New York Jets: Todd Bowles discusses first victory

Head coach Todd Bowles secured his first ever victory with the New York Jets to the tune of 31-10 over the Cleveland Browns. The Jets looked like a competitive team in all aspects of the game and did a great job in front of the home crowd.

Thanks to the Media Relations Department of the Jets, they sent us here at The Jet Press a complete transcript of what Bowles had to say to the media following his first head coaching win, thoughts on game injuries and the overall chemistry on offense. Enjoy!

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On his first victory as a head coach…

It feels good. You get the butterflies and the first one out of the way. It wasn’t perfect but we did what we had to do to win. They had more penalties than us. It’s a good start.

On injuries to Antonio Cromartie and Lorenzo Mauldin…

They took Mauldin to the hospital with a head and neck. Cro has a knee injury. They haven’t given us a report yet.

On what his morning was like…

For me, sleeping in is good. I drove to the game peacefully. It was nice and quiet. I was trying to keep everything under wraps and, for the most part, I did that. The coaches kept me loose.

On if he was surprised at how smooth the Jets offense seemed to be…

I don’t know if it was smooth, but they did a lot of good things. They have some things to clean up. Like I said, it was a good win, but by no means are we where we want to be. The trick is to try to win while you’re trying to get there. We got this one out of the way.

On possibly losing Cromartie for a significant amount of time…

It’s a big blow because he’s a good player. We brought him in here to be a good player, but we have a lot of young guys behind him. We have a lot of good corners. It’s one of our deepest positions. We have Buster (Skrine), Marcus (Williams), (Darren) Walls, (Dexter) McDougle, and Dee (Milliner) coming back. We have guys in the building who can go out and play.

On any defensive adjustments the Jets made…

We checked out of a few things early and in the second half, we didn’t.

On Williams filling in for Cromartie at cornerback…

Marcus played very well. He did what he does in practice every day. To be a young player, the game is not too big for him. He’s just about the business. He understands what he has to do. He is not scared of anyone out there. He is not scared to be on an island. I feel like he’s a six or seven year player. He’s one of my favorite players.

Aug 13, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA; New York Jets cornerback Marcus Williams (20) celebrates with teammates after making an interception during the second quarter of a preseason NFL football game against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

On if he was happy with how his team adjusted from Josh McCown to Johnny Manziel…

He (Manziel) got out of the pocket, too. We have to keep guys in the pocket. Obviously, we know he can run. McCown can run. We adjusted a little bit and got some plays when they turned the ball over, and we got the win.

On what he meant by ‘keeping things under wraps’…

Just keeping my emotions under wraps and understand it’s about the team. Go ahead and coach the game and not make it about me.

(follow-up)

On if he had any moments where he stopped and thought ‘I’m coaching my first game’…

No. They kind of went away. Seeing (Browns assistant secondary coach) Aaron Glenn across the way on the other sideline and having coached him, and seeing (Karlos) Dansby and those guys made it normal for me. I just went about my business.

On how this was different than when he coached in Miami…

There were a different kind of butterflies. You go there as an interim and take over a team that isn’t doing well in most cases. Taking over in Miami, you just hoped they respond because they don’t have to. They know there’s going to be a new coach next year. You have to get what you can get out of them. Having a team for a full year like I have this year, there are hopeful butterflies. You just want to go out there and see those guys execute and peform.

On the strip by Jets WR Brandon’s Marshall following QB Ryan Fitzpatrick’s interception…

That was huge. Brandon plays everything. He plays offense. He plays defense. He plays aggressive. To me, that was the play of the game.

On the chemistry between Marshall and Fitzpatrick…

I thought it was pretty good. Ryan got to work with him in practice and Decker as well. He understands the length of those guys and where defensive backs are playing them. He throws it even when they’re covered because they’re not covered.

Sep 13, 2015; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick (14) throws a pass during the second half at MetLife Stadium. The Jets defeated the Browns 31-10. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports

On the emotions when Mauldin went down…

It’s tough because that’s your player who just came back from an injury. He was working hard at getting back. He got back to play in the opener. He was running around doing some good things, and for him to go down like that, first your heart goes out to him and his family. After that, it goes out to his teammates. You just hope he’s not seriously hurt.

On whether he had movement…

He had very little, from what I saw.

On the importance of today’s win heading to Indianapolis next week…

It was important because it was the first game. We don’t look ahead and we don’t look behind us. We try to win today. Today is the game of today. We don’t look at tomorrow. We don’t look at yesterday. Going into today, we just focused on getting a win. That’s what we’re going to try and do every week.

On what he would like to see the team do better…

I want to keep the quarterback in the pocket. Those guys are very athletic and got out of the pocket. We need to communicate more. We can do a lot of things more.

On whether the fourth-and-one run by FB Tommy Bohanon is a glimpse into his philosophy…

If the circumstances are right. The way the team rushes the football, I thought we could get a yard. You hope they can get a yard early on and get some momentum. I’m sure it won’t be every week, but today it was.

On why he viewed the Marshall strip as the key play of the game in a 21-point win…

That turned momentum around. We were over there and if they get that interception, we lose a lot of momentum. I’m not saying the game was over, but the way things were going in the first half, when we were driving down there before the interception, for him to take the ball away made everybody play a little bit faster.

On if he had fun today…

I did.

(follow-up)

On if it was what he expected…

Yeah. About normal. It was a normal gameday.

(follow-up)

Dec 14, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets wide receiver Brandon Marshall (15) runs the ball against Cleveland Browns cornerback Joe Haden (23) as cornerback Jordan Poyer (33) comes up to make the play in the third quarter at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Mills/NJ Advance Media for NJ.com via USA TODAY Sports

On what it takes to get him overly excited…

I told you, Gladys Knight. If Gladys comes in here and starts singing or Eddie Levert from the OJ’s, we can talk.

On if he had family or friends at the game…

My family was here. I had quite a few friends.

On why WR Jeremy Kerley was not involved in the offense…

He was in there. We had (Chris) Owusu in the game plan this week. That could be a different guy each week according to what we think we can do.

On his decisions to deactivate RB Zac Stacy and McDougle…

We had too many. We had enough guys. We went into the game with five corners. With Stacy, we had two running backs and Tommy can be an emergency running back, so that was overkill.

On his concern about Mauldin…

I’m very concerned right now not knowing anything. When a guy gets carted off, you worry about him until you can find out what happened.

Sep 13, 2015; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets linebacker Lorenzo Mauldin (55) is carted off the field on a stretcher with team doctors during the second half against the Cleveland Browns at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports

On if he’d ever seen anything like that happen…

I have actually seen quite a few people carted off. My college roommate (Anthony Young) was carted off the field playing for the Colts during his rookie year and broke his neck. He never played again.

On if the fear with Cromartie is a torn ACL…

I don’t want to speculate. I hope not.

On getting his first win in his home state…

It’s special because it’s the first game. I’m very happy for the team. By no means are we prefect. We have a lot of corrections to make. Getting a home win and a win early, you try to stockpile them early and see where you’re at. We got the first one out of the way. Hopefully, we can get better next week.

On utilizing Owusu against the Browns instead of Kerley…

It wasn’t so much about the matchup as much as the things we wanted to do on offense. They have good corners and linebackers. Owusu brought a presence. He can play inside and outside and do a little bit more in the blocking game. The overall package of Owusu as a receiver, blocker, inside and outside guy, and he can make some plays, was a good choice for us.

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