Transcripts of news conferences and interviews in the Jets' MetLife Stadium locker room Saturday night following their 26-3 loss to the Giants:
HEAD COACH REX RYAN
You have to give credit to the Giants. They played a whale of a football game today. We knew going into the game that this was one of the premiere defensive lines in all of football. If you don't stay ahead of the sticks, you're in trouble. I don't care who you are. That was the story of the day, seven sacks. They did a tremendous job. It's hard to find many positives.
I thought our defense played well, especially in the first half. I think it was 80 yards apiece at halftime. It was two good defenses going at it. Offensively, we had some moments and ran the ball decent at times. You have to be able to protect the quarterback. The one throw Mark [Sanchez] made poorly, the guy [Jayron Hosley] made a great play on. He undercut the route and it went for a touchdown. That was a huge play and put us down, 13-0, when we were in field goal range. The game got out of hand then. They did a nice job. They outplayed us.
On making adjustments to help the Jets offensive line…
There are a lot of things you can do. We have to improve technique-wise. As long as you're working and you're learning from how you got beat. Trust me, the opponent's watching and he's going to hit you on the same exact move. You have to be able to come back and practice it and work hard. That's really what you have to do. There are no tricks to the trade. It's football. It's 11-on-11 back there and you have to improve fundamentally.
On sacks allowed by Jets RT Wayne Hunter…
I don't know exactly what the number was, but he's going against a good football player in [Jason] Pierre-Paul. He's a heck of a football player. If you're isolated one-on-one, he's not just going to beat Wayne Hunter. He's going to beat a bunch of tackles in this league. Clearly, we have to be mindful of that. I thought he was able to do some good things, but I want to watch the tape before I isolate one guy. I have a tough time believing it was one guy.
On if he's worried about the offense…
No, I mean clearly we have to get more production in the regular season than we've gotten in these two preseason games. There is no doubt. But I'm 100 percent sure when we kick it off for real, we will have more production. There's absolutely no doubt about that.
On if last season's game versus the Giants had anything to do with this game…
No, it had nothing to do with anything. Win, lose or draw this one, that isn't changing history. The media perception could be whatever. There's no game planning, there's nothing like that that went in. So you're out there and you're trying to improve fundamentally and trying to improve from the previous week. Now clearly that didn't happen on the stat sheet. I think that when you look at it, you're 1-for-13 on third down, that's probably not real good. They were 2-of-12, so it wasn't like they were burning it up either.
But again, we have a lot more to fix than the Giants do, clearly. But at the end of the day, these preseason games, I'm not going to say they don't matter because they absolutely matter. But your record, maybe is the only thing that does matter. But these games are important, there's no doubt. And you've got to get better and you've got to focus on those things.
On if he was disappointed with the fourth-and-one and third-and-one plays…
Yeah, it was brutal. Absolutely bad. You know, you're trying to give it to the big full back through there and they hit him in the backfield both times. I might've been more disappointed in those things than I was anything else.
On what gives him confidence in their ability to score on offense…
Well, I see the way our guys work. It's a hard working group. Again, there's no magic plays. I know how hard we work and I know how dedicated this team is to improving. And again, that's what I'm betting on and that's what I believe will happen.
On how he can gauge Sanchez's ability without two of his best receivers in the game…
Well, I think that's a big thing and that's fair. Mark threw the ball well tonight. It's just that yeah, absolutely, it's hard to throw when you're flat on your back. And the other thing is, he had the one bad throw, which was a huge mistake, though, a critical error, that if we can put the ball out in front, if we had to do it over again, obviously he'd make that throw differently.
But I like the way he threw the football. Do we have to protect him better? Of course. And would it be nice to get Santonio [Holmes] and [Jeremy] Kerley out there and Chaz [Schilens] out there? Of course it would. But again, you've got to give that opponent credit. They put a lot of heat on that quarterback.
On his impressions of S LaRon Landry…
Landry? That was a positive. So hey, there's one [laughter]. You know what I was most impressed with? It wasn't the interception or whatever and the couple of big hits and all that. It was the fact that he was dialing in on our defense. And he's starting to pick it up. You're not worried about him mentally handling it. It's just great to get him out there in extended time, he played a half today and that was great to see. And obviously, guys, he is an impact player, without question, he is an impact player.
On QB Tim Tebow…
Well, I thought Tim was tremendous on that first drive. We gave him some time and he was able to throw the ball around, feeling pretty good. I thought he commanded the huddle well. The one throw he missed, I think it was four-of-five in that drive, the one throw he missed, it looked like he escaped a little bit, had [Stephen] Hill in the end zone, just kind of underthrew it just a little bit. As it went on, they really put some pressure on us too. I thought at times, that first drive in particular, I thought Tim looked really good, really good.
On his message to the team…
Well, obviously we've been down this road before. Unfortunately, as every single team has. But there's only one way to pull out of it and that's to work hard and get in there and without question, it's not like there's no faith in this team because we're 0-2 in the preseason. The fact of the matter is, you have to get better, we will get better and that's it. Our thing is just pride and hard work and get out there and pull that rope in the same direction, and we will.
On P T.J. Conley and if the team will evaluate other options…
Well, I think you evaluate everything. Clearly, your punter and kicker, you evaluate those guys against the entire league. It's not like, well, let's just pick this guy off the street. You're always constantly looking at other teams, how they kick, how they punt, whatever. The two kickers we have [Josh Brown and Nick Folk], have been doing a tremendous job. I think both guys will kick in the league this year.
But the punter, clearly, T.J. did a nice job on several of his punts and then he had the two shanks. He'll be the first to tell you we can't have that. He's got to be more consistent and that's what I thought on the practice field, he looks like he's been doing much better. He's one of the best inside-the-20 punters in the league. We've just got to get him more consistent doing the things he's done. He has a lot of ability, he's got all the ability in the world, he's a great athlete, and I'm confident he can fix it.
QB MARK SANCHEZ
On what Coach Ryan said to the team after the game …
It obviously wasn't our best tonight. We need to put our heads down, keep working, fight through a couple of preseason games and we'll get a chance to play probably the better part of a game with our starters next week. That's the last real dress rehearsal before Buffalo. We'll really get into the film this week. We have a long week to prepare, look at all our mistakes and improve on them. That was basically the message. He stayed positive, knowing that we're a better team than we showed tonight.
On his interception.…
I threw it a little bit behind PT [Patrick Turner] and the defensive back made a pretty good play, but I have to see it on film. I was accurate for the most part all night. I felt good. That just goes to show you how fragile the ball is. If you miss by a little bit in this league, they'll take the ball back. That's one you'd like to have back and I know I can complete that pass.
On how the offense played…
We struggled. We started moving the ball well and we had a couple of penalties early, holding in the red zone on the screen there, when we would have had a third-and-short. A false start penalty, no good. Interception, can't happen. We were good in spurts. I know we can play better than that up front. I know we can block those four-man rush looks. I've seen our guys do it and I know we have the right personnel. We'll get that stuff right and we'll improve.
On if the team should be worried about the lack of offensive production…
Rex said it too after the game. It's the second preseason game. It's not time to hit the panic button. You have to improve and learn from this stuff. I know we can do it. I've seen this team play much better than this. I've seen it in practice. The encouraging thing is we have the right personnel. These guys will go watch the film. They'll go study, understand why it happened, come out next week and play well.
On trusting his offensive line…
You have to stay positive and trust those guys, just like they trust me to make the throw to Patrick, just like they know I'm accurate enough to complete that ball instead of throw that interception that got returned for a touchdown. It's a two-way street. We all have to be accountable and I know our guys will hold themselves accountable individually.
On Wayne Hunter's play…
I know Wayne can do it. That's the thing, I've seen him play really well. He's a big strong guy. He's smart. He's going to study and work hard. We have all the faith in the world in him. Just not his best tonight.
On the offense not scoring a touchdown yet in the preseason…
We have to put the ball in the end zone, that's for sure. Some of that self-inflicted stuff: the false start, the holding and the interception, that stuff can't happen when we are starting to put ourselves in scoring position. We kind of hurt ourselves there. It's across the board. We just have to get better and be sharper.
On if the team should be worried about the lack of offensive production…
Rex said it best after the game. He said, "Look, it's the second preseason game. We have to score points, but there's no reason to hit the panic button right now."
On if he wants to see better play from the offense in the preseason…
Of course, that's the plan. We're now just out here playing around.
On if he's concerned that the offense hasn't played well in the preseason…
Like I said, it's not time to hit the panic button. Are we pleased with what we put out there on film tonight? No. Is it our best? Absolutely not. Do I know we can play better than that? Of course, it's got to get better. It starts with studying this week and I know our guys will do that.
On how can he get into a rhythm when he's missing two of his best receivers and he is not getting enough time to throw….
We hit almost every pass except for the interception and PT dropped one on the slant, so it's not like we can't complete the ball. We're making good reads. I know our guys up front can block a four-man rush, and having three receivers out is not an excuse. We have to get it done with what we have right now and we haven't been doing that.
On the offense not having been able to stretch the field…
They're playing the deep ball. They're keeping everything underneath. They played real sound in the secondary. We took what they gave us. Unfortunately, we hurt ourselves at time with the interception and the penalties.
On making the sure the offense stays positive…
It starts with your attitude. Tomorrow, get in there, get your lift, watch the film, be prepared for practice on Monday, start looking at some Carolina film and correct your mistakes from this week. It's just an attitude thing. You get hit, you fall down, you get back up and you do it all over again. Like I said before, I really do have faith in those guys up front. I know we can play better than that. I know we can block these four-man rush looks and these are the kind of guys that will study, hold themselves accountable and play well.
On if they saw mostly four-man rushes…
For the most part.
On if he feels he has to tell the offensive line to stay positive…
No, these guys know. We're all going to talk about it in our meetings. Like they know I can hit that pass to Patrick Turner on the interception, these guys can block. They're doing fine. We'll be fine.
On if the interception was a pass he shouldn't have thrown…
I just threw it behind PT. The DB made a pretty good play, but the ball has to be in front of him. More of a physical mistake than anything. The reads felt good tonight. I checked it down well when I needed to, when they played deep in the secondary. For the most part, other than that one pass really, the ball was on the money. It just can't happen. It shows you how fragile it is.
On what conclusions you can draw from a preseason game…
It's a dress rehearsal for a game. Anytime you get to compete, you want to win. You want to play well and put your best out there. To this point, we haven't. We just need to improve across the board, hold each other accountable and know that we can't have the turnover like we did tonight. There's no excuse for that. The self-inflicted penalties, we can't have those. They're drive killers.
On Shonn Greene's performance…
Shonn had a couple of great runs. We had some drives going and we had the false start and then we had the holding. That kind of stuff can't happen. It really does set you back. They're tough, tough plays to overcome. The same thing happened with the Giants. They were driving, had a penalty or two, and then ended up kicking a field goal instead of scoring a touchdown. Those are plays that you want back and I know we're better than that.
On next week's game against Carolina…
This is our last chance. We need to play well. We need to put our best foot forward in this last dress rehearsal for Buffalo and I'm confident with a week of prep, our guys will be ready.
On Tim Tebow's performance…
He looked good. He completed some balls, got out of trouble a little bit. But it's the same thing, we can't have penalties, can't have sacks and that goes for all the offensive units.
On the quarterback hits he has taken last year and early in the preseason…
That's why I put on a little weight.
On what he would like to say to fans who may be starting to worry…
It's awfully early. Hang in there, we'll be all right. It's a long year.
QB TIM TEBOW
On if he got into a rhythm with the Jets wide receivers…
Yeah, absolutely. I felt like we really got into a rhythm. I wish we could have capitalized with a touchdown. We moved the ball, we were in rhythm. I thought we did some really good things, you just have to capitalize and score points, more than just three.
On the team's performance…
I think there were some really good things. Overall, I think we have to get a lot better though and continue to improve on the little things that are going to show up and get touchdowns for us.
On if he thought he had a touchdown pass to WR Stephen Hill…
I did. When I was coming out of the pocket a little bit, the corner kind of sunk on [Josh] Baker and I had him. I didn't exactly notice where the safety was so I tried to put it low for him to come back. I should have just put it up higher for him. That's just us getting some more reps.
On if he overthrew receivers on screen passes…
I didn't throw a screen today. On one going left, I kind of threw away and at the last second I saw Baker and I should have put it on him. On another one I threw to [Jeff] Cumberland on a flat route. I tried to cut the defensive end, we were cutting him but he was up so I tried to put it high. I just needed to get that ball down so that one did sail on me.
On if he would have liked to play against the Giants first string defense…
They're a great defense obviously, the defending world champs. They've got a lot of great players. For tonight, you just want to go out there and get better. It's a great opportunity, an exciting game. But ultimately, it's a practice. It's just to get us ready for Buffalo, just continue to improve every day.
On the offense not scoring a touchdown…
I think we just want to continue to get better every single day. I feel like we are doing that. We just have to put together some of the little things that are going to get us in the end zone.
On if it's frustrating that the offense hasn't scored a touchdown…
No, I don't think you can get frustrated. We haven't even played a real game. When the regular season gets here then that's when it's for real. We've got to continue to show improvement and get better every day. There's no reason to get frustrated, we just have to go and get better.
On his comfort level with decision-making…
I feel like the decision-making is pretty smooth, getting in and out of plays. Obviously, we want some better communication, just as far as our hots and sights and things like that–getting the ball out faster and not taking as many sacks. That's just communication stuff we have to work on. But I think we're getting better and we have to continue to slowly but surely get better every day.
On expressing frustration after a sack…
I'm not sure what play exactly. Probably just frustrated. We want to get on the same communication and have it run smooth, everyone being on the same page.
On if he thought the incomplete pass to RB Joe McKnight was complete or incomplete…
I didn't know. It was hard to tell. He ran a good route, caught the ball. I didn't know if he had control, but it was just a little something that we've got to clean up.
On why he felt his first series as quarterback produced different results than the rest of them…
We executed well. We were on the same page. We went right down the field and threw and caught and ran and did all of the little things right. After that we just had some communication errors. We've got to be on the same page.
On if the offense is where he thought it would be…
I don't know. Coming in, it's hard to judge. I'm still getting used to everybody in this locker room and it's my first time ever playing here, so I'm still getting used to a lot of things. I didn't know what exactly to expect.
On where he thinks the team is compared to where they thought they'd be…
I think in some areas we're doing pretty good. In other areas, we've got to get better. It's the little things. We just have to continue to improve every single day as an offense. We're doing some things really well. We've just got to do the little things right to be on the same page where you'll see those touchdowns start to come and the big plays and all those things.
On if the incomplete pass to WR Stephen Hill was an underthrow or if he was expecting Hill to come back to the ball…
Both. I didn't want to put it that short, but I didn't really know where the half-field safety was, because I knew Cumberland was on a bender, so I held him inside, and then I kind of had a little pressure, so I stepped up and saw the corner come down to Baker, so I knew I had him open for a little bit. My eyes were over there for a little while, and so I tried to throw kind of to the pylon and low. I didn't want to throw it that low.
It's just something that we have to be on the same communication, that he knows if it's something like that, in the Cover-2 look, I'm going to throw it low and outside, kind of like a hole shot. Looking back and seeing the pictures, I had more room than I thought I did, so I probably should've just put it on him more.
On if those mistakes are what preseason games are about…
Yeah, it's also a very talented receiver that's only in his second game and I'm still getting a feel for him, and that's something that is easily fixable.
On what he says in the huddle when the opposing pass rush is getting pressure...
Just continue to encourage them. Those guys are fighting hard and everyone's fighting hard, but you've just got to be on the same communication on who we're picking up and who we're throwing hot off of. Sometimes, some of those guys haven't always been in there together, it's the unique looks of who's in there at center and guard and tackles together. That's the thing, you have to be on the same page as offensive line, as receivers, as a quarterback, to know your hot sides, who you're picking up, and that's something we've got to do a better job of.
On why the coaches kept him on the field for so long…
I'm not sure. That's a question you'll have to ask the coaches. I just do what I'm told.
T WAYNE HUNTER
On his individual performance…
It was tough sledding. The Giants have a good defensive front. They have a lot of good guys to go up against for my first preseason game. Like I've been telling you guys, it is going to get better from here, there is nothing else I can do.
On if his starting job is on the line…
It has always been on the line. I have to perform or they will find someone else who is better. My main focus is to watch the tape and seeing if I can get better.
On if there are techniques he can improve…
There are a lot of things I can work on. There are a lot of things I need to work on. It was a good first live action for me.
On the health of his back…
It's ok. I will not use it as an excuse.
T D'BRICKASHAW FERGUSON
On how important it is to have success next week against Carolina…
You know as we play each game and we continue to practice I think we'll continue to have some success. I think we are going to continue to grow as an offense and I think we're where we need to be, but we always want to do better, we always want to grow, but we're getting where we need to be.
On if the Giants defensive line was trying anything tricky…
I think they're just a great team, they have some good athletes on the line. Preseason or not, those guys are very good, but we are going to continue to do what we know, and work on our techniques, and continue to execute, and hopefully matriculate down the field.
On if he wants to be able to game plan before preseason games…
I think it's good that we don't game plan because it allows us to keep our priorities straight. Our ultimate goal is Buffalo, we want to be ready for Buffalo, but if we want to work on plays or try different things now. That's all we're trying to do, that's all we are trying to get accomplished. I mean obviously, we want to play a good brand of ball and we want to execute well, but it allows us to put our priorities where they need to be. If we win every preseason game, it's not going to count towards our record. If Buffalo is our first real test, then we need to prepare for Buffalo. So these are games that are in our preparation, and to see what our team is like and as we continue to play these games we continue to build and grow our team.
G MATT SLAUSON
On Rex Ryan's post-game speech…
He just said that we need to improve in all aspects of the game and to keep on working.
On if losing is frustrating in the preseason…
You want to beat the Giants because we share this house with them. But you have to take the game for what it's worth. We'll watch the film and see in what areas we have to improve.
On if they are still learning the protection schemes…
It's all pretty much the same stuff we have had before, it's just called different stuff. We are just trying to get our timing and continuity down, I'm confident that we will be fine.
RB SHONN GREENE
On if it was encouraging to have five runs for five or more yards after struggling last week…
Well a week ago I only had two carries, but yeah we ran the ball really well and the offensive line did a great job. The receivers blocked also so that was something that was positive tonight.
On if he was happy that the running backs would continue to get carries despite not picking up a lot of yards…
Yeah, I think that's what kind of team we are going to be throughout the season. I'm pretty confident about that and it felt good tonight.
On if they are a confident offense…
Yeah, I think so. We just have to clean up on our mistakes and penalties here and there and the sacks, things like that, and we'll be alright.
