes out and you give yourself the best chance to be successful. The same thing physically, you need to maintain the level of fitness that you have currently and improve upon it, because it is a challenge, physically, during camp and then moving into the season. Those were points of emphasis that I worked on and talked about with them this morning. I’ve just seen a lot of progress in the past in this block of time between mandatory minicamp and training camp. Hopefully we will see the same progress here.”
(On if he has completed everything he has wanted to in his first five months) – “Each day you go through and at the end of the day there are some things that you hoped you have gotten done, but the day doesn’t go according to the script oftentimes. There are a lot of things that come up that take you off the script and you just adjust. I have been happy with a lot of things that we have been able to do here; putting together the staff that we have put together, being able to do the work on the playbook and get those things set up, working with the players in the offseason programs and the camps. There are a lot of things that happened over those five months; buying a house, getting used to the area, it seems like a million things. It feels like I have been here longer then five months.”
(On what positions are still unsettled) – “This isn’t really a time where any questions get answered. This is more of a time where you are gathering information, so until we get to the point where we cut down to 53 it’s going to be a constant evaluation. We are going to be looking how we can improve in all areas and how the different combinations can work. Things change dramatically when you put pads on. Something that looks good now may not look good then. You have to see it in that context and get a feel for things through preseason games. This is just another step in the process.”
(On if you get a better feel for your team in your second year as a coach) – “You definitely have a better feel the second year for everything. That first year in New York, and that was my first time being a head coach, every single thing I did was a first. You learn from that process and try to improve the next time you do it. Coming to a new team, you’ve really got to get a sense of strengths and weaknesses, and it’s not just through practice, but it is also through game situations. During the course of the season, you learn a lot about the players and about the operation. We’ll look at it after the season, evaluate it and move forward.”
(On if he is pleased with where the team is now) – “I know I mentioned this before, but progress takes many different shapes. I showed a clip this morning where Josh Cribbs was on the sideline running with the ball and the defender was coming at him from an angle, and it looked exactly like the angle tacking drill that we do all the time. Josh took an angle at the defender to freeze him and ran away. That is the consistent coaching point from there, and those things make me happy because here is a fundamental that you are working on, that you are teaching off of, and then to see that translate into the actual play, that’s progress. It is going to take a lot of different forms, a lot of different shapes and that stuff makes you happy. Sometimes it’s big picture, sometimes it’s as small as someone executing a technique that you taught during a fundamentals drill and then you see that on the field.”
(On what he has learned from Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson in practices that he couldn’t learn from film) – “They both are extremely hard working. They are both intensely competitive. They are both really good teammates. That was shown every single day. The way that they were trying to get the information, mentally, the way that they were trying to execute the plays on the field, the way that they could self-assess and look at problems and try to fix it themselves, which is something we ask them to do, the way that they took the coaching and tried to put that back onto the field. The way that they interact with each other and with the other quarterbacks, that is what I expect. I expect everybody to be intensely competitive, but also be intensely committed to helping everybody on the team get better.”
(On if he is willing to say a quarterback has taken the lead) – “You are right I am not going to say it.”
(On if you have to wait for pads to see where the offensive linemen fit best) – “You get some idea but you don’t appreciate some of the big men until they have their pads on. The o- and d-linemen, they did a lot of positive things in terms of technique, footwork, passing off games, communicating, but when you really have that deep appreciation for them is when pads do come on.”
(On if it is harder to evaluate linemen now) – “I’d say it’s very similar to what I said to Jeff. This is more gathering information, assessing and looking at moving forward into camp.”
(On if you can get a feel for the pass rush in minicamps) – “It’s harder in OTAs to do that because there are some games that you run, defensively, that are based on collision. You may want to come in and pick one of the offensive linemen, come and hit their shoulder and then ricochet off them and let the other guy wrap around. You can’t simulate those types of things. Some of the blitzes where you bring a guy off the edge and the back has to step up and pick him up, we’ve coached these guys to once you’ve hit your assignment, slow down let the offensive player get there and get their assignment right, and avoid any collisions without pads, avoid anybody falling at anybody else’s knees or hitting the quarterback or that type of thing.”
(On if he has been encouraged by the young running backs) – “I think that both of the young guys have done a great job with what they have been asked to do, the way that they’ve been able to pick things up, mentally, the way that they’ve just stepped in and done the things that we have asked for and looked for. I couldn’t be happier with how they’ve performed, and I’ll just add the asterisks of, that was nice for right now. They have got to keep doing it and that’s another thing. When the pads come on they have got to be able to do it as well. For the rookies, this is one level of intensity, that’s a whole different level when they get back.”
(On if Derek Anderson will be ready for training camp) – “Yeah.”
(On Derek Anderson’s injury) – “He’s just got a little bumps and bruises.”
(On Jim Brown’s positive comments about him) – “First, I’d just like to say that I’m a pretty giant fan of Jim Brown’s, too. When Jim came and spoke to the rookies it was powerful. He and Paul Warfield together, addressing that group, was some serious firepower. The message that they gave to those guys was just outstanding. Talking to Jim while he has been here, it’s nice to get his insight on things. I actually had the office next to his when I was here will Bill (Belichick). I shared it with another guy and Jim’s office was next to ours. I have known him for a while. I have respected him forever. I can go on and on but, it’s just nice to have him as an asset here to bounce ideas off of and get his feedback.”
(On staying on the same page with George Kokinis) – “The best thing about that relationship and the important thing about that relationship is our ability to disagree but not be disagreeable. There is going to be times where we may not see things eye to eye but, I respect George and if he has a different idea, I am going to go back and look at it, analyze it and see the other side. If I have an idea that he may not agree with he will do the same thing. At the end of the day, we’ll come back in, hash it out and move forward. Whatever decision we make is always going to be a collective decision. That is how the relationship is set up and I can’t see it being any different at any time.”
(On how you establish authority) – “The most important thing to me, and to any coach, is that you show the players that you can help them be successful. You show them that you can help them become a better player. One of the things that I always do in my one-on-one and talking to the team, is anything I do is always going to be to help the team improve. I may push them, it may be pushing or yelling or whatever it is, but those things are always done in order for them to be the best possible player they can be. That’s what my job is. My job is to make them the best possible player that they can be. Sometimes it’s loving them up, and sometimes it’s not loving them up. But the most important thing and my responsibility, is to help them improve every single day. I think when players know that that’s what your objective is, and it’s not about power structure, it’s not about rules, it’s not about anything. It’s about a shared common goal of making them successful and making us successful.”
(On if the teams IQ level is where you want it to be) – “We haven’t given any SATs yet. I might try it. It’s hard to say where we are because we’ve given a huge volume of information. We have definitely taken the approach of expose the group to as much as they can handle, and even sometimes more than they can handle. We see what’s absorbed, and be able to take a step back and say, ‘Ok, these are the areas we really need to concentrate on.’ In talking to the guys this morning, there is so much that they can do between now and training camp to keep getting the information down better; spend an hour a day, 45 minutes a day, some sort of period of time each day and go through it. Maybe it’s one coverage that day; maybe it’s one play that day and really understand it. They have access to everything that is in-house in terms of film and the playbook and things like that. They can watch a video while they are on the treadmill, we’ve got it everywhere. They log onto the internet, we have a place where they can study. It’s there and it’s easy in terms of accessibility. What’s important is to take a chunk each day and work on it. It’s totally different doing it now than it is in two-a-days. You are tired, there is a time crunch. Do a little bit each day and it’ll pay off huge dividends.”
(On if he is impressed with the guys who are always preparing) – “I love guys that prepare all the time for football. It’s great. I think that everybody has a different way of doing it. You really have to identify what’s best for you and what gives you the best chance to be successful. With our friends from Fort Bragg, we talked a lot about AAR’s, After Action Reports, and even having a personal After Action Report on things you could have done better, things you did well or preparation errors. So as much as guys can know themselves, know what it takes to get themselves ready, and work each day, physically and mentally, at football. I think it’s great.”
(On if you help tailor workouts based on different positions) – “In our offseason program, we spend a lot of time working on position specifics. What’s best for each type of player, each position group, and then it’s catered to the individual as well. There is that feedback and that is the way the program is designed. They have a workout program when they go home that we give them. We do have a lot of involvement in those things.”
(On if Brady Quinn is one of the better conditioned quarterbacks he has been around) – “I’ve never really gauged that. I’ve been around a lot of different types of quarterbacks. I’m not sure where they would be in terms of just sheer conditioning.”
(On if Quinn still has the slight edge he had on the first day of OTAS) – “That was based on the offseason program leading up to that point. I’d say that we are going to go into training camp as [motioned with hand as even].”
(On his expectations going into camp and if they were achieved) – “My main expectation was progress and I think there was a lot of progress. I could see it. An example I give there, is I could see it in the situational awareness, things that we did today. A lot of practice was winning plays and two-point plays. Last play from the five, last play from the 15, last play from the 25, last play from the 30, some four-minute offense. Everything was scripted that way and we had done that in the last block of OTAs. I saw a lot of progress in situational awareness from those days to here this morning. In terms of where we are overall in progress, I haven’t watched the tape from this morning. I’ll spend some time with the coaching staff and we’ll assess it together. There are definitely a lot of things to be encouraged about.”
(On if he thinks Brett Favre will play this season) – “I have no idea. I haven’t talked to him or anything. Whatever he decides I wish him well.”
(On if he has thought about possibly facing him in Week 1) – “I have not thought about that at all.”
(On if Brett playing would surprise him) – “I haven’t talked to Brett. I don’t know what he Brett is doing. I’ve been working on the other B-word, Browns.”
(On if he would possibly welcome him to come and work as a consultant if he doesn’t play for Minnesota) – “Yeah, he would be welcome to come up and help out. There would be no problem with that. There is nothing to read into that. That is all it is. If he wants to come by, it would be great. There is nothing else to read into that, zero. Zero”
(On if Rex Hadnot can catch punts as well as play guard) – “Yeah, that versatility, it does help. I didn’t see his run after the catch (jokingly). He caught the punt, so maybe he is like a plus-50 guy. We get really lousy weather and put him back there.”
(On the reason he picked Rex to catch the punt) – “I didn’t pick him. I said, ‘you guys put up whoever you want offensively and you guys put up whoever you want defensively and good luck.’”
(On whom the defensive lineman was) – “We never got to that. Rex killed it on the first one.”
(On what day training camp begins) – “Yeah, it’s 15 days before the first preseason game (report date of July 31 with first practice for August 1).”
