Transcripts of head coach Rex Ryan's news conference and portions of interviews with Jets players following their 31-16 loss to the Giants in the preseason opener Monday night:
HEAD COACH REX RYAN
You have to tip your hats to the Giants. They did a much better job than we did in the second half. I thought our starters, the first group, played about the way we expected them to play. The turnover was obviously a big play against us, but we did a good job defensively. We did have three opportunities to get some turnovers, came up with none. That's something we would like to improve on. I was kidding with [Antonio] Cromartie that we're not getting our money's worth. He did drop the two passes, but he played great. I was really happy with the way the first defense played.
As happy I was with the way our ones played, I was totally disappointed with the way our twos played. These are some guys that we're counting on to give us good depth and guys that are going to have to play, and we got whipped by them, there's no question about it. I was mentioning to [Giants coach] Tom Coughlin today that "I don't know who this No. 3 [WR Victor Cruz] is, but he's pretty darn good. So I hope they cut him. I know one team that would be ready to sign him, and that'd be us [laughter]. They did a good job playing backyard bombardier on you, when you set up, playing the 1-on-1 matchups, back shoulder fades — they put a clinic on us. We clearly have a lot of work to do with our backups in particular.
On Mark Sanchez's performance…
He's been real great all of training camp. He came in and did what we expected him to do. He's looked outstanding all through training camp, and tonight was no different. Giants made a nice play, tipped a ball up, which is what you always try to teach your guys: tip it up, don't knock it down. The ball gets deflected, the kid [S Antrel Rolle] makes a nice play on us.
On LaDainian Tomlinson's performance…
I think he did a great job. I know the numbers don't show the run, he had that big 16-yard touchdown run called back on holding, but I thought he ran the ball well, did a great job receiving the ball. It was kind of strange for Tomlinson because I think this might have been the first preseason game he's played in about five or six years. But with us, he did a great job. I was proud of him and I was happy with the way Shonn [Greene] played as well.
On Cromartie and the secondary's performance…
Pretty amazing. The guy is a phenomenal athlete. That's straight. The same routes they were throwing in the first half, [the Giants] were competing in the second half. Both our starting corners did a great job. But we have to do a better job, the guys behind them.
I will say this: No. 3 [Cruz] had one heck of a catch, a one-handed catch. Lowery had great coverage. He was in control of the situation, looked back at the ball, and sometimes it's hard to defend a perfectly thrown pass. The kid made one heck of a one-handed catch and stayed inbounds. You have to give that young man a lot of credit.
On the depth at CB stepping up in CB Darrelle Revis' absence…
That could be. That's right, because these guys are going to have to step in. You're one injury away from one of these guys being our starter. Dwight Lowery has played a lot of football for us and he did have some great coverage but Cruz made some plays on us. And then we had a blown coverage assignment as well on the second team.
It looked as if Drew Coleman got beat, but really it was a miscommunication. It's amazing how it snowballs. The inside linebacker doesn't run with the vertical hook, then the safety now has to take the tight end instead of being over top of the corner. Then it ends up being a touchdown. One mistake leads to another.
On C Nick Mangold not dressing for tonight's game…
He had a headache today and it's probably not even related [to a blow to the temple he suffered in practice]. It's one of those things where you'd much rather be safe than sorry.
On keeping the starters in for the duration of the first half…
We wanted to run two [second-quarter] series. That's basically what we did. The way the game played out, it ended up being almost the whole half. It was the way we controlled the ball in the first half. We just kept them going. I wanted to play one quarter and two series. That's really what we did. When you have so many days before we play the first game and now we turn around and only have five days before we play the second game — we're going to switch how we play it. The second week, we're going to play the starters one quarter and that's it, just a couple of series. We have plenty of work with our second team. They need all of the reps they can get. We need to play Jets football, regardless of who is in there.
On if he was satisfied with defensive pressure on Giants QB Eli Manning…
Yes, I was. We don't have any sacks to show for it, maybe one or something like that. But it's the pressures and getting them off the field on third downs. I thought we did a good job on that. They made one really nice play — the kid was covered but then was turned around and Manning had the presence of mind, he did a great job of avoiding the rush by Shaun [Ellis], I thought Shaun had a sack but Manning did a good job avoiding it and was able to throw one of those backyard things on you. That just kills you as a coach. It was a nice play by Manning.
On if a hard hit on Manning were a positive for the defense…
I think if Manning didn't hit his own running back, the hit wouldn't have been so severe. I think that's what set it off a little bit.
QB MARK SANCHEZ
Oh man, I don't think you can script a worse start on the first play of your second season. But you know what? Sometimes those things happen. It wasn't the best ball in the world to LT [LaDainian Tomlinson]. I put it on his back shoulder and I've got to lead him with the ball, especially balls like that over the middle so they don't get tipped up. Poor accuracy, but we battled back and I'm proud of our efforts, so it's good. I think maybe last year I would have been down in the dumps and this year, things will just turn around, no big deal, let's get it back.
On bouncing back after the interception…
It was important to move on and get to the next play, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't trying to force anything after that, like "OK, now, I need a really good play because I messed something up." That wasn't going through my head. It was just staying sharp, going through my progressions, checking it down when I needed to and letting the other guys do the hard work. I think I did that.
On if he felt more in command this year compared to last year…
I felt confident. I felt great in the huddle. I think Rob Turner did a great job filling in for [Nick] Mangold and that's good to see. In case of an emergency during the season, we can have a solid guy at center. I felt in control and on the same page as Schotty [OC Brian Schottenheimer]. Like I said, except for the first play, I think we did a great job.
On if he felt himself checking down a lot more than last year…
I think it just called for that, some of the defensive things they were doing. They were so open underneath, you take what they give you. It's not like we're checking down to a bad athlete or something. We've got LT, Shonn [Greene] — those guys can create for you, so that was important. The only thing you don't want to see is penalties in the red zone, so we need to eliminate those and stop hurting ourselves.
On the new stadium…
Amazing. The fans are right on you in that little section right there. It's pretty cool. The postgame press conference is pretty fun. It was great to see the whole stadium lit up in green and we'll be excited to play here every home game.
On how his knee felt in his first game after knee surgery…
It felt great. The knee felt strong and I took a hit later in the game and bounced right back up. I didn't even think about it until [ESPN's] Suzy Kolber asked me about it. It felt good.
On his thoughts about the halftime ceremony…
We didn't get to see much of it, but I heard what they were doing and that's important to us, respecting those guys who played before us who have worn the Jets logo. They've worn it with pride. They've been standup individuals on and off the field, so we want to honor them and respect them. That was pretty special. I think the diehard Jets fans really appreciated that and that's important for us.
On if other players gave him a hard time for presenting a Tony award...
No, everybody has been cool about it. A couple of the guys on the team like the Broadway shows, too, so it's been fun.
On if he saw the hit on Eli Manning and what went through his mind
Oh, man, you feel for him. If it's a rival team or if it's somebody who grew up not being your favorite player or something, you still feel for him. I mean, as a quarterback you root for quarterbacks and you want them to do well, and obviously you want everybody to be safe, so that was too bad. It was a phenomenal hit by Calvin [Pace]. I asked a couple of guys and I think Eli didn't come back on the field. I think he got some stitches, but I made sure to tell Terrell Thomas and some of the guys, "Hey, tell him I said hi and make sure he's OK."
QB KELLEN CLEMENS
On his performance…
I felt good. I felt real comfortable out there. I would have liked the deep ball to Santonio [Holmes] to have been about two inches shorter. All in all, we moved the ball nicely. We just have to put it in the end zone. Our ones looked good. Our twos moved the ball. Kevin O'Connell had the great drive later in the game and should have got it in the end zone. The play went to review. It's a good start to get out there and get someone else, but we'll go back to work. We have some things to work on to get ready for the Panthers.
On if he was surprised to enter the game second…
I don't think that was any sort of pecking order or indicator. I was told last night that they were going to give me a shot earlier on in the game, but I haven't been told that has anything to do with where we're ranked as far as 1-2-3. As far as I know, the number one and two spots are pretty locked up.
WR SANTONIO HOLMES
On learning the new playbook…
It's coming along. It's going to take a while before we are all on the same page. For the most part, I think we are pretty much where we want to be.
On if he's had trouble adjusting and fitting in…
Probably just coming into camp a couple of days late and missing out on what everybody else had. Other than that, I don't think I'm having any major issues right now.
On if he wanted any more reps with Mark Sanchez…
No, it doesn't matter. I will be here for the next couple of years. I still have time for that.
On how Sanchez bounced back after the first interception…
I think he was a little anxious. He was ready to get out and have some fun. He calmed down a little after that and got this offense rolling. It's his team. He made the best of every opportunity.
TE DUSTIN KELLER
On the first game at New Meadowlands Stadium…
It was cool. We had a good attendance by the fans. I saw a lot of Jets green out there. The first-group offense, I thought we played pretty well. That first drive, obviously, not the way we wanted to start out, but I think we came back out pretty well.
On marching 68 yards for a score after Mark Sanchez's interception…
Yeah, it was kind of a fluke thing. Maybe it was a little bit behind LT. The ball bounced up and they get a pick almost for a pick-six. Stuff like that happens, but he just bounced back and on the next drive he was throwing the ball all over the place, making good checks, and did a great job. I think that's more of the offense that we are.
On what's next for the team...
Just go back to work. Go back up to Cortland and watch film and see what we can get out of this.
On how he would grade this game for the first offense…
It's hard to say before watching the film. Obviously, that first drive was kind of tough for us, but I think it's a B-minus or maybe a C-plus because we're capable of a lot more than that.
LB BART SCOTT
On the first game at the New Meadowlands Stadium…
It was nice. I think we have a lot of stuff to work on, but I think first half we came out and established ourselves after the three-and-out. A heads-up play by Eli [Manning] coming out, dumping it to [Ahmad] Bradshaw, but I think we could've responded a little bit better on the goal line. Hopefully, next time, we'll try to get a stop.
All in all, we look great and we have to do a better job in the second half of finishing out. Guys're out there competing. We're down a little bit in the numbers, we only have one set of inside linebackers on the second squad, but the Giants came out and played better than we did in the second half.
On the Giants' 51-yard completion and how the defense responded after…
That was a fluke. He cut Brodney [Pool], got up, Eli was coming and he kind of shovel-passed to him, but that's the ebb and flow of the game. I think we responded. We kept them out of the end zone later. That was good, too.
On how he would grade the team tonight…
As a team, all in all, for the whole game, we didn't do a good enough job of finishing out. As a team, we came out for the second half with the lead. You have to finish guys out. You have to have more consistency in the second half and make sure that we get guys stopped. I don't even know his name, No. 3 [Victor Cruz], he's like Randy Moss out there right now.
On what he saw on the hit on Manning…
A hellacious hit by Calvin [Pace]. No, I think Brandon Jacobs should send Eli some flowers. He got in the way and kind of started that whole thing, but then you play on. Of course, Mr. Butterfingers here didn't get it done. I couldn't pick up the [loose] ball. I'll work on that this week. It's still preseason for me, though.
LB JASON TAYLOR
On playing in his first game as a Jet…
I think as a defensive unit we played pretty well. It feels good to hit somebody else and get a chance to run around a little bit
On LaDainian Tomlinson's first game as a Jet…
I think it's great to get him all those touches. I doubt he's used to seeing the ball so much in the preseason, but there is definitely no question of whether or not he still has that burst everyone keeps talking about.
