New York Jets Head Coach Eric Mangini
Opening Statement
It was a tough loss. We came back. Initially in the first quarter we did exactly what we didn't want to do. We fumbled, they scored early points. We settled down, then got back in the flow and started calling the plan, and that went pretty well. Late in the game, we had some long offensive drives. They had some long drives as well. We had to limit the number of big plays they had, that is what we were looking to do. The change of lead happened late in the game. We came back with the kickoff return. They get up again. We had a chance with the last play to see what happens. It was a disappointing loss, but the Colts have won a lot of games over the last six years. For a very good reason, they are a very good team. It just showed we need to keep working, keep focusing, and keep going back to the same consistent approach. And we'll keep making progress.
On making positive strides today…
Each week we make some positive steps and there are some things that we learn from. But the object is to win the game and we had a good opportunity. We need to execute more consistently throughout the whole game. It's a group effort. It's all of us and there are some things that we could have done better in terms of offense; defense; special teams; coaching; right down the line.
On going for TD on fourth-and-two in third quarter rather than going for the field goal…
At that point it was a 16-play drive and that was the plan. We were going to drive the length of the field and we were looking to score a touchdown. They are an explosive offense and that was our goal. We were committed to doing that.
On the effectiveness of IND's rushing…
No (I am not surprised). The goal is to limit their big plays offensively, and sometimes to do that you have to keep less in the box, in terms of the running game. That was something we set out to do. It's natural to see the running game move a little bit more with less (defenders) in the box.
On thinking about his play-calling on the fourth-and-two later in the game…
No. The plan was to put the ball in the end zone and score a touchdown. We've seen Peyton march down the field a lot of times and score a touchdown and we were looking to match our offensive production with touchdowns.
On the touchdown play with TE James Dearth in the end zone…
That was the play that we called. It was a play that we liked. We gave Chad a run-pass option and we were looking to give him that. We aggressively ran the ball inside a few times so we were hoping to get the draw of the defense and give Chad the run-pass option.
On CB Justin Miller's condition…
Nothing serious has been reported to me.
On not being able to stop such a high-powered offense…
We are looking to stop anybody in any of those situations and that's an explosive offense. Peyton scores a lot of points and is very effective in that situation. We needed to play as solidly as we possibly could there. He's good at what he does. We need to execute better, continue to work and improve there.
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On the onside kick…
It was something that we saw and liked during the week. It was a good opportunity there, after the big play, to come back and capitalize on it. We thought that would be a good chance to do it and I thought they executed it very well.
On speaking to the players…
We talked about the need to consistently improve and there were a lot of good things that happened, but there are some things that we need to work on. It's a group effort. It's offense, defense, special teams, coaching, we are all in this together. After every win, after every loss, we are in this together. We need to keep working as a group and making progress. If we do, these close games will swing in the other direction.
On the pass interference call…
Whatever calls the officials make, we have to deal with it and move on to the next play. It really is not in our control.
On the squib kick return by Leon Washington…
I'm not sure whether initially he had been bumped. So I couldn't tell you.
On CB Justin Miller's condition…
He had just run the 103-yard kickoff return and played ,defense and to transition again, it would be a tough series of events for one guy.
On RB Cedric Houston…
I do not have an update on Houston at this time.
On knowing about WR Laveranues Coles' injury during the game…
With all of these injuries, I'll get more information a little bit later. I don't want to lead you in one direction and not really know what the situation is.
On team overcoming the loss…
Whether we win or lose, and I'm committed to this, it's going to be the same approach every week. We will come in tomorrow, correct the mistakes and then after we get through with it, we will move on to Jacksonville. We need to take the lessons that we can from the game, fix the mistakes, then put this one in the past and move on. It's the way we approach every week of the season.
On playing coverage in IND's last scoring drive…
We mixed in a few different looks there. There were three or four (in the box). It's tough in that situation where they have many explosive weapons they have to really vacate areas deep.
On personal emotions…
Each loss is something. It's always disappointing because you work extremely hard during the week and you have a good plan. You want to execute that plan as successfully as possible. There are positives we can take away from this game and I like the way our team fights. I like the way they respond to adversity. I like the way they reacted with the strip-sack fumble. It could have gone any way there, and we rebounded and got the game back under control. I like those qualities a lot. I think we will continue to make progress.
On practicing the last play with the lateral passes…
We practice it every day. Every day it changes, but we practiced it a bunch of times and talked about it. It's one of those things that you never know when it will happen until it happens. We were close, but we need to practice it a little bit more.
On thoughts about last play…
I was thinking I was glad we practiced this.
On if the execution was how he drew up the play…
Exactly.
On current situation with RBs…
It's really a combination of things. It's a group effort and the type of scheme they run. It's something we emphasize and something that we are going to continue to emphasize week in and week out. We are going to keep working on it.
