Transcript of Jets head coach Eric Mangini's news conference Monday afternoon:
Going through the tape, it's pretty easy to see why we had the result that we had. Anytime you can't convert on third down offensively, you allow them to convert a substantial amount of third downs and fourth downs defensively, and you have multiple penalties on special teams, which translates into poor field position — this is going to be the result.
In talking to the team, one of the things that I stressed is that this is a function of us doing the things that we're supposed to do a lot better than we've been doing them over the last two weeks. All of the things that went into the games that have been successful need to go into every single game, regardless of the situation. Whether that's personal film study, whether it's extra conditioning, whether it's extra film after practice as a group, all of those things need to be the same and need to improve.
It's not a function of what our opponent does, although there are going to be certain things that we have to stop or take advantage of, it's a function of what we do week in and week out. I think that this game is a very good example of that.
On having to turn on the level of play for the last three games…
To me, it's not a function of turning it on or turning it off, it should be the same. There is no "on" or "off." It has to be the same. When it fluctuates, the results fluctuate, and they fluctuate widely.
On concerns with the secondary…
It's not just the secondary. It's a coordinated effort. Third-and-7, they have a quarterback that scrambles, we get past the quarterback and he's able to scramble and get a first down. That keeps the two-minute drive going. You get a clean blitzer off the edge, it should be a sack, and he moves away from that and picks up 11 yards.
It doesn't operate just on the back end, it operates on both sides. It could be a certain coverage where you have to jam the receivers to the line of scrimmage so there's not so much vertical separation between the underneath defenders and the deep defenders. That has to be better. Whatever the defense calls for, it needs to be coordinated, otherwise, it just doesn't work. You can't run a pressure and have two guys in the same gap. You can't do those things. It may not show up as glaringly on the front end because you see the end result, but it's all coordinated.
On if the team was too comfortable after two big wins…
I've talked extensively to the guys about the importance of every game. It's nothing that hasn't been addressed, covered, almost ad nauseam. With that being said, you have to go out and do the same things week in and week out. If there hadn't been a sense of urgency, there certainly will be now.
On the defensive coverage on the wide receivers…
Each team will defend a group of receivers differently. You'll get core coverages from every team. I'd say Denver was a little bit different just because they are game-plan-specific. The way they played us wasn't the way they had played somebody else. San Francisco had been pretty consistent with the things that they do. When they call them is a function of percentages and you go with the anticipation of what's going to be called. In terms of an overhaul of how they play their coverage, that wasn't the case.
On the receivers getting open…
I think that goes back to the same thing. You're on the field for 20 minutes and the other team has the ball for 40 minutes. It's a function of consistent protection and of being able to catch the football when you're open. I think the first drive of the first half we recovered the onsides kick and have a third-and-2 and drop it. Who knows what that translates into? You're talking about being out on the 35-yard line. If you get a few yards, you're in field goal range. Who knows?
On Laveranues Coles' comments about Brett Favre…
I read that whole transcript and I think those were very selected comments. I've talked to Laveranues and I've talked to Brett. I talk to those guys frequently. I think their goal is exactly the same. LC wants to do everything he can help us do to win and so does Brett. It's not a function of any personal goals or anything like that. LC is not like that.
On the holding penalty during Leon Washington's kickoff return…
They called it. I can't do anything about it. There's nothing I can do about it. It was called and that was their decision.
On if the Jets will fly out Saturday rather than Friday for the Seattle game…
There's a good chance. That's definitely being talked about. I haven't really seen the value in doing it the other way.
On if he is disappointed in the attitude of the team…
No, I'm not, by any stretch of the imagination, not taking accountability for where we are. We need to do a better job as a coaching staff. Obviously, we need to improve things that we're doing, in terms of how we're attacking, how we're defending and how we're conveying that information.
It's a collective effort. When we win it's collective and when we lose it's collective. Every single person needs to improve. I didn't think that they practices last week lacked any energy. I thought the guys had that. It's hard to evaluate whether everybody is doing the same thing week in and week out. It's a very personal thing. You need to have that honesty with yourself as to whether or not you did all of the same things that you had done prior.
That's what we ask the team each and every week, win or lose, to look at yourself in the mirror, evaluate what you've done, can you improve it, how can you improve it, and how can you help us win moving forward? Not just the players — coaches, myself and all of us.
On WR Brad Smith's condition after the hard hit…
He's getting evaluated today. I'll know more probably Wednesday for you.
On if the pitch from Smith to Leon Washington on the fourth-quarter kickoff return was planned…
Yes, it was a counter coming back with the option, and it just wasn't a very good execution of the option part. We really had a great opportunity if we had been able to convert on that because so much of the coverage was pushed over. It was one of our core returns on the front side, so it looked exactly like what we had been doing, knowing that there would be just that one contained defender on the backside. I think we had a really good opportunity there that not only did we miss but then we put the ball on the minus-1.
On the decrease in sacks over the last couple games…
I think it's different every week. The attack is going to be different from each team. [We've been] seeing more quick throws, more screens, and last game they were able to run the football. Any time they're able to do that with some level of success that keeps you off balance. You can't be as aggressive there. With all of that being said, it goes back to better execution of the core things that we are doing. I thought we left a couple of really good opportunities for sacks on the field.
On if Favre is showing the effects of a long season…
It's a long season for everybody, not just for Brett. The thing is that we put in so much time, effort and work to get to this point that it's really such a short season right now. Everybody across the league is dealing with the same exact issues that we're dealing with. It's a level playing field from that perspective.
On Washington having one rush during the game…
We had the ball for 20 minutes and we were behind for part of those minutes. When it's that skewed, there are very few balls to go around.
On the offensive line's pass protection…
Two of those sacks I think were really late in the game when you're in the worst possible situation — you need chunks of yardage and they know there's not really any type of run threat. It's completely skewed that way. You're not looking to give up sacks, but that's about as difficult of a spot as you can be in offensively.
On the line's protection of Favre…
I thought yesterday that overall the protection was pretty good until late.
On if the Jets should have run the ball more…
Again, there weren't very many snaps in the game. We ran the ball at different points with different levels of success. I thought Thomas [Jones]' run to get in the end zone was blocked well initially, but then he created a lot of those yards after he got through the hole. You want balance. Ideally, there's always balance. It got a little skewed towards the end.
On why being 8-5 and tied for first in the AFC East seems like a disappointing situation…
It changes. Think about the waves throughout the course of the season in terms of "Is this a must-win," "Heading to the Super Bowl," "Can't win a game." It's all over the place. It's always going to be like that. It's going to be like that year in and year out. You can't let that come into the consciousness. When you do, it skews what you should be focused on.
I think we have a great opportunity moving forward, just like I felt that way the last two weeks. What I'm for, though, is improvement. Improvement each week, especially leading into December. I showed the team just an outline of how many days we've been working at it. I think it's close to 267 days since the off-season workouts. What are there, 20 days left in the season?
When you look at it comparatively, just to get to the point where we are, it's a pretty long, long road. Any kind of distraction or any kind of bump and bruise, any of that stuff, it's really so, so small in the grand scheme of things as you look at our body of work.
On the psyche among the players after the two wins against New England and Tennessee…
Whenever you get into a situation where you're winning multiple games, or losing multiple games, the highs and lows, you stress over and over the importance of consistency of approach. The only time that I get really frustrated is when that consistency of approach is not there. That, to me, is the most frustrating element because it's proven, it works and it will continue to work. It only works if we do.
On why the consistency of approach has fallen off…
I think there's not one set answer. That goes back to the question that everybody has to ask each game: Are you doing the same things that you were doing? Are you improving on those things? Is the consistency there? That's a question that I'll ask this week, like I asked two weeks ago and like I asked 12 weeks ago. There's only one person that can answer that, and that's that individual. It's so important that each week the group comes back and can say a collective "yes."
On if it's beneficial to change approaches each week in a dynamic league…
I think you change your game plan, you change your attack. You change the approach from that perspective, of how are you going to play that opponent? To me, I think that's crucial and that's how we've built the team with the types of people that are flexible enough to go in and out of different schemes.
You're always trying to attack weaknesses and minimize strengths, and maximize your own strengths. When I say consistency, I'm talking about practice, preparation, conditioning and execution in the game. That, to me, regardless of who you're playing, is extremely important. The other team is always hard enough to beat. You never want to be in a situation where you then have to overcome your own mistakes.
