2009 Week 15 Jets vs Atlanta Photos
Transcripts of interviews in the Jets locker room and media room following their 10-7 loss to Atlanta on Sunday:
HEAD COACH REX RYAN
This is a hugely disappointing game. We thought we had a great chance to make it to the playoffs, but Atlanta found a way to win. When you miss three field goals — and I don't think any of them were Jay [Feely]'s fault — that's hard to take. We had some untimely penalties that were very unfortunate. We had the three interceptions and Mark [Sanchez] was just trying to make a play on the last one after we were backed up by another 15-yard penalty. You have to give credit to the Falcons. They had some big conversions on some third-down plays on the last drive. On the fourth-down play, we knew the exact play that was coming. We just never defended it. We never executed it, and what a surprise — [Tony] Gonzalez gets it in the red zone. The kid [Matt Ryan] made a great play in the red zone. He was wide open and stuck it in there. You have to give them credit. This is tough because we're obviously out of the playoffs, and that's unfortunate.
On the Jets' last field goal attempt, and if it was a low kick by Jay Feely…
No. Absolutely not. It was a low kick after the snap was way too high. It destroys the rhythm. That's what it's all about in kicking. You can't snap one that high. It was great by Kellen [Clemens] to get the ball down, and then the timing wasn't there. That operation has to be better than that.
On the Jets' first two field goal attempts…
I thought we mishandled the snaps on the other two. We'll have to see.
On the personal foul on Jets G Alan Faneca…
Faneca was trying to finish a play and get a block downfield, and they called him for a penalty.
On coverage on Gonzalez on the Falcons' touchdown…
We were rushing three and figured we'd trap Gonzalez by putting a guy over top of him, a guy inside him and a guy outside him. We just never executed it.
On why the coverage was not executed…
That's a great question.
On why Jets S Kerry Rhodes was not on Gonzalez on the Falcons' TD…
It's a loaded zone coverage, and they almost threw a pick on the play before. It's a great coverage and hard to complete a ball, especially on a slant pass. We run that a bunch and feel great about it. If I had to do it again, I'd make the same call, but make sure we executed it.
On scoring seven points despite great field position…
Yeah, because we missed three field goals. You miss three field goals, you're not going to win many games. That execution was poor.
On the play of Sanchez…
He had his ups and downs, as did most of our team. At times, he had some great throws. On the first interception, he has to check the ball down. I'll take the blame for that. We should have had him in a different state of mind, but I thought he played OK. It was what we expected.
On Sanchez's last drive…
Well I mean it's tough when you get a 15-yard penalty on you. It backs you way up, and at the time, you don't have a whole lot of time. You've got to force the issue down there. That's when you get interceptions.
On disappointment for Sanchez…
It's tough. You get a 15-yard penalty on you, and it backs you way up. You don't have a whole lot of time. You have to force the issue down there, and that's when you get interceptions.
On the Falcons stopping the Jets' run game…
I'm just surprised. You've got to give Atlanta credit. They came in and 33 carries and 100 yards or whatever. Obviously, we average a lot more than that, so you've really got to give Mike Smith and his staff credit for coming up with a good game plan to stop the run in these conditions. They did an excellent job.
On what he told his team…
The team knows we've got to get better. It's the same thing we've been saying. If you have a great defense, you make that stop, regardless of what hole you're in, whether it's by a penalty, whether it's by a turnover, whatever. You keep them out of the end zone. That's what it came down to. For us to have the kind of defense that I think we're capable of having, we've got to make those stops. We've got to find a way. It's knowing the assignments inside and out. You have to know it.
In that particular instance, there's no way they should be able to complete that ball in that coverage. We had plenty of opportunities to come up with interceptions today, and we must have dropped four or five of them. We're going to lead the league in defense this year. We're going to be a dominant defense. There's no question. When we get ahead of you, regardless of how much time you've got left, we're not going to let you drive the field on us. That's got to be our mentality. Clearly, we've just got to find a way to not turn the ball over, do a better job of protecting the football. In these conditions, that's critical.
On the Jets' defensive execution on the Atlanta TD…
I was pretty shocked. Just say that.
On the pressure the Jets defense feels…
There's a ton of pressure. There's a ton of pressure on them. Our defense has to man up and take that responsibility. They've been doing it for a lot of the year. Two times stand out where we could have just taken the game — three times, really. Be dominant. Sometimes, the game's going to be like that. We put a lot of pressure on them and we expect a lot of things out of that defense because I think that group is good enough to get it done. We've got a lot of pride in that group. I also said that. Hey, this group right here is going to win us the Super Bowl. It just ain't going to be this year.
The nucleus of this football team is here, and we've just got to get better at what we're doing. We've got to execute better, know the finer details of what we're doing defensively and we'll be just fine.' We don't have to change anything. If we had to change things defensively, every team in the league should because our defense is playing better than any team in the league. Our standards are going to be set so high that when we get a lead, regardless of what time it is in the game, the game's over. And that's the kind of defense we're trying to build here.
QB MARK SANCHEZ
On the loss…
It's tough to swallow. It's never good when you play that poorly. We would play well in spurts and then turn the ball over. You can't win like that as a quarterback. We just have a lot of work to do and a lot to learn from. It's disheartening and very unfortunate.
On if he was looking forward to the last drive of the game…
Absolutely. Third-and-13, we were trying to get a first down, obviously we needed points. Maybe I was trying to look a little too far down the field when it's a four-down territory situation. It's just one of those things you have to remember. You have two downs, so you don't have to get all 13 yards on the first play. I need to learn from that and be smarter next time.
On if it was hard to initially get into a rhythm in the cold weather…
I don't think so. I think the first interception, it was a terrible decision. It was nothing other than that. It's third-and-long in our own territory, we don't need that. If we check it down and don't get a first down, it's early in the game, just punt it. We just need to be smarter in a situation like that. I felt there were times, especially in that two-minute drill before halftime, I thought we were rolling on offense, hitting on all cylinders. [Danny] Woodhead made some big time plays for us. I was hitting the checkdowns and being smart with the ball and we did well. That's the key right there, just being smart with the football. Other factors — the leg, the wind, the cold — none of that matters if you take care of the ball. I'm not blaming it on anything other than myself. None of the other things.
On the rushing offense today…
I felt we didn't have much rhythm in it. We didn't hit our stride there. That happens. When it does happen, we need to capitalize in the passing game. At times we did and at times we didn't. When you throw the ball to the other team, it doesn't work.
On if he used the color-coded system and if there were any problems with it…
Sure. We could make up new colors, it doesn't matter, you just have to take care of the ball.
On recovering from his first interception early in the game…
It was a bad decision. As soon as I let it go, I thought, 'oh man, that wasn't a good idea.' In this league, they'll make you pay. You just need to be smarter, make better decisions.
On his second interception…
Late and a terrible ball. Just a bad throw. Dustin [Keller] ran a good route and we got the coverage we wanted and we just missed him.
On this loss taking momentum away from next week's game vs. the Colts…
It's still a big game for us. We want to win. We want to play well. We want to finish up the season strong, and if there's any possible way to get in the playoffs, we know what we have to do. And we knew what we had to do today, so we'll regroup and go out to Indy and hopefully play a little better.
On being unable to make up ground in the AFC Wild Card race today…
More than anything, it's just not a good feeling. We thought we were prepared for the game. We just didn't come out and execute, missed some opportunities. It's never fun to lose, and this game is no exception.
On the reason behind his interceptions…
I don't know. That's a good question. I just have to work harder and improve and get a lot better and take care of the football. We'll regroup and figure things out. There's no definite answer there, I just have to play better and play smarter.
On if he thought the touchdown pass to Braylon Edwards would set the tone…
I thought that helped. I thought it gave us a lot of momentum on offense. It was a big play and the sideline erupted. We hadn't had a big play like that in awhile. I felt good. He made a heck of a catch, so that was a highlight of the game, for sure.
On if the 15-yard penalty on the last drive was too much to overcome…
That's something that happens. Alan [Faneca] was playing tough and playing hard. He's trying to throw a block for his guy and apparently they had blown the whistle. Those are tough. But there's no reason to compound that penalty with interceptions. It's not Alan's fault at all. We need to convert.
On his intentional grounding penalty earlier in the game…
He said I threw it where there wasn't a receiver present. I just have to get better. When you get pressure like that, I guess, throw it closer to our guy. They were working hard, too, and making the right calls, so you can't blame anything on something like that. We need to play well enough to take that factor out of the game. We can't have penalties like that.
On if wearing two knee braces factored into his play…
No, I felt good. I felt real good. No, at all.
TE DUSTIN KELLER
On the game…
It's hard. The entire game our offense drove the ball down the field pretty good, but we didn't convert and get touchdowns in the end zone. Our defense did a great job and made a lot of stops for us. We shouldn't have been in that position at the end of the game. We should have converted on those third downs and got it in the end zone, but we didn't and we were stuck in that situation.
On the penalties and missed field goals…
Every once in a while you are going to have that type of stuff. You try to limit it as much as possible, but regardless of those things happening, you have to work through adversity.
On the team not living up to its potential…
In certain areas that is probably true. That is something that we need to work on, we need to get better at. Just like I said, in the red zone getting touchdowns, that is something that we haven't been great with the entire season. We have to get better. We have an awesome defense and if we're putting points on the board, there is nobody that can beat us. We have to get that.
WR JERRICHO COTCHERY
On the game…
We felt like, despite everything that was happening today, we were going to pull it out. I definitely had full confidence in our defense on that last drive. It all boils down to not leaving our defense on the field the entire game. It's just going to wear down at some point. That's what happened today. We didn't finish out drives. We got down there in the red zone and didn't come out with any points. That is the recipe for disaster right there.
On the penalties and missed field goals…
Down the stretch, when you're playing for a playoff run, you have to be focused on everything in the game. Unfortunately, a lot of bad things happened today. Anytime those things happen, you are not going to win the game.
On the implications of the loss…
We knew what was at stake. Everyone in this locker room knew what was at stake. We felt like if we won out and took care of our business on a week-to-week basis, everything else was going to fall into place. You have to give the Falcons credit. They got eliminated from the race last night and they still came out ready to play today. We came out ready as well. In the end, they made more plays than we did.
QB/H KELLEN CLEMENS
On the missed field goals…
The first one I dropped the snap. The second one, everything went pretty good. We were playing the wind a little bit and when the ball came off Jay's] foot it went right where we wanted it then the wind died. We expected the wind to bring it back in. He didn't miss it by much, the wind just died. And the third one, you are going into the wind and you have to drive it and keep it a little bit lower. I don't know if we hit some penetration up front or what happened, but [Chauncey Davis] got up and blocked it.
On if the snap was off…
The third one, the snap got down. Jay was in a pretty good rhythm. The last two were satisfactory.
On the first missed field goal…
I dropped the first one. It can't happen. It is a chip-shot field goal and Jay is of course going to make it. It doesn't matter what the conditions are, you have to get the ball down.
CB DARRELLE REVIS
On the frustration of losing late in the game…
It was really frustrating. They made more plays than us at the right times, especially that last play. It was tough. Fourth-and-6, we knew the play, we knew what was going to happen, and Tony Gonzalez did a great job of finding a space in the zone.
On Rex Ryan's comment that "great defenses should make that stop"…
Yes, I agree with him. If we want to be the great defense that we want to be and we always preach about, we have to get out there and make plays at the end of the game, and during games. We did not make enough plays on defense. We had a bunch of third down stops but at the end of the day, we just did not get it done.
On the third down and his near-interception at the end of the game…
It was zone coverage again. I think it was Tony Gonzalez out in the flat. Tough catch, tough catch. It was a good throw by [Matt] Ryan. I was stumbling on the play to try to get to the ball, and it was just a tough catch, and I did not reel it in.
On where he was situated on the Gonzalez touchdown…
That was backside.
On if it was frustrating knowing the play was going to Gonzalez and he was not supposed to be in the area…
It's not more so knowing the play is going to him but knowing the play is going to that side. It was a 2-by-2, they motioned Roddy White over to 3-by-1. No, actually it was 4 strong, because they had the back over there offset, too. They had a tight end backside. Me and Kerry [Rhodes] we just knew that we were in the zone, I can't motion with Roddy White going across the field. They put their two best players on that side — him and Tony Gonzalez. I guess they found something, or they saw something in the zone, and he moved and got the ball.
On how the Falcons were able to get the ball in that spot to Gonzalez…
It's tough because we knew the play. At the end of the day, we knew what was going to happen. We knew they were probably going to go to him or to Roddy White. We played the zone. He's a Hall-of-Famer. He found a spot in the zone where [Matt] Ryan could get him the ball. He slid somewhere and Ryan threw it and he caught it. Big players make big plays in big games. Those two did a great job on that play.
On having their playoff hopes end in the final minutes of play…
It's upsetting. It's really sad for us right now. I don't know what's going to happen with the playoffs, but we let this one slip by. I can talk about our defense. We just did not make enough plays. Guys got hands on balls and we dropped a bunch of balls today on defense.
S JIM LEONHARD
On the touchdown…
We had the right call and he should have been bracketed. We were a step off. You can't be a step off in the red zone. We can't let that happen. He is a great player and made the play. It shouldn't have happened. We put that on us and it hurts.
On the touchdown pass…
There is not a whole lot you can say about it. They didn't do anything, it's not like they tricked us. They ran exactly what they were supposed to run. If you open their playbook, they ran what we thought they were going to run. We didn't get it done.
On if the defense should have allowed the touchdown pass…
They shouldn't be down there if we're the top ranked defense and we're as good as we think we are. It never should have happened. The frustrating part about the whole day is we left a lot of plays out there, myself included. We never should have been in that situation. Defensively, we had the opportunities to pull that game out.
K JAY FEELY
On how good the snap was for the second kick…
The best way you could sum it up is to say we did not execute. It's frustrating because once again we had an opportunity to win a game, a game we should have won, and we did not make the plays in the critical moment.
On the frustration of losing a winnable game…
It certainly was winnable. We knew how much it meant and how important it was. When you don't perform — and obviously we left nine points out there as a field goal unit — that just kills you. It just hurts. To lose that game that way and to not come through, it's very frustrating and disheartening.
On if it was tough losing to Atlanta since he played for them…
All I care about was winning and keeping our playoff hopes alive.
On the second kick…
There was a 20 mph wind coming across the field to the left, and so I played the right upright and it just did not move. It stayed dead straight. I have to make that kick. They did a great job of driving down the field and getting in position. Obviously the wind is a factor, but you have to account for that and overcome it.
On if the high snap on the last kick threw off the rhythm of the play…
We did not execute. There were a lot of things that went into not making that field goal. It wasn't one person. If you have a mistake in the operation, you have to find a way to overcome it. We did not do that.
On if it was surprising not to execute fundamentals at this point in the season…
Yes, absolutely. It's not something that we don't practice. We practiced hard. We were out in the elements all week. We practiced into the wind. We had a lot of wind out there. It is what it is. We did not execute and we lost a game we should have won.
On how much the elements are involved in executing field goals…
We play for New York. We are in the Meadowlands. We know we are going to have games that are going to be cold and going to be windy. You have to know how to play in those games and you have to know how to execute in those games, and that is something we did not do.
On if Kellen Clemens had the ball tilted to the right on the second kick and if it influenced the outcome…
I have to make that kick. That's the bottom line and I did not do that.
