Transcripts of news conferences and interviews in the Jets' Gillette Stadium locker room area following our 13-10 loss to the Patriots on Thursday night:
HEAD COACH REX RYAN
I don't know what to say, so I'll take questions.
On not having a returner deep on three of the Patriots' punts...
You know it was a block if that [no returner] was the case. I would certainly hope so. Yeah, but no, we were going for the block, and the fact that you obviously have a wet football, and it's a rookie punter. So we were like, "Hey, let's go get it." We weren't getting a whole lot in the return game. That [Matthew] Slater kid is a heck of a football player. And so, I was like, "Hey, might as well go for it." So that's what we did. I thought the first one looked like we had a chance to get through there and I don't know, I think our guy fell somehow. But that's kind of what we were thinking.
**
On feeling as if they let one slip away...**
Yeah, I mean, that's an outstanding football team and you turn the ball over four times against the Patriots, I bet we can go back several years on that one, there is no way you are winning that one if you are turning it over four times. But I know one thing: We were going to keep competing and try to give ourselves an opportunity to win.
On how Geno Smith played, especially in the fourth quarter...
I thought Geno had his moments. I don't know how many balls we dropped today, but it was a bunch, there was no question. Obviously, his numbers would look a lot different if we had caught the football. But yeah, man, it is just unfortunate. I don't know how many drops, but the young man had his moments today and obviously we wished we had a few back.
On if the Patriots' first-quarter touchdown was the result of a blown coverage...
That was exactly what it was. I think the first indication of that was that nobody was there. That's hard to deal with. We thought we had a heck of a game plan going in, thought we had a chance to win. And you know, to give a freebie like that to [Tom] Brady, we talked about it all week long, I mean, you can't afford mental mistakes against Brady. And you know, sometimes, if you're living right, a lot of times you get away with one of those. But you know, not against him.
On if he benched Dee Milliner...
Yes.
On why he benched Milliner...
Well, this young man is going to be a tremendous player, there's no doubt. But as I told him, I said, "You know, Dee. I want you to sit on the sidelines and I want you to watch." And sometimes when you do that, it's the best thing for you. And so we replaced him with Kyle [Wilson] and [Darrin] Walls and that's what we did. I'm trying to win a game and put in who I think gives us the best chance to win it. And the young man, like I said, he is going to be a great player. But at that time, I went with the veteran.
On what caused Smith's interceptions...
They played great defense. I don't know what to tell you.
On what he thought happened at the end of the game with two Jets being ejected...
I think [Nick] Mangold tried to make a tackle is what I think happened. And he goes and tried to take the guy. And I think what happened is Nick went down, the guy turned his back, he ran into the back of his legs and it wasn't intentional, by any means. He just tried to make a cut tackle. And he went out of bounds and then all heck broke loose, and apparently our team was the only one involved in it.
On if Julian Edelman fumbled after making a reception in the second quarter...
My view must have been obstructed.
On if he was pleased with his defense over the last three quarters...
Yeah, whatever that's worth.
On an injury status for DE Muhammad Wilkerson...
It's an ankle, I believe, so we'll see how he is. Hopefully it's not a high ankle because those are rough. But I'm hoping that it's not, but I'm not sure yet.
On what he can say about Mark's Sanchez trip to Dr. James Andrew on Wednesday...
I can tell you that I'm not going to say anything about it. So that's it.
On how much the dropped passes affected Smith...
I think it affected all of us. We've got to hang on to the football. What you are paid to do is catch the football, regardless of the conditions, and obviously we have to do a better job of that. Would it have changed the outcome? I don't know but I would have liked to have found out.
On what makes Edelman a tough receiver to cover...
I think he's been well-tutored, that's for sure. He's been with [Wes] Welker. He is kind of a Welker clone-ish. Not as good as him, but he's pretty darn good. You know, he had 13 catches for 78 yards. He did the same thing to us another time when he played. I mean, he's a good football player in his own right. But you know, hey, I know they never had [Danny] Amendola and we never had [Jeremy] Kerley, all that kind of stuff.
On his talking about drops in the offseason and into the regular season and if that's correctable...
I know one thing, we're going to try awful hard. We're going to do whatever we can to come up with a way to catch a football. Obviously, you have that many drops, you aren't going to win that many games, you drop that many balls. I love the way we were competing over there, I love the fact that we were blocking our tails off and all that, but man. We did, we made a lot of great catches, but we've got to be consistent. When that ball hits our hands, we catch it.
On if he's disappointed in WR Stephen Hill...
He made a couple of great catches and we talked about it, this team, [Bill] Belichick has his guys, they do a great job. I mean, they force more turnovers, more fumbles than any team in the league. We talked about it, even the night before. That's something they do a great job of and we certainly have to protect the ball better than we did.
On how he stomachs four turnovers vs. how his defense played against Brady most of the game...
Not very well right now, I'll tell you that much. All that matters are wins and losses and I'm paid to win. And you know, obviously it didn't go our way.
QB GENO SMITH
On his first interception...
I was rolling out to my left and tried to fit the ball into a tight window. During that time in the game you've got to be more mindful of the situation. We were right in it and had a chance to kick a field goal and possibly tie the game. I just made a decision that ultimately cost my team.
On feeling as if this game was one they really could have had but they let it slip away...
We didn't get it. One thing I can tell you is that we came out and competed hard and put ourselves in a position to win it late, but with the costly mistakes that were completely on me we just didn't get it done. I take full responsibility for that and we'll get better from this.
On his second interception...
Once again, it was just making the decision. I thought the guy was open. He beat the guy up the line by driving it a little bit more. It was kind of tough to do at that angle, but if I drive it a little bit more which I can do, the ball would get there before the corner can react to it. Whatever happened on those interceptions didn't really matter because they ultimately hurt us and I've got to find ways to not put us in those situations. You can say it's a learning experience, but it's about winning and we didn't win today.
On dealing with dropped passes during the game...
It's human nature. Guys drop balls. As you can see, I threw a number of picks and no one is perfect. I fully support my wideouts. Those guys go out there and give effort on every single play and I'll continue to go to those guys because we have that type of bond here — we are a team. It's early in the season and I'm pretty sure all of those things will be corrected as we go forward.
On if he wasn't able to follow through on his throw with the second interception...
No, I've got plenty of arm strength and I've got the ability to make that throw. I've just got to do it.
On the rain giving him trouble...
No, we threw it well. Especially in this league if you make those mistakes, defenses are going to capitalize on it. You've got to be accurate every single time. You've got to be sharp every single play and you can never take a play off. Not saying that I did, but you can't have those mistakes and ultimately they cost us.
On possibly throwing across his body on his first interception...
I was moving to my left. I moved to the left side across my body, but it's a throw, like I said, that I can make. If I put it a touch out front I think it will be a completion. It was just one of those plays that happened.
On if the ball slipped out of his hand on his last interception...
That last one was a terrible mistake. I had seen that guy and could have forced the ball. I tried to get a back-shoulder throw and [Aqib Talib] turned around. He's a wily vet, and that defense, they're smart and you can tell they're well-coached. He got that interception at the end of the game and it hurt, I can't lie, it hurt. But it's only the beginning, we've got to get better from it.
On if he had the feeling the Jets could pull this win out...
Yes, I think we came in to it and had a great plan. We knew their defense plays well as they always do and it seems like every week I'm standing here saying if I don't turn the ball over, we win games and ultimately that's what it comes down to. In this league no matter the yards you get, no matter the time of possession, it's about the turnover battle and I cost us the game.
On how hard it was to overcome some frustration from the start to the game...
No, I wasn't frustrated, I wasn't frustrated at all. We were in the game the entire time and despite the mistakes that we had I think we wiped those out of our minds and continued to play. We played hard. Guys, like I said, were getting open. The backs were running hard, the line did a phenomenal job and we played hard. We had our chance.
On if on some of his sacks he held the ball too long or if there was no one open...
Some of those guys, they did a good job of covering our guys downfield and I was trying to be mindful of forcing the ball and taking care of the ball. Some of those plays I felt like I could have used my legs and possibly picked up a few yards on the run or even throwing the ball away, but I didn't do so.
On how he'll bounce back and what he'll take out of this loss...
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger and the positive thing is that in the locker room we are all close-knit, we're a brotherhood and we're tight. I have guys constantly supporting me and keeping my head up and spirits high. That gives me a tremendous amount of belief that no matter what happens despite what goes on we'll pull through and we'll get better. It's early in the season. I don't have to look at this as a learning experience because I think I'm ready for this — I know I'm ready for this — so I have to go out there and take care of the ball and give us a chance to win.
On why it's important for a QB to stick with his receivers despite dropped passes...
Well, for one, they are my guys. I wouldn't want to throw to any other guys. The way that they practice and the way that they come to meetings on time, eager, ready, those are my guys and they make us better. Santonio [Holmes] is coming back and he's competing hard and he's getting open. We've got Kellen [Winslow], we've got Jeff [Cumberland], we've got Clyde [Gates], who was battling his butt of tonight, Stephen [Hill] made some [great] catches. I think you've got to kind of put things into perspective and just think about the big picture and how we can get better.
On the positives he saw in the way he played...
Regardless of the positives, the negatives hurt us and that's all you focus on is improving on those negative plays.
G WILLIE COLON
On the penalties at the end of the game...
I was tired of losing, and we just can't have it.* *I don't remember. I saw Nick [Mangold] in there and a lot of guys running. I was trying to get in there and help my brother and that is why I reacted the way I reacted.
On the missed opportunities...
I felt like we had them where we wanted to. It is what it is and it was a hard fought game. We studied the clips and we just didn't get what we wanted to.
On potentially being suspended after being ejected...
I hope I don't get suspended. I hope it's not the case.
On just what he thought happened late in the game...
I lost my temper, I lost my cool out there, and we can't have it. It hurts your team and I know better, so it's my fault.
On his frustration...
They are the Patriots. They come out and are a disciplined team. We had our chances and we had enough of our chances to win this game. We didn't execute as a team and it is a tough one.
T D'BRICKASHAW FERGUSON
On the play near the end of the game...
Today wasn't really the day that went our direction. It was just a lot of bad football on my part. I don't really remember the details of what happened; I just know that at the end of the day I was ejected. It was just a lot of frustration today and we didn't really have the result we were looking for.
**On the play of the team...
Whenever you play a game, you want to be successful, especially when it's a tight game like this. We have the talent, we have the ability, but we just didn't come away with the victory.
WR CLYDE GATES
On the Jets offense and Geno Smith...
I was just trying to make plays and trying to make the quarterback comfortable, mostly just make plays. Geno did a great job. Unfortunately, we didn't win the ballgame. I felt like he played really well. Everybody makes mistakes. We just have to put this one behind us and move forward.
On the Patriots and the Jets' next game against them...
It was a short week and a lot of preparation mentally. They did what we were expecting them to do. Unfortunately, we just didn't win the ballgame. When it comes, we will be ready."
RB CHRIS IVORY
On the Jets rushing attack...
We had great blocking up front and I just tried to take advantage of what was given to me. Each player tries to play at their level and we just try and take advantage. We made a couple mistakes but it isn't anything we can't fix.
On the game...
It's always tough because you want to get the win. Unfortunately tonight we weren't able to get the win. All we can do is start tomorrow and the rest of this week to work on things and get better, get ready for our next opponent. The positive is we are still growing. There are a lot of great things out there but it's the little things. If we minimize the little things, we'll be good."
CB DEE MILLINER
On being benched...
I was fine with it. He felt the need to make that decision. I made a couple of mistakes, on a couple of calls. I got benched before in college, for sort of the same thing.
On the Patriots' early touchdown...
We've just got to communicate more and go out there and make plays.
DE MUHAMMAD WILKERSON
On his injury...
For the details you have to ask coach Rex Ryan."
On the defense's play...
Pretty horrible and then we got the loss. We wanted to come out with that win. We made some mistakes, they made more plays than us and won the game.
On the Patriots' early touchdown...
He is an elite quarterback. Mistakes were made. We just have to correct those and try to get better.**
P ROBERT MALONE
On punting as much as he did...
This is probably the most. Tonight I knew I was going out there quite a bit, unfortunately.
On punting in the rain...
It's all the same. I just try to put us in the best position possible. You have to make sure you secure the catch and remember that it is going to be a little heavier ball. Other than that, it is about the same. You just go out and try to execute each punt individually.
