STEELERS VS. JETS
Sunday, November 18,  2007
at Giants Stadium - Meadowlands

JETS CONFERENCE CALLS

 

ERIC MANGINI

How good is it to get a week off to prepare for Pittsburgh?

 

It is always good to get to the bye. It gives you a chance to look at the things you’ve done through the early part of the season. You can really spend some time evaluating those things.  You can work on things you really want to move forward on. You can eliminate things you haven’t done well on and aren’t going to feature in the next part of the season. You can also introduce some things. That is positive to do. You also get a chance to get the players and coaches a couple days to restart the clock and come back for the second half of the season, which is also a plus.

 

How has Ben Roethlisberger changed?

 

He was explosive early on, in terms of being able to make plays with his feet, whether he was scrambling with the ball and actually running or whether he was scrambling in the pocket, buying time and throwing it down the field. What I’ve seen is that he makes better and better decisions when he is in that situation. They aren’t the same number of mistakes that any young quarterback would make and he has hurt people every week by creating plays.

 

What has gone wrong this year?

 

Each year is different and each year you face different challenges and adversity. We have been in a lot of close games. We lost five games by a total of 27 points and usually those come down to a hand full of plays. We haven’t done a good enough job in those hand full of plays to turn those games in our favor. That is what we are focusing on all the time is the consistent focus and ability to finish games, because you don’t know at what point in the game that play is going to be the one that helps decide the outcome.

 

How tough is it when you don’t have the same quarterback for the entire season?

 

It happens a lot and there has been a lot of quarterback changes this year just based on injuries. With Kellen (Clemens), I thought he did a job from last year to this year, learning the system and improving in terms of his presence in the huddle, his ability to operate the offense and I really believe that he deserved the opportunity. That is what I wanted to give him.

 

Can you talk about Darrelle Revis?

 

When we were drafting players and whenever we bring in free agents, we look at core characteristics and for us it is up in the draft room and it is up in the free agency room and those are smart, tough and hardworking guys. Guys that are competitive and guys that are selfless and guys that football is truly important to and Darrelle met all those characteristics. I liked spending time with him before the draft. Everybody we talked to had the same things to say about him. I liked his physical play at the line of scrimmage and those things have been consistent since he’s been here. There have been some plays that he has given up like most young starters would, but he works at the corrections and he is constantly trying to spend time with the coaches or the older players to improve. He is going to get better because of that work ethic.

  

 

Is he still catching up because he missed a significant amount of training camp?

 

No. There are obviously plays you can’t get back and things in terms of experience and technique you miss when you spend that much time away, but he has played quite a bit of football here between the late preseason games and now. He is diligent. He really works at it, which is what you want from everybody, but especially from a young professional.

 

How about Hank Poteat?

We are pretty fluid with the roster and who starts and it is based on the week of practice. Guys can earn opportunities and they get them and if they take advantage of them, they get some more. With Hank, he had done that in the earlier part of the season; got an opportunity. He has two interceptions this year. He’s been consistent in terms of assignments; run support and things like that. I got to know Hank in New England, before bringing him here. That is what I really like about Hank.

 

How do you feel you match up with the Steelers defense?

 

They are incredibly tough defensively. They can stop the run. There are multiple fronts, in terms of fronts, coverages and pressures. They do a nice job disguising coverages. The linebackers are very active. The have 19 out of the 25 sacks and that makes it challenging. The way they can effectively stop the run and then create problems in the passing game, it’s tough for anybody.

 

What can you do offensively?

 

We’re working that out throughout the course of the week. That is part of the process right now.

 

What makes Leon Washington such a special return guy?

 

I think the thing that impresses me the most about Leon is that he plays a lot bigger than his size. He has great toughness and competitiveness. He spends a lot of time studying the schemes, studying how they are going to attack us in terms of our kickoff return game, where we need to fit and how he is going to return the ball. He can get up in the special team meeting and giving the scouting report on our opponent’s kickoff return team. That is how much time the spends on it and when you couple that with his natural ability and I think Mike Westhoff does an excellent job and the rest of the guys do an excellent job executing the schemes.

 

Does the scouting report this week involve letting the ball bounce over his head and picking it up on the goal line?

 

We were part of the 108-yard return against New England, where usually the guy doesn’t bring it out and if he does, you usually end up on the plus side of that and I think it is the same thing with that return. Very rarely does it bounce over some ones head and sit on the sideline and then you have a big return like that. Those are more flukes than something you can look at and say, “That is a consistent problem.”

 

  

Is the Browns’ two big returns and Leon Washington’s three kickoff return touchdowns

good return work or poor kickoff coverage?

 

When you talk about your return team, you like to think it is a function of good scheme and good execution and those types of things. That is what we can control, so that is what we can really focus on, which is putting together the best scheme for that opponent and then practicing it and executing it as well as we can. I think as a group they have done a really good job.

 

Did Darrelle Revis get a lot of one-on-one coverage when you guys played the Patriots, Giants and Bengals?

 

We use him a lot of different ways. He is like a lot of corners I have been around, with Ty Law and guys like that. He enjoys being matched up against the best receivers. He likes that challenge and he works each week to be prepared for that challenge, so it is not necessarily the case, but he is going to be ready for when he gets the opportunities to do that.

 

Are you aware that Ty Law and Darrelle Revis are from the same hometown?

 

Aliquippa.

 

What was it like being on the Sopranos?

 

It was great. It was a show that Julie and I watched from the beginning, loved it and when they initially called I thought it was a joke. I thought someone was kidding me. I went, did it and they put me in the perfect role, eating dinner. No speaking lines. I was born to play that role. It worked out fantastic.

 

Are you disappointed they couldn’t find a spot for you in the final scene?

 

 

I don’t know if I wanted to be in that scene. I guess everybody has to interpret how it ends, but it didn’t look like it was headed in a positive direction.

 

DARRELLE REVIS

What are your thoughts of playing a red-hot Pittsburgh team that is doing everything pretty well offensively right now?

 

First of all, I am from that hometown area so I grew up watching the Steelers.  It is exciting for my hometown to come to New York and play against us.

 

How many of your friends and family will be at this game and how many tickets will you need?

 

I don’t know, it is going to be a lot. 

 

Do you have a guess?  A ball park figure?

 

I am not even done yet.

 

On draft day, did you think the Steelers were a real possibility for you?

 

Yes, I thought that.  At the ninth or 10th pick, my agent told me a couple teams were going to get me at the ninth, 10th, 11th or 12th picks.  But after it got closer to the Steelers, I thought I was going to be one of the guys they were looking after and were probably going to eventually pick me up. 

 

How does this rookie season with the team record compare to some of the seasons back here with Pitt?

 

I am in the same situation as I was at Pitt.  The best thing about these times when a team is on the down side is basically be positive as much as you can, go out every day at practice and work hard, and just be on the positive side so it can be a positive energy around the whole locker room and once we win, everybody can already be on the positive attitude and focus on getting more wins.

 

When you were at Pitt, teams hardly ever threw your way, but now you are a rookie in the NFL.  Has that changed at all?  Are teams coming after you a little bit?

 

Not that much.  It is not really that much serious.  Every game I come into, I am looking for teams to come at the rookie Darrelle Revis.  The thing that I need to do is just play football and stick to the game plan and try to make plays. 

 

What are you doing best as a cornerback?  What things must you improve to be even better?

 

Tackling, I am doing a really job at, and the other thing is just learning every day and being a student of the game, just getting knowledge from Coach (Eric) Mangini, Coach (Mike) MacIntyre and the whole staff, they help me to be a better corner.

 

Wasn’t your first game against Randy Moss? 

 

Yes.

 

Can you tell us about that whole experience?

 

First of all, you can’t be scared.  That is the first thing.  Second of all, what I do is I don’t even look at the guy’s name.  I just look at the person as a number.  Randy Moss wears 81, so that is what I was focused on, a number.  I wasn’t focused on him being Randy Moss, he is a great receiver and things like that.  I just had to be competitive and do my job as well as I could.

 

How did it turn out?  How did you do against him?

 

I played good.

 

You said you grew up watching the Steelers.  You probably loved it when Hines Ward would light up an opposing defensive back.  What is it going to be like when you are one of those defensive backs that he is looking to light up?

 

You have to keep your head on the move when you are playing the Steelers.  As much as we are into the film on these guys, their receiving corps does a great job of blocking down field, especially in the run game as well.  You know that they are a great blocking group and you know they are real physical.

 

When you were here, did you ever meet Hines Ward?  Do you know him?  What are your thoughts on going up against him on Sunday?

 

No, I just said Hi maybe one time after practice, or I saw him walking into the facility, that was about it.

 

Who were your favorite Steelers growing up and who did you want to emulate?

 

I don’t want to emulate anybody.  I just want to be myself as Darrelle Revis.  The Steelers had great players come in and out of there.  I remember Hines, I remember Kordell Stewart, there were a lot of guys.  I just don’t want to emulate anybody, I just want to be the best corner I can be and get help from coaches knowledge-wise to be a better corner.

 

You have a role model in Sean Gilbert, your uncle.  What kind of impact has he had on your life and your career?

 

He has been there my whole life, every step from high school, to college, to now.  He has just taken me through the steps that I need to know and it is basically great because he has taught me situations that I haven’t even got into yet in the NFL and he is telling me about them already.  So when those situations come, I can be well-prepared to handle them.

 

What has been the toughest adjustment going from college to the NFL?

 

Preparation, week in and week out preparing for a team, it is a lot of knowledge, it is a lot of things to know and there are a lot of things to do.

 

You are the latest Aliquippa guy to make the NFL.  How well do you know Ty Law?

 

I talk to Ty all the time.  He is encouraging me and supporting me as well and helping me to be one of the top corners in the NFL.

 

What is it like living in New York?

 

It is a great marketing city.  There are a lot of opportunities here.  There are a lot of things to do off the field.  The media here, they are great.  They can be harsh at times, but you just have to give them positive answers and talk to them the right way.