Mangini Talks Browns First Win of 2009 at Morning Press Conference

(Opening statement)- “Good afternoon everybody. How are we doing? I didn’t have the players come in today. The guys have been working really hard here and I thought after getting the first win, it would be a good opportunity to just give them a little extra time. They’re still coming in and lifting and doing those things. It was a good opportunity for them to get reloaded a little bit going into the week we have ahead of us.

“Watching the tape, [there are] definitely things that we need to fix, but there are a lot things that I really liked. I liked the way that we were running the ball. I liked a lot of the things that we did defensively. We made some strides here, the last couple weeks, with the third down conversions, especially defensively. I think the special teams this week and last week, they’ve really been playing good football and setting up a lot of opportunities for us and helping up play complementary football. There were a lot of guy contributing to that and it’s something that we need to continue to do. The penalties, I’m pleased with that. We’ve made some progress there. I think we’re eighth in the league now in penalties committed, which is important and stressed. It’s something we focus on at practice and making some strides there as well. That’s what we’re going to need to do, is be able to win the turnover margin, be able to play smart football and not commit a lot of penalties that are really unforced errors, and then improve the things that we need to improve. There is a lot stuff we need to improve, but I like the way that we’re playing. I think we’re making strides understanding how we have to play each week in order to win.”

(On the official number of dropped passes against Buffalo)- “I’m sure not what the official number was league-wide. It just depended on who you talk to, (Brian) Daboll or George (McDonald) or whoever it is, but it’s way too high.”

(On if the number of drops had to do with the wind)- “I think wind played a part in it. I think some of the throws could have been better. I think some of them were just a function of not looking the ball into the tuck, trying to run. I think that was a couple times, where guys were more worried about what was going to happen after the catch, instead of securing the catch. There were some throws that were right on target, we had great opportunities for and we didn’t bring it in. We looked back before we put it in and it’s just not going to work. We’re going to wear that JUGS machine, going to get a billion balls there. They’re going to get a lot of balls from D.A. (Derek Anderson). We’re going to conscientiously continue to improve there and we have to do it because you can’t leave those opportunities on the field.”

(On if Derek Anderson was putting more on his throws because of the wind)- “He has a pretty strong arm. I don’t know if it was more or less. There were touch balls that we should have looked in.”

(On how Anderson looked to him)- “I thought the throw that we had to the tight end there [was a] beautiful throw, should have been able to bring that one in. There were other throws that were right on target. We need to continue to work on getting the ball up, so we don’t get batted balls. O-line, we need to continue to work on understanding when it’s going to be a lower throw, to try to get the defensive linemen’s hands down. That’s something we can improve on from that perspective. I thought the protection overall was good. [There was] one sack, and that was when he was going out there on that late drive and he kind of ran out of bounds. That’s a team that was fifth in the league in sacks, or whatever it was. I think there’s a lot of stuff we can improve.”

(On how much of Robert Royal’s problems can be attributed to his finger)- “It’s not pretty at all. Robert cares deeply about what he’s doing. It affects him. He never wants to let his teammates down. He never wants to be in that position. He deeply cares about everything that we do. I know that he’s probably going through a process of working on what he has to work on, and we’ll do that with him. The finger I don’t think helps, but he wants to be out there. He wants to play. He wants to contribute and when those opportunities come up, he wants to convert. He’ll work on doing everything he can to make sure that he does the next time he has a chance to.”

(On if Royal used his finger as an excuse)- “No, Robert would never do that. That’s not how he is. With him, he feels like he should catch every ball. He’s very hard on himself from that perspective, in a good way. He wants to do things the right way all the time. He wants to always be a part of the solution.”

(On how much you can change a player’s ability to catch the ball)- “I’ve seen him catch a lot of difficult balls. I’ve seen him adjust well to balls. I’ve seen it. I’ve seen it both as his coach and as an opponent playing against him, where he’s caught balls. He does have the finger. We’ll keep working on it and he’s going to keep working on it.”

(On if he will change quarterbacks)- “D.A. (Derek Anderson) will continue to start.”

(On if there is a correlation between Alex Mack’s play and the improved running game)- “Over the last few weeks, I think Alex has really made a lot of stride. There are multiple plays on tape where he’s getting good drive at the point of attack, whether it’s him alone or whether it’s him as part of a double team. He does a nice job down the field. Sometimes it’s pulling on some of those outside runs and sometimes he’s on the backside of that and he’s not going to be a puller, the way that he’s able to cut off linebackers. He plays with a high motor. He’s pretty good at lining the target up and finishing the block. It’s nice to see his progress each week. I think it is a function of, as he’s played more, not just things have slowed down, but he’s slowed down a little bit. There were times early where, right idea, right place, just a little too quick getting there, a little too quick if you want to execute the assignment. I think he has a better sense now not just where he has to fit, but how he has to fit and at what tempo the fit needs to be at.”

(On what he would tell his team if he were in a situation like at the end of the third quarter again)- “Snap it and go. I think that it was so different than anything anybody had anticipated, [there was] almost the assumption that the official had stopped things. That was one of those where, if you get that, go. Lock up the one guy, it was one or two guys, but go.”

(On if he was yelling instructions to his team)- “Yes, I was and I think 50,000 other people were screaming. I hope to get another one of those, but I don’t know if we will.”

(On if he ever had a situation like the one at the end of the third quarter before)- “Not quite like that.”

(On the reports about James Davis’ injury)- “I can tell you, Jeff (Schudel), that I’ve talked to the league about it, will continue talking to the league about it, and I feel comfortable with where we are on it. I like James Davis a lot. The last thing I’d want to do is ever put him in a position, or anybody in a position, where they could get hurt. I talked to a lot of people involved in it. Like I said, we’re going to keep working with the league on it. I feel comfortable with where we’re at.”

(On if it is true that Davis did not have pads on and the linebacker did)- “Like I said, I talked to the league about it and we’ll keep going through it. In terms of the research I’ve done, I feel really comfortable with where we’re at.”

(On if Davis is having surgery this week)- “Being on IR, we’re going to have to have surgery at some point. You set those up at different intervals. It depends on where the doctors are on that. In terms of the actual day, I’ll get that from Joe (Sheehan) and from Dr. Figler.”

(On a Browns spokesman saying the incident is not true)- “Like I said, I feel really good about where we’re at. [We are] continuing to talk to the league on it. Talking with different people involved, I feel comfortable with where we are.”

(On if an incident like what is reported did happen, would it be a mistake by the players involved instead of the something the team encouraged)- “Yes, we would never do that. If something like that happened, it shouldn’t ever happen.”

(On if he is outside during the opportunity period)- “We have multiple ones going on at the same time. Sometimes I stay out there. Sometimes I don’t, depending on what I have to do post-practice. Usually the o-line works with the d-line, receivers work with DBs, running backs work with the linebackers. Sometimes it’s just special teams, where all the special teams’ guys will just be with Brad (Seely). It could be punt, punt return. Sometimes it’s kickoff return. You may just be using front guys. It’s all different areas, where we’re trying to help guys get better at skill sets, give them some concentrated attention, because those practice squad guys don’t really get a lot of chances to do the things that we’re doing. It’s the same thing with some of the younger guys. They may get chances, they may not get chances, but you want to keep developing them so that they don’t lose the season, they don’t lose each one of those days. We’ll meet with them too. I’ve been part of this everywhere I’ve been. David Givens was a guy that went through it. Tom, his first year, was always part of opportunity, Tom Brady. That’s when I used to win dollars from Brad Seely, when he’d have the receivers, I’d have the DBs. Right on down the line, Wallace Wright, Mike DeVito. Usually the rookies stay out. The young guys stay out. Often times, other guys will stay out if they want to. Bryan Thomas used to stay out quite a bit for that, to get some extra work on things that he wanted to work on. It’s not limited to those guys, other people are welcome too, but it’s nice because it gives them really focused attention on the things that we’re doing with the coaches, separate from the normal game plan. It’s designed to help them have the best chance to bump up.”

(On how you keep players from hurting others when they are trying to impress the coaches)- “It’s always a controlled environment. There are coaches there for that reason. It’s a teaching period. It’s a skill period. That’s really what it is.”

(On if the coaches get excited for the game against Pittsburgh)- “Going through the week last week, everything was Buffalo all the time. You clean up the tape here this morning, summarize the game, look at the things that we need to improve. Everybody’s transitioning to Pittsburgh now. I think everybody appreciates the rivalry with the Steelers, the history with the Steelers, the intensity of emotion, the feeling. It’s exciting. It’s always exciting to be able to play conference games, and then to be able to play conference games against a team that you have such a strong history with. It’s such a strong passion between the two cities.”

(On why a rumor like the James Davis incident would be started)- “There’s always different information that’s out there. I have no idea.”

(On where he saw progress against Buffalo)- “As I said last Monday, [I was] disappointed in the outcome, but wasn’t disappointed with anybody that was in the room. We fought through five quarters against a very good football team, and came up short with seven seconds left. Now to come into this game, and to play the game the way it was and have it come down to the last minute of the game again, last minute of regulation as opposed to overtime again, we were able to finish. We were able to get the win. There are no style points for winning or for losing. That’s always the end goal. We’re going to always try to do it in whatever way we can. Yesterday was running the ball a lot and being able to play good defense and complementary special teams, a lot of field position, the wind played a factor. The end goal is to win and however that comes, it’s a good thing. It’s a positive thing.”

(On if he thinks the team played well in all areas against Buffalo)- “I thought there were a lot of good things yesterday. We want to be able to throw the ball more effectively, that’s obvious. Penalties were down, three for the game. We were able to protect the quarterback well. We were able to run the football well. I thought we played good defense. There were some moments here and there where we could have played better. We were able to turn the ball over. I don’t know how many times we had it inside the five after we punted. We held one of the best punt returners in the league to very limited yards. We did some nice things in the return game, maybe not as dynamic as the week before, but still were able to generate yardage there. There were a lot of places where there were good things. We had some new players working in.”

(On if he thought Cincinnati’s field goal in overtime was good)- “It was good. They put their hands up and it was good. That’s not going to change. Would I have liked them not to put their hands up? Yes, that would have been much better. Whatever happens, you just have to deal with it and move on.”

(On if Robert Royal will have finger surgery after the season)- “We’ll evaluate it all after the season.”

(On Hank Fraley, Rex Hadnot and Floyd Womack at right guard)- “I like the idea of having them all available. There will be some times, too, where we may play with another offensive lineman in there. I’ve done that before. Other teams have done it against us, where you make that guy eligible, put him in. The ability to have guys that can play multiple spots, I think is great. I’m looking forward to them all being healthy and ready to go and just seeing how it shakes out week in and week out. We could adjust, because they do all have that flexibility.”

(On if he has been pleased with Fraley at right guard)- “Yes, and what I like about Hank too is, he can play right guard, he can play center, he can play left guard. He does a nice job communicating with the group. I think he does a good job with Alex (Mack), helping him along. I’m sure that’s comforting to Alex. Not that the other guys aren’t good communicators, but playing that position, Hank can give some insight. Rex has played there as well, so I’m sure he could help as well.”

(On Mike Adams)- “Mike went through the week and we weren’t really sure exactly how it was going to go. He had a chance to play and I thought he played well. I thought a couple of the plays he made on teams were outstanding. He’s getting more and more comfortable playing inside. He played against Cincinnati some outside. He’s played safety. That flexibility helps us a lot. He’s made some really important plays in each of the games.”

(On if he gives out game balls and who they went to this week)- “Yes. I’ll let you guys know Wednesday after we tell the players, just to tell them first.”

(On what he will do with the game ball the team gave him)- “It was great because the players awarded that. It’ll be a nice thing for a long time. That’ll go either in the house or in the office. I have to keep the boys away from it. They’ve played with some game balls in the past. You get home and you’re like, ‘What are you doing? That’s from the Super Bowl.’ To them it’s just another toy. ‘No, leave that on the shelf.’”

(On how he gives game balls out)- “We’ve done it for the entire team. We’ve done it for units. We’ve done it for two guys on one side of the ball. All different combinations just based on what we think after we meet as a coaching staff and think it through.”

(On if he watched Josh McDaniels during his win last night)- “I’m sure it felt great for him and I’m excited for him. Before we played them, I said I liked the things that he had done in the offseason. He took a lot of heat for it, but I think it’s paid off. He’s a good coach. He’s a smart guy. I think he’ll be successful for a long time. I didn’t see any of the game. I actually didn’t even see the highlights, but I did hear that his enthusiasm was apparent.”

(On Ahtyba Rubin at nose tackle and Shaun Rogers outside)- “That combination has been in there almost every game, where Shaun’s worked some outside and Rubin’s worked inside. I think Rubin, he’s played well when he’s been in there. It’s getting better too. He’s getting a better understanding of how to play the blocks and where they’re going to come from. Some teams are quicker speed teams, how he has to play those types of blocks, because it’s very different for a big man playing that speed stuff then it is the direct stuff. He’s been consistent when we’ve called on him.”

(On how D’Qwell Jackson played against Buffalo)- “He had a good game as well. With him, that was another guy, I wasn’t quite sure how it was going to go. It was clear towards the end of the week, talking to him, working with the trainers, going through that whole process. I thought he played outstanding. There were some plays, too, that he made in space that were excellent. Fast flow plays, that play on the sideline, that third down that kept them down there, forced them to punt. Some things where he came back when the back cut back, beat the linemen that was allocated to him, made the play. I thought he was outstanding.”