VS.

POSTGAME QUOTES
OCTOBER 21, 2007

Jets-Bengals Gameday

Q: Initial comments:
"In the second half, we started doing things better collectively. Offensively, we sputtered in the first half. We had those two penalties that threw us off track. In the second half, we were able to settle down and overcome those penalties. It was a good win. This team needed one, obviously. We have a big game next week."

Q: You mentioned your team had been pressing. Does it feel like this win has lifted some weight off your shoulders?
"We are still pressing. Our kicker kicked the ball off consistently all day and then misses one at the end. We have to relax and keep doing things correctly in those critical times."

Q: Thoughts on the team's resiliency:
"There are things that we can't control. We just have to move on to the next play."

Q: Were you trying to emphasize the running game in the second half?
"There has been an emphasis on it all week. You guys keep telling me we need to run the football better. I agreed with you."

Q: Thoughts on Kenny Watson:
"Every time you give Kenny a chance, he makes the best of it. He did a great job today. DeDe Dorsey did a great job in his first real action with us. He made a great move to make the safety miss on third-and-two. They had the right call on for that play and the safety would have blown the play up if it hadn't been for DeDe."

Q: Did you get your money's worth for CB Johnathan Joseph and his first career interception?
"It's all about being consistent. We have some talented guys that need to keep playing better."

Q: Thoughts on the second-half defensive performance:
"We need to play better on first and third down."

Q: What is the emotion like in the locker room today?
"I couldn't change much. They had a hard-fought game. I told them to stay tight, say very little. There was nothing to talk about. Say less when you win."

Q: It seemed like you guys controlled the game with the running game:
"It was great. They were not going to let us throw the ball. They double-teamed Chad (Johnson) and T.J. (Houshmandzadeh) virtually every play other than third-and-one. They just took the mindset that they were not going to get beat with the pass, and I think we ended up with 175 yards rushing, which is a slower-death philosophy for the defense. It came down to what we were going to do up front - what the big guys were going to do. Were they going to blow up big holes and give Kenny (Watson) a chance? There were holes everywhere, left and right. Kenny was squirting through, making great cuts, reading blocks great. It came down to our big guys, and they won the game."

Q: When you guys are balanced on offense with the run and the pass, it makes you more effective?
"No question. When you can run the ball like that, it just blows open the play-action game. We did a good job on the play-action. We protected all night long. I had a clean pocket other than the one time, and they gave me time to throw. Guys made plays; guys made catches. We were just balanced, pretty much even on running the ball and passing the ball. And that's what you want to do. It's tough to do that week in and week out. It's tough to do it just one week, but we did it, and were successful, and that's why we won."

Q: Was that offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski's call to stick with the run game despite being down in the third quarter?
"Yeah, we didn't do any no-huddle all night, which is rare for us. I don't think since we've installed our no-huddle that we've ever done that. But Brat just had a great feel for what we're doing and kept changing up the runs. It may have looked like we were running the same runs over and over, but we were making minor adjustments and doing a great job with putting different people on different people, from play to play to play. There wasn't a time where, defensively, we thought, 'Oh, they got us with that one.' We kept changing it up just enough that they couldn't get a beat on exactly what runs we were doing and what fronts to get into defensively with their defensive lineman. Brat did a great job mixing it up just enough to keep them off balance."

Q: At the end of last year, you pitched for Kenny Watson to be re-signed. Is his production been more than what you expected?
"No, I'm not surprised at all. Kenny's a great back. It's so great to see him do what he's doing because it's always been against Kenny. He was a free agent coming out of college, and he didn't get a bunch of touches in college. He kind of had to scrap by to make a team. He had to scrap by to be here. They signed Rudi (Johnson) to a big deal. They drafted a first-round tailback, then they drafted a second-round tailback. He's never really been given his opportunity. He's had to fight for it and now he's finally getting it. I think it's his sixth or seventh year in the league. For him to come out and have 175 yards is huge. I'm so happy. I told him after the game. He did a great job and all, but I'm just so happy for him and so happy to see him do what he's doing. I'm so happy to see him happy. It's exciting and to answer your question, of course I'm glad that he's here."

Q: What is it that you admire about Kenny Watson?
"Most people kind of look at him like he's a smaller back, but he's not. He's all of 215 pounds, and he runs like he's 225. When he gets to the hole and he runs people over, he's always hitting people and falling forward. But when he gets into the open field he has that quick little side-step he puts on safeties. So at times, he runs like a scatback — like a fast, quick third-down back. So he can do it all. We haven't really used him enough in the pass game. When you check the ball down to him and you get him with a 'mike' linebacker, a big 250-pound linebacker, he's not going to be tackled one-on-one. He's got it all. He can do anything. We ran a little shovel-pass to him on third down and he got it. We ran a screen. He was getting outside on screens and doing a great job on reading blocks. I know at one time I saw (Eric) Ghiaciuc and Bobby (Williams) moving left, and he kind of shook outside and set up the block, then cut back and picked up a couple extra yards. He's got vision, and he's got hands, quickness, power. He's got it all."

Q: Do you think that the Jets gave you the running game?
"I wouldn't say that they gave us the running game, but they didn't want us to catch the ball — at least not me and Chad (Johnson). They didn't want me and Chad to get the ball — not the way they played us."

Q: What do you have to say about Kenny Watson's game?
"I wouldn't even say what I think about Kenny Watson 'today.' I've always thought that Kenny Watson was really good. For one, he really has never gotten an opportunity, with the exception of third downs. But today, he showed what he could do. He got the ball, ran hard and made plays for us."

Q: Talk about how big converting third downs were today:
"It was a point of emphasis throughout the week. It was no secret that we were 1-of-18 the last two weeks. I don't know what we were today, but I thought that for the most part that we did OK. It was something that we concentrated on, because that was one of the reasons that we weren't winning. We couldn't convert on third downs, and we couldn't give us an extra set of downs to see what we could do."

Q: How does it feel after such a big game, and a win for the Bengals?
"I feel great that we got the win. After four strait losses, I'm excited that we played well, played consistent and that we got the win."

Q: What did you guys talk about at halftime that seemed to turn things around for you in the second half?
"We made a few adjustments. We saw what they were trying to do on defense, and we changed up our running game a little bit. We executed, we were consistent and it worked out for us."

Q: You guys played well on third downs this week. How much did that help?
"Third downs have been killing us the last few weeks. For us to come out here and convert, it helps us keep the drives going and it gives us more opportunities to make plays."

Q: Is that the most carries that you have had since high school?
"Yes. That was the most carries I've ever had."

Q: When you have good numbers in the running game, the result usually turns out good doesn't it?
"That's usually how we run games. If you look back over the time that Marvin (Lewis) has been here, once we get a 20-carry game out of Rudi (Johnson) or Kenny (Watson), the track record is there."

Q: You have been on the offensive line for a lot of 100-yard games, going all the way back to Ki-Jana Carter. Was this the biggest 100-yard rushing game?
"Yeah, I think so. The Ki-Jana Carter game was a loss. It is always great to get a 100-yard running game in a win because it helps out so much. It helps out Carson (Palmer), and it helps the defense by allowing those guys a chance to get a rest."

Q: What about the interception at that end of the game?
"I just happened to make a great break that time and make a play on the ball."

Q: What was the difference between the first and the second half?
"We just felt a sense of urgency and rallied together to get the job done."

Q: On the game:
Initial comments:
"I am tired of giving the same speech. I am tired of us walking in after a game where we have only played one good half of football. I am tired of seeing us play poor in the second half. No penalties in the first half, and multiple in the second half. We shanked a punt, couldn't get the snap count right, and gave away a fumble. We didn't do the things we talked about doing in all three phases of the game at halftime. It was not good enough coaching on my part. It was not good enough from our assistant coaches. It was not good enough from the players. I am tired of giving the same speech.

"This loss should hurt. It should hurt deeply. We are going to find out the character of every single person in that locker room. It is easy to go to work when you are winning. It is easy to do the right thing when you are winning. We are going to evaluate every single person in that locker room, including coaches, players - everyone.

"Our only chance to turn this situation around is by sticking together and working through these issues together. That is the only way. That is our only chance.

"This is a matter of playing complete football. We are just not doing that in all three phases of the game. From a coaches perspective, it all has to get better."

Q: Why can't you seem to finish a game?
"Some games we play from behind and finish fast. It is the same topics we have been talking about since the first game of the season. We go from no penalties in the first half, to multiple penalties in the second. We had no penalties, and then we gave away a fumble at a critical time in the second half. Our center and quarterback have taken thousands of snaps together. Today they had a miscommunication and we put the ball on the ground. The punting is good, and then it is not so good.

"We obviously need to do a better job in all phases of the game. I need to do a better job. We need to do a better job of making adjustments in the second half, because our current play is obviously not working. Everyone is accountable. We are going to watch the film and find out about everybody."

Q: Do you equate your current situation to the talent on defense or to the game plan?
"We were looking to stop the passing game against the Bengals. It was our goal to stop their passing attack by shutting down Chad Johnson and TJ Houshmandzadeh. That was the plan going in, and I felt good about that plan. We could roll more men into the box to deal with the running element of the game, but I felt it was more important to concentrate on the passing game. We had some important things that we needed to achieve defensively in this game and we didn't. We didn't execute our game plan effectively enough.

"We could have put more players in the box to control the run game, but that opens us up to give up more big plays in the pass game with our secondary. We would have had some great receivers in man coverage then.

"There were times when we would some nice things defensively, and then we would get a penalty. The unsportsmanlike penalty also hurt us badly."

Q: Have you decided what you will do about the quarterback situation?
"I will have to watch the tape to evaluate that. I will watch the tape and personally evaluate every player on this team. I will meet with all of our players through the week and evaluate them. The conversations I have with the players are internal, and I hope you can respect that."

Q: Is it a fair assessment that you would tell a player he is going to lose his job if he has a poor performance?
"I know this is a topic of extreme interest with our players, but these are internal issues. I have many conversations with our players each week and I hope you can respect that. I understand where you are coming from as well. All conversations are internal. I appreciate your interest, but I am not changing my answer."

Q: Are you going to stick with Chad Pennington as your starter?
"I am going to look at the film. I am going to assess every situation with coaches and players. Our current result is not good enough. The coaching is not good enough, and neither is the production from the players. Our current situation is just not good enough.

"There is plenty of accountability to go around for what is going on with the organization right now. It all starts right here. At this point I am going to evaluate each person on this roster from top to bottom. I am going to look at every situation. I am going to evaluate our coaching staff. The organization will be evaluated from top to bottom, and we will do some things that make it possible for us to play a complete football game."

Q: Are you starting to question the character of this football team?
"No. It is always easier to come to work and do the right thing when you are winning. The important thing is to be able to do that no matter what the situation. Adversity doesn't build character, it reveals it. The chance that we have in front of us to make progress is based on the group working to move forward together. Collectively, we must move forward together. We will assess our situation and do some things differently in order to get the results we want. We will play a complete football game."

Q: It seemed as though the Cincinnati defense rolled their coverage and played your guys a lot tighter to take away the deep pass. Did you see that as being the case?
"I think they did a good job of mixing things up and changing coverage in the second half. They did a great job. They got the momentum in the second half and carried it throughout the rest of the game. That allowed them to get the win."

Q: Eric Mangini seemed as upset as we've ever seen him and said he is tired of giving the same speech to the team after every game. Did you sense that this loss was extra tough on him?
"I think it's tough on everybody from top to bottom. We all put in a lot of hours, sweat, and tears. For us to work this hard and continue to lose, it's disheartening for a lot of guys right now. The main thing is for us to use this feeling in a positive way. Right now all we have is each other, so we need to stick together and find a way to turn things around."

Q: When the season started, would you have ever thought the team would be sitting at 1-6 at this point in the season?
"No, but you really learn a lot about the guys next to you when you're in a position like this. The locker room can explode, or guys can come closer together. One good thing is the quality of guys that we have. Hopefully we can come close together as a team."

Q: It was a tough day for the defense against the run today:
"No doubt about that. They did a good job blocking. You've got to give them credit."

Q: It seemed that there were times that you knew Kenny Watson was going to carry the ball, and you guys still couldn't bring him down:
"I don't think tackling was an issue. I think there were holes that opened up that he ran through and made plays."

Q: How would you describe the state of the team at 1-6?
"It's hard to gage right now because we're fresh off a loss. We'll definitely find out Wednesday when we have practice."

Q: Coach Mangini mentioned that he's tired of giving the same speech to the team after every game. What is your reaction to that?
"We're tired of being in this situation. He has a right to be tired of giving that speech. We're all tired of losing. We dug the hole, now we need to dig ourselves out of it."

Q: What went wrong from the first half to the second half?
"We just need to play 60 minutes. We didn't do that today and it showed. It was our game to lose in the second half, and we have to give credit to Cincinnati for coming out fighting and being victorious."

Q: Last year, with a lot of the same guys, you were able to win 10 games. What's the difference this year?
"It's a lot of the same guys, but it's a different team."

Q: What happened on the snap that resulted in a fumble recovery by Cincinnati?
"It was just miscommunication. Obviously he wasn't ready for it, and that's something we can't have. You never want it to happen, so it's extremely difficult when it does."