I'd like to thank everyone for having me. I am very proud to be a New York Jet. It's been a very exciting couple of days and I am glad the entire process is done and now I can focus on getting back into football, which is something that I think I do well and I am very excited to do it here in New York.
On Rex Ryan's process in recruiting him…
I got a call from Rex around 12:45 a.m., I think, after he was leaving Bart [Scott]'s house, just to let me know how things were going and trying to do his little recruiting pitch on me. So it's not quite the same, he didn't get attacked by my dogs or anything. I definitely got a call early from Rex and I was glad to get that call.
On why he wanted to play for Ryan and the Jets…
I think, being around different coaches and different systems, obviously the system that he has is proven and the players love it. There is not one guy who's played in that system that doesn't love it and love the freedom and the ability he gives you to make plays in that system.
As far as Rex goes, he's as real of a coach as they come and he's not a BS-er — he's going to tell you how it is. I think you guys are starting to realize that. He is going to tell you what he thinks and he isn't going to hold his tongue. He's not going to tell you what he thinks you need to hear, he's just going to tell you the truth, and as a player I respect that. Whether you want to hear something or not, if it's the truth, for the most part you can respect it and learn from it and that's one reason why I really love playing for Rex.
On taking advantage of his opportunity with the Ravens…
It was very important for me to take advantage of my opportunity. Going into my fourth year, I really needed to make a statement last year to extend my career in this league. You only get so long and up until that point I wasn't satisfied with the opportunity I had gotten.
To go to Baltimore, and unfortunately with an injury — you never want it to go that way, but unfortunately in this business it happens more often than not — to get that opportunity, I wanted to make the most of it and I felt that I did that. I did all that I could last year to help our team win and to prove to people around the league that I could play at this level.
On his playoff experience with the Ravens…
As far as my playoff experience, I had a great time in the playoffs. It was my first taste, I really wanted to go out there and do anything it took to get wins, and it was a great run. I learned a lot from that experience on how to prepare and how much different it is than the regular season. I think that experience will mean a lot for me going through my career, and hopefully, I can pass that experience and that knowledge I gained on to my new teammates here in New York.
On his decision to play for the Jets…
We were very close to having everything signed, sealed and delivered out to New York when all of a sudden the Denver Broncos came out of nowhere and threw out a really big number at me. So I took a few hours to consider it and we ultimately decided that regardless of the money situation, the Jets were the place to be. We kind of knew that. Like I just mentioned, we kind of knew that going into free agency that New York was probably the best place for me.
Like you said, you get into the money game and it's hard sometimes to turn down things. Ultimately, we felt like the best football situation was to be here with Rex and this team, which I think is going to be great. I am very excited to see Rex as a head coach and to see all the talent that's already on this team. To come into that environment is very exciting for me. I can't wait and I hope everything goes well.
On if he left a little money on the table…
Yes, I did, and I am OK with that situation. I think I made the right decision to be here and I am excited to be a New York Jet. The Denver Broncos situation, like I said, was very last-minute. It made us step back a second and see what was out there. It was significant enough to where we had to take a look at it. Ultimately, we decided that this was still the best situation.
On what his role will be with the Jets…
I would love and I plan to come in as a starter just having that experience. Especially in this defense, I feel like I would have success there and I hope that is my role. That is what I am looking forward to doing: coming in and helping to install this defense, having a huge off-season and getting everyone on the same page.
I see it as a big role for me making it easier for the coaches once we are on that field and being able to communicate. Myself and Bart, we have a good knowledge of this defense. I think that is going to be a huge role for us this off-season.
On punt returning…
I would love to have that opportunity as well. I know Rex wants to get Leon Washington more touches on offense. He's obviously a great returner. He went to the Pro Bowl for it so he is very good at what he does. If I can get an opportunity to return punts as well, at least at times, I would love that opportunity.
It's something I've always enjoyed doing. I feel like it's a very rare opportunity, for a defensive player especially, to make a huge impact anytime you get a chance to get your hands on the ball. I would love to have that opportunity and I hope to help this team in that area.
On if he plays with a chip on his shoulder as a result of being in an underdog role…
I think I play that role. Everyone has a chip on their shoulder from something or someone, whether it be something somebody said about them no matter who you are. Everyone has that chip and with the underdog role and being undersized, everyone telling me that you can't do something. I have dealt with that my whole life and I do like to prove those people wrong.
It's definitely something that drives me, but it's not the only thing that drives me. I've never had a lack of confidence in my ability. Regardless of what I have been through, I have felt like I can compete at this level and have success at this level. I am just glad that I got the opportunity to prove some of these people wrong. But to answer your question, I definitely play that underdog role and enjoy proving people wrong.
On when he knew he would be leaving Baltimore and signing with the Jets…
It was at different times. With the comments Ozzie [Newsome, Baltimore GM] made at the combine, I kind of knew my time in Baltimore was probably done. I would have liked to return. Obviously, with the success that I have had, I met a lot of great people and it really was a fun season, both personally and as a team. I think we enjoyed a lot of success together.
I would have loved for it to work out, but once Ozzie made those comments at the combine, the writing was kind of on the wall. I knew they weren't going to make that big of a push for me, and in the end they really didn't offer, I really didn't have any opportunity to go back.
As far as with the Jets, I knew obviously when Rex got that coaching job that there was a potential of me going to New York. Once he called that first Friday when free agency opened, I knew they were going to make a strong push for me and obviously knowing Rex and Coach [Mike] Pettine I knew it would be a good fit. It wouldn't be a bad decision. Once we started going through the negotiations and everything seemed to be working out, I knew that it was more than likely. Somebody would have had to make a very strong case outside of New York for me to go somewhere else. I knew this was probably going to be the place for me.
On if the Ravens made an offer after the Jets…
I've never heard of an offer so I would have to assume that if they even did present my agent with an offer, it wasn't anything that was really in the ballpark of what we would be looking for. They have a great situation in Baltimore at safety. Obviously, knowing Dawan [Landry] and playing with Dawan for a year, I wish him the best. I hope he comes back healthy and if he comes back healthy, he is going to be a great player there. There is no question in my mind about that.
With them drafting the two young safeties last year and seeing them grow throughout the year, they are going to be good players as well. There is no lack of talent in that secondary, especially at the safety position, and I didn't mention Ed Reed, who in my opinion is one of the best to ever play the position. They are good at safety, they are very talented and they have depth, so it wasn't a shocker to me with how they approached me this off-season, especially with the other situations that they were trying to take care of as well.
On if he was insulted by the Ravens' comments at the combine…
No, it's realistic. He understood that there was probably going to be teams out there that would be willing to pay me as a starter and with the situation that they were in with trying to get a lot of free agents back and also with the other safety position it was more of a fact that he really said that they didn't think they had the money to pay me.
He never said that they didn't want me back. I had many conversations earlier in this process with the coaching staff and they all wanted me back. They just said, "I don't know if we are going to be able to do it." It wasn't an insult by any means. It's just more of a situation thing.
On what he brings to the game…
One of the biggest things that I bring is versatility. I can do a lot different things and I pride myself on being able to do whatever we need. Especially in my situation in Baltimore, my whole goal going into games was to allow Ed Reed to be Ed Reed and do whatever it took to put him in position to have the most success he could have.
I think it takes a lot of intelligence and understanding of the defense to do that, because you never know. Ed might change it up on you real quick if he felt like he needed to be in a different position to make a play. That versatility is something I pride myself on. I think that's probably the biggest thing I bring to a team.
On if he can do for Kerry Rhodes what he did for Ed Reed …
I think I can. I hope so. He has a lot of talent and this system is going to allow him to grow as a safety. He's already had a lot of success and I think this will take him to the next level and I hope to be a part of that.
On how good the Jets defense can be …
I think this defense can be great. They have a lot of talent. They had a lot of talent before Rex's system and before the guys he brought in. The defense has always been good here. I think this system puts guys in positions to make big plays. This coaching staff does a great job of determining what each player's strengths are and trying to put them in positions to utilize those strengths on a play-to-play basis — not just game-to-game; play-to-play, throughout every game.
As a player, you have to love that. You have to love knowing that going into every game you feel like you have the opportunity to be that guy that makes the difference. It's going to be a lot of fun learning about the players that are already on this team and trying to implement this defense and help the coaches, making that transition easier for them.
On sacrificing his own ego for the sake of the defense …
In this system, there is not really a set strong safety or free safety, so when you don't have that, it forces you to learn the entire defense, which I think is beneficial for everyone. So knowing that, Ed Reed, from play to play he picked and chose what he felt he needed to do in this defense to allow us to be the most successful. Being the other safety, you have to be very flexible to allow him that freedom, that creativity that makes him one of the best ever. It means a lot to me to be able to go into that role.
Going into the season, with training camp and his injury situation, we really hadn't played together very much. It was a lot of learning on the run and by the end of the season I felt we did a great job of playing off each other. At times I did have to sacrifice a little bit to do the dirty work, but that's my role.
I look forward to having that role here as well. Kerry Rhodes, he is a great safety, a great talent. In this defense, hopefully with me here, it will allow him to pick and choose those situations and allow him to have that type of success as well.
On Ryan's defensive systems…
The players in his system have to be versatile. As has been mentioned earlier with the inside linebackers, Bart and David [Harris] being able to play both spots is going to be huge for us. In Baltimore, as great as Ray [Lewis] is, and he's a first-ballot Hall of Fame guy, he did what he did and Bart was that guy that did everything else. Bart did a ton of blitzing, Bart did a lot covering, which allowed Ray to be free more often.
If we have both inside linebackers that can do everything, it's going to make it so much harder for offenses to identify who blitzers are, who is in coverage. It's going to make it a lot harder for offenses because they're not going to have a clue about what's going on.
That's another thing that's going to be fun this off-season — to see how Rex mixes personnel and the roles that he puts guys in. Like I said, the players are going to have a lot of fun in this system finding their roles as well.
On if it will be fun to see how the Ravens scheme translates to the Jets…
It's going to be fun. This whole off-season is going to be the staff trying to figure out who works best where. Once we get into next season, I think the guys are going to be comfortable in the roles that they are placed in. They've brought a lot of pressure here. I know they were up towards the top in sacks last year and Rex does a great job of putting those guys into position to get one-on-ones to where they are not getting double-teamed all the time and maybe there are free runners here and there.
He does a great job with this system as far as that. It allows those big-time guys up front to just get after the quarterback and not worry about getting cleaned up by somebody that they don't see. It's going to be a lot of fun to put this defense in and to see, once the guys start to get it.
On his journey from being a walk-on at Wisconsin to signing his first big contract…
I haven't had a whole lot of time to do it. It's been an interesting last 24 hours, all the ups and downs and finally getting the deal taken care of. You do get that time to step back and reflect on the ups and downs of your career. It's been a wild ride, that's for sure.
Going into college as a walk-on, you obviously don't ever picture yourself being in the NFL and then signing a contract like this. To me, all of the great people that I have met along the way and all of the people that have helped me out are the biggest things that I reflect on during this whole journey. At every level and stage of my career, I've met some great people that have either given me help with the knowledge of the game or just given me insight on life that have helped me get to where I am right now.
On if he has been to Manhattan…
I have not. I was in the city one time very briefly. I'm excited to get into the city and just to learn. There's obviously a million different things that you can do there and I'm excited — my wife as well. We're excited to get in and check out all that New York has to offer.
On if he received any scholarship offers out of college…
The only scholarship offers that I would have received would have been Division II. I was also a good baseball player coming out and I had a lot of offers to play both baseball and football at the Division II level. Ultimately, it came down to giving it a run at that top level. I would be kicking myself my entire life if I didn't take that chance. Obviously, it worked out and I am very glad that I chose the University of Wisconsin as well.
On facing the Buffalo Bills twice a year…
It's going to be a lot of fun. I still know a lot of guys on that team. Although I personally did not have a great amount of success there, I had a great time and I learned a lot about the NFL and about who I was as a player in that organization. I'm going to enjoy it.
It's going to be a little weird that first game playing against them, but hopefully we can get a win against them so that I can have a little braggin' rights against some of those guys. I'm definitely looking forward to playing those guys twice a year and meeting up with some of the players that I haven't talked to in a while.
On facing an opponent that gave up on him…
It will be the first time that I have been put in that situation and it will mean a lot. I'm sure it will be an emotional day that first time that we play. I don't hold a grudge against what they did. The harsh reality is that this is a business. As much as it is about football, it is a business and they decided to go a different way, which happens year in and year out with players. It's going to be a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to that day and hopefully we can make it a day that I'll remember for a long time.
