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Transcript of quarterback Geno Smith's news conference at his locker following our Wednesday afternoon practice at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center:*
On how the team will prepare for New England…
Just prepare for them as we do every single week. A lot of film study, doing a ton of those things. Getting in meetings with the wideouts, talking things over, talking things over with Marty [Mornhinweg], Coach [David] Lee, all of the guys. We're just continuing to progress. We had a really good day of practice today. I think guys came out sharp, mentally focused. We've got to continue to just stay tuned in and just continue to work.
On how he will benefit from having played New England earlier this season…
Yeah, I mean, it's good as far as personnel goes, but it's going to be a different game. There's going to be a new set of challenges and they're going to have something new that we didn't see in the first game. We've been preparing ourselves for every single scenario, just trying to continue to build on what we have here with this offense, and just go into the game ready to be in another battle.
On his development process…
It's been filled with ups and downs. As far as my mental state, it's always been the same. It'll never change, it will always be the same, but it's been filled with ups and downs. We've had good times. We've had some not-so-good times. There's been a ton of teaching tape, a lot of learning experiences, and I'd like to think that I've gotten better over the weeks, and I think every single guy in here has, and that's just to us continuing to work hard and continuing to fight.
On his mistakes…
Most of them, if not all of them, are just brand new things that I've had to learn from. There will always be that. That'll never change as long as I play this game. Every quarterback is going to face new things and new challenges from week to week. That's just something that I've got to prepare myself for mentally. To go into it every single week to be mentally stable and to have the mindset that every game is going to be a grind and I've got to go in and be 100 percent accurate as well as 100 percent correct with my reads. That's nearly impossible, but that's what we strive for here.
On his relationship with David Garrard…
The one thing that I've taken from David, from his time here back in camp, and then the time he's been here for the past week or so, is that he's a consummate professional, a great guy on and off the field. He's a guy you love to be around. He brings another dimension to our quarterback room. He's a veteran guy. Him and Brady [Quinn] are guys that I lean on, as well as Mark, because they've been around it. They've dealt with some of these experiences that I'm dealing with as a rookie. Some of those things that they've been through really help me out.
On elite quarterbacks making their teammates better…
That's just it. Elite quarterbacks make the guys around them better. Regardless if they have the best receivers in the NFL or guys that aren't considered the best, they're always going to make those guys better. They take care of the ball. I believe that elite quarterbacks have a unique trait. It's just kind of built in within you, that you just feel like you can go out there and win every single game. You're never out of a game and you have that type of leadership mentality, and that's something that I try to build on every single day.
On how long the process takes to become an elite quarterback…
I don't know. I think it just comes with time. The key thing is being patient. I think it's something, like I said, that's already in you. It just has to develop and just has to become prevalent.
On what comes to mind when he thinks back to Week 2 in New England…
Twelve plays. The final 12 plays of the game, in my opinion, are what changed it for us. We were right in it. I think we played a sound second half. If you want to talk about my personal game, I think I took too many sacks in that game. It was my second start and I wasn't seeing things as clearly as I'm seeing them now. I've got a ton of reps and a ton of experience, but off the top from that game, just 12 plays, those three interceptions at the end, are what I believe changed it for us. We were right in it, had a chance to kick a field goal, had another chance to go down and tie the game, but we didn't get it done. We hope to build on that.
On if the experiences he's had since Week 2 are enough to win the game Sunday…
Well, we'll see. That's why we play the game. We've got an opportunity on Sunday and that's what it's all about. Going out there and being able to learn from those mistakes and being able to go out there and just play a sound game. When I'm out there playing I don't think about what I've done in the past. I just try and focus on the play at hand and that's really the way I play the game.
On if he has evaluated his progress to date…
My goal is to just continue to be consistent and just try to be consistent on every single down [and] every single game. I can't think about the past or what has happened. It's hard enough in this league to go out there and play on Sunday and you have to go out there and get a victory. Like I said, I don't worry about the things that have happened in the past because the opportunity is in front of me. I look at it in that manner and I just go out and play football.
On if the team has enough talent to beat New England…
I'm not making any guarantees. I believe we do have enough talent to beat any team. If we come out and play our A game and we go out there and we play sharp and we stick to what we've been coached to do, I think we can beat anyone.
On if he anticipates New England to change things up for this week's game...
You know what, you have to anticipate it. It will be interesting to see exactly what they do. You can't really tell until you get out there and you get the looks on the field. We try to prepare for every single scenario. We've been getting in hours upon hours of studying film, studying this offense and thinking about ways to deal with every single scenario. We prepare ourselves in that way. When the time comes in the game we have to step up to the challenge.
On his chemistry with the wide receivers…
I think we're on pace to be really good. We're young, we're all young here. We've had a few guys go down, for the most part guys have been working extremely hard every single day in practice. Every guy comes out with the right mentality and attitude. We're getting better. That goes for every single guy in this locker room. And all the young guys, we're hungry. We want to be the marquee players. We all use each other to kind of motivate one another and to get better on a daily basis in practice.
On the challenges of working with new players…
We have to accept that challenge, it's the cards we've been dealt. We try to bring guys along as quickly as possible. I know the coaches work extremely hard with getting guys reps in practice and doing extra stuff off the field, as far as studying and just making sure guys understand where they need to be and the proper depths, the routes, the concepts and all of that. It's something that's an ongoing process. We practice very hard, hopefully we can build enough of a rapport with one another to the fact that we can go out and execute. When the game is on the line, we're not thinking about the name or the number on the back of the jersey. We're all here with that Jets logo on the side of our helmets and trying to win for the organization.
On if those challenges affect him on game day…
It won't ever affect me. I don't ever think about it that way. I go out there and think I have the ability to assess the way a guy is running his route. That's part of being a quarterback, you can't just throw to a spot, you have to actually see the guy. There are different turns that can happen in the game. I just try to assess it that way and do my best to make an accurate throw.
On where he was when Josh Freeman entered the league…
[I was in] college, I'm not sure what year I was in.
On the ups and downs of the being an NFL player…
First of all, it's a business. I don't get into anyone else's business. I don't know what happened with him in Tampa and I don't really care to know. We all know it's a business here and you've got to do your job or someone else will be doing it. That's pretty much it.
On Coach Ryan saying he would enjoy having Tom Brady on his team…
I don't know. I didn't speak to Rex, I didn't hear any of that.
