This is a transcript of the Marty Mornhinweg news conference which took place earlier today. You'll see the pointed questions at getting Marty Mornhinweg to say something bad about what Donovan McNabb said yesterday.
Offensive Coordinator Marty Mornhinweg Press Conference
11-8-07
Opening remarks:
“That last ballgame, we simply turned the ball over at critical times. There were a couple of other critical times that we needed to get something done and we just didn’t get it done. Going into Washington, it’s a big challenge. They’ve normally held their opponents in the teens, as far as points. New England got after them pretty good. The Giants scored 24, I believe, and they had a little help there. Everybody else, I think, has been 20 points and under. Their defense is excellent, they’re ranked highly in most of the important categories on defense, so we’ve got a great challenge.”
On whether he is surprised that things aren’t clicking on offense:
“In many of the important statistics, we’re just under, or as good, or even better than we have been last year or in 2004. The two problems that we’ve had are down in the red zone and sacks. Those two, normally, if you’re good, you’ll score points. If not, you’re going to have trouble scoring points. Those have been our two problems. If you look at simply moving the ball, I think we’re doing a reasonably good job there. Third downs, a reasonably good job. Yards per pass attempt, a reasonably good job. So, we’re really focusing on those two areas.”
On whether he thinks he needs to change the philosophy a little bit:
“I don’t think the philosophy is the problem. In the last two games, we’re 4 for 8 in the red zone. You need to be 5 for 8 to be really good. I think we’ve made some strides in that. We need more points. We need to be a little bit more consistent.”
On the offensive line’s performance compared to last year:
“Like I said in previous weeks, they’re gutting it out. I do think they’re getting a little bit more healthy. It looks like [RT] Jon [Runyan] will practice this week. He did practice yesterday. I think we’ll just get better and better there.”
On whether the offense is any different this year than it was at the end of last season:
“It’s very similar. There have been times where we really put an emphasis on protection, but other than that, it’s very similar.”
On whether QB Donovan McNabb was incorrect when he said the offense was different at the end of last season:
“I’m not going to comment on other people’s comments. Everybody views a single play differently, let alone a whole ballgame of plays.”
On McNabb’s comments that he’s not the only reason the team is struggling:
“Again, I’m not going to comment on other people’s comments, I haven’t even seen them. The offense is my responsibility, period. It starts with me.”
On whether he thinks McNabb checks down too often:
“There have been a couple of times, but Donovan is getting better and better. Last week, none of us did a very good job. We turned the ball over a couple of times early in that ballgame. This is the midway point. Like I said before, offensively, many of our important stats are as good or better than we’ve had in the past. Last year was a record-breaking year, so it’s a little harder to compare there. The two situations that we need to get better at, the obvious situations, are sacks and scoring points in the red zone.”
On Washington’s defense:
“They’ve done a good job against some teams of mixing a really soft 2-deep [coverage] and then man and 3-deep [coverage] with a safety in the middle who is very, very deep, [S Sean Taylor]. Then, they bring some blitzes that give some people problems. They’ve done an excellent job, against some teams, of doing that. They play some people a little bit more conservatively, with the bend-but-don’t break. They’re very good in the red zone. I would expect a pretty good matchup.”
On Redskins rookie S LaRon Landry:
“They’re bringing Landry off the edge, in many cases by himself. He’s done a nice job with that.”
On whether the offensive struggles are a matter of execution:
“Yes, that’s right. Then, I’ve got to put the guys in positions to have success. If they’re in positions that we thought going in was a good spot, and we don’t get it done, then we’ve got to do something else or put other players in some of those positions.”
On whether he worries about RB Brian Westbrook wearing down:
“No, we never have been concerned about that. Every game is different; there will be some games where he has a very high percentage of our offense, and other games not so high. He’s still a very important player for us. Most people try to account for him in various ways throughout the game.”
On whether teams have been able to keep the screen game in check:
“No, we’ve been an excellent screen team this year. Absolutely, we check that every week. Check your numbers there. We want to score touchdowns on screens; that’s one thing we haven’t done yet. But, our screen production has been high.”
On WR Jason Avant’s production as a third receiver:
“He’s done a nice job. He’s injured right now, trying to make it back. [WR] Greg [Lewis] has been in there some, as a role player. I think we’re okay there.”
On why they’ve been focusing more on protection this year than last year:
“We’re trying to protect the quarterback. We had some problems earlier in the year with some protection, so we’ve really focused on that in the past several weeks and we’ve done a little bit better of a job.”
On late quarterback hits, and whether there have been too many fines:
“I would think, in some cases, it’s necessary. I haven’t put much thought into that. An illegal hit is an illegal hit; it should be called on the field. In many cases it’s not, and they get fined later. I don’t even put much thought into those types of things.”
On TE L.J. Smith’s progression:
“L.J. is feeling pretty good and he’s worked his way back in. He should start contributing here really quick.”
On how frustrating it has been to not be able to score:
“We don’t get frustrated. We try to admit our mistakes, and we’ll find the solutions. Admitting it allows you to find the solutions. Then, we correct it and move on fast. We don’t get frustrated; we work hard and compare.”
On whether they plan to use three or four-receiver sets:
“That could be, yes.”
On whether it is hard to keep people from pointing fingers when things aren’t going well:
“We don’t do that. We don’t whine or cry or point fingers or anything. We admit our mistakes and find a solution and we correct it and move on. That’s how we approach things. We don’t care who gets the credit when we do well, and we all take responsibility when things are going poorly. We’re 3-5 at the midway point, and we’ve got a lot of football ahead of us. We’re going to work hard and prepare and get better.”
On McNabb’s comments that the team’s struggles weren’t all his fault:
“I’m not going to comment on other people’s comments. I haven’t read them, I haven’t seen them. I don’t read papers or watch TV very much at all. I have heard about them, but I can’t comment on them.”
On whether there is a chance that there will be a change in personnel on the offensive line:
“No, I don’t think so. We’re going to be in good shape there. Those guys have gutted it out. We’ve got a bunch of tough guys up there. All of them, with the exception of our center, have been banged up. Two or three of them have played when most people wouldn’t. I like our offensive line, I think our production will show up when they get healthy and practice and play together.”
On whether he’s concerned that McNabb said he’s not to blame for the team’s struggles:
“The offensive output is my responsibility and I take it from there. It’s my responsibility to get everybody moving forward and being productive. That’s my responsibility.”
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