It might not look like a courtroom scene from the movie "A Few Good Men," but Eric Mangini wants the truth at his team’s daily scouting meetings. That is the truth on the 2007 NFL Draft prospects as the New York Jets continue their preparations for next week’s annual college selection meeting.
“Eric has this great expression: ‘The truth, let's find out the truth,’” said general manager Mike Tannenbaum at the Jets’ annual predraft news conference.
Sitting alongside Tannenbaum on Thursday were Terry Bradway, the club’s personnel director, and Joey Clinkscales, the director of college scouting.
“The one thing we did this year — we keep expanding and improving on this area — is our interview process," Bradway said. "We start that at the all‑star games. We carry it through the combine with our 30 visits here and also our coaches at the combine in what we call the satellite room. We have personally interviewed extensively over 200 players in that process. We have 380-some players we consider to be draftable. Of that number we've discussed about 200 in our meetings.”
The Jets’ scouting practice is comprehensive to say the least. They take stock of the video but also put a high priority on character and football intelligence.
“I feel confident in our process and I feel confident in the people executing the process. We want to get the right information,” said Tannenbaum. “Our players come from all different parts of the country, and they are different shapes and sizes. As Eric was saying, we want to get down to the truth and find out who these guys are.”
Bradway, the Jets GM from 2001 into February 2006, said the meetings have gone very well. This is the second draft under the “Tangini” regime.
“Now, even in the second year with Eric and Mike, our scouts have a real good feeling of what kind of players we're looking for and how [the players] fit the system,” Bradway said. “I think we've had great dialogue in our meetings.”
The Jets, one of nine teams who have four first-day selections and just one of four clubs with two second-round picks, are not in a need situation. Tannenbaum planned to get as much as his roster settled before next weekend and he succeeded.
“I feel pretty comfortable where the roster is right now, again having 21 of 22 starters back,” he said. “We want to have as much flexibility as possible to take advantage of opportunities in the draft, maybe trade up, trade back, and see what opportunities present themselves.”
If a trade does not occur before next Saturday afternoon, the Jets will have to wait a while before making that first selection. Good teams pick late and the Green & White won 10 regular-season games and reached the playoffs last season.
“We're at 25," Bradway said. "I'd say there are going to be 18 to 20 guys that we would feel good about taking at 25, and the chances of one of those guys being there is probably pretty good.”
The NFL rumor mill never has an off-season and Tannenbaum was also asked about the recent trade "gossip” on MLB Jonathan Vilma and WR Justin McCareins. He said he was happy with both players but also said he would listen to any lucrative offer for any player on the roster – a smart businessman wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I don't think we have anybody that's untouchable. If somebody would want to knock our socks off — for any player — we would always listen,” he said.
Those familiar with Tannenbaum know the Needham, Mass., native is a diehard Boston Celtics fan. He actually brought up a memorable Celtics trade to underscore Mangini’s message of finding the truth.
“One of Red Auerbach's defining moments was when he traded Rick Robey to the Phoenix Suns for Dennis Johnson,” he said of a Sports Illustrated article. “Dennis Johnson had a reputation of being a cancer in the locker room. When Dennis walked into the Celtics' locker room, they nicknamed him 'Chemo.' I just passed that article out to the scouts.”
When others backed away from Laveranues Coles in 2000 because of a couple of off-the-field incidents at Florida State, the Jets researched thoroughly and selected Coles in third round. After seven professional seasons, Coles has become the most productive receiver from his draft class.
While Mangini wants the truth about the college players, he is not likely to scream at a scout the way Tom Cruise (Lt. Daniel Kaffee) did at Jack Nicholson (Col. Nathan R. Jessep) in "A Few Good Men." But the second-year head coach has already taken time out this off-season to discuss Hollywood and football with Larry David, the co-creator of "Seinfeld" and creator and star of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" who is a huge Jets fan.
“You know, who's in our war room is somewhat confidential. I don't think Larry will be there that day. We admire his passion and his insight,” Tannenbaum said. “Just so you know, Eric is always coaching. We spent some time out there [in Los Angeles], and Eric coached him up on some of his shows. We expect to see some improvement on his side as well.”
