Mangini Talks to Media for Final Time Before Bengals Game

(Opening statement)- “Yesterday, I thought we had a good practice. I thought that offensively, we did some really good things on third down, recognizing the different blitz looks, being able to adjust the routes the blitz looks, getting the ball there. I thought D.A. (Derek Anderson) did a nice job with the throws that he had. I’m just pleased with the progress we’ve made there. Defensively, continue to really work at what we need to get done on third down. This is a really talented team in what they’re able to do, whether it’s in their three wide receiver, one tight end set or four wide receiver with just a running back set. They have talented skill makers and, obviously, a quarterback that can get the ball to any spot on the field and also make some plays with his feet. That’s the challenge there, and understanding how we need to address that challenge. Obviously watching Chad Ochocinco, and the things that he can do, and L.C. (Laveranues Coles), who I’ve known for a long time, they definitely present some problems.”

(On what Derek Anderson needs to do to get back to where he was in 2007)- “What we’re looking at is really this week, as opposed to that bigger picture scenario. I appreciate that, but we’re looking at this week and the things we need to do this week. I think that yesterday he did a really nice job. I liked some of the things that we did on Wednesday as well. It’s a function of being comfortable, understanding what we have to do and then being able to execute that.”

(On if the league caught up with Anderson last year and if he needs to make adjustments)- “I’m sure there were a lot of things that contributed to where the team was at that point. Again, without knowing all the things he was asked to do, with the different reads, the different game plans, things like that, it’s hard to give an accurate assessment on that. I really have to base it off of what we’re trying to accomplish and what he does within that system.”

(On how to get a quarterback to cut down on interceptions)- “That’s a great question. I’ve been around that before. It’s important to just understand when to take the calculated risk and when to just throw it away and go to the next play. You never want to take away a quarterback’s ability to make a decision based on what he sees. What you always want to do is make him conscious of knowing the difference between okay, this is a good risk and this risk is really high percentage for what the reward’s going to be.”

(On who the backup defensive ends would be if Kenyon Coleman and Corey Williams can’t play)- “C.J.’s (Mosley) played quite a bit. Big Baby’s (Shaun Rogers) played out at defensive end as well. I feel good about where Kenyon and Corey are in their progress throughout the course of the week. You have to go through Friday and Saturday to see exactly where they are, but both those guys have worked outside.”

(On how he evaluates play calling after a game)- “You look at it in conjunction to where you are in the situation in the game. What the score is, what we expected versus what we got. What we were able to do, in terms of when they give you something that’s a little bit different, the ability to adjust off of that. We try to analyze all those things. Brian (Daboll) looks at all those things. The offensive staff looks at all those things. I look at it with them as well. We’re always trying to assess and improve.”

(On how the play calling has been)- “I think Brian (Daboll) has done a good job. I think there are, obviously, things that he can do better. He is the type of guy that will go back through, analyze it and make adjustments. He’s very smart. He’s experienced on the offensive side of the ball. He’s experienced on the defensive side of the ball. I think it’ll continue to improve as he goes.”

(On if Anderson needs to make a mechanical or mental change to avoid locking in on a receiver)- “I think it’s similar to the secondary having to disguise the coverage. What you want to do is be able to anticipate where the route’s going to be. In doing that, if you know you’re going left, being able to bring the coverage over to the right, with your eyes, initially. Some guys will do it for a long time, like Brett (Favre), would be a guy that would stare over here and just whip it back over here. It had been successful for him. Other guys will be a smaller look off, where they might just hold the secondary just for a second, which is often times what you need to do to come back to where you’re going. Some guys will telegraph it a little bit more, but they are made aware of it and they work on it. It’s a range of different guys.”

(On Braylon Edwards’ route running)- “As you drop back as a quarterback and as you run an offense, the quarterback needs to be in the right spot, needs to hit it on time. The receiver needs to be in the right spot and needs to be at the right depth. You need to make the correct adjustment to the route based on are the rolled up, are they not rolled up, is it cover three, is it cover two. There’s a lot of communication that goes on pre-snap and there’s a lot of decisions that happen post-snap. I’m not sure what the breakdown of interceptions is historically from that perspective, but often times it’s not clear cut one or the other. The other thing that always helps is if there is a bad throw, the receiver saves it and guarantees that it doesn’t get picked off, whatever he has to do. The quarterback also has to come back and if it’s not there, make the right decision, either go to the check down or throw it away.”

(On if Edwards is doing what he needs to do on his route running)- “I think he’s done a lot of good things with his route running. I think that the precision of his routes have improved as he’s continued to work at it, but you go through any game and there are multiple corrections for each guy. That’s typical. Things sometimes don’t look like they normally do or you have to adjust it, some of it’s feel. It takes both parties to make good decisions, post-snap, as to where to go with the ball.”

(On Carson Palmer having more yards in the second half against Pittsburgh than in the first)- “I think it happens, sometimes, quite a bit. I saw a New England game against Buffalo early in the season where not much was happening and then things kind of broke. I’ve been a part of that on both sides, where it’s not quite working the way that you hoped it would. You keep adjusting, you keep reacting, you keep at it and it starts to break. Peyton Manning has done that, I don’t know how many times, where it’s not really going that well, then he gets hot and starts to roll. Guys like that are dangerous because at any point they can get hot like that and you have to try to disrupt it and bring it back in.”

(On if Palmer’s long drives against Pittsburgh reminded him of elite quarterbacks)- “I think he’s played at a high level for a long time. I’ve faced him different times and he’s been able to get some throws in that are impressive, whether they’re deep come backs, seven cuts, posts. He has an excellent arm. He has good feet. He can create some things in the pocket. He presents a lot of problems that that group of quarterbacks present. It’s a little different the way he gets to it, but he can present the same problems.”

(On how different Palmer is than elite quarterbacks)- “He’s a pretty mobile guy, so he can create some things with his feet, where some other guys may be traditionally stationary guys. They’re still creating it, it’s the same result, it’s just how you get there.”

(On what he is trying to achieve)- “It’s a process of building the organization for the long term and getting better in each phase organizationally for the long term, whether it’s coaching, whether it’s player acquisition, whether it’s salary cap, whether it’s operations, video. There are all different components that go to building a successful organization. Those are all things that you keep working at, the composition of the team, all those things. Doing it in New York, you keep working and improving and evaluating. It takes time and you have to be consistent with it. You have to work at it every day. As you do, you continually get better. I saw it in New England as well. You work at it, you work at it, you work at it and you’re consistent with it and committed to it and good things happen.”

(On if the team could take a short cut to success)- “I think that, traditionally, taking short cuts usually don’t result in long term success. I think all of our parents tell us that all of the time and we tell our kids that. You have to work at it. You have to be committed to it. There’s going to be difficult times and challenges that you have to overcome, but you work through it, you keep at it and good things happen.”

(On if he has noticed any added resolve from the team this week)- “I think everybody has resolve, and everybody’s committed to doing the things that we need to do to win. I’ve seen that throughout the process and it’s doing it every single day and making good decisions every single day and everybody doing that each day. It takes absolute team commitment to do that. It’s important.”

(On if he has a philosophy on taking players with character issues)- “We do have things that we look for in all of our players. That’s the core characteristics. That’s what guides us, smart guys, tough guys, hard working guys, guys that are selfless and guys that football’s important to. Those things are important and they’re real. It’s something we’re committed to. People make mistakes at different points and you have to look at the mistake in the context of their whole body of work. I’m never opposed to giving someone a second chance. It’s just analyzing the whole person.”

(On what Brandon McDonald needs to do to get better)- “Brandon’s a very competitive guy and I like the way that he works at things. There are some things, technique wise, that he needs to really do better. He and I have talked about that individually and he’s committed to doing those things. The important thing for him is to keep evaluating where he can improve, and then going out each day and working on those areas and turning it into muscle memory and turning it into immediate response. I anticipate he’ll do that.”

(On if it looks like Jamal Lewis won’t play)- “We’ll see. I think there’s a chance for all the guys. It’s just hard to say. You want to go to the end to make sure you give them the best opportunity. I think there’s a chance for all of them.”

(On if it looks like Phil Dawson won’t play)- “Yes, I’d say the same thing for Phil. Each one of them is at a little bit different spot. I’m not sure.”

(On if he has met with Randy Lerner about how the team is performing)- “Randy’s been great. He’s committed to the things that we’re equally committed to. When Bill (Belichick) first got to New England, there were some tough times there. It was tough at the beginning of the next year, but I know how we approached it. I know the way that we worked and I know the way that the group worked. It took time, when it hit, it hit. Throughout that whole process you’re improving the team, you’re improving as coaches, you’re improving the organization. Experiencing it from that perspective was unique. Experiencing it in New York was a little bit different, but the approach was the same. There are certain things that I learned from my experience from being here in ’95 and that season, and then transitioning to New York with (Bill) Parcells and the things that we did there and then transitioning to New England with Bill (Belichick) and the things that we did there. I feel I have a really good perspective on it and was lucky to be around those situations to understand the difficulties that you encounter and the importance of having a plan, having a vision, sticking to it and building both ways, short-term and long-term.”

(On if he takes satisfaction from the Jets being 3-0 and the shape he left the team in)- “I felt really good about where we were, in terms of where we started organizationally and where we got to, the players that were there, the players that were brought in, the way that they worked each day. I like to think that those habits carried over. I was proud of the people that we brought into that building, the things that we did and the way that we built organizationally.”

(On if it is fair to say that Rex Ryan stepped into a better situation than he did)- “What I can say is, I was really proud of things that we did there. It was a good group of guys there, good group of people there. I like the group of people that we have here too. Every situation is different, it’s how you respond to the situation and it’s how you approach each challenge that’s important. I’m sure he has challenges there, just like we have challenges here and it’s how you work at it and respond to it.”

(On if he has liked what he’s seen from Derek Anderson in the no huddle)- “We’ve worked on that in a couple different ways, some out of, sort of, the base offense, where you can run it down and down out. We’ve done, obviously, a lot of two minute work. His comfort level there seems to be very good. I could see that being something we’d go in and out of, just like we could with Brady (Quinn). I thought both those guys responded well to that.”