2009 Week 12 Jets vs Panthers Photos
Transcripts of interviews in the Jets locker room and media room following their 17-6 victory over Carolina at the Meadowlands on Sunday afternoon:
HEAD COACH REX RYAN
This was a great win. It feels good to say that. It's been a while. It was a great team effort win, but we still made too many mistakes. We have to protect the football. Dustin [Keller] makes a great catch on a great throw from Mark [Sanchez], but [he has to] know the situation in the game. We're in control of it, and we have to protect the football better. We're going to enjoy this win, but we've got to make sure we understand that. The back end played really well with the four interceptions. I never appreciated [the fourth down pass completion to Dwayne Jarrett] a punt that the guy threw up there that we misplayed, but other than that, I thought we really played well on the back end.
We mentioned all week that this team will run the ball on third down more than anybody, and we started the game giving them two third-and-long plays. You have to give credit to DeAngelo Williams. He made a couple of great runs there, and I guess our guys believe me now that they will run on third down. It took us a while. It was a big win for us, and now we have a short week, so we're going to enjoy this for about five hours and then get ready to go to work against Buffalo.
On Jets CB Darrelle Revis and the Jets defense…
We've been working on that deflection-off-the-heel play for a while now. It's just great coaching. It's funny – the great players are always lucky. The ball was there and he made the play. Steve Smith is a heck of a football player, and we have the only corner in the league that can cover him.
On Jets S Kerry Rhodes…
Great game. He got a game ball for the two picks. That was awesome to see. He also had a big hit on the quarterback as well. He really played well.
On his involvement with the offense and Jets QB Mark Sanchez…
It went great until we threw that pick, but I thought he did a great job. We had him in a situation: Take your shots down the field. He's this far away from having an unbelievable game. He really managed the game well. He made some nice runs. Unfortunately, he had that setback with the knee injury, but I think he's fine. He made great reads and, when in doubt, checked the ball down. Really tremendous game.
On the injury to Sanchez…
I'm not sure the total extent of the injury, but I know he had to come out. It just took a little while for him to come back. It probably scared him a little more than anything.
On if he considered keeping Sanchez out…
No. I was ready to get him back out there. When they said he was good to go, there was no hesitation on my part. We needed this win.
On Sanchez's execution of the offense…
It was great. Schotty [Brian Schottenheimer] and all those guys did a great job. It was great to sit in there and see how the offense handles things. On Friday, Brian, Mark and I met, and I really enjoyed meeting with those guys and getting that plan. They executed it great. There were some things – be smart with the football. We had certain things we would do where we'd call it something, and as we went down, there were three different levels that we talked about. He was smart and he stayed true to it. I thought he had a heck of a game.
On developing the offensive game plan…
I would mention it to Mark before the series, and then Brian and I would talk. If it would change during the series, then Brian and I would talk about it. Schotty knows what we need. It's just a point of emphasis I want to make that Mark and I are on the same page, and Brian did a great job. Maybe I hamstring him a little bit, but he knows what we need. We need to win, and for the most part, we did a great job. We had a couple of costly turnovers, and we have to get that corrected. One other negative thing was that holding call in the four-minute situation, and that just kills you. Now, you're facing a first-and-20, and that's where we've got to be smart. That's where you can't have a mistake. There's absolutely no excuse for having a mistake in that situation, and we mentioned that in the post-game.
On the Jets first timeout in the second half…
The defense had one personnel grouping on the field, and then I was late getting the different personnel out there. When I saw it, it was too late to get everyone off, so I called it. That's definitely on me. We had base personnel on the field, and then I tried to switch it and it was a little too late, so I took the time out.
On if Jets QB Mark Sanchez has worn a wristband before…
There have been other games where he has had a wristband just in case the headset goes out. He's got a couple of different codes on there now.
On Jets S Eric Smith…
He did a great job. Sometimes, we can say that Kerry [Rhodes] got run over, but he got run over, too. He got the guy on the ground in the open field, and that's the big thing. I thought he did a great job getting those guys on the ground.
On Jets timeout before K Jay Feely's first FG…
I'm not sure Kellen [Clemens] knew how much time was left. We sent him out with enough time, but when I saw him go back, I was like, "Oh my." The one thing you don't want to do in that situation is to rush your kicker, so that's why I called the timeout. It would have been close whether we got it off or not, but I didn't want to disrupt that operation. That's why we took it there.
On the "codes" used for Sanchez…
Schotty runs that offense and is the playcaller. It's not my system with Mark. Schotty makes the calls and knows exactly what we want and what those codes mean. Sometimes I may hamstring him a bit, but Schotty does a great job calling plays. It was good for me to sit in there and see it. We have a great offensive staff, and I've said that forever. I have so much confidence in them. You'd have to ask him whether it affects him at all.
On if he spoke with Sanchez more…
Anytime we had the ball, I talked to him before he took the field.
On the colors on Sanchez's wristband…
Yeah, he has a few of those on there I think. I think he keeps that on there as well, as well as some of the other plays on there as well, just to remind himself.
On if he regrets not making this decision with Sanchez earlier in the season…
Maybe so, but again, I'm new to this thing. It certainly isn't me that we won this game. It's a little thing. I'm serving Schotty, and I felt if I could be helpful at all and Schotty wants me in this kind of role, then I'm going to do that. I want to make sure that if I think I can help, I'm going to say something. Previously, I think it was his [Sanchez's] competitiveness that got in his way a little bit. If he made a mistake, he'd want to come right back at you, like "I'll show you," whereas sometimes that might not be the best course of action.
On momentum created by Revis' interception return for a touchdown…
We got lucky in that situation, and that was good. The ball bounced our way, and that was huge for us. The ball has clearly been bouncing against us a little bit, so now it's time that things evened out. In my opinion, Darrelle Revis is the best corner in the league. If we were having the year we hoped to have, he'd be considered for Defensive Player of the Year. Nobody puts as much on one player as we put on him. Every single week, he has to answer the bell. Not Champ Bailey, not anybody in this league is asked to do what he does.
On reaction to Sanchez's injury…
It wasn't good. I was like "Get up, kid. Just breathe. You're going to be fine." It never looked like a big hit, but obviously, having "Sanchise" sitting right there is not a good feeling.
On challenging Carolina WR Steve Smith's TD reception…
As far as you know, they were dead-on upstairs.
QB MARK SANCHEZ
On what happened on the play where he got injured…
It just felt a little funny and I wanted to be smart about it, so I went over to the trainers and they checked it out, said it looked pretty good and we're all good.
On if it was more of a scare than an injury…
I guess it was just an awkward fall. He kind of landed on my leg. He was playing hard and I am trying to get out of bounds and obviously I just need to get a little faster.
On the nature of the injury…
[It is a] Nothing. It's just an awkward fall I guess. They were just looking at me, making sure everything is all good. They checked out all the ligaments and stuff and it looks good.
On looking forward to the Buffalo rematch…
I was just excited about this game first and I know we have a short week and we're heading up to Toronto to play Buffalo but I was really proud of our effort today and us playing smart on offense and still, we gave up a couple of turnovers. So we have a short week to correct things and it is important to do that and I'm excited about this next game.
On how things worked out with the codes…
Everything was good. I mean even when you're really focusing on trying to know the situation and understand what we need, you cant throw a pick on second down. Braylon's running the right route and I'm making the right read and sometimes you just miss. Did [Chris] Gamble make a great play? Sure. Could I have put the ball out in front of Braylon? Absolutely. So that is a situation there where we can't let that happen. I thought I got the ball to the backs a little bit, especially early on, much better with completions and being smart, trying to get back to the line running a couple of times and the color system really helps.
On how plays were communicated to him…
All different ways. Rex can tell me, Schotty [Brian Schottenheimer] tells me and it has almost turned into, when Rex tells me, I try and convey it to the guys to reaffirm it again to myself just to remind me. Just like when you get in a goal-line situation or red-zone, you just say that to the guys and it will trigger some things that we've heard all week. So as much as it is helping me, I think it is resonating throughout the entire team.
On the impact of having Rex in the meetings…
I think it just showed our offense that he really does care. He told us right out front that he isn't doing this because he thinks we need to improve, or one side of the ball isn't performing or anything like that. All he said was, "I want to know, I want to help, I want to see what you guys are seeing and really get involved," so it helped us. I don't know how to say it enough, it is not taking away from Schotty, Rex isn't calling the plays, it is Schotty's deal and he is doing a heck of a job. So him being in the meetings just lets us know on offense how much he cares about us winning and the team in general, so it was important.
On his confidence…
Coach Cavanaugh talked to some people who have been asking, "Hey, how is Sanchez doing? Is his confidence up?" He says, "If anything, he is too confident. He is trying to make so many plays." I'd rather be on that side of it and then hold myself back the way I did today and play smart and get some completions, rather than be underconfident and try and get pumped up every game. It's a good thing. It's a growing process, and I am really learning.
That code, I can't say enough about that. Schotty and I are talking through situations and when we need points, and when it's OK to take a sack. As crazy as that sounds, it's OK. Let's just not give it to the other team and play smart and let our defense play. And they did a heck of a job. Definitely the confidence level is sky high. I am feeling good about today, but it's a short week so we have to get back on track.
On the code system…
There are things you remember. You are making these plays with split-second decisions. You need to make these decisions quickly. When you say it before, you kind of remind yourself, almost subconsciously. You think to yourself, "Is that throw there?" And that ball is getting released. And then you say, "No, I am not. I am going to check it down this time." Those decisions are crucial for this team to be successful. You see what happens when I play smart and we do well as a team.
On how the code system is communicated to him from the sidelines…
I can't explain it for every time. Sometimes it might be Rex, it might be Schotty, it might be that when I am on the field he just looks at me and kind of says what we are doing. I don't know how to explain it really. It obviously works. It just feels good knowing he really cares about things and is trying to convey a message to me, and that he is willing to do whatever it takes to help this team win.
On what he said to Dustin Keller after his fumble on the goal line…
Just, "Hey, you were trying to make a play and those kind of things happen." If anything I thought he tried a little too hard. When I am rolling to my left against New England and we are back on our own goal line and I think, "I can make this throw" and throw it, then I was just trying too hard. Did he want the touchdown? Absolutely. Did he deserve to get a touchdown right there? Absolutely. He ran a great route, and made a good catch and stretched the ball. That's another one of those things, that, in that situation, that was not exactly what we needed. Dustin is a great player. We came right back to him and he is doing just fine. He bounced right back and the defense really bailed us out. I have no confidence lost in Dustin. He is a stud. He is playing really well.
On how the plays are written on his wristband…
There are no plays on the wristband. I wish he would have given me a good way to explain how this whole thing works. It just kind of works between him and me and Schotty, and we are all on the same page with Coach Cavanaugh. I don't know how else to explain it.
On if the color codes changed on his wristband in the second half…
I didn't change anything all game. I had the same thing on.
On how the colors on his wristband correspond to the play-calling…
The plays still come through the headset. Basically it's a thing between me and Rex and Schotty. I don't know how else to explain it. There are color codes. There are words associated with it. I can't say the whole thing because other teams might be looking to see what we are trying to do. Just know the code works. It's almost like telepathy between the three of us. It worked really well for one game, so we will try it out again next week.
On if other teams in the league will adopt this code system in the future…
I don't know about that. OK, no other questions about the wristband [laughing]. It worked out really well. Rex had a great idea with it and we are all in line, and I like it.
On the fourth quarter sack…
I know exactly which play you are talking about, because Coach Cav talked to me about it right after. Coach Schotty called me up, too. It was a smart play. Did I feel like I could throw the ball to Dustin? Probably, but we got what we needed right there. What if it got intercepted, tipped up? An incompletion is fine, but it was just tight. It didn't look great. In that situation, with our code he has got to be wide open, we need a completion. But if it's not there, just get back to the line, and I tried to get back to the line but he got me for the sack. It was just trying to get us out of a bad situation. You can't make chicken soup out of chicken dung.
On having seven points on the board before he took the field today…
It's huge. It really helps your offense. It gives you a spark. This defense played awesome. Kerry, two picks. He almost took one back to the house. I was joking with him, since he was looking past that initial block. He thought somebody was going to block that guy and he got killed. Two picks for him. Two picks for Revis. A bunch of pass break-ups. David Harris was all over the field. Bryan Thomas mixed it in there. All those guys applied pressure to the quarterback and that was huge for us. Great overall win. There are some little mistakes to clean up and get ready for Buffalo.
On if implementing today's game plan a month ago would have resulted in more wins…
Absolutely not. The decisions that I made before, I have taken full responsibility for them. I am trying to grow. It had nothing to do with the game plan. I just needed to play better in those games. We are rolling. We can't think about a month ago. We need to think about now and what a great win it was today. We have to clean up some little mistakes there at the end with clock management and being smart with our timeouts. We have a short week, like I said earlier. We have to get going and build off of this win and get a little momentum going.
On cracking the code system…
It's like the Da Vinci code. I'll send you an encrypted text [laughing]. It has nothing to do with the play-calling. Nothing. I mean, absolutely nothing. It's just a mindset. There's a lot that goes into it.
RB THOMAS JONES
On the importance of the win...
It's very important for us to get this win. We lost a couple of games in a row, needed to get some momentum back, get some confidence back. Anytime you can get a win at home, it was a team effort, it's always a positive. We have a short week coming up this week, so it was definitely something we needed, only having a couple of days to get ready for the next game.
On what the difference maker was today…
I thought the defense played great. I thought they played great the whole game. The offense, we made some mistakes, we made some turnovers. We didn't take advantage of a lot of the opportunities that we had to score. But we found a way to do what we need to do to put the ball into the end zone and put ourselves in position to get field goals. I still think there are a lot of things that we can learn from this. You can't turn the ball over, we make it harder on ourselves when we give the other team the ball and take opportunities from ourselves to score. You can't do that. We did some positive things. I thought we held it in the running game and ran hard. It's a tough game, we knew it was going to be that way. I have respect for Carolina's defense; they're fast, strong guys. I think we were able to do a good job running the ball.
On the defense getting it together…
Definitely. From the beginning of the game to the end of the game, they were making plays, creating turnovers. You had a touchdown off an interception. We put them in a lot of tough situations with turnovers. We answered the call. On offense, definitely, we have to make sure we're doing everything we can to hold up our end of the bargain. We're going to try and do that this week in practice and get ready for this next game. But the defense did a great job and everyone is proud of them. They really helped us out as a team today.
On a more conservative offensive game plan…
You still have to be able to throw the ball to be successful. Mark [Sanchez] can throw the ball. He had the interception, but I thought he made some good decisions today. I thought he was a lot more conscious of what he was doing with the football and managing the game. I thought he was a lot more conscious with that. We're confident in Mark. He's had some ups and had some downs, but at the end of the day, we're a team. You win as a team and you lose as a team. It's never on one guy, and he understands that. After every game, you just learn from your mistakes and move on to the next [game].
On his role in the team's passing game…
We emphasize the backs and the running, being in control so that we're available for the quarterback. If something's not looking good downfield, [Sanchez] did a good job of finding backs today.He hit Danny Woodhead on a couple balls and he hit me on a couple balls, a couple of them ended up being first downs. Anytime you can do that, it keeps the defense on their heels. They're not really sure what you're going to do in the passing game, so he is understanding the offense and what he needs to do to help us win the game.
On if he feels Sanchez was trying to do too much offensively before today…
I'm not sure. I'm not a quarterback, I'm not a quarterbacks coach. I don't really know how to answer that question. Down the homestretch, I think he knows what we need to do to get wins.
On what he does each day to maintain his consistency…
Around the facility, the coaches and the players watch film. Me and Shonn Greene do a lot together. Our whole group of backs, we watch film now, after practice and we each watch a game or two together and go into pass protections. There are a lot of guys now working out in the weight room, a lot of going in the cold tub, a lot of guys doing extra things. For me, that's something that I do naturally. I don't do it for show, I don't do it so guys can say, "There's Thomas Jones doing this and that." I do it so that I'm prepared on Sundays. I'm willing to talk to anyone. There are a lot of guys who want to become great players. There are a lot of guys on this team who definitely could. They'll see my example of working hard and they run with it.
I told you, [Drew] Coleman this weekend, "You get in the cold tub. Something good is going to happen in the game." I was just talking, but he ended up making a big hit and I was joking with him after the game, saying, "See, I told you," and I patted him on the back. There are a lot of guys on this team that do a lot of extra work, not just me. Being a veteran and being an older guy in the locker room, it's part of my job to talk to guys and to try and get them to do whatever might help them be better on Sunday.
On if he spoke with Kerry Rhodes before the game…
No. Those kind of situations are kind of tough. Obviously, it's an uncomfortable situation. Some people handle things differently. Sometimes, the best thing is to let the person handle it their own way. He came up today and made two big plays. I thought he played a great game. I thought he made some great catches. I think when you have guys like that who can come back from adversity and step up and take advantage of his opportunities, it makes the team better.
TE DUSTIN KELLER
On Mark Sanchez and the offense's performance…
He did a great job. When the catching was slow we definitely leaned on the run today. When things opened up, me and Mark [Sanchez] were on the same page. That was a tough one when he got the ball to me and I fumbled in the end zone. I wish I could get that one back. You have to learn from that. I think he did a great job.
On the fumble in the end zone…
I was so close to the end zone, I just wanted to drive in and get a touchdown right there for us. I reached out and [Chris Harris] made a nice play knocking it out. I just have to secure that. It was a bad play by me.
On Mark Sanchez getting his confidence back…
He got the ball where it needed to be. He made some real good reads to get to me in the middle of the field. As a receiver, it makes you real happy. The timing and everything with the quarterback is getting better and better each week. We wish we would have been a little bit further along earlier in the season.
WR BRAYLON EDWARDS
On the win…
It feels real good coming in here knowing that we have five games left and some pretty winnable games. If feels good to get this one out of the way. We need to come back against Buffalo on Thursday.
On Mark Sanchez's performance…
I think it was a good team effort. We played in a good situation today and good play-calls made it easier for him. He came back with a positive attitude. I think he made some good throws today to Dustin [Keller] over the middle and he managed the game well. That's all we really needed to do. Good play calling and management from Mark and let the skill guys and the line do the rest.
On what the win meant to the team…
Today was good for us. All we talk about is that next game. All you talk about is the game ahead. Win one game. It's a one game season. You focus on the games ahead and not the games behind. We did that today. We came out and played the team that was one of those teams that hang around and that can play well. We took care of business today and now we can focus in on Buffalo on Thursday. It's one game, focus on Buffalo who won today. I think they had a good game that came close. Go in with a good gameplan. Beat those guys and focus on the next game, which will be Tampa. That's what it is now, one game at a time. Buffalo is next.
DT MARQUES DOUGLAS
On the next game…
We have a short week for Buffalo. They run the ball and I think they won today, so we have to enjoy the night and get back to work on Monday.
On what this win does for the team…
It's huge. All the way around, it is big for us. It's big for our defense and big for our offense that we can win a tough game in the fourth quarter. We can make plays on defense and also we can stop the run. Those are some things that Rex Ryan has seen for a couple of years that we've built on.
On the game…
In the NFL it is a momentum type game. Whenever we get the momentum to swing our way, and swing our way early, is huge for us. Then our offense goes on the field, settles down and does what they do best, run the ball, run the ball and pass if need be. They were effective today. They let us rest sometimes in the first half and we were able to get the ball back to them sometimes in the second half to give them that extra possession.
CB DARRELLE REVIS
On the win today…
It was a real big one. Everyone is excited and happy to get this win. We've been in the hole for the last couple weeks, so this was a real big win for us.
On if his first interception was easy…
It was the easiest one. It bounced off of Steve Smith's foot and landed right in my hands. I just made a play and went down and scored.
On his interception for touchdown sparking the team…
That was a sigh of relief. It was an easy score right there. It doesn't get any better than that to start us off. During the game we made a lot more plays as well.
On what the win means to the team…
It was real important. We still think our playoff hopes are still open. We just have to take it one week at a time and some other things have to happen in the NFL. But we have to stay positive. This is a big win for us. We know we have a short week and we have to move on to Buffalo now.
On Kerry Rhodes…
He did great today. He faced adversity and made two big plays in this game. That's great on his part. He never got down on himself and we never got down on him, as well. It was great on his part to make some plays today.
On the defense scoring points in today's win…
It's great. We've been preaching that for a while. We haven't had many plays to score touchdowns on defense. This was a game this week that was going to be hard. We knew that Jake Delhomme throws a lot of picks and we wanted to be aggressive with the rushes. We got some balls today.
On his second interception…
The second one was a goal-route that Steve Smith did and I just tried to cover him the best I could. I saw the ball in the air, jumped up and made the play. I caught back up to him - I just closed to him as fast as I could, saw the ball the best I could to judge it and got the ball.
On the Carolina touchdown that was ruled an incomplete pass…
I didn't know if it was a completion or not. I said to him right after the play, "That was a great throw and catch." I tried to defend it as best I could and he ended up with the ball. It was a relief when the ref said it was an incomplete pass.
On speaking with Carolina WR Steve Smith after the game…
He said, "You're a good player. Just try and get better as a player and I'll see you in the future.'
On playing against great wide receivers…
It's great. I love it. It's competition. This is my job and Rex gives me a little freelancing opportunity to go out there and see what I can do as a player.
On the match-up against Buffalo WR Terrell Owens next week…
It's going to be exciting. I can't wait. It's up in Toronto. It's a short week, so we have to get in the film study real quick and move forward with Buffalo.
On communication between the secondary…
We were on point today with everything. We still have to look at the film and there still may be a couple things we might have to fix and tweak, but everything was great today.
On Kerry Rhodes being fired up about not starting…
I'm sure that would fire anyone up. If they sit me down, I'm going to be upset about it. You go out there and make plays to prove you can make plays. That's what Kerry came out and did today. He showed that he can make plays still. It was good for him and good for us as a team. We know Kerry's a great player. He has made plays before I was here and he's been a captain. He has proven that he can make plays.
On talking to Rhodes after his second interception…
I said, "That's how you fight it. That's how you fight adversity." He said, "Yeah." I said just to keep on pushing. After the second pick, I said, "Keep those coming." You have to tip your hat off to him. He could have been negative during this week during the whole process. But he stuck with the plan and now he's moving on with that, too.
On Rhodes sitting today being a wake-up call to the entire team…
It's never good when you lose a bunch of games. The organization, the building is not good. You have to find some way to make changes and tweak some things. That was one of the things that we tweaked. We moved forward with it. We never looked down on Kerry or anything. It was just something that the coaches made the decision and we have to live with the fact that we have to do our jobs. He did a great job today.
On his satisfaction with the play of the secondary despite missing key players…
We've been through a lot this year. This is a big relief for us to get a lot of picks today, which we did. We know that [Dwight] Lowery is a great player and [Donald] Strickland is, as well. We can't wait to get them back, but we did step up today without them here.
On feeling any added responsibility as a key player of the defense…
I don't look at it like that, as added pressure. I just try to be the best player I can. I work on my technique a lot and what I need to do when I prepare. I feel confident every Sunday when I come out and play against these teams.
On Rex Ryan's statement that no team in the NFL puts as much pressure on one player as the Jets do to him…
Wow. That's a big statement right there. I just look at it as fun. It's my job. I love to compete. It's one thing that I love to do. I love being up in receivers' faces and challenging them. I'm not going to sit here and say that I can shut a receiver out and say that he is going to have zero catches for zero yards. The only thing I can do is just not let him have over 100-yards receiving and three or four touchdowns. That's my job.
On coming out against Buffalo in the short week…
This is our job. It's what we have to do. We know it's a short week this week and we have to prepare very fast. We have to be on point about everything that we do this week. So when it comes Thursday, we will be very prepared.
S ERIC SMITH
On Carolina's offense…
We knew they were going to run the ball a lot, but we knew the front seven were going to do a good job stopping it. When we saw run, we were kind of playing pass and then just picking up where the guys up front didn't.
On if he spoke with Kerry Rhodes this week…
We were talking the whole week about different things that we were seeing on film. It was like our roles switched. I was always in on the subgroups, so I was telling him things I knew from when I was in. We were just sharing tips back and forth.
On how much Rhodes helped him this week…
A lot. He would catch me on certain plays and was like, "You should be a little more outside on this. You should be a little bit slower here." He was a big help.
On his performance…
I think I did pretty well. I made some plays when I was in there and took advantage of the opportunity.
S KERRY RHODES
On his perfomance…
I got the message. The message was sent. Now, I am moving on and you're going to see Kerry Rhodes. The message was sent to me by Coach and now I'm moving on. That's all it takes. You saw Kerry today and that's what you'll see.
