CLEVELAND BROWNS HEAD COACH ERIC MANGINI TRANSCRIPT
(Opening Statement)- “It’s a really disappointing performance across the board. I don’t think we played very well. I don’t think we coached very well. The main thing to me is the way that we played. I thought that we had been making a lot of progress in terms of the type of football that we play. The intensity with which we play, the way that we finish plays, things like that and that wasn’t there today. It has to be there every week. It has to be there very week, regardless of what challenges you face throughout the week, because there are going to be challenges every single week that we play. You have to be able to get to that same level when it comes to Sunday, and we weren’t there. I thought Green Bay played well and we had some opportunities that we didn’t take advantage of, not being able to score on the one yard line, giving up big plays defensively with missed tackles, you can’t do that. You can’t do it and expect to be successful. You can’t.”
(On where he thinks the team has improved so far this season)- “I thought we were making progress in a lot of areas. I don’t think we showed that today, at all. I think at different points we’ve run the ball well. I think at different points we’ve done some things defensively that I’ve really liked. The one thing I haven’t liked, that has been consistent, is the big plays. We can’t do that defensively and expect to be successful. We can’t. We have to tackle better in the secondary. We have to be in the right spots when we’re rushing the passer. The quarterback scrambles for a first down again today. You can’t do it.”
(On if he thought about putting Brady Quinn in the game)- “No I didn’t today, Jeff (Schudel).”
(On why he did not think about putting Quinn in the game)- “Because D.A. (Derek Anderson) was our starter and I felt comfortable with the things that we were doing. That was where my thought process was.”
(On if he will consider changing quarterbacks)- “I’m going to look at everything. I consistently try to do that. We have to improve in a lot of different areas. [We need to] be able to look at all those things and put together a better performance than we did today.”
(On what they can do on offense to make more big plays)- “We took some shots today that we didn’t connect on. We have to keep being able to take some of those shots down the field. You have to be able to do some other things consistently to draw up the coverage and take some opportunities there. The big plays that Green Bay had today, I’m not talking about where they just threw it down the field and it was a 90 yard completion, it was catch and run plays. It was missed tackles. It was things like that where a short play, the first touchdown was a short completion, eight yards. We don’t make the tackle and it goes a lot longer than that. You look at the one to (Donald) Driver, it was a short completion, about three yards. [We] don’t make the tackle. You have to be able to limit plays to what they’re supposed to be and be able to tackle down the field. If you don’t, it’s listed as 80, it’s where it was caught.”
(On missed tackles being by players who missed two days of practice)- “Believe me, there were a lot of things this week that were difficult and I understand that 100 percent. I really do, but we get this opportunity and we have to maximize the opportunity that we have. The game wasn’t going to change. The time wasn’t going to change. We have to be able to maximize the opportunities that we have. There were things that we had to adjust to, but there will be things as we go throughout the course of the season that we’ll have to adjust to. We have to do a better job of working through those things and being able to come out here on Sunday, our one opportunity to play, and play better and coach better.”
(On if he thinks there are more problems on offense than the quarterback)- “I think that we have areas where we can improve every single place on this team, and that’s what we’re going to focus on, is all those things. We get down to the one yard line, we need to be able to put it in with four tries. We need to be able to do that. We need to be able to kick the field goal without it going off the crossbar to go in. We need to be able to do that. We need to be able to operate efficiently in all those different areas.”
(On only using the Wildcat formation once)- “We had some other plays that were up and as the score transitioned the way it did, we ended up throwing a little bit more than we had probably talked about. It’s not one of those things that we didn’t have available. We just didn’t use it very much today.”
(On what he thinks the biggest problem in the red zone is offensively)- “I don’t know if I could pinpoint what the primary thing is. That’s something that you have to look at as a whole.”
(On the drive at the end of the first quarter)- “I think the fumbled exchange didn’t help us there. The third down play, I thought we had a shot on that. I’m trying to remember the play. It was, I think, a little hook up to (Mike) Furrey and the guy was kind of coming over his back.”
(On if the wide receivers are not seeing the game the same way Anderson is)- “I don’t think it’s that, Tony (Grossi). I really don’t think it’s that. I think again we had some chances, with Mohamed (Massaquoi), caught some shots. I though that Jerome (Harrison) made a nice play on the catch and run there that he had. I thought Michael Gaines made a great catch for being here for three days. I think it’s a combination of things. I’m going to look at it all.”
(On if there was a miscommunication on the pass to Brian Robiskie that was intercepted)- “I’m not totally sure. I’d have to look at that. I’m not sure. I don’t think it was a function of miscommunication. I don’t know if it was ball placement, I’m not totally sure.”
(On Robiskie and Anderson not seeming like they’re on the same page)- “There was nothing that I can look to during the course of the week where [it would make me think that was] the case, because if it was the case, we would have addressed that in our preparation. Again, I’d have to look at it.”
(On if it normal to take a step back after it seems like you are making progress)- “There are pains along the way when you’re trying to do the things that we’re trying to do. You want to be as successful in the short term as possible and you want to be as successful in the long term as possible. There are certain things that have to be consistent, and I really liked our style of play over the last three weeks. Are the results always what I wanted? No, but I like the style of play, the approach. That, to me, is the most important thing that we have to understand week-in and week-out and I don’t think that we did that here today.”
(On if the officials said why they didn’t review the touchdown late in the first half)- “No, they didn’t. It seemed like there was a lot of time for them to take a look at it and at that point we couldn’t challenge. I don’t know why.”
(On the style of play he is hoping to get from his players every week)- “Aggressive, intense, tough, physical, finishing, being able to respond to a successful play that our opponent has and come out and create a successful play ourselves, consistency, execution, communication. Good, solid, sound, fundamental, tough football. Physical football. Intense football. That’s what I want every week. That’s what I want every single week. We’ll make mistakes and there will be plays that aren’t executed as well as they should [be] or things that we can do better, but if you play at that level every single week, you give yourself the best chance to succeed.”
(On why he thinks the team is not playing the style of football he wants)- “I think it’s something that we’ve done really well over the last three weeks, and we’ve done well at points prior to that. The word, again, is consistent because you have to do it week-in and week-out. Like anything else, that’s a skill and you have to keep developing that skill and that ability to approach it the same way during the course of the week and then be able to execute it the same way, or play with that style the same way, each week. It’s not an easy thing to do, but it’s an important thing to do.”
(On what the loss of D’Qwell Jackson does to the defense)- “D’Qwell, that’s a hard guy to replace. I think he led the NFL in tackles last year, and he was doing a really good job for us this year. It’s a lot of experience. It’s a lot of reps. It’s a lot of work together with the rest of the defense. Kaluka (Maiava) went in and played part of the game in that role. David Bowens went in and played part of the game in that role. We have to find the best combination of those guys. It’s not easy to replace a guy like D’Qwell. He’s a really talented player. He has a great motor. He’s one of our captains. It’s not an easy part to replace.”
(On if he sees any value in playing the backup quarterback when the game is in a situation like today’s)- “I’ve done it a couple different ways over the course of time, in different games, where you may go to the other guy sooner rather than later. There are other times where you want those reps. You want those games reps with that group, because they’re important to get and, ideally, the more that you get together, the better you execute as a group.”
(On why Anderson stayed at the end of the game)- “Really at that point, I was looking to try to generate some positive drives and see what we could do. That was the thought process.”
– Courtesy Cleveland Browns
