Cleveland Browns: Eric Mangini's Wednesday press conference
by The Plain Dealer
Wednesday May 27, 2009, 7:05 PM
Plain Dealer
Eric Mangini talked about all thngs Browns after Wednesday's voluntary minicamp.
This is the transcript of Eric Mangini's press conference on Wednesday, May 27.
Opening statement - Good morning. Welcome back, I hope you guys had a good weekend. We had our fourth day of practice and the way the cycle is set up, yesterday was essentially a review day. There wasn't a lot in terms of scheme going in. It was more a summary of the first three days.
The fourth day, you review that information and then today we start our second cycle of installs. Following the same pattern first and second down, then primarily third down, with an element of review from day one and then move into the red area and goal line on the third day.
A couple of things we did do that were new situations yesterday was to work on our no huddle offense.
By virtue of working on that, you're working on no huddle defense and also two-minute offense, two-minute defense, and try to create those as realistically as we possible can.
We have a list of hundreds and hundreds of two minute situations that have come up historically throughout NFL games. It could be "The Drive," it could be any of those things and we put our team in that situation. We see how we do and teach off of that and are able to look at what actually happened in the drive that took place in an NFL game and compare the two.
Share some of the teaching tools from the game versus what we did or some of the things that we may have done better but use that as a context. It's not just something that we came up with in the office, it has actually happened in games. It has taken place, now how are we going to respond with that.
The significance of two minute [drills] to me, is tremendous. I got that appreciation from Ted Marchibroda. He was impressive the year that I spent with him in Baltimore. The way that he practiced it, the systematic way that he coached and taught it, and a significant amount of our games are going to come down to that this year. Just like a significant amount of all NFL games come down to that throughout the course of the year.
The other thing I will say about progress is, it may not be huge jumps every day but we are looking for progress in whatever shape it shows up. It could be the way that we go through the bags, it could be the way that we watch tape, it could be the way the coaches install, it could be the fluidness of the drills, it could be an individual drill, but the important thing is progress every day.
I ask the players to go out and have one or two things individually that they are going to try to improve. I am going improve my footwork or I am going to improve my hand placement. What is your plan to do that at practice? Maybe it's more of a concentrated effort on the shield drills or really focusing on that in the run drills.
Whatever it is there's a plan behind it and then when they go home at night or the end of the day, assess whether or not it works. Did it work? Did what you set out to do with a plan that you set out to do it, work? If it did, then you keep following that plan and move on to something else.
If it didn't reassess, reevaluate and use a different plan. As a group we talk about the concept of practicing with a purpose and not confusing effort with results. We can go out and run around and all be really tired thinking we got something done but maybe we didn't.
You have to go out and practice with a purpose. If we are going to get better at no huddle today then collectively we are going to get better that that. That's our purpose, that's what we are going to achieve.
The same thing with two minute, it's the individual improvement, it's the group improvement, it's the concept of progress each day, however small, knowing that we have gone home and we have gotten better individually and collectively and it takes a lot of honesty.
You have to look at yourself and say, 'Did I do this?' if you are lying to yourself, you are really not going to get better. If you have that honesty then you are going to improve.
On if he was referring to John Elway's drive and what he would have done differently - Yeah (it was "The Drive"). I wasn't there, but we practiced it and we see how we do. In any two minute drive, and the reason that's one of my favorite parts of practice, because I don't know what's going to happen.
You put the time up on the clock, the situation, score and timeouts and the officials run it and the coaches run it. Whatever happens, happens. You see how everybody reacts, and you see what tendencies are, and you see how well you understand the context that you are operating in.
It's great, you can script a ton of stuff, but the things that come up there, you can't script it, but you can definitely coach it."
On if he did famous two minute drills in New York - Yeah, I did it in New York, tried to spend as much time as we could on it. It's just so critical and often times it doesn't matter what you did in the first 58 minutes, it comes down to those last two minutes.
You are dead tired, your focus is, you are working through the fatigue, you are working through the pressure of the situation, you are working through the noise, sometimes it's the elements. You have to try to create as realistic environment as possible.
On if it was necessary to bring in a defensive back in Rod Hood - It's ongoing for us so it could be street free agents, guys that are still out there, it could be guys that get released from other teams, it could be any number of combination and it will be on going.
What we will always try to do is improve the depth that we have and the competition that we have. I thought that Rod would do that for us. He has played different roles, he has played inside, he has played outside, he started games, and he has been productive so that competition and depth at cornerback is positive. It's not just that area, we will do it anywhere we can.
On the right side of the offensive line and Ryan Tucker's health - Ryan has done a good job for us and he has worked both at guard and tackle. As we talked about last week, there have been a lot of different combinations of people.
Floyd (Womack) has worked there, John St. Clair has worked there. We have had a lot of different guys and combinations and that will continue and it will work all through those spots on the offensive line to see not only who are best five are, but who our best group is and what kind of versatility we have. When we get to the 45 (man roster) and we may have an injury, who can we plug in where and how well do they know it."
On if the right side of the offensive line was shaky last season - I think the effectiveness of the offensive line is tied into the effectiveness of the running backs. The tight ends play a big part of the running game; they play a big part of the protections, and the fullbacks too.
I never look at it as just one group, I look at it as the unit and how well they function together. Play action passes are going to work better if the offensive line's pad level is low, if the back makes a good fake, if the quarterback sells it, if the wide receivers run sharp routes. It's often times easier to just sort of pin it on one group but it's never the case, it's everybody doing their job.
On if Josh Cribbs and Phil Dawson are at camp today - Cribbs is here, Dawson is not here.
On what Eric Barton brings - Eric is incredibly smart and not just in terms of his ability to pick up the information. He absorbs the installs very quickly but his ability to process information on the field. He can see a formation, anticipate the adjustment, he can see a formation and anticipate the play. He is a good communicator. He has good toughness, but I've always respected his natural intelligence and his football intelligence.
On how important Barton is in the locker room - "I think that any of the players that have some familiarity can add value because they can help accelerate the learning process in terms of expectations, in terms of the system and the quicker that we can all move forward and everybody understands exactly what's expected, what we are looking for, the quicker you make progress.
On the plan for Cribbs - This is really his second day working with the group so we will stay on offense and then we will figure out defensively when he can get some reps, how we want to sort that out. I am looking at it more as kind of carve out a role there, get a niche there and move to the next step and figure it out as we go.
On if Dawson isn't here because of a contract situation - It's a voluntary mini-camp. As I've said with all of these guys and everybody has the ability to choose whether or not they want to be here. I can say again that there's a lot of learning going on, a lot of good things going on.
We are moving forward with all of the stuff we are doing on special teams. I think that Parker Douglass did a nice job taking advantage of his opportunities; he hit a 52-yarder the other day. He hit a game-winner in two minute yesterday. It's a nice chance for him to show the ability that he has. He has done well with the chances that he has been given.
On Cribbs' offensive role - I envision it to be whatever he decides it should be. Just like all of these players, you don't go in saying, 'he is just going to be in this group of play.' I never look at it with limits or walls. I look at it more as potential and the player defines how potentially big the role is.
On why Cribbs hasn't been a productive wide receiver - It's not really looking back and figuring out why he hasn't done it, it's more looking forward and seeing how he can do it.
On why Cribbs could be a good wide receiver - Again, it's going to be defined by him. That's true for Mohamed (Massaquoi), (Brian) Robiskie, (David) Patten or Braylon (Edwards) or whoever you want to choose.
What their production is going to be is really determined by how well they work, how well they learn the system. What kind of role they carve out, how well they block. It's hard to say what it's going to be but it's important to explore all of the things it could be.
On Corey Williams having a better season - The importance is just embracing the technique, understanding the system the best you can, and really working at it day in and day out. To me, whether its 4-3 or 3-4, there are certain things that you have to do and if you do those things you are going to get better at them.
I have seen a lot of guys, almost every guy we get from college has no 3-4 experiences - inside linebacker, outside linebacker, defensive lineman, but it's a skill that can be improved. Whether it's Richard Seymour, Vince Wilfork, Kris Jenkins, Shaun Rogers, all of those guys transition and do a really good job with the transition without a lot of basis to start off with.
On how good Corey Williams can be - Again it's potential that is defined by the player.
On if his 3-4 is similar to the 3-4 ran last year in Cleveland - I think there will definitely be similarities to it. The beauty of the 3-4 is its flexibility. Often times you think of the 3-4 and you think of what it means, three down lineman and four linebackers without space in the dark uncovered. So many people play different ways.
Pittsburgh's version is very different. Baltimore's version is different then Pittsburgh's. Dallas is different from both of theirs. New England's, ours, they are all 3-4's, but you have balanced amount of people on either side.
You've got a balanced secondary, you've got a balanced front, and how you want to redistribute those players is up to each coordinator and everybody approaches that in a unique way.
The beauty of it is any one of those linebackers can become a fourth down lineman. It could be the outside guy on the right, the outside guy on the left, either of the two interior guys. You can create a lot of different fronts by just moving one piece and get the 4-3 type concepts.
On what he told Donte' Stallworth - That's important right now. It's a legal process and to make sure that those things are taken care of. That's what we want him to focus on.
On if he expects to have Stallworth this season - As we talked about there's legal process, there's league related process and all of those things have to play out and that's what is happening now.
On if he has talked to Phil Dawson - Yeah, I have met with him like I met with all the players and talked to him at different points, whether it's seeing him downstairs or whatever the case maybe."
On if the players knew they were running "The Drive" - I haven't shown that one on tape yet. The TV copy. That was one example in a context of hundreds, I don't want to over play that, it was just one example in a group of hundreds and hundreds of two-minute drives that we have.
On Braylon Edwards' skill set - He was always unique when we played him. He caught; I don't know how many touchdowns against us, fourth down conversation on the sideline over (Darrelle) Revis' head. He was always unique every time I have faced him.
On what challenges Edwards presents for defenses - He is big, he is physical, he can leap, he can make some very acrobatic one handed catches that some guys can't make. Just shear size alone often creates mismatches with defensive backs and when you combine that with athleticism, that's hard to deal with.
On if Brady Quinn is still working with the first group - Yeah, I should probably clean that up. That was just the starting rep of the starting day. There's no greater significance to that. They have exactly the same amount of reps in practice.
That was the first practice, the first rep of the first day and then it has been a rotation. There's no greater message, meaning or anything. It's just who had to go take those initial snaps.
On where the quarterback rotation is today - I don't know where we are. He (Quinn) will probably get it because it's the fourth day. Tomorrow it will be Derek.
On Barton's run defense - I'd say his forte is getting all 11 guys going in the right direction and making sure they are in the right sports. That has huge value whether it's run or pass. To me, the reason we improved our run defense last year (in New York) was we got better with our technique, we got better with our fits and we got better with the coordination. That will be the case in anything we do here is, how well can the group do it? The same thing with like the running game offensively, some of those six-yard runs could be 40-yard runs, if the receivers do a nice job of blocking on the perimeter, otherwise it just becomes a nice gain instead of an outstanding one.
Transcript courtesy of the Cleveland Browns
http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2009/05/cleveland_browns_eric_manginis.html
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