Transcripts of news conferences and interviews in the Jets' Gillette Stadium locker room following Sunday's 30-21 loss to the Patriots:
HEAD COACH REX RYAN
Well, obviously they are the better team right now. The score obviously indicated that. I was encouraged, though, from our team. We did some good things. I thought we got back to some runs and completions. I thought we did a good job offensively there. But obviously, against New England you have got to get off the field and they did a great job sustaining drives and you have got to give them all the credit. They earned it. That's an excellent football team and we've got to be smarter. We have got to play smarter.
If you make mistakes against that football team, they burn you. I mean, they absolutely kill you. And they don't need any help, with the offense that they have. But you can't make mistakes and we made just enough of them to help them. Again, that team doesn't need any help. That's a good football team. They are the better team right now than we are.
On anything he can do to help his offense after it had seven three-and-outs...
Well, again, I thought we did some good things, but lacked a little consistency, obviously, and you have got to convert on third down. That's the difference. They were 50 percent on their third downs and we were 27 percent. And I thought both teams ran the ball fairly effectively, but I think that that is probably a key. We have got to convert on third down and we have got to stop them.
On why the defense couldn't slow the Patriots on their last field goal drive...
Well, we were trying some things and we lined up wrong on one, then gave them a big gain. We had an injury and the guy was filling in for a couple of spots. But again, you have to give them credit. I'm not here to take away credit from them. They earned it. The guy ran the ball kind of hard at the end. Kind of surprised me. I thought [Tom] Brady would throw it there. We did have a loaded zone over there, but he found a way to get through and get that first down.
On what happened on Wes Welker's 73-yard completion to start the second half...
Kind of looked like one of those I-got-him-you-take-him's. Obviously in that defense, we expect the runner to take a shot, but we never had anybody deep. I mean, that's obvious to everybody in here.
On how to not let this three-game losing streak snowball any further...
Well, we are searching and we'll find the answer. Like I say, there were some encouraging signs, but not enough of them.
On if the offense has lost its identity after knowing what it was going to do the previous two seasons...
No, I mean, what, are you going to run the ball 50 times? We can throw the football. I thought we mixed in the run at times, I thought we ran the ball well. But again, three losses in a row hurts, there is no question. But this is a good football team and there is a reason they have won 18 in a row at home.
On if the Patriots are a better running team than he thought from seeing them on tape during the week...
No, I think it's tough. It all starts with Brady. And their receivers, they make you play in seven-man spacing. You have to do a great job at stopping the run in seven-man spacing. And if you want to play eight-man spacing on them, they can still get a hat on a hat and you've got to make some tackles. But you have got to give them credit, they are running the ball hard and it seems like they are more balanced.
On why Derrick Mason wasn't on the field in the first half...
No, it was just we have been trying to give [Jeremy] Kerley a few more shots. We played a lot more regular personnel as well. But we tried to get Kerley involved as well.
On a report about wide receivers talking with him individually about the offensive scheme in recent weeks...
That's "Ripley's" to me. If it is, then maybe I got hit in the head or something. I don't remember that.
On if he's had any players come to him in the last few weeks and question or complain about the offense...
No.
On temptation to throw the ball more than he did today because of the Patriots pass defense's recent struggles...
Well, I just think that if we got off the field on defense, we would have a few more opportunities on offense. So, again, I was encouraged by some of the things we did. I thought we ran the ball well at times, but we want to be more balanced. We talked about that this year.
On any concerns he has about the locker room being split by this stretch of games...
No, shoot, we've got a long way to go. No one said it would be easy. We've just got to play better and better. And I thought we played better today than we obviously did last week. Hopefully we will play better next week than we did this week, and hopefully we just keep building and building and building. And the team that plays best at the end of the year is usually the team that walks away with the championship.
On if the Patriots "out-grounded-and-pounded" the Jets...
Whatever you want to put in there. They outrushed us, I can tell you that much. Thirty-five rushing attempts for 150 yards. We had 25 for 97, so write any story you want.
On the offense's three-and-outs...
Well, I mean, they did a good job. Obviously I've said we have to do a better job on third down. We are productive on first and second down but when you are 27 percent, you obviously have to be better on third down.
On how he felt three weeks ago before the losing streak began and how he feels now...
I never thought I would be here, losing three straight, but that's where we are at right now. We've earned it and we've got to get better. I have seen this team, it's a resilient team, and I think we will be right there and I think we will get better.
On if this is the toughest circumstance he's faced so far with the Jets...
It's probably right there with them. You know, we are the only NFL team in history to go to the playoffs having overcome two three-game losing streaks. We've been down that road before. But to get back to winning, you have to roll your sleeves up and get after it, and start working and preparing and believing in each other, and we can turn the tide.
On the reversal of the Deion Branch fumble from his vantage point...
You know, that's what the call was. I thought there were some other opportunities. Sometimes you don't agree with every call that's out there or whatever, but you play with what is called. I thought he was kind of getting up and the ball was moving, but again, that's not why we lost the game.
QB MARK SANCHEZ
**
**
I don't know. Those third downs early, we had a couple of third downs where we've just got to convert. Some underneath passes — we've just got to connect. I don't know the reason why we came out so slowly. We probably had the best week of practice all year this week. Guys were into it, we knew the plays, knew the game plan. It was just frustrating and I know once we got going and once we kind of got in our rhythm in the middle part of the game, we were rolling. There was no doubt that we were going to go down and win the game and it just never happened.
It's pretty frustrating. We're going to have to work through this. I never thought we would have a three-game losing streak like this. I hate seeing Rex [Ryan] like that at his press conference talking about "This is one of the toughest stretches," and it is, but it's just frustrating. We've got to watch this film and get ready for Miami next Monday. It's really too bad. We've got to come out faster on offense.
On only 166 passing yards against the NFL's 32nd-ranked pass defense...
I think we wanted to establish the run today. I thought we did that in spurts. I think our run game was pretty effective, especially on first down. I thought we gained a lot of yards on first down. It put us in a couple of third-and-manageables early and we just need to convert on those. But it was similar to the divisional game. We just didn't convert when we needed to. I really did like the game plan. I thought we had some throws that were there. We got down in the red zone and took advantage of being in a scoring position. I liked the game plan, so I'm not worried about throwing it or not throwing it.
On how agonizing it was on the sideline as Tom Brady was leading his offense to the clinching field goal...
That's exactly what we did last year in the divisional game and then we busted the long run instead of kicking the field goal, so that's hard. You just want to get back out on the field. I know our defense is trying so hard, so it's really too bad. These guys are fighting. It's not for lack of effort, that's for sure. Just a couple of missed assignments here and there and we're right in this thing. But I was proud that the guys just hung in even when we got down — I think it was 10-0 or whatever. We just hung in and fought through it. We've just got to come out on top.
On how frustrated the Jets are right now...
We're used to winning and we haven't been on a three-game skid like this in a while — since my rookie year, I'm guessing. We lost two in a row last year but we bounced right back from it, so this is a little different territory, so we're going to see what a lot of guys are made of on this team, and it's my job to get guys ready to play this next week against Miami. We'll have an extra day to prepare, an extra day to get guys healthy, and it starts at the quarterback spot. Whatever it is, whatever we've got to do to convert, I've got to make sure we're converting on third down.
On how he would assess his play today...
We lost the game, so it's hard for me to get into stats or anything like that. I'm glad we took advantage of scoring in the red zone — that was huge for us. I knew we were going to need some big plays on third down and that's where we really lost the game. What were we, 3-for-10 or something like that? You can't win like that, not against these guys. You've got to keep them off the field and make it easier on your defense. I don't know what the completion percentage was. I know we threw a couple touchdowns and I know we didn't turn it over, but 30 percent, that's the only stat I judge from this game. I don't care how many touchdowns we throw or anything. Thirty percent is no good.
On why he was happy with the game plan when the Jets could have "thrown the ball at will" on the Patriots' pass defense and didn't...
We moved the ball fine when we converted on third down. Our first- and second-down production was great. We just stalled on third down. And I knew it was going to be a good balanced attack and that's how we beat them in the divisional game. It's not just one thing that is going to beat these guys. You don't just come out and throw it 50 times. That's not really our identity, I don't think, and I know we got away with that early in the year.
I thought we passed it effectively. We ran the ball well and opened up some of our run-action stuff, some of our quick play actions. It's easy to say from an outside perspective, "Oh, these guys are last in the league, just throw it every down." We're not built like that. We're built for the long haul and this team can run the ball — I know we can, and we'll even get better than today. So I'm more frustrated at the loss than a great game plan I thought it was.
On changing the mentality of piling up wins and trying to get a home playoff game...
Forget about the postseason right now. It's not like we're out of this thing, but we need to just win. Just win, get back to our winning ways and be better on third down — that's what got us beat tonight. It's got to start against Miami, but forget where we're going to be seeded and all that. It doesn't matter. We just need to win, just need to win on this coming Monday and we'll get right back into our groove, hit our stride, hit the bye week and come back strong. We just need to win.
On concerns about the offense fracturing...
No, no, not at all. Our guys are better than that. They care about this team and our season and that kind of stuff won't happen to us.
On if he hurt his hand during the game...
I just dinged it up a little bit. It ended up being fine. It just kind of hurt for a series or two, but it's fine.**
**
S ERIC SMITH
On the game...
On the defense giving up big plays...
LB JAMAAL WESTERMAN
On the loss...
CB DARRELLE REVIS
On the losing streak...
On covering Wes Welker and the 73-yard pass play...
TE DUSTIN KELLER
On losing three straight games on the road...
On the lack of consistency from the offense...
On the play of the Patriots defense...
RB LaDAINIAN TOMLINSON
On the loss...
On if the offense let the defense down...
RB-KR JOE McKNIGHT
On if the Jets can build on this game...
On his 88-yard kickoff return...
RB SHONN GREENE
On the play of the offensive line...
On what the Jets can build on...
G BRANDON MOORE
On the running game...
On the loss...
DE MIKE DeVITO
On three losses in a row...
On the Patriots running the ball...
WR-PR JEREMY KERLEY
On expecting to see so much time on the field...
On his first pro touchdown catch...
I just made my way to the back of the end zone. I'm just glad Mark found me.
NT SIONE POUHA
On the end of the game...
It is a double-edged sword with an unconventional offense, because you get unconventional runs thrown at you.
On the losing streak...
CB ANTONIO CROMARTIE
On the defense...
On the toughest part of the Patriots' offense...
WR PLAXICO BURRESS
On the amount of passing plays...
On the lack of execution on third down...
You have to be sharp. You have to focus on the little things.
