MANGINI GETS PRESSED ON INJURY REPORTING HABITS Posted by Mike Florio on October 24, 2008, 10:06 p.m. EDT As legend has it, Jets coach Eric Mangini refuses to acknowledge hamstring injuries. So when a player has a hamstring injury, it?s described generally as ?leg? ? which is only a half-click above simply referring to the injury as ?body.? Mangini has been using the ?leg? label on kicker Mike Nugent, who has yet to play this season. And so, on Friday, Dan Leberfeld of Jets Confidential opted to press Mangini, and Jets P.R. guy Bruce Speight opted to try to make a cameo appearance once the softballs turned into splitters. (We know a little bit about baseball, unfortunately.) And it went a little something like this . . . hit it: Leberfeld: ?What exactly is wrong with Mike Nugent? What?s the specific injury?? Mangini: ?He?s got a leg injury.? Leberfeld: ?But specifically, what is it?? Mangini: ?You know, I don?t talk about the specifics of injuries, and I think you know that.? Leberfeld: ?Is it a hamstring?? Mangini: ?It?s a leg injury.? Leberfeld: ?Because most teams in the league will mention a hamstring. Why are you against that?? Mangini: ?You know, I think we?ve discussed this quite a bit, but it?s something that I believe in philosophically, and I hope you can respect that.? Leberfeld: ?Because even New England lists hamstrings, and I know you have a background there. You might be the only team in the league that doesn?t list hamstrings. Why philosophically do you go down that road?? Mangini: ?It?s something that I believe in and something that we?ve consistently done, and I don?t anticipate changing any time in the near future.? Leberfeld: ?What about toe related to foot? Like [defensive end Calvin] Pace says he hurt his toe. Can you verify that?? Mangini: ?I can verify what I put on the injury [report].? Leberfeld: ?Once again, why can?t you say ?toe?? What?s the philosophical reason for that?? Speight: ?Dan ? Dan ? Dan.? Leberfeld: ?No, Bruce, you don?t dictate the question. What can?t you say ?toe??? Mangini: ?Dan, were two-and-a-half years into this process.? Leberfeld: ?No, but it doesn?t mean it?s right. I mean, I read injury reports around the league and they list these things.? Speight: ?Dan.? Mangini: ?I appreciate your opinion, Dan.? Leberfeld: ?Yes, but you can?t tell me what to ask, Bruce.? Speight: ?I?m not, I?m not.? Leberfeld: ?You?re interrupting my question.? Speight: ?I am. You?re right.? Leberfeld: ?All right. I won?t ask ? what can I ask, Bruce? Give me a head?s up.? Making the exchange even more interesting is that, in the transcript of the press conference circulated by the team, here?s the only reference to the exchange: On K Mike Nugent?s injury? He has a leg injury. On what specifically is Nugent?s injury? I don?t talk about the specifics of injuries. Amazingly (and, frankly, impressively), the Jets didn?t splice the awkward moments between Mangini, Leberfeld, and Speight out of the video of the press conference that is posted on the team?s official web site. The fun starts at roughly 6:15 of the clip.
They took it out of the transcript?? Does that not say The New York Pussy Jets all over it?? I don't care what the injury report says. Its the injury report - if a player is hurt he's hurt. But to be a coward and edit the transcript is not respectable. Scared public relations people they are. Can't this team copy the toughness displayed by other teams? Steelers, Giants, or even the Ravens? Why are we a feminine franchise.
Good for Leberfeld. Whether or not you agree with the Jets' policy he was right as a journalist to keep asking the question. He was also right to slap down the PR guy when he got involved - and to Speight's credit, he admitted he was interfering.
cant really call them pussy's if they left the video of it on the website. why they edited the transcript idk. maybe because it had nothing to do with actual information anymore and was just a petty argument of a frustrated beat writer and a head coach of an underachieving team. i do find it interesting that he waited until after a horrible loss and a time when there are starting to at least be rumblings about manginis job status. why not ask earlier than this?
Actually, he came across as a whiny little bitch. He knows how things work, there was no need to make a scene when everyone knows full well they won't change their policy. It was obvious to me he went in there with this planned.
good job by the reporter, you guys can say whatever you want but i appreciate him standing up and saying, WHY? eric manginas policy on injuries is absurd and childish in my eyes, he is a scared female or "gina" or mangina when it comes to the injury report. this is one of those things that REALLY frustrates me about him. you guys can say all you want that he helps us because then the other team doesnt know whats going on, lets face it that really doesnt help worth shit. they know the guy has a bad "leg" they go after both what the fuck does it matter if they know its a bruised thigh? really are they going to go after it any more than they already would? i highly doubt it. its a control thing with mangina, he is one of those guys that appears to want to control whatever he can in his relationships with people, thing is there isnt very much he has shown the ability to control so this must be a big one for him. he is more difficult with injuries than even bill parcells was and there really is NO need for it. i hope that some more of the press start to get on his ass about this retarded policy.
im really indifferent to the whole injury report thing. i dont believe it gives any advantage. but if thats what the coach wants to do, that is his right. i would be inclined to give the reporter credit if he had been pressing this issue for the last 2 1/2 years. instead he just sits by not making a big deal about it until he is starting to see signs that this could be it for mangini if this team goes south. to me it just feels like he was trying to kick him while he was down.
that very well may be the case, and that is kinda screwed up but its one of those things that annoys me so i dont care about the timing im just glad someone finally said something.
I wish people would give over with this retarded nonsense. It's nobody's business what injuries people have. Does nobody have anything more important in their lives to get worked up over?
you may not care but many of the people who give their money to this franchise do care and its a shame that he acts this way about injuries.
Yes he did. If you listened to the interview he sounded like a little kid flipping out cause his mother wouldn't buy him ice cream. L: Mommy I want some ice cream Mom: L, you know you cant have ice cream before dinner. L: But Mommy, Johnnys mom buys him ice cream before dinner. Mom: We've been over this before L, no ice cream before dinner. L: Why Mommy? Why? Everyone else gets ice cream. Mom: Final answer L. L: I WANT ICE CREAM WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! *stomps feet and screams*
but why do you need to know. as a fan, you care whether the team wins or loses. by not fully disclosing injuries, it leaves the chance out there that a player may or may not play. you should appreciate not knowing because that means the other team also does not know. if they don't game plan for a player, and then that player plays, well you surely can expect big things from that player. you knowing the info hurts the team for that reason. is it kind of unethical? yes. but that's the only reason you can really have anything against mangini doing it. not because you just want to know
Who cares! Mangini is just like belicheat getting the truth out of him would require an act of congress. Nugent is overrated away don't miss him and don't care about his injury he will get healthy eventually.
You call the coach childish and absurd for withholding injury information, yet come up with this gem of a post. If what Mangini is doing is childish, then what would calling him names be?
