Mini Camp Day Three
Opening statement…
I have a couple of things for you. The players that didn't participate today were: Justin McCareins, Ed Blanton and Jamar Enzor. There are no changes with Ed (illness) and Jamar. Justin had a foot situation, but we're monitoring that. I thought it be best that he not take part in what we did this morning.
What we were trying to work on this morning, I think you guys saw it, we worked on situations offensively, defensively, on special teams, and we tried to tie together all the work that we've done throughout these camps. We put these guys in positions where they had to execute and had to mentally go through what the right thing to do was, what we were looking for, the alerts. We wanted to do it today when they're probably most fatigued and the communication had to be sound and solid.
I was really happy with the way the guys responded. They were into it. I think that each day it has gotten better.
I spoke to Mr. Hampton today, Clay Hampton's dad, who was our equipment manager for a long time. He was in town for Father's Day. I happened to see him. We were talking about Weeb Ewbank. He talked about the team as "green and growing." I think that's kind of where we are. I think we're green and growing in the sense that we're all new; this is a new system both offensively and defensively. We're learning, but we're growing. I've seen some growth each practice and each camp. I think that's a good way to say where we are. It was nice to see Mr. Hampton, as well. I haven't seen him in awhile.
My message to the team, after we get done here, is, between these camps and training camp, we've got to continue to make progress. We've got to focus on the physical side, make sure that we're getting stronger and faster, in better shape. We need to make sure that we're building mentally on where we are today. They need to take their notes home. We'll have a lot of things in place in the building for the guys that are going to be around in terms of film, playbooks, and coaches. They'll have a lot of opportunity to do it mentally, and they've got plenty of opportunity to do it physically. That's what I expect because that's the next step. The preparation from here to training camp, it's another step in the process. It's a step that they need to embrace. That's going to be the focus of the meeting here in a few minutes.
I just want to mention a little bit of what we did at the end of practice. I don't know if you guys saw it, but because the team is working so hard, I decided to give them an opportunity. Shaun Ellis had to catch a punt, which is something he normally doesn't do. They got that opportunity because of the way they worked, because of the growth that took place.
Like any opportunity, you have to execute on the opportunity. We were putting Shaun under a position of pressure, and he executed under pressure. That's what we're looking for. We're looking to create good opportunities for ourselves and being able to execute those opportunities under pressure. He did, and the whole team won. That's the important thing. We create those opportunities by the way that we work. Then when the opportunity presents itself, we execute, and then the whole team wins. Everybody's got to do that. Everybody's got to work hard. Everybody's has to be able to execute under pressure. It fell in line with what we were doing, that is situational awareness. That was where the genesis of that came from.
In terms of Father's Day, I hope everybody has a happy Father's Day. For me it includes mixed emotions. I lost my father when I was 16 to a heart attack. I appreciate this day quite a bit. He was an incredible man for me. As a father myself, it's a special day now and I am hoping to be the same type of dad that my dad was to me. I hope you guys all take a chance to say thank you to your dads because not everybody has the opportunity to. Sometimes it's too late to do that. So happy Father's Day.
I'll open it to questions.
On what Shaun Ellis won for the team…
We moved up everything dramatically. I had two schedules, the schedule we had and the magic schedule. He won the magic schedule.
On what Roman Phifer was doing here last night…
Last night we brought in some speakers to talk to the team. Roman is a guy that I have a great relationship with, I really care about, and I really respect as a player and as a person. He played in the league for 15 years. He has seen a lot of things. He was with the Jets, and with the Patriots during the championship years. He's got a lot of wisdom. I wanted him to share some of that wisdom, and I wanted him to give his perspective as a player who's been at a lot of different places. He has knowledge on how the team can be more successful, how individual players can be more successful, and how you can be a 15‑year veteran.
We actually incorporated that. We also had Ray Lucas speak last night, giving his unique insight. There's a guy, he created all of his opportunities. He wasn't drafted. He was a quarterback. He knows how to go in and play a new role. I think his quote was, "I would have shined helmets for an opportunity; I just wanted to get there. Once I got there, they weren't going to run me out. I was going to make the team."
That's so important, that selfless attitude that he had, that determination. He wasn't going to let anybody prevent him from being successful, and he was going to do whatever it took for him to be successful and for the team to be successful. I admired that in him as a player. Eventually, he did get an opportunity to play quarterback, which he took advantage of. That's who Ray Lucas is. He creates opportunities and he takes advantage of his opportunities.
The other speaker that we brought in was Dan O'Brien. He is an incredible athlete, an incredible person, and an incredible story. It's an individual sport, but arguably the hardest thing in the world to compete in. He was special. I wanted him to talk about what it took to be a world class athlete, what kind of sacrifices you have to make to be that special athlete. His message was fantastic.
That's what those players and special guests were doing here last night. I think it was a great message and three very good people and good friends, friends of the Jets.
On how he knew Dan O'Brien…
We have a mutual friend, so we were able to get in touch.
On the progress of Nick Mangold and D'Brickashaw Ferguson...
I like their progress. Both guys are working as hard as they can. They're extremely mature and their approach is great. But they're rookies, and at the end of the day, they're rookies. Their attitude is outstanding. I'm happy with where they are in terms of their effort and their performance. They're seeing a lot of things they've never seen before, dealing with a lot of things they've never dealt with before, in a whole new world, at a whole new level. But I'd say that both of them are ready for the challenge, they're excited about the challenge, and they're embracing the challenge. There are going to be bumps with them and there are going to be bumps with a lot of things in a new situation. But they're really, really working hard at it, which is great.
On Trey Teague's status…
No, no update on Trey Teague, but thank you for asking.
On Nick Mangold having what it takes to start the season…
I'll tell you, all these guys, there's such a long way to go here. We're in June. It's early. Everybody is on the hot seat. I mean, everybody is on the hot seat. Everybody has to figure out a way to make this team and a way to help us win. That's the most important thing that they can do as players, is figure those things out. The hot seat is universal.
On talking about making sacrifices to be successful…
I think any time that you can bring in another perspective on things, it's a good thing. Everybody relates to people differently. You can bring in different voices and use their experience to teach these guys that maybe don't have the experience.
Those three guys have a wealth of experience. They have a lot of great lessons to teach. They've done a lot of special things in their careers. They may be from different backgrounds, they may have done different things that were special, but it's a consistent message. It's the truth. I want them to hear the truth from a lot of different people.
On the hot seat…
I think every year everybody has to figure out the same things and that's how to make the team. They have to know how to contribute to the team and how to help the team win. That's an ongoing process. It's year-to-year, it's day-to-day. The ones that are really successful figure that out.
On being comfortable with the offensive line…
I'm comfortable with the way that everybody's working. As I said, it's so early in the process. We're in June; we're taking some good steps. I think "green and growing" is a great way to put it.
On Mike Nugent…
I really like Mike. He's a good person. He and Ben work great together. We are talking about two great guys there. They're always working. He's a unique guy being team captain as a kicker. You don't really see that too often on the college level. The kicker is usually the guy that has a special relationship with the team. To be the team captain, that shows a lot of character, it shows how he was perceived by the group in a position that traditionally isn't perceived that way. I like the way that Mike approaches things.
On bringing in speakers for work ethic improvement…
What I'm looking for, with anything that we do, is to teach, to help everybody understand what we're looking for in terms of players, and what we're looking for organizationally. Teaching comes in a lot of different forms. It could be through tape. It could be through walk‑throughs or on‑the‑field type work. It could be through speakers. Our goal here is to teach and to make the team better through our teaching and our coaching.
Thanks.
