Transcript of nose tackle Sione Pouha's conference call with reporters this afternoon after the announcement this morning that he's agreed in principle to a three-year contract extension to remain with the Jets:
On his thoughts on the process of signing the extension...
You know, first and foremost I'm ecstatic, I'm excited. This something I've always wanted. I'm going to be a Jet for life. My overall reaction is that I'm so excited and pumped to continue on with the Jets, and be there and be a team player. The process was new to me with free agency approaching. My agent and his team put together a great game plan along with the Jets' front office. I couldn't be happier. I'm so excited to be here.
On his expectations for his coming seasons as a Jet...
Obviously, our main goal as a team has always been to go to the big show and be able to win a championship. That's always been the No. 1 goal as a team. Individually, my goal is just to do what I can do to support our cause of getting to the championship game and winning it. The goals never change. It's always been the same for me, personally, it's always been about being a team player and where I can help out the team.
On if at any time he thought the deal might not get done before the start of free agency...
Every player that approaches the last year of their contract and enters the screen door of free agency, there's always a possibility. But in my mind I always wanted to stay with the Jets, be with the Jets. Me and my agents, they had an understanding that I always wanted to be with the Jets, and I'm just glad it worked out that way.
On if he feels like a "young 33" years of age ...
Yeah, I guess if you look at it statistically, by snap counts or what have you, you could look at it that I'm a younger 33. I'd like to think I'm 23 and act like I'm 23. But yeah, I do feel like I'm a young 33.
On how much longer he thinks he can keep playing ...
I'm just going to keep playing as long as I can be an asset to the team and help the team get to where we need to be.
On if he thought it was possible the Jets would use their franchise tag on him...
There's a lot of possibilities. When you're at the screen door of free agency, there's a lot of possibilities and variations that can happen. There's a lot ofl ifs, ands, and what-could-happens here and there. At the end of the day I'm just glad today came and the results were what happened this morning with the Jets and that I'll be here for another three years. I'm just glad we're at the conclusion.
On where he is now ...
I've been back in Utah working out and just hanging out with my family, enjoying the downtime a little bit. I'll be back when it's time to report for the offseason program, I'll be returning back to New Jersey.
On the Jets' locker room at the end of this past season...
I have the utmost respect for every single guy in that locker room for the effort they put on the field, for the effort they put in during practice, for the effort put in in terms of representing ourselves as a team. I'm just excited to be a member of the team from here on out, going forward, excited to get back in April banging the weights and hitting the turf and working out with these guys. Other than the things that happened, I'm more excited for what's going to happen this year.
On getting his extension several days after Mark Sanchez agreed to an extension...
Mark has always been a guy I've looked up to, even though I'm a little bit older than he is. I've always respected the way he works, the way he prepares, and he's a guy who I love to call a teammate and a close friend and brother of mine. So I was ecstatic and real excited for him when I heard he was going to get the extension, and then I was way more excited when I found out I will be playing with him for the next three years. So to know he got that extension, it's well deserved and he's a guy I hold the utmost respect for..
On the Jets defensive ranking against the run slipping last season...
I think we're just going to continue working on the things we know how we do best. That's understanding the scheme of the defense, how we fit into it. Football's not like reinventing the wheel. It's always going to stay the same. It's all about technique, knowing the scheme, and everybody playing the game plan for the week. Starting out with OTAs and minicamp, we're just gong to go back to what we know how to do, learning the defense, learning how we fit into the scheme and playing well together.
On working with new Jets defensive line coach Karl Dunbar... Yeah, he just gave me a quick call and then I called him back. It was more introductory. I'm more than excited to be able to go out there and learn a lot from him, to work side by side with him. We'll definitely hook up when I get back in April.
