Mangini Monday Press Conference
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If, and a big IF, this guy can get the players to buy into his pitch, the Browns can make this year a good year. He isn't saying anything I disagree with. Maybe add some fire? I don't know. But I like his approach to the game and to the good/bad. Much different than RAC.
Browns Head Coach Eric Mangini press conference 9-14-09
(Opening statement)- “Good afternoon. Talking to the team this morning, I reiterated what I talked to them about yesterday after the game. As you look at the tape it was two totally different halves. When you play a team like Minnesota, who’s as talented as they are and who’s as explosive as they are, there really isn’t a margin for error. We are trying to eliminate errors regardless of who we play. Those errors get heightened when you play a team that’s as explosive as they are. That was the case in the second half. We had two turnovers offensively. We had six penalties as a group. We didn’t maintain the leverage that you need to maintain on a returner like Percy Harvin. You don’t consistently set the edge on Adrian Peterson, which I thought we did a good job of in the first half. It makes it really hard. The better the opponent, the harder it makes it. I think we saw the positive things that we can do when we play complementary football, when we play smart football. We saw the results when you do it the other way.
“The important thing about any Monday is how you approach it, because we can’t now control what happened yesterday. What you can control after a loss is what you take away from it. There’s a tendency after a loss to sometimes over analyze, be overly critical, all of those sorts of things and that can be counterproductive. On the flip side, after a win you can gloss over really glaring weaknesses or glaring things that have to be improved on and that can be counterproductive. The important thing for us, as a group, is to come in to get the corrections, to embrace those things and to really look at what, individually, each person can improve. What, collectively, we can improve. There were plenty of areas to do that. There are things that I could have done better. Obviously, I didn’t communicate effectively enough at halftime the importance of what we had to maintain. There were times in the game where I thought we could have done some things differently in terms of stopping the run, which would have helped us. I should have gotten that done quicker than I did. Also, the decision on the goal line to run the play the second time, that was my decision. At that point, I thought it would work. I thought it be successful and it wasn’t. Those are all things that I can look at and say, ‘How would I do it differently moving forward?’ That’s the value, that’s what I ask the coaches, that’s what I ask the players. That’s what I do throughout this process and it will be the same thing in a win. It will be the same exact thing in a win. Otherwise, you have no chance to get better the next week unless you really understand how you can get better the next week. I expressed to the guys today what my expectations were, in terms of the corrections, and then between today and tomorrow I expect them to get started on the Broncos and be ready to come in Wednesday to work on all the areas we’ve identified.”
(On what he hopes Brady Quinn takes from the loss)- “There’s a lot of things that I think, as you get more experience, you are going to do a better job with. There were a lot of things that Brady did that I liked. I thought some of the check with me plays that we had gave us a good opportunity in terms of the numbers we had at the point of attack and that’s not an easy team to run the football on. At times, yesterday, I thought we did that really effectively. In terms of the passing game, I thought there were some throws that I really liked, I’m sure he really liked, and some that I think we can continue to improve on. There was a good example where he had something that was a really smart check coming out of the run, trying to get the slant, but the foot work was a little bit wider than it could have been and that affected the throw a little bit. It’s correctable. That’s one example of multiple examples and, not just with him but with the group, but those things are things you can look at and see why it wasn’t as effective as you wanted it to, go out and work on it and next time come back and do it better.”
(On if Quinn was poised)- “Yes I did. I thought that anytime you are in a situation like he is, being a young player and he really is. I know he has been in the league more than one season, but in terms of experience and starts, it’s a young career. As you grow and experience things and do all of those things, that continues to get better. For an opening game, I thought he showed a lot of poise. I thought there were times where he gave us a chance on some plays that maybe we wouldn’t have had a chance on. He made some adjustments that showed not only a lot of poise, but a lot of awareness.”
(On if he is thinking about changing quarterbacks after the first game)- “What I am looking for is what I’m looking for from the group, is for him to be able to identify those areas that need to be improved. Going out, working on it and seeing that improvement. Anytime you have younger players, there are going to be some things that you have to work through and keep improving. The same thing is true with Alex Mack. There were some really good things in the game and some things that we are going to get corrected but he will grow. Brady will continue to grow. The important thing is their growth will be dictated by how well they continue to work. I expect both of those guys to work extremely hard at it.”
(On if Quinn is evaluated differently because of the defense he faced)- “No, I don’t really look at it that way. I honestly don’t because we are going to face whatever defense each week. There’s going to be some things we want to get done based on what they are doing defensively. Were we able to get those things done? If not, why not? If we were, how can we build on it the next time we see a defense similar to that? It wasn’t an easy challenge by any stretch, they are a really good team. They are a really good team in all three phases.”
(On what happened in the second half with the run defense)- “With Adrian Peterson, the key thing is to be able to set an edge on him, not let him get to the perimeter of the defense. When you say that, the edge can move. You can start in one spot and, even though you have an outside position on that offensive player, if you get extended as he extends, you may always have that outside leverage position but it’s not really an edge. You are trying to set a distinct boundary of you cannot run past this point. You need everybody to flow and make sure that each one of those spots, to where he could cut back, is handled. With him, he is like water. If there’s a crack, he finds it. I thought for the most part in the first half, it was sound. In the second half there were times where they were able to get some of those edges, even on the long run where he bounced it out, there was enough extension between the outside player and the inside player, where that edge had widened. It wasn’t a huge crack, but he was able to hit it. Once he gets into the secondary, you have to create a new edge and a new funnel, with the corner, the backside safety and the point. We didn’t do good enough on either level. He’s that type of guy, one slight miscue and it’s 64 yards.”
(On if he was referring to himself in the opening when he talked about not adjusting quickly enough)- “What I’m saying is, I think there are things that I could have done better, in terms of getting a more consistent fit on the front side. That’s always going to be my job, is to make sure that as these things come, and it was addressed. At different points, it worked with different levels of success. You’re constantly going through the game saying, ‘How does this work? If this doesn’t work, go to plan B if this isn’t working.’ You’re constantly trying to adjust. There are some things that I thought we did well in the second half, in terms of adjustments and some things that we can improve. It’s important. As I talked to the players, I explained the same thing, because it’s never going to be a function of player versus coach or offense versus defense or special teams. It’s all of us being able to objectively take a step back and say, ‘What can I get better at?’ That’s something I’m going to ask of them each week. That’s something I’m going to ask the coaching staff each week. It’s something I’m going to ask myself each week. It’s important that we do that.”
(On if Brady Quinn was trying to do too much on the play where the ball fluttered out)- “No. I’m not sure if it was Steve (Heiden), there was someone who kind of had come open. I saw what he saw. I think he just tried to cock it and throw it. Sometimes, that happens. He had a guy that had created a void. We ask that of receivers, as the quarterback gets on the move, we have certain scramble rules to provide windows for the quarterback to give him that run-pass option. I see what he was looking at. It could have just been one of those things where you bring it up a little too quickly and it skirts out.”
(On if Minnesota’s wide receivers being held to two catches is due to the secondary playing well or Brett Favre not going to them as much)- “I don’t know exactly what their plan was going into the game. I think that in the second half, they had some success early running the football. Often times, you stay with something if it’s working well. I did think, though, that the secondary did some really nice things in terms of their coverage. There are some things in the secondary, just like with all of us, that can improve. I thought the rush that we had was pretty good throughout the course of the day. I know we talk in here a lot about who the pass rusher is. This game is a good sort of indication of what I look for, in terms of pressure on the quarterback. We had four different guys get sacks. A lot of that is based off of what’s the protection? How can we beat the protection? Everybody being sound when you’re executing those plays. It doesn’t matter who gets it, whether it’s Brodney (Pool), or Abe (Elam) or Big Baby (Shaun Roger) or Kam (Kamerion Wimbley) or whoever. We’re all happy when he gets there.”
(On using the WildDawg formation twice on the goal line)- “In the first one we picked up, I think, five yards. They had kept the same personnel group in, four or five yards, and lining up quickly, it was a timing type play where you have to get it and hit it in the right spot. It looked like that was going to get the same front, the same call that we’d gotten the play before. I thought there was an opportunity to maximize that.”
(On if Brady Quinn not getting the ball to the receivers as much is a product of breakdowns in protection)- “There were some plays where they were able to get pressure. There were some plays where the throw could have been better. There were some plays where, really, the route could have been better. That’s a pretty formidable group, in terms of pass rushers, with Jared Allen and Kevin Williams, Pat Williams, Ray Edwards. They brought a couple different blitz looks. As we talked about in here, going into the first game there’s always going to be some things that get dialed up that aren’t on the radar screen. I thought Joe Thomas did a nice job throughout the course of the day. He drew a pretty tough assignment the first rail out of the box.”
(On if he had more input on the play calling than he normally would since it was Brian Daboll’s first game calling plays)-“No, I didn’t really treat Brian any differently than the relationship I have with all the coordinators. We talked throughout the course of the week, went through the plan, right on down the line. We talked about it prior to the play. He was thinking about coming back to that, I was thinking about another play. We were talking through it and we went with that decision.”
(On the type of conversation that goes on when they have long yardage to gain and are in field goal range)- “Some of that just depends, because where are you in terms of Phil’s (Dawson) range? What’s the weather like? What’s the score in the game? All those things factor in. What you always want to do is give yourself an opportunity to get the first down if you can, if it’s something that’s manageable. If not, make sure that you secure the points.”
(On if he gave up some of the vertical game to gain more overall by selecting Brady Quinn as the quarterback)- “I really thought that he made a nice throw, I thought Braylon (Edwards) made a nice catch on the one that ended up getting called back. I thought there was another pretty good throw down the sideline there late to Braylon that was close. The middle read that he had to Robert Royal for the touchdown, I thought that was a pretty good throw. I thought that was a pretty good route. It was kind of over the linebacker, in between the safeties. I thought there were some other ones that we had a shot on. I don’t look at it as us being limited in any way by what we can call offensively by any stretch.”
(On having more passes targeted at the tight ends than at the starting wide receivers)- “Sometimes, based on the way that they’re playing coverage, if they’re rolled up over both the receivers, there’s going to be more opportunity inside. You do that same equation, defensively, all the time. If you’re going to roll up over one guy, well you know the other guy’s probably going to get more coverage. If you’re going to isolate the tight ends more in man-to-man coverage without much help, you anticipate those guys getting a few more balls. What you’re trying to do is mix it enough, and disguise it enough, so pre-snap, the quarterback doesn’t know, ‘Okay, they’re rolled up over here,’ or pre-snap, doesn’t know that, ‘Hey, I’ve got a real opportunity with the tight end.’ Then you have to go back, post-snap, and see where is the coverage rolled? Where are those opportunities? Ideally, you go to the open guy or to the singled-up guy or to the best match up.”
(On if it is easier for the offense to make adjustments at halftime than it is for the defense)- “It’s different in the sense, Jeff (Schudel), that, yes I’d say that you’re right on there. You go in and you look at what’s happened defensively. You look at what’s happened and you say, ‘Okay, well if we get these situations again, these plays hurt us. This is how we want to handle it.’ Offensively, it can be a function of, ‘Okay, well these plays have been very successful. These plays haven’t based on the coverage.’ We can still run that second set of plays if we want to, but we’re going to adjust the routes. Maybe they’re playing more of cover four versus cover two. If that’s the case, you want to convert the route a different way, even though the core concept is the same. Offensively, maybe you’re getting a lot of a certain type of blitz. Well, if they’re going to bring this blitz again, let’s audible to this, some of that stuff. Some of it, offensively, is reacting to, this what they’ve done. How are we going to handle that? Some of it is, let’s give them more of X, Y and Z. More empty, more 22 big people. Defensively, you don’t get to control what goes out there. You can only react to what they put out there.”
(On how tough it is to make defensive adjustments on the fly)- “It’s really a collaborative effort, because the players have to come off and you have to talk to them. You have to look at the pictures. What you never want to do is look at a picture, and I’m not saying this happened, you never want to look at a picture, have a defense called and you can’t really see quite where the crease was. You say to a guy, ‘Hey, were you in your gap?’ He says, ‘Yes, I was in my gap.’ You think, ‘How are they getting this done?’ You want the feedback from the player. You want to understand where the weakness was. Then, you turn the tape on Monday and the guy wasn’t in his gap. You may have thrown out a perfectly good defense that could have been successful. Honesty is really important on the sideline. All the games are taped. We’re going to figure out where you were. It’s not about assigning blame ever on the sideline. It’s about, ‘Okay, where’s the problem? How can we fix the problem?’ Is it a problem with the scheme or is it a problem with how we execute the scheme? You don’t want to throw out a good scheme because you executed it poorly. You would much rather say, ‘Okay, against this block you have to play it this way or that way.’”
(On if he was disturbed by the penalties)- “Mary Kay (Cabot), I think it goes back to first half versus second half. First half we had two penalties and I thought we did a good job. The second half, we had six. First half we didn’t have any turnovers, second half we had two. First half we did a better job with the core things we indentified defensively. In the second half, we didn’t do quite as good a job with that. Like I said, when it’s Adrian Peterson or someone like that, it doesn’t take a lot of daylight to produce a big play. I said the same thing on special teams. There were some really good things, in terms of our leverage, the way we covered kicks and punts in the first half. That wasn’t as good in the second half. I thought we did a nice job in the return game when we had some of their core guys blocked up like we designed it. Josh (Cribbs) was able to do what he does.”
(On the false start penalties during the no huddle)- “Really, with as much work on the no huddle as we do, we’ve been working on that since day one, and those things are so inherently controllable. You’re told the snap count before you go out. You’re not reacting to anything. You’re told what it is. Now, you may come up and change it, which I understand. We’re also at home. It’s not like the crowd noise was an issue. There were things like that that come down to finishing, focusing throughout the whole game. Believe me, that’s one thing in many areas where we can improve.”
(On if Brady Quinn handled the two-minute drive like he wanted)- “You guys remember in the preseason, we were playing somebody, turned the ball over late, ended up kicking a field goal? I forget who it was. At that point, the score where it was, not going great on first down, it really wasn’t the risk-reward at that point. I’ve seen a lot of situations where the Minnesota pass rush, in that situation, has forced a fumble. Minnesota gets quick points at the end of a half. Based on where we were on the first play, based on where we were on the field, based on the fact that they had three timeouts, based on all those things, we weren’t looking to give them the ball back at that point.”
(On if he got to spend time with his family on Sunday)- “That’s the best thing about having kids, and young kids, is I saw Jake after the game and he said, ‘Who won?’ I said, ‘Weren’t you there?’ It just puts it in perspective and that’s good.”
(On what kind of team he thinks he has)- “I know that I may sound repetitive here, but I really believe in the fact that it’s this moment, right now, this team, how we work, how we do things, how we prepare, how we improve. That will determine what the season is. There is nothing you can do about what happened yesterday. There is nothing anybody in here can do about the things that took place yesterday. Those are there. What you can do, is you can learn from those things and you can improve the next time you have the opportunity to make those same decisions, or you’re faced with the same scenario. I don’t know what’s going to happen 10 weeks from now. None of us do. I know after this meeting, I’m going up and I’m going to work on Denver. That’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to focus on that preparation. After that, whatever the next thing is. I’m going to try to do the best job I can at that. Like Dan O’Brien says, it’s the five second rule. You can let things linger and affect your preparation for the next contest, or you can learn from it and move on.”
(On if he talked to Josh McDaniels last night)- “No, I figured we’d be talking a lot about Josh this week. Sometimes that ball really bounces in a way that’s just great. I’m happy for him. He’s a good guy. He’s a smart guy. He’s a hard working guy. He’s a good person. I’m happy that he was able to get the win that he did. I haven’t seen the game yet. I don’t know exactly how it unfolds. I just saw that one clip that I’m sure we all saw. Sometimes it just bounces the right way.”
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If, and a big IF, this guy can get the players to buy into his pitch, the Browns can make this year a good year. He isn't saying anything I disagree with. Maybe add some fire? I don't know. But I like his approach to the game and to the good/bad. Much different than RAC.
Browns Head Coach Eric Mangini press conference 9-14-09
(Opening statement)- “Good afternoon. Talking to the team this morning, I reiterated what I talked to them about yesterday after the game. As you look at the tape it was two totally different halves. When you play a team like Minnesota, who’s as talented as they are and who’s as explosive as they are, there really isn’t a margin for error. We are trying to eliminate errors regardless of who we play. Those errors get heightened when you play a team that’s as explosive as they are. That was the case in the second half. We had two turnovers offensively. We had six penalties as a group. We didn’t maintain the leverage that you need to maintain on a returner like Percy Harvin. You don’t consistently set the edge on Adrian Peterson, which I thought we did a good job of in the first half. It makes it really hard. The better the opponent, the harder it makes it. I think we saw the positive things that we can do when we play complementary football, when we play smart football. We saw the results when you do it the other way.
“The important thing about any Monday is how you approach it, because we can’t now control what happened yesterday. What you can control after a loss is what you take away from it. There’s a tendency after a loss to sometimes over analyze, be overly critical, all of those sorts of things and that can be counterproductive. On the flip side, after a win you can gloss over really glaring weaknesses or glaring things that have to be improved on and that can be counterproductive. The important thing for us, as a group, is to come in to get the corrections, to embrace those things and to really look at what, individually, each person can improve. What, collectively, we can improve. There were plenty of areas to do that. There are things that I could have done better. Obviously, I didn’t communicate effectively enough at halftime the importance of what we had to maintain. There were times in the game where I thought we could have done some things differently in terms of stopping the run, which would have helped us. I should have gotten that done quicker than I did. Also, the decision on the goal line to run the play the second time, that was my decision. At that point, I thought it would work. I thought it be successful and it wasn’t. Those are all things that I can look at and say, ‘How would I do it differently moving forward?’ That’s the value, that’s what I ask the coaches, that’s what I ask the players. That’s what I do throughout this process and it will be the same thing in a win. It will be the same exact thing in a win. Otherwise, you have no chance to get better the next week unless you really understand how you can get better the next week. I expressed to the guys today what my expectations were, in terms of the corrections, and then between today and tomorrow I expect them to get started on the Broncos and be ready to come in Wednesday to work on all the areas we’ve identified.”
(On what he hopes Brady Quinn takes from the loss)- “There’s a lot of things that I think, as you get more experience, you are going to do a better job with. There were a lot of things that Brady did that I liked. I thought some of the check with me plays that we had gave us a good opportunity in terms of the numbers we had at the point of attack and that’s not an easy team to run the football on. At times, yesterday, I thought we did that really effectively. In terms of the passing game, I thought there were some throws that I really liked, I’m sure he really liked, and some that I think we can continue to improve on. There was a good example where he had something that was a really smart check coming out of the run, trying to get the slant, but the foot work was a little bit wider than it could have been and that affected the throw a little bit. It’s correctable. That’s one example of multiple examples and, not just with him but with the group, but those things are things you can look at and see why it wasn’t as effective as you wanted it to, go out and work on it and next time come back and do it better.”
(On if Quinn was poised)- “Yes I did. I thought that anytime you are in a situation like he is, being a young player and he really is. I know he has been in the league more than one season, but in terms of experience and starts, it’s a young career. As you grow and experience things and do all of those things, that continues to get better. For an opening game, I thought he showed a lot of poise. I thought there were times where he gave us a chance on some plays that maybe we wouldn’t have had a chance on. He made some adjustments that showed not only a lot of poise, but a lot of awareness.”
(On if he is thinking about changing quarterbacks after the first game)- “What I am looking for is what I’m looking for from the group, is for him to be able to identify those areas that need to be improved. Going out, working on it and seeing that improvement. Anytime you have younger players, there are going to be some things that you have to work through and keep improving. The same thing is true with Alex Mack. There were some really good things in the game and some things that we are going to get corrected but he will grow. Brady will continue to grow. The important thing is their growth will be dictated by how well they continue to work. I expect both of those guys to work extremely hard at it.”
(On if Quinn is evaluated differently because of the defense he faced)- “No, I don’t really look at it that way. I honestly don’t because we are going to face whatever defense each week. There’s going to be some things we want to get done based on what they are doing defensively. Were we able to get those things done? If not, why not? If we were, how can we build on it the next time we see a defense similar to that? It wasn’t an easy challenge by any stretch, they are a really good team. They are a really good team in all three phases.”
(On what happened in the second half with the run defense)- “With Adrian Peterson, the key thing is to be able to set an edge on him, not let him get to the perimeter of the defense. When you say that, the edge can move. You can start in one spot and, even though you have an outside position on that offensive player, if you get extended as he extends, you may always have that outside leverage position but it’s not really an edge. You are trying to set a distinct boundary of you cannot run past this point. You need everybody to flow and make sure that each one of those spots, to where he could cut back, is handled. With him, he is like water. If there’s a crack, he finds it. I thought for the most part in the first half, it was sound. In the second half there were times where they were able to get some of those edges, even on the long run where he bounced it out, there was enough extension between the outside player and the inside player, where that edge had widened. It wasn’t a huge crack, but he was able to hit it. Once he gets into the secondary, you have to create a new edge and a new funnel, with the corner, the backside safety and the point. We didn’t do good enough on either level. He’s that type of guy, one slight miscue and it’s 64 yards.”
(On if he was referring to himself in the opening when he talked about not adjusting quickly enough)- “What I’m saying is, I think there are things that I could have done better, in terms of getting a more consistent fit on the front side. That’s always going to be my job, is to make sure that as these things come, and it was addressed. At different points, it worked with different levels of success. You’re constantly going through the game saying, ‘How does this work? If this doesn’t work, go to plan B if this isn’t working.’ You’re constantly trying to adjust. There are some things that I thought we did well in the second half, in terms of adjustments and some things that we can improve. It’s important. As I talked to the players, I explained the same thing, because it’s never going to be a function of player versus coach or offense versus defense or special teams. It’s all of us being able to objectively take a step back and say, ‘What can I get better at?’ That’s something I’m going to ask of them each week. That’s something I’m going to ask the coaching staff each week. It’s something I’m going to ask myself each week. It’s important that we do that.”
(On if Brady Quinn was trying to do too much on the play where the ball fluttered out)- “No. I’m not sure if it was Steve (Heiden), there was someone who kind of had come open. I saw what he saw. I think he just tried to cock it and throw it. Sometimes, that happens. He had a guy that had created a void. We ask that of receivers, as the quarterback gets on the move, we have certain scramble rules to provide windows for the quarterback to give him that run-pass option. I see what he was looking at. It could have just been one of those things where you bring it up a little too quickly and it skirts out.”
(On if Minnesota’s wide receivers being held to two catches is due to the secondary playing well or Brett Favre not going to them as much)- “I don’t know exactly what their plan was going into the game. I think that in the second half, they had some success early running the football. Often times, you stay with something if it’s working well. I did think, though, that the secondary did some really nice things in terms of their coverage. There are some things in the secondary, just like with all of us, that can improve. I thought the rush that we had was pretty good throughout the course of the day. I know we talk in here a lot about who the pass rusher is. This game is a good sort of indication of what I look for, in terms of pressure on the quarterback. We had four different guys get sacks. A lot of that is based off of what’s the protection? How can we beat the protection? Everybody being sound when you’re executing those plays. It doesn’t matter who gets it, whether it’s Brodney (Pool), or Abe (Elam) or Big Baby (Shaun Roger) or Kam (Kamerion Wimbley) or whoever. We’re all happy when he gets there.”
(On using the WildDawg formation twice on the goal line)- “In the first one we picked up, I think, five yards. They had kept the same personnel group in, four or five yards, and lining up quickly, it was a timing type play where you have to get it and hit it in the right spot. It looked like that was going to get the same front, the same call that we’d gotten the play before. I thought there was an opportunity to maximize that.”
(On if Brady Quinn not getting the ball to the receivers as much is a product of breakdowns in protection)- “There were some plays where they were able to get pressure. There were some plays where the throw could have been better. There were some plays where, really, the route could have been better. That’s a pretty formidable group, in terms of pass rushers, with Jared Allen and Kevin Williams, Pat Williams, Ray Edwards. They brought a couple different blitz looks. As we talked about in here, going into the first game there’s always going to be some things that get dialed up that aren’t on the radar screen. I thought Joe Thomas did a nice job throughout the course of the day. He drew a pretty tough assignment the first rail out of the box.”
(On if he had more input on the play calling than he normally would since it was Brian Daboll’s first game calling plays)-“No, I didn’t really treat Brian any differently than the relationship I have with all the coordinators. We talked throughout the course of the week, went through the plan, right on down the line. We talked about it prior to the play. He was thinking about coming back to that, I was thinking about another play. We were talking through it and we went with that decision.”
(On the type of conversation that goes on when they have long yardage to gain and are in field goal range)- “Some of that just depends, because where are you in terms of Phil’s (Dawson) range? What’s the weather like? What’s the score in the game? All those things factor in. What you always want to do is give yourself an opportunity to get the first down if you can, if it’s something that’s manageable. If not, make sure that you secure the points.”
(On if he gave up some of the vertical game to gain more overall by selecting Brady Quinn as the quarterback)- “I really thought that he made a nice throw, I thought Braylon (Edwards) made a nice catch on the one that ended up getting called back. I thought there was another pretty good throw down the sideline there late to Braylon that was close. The middle read that he had to Robert Royal for the touchdown, I thought that was a pretty good throw. I thought that was a pretty good route. It was kind of over the linebacker, in between the safeties. I thought there were some other ones that we had a shot on. I don’t look at it as us being limited in any way by what we can call offensively by any stretch.”
(On having more passes targeted at the tight ends than at the starting wide receivers)- “Sometimes, based on the way that they’re playing coverage, if they’re rolled up over both the receivers, there’s going to be more opportunity inside. You do that same equation, defensively, all the time. If you’re going to roll up over one guy, well you know the other guy’s probably going to get more coverage. If you’re going to isolate the tight ends more in man-to-man coverage without much help, you anticipate those guys getting a few more balls. What you’re trying to do is mix it enough, and disguise it enough, so pre-snap, the quarterback doesn’t know, ‘Okay, they’re rolled up over here,’ or pre-snap, doesn’t know that, ‘Hey, I’ve got a real opportunity with the tight end.’ Then you have to go back, post-snap, and see where is the coverage rolled? Where are those opportunities? Ideally, you go to the open guy or to the singled-up guy or to the best match up.”
(On if it is easier for the offense to make adjustments at halftime than it is for the defense)- “It’s different in the sense, Jeff (Schudel), that, yes I’d say that you’re right on there. You go in and you look at what’s happened defensively. You look at what’s happened and you say, ‘Okay, well if we get these situations again, these plays hurt us. This is how we want to handle it.’ Offensively, it can be a function of, ‘Okay, well these plays have been very successful. These plays haven’t based on the coverage.’ We can still run that second set of plays if we want to, but we’re going to adjust the routes. Maybe they’re playing more of cover four versus cover two. If that’s the case, you want to convert the route a different way, even though the core concept is the same. Offensively, maybe you’re getting a lot of a certain type of blitz. Well, if they’re going to bring this blitz again, let’s audible to this, some of that stuff. Some of it, offensively, is reacting to, this what they’ve done. How are we going to handle that? Some of it is, let’s give them more of X, Y and Z. More empty, more 22 big people. Defensively, you don’t get to control what goes out there. You can only react to what they put out there.”
(On how tough it is to make defensive adjustments on the fly)- “It’s really a collaborative effort, because the players have to come off and you have to talk to them. You have to look at the pictures. What you never want to do is look at a picture, and I’m not saying this happened, you never want to look at a picture, have a defense called and you can’t really see quite where the crease was. You say to a guy, ‘Hey, were you in your gap?’ He says, ‘Yes, I was in my gap.’ You think, ‘How are they getting this done?’ You want the feedback from the player. You want to understand where the weakness was. Then, you turn the tape on Monday and the guy wasn’t in his gap. You may have thrown out a perfectly good defense that could have been successful. Honesty is really important on the sideline. All the games are taped. We’re going to figure out where you were. It’s not about assigning blame ever on the sideline. It’s about, ‘Okay, where’s the problem? How can we fix the problem?’ Is it a problem with the scheme or is it a problem with how we execute the scheme? You don’t want to throw out a good scheme because you executed it poorly. You would much rather say, ‘Okay, against this block you have to play it this way or that way.’”
(On if he was disturbed by the penalties)- “Mary Kay (Cabot), I think it goes back to first half versus second half. First half we had two penalties and I thought we did a good job. The second half, we had six. First half we didn’t have any turnovers, second half we had two. First half we did a better job with the core things we indentified defensively. In the second half, we didn’t do quite as good a job with that. Like I said, when it’s Adrian Peterson or someone like that, it doesn’t take a lot of daylight to produce a big play. I said the same thing on special teams. There were some really good things, in terms of our leverage, the way we covered kicks and punts in the first half. That wasn’t as good in the second half. I thought we did a nice job in the return game when we had some of their core guys blocked up like we designed it. Josh (Cribbs) was able to do what he does.”
(On the false start penalties during the no huddle)- “Really, with as much work on the no huddle as we do, we’ve been working on that since day one, and those things are so inherently controllable. You’re told the snap count before you go out. You’re not reacting to anything. You’re told what it is. Now, you may come up and change it, which I understand. We’re also at home. It’s not like the crowd noise was an issue. There were things like that that come down to finishing, focusing throughout the whole game. Believe me, that’s one thing in many areas where we can improve.”
(On if Brady Quinn handled the two-minute drive like he wanted)- “You guys remember in the preseason, we were playing somebody, turned the ball over late, ended up kicking a field goal? I forget who it was. At that point, the score where it was, not going great on first down, it really wasn’t the risk-reward at that point. I’ve seen a lot of situations where the Minnesota pass rush, in that situation, has forced a fumble. Minnesota gets quick points at the end of a half. Based on where we were on the first play, based on where we were on the field, based on the fact that they had three timeouts, based on all those things, we weren’t looking to give them the ball back at that point.”
(On if he got to spend time with his family on Sunday)- “That’s the best thing about having kids, and young kids, is I saw Jake after the game and he said, ‘Who won?’ I said, ‘Weren’t you there?’ It just puts it in perspective and that’s good.”
(On what kind of team he thinks he has)- “I know that I may sound repetitive here, but I really believe in the fact that it’s this moment, right now, this team, how we work, how we do things, how we prepare, how we improve. That will determine what the season is. There is nothing you can do about what happened yesterday. There is nothing anybody in here can do about the things that took place yesterday. Those are there. What you can do, is you can learn from those things and you can improve the next time you have the opportunity to make those same decisions, or you’re faced with the same scenario. I don’t know what’s going to happen 10 weeks from now. None of us do. I know after this meeting, I’m going up and I’m going to work on Denver. That’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to focus on that preparation. After that, whatever the next thing is. I’m going to try to do the best job I can at that. Like Dan O’Brien says, it’s the five second rule. You can let things linger and affect your preparation for the next contest, or you can learn from it and move on.”
(On if he talked to Josh McDaniels last night)- “No, I figured we’d be talking a lot about Josh this week. Sometimes that ball really bounces in a way that’s just great. I’m happy for him. He’s a good guy. He’s a smart guy. He’s a hard working guy. He’s a good person. I’m happy that he was able to get the win that he did. I haven’t seen the game yet. I don’t know exactly how it unfolds. I just saw that one clip that I’m sure we all saw. Sometimes it just bounces the right way.”
... Maybe add some fire? I don't know...
I've often thought of this. I like the Gruden's and Cowher's of this world. But then they're balanced with the Dungy's and Belicheck's.
A HUGE difference between his insight and RAC's "we're trying to get better and do some things" responses.
Mangini seems to be unflappable and focuses his energy on things he can impact - efficient. I like it. As many of us know, the best decisions are made when emotion isn't part of the equation.
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Your right shep, before people start talking about switching out players after one game. These guys need time to gel as a unit. Its a whole new crew out there. Timing and Consistency on offense take time.
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@inspecta said:
Wow, talk about a cerebral approach to the game, and having accountability.Yes, definitely much better than Romeo's mind numbing pressers where we get treats like "I don't know what happened" and "We're gonna try harder next week" and "I flipped the coin and that decided it"
I still don't like how he dodges questions and talks his way around what should be direct answers... but yes, nearly anything is better than listening to Crennel. I'm so glad those days are over.
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@inspecta said:
Wow, talk about a cerebral approach to the game, and having accountability.Yes, definitely much better than Romeo's mind numbing pressers where we get treats like "I don't know what happened" and "We're gonna try harder next week" and "I flipped the coin and that decided it"
Hey Bud, you forgot the pregnant pauses............. and..................a....................we...didn't make many plays..............( drooling out of
the corners of his mouth, anticipating the orgy of food to soothe the agony of yet another defeat) and.............. a.................we'll get back
at it and...................... blah...............blah..................BLOB
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I'm a Gruden/Tomlin/Cowher/Levy/Lombardi kind of guy - in your face bad AND good.
Paul Brown/Bill Walsh/Bill Belichick are more "this is the situation, this is how we attack" kind of coaches.
Both work.
(I think Dick Jauron missed a situation last night in not reminding his KR 'take a fooking knee" - i.e. 'this is the situation.....'
Anyway, I like more fire, but as I said if the players can buy into the message, I am hopeful.
Because this kind of presser can get old, just like the message.
Results is all that matter. We'll see, said the Zen master.
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(On if he is thinking about changing quarterbacks after the first game)- “What I am looking for is what I’m looking for from the group, is for him to be able to identify those areas that need to be improved. Going out, working on it and seeing that improvement. Anytime you have younger players, there are going to be some things that you have to work through and keep improving. The same thing is true with Alex Mack. There were some really good things in the game and some things that we are going to get corrected but he will grow. Brady will continue to grow. The important thing is their growth will be dictated by how well they continue to work. I expect both of those guys to work extremely hard at it.”
hmmmmm, didn't answer the question.....
you betcha he's thinking about it.
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(On if he is thinking about changing quarterbacks after the first game)- “What I am looking for is what I’m looking for from the group, is for him to be able to identify those areas that need to be improved. Going out, working on it and seeing that improvement. Anytime you have younger players, there are going to be some things that you have to work through and keep improving. The same thing is true with Alex Mack. There were some really good things in the game and some things that we are going to get corrected but he will grow. Brady will continue to grow. The important thing is their growth will be dictated by how well they continue to work. I expect both of those guys to work extremely hard at it.”
hmmmmm, didn't answer the question.....
you betcha he's thinking about it.
-
(On if he is thinking about changing quarterbacks after the first game)- “What I am looking for is what I’m looking for from the group, is for him to be able to identify those areas that need to be improved. Going out, working on it and seeing that improvement. Anytime you have younger players, there are going to be some things that you have to work through and keep improving. The same thing is true with Alex Mack. There were some really good things in the game and some things that we are going to get corrected but he will grow. Brady will continue to grow. The important thing is their growth will be dictated by how well they continue to work. I expect both of those guys to work extremely hard at it.”
hmmmmm, didn't answer the question.....
you betcha he's thinking about it.
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I was encouraged by the first half. I honestly expected the entire game to look like the second half.
What I hope to see this season is growth.... and growing excitement as the season progresses.
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@inspecta said:
Wow, talk about a cerebral approach to the game, and having accountability.Yes, definitely much better than Romeo's mind numbing pressers where we get treats like "I don't know what happened" and "We're gonna try harder next week" and "I flipped the coin and that decided it"
I still don't like how he dodges questions and talks his way around what should be direct answers... but yes, nearly anything is better than listening to Crennel. I'm so glad those days are over.
I still don't like how he dodges questions and talks his way around what should be direct answers... but yes, nearly anything is better than listening to Crennel. I'm so glad those days are over.
Any examples??
Not that he doesn't do it, but one thing we have to remember, he is talking about his players.
If a guy has a bad game, it may be discussed in private, but it isn't going to be discussed in the open.
Just understand, many times the questions we or reporters may have are questions that can't be answered.
As the coach, you are still trying to motivate players and at minimum retain their respect by not throwing them under a bus the first time they make a mistake or are clearly over matched.
Even the players who weren't in that boat this week don't appreciate that.
I think Mangini is straight forward, is well prepared, and doesn't crumble.
I think any evasiveness in his answers is simply a signal the question is on that won't be answered and the reporter needs to move on...especially when it is one asking for direct comment on this player or that player.
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I was encouraged by the first half. I honestly expected the entire game to look like the second half.
What I hope to see this season is growth.... and growing excitement as the season progresses.
I was encouraged by the first half. I honestly expected the entire game to look like the second half.
What I hope to see this season is growth.... and growing excitement as the season progresses.
Even if we lose, it would be nice to see a consistent 4 quarters of football. I think until we can show an even effort for a game, we aren't
going to see any appreciable progress. I watched 2 underdogs play their heart & soul out last nite only to watch their efforts get wasted
because they lost focus. No offense to anyone especially 'kshutchins' but enuff of this prck teasing.
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Look, guys. We're not a Super Bowl contender that just lost a game they should have won.
We are a team that just had a major overhaul in personnel, and the guys in charge are still trying to work with who's there and figure out who the keepers are.
My point is that Mangini's answers show his focus is in the right area: getting better and eliminating the unnecessary mistakes. He still wants to win, too, just like we all do. But he knows, and we should know, too, that this organization isn't going anywhere until he takes care of the details first.
Oh, and whoever asked that question about the QB change should lose his/her press credential. Are you insane? Do you realize what pulling a guy after one game is going to do to his psyche, the backup's psyche, and the team's psyche? No one will have any confidence in anything they do and the QBs will constantly be tentative and/or pressing to do too much. Unreal.
Also, I was pleasantly surprised at the way Jamal ran the ball Sunday. If he keeps that up and Quinn continues to develop we'll be okay.
Minnesota is actually better than I thought they were, especially on defense. Their back seven is sick. They could conceivably win thirteen games as long as Childress realizes who his meal ticket is on offense.
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(On if he is thinking about changing quarterbacks after the first game)- “What I am looking for is what I’m looking for from the group, is for him to be able to identify those areas that need to be improved. Going out, working on it and seeing that improvement. Anytime you have younger players, there are going to be some things that you have to work through and keep improving. The same thing is true with Alex Mack. There were some really good things in the game and some things that we are going to get corrected but he will grow. Brady will continue to grow. The important thing is their growth will be dictated by how well they continue to work. I expect both of those guys to work extremely hard at it.”
hmmmmm, didn't answer the question.....
you betcha he's thinking about it.
hmmmmm, didn't answer the question.....
you betcha he's thinking about it.
Sorry lums try again...
Heres your answer..
Despite the loss and at times shaky performance by Quinn, Mangini said he hasn't even thought about replacing him with Derek Anderson the way Romeo Crennel did with Charlie Frye midway through the 2007 opener against Pittsburgh.
"No, no," said Mangini. "What I'm looking for is for [Quinn] to be able to identify those areas that need to be improved and then going out, working on it and seeing that improvement. Anytime you have younger players, there are going to be some things you have to work through and keep improving.
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@inspecta said:
Yeah Mangini had this huge long drawn out QB battle at the end of which he decides Quinn is the starter, he's then going to, after ONLY 1 GAME flip flop on that decision go back to Anderson?yeah that would never happen.......
hey have you ever heard of a guy named Charlie Frye?
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Wow. What a great read. This guy is articulate as hell. Refreshing is not strong enough a word for this.
What really strikes me is his focus on accountability, across the board, INCLUDING for himself and the coaches, the focus on learning from mistakes and using it to get better. The stuff about being honest on the sideline is just fantastic, about not assigning blame but just focusing on getting better, about fixing the issue. GREAT stuff.
If he's really practicing that and the players see it and see the results, he WILL be successful if given the time and the right people. He's doing a lot of the right things in terms of leadership, in terms of how he is setting stuff up.
Anyone who has ever done any actual organization-building, whether small or large scale, should recognize the method to his madness, the way he does things and the way he talks about things. The guy really does seem to get it. The question now is: can he teach it?
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@inspecta said:
Yeah Mangini had this huge long drawn out QB battle at the end of which he decides Quinn is the starter, he's then going to, after ONLY 1 GAME flip flop on that decision go back to Anderson?yeah that would never happen.......
hey have you ever heard of a guy named Charlie Frye?
yeah that would never happen.......
hey have you ever heard of a guy named Charlie Frye?
Wow you're here posting after a Browns loss. I'm honestly shocked!! Usually when the Browns lose and the starting QB plays poorly you're off somewhere hiding, nowhere to be found. You've never faced the music after a poor performance by Derek, yet here you are all day everyday after a Browns loss. I wonder why you never had the stones to sack up and explain Dereks piss poor performances.
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I don't think I've ever seen Lumbergh or osusev this 'cheerful' after a Browns loss.
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He was god at giving interviews of this caliber even when he was with the Jets.
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Listening to Pluto's podcast...
- He feels the 2-minute drill was killed by penalties more than anything else. Braylon, Thomas, Davis, and St. Clair x 2. It totally kills the concept of keeping the D on their heals. He says Mangini was "clearly fuming" about these penalties during the presser.
- Says we need the WR's more involved.
- Quinn's numbers seem about right for this type of start against Minnesota. Didn't like the silly fumble. B - grade.
- Says we'll really know about Quinn after week 4 since its a nice mix of games
- Would like to see Cribbs throw or run the option out of the WildDawg formation. Otherwise, teams will quickly hone in between the guard and the tackle
- Denver's D and Minnesota's D aren't even in the same league and our O-line should de very well this week.
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