Transcript of head coach Eric Mangini's news conference with members of the New York Jets media after Thursday's morning training camp practice:
We released Jeremy Kapinos, punter, and signed Nick Smith, offensive line, and Manny Collins, cornerback. In terms of today's practice, it's one of the hotter days we've had. We've had a couple of hot practices in a row. There are definitely times where the heat's bothering people, everybody's tired and we're a little bit along here in camp. What's nice is today we had a group of visitors that really put it in perspective. The NYPD has a program called "Wounded Warriors" where they do a lot of things for our soldiers who are back from Iraq and suffered injuries there. We had 10 soldiers yesterday and seven soldiers today who came to visit. It just puts things in such perspective. They're the ones that are dealing with difficult things. They're the ones you just can't appreciate enough. I'm so happy they came out to visit. Once again, I can't thank our soldiers enough for what they do for us every day.
On having a night practice …
Tonight, actually, we're having a night practice. With the one-a-day, two-a-day schedule, usually you get out of the bulk of the heat at 8:45 a.m. and 5:45 p.m., you miss the main thrust of the heat there during the middle of the day. Then when it's a one-a-day, you do practice in more of the heat, but you need that. We need to be able to deal with that. I talk about it a lot, whether it's heat, cold, rain, snow, noise. Whatever it is, we've got to be able to function effectively regardless of the outside distractions.
On Evan Prall …
Evan's done a good job. He's got some toughness in the running game, which you like to see. We do a drill, not each day but probably every other practice, where they work only the perimeter run support. He's done a good job of learning multiple positions to give himself an opportunity, whether it be at the F position or the Z position. Either way, he can get some reps there. Both those things have been good for Evan.
On the length of today's practice …
It's scheduled one way and it goes however it goes. I talked to the team again about that, that we have it scheduled a certain way, and it's scheduled actually for less time than it was last year. We're not going to leave the field until it's right. We spend a lot of time scripting practice, getting the right plays against the right looks, making sure we have the things we need executed. It's different than when you talk about it in the classroom. You actually have to see it and make the adjustment. We're not going to leave the field until we feel comfortable that it's been done.
On why this morning's practice was longer than other practices …
Some of the things that bothered me, and always bother me, are false starts and encroachment penalties. Those are about as focus-oriented as can be. You need to be able to use the cadence effectively on offense so that the defense can't tee off on you. You have to be able to quick-count, hard-count, silent-count. All those things have to be part of the package, otherwise they're just going to line up, put their hand on the ground and go. Defensively, you have to be able to react to whatever the snap count is. You may want to anticipate, but if you anticipate wrong, it's an easy five yards. Cadence is such a weapon for the offense if it's used effectively.
On what Kellen Clemens needs to do to improve …
I think he's making improvements. I thought yesterday he had a couple of really nice plays. He made some good plays in the two-minute drives. They all haven't been pretty, but they've been effective. There was one on fourth-and-16 the other day. He had another one scrambling out of the pocket on the last play. That's a sign of improvement when you can have the awareness that "I need to keep this play alive, I need to scramble around, wait for the receivers to get open," then do whatever you can do to get the ball in their hands — or at least give them a shot to get the ball in their hands.
On Brad Smith as a QB …
It was more a function of being able to expand Brad's package and being able to expand what people have to prepare for with Brad. If you just have two or three plays a game that he can run, then that's really two or three reps per practice that your opponent has to work on. Now if he has 15 to 20 plays he can run on multiple-formation shifts and he's got the reads solid, and they're not gadget plays, they're standard plays. You can put some move-the-pocket type things where he can use his feet. It's the ability to add more pressure and more things to prepare for our opponent.
On how Smith is doing with new emphasis on the QB position …
I think he's doing well. It's different because now you're going through it all. It's not just a standard specific play for that opponent. You're really going through plays that could play out against a lot of different opponents, which adds some multiples to it. We ask Brad to do a lot of things between work on special teams, receiver and quarterback. But like we talked about with other people, he's created that opportunity and we want to give it to him.
On Smith showing he can handle the added responsibility …
He's handled everything really well and it's his consistency. We threw him in the Philadelphia game with about 20 minutes of work at the team hotel. We said, "Hey, Brad, you're going to play quarterback tomorrow." He drove us back, scored, so we figured if we put more than 20 minutes into it, it might work out.
On whether or not Smith will play defense ...
I'm not opposed to it. We've worked some offensive guys on defense last year. They just didn't get a chance to showcase their ability.
On Smith switching jerseys ...
It's more for the defensive line. As they're pass-rushing, you want them always to be aware where the quarterback is. Whether it's Chad [Pennington], Kellen, Brad or Marques [Tuiasosopo], that's actually something you have to work on, otherwise you're going to have a guy too close to the quarterback who throws the ball and hits the guy's helmet. That's a problem. It's for consistency, not just offensively but defensively.
On Stacy Tutt contributing this year …
Stacy, he's a good-sized player. He's a little over 230 pounds, almost 6'2". He's got good size but also has quickness, change of direction and speed. All those things are a nice combination. You have flexibility to use him in the running game because of his size and also use him in the passing game because of his athletic ability and his ability in space.
On the difference between Tutt and Darian Barnes …
Darian is more of a big stick. He'll thump you. I'm not saying Stacy won't thump you, but you're pretty much guaranteed that Darian will.
On Tutt giving them depth with the running game …
He's worked there. Brad has worked there. Both those guys have done it. There's specific plays you can do with either one of them. You can use them on first, second or third down; just build the formations however you want. But both those guys have worked at running back for us.
On Leon Washington's versatility …
You love when you have a tailback that you can split out. Ted [Marchibroda] used to talk about having Marshall Faulk. He developed a formation based on Marshall being spread out. The defense has to declare if it's man or zone. Usually the person responsible for covering the back is a linebacker, if it's man-to-man, or a safety. So when you do split them out, you get that information pre-snap. So that's always nice. You can create some mismatches in that. So you're giving the quarterback information and, ideally, you have a mismatch against a guy that's not as good of a cover player.
On whether Washington's role as a receiver will expand because his role as a rusher will decrease due to the addition of Thomas Jones …
I don't know if the amount of rushes he'll get will be dramatically decreased. We'll have to see how that goes. We're always looking for everybody to catch a lot of passes. I'd be perfectly happy with that.
On Barnes catching passes …
Yesterday he caught a pass in the flat, turned it up and it looked pretty good. In the tackling drill, he's given a few guys icepacks. I think he's a load with the ball in his hands. He actually ran a nice vertical route the other day out of the backfield. We actually underthrew it to him. No lie.
On how Mike Nugent is kicking in camp this year …
With Nuge, what he did this off-season, he spent a lot of time working on total body strength. One of his points of emphasis was he was working on getting more distance and hang time on his kickoffs. He's done a good job with that. I think his consistency through last season improved.
On Alvin Banks as a running back …
Alvin has done a good job. He's another free agent guy we brought in. With him and Danny [Ware], it's a good situation because they're both competing but they're both sort of at the same spot in terms of picking up the system. So they've bonded. They're helping each other out while they're competing. Alvin's doing a good job. There's a lot of things with both those guys where you have to get on them and stay on them, but that's just the nature of the rookies. This time at camp there's a huge volume of information. I've liked what both those guys have done to this point, and they have to continue to develop a little on special teams.
On the third running back position …
Well, we're not opposed to splitting it between two and three guys. You always want to have depth at every position. The third running back or the third tight end guys are ideally core special teams players. Nobody really goes into a season thinking the third running back has to carry the load. You always try to plan accordingly and get the best situation you can. But it's also, if they're going into the game, how many plays are they giving you and how are they helping you?
On how Pennington's camp is going so far …
He's got a little swagger to him right now. He's been jawing back and forth with the defensive guys pretty good. He's always been a very confident guy, and justifiably so because of the way he works and performs. But it's been good to see that interaction with him and the defense, the good-spirited competitiveness they have. The defense does their share of jawing. It's pretty much back and forth right now.
On Justin Miller's improvement …
There's a lot of room for all those guys to improve. Justin is having a very good camp. I like his consistency. He's been very physical at the line of scrimmage. That's a strength of his. He's a naturally strong guy. When he gets his hands on people, it makes it hard to get off the line of scrimmage. He's got that awareness now of how much he can obstruct the routes. He's doing a good job of incorporating that as part of his toolbox and things that he's doing in coverage.
