Transcripts of four Jets players' conference calls with beat reporters Monday afternoon:
LB ERIC BARTON
On Patriots QB Tom Brady's knee injury…
It's sad that it happened to such a great player and I wish him well. We have to go about business as we would. I don't think it makes much of a difference. He's a great player but the Patriots are the Patriots. They're going to adjust and are going to be a good football team, as they always are.
On if this impacts the balance of power in the AFC…
I think that everyone has only played one game, so I don't know really what the balance would be.
On the Patriots being considered a Super Bowl favorite…
I would consider them still the favorite. I think they won what, 18 straight regular season games? They are, what you would call, the team to beat.
On if he thinks they're still the team to beat without Brady…
Absolutely. I think the last time they were in situation like this they won the Super Bowl.
On Patriots QB Matt Cassel…
I've seen him a little bit in the preseason and a little bit yesterday. It looks like he's a strong-armed kid, he looks like he's smart with the football and he doesn't make very many mistakes, most Patriots players don't.
On Kris Jenkins and the run defense against Miami…
He's a great player. He played lights out yesterday. I'm so proud of him and the way he played. It's just great to see. We were saying before the game that I haven't played with him in 10 years. It was great to be out there with him and he did everything we asked him to. I think as a unit, we played well against the run. I think there are things we can correct and we're going to go look at those things and try to get better.
On if he played with Jenkins at Maryland…
He was my roommate [laughs].
On Jenkins' impact on the defensive line…
He's an impact player. There are not too many people who can avoid his game. You have to deal with him. It's just a huge bonus for us.
On how much Jenkins weighed in college…
I don't know. He has always been pretty big. I don't really know what he weighed. He's a big athletic guy. He has always been that way.
On if he sensed more room on the inside for him and David Harris with Jenkins in front of them …
It felt good. Our coaches did a great job of game planning and we went out there and we were able to execute the things that we needed to do. It certainly wasn't easy. We had a lot of stuff that we had to really get communicated. As a team, and as a whole, I think we did a pretty good job of it.
On if he is expecting a call from the league for the roughing-the-passer call on QB Chad Pennington…
Oh, I'm sure I'll get one.
On if he planned to hit Pennington helmet-to-helmet…
It's not something I meant to do. It's just something that happens. It was nothing against Chad. It was nothing intentional. Sometimes it's just hard to avoid it.
On if Pennington said anything to him after the hit…
No. He kind of pointed at the flag and smiled, but that's just Chad being Chad.
TE CHRIS BAKER
On the AFC East being up for grabs with Patriots QB Tom Brady being placed on IR...
It's a tough break for him and the league because he is such a commodity for the entire league. At the same time, we have to go out and do our best and keep focused on what we have to do. We can't really worry about them and the rest of the league.
On if Brady's injury gives other teams in the AFC East a chance to win the division…
Going into the year we looked at the upgrades on our offense and defense. We want to go to the Super Bowl this year so we can only focus on what we can handle and what we can do. We really can't worry about what [losing Brady] that does to them.
On if he is optimistic about the Jets season…
We're definitely optimistic. This week is the first time we had live game action. As Brett gets more comfortable in our offense, we'll get better. We will continue to improve. We definitely left some plays out there on the field, but that's to be expected in the first game. Also, we're coming in with Brett and it's his first game.
On what he saw from QB Brett Favre against Miami that he did not see in the preseason…
He is a heck of a competitor, but just some of the excitement that he shows. You're used to seeing it on TV, but to be on the field with him and being able to see some of the things that he does – some of the reads. His actual in-game operation is unlike anything that I've been around. It's fun and pretty cool.
On if the excitement aspect with Favre at QB is unlike anything he has ever been around…
The excitement and the free spirit. If something comes in and he's not sure exactly what it is, he'll just say, "OK, do this." As opposed to, 'you're supposed to do this.' He's like, 'do this,' and we just roll with it. It's just a little bit different than what we're used to.
On Favre joking about coming into the huddle and saying, "Same play. Break."…
He actually did that. He wasn't joking when he said that.
On what happened during the play when Favre called out same play…
It turned out all right. One of the guys had to ask him what was the play. For the most part, it worked out. It's hard to explain, but it's fun. It's always fun playing, but some of the things that he does is almost like back when you were a little kid playing in the sandlot and saying, 'go do this,' and you do it and it works. It has that aspect to it.
On if he remembers what play Favre called out same play…
It was towards the end of the game in the final drive. I don't remember exactly which play it was, I can't remember, but it turned out ok. Nothing detrimental happened.
On the touchdown pass to WR Chansi Stuckey being executed just as it was drawn up…
Exactly. That was a tough situation. When you're fourth-and-13, we would've obviously kicked it in a normal situation, but it worked out for the best. It was a really smart play on his part, knowing that nothing bad can really happen here. He scrambled around and Chansi was actually wide open on the play. It was a great job analyzing and making a play, That's what he's done throughout his career. It worked out for us yesterday, too.
On if the Jets are tempering their enthusiasm because the outcome of the game could have been different…
We knew on the final drive that we had on offense that if we got the first down, the game was over. We got setback a little bit. That's part of growing as a team and as a unit, just getting on the same page and being able to realize, natural instinct. We'll get that as we go along. It takes a little time to develop, but as we go along, we'll be able to develop that.
On thoughts if Chad Pennington had completed a potential game-winning TD pass…
You can't look back at that. We were happy that we came away with a victory. You're not going to sit there and say, 'what if this or that would have happened?' Fortunately it didn't happen and we were happy to get a win. When you look at it, a lot of times that's usually what happens in the Dolphins-Jets games. It's always something like where it comes down to the end and goes one way or the other. In our recent history, it's been good for us.
On what the players in New England are feeling with the lost of QB Tom Brady…
Anytime you lose a player of that caliber, it's tough not having your quarterback. They have a great coach up there and I'm sure he is going to rally the troops. That's what happens, especially in this game. There are guys that go down every week. Not normally a guy of his stature, but I'm sure they are going to come in ready to play. For the rest of the season, they're going to be ready to play. They have a great coaching staff and veterans in the locker room. They'll be ready from week-to-week.
On if some of his teammates heard about Brady's injury after the game…
When we were coming out of the locker room, we were hearing about it. Then we got to see the actual injury on the flight back. We had TVs on the plane. We saw it and you're like, 'ugh.' You never like to see a player go down. We're all in this together. It's just one of those things. There's nothing they can do about it. It's the game that we play. It's a tough situation, but you have to move on from that.
G BRANDON MOORE
On Patriots QB Tom Brady's injury and its impact on the division…
As a player, you don't like to see anyone get hurt. You think about all the work that goes into it and to see it all end in one play, I hate seeing injuries on players. It's not fun even though it's part of the game. It's a huge loss for them. He's an important part of their team. I think a lot of people know that they have a lot of playmakers on both offense and defense to kind of pick up the slack and rally around [Matt] Cassel, or whoever ends up starting for them.
On if everyone can "bury" the Patriots now…
That's laughable. You can't bury the Patriots just because Tom [Brady] went down. I honestly feel like they're loaded on offense. They have a lot of veterans on offense, the offensive line and the running backs. On defense, they've always been good and solid. I don't think that one piece missing is going to make a huge difference. Bill Belichick does a good job of preparing them. I think if they can be more prepared, then they'll be even more prepared for this game. I'm not one of those who would even entertain that.
On if he said that he'll have to be more prepared for this game…
No, I said they are known for coming into games well-prepared and knowing the opponent well. I was saying they'd probably be even more prepared and the guys will rally around this whole incident with Brady. Like all of us, they'll be trying to prove people wrong and trying to answer those questions like you were asking, 'Can you bury the Patriots?' They are all going to rally around that. We're going to have to be ready for it.
On if this opens up the division…
Honestly, I'm not trying to give you clichés but when we look at that team, we don't just look at it as Tom Brady, even though I'm on the offensive side. The defense is loaded. You have [Richard] Seymour, you have [Vince] Wilfork, you have [Ty] Warren. You have three Pro Bowlers and a potential Pro Bowler up there. You have [Tedy] Bruschi still in the middle and a play maker in Rodney Harrison in the back.
To say this team is done and it opens things up, I don't know about that just because Brady is down. I honestly don't believe that. They're too good of a team. He didn't make that team. The team made that team. It's still going to be a big battle in the AFC East.
On the Jets' running game…
In the preseason games, I don't think Thomas [Jones] had a lot of the carries that show the true story about what the stats really would have been if it was a full game. A lot of guys are rotating in and out. We knew that they wanted to stop the run and they have a great front seven. Their front down there has a lot of youth mixed in with a little experience.
We knew that was something that they were going to try to gear to and try to shut down. We wanted to start off on a good note. It worked out for us pretty well. Still, looking at the film, there are a lot of things to clean up. It's a good way to start the season. We know Thomas is capable and as an offensive line we're going to try to clean up some of the mistakes.
On getting Thomas Jones into a rhythm…
It's good that you bring that up. Coming out of halftime, we said we wanted to run the ball a little bit more but you never know as a player what play-calls are going to be called when you go out there. You go for 3 here, you go for 4 there. Then, when you go back to the huddle and you're feeling pretty good, you're moving the ball pretty well, you mix a pass in there. Then you get in another big run. It feels good as an offensive line.
I know for me, personally, it feels good to be able to put your hand in the dirt, line up and block them. Thomas breaks his arm tackles, makes a cut here or runs over somebody there and you're getting positive yards. I was kind of upset we didn't get more points out of it but it definitely showed that we came out with a different attitude trying to pound the ball a little bit more. We had decent success with it.
On Brett Favre…
I guess he's a little bit more intense than in practice. There were a couple times we had some big third-downs. Late in the game when we needed a couple first downs to kind of seal the deal, he was really into it and trying to rally us on in the huddle to get the first down. A couple times we didn't, but he definitely wanted to win. He's a competitor. He didn't get to where he is not being one. He definitely was a little more intense, but we all are in the game. It was exciting to see and he's fun to be with.
On his missed block during Favre's touchdown pass to Chansi Stuckey…
He bailed me out big time on that one. It wasn't one of my better plays. Him being able to make a play out of it, I think it was vintage Favre and he bailed me out of that one. It just goes to show how smart he was. Looking back at it, it was fourth down and him being able to throw that up, knowing that even if they did intercept it that they would have worse field position than they would if we had to kick or they had a sack or anything like that. It just shows his ability to play within the game like that.
On what happened on that block…
The guy made a good move and he beat me a little bit. He put pressure on Favre. He did a great job of trying to avoid me and making a play.
On if he tried to tackle the Dolphins player…
He had me clean and beat. I was just trying, not to get a hold of him, but trying to get him off of Favre as best as I could, being in the trailing position. Favre did a great job of holding onto the ball, wrestling out of it and he had enough time to get the ball off.
CB DARRELLE REVIS
On his initial reaction to QB Tom Brady being placed on injured reserve…
He is their best player. It's sad to see somebody go down that early in the season. They are still the Patriots. We still have to prepare for them. They're still a tough team. We have to go up there and be focused on the task at hand.
On if Brady's injury has caused the AFC East title to be up for grabs…
They are still a team. The backup quarterback, Cassel, he stepped in and did a great job yesterday. They still have deep threats. They still have Randy Moss and Wesley Welker. We still have to prepare for them if Tom is playing or not. We have to go up there and focus on them and play.
On QB Matt Cassel…
The only thing I know is his general information. He went to USC. I haven't looked at film of him yet.
On his last-minute interception against the Dolphins…
It was just playing out the play. He threw the ball up. I had good position on Ted Ginn Jr. He grabbed me a little bit, but I kept focused on the ball and made a great play.
On if he saw a replay of his interception…
Yes, I saw a replay on it.
On if he was impressed by his interception…
I think I have pretty good ball skills [laughs]. It's just crazy how my body was and how I caught the ball. It was an exciting catch. It was real big.
On rookie CB Dwight Lowery…
Lowery played great yesterday. He had a lot of pass break ups. He's getting closer to interceptions. In the next couple of weeks, he should be picking some balls and making some great plays. He's determined. He's a hard worker. He came into training camp mature and ready to go like he belonged and was already playing a couple of years in the NFL.
It's great to see a young corner like that making plays. Coach Jerome Henderson told him that since he was starting, they were probably going to come his way because he's a rookie. He stepped up to the challenge and he's making plays.
