Transcripts of quarterbacks Geno Smith's and Mark Sanchez's news conferences following the Jets' Friday morning training camp practice at SUNY Cortland:
QB GENO SMITH
On if coaches have told him how the Green & White Scrimmage will go…
Not at all. It'll be my first scrimmage so I'm very eager to participate in it. I look forward to it.
On if Saturday is a first pressure point in the quarterback competition…
No, I don't think so. I think every single day has been a pressure day, every single rep. Like I said, everything's being evaluated and I'm just trying to do my best to live in the moment and just take care of what I have right on my plate and I took care of today's practice. I've got to go back and watch the film and kind of reevaluate things, but once tomorrow comes I'm pretty sure we'll install a small game plan, not too much, but we'll probably hit some points of things that we want to get established and just things that we want to do on offense and then we'll take care of that.
On how practice went for him today…
I think it went well, obviously from what I did on the field, got coached on the field, but you can't really tell until you actually go into the film room and you see everything that you've done and you see if your footwork was pretty much excellent — that's what it's got to be in order for this offense to work. That's something we'll go in and we'll see later on, but as of now I feel like I did pretty well.
On how he did on goal line drills…
Well, I think we scored on maybe two or three of them. Obviously, when you get down in that situation every play is not going to be perfect but you want to at least get into the end zone. I think we accomplished that. But it's always going to be something to improve on.
On if he would have gotten sacked on his long pass to Bilal Powell…
I don't know, we can't speak hypothetically. My job is to deliver the ball, not worry about the hit. And honestly I didn't see those guys. If they would have hit me I'd just bounce back up. But my job is to deliver the ball on time and get the ball into the hands of the playmakers. Bilal ran a great route, a wheel route on the linebacker, got separation and I put it out there and he ran under it.
On if he has a feel of when to get rid of the football…
You've always got to have that and here in practice it's kind of difficult to really get that sense of it because you're not taking real hits. Obviously the offensive lineman can't cut guys and running backs can't cut guys, which is something they would use as a tactical way to get those guys on the ground because they are great pass rushers, and to have a guy like [Calvin] Pace or [David] Harris on one of our backs, you can see where the advantage is in that case. We've just got to play it basically how it goes and once the games come we'll put a game plan together and we'll take care of that from there. But right now we've got to focus on what we do here and that's executing the plays and running the offense and practicing it.
On what is different about the Green & White Scrimmage from practice…
Obviously everything's been competition, but I think the level of competition will be raised. Every single guy wants to go out there and perform well in the scrimmage. You want to be that guy when you go back and watch tape and the coaches are praising you and saying, "Hey, this is the type of guy we need here and this is the type of guy who has given a maximum amount of effort, always doing the right things," and every single guy's going to have that in the back of their minds.
On if he is excited for the Green and White scrimmage…
It's very exciting for myself as well as for every single guy on this team. Like I said, everyone has an opportunity and tomorrow is going to be one of the opportunities for us to showcase everything that we've learned up until this point.
On how much extra studying it takes to learn the read-option…
It is something that I just have to do. I wouldn't say it's extra because that's the position that I'm in. I've obviously done extra work in studying it and making sure that I'm not only on the right page with the wideouts and tight ends but also on the right page with the running backs and fullbacks when we do meshes. So it's just something that you've got to pay attention to and it's something that's really going to pay for off for us. I think it's going to be a good weapon if we happen to use it during the season.
On if he was exposed to the read-option before…
Yeah, I ran it.
On why his footwork must be good for the offense to function…
I mean, that's the way it is. This offense is based on timing and precision and if you don't take the proper drops, if you don't take the right steps, if you're not on time, then obviously it's not going to be the way Marty [Mornhinweg] wants it and it may not always work out the way you want it to. Sometimes you're going to get plays where you might have to ad lib or just do things that are not really in the book, but that's not what you want to do on a daily basis in this offense.
On if there is no margin for error in the offense…
In this game, in this league there's a small margin for error, a very small margin for error, and we all know that. You've just got to be on time and you've got to just be a stickler on it, just make sure you're doing things the right way.
On if anything has surprised him about training camp…
I wouldn't say so. The one thing that I expected coming in was having to pick up the speed of the game, having to pick up this offense pretty quickly, and just go out there and compete my butt off. Nothing's surprised me. Everything is pretty much as I've expected it.
On if he would expect pressure during his deep pass to Powell…
Yeah, and that play is one where we, in the playbook, get a deep drop so you can have enough time where if you've got a free rusher, hey, you may get hit but you'll have enough time to get the ball off.
On if he feels like he has caught up with the veteran quarterbacks…
It's up to the coaches. I just evaluate myself. I don't worry about any of that other stuff and I feel like at this point I'm at least close to where I should be. Am I perfect? No. Am I making good strides? Yes. So I think as long as I stay on that track I'll be fine.
On what he is hoping to take away from the scrimmage…
I just hope to go out there, execute the offense, limit penalties, limit mistakes, not have any turnovers, move the chains, and just not put us in a poor situation.
On his communication in two-minute situations…
Oh, yeah, the communication was pretty good. Now obviously today we had way too many penalties and that's something I will correct but the communication's been fine. Guys are really studying their playbooks so everyone's on the same page, everyone's reading their keys and everything's been fine.
On if not committing turnovers is a point of emphasis…
Well, like I said, I take care of everything day by day and obviously turnovers are a huge emphasis. If you look at the way the NFL's been shaped and the way that games have been won, they're all close but the turnover margin is something that plays a huge role in games, bigger than yardage, bigger than any statistical category. To limit mistakes is something that a quarterback's always got to do. I was always taught it's not always about the plays you make but the plays that you don't make so I just try not to put us in poor situations.
QB MARK SANCHEZ
On if his mind set going into the scrimmage is different than previous years…
You know, you take each season individually. Each camp is its own entity, really, and I think this year we are on pace for something special, hopefully as a group. This next measuring stick, really, is the scrimmage. So the Green & White game is always fun, it's always competitive, and we'll get ramped up here. I thought we looked OK on goal line. We looked better as an offense on short yardage and better on defense in goal line today so we wanted to get all those scenarios ready. We've hit our two-minute, we've hit a lot of situational stuff, so we're ready for that scrimmage-type atmosphere.
On how he feels…
I feel great, I feel great. I'm accurate, my arm feels strong, I'm moving pretty well in the pocket, so I feel great.
On if the coaches told him how playing time will be divided in the scrimmage…
They have not.
On when he expects to find out about his playing time for the scrimmage…
That's a good question. I'm assuming in meetings or maybe tomorrow morning.
On if Saturday is the first real pressure situation for the quarterback competition…
Well, it's good for the competition all over the field. I mean, that game-like situation, we try to simulate it out here, we're pushing everyone on the sideline, but guys start to creep on the field. So for this, we have NFL officials, we have the 25-second clock, we've got the game clock rolling. We will do some special teams in between so it makes it more game-like, where you're in for your series. It could be a 10-play drive, it could be a 3-and-out. Then you come out, you talk to your coach, you get on the same page, you move on to the next drive. So it will be a little more game-like.
On if the scrimmage is a chance for him to separate himself from the competition…
I don't know. It obviously is a lot bigger on the outside because there's more fans, more people at the game, everybody is a little excited, it's the first game-like atmosphere. But at the same time, whether we're playing the Green & White game or we're playing a playoff game, the field is the same size, the ball is the same size, you still play the same game you know and have a good time doing it, and that's my plan.
On who was responsible for the goal line drill struggles…
Personnel stuff, that's going to be Marty [Mornhinweg]'s call, but as far as the plays today, the defense won the goal line drill. I think we threw one touchdown. I know I had one to Hayden [Smith]. I don't know if there were any more. I think Simmsy [Matt Simms] might have had one. But the defense played really well. That was our first shot at goal line, but at the same time, there are no excuses. We have to get that right the very first time. So we'll keep improving, just like in the short-yardage drill the offense took over. We won almost every one. That's what we have to do. We have to get first downs in those short-yardage situations and we have to score points when we're down on the goal line.
On the receivers playing better now than they did in the spring…
I think we just had a ton of injuries. We had a bunch of guys out and now guys are healthy. Guys were trying to go in the spring and they couldn't quite go full speed. Stephen [Hill] was just coming off his knee injury. He's had a few months to really relax and let that thing heal up and he's played really well. Clyde Gates is 100 percent, Vidal Hazelton is 100 percent, all these guys. Jeremy Kerley looked like a monster today. He was all over the place. Yesterday as well. In the two-minute drill he looked tough and caught a big fourth-down catch, caught a couple of short-yardage things today. So I think our guys are playing really well. Hopefully, we're peaking at the right time. We just have to avoid the injury bug, stay in the training room, stay on preventative-maintenance-type stuff. And we will.
On Hazelton…
He's working hard. He's one of those guys with just a ton of ability. We're just getting him to focus in and really hone in on the offense. The sky is the limit for that guy. He's really playing his butt off, so I'm proud of him. I played with him at SC [Southern Cal] and it was a tough deal there. He got in a little bit [of trouble], ended up transferring, but he's coming back strong. You'd love to see somebody like that play well and hopefully help himself out and help the team.
On if he keeps score between himself and Geno Smith in drills…
Not really. If it's like the short-yardage drill, I'm not worried about "OK, Geno converted this many short-yardage plays." I don't really care about that. I care about, "OK, the group that I'm in with, whether it's ones or twos, whatever, are we wining that drill? Is my group winning that drill?" That's all I can control because then you get into rooting for one side or the other. You don't want to do that. It takes up too much time. There are too much mental gymnastics going on, you have plenty of other stuff in your head. So I'm just worried about the group I'm in and converting our drills.
On the quarterback situation and if he feels he and Smith are playing equally…
You know what? I'm not going to speak for Geno or the coaches, but I'll speak for myself. I feel like I'm having a great camp. As I said, my arms feel good, my legs feel good, I feel strong, I feel accurate, I feel like I'm in command. So I've just got to keep playing.
On if he has an opinion on Riley Cooper's situation…
No.
On what he needs to do to solidify the starting job…
Just continue to play well, continue to understand the situations we're in, the things that coaches are looking for in specific drills and the specific periods of practice, and keep completing the ball and keep being accurate, being active with my feet, work your fundamentals and just keep plugging, and just eliminate distractions and just have fun doing it. That's what I'm trying to do.
On if there was a clear point in 2009 when he knew he had won the job…
It was pretty close, it was pretty close the whole way. Kellen [Clemens] did well, I think, in a couple of those preseason games. I played pretty well, and I'm trying to remember, I don't even remember when they decided. But I remember Rex called us in the office, but I don't remember when.
On if he is having fun in camp… Oh, it's a blast. This is everything you grow up dreaming about and we're preparing for a new year, everybody's in the same boat, we're just about to have our Green & White game, so this is a great time. We'll see all the players' families. It's a good chance to get real close and form a family, not just a team here. So this is the best time of the year, and as tough as it is at times and as monotonous as the meetings can get, it's still fun being with all these guys in the dorm rooms, spending time together and just playing ball.
