Veteran Minicamp 4/16-4/18/09
Transcripts of selected interviews with Jets players during the locker room media availability period Friday midday:
QB BRETT RATLIFF
On how comfortable he feels with the offense…
I am feeling really good. There is some new stuff, new things that we are doing, but I am feeling really comfortable. I am very excited to be back with Coach [Brian] Schottenheimer. I am really enjoying being back in the mix of everything.
On the Jets' wide receivers…
Wallace Wright, Marcus Henry, Jerricho Cotchery, Brad Smith are great receivers. They work hard. They are going to get their job done so it's nice to have their confidence. They are guys that are going to get their job done and make your job easier.
On if there is added pressure from the QB competition…
No, not really. It's fun. Competition is a fun thing. There is always going to be competition. It makes players better. Kellen [Clemens] is a great competitor. We take every day as a competition. It's fun to be able to compete against a friend and a fellow teammate.
QB KELLEN CLEMENS
On the offense playing more up-tempo…
One of the things that Coach Ryan preaches is up-tempo. We are not out there for really all that long. I am thinking an hour and a half, an hour and 45 minutes. He is big on getting out there, getting your work done, getting off the field and having fun, which makes an hour and 45 minutes feel like an hour. We try to keep it up-tempo. You get your cardio in while you are at practice. Games are going to be fast so you might as well try to make practice as fast as you can.
On how he evaluates his performance on a daily basis….
Every day when I go out there the goal is perfection. It's never been obtained yet, but that's the goal and the attitude that you have to have in this position. I'll go back by myself after each practice when everybody is cleared out and go over each throw more meticulously because when you go over it as a group, you have time constraints.
When I get some time for personal review I go over myself and really try to dissect what I did poorly in the last practice. I showed improvement in this practice. It never hurts to give yourself a little pat on the back.
