Transcript of Mark Sanchez's and Geno Smith's news conferences after the Wednesday midday minicamp practice at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center:
QB MARK SANCHEZ
On today's practice…
I thought it went really well. I was pleased, one, with the weather, that was nice, but the way we moved the ball, I thought our guys were striving to make plays downfield. I thought the running back group looked great. I thought some new additions that we have in Mike Sims-Walker and Kellen Winslow looked good. We're fitting those guys right in and they mesh real well with the guys we already have. I'm happy with the offensive line play. We've just have to keep working, but I love the competition out there. I love what guys are putting on tape and we just have to keep working and finish those plays.
On the opportunity Tim Tebow is getting in New England…
It's great for him. You wish him all the best. He's a great player.
On if he has any advice for Tom Brady…
Oh, no. He'll figure it out.
On if he feels good Tebow is getting another opportunity in the NFL…
Yeah, he's a competitor. He's going to work hard like he always does and do his very best. You can absolutely count on that.
On Coach Ryan saying Geno Smith may be used in a read-option package as the backup…
He's the head coach. That's his call and Marty [Mornhinweg] as well. That's their decision.
On his relationship with Smith…
He's been great. He works hard. He's attentive in meetings. He studies and he competes. He's doing a great job.
On QBs coach David Lee saying he was competing his butt off…
I think he's just starting to understand how I operate. I don't take this lightly. It's serious. I love doing it. I love the guys that are in this locker room that help you play this position, that respect you at this position. It's fun. It's the most important thing to me, so I think he's really starting to see that, the way I prepare. I think maybe there was some kind of notion that I'd be so upset they would draft a quarterback, that whole deal, that I'd just turn it in. That's crazy. It's crazy talk. So I think he sees that.
On Coach Lee saying he was putting him through ball-security drills…
Coach Lee threw me under the bus there [joking]. He's calling it the Sanchez drill and it's the gauntlet drill. It's to work on two hands on the football. That's the way he coaches. If he knows there's a weakness in your game or something that you have to get better on, whether it's a specific footwork or anything like that, there's not sweeping anything under the rug. So that was part of the emphasis of the drill, to drop back, keep two hands on the ball, and you literally shuffle through about six or seven guys and their just taking hacks at the ball, like "Hack-a-Shaq" out there. It makes it fun and he's creative enough to come up with a name for a drill like that, so it's all good.
On how he is doing in the competition…
I feel great. This is probably one of the best camps I've put together. I feel good with the location of the football, with the way I'm reading things, seeing things downfield. My arm is alive and it's nice. I feel really calm out there. I think we had two good day in a row, so just keep it up.
On his plans for Jets West…
We'll just get through minicamp for now. We'll cross the Jets West bridge when we get there.
On if he will invite Geno Smith to Jets West…
Listen, we'll get to Jets West when we get there. Everyone's always been invited.
On the impact Tebow had last season…
Listen, we're in the middle of minicamp and we're competing our butts off out here. I love what we're doing on the field. I'm going to focus on that. I'm really not going to go back to that.
On the West Coast offense fitting his strengths…
I think this system, this West Coast system, is right up my alley. It fits my strengths. It has the ability to move the pocket. It has the ability to get completions, take shots downfield. I think it's suited for a quarterback of my skillset and somebody who's not going to run a 4.3 or a 4.5 but can move a little bit. I can get out of my own way, hopefully, things like that. I think there's real potential in this system and it's something similar to what we did in college, a lot of the concepts and routes having that West Coast background like the coaches in college that I had.
On if his experience gives him an advantage in the competition, specifically in learning the system…
I don't know if it gives you an advantage or not. I know I love the system. I don't know if I've been as excited for installs, and the way Marty installs, it's a captivating experience. I don't know how to describe it, but he reaches people and gives you specific examples as to why, he gives you the answer why to all your questions and he's one of those coordinators who's so confident, he's like, "Listen to what I'm telling you, there will be a couple times a game where you really have to do something outside of the box and make a play for us, other than that roll, and you'll know exactly what to do." That's comforting.
On if a quarterback has two hands on the ball literally before he throws it…
Everybody's a little bit different. Anytime you have any of those sacks cause a fumble, obviously it's going to be a little more of an emphasis. Looking at the stats, I went to see the first and second year and the last two years, it was almost the same amount of fumbles, but we didn't recover as many. So when you don't recover them, it looks worse, obviously.
You never want to put the ball on the turf, that's number one. We want to have possession of the ball. Everybody is a little bit different. It's just a major point of emphasis, and if we hang onto it every time, even if that means sacrificing a play downfield to get the ball tucked, secured and get down, fine, because that can ultimately change momentum, change momentum possession.
On keeping two hands on the ball prior to throwing…
Two hands on the ball, and then usually as you reset forward, you'd like to keep two hands on the ball and be technically sound that way.
On if he tells anything specific to receivers after drops…
Just to hang in there, finish the play. When it's a bad ball, it's a bad ball and move on. When it's a bad ball and you can make the catch, make the catch. And that's it. Those guys know.
On Coach Ryan mentioning his frustration with the dropped passes…
Look, we have to finish plays. We just have to finish plays and those guys know that. They're good enough to know that. They're great players and just like when we miss a bunch of throws in a day, it can't happen. You're an NFL quarterback. You can't do that. So we'll just keep working, keep getting better and have a heck of a day tomorrow. But I'm proud of the way they're playing, running their routes. We just have to finish.
On the competitive dynamic between him and Geno Smith…
I'm watching the plays that he's in there, but I'm focused on what I can control and that's completing the ball down the field, putting it in the right place, getting us in the right play if for some reason we don't have a good look. But I feel great about things. I don't want to speak for Geno. I think he's doing well, but like I said, I'm having one of my best camps.
On if the competitive dynamic is bringing out the best in him…
No doubt. That's the way I've been all my life, whether it's high school, college, my rookie year. I've always competed with somebody to play this spot. It's a unique position. There's only one guy that gets to play. There are not multiple guys rotating in and out generally. We'll just go from there.
On getting Santonio Holmes back on the field…
It would be nice. We just have to be smart with that process. He knows his body well. The training staff is doing a heck of a job, J-Mel [head athletic trainer John Mellody] and his whole crew — I can't believe the kind of man-hours they put in. So if anybody's going to come back fast, it will be Tone because of our training staff.
On his attempt to block Antonio Cromartie on the double reverse…
Almost as good as my dancing skills. They were terrible, it was terrible [joking]. I thought I had a great angle on Cro and he went right by me. Then I just bit the dust. It was pretty embarrassing.
On if people laughed about how he fell on the block…
No, the way I fell, like Bambi on ice, looked embarrassingly bad, so Cro walked through it like "Yeah," like he did something, although I just fell. So then the guys on the offense got upset like he hit the quarterback. It was just a big misunderstanding.
On how Holmes has been in the meeting rooms with the young guys…
He's been great. He has a ton of experience. I think he's doing a great job picking up the system and he's itching to play. It's all good things.
On how he would assess his confidence level…
Sky-high. I feel good.
On how much of his confidence is due to Coach Mornhinweg and his system…
I just love what we're doing. When you're excited about something like that, when you're coming in hanging on the guy's every word knowing that he's had so much success, knowing that we have the pieces here to put ourselves in a position to have success like that, it's exciting stuff. So it makes you work that much harder and find a way to just improve on the little things each and every day and keep rolling.
On if he can be a better leader in the new offensive system…
It feels pretty natural doing the things we're doing, but leadership in any system comes with experience, confidence. Especially when you're having a good camp, when you're having a good offseason, when you're playing well, putting the ball in the right position, it just comes naturally and guys just gravitate to that.
On if he feels guys responding to him…
Sure, they know that when I'm in there that we're all working to make the same thing happen and that's move the chains, get down and score. So if there's ever a situation where I need to talk to somebody or get on somebody or just give him a quick look, they understand that it's never personal and they know that we're trying to score and that's all it is.
On if he can run the read-option…
We'll see. Look out. If you're covering me, yeah.
On if Coach Lee's brutal honesty is different than what he's seen in the past…
No, that's the way it's been with Cav [Matt Cavanaugh], Coach Lee, anybody. In this business or in this game, really, it's too short of a time period to not tell somebody the truth. You can't sugarcoat this stuff. You have to see results immediately or things change, so he has no problem letting us know.
On why he said he was the luckiest guy in the world…
This is a great spot. Look at the building we practice in. We had great weather today. I think we're having an awesome camp. We're adding players to this team that can only help us. I love the system. I love what we're doing. I think we're in a great spot. Just get through this last day, get the most out of this last day, make sure guys stay healthy over this break, get some good working out in, come back in great shape and get ready for a good year.
On his confidence in winning the fans over…
That kind of stuff comes with winning games and being productive on the field, so that's where my focus is, reading defenses, getting completions, moving down the field. All the other stuff will line up for itself.
QB GENO SMITH
On how practice was today…
It went well. Had some positives, had some negatives, but overall it got better.
On what he is working on…
Every single thing as a whole. Every part of being a professional, everything in the offense and just trying to improve daily and continue to be the same guy I've always been, which is be hard on myself, critique myself and just get better.
On Coach Ryan saying he would not be averse to using him in special plays if he is not the starter…
My thoughts on that, we do whatever it takes to win games. The games are far ahead of us so as of right now I'm just focused on what I have here, which is maximizing my reps in practice and continuing to get better.
On if he looks at practice as a competition or as just doing the best he can do…
It is a competition. I fully trying to compete, trying to outdo the man next to me. My job is to do the best that I can in doing so. Every single rep that I get, every single chance I get to move the offense, I'll try to do to the best of my abilities and just look at everything as a learning experience and get better from it.
On if he sees himself improving…
I mean, I've improved, subtle improvements. But you won't know until you actually get some reps in live-game situations. But from the point I was when I got here to the point I am now, I have improved but there is still a long ways to go.
On what it's like being a Jet…
It's fun, it's cool. I love the guys in the locker room, I love the coaches. I also love the competitive spirit that we have here. Everyone comes in with the right mindset ready to work and I think that's what being a Jet is all about.
On where he thinks he is in the quarterback competition…
That's up to the coaches.
On the transition from the West Virginia offense to the Jets offense…
I think that's just a part of being in a different offense. I think it's also part of being a player and being coached. Coach [David] Lee is coaching every single one of us out there hard and that's why he's a great coach because he wants us to execute the way that he and Marty [Mornhinweg] drew it up. All of us have to do it the same way. All of us have to move the offense in the right style that they want it to be done and that's what I try to do out there on the field.
On how hard it is to learn the playbook…
It's up to the player. You've got to continue to study and at the quarterback position you've got to study probably a lot more than most guys do. I have to know every single guy's position, every single guy's rule and everything that's being done on the field and also have got to know the defense. Luckily, I've had a lot of experience in college so I've been able to see a multitude of defenses. But right now it's just about understanding my offense, understanding my niche in it, getting better at every single thing I do daily, and then continuing to progress and move the offense.
On balancing being confidence and cockiness...
I don't try to balance that. I just be myself. That's all I can do. I don't worry about any of that type of stuff. I don't think I'm a cocky dude anyway, so I just do what I'm used to.
On if he has confidence in an NFL locker room…
Yeah, that's just a part of being me. I'm confident. I understand that with hard work anything is possible and that's what I do. I try to work hard daily.
On if he put any extra pressure on himself getting first-team reps today…
Not at all. I've had first-team reps and I've had time to work against the first-team defense and do all of those things, so there was no added pressure. It's like I said, it's all about getting better and maximizing the reps.
On if he could succeed in the read-option…
I'm going to do whatever it takes for us to win games here in New York and if it's running the read-option, if it's adjusting from being primarily in the shotgun to being in the West Coast system under center, that's a part of being coached, that's a part of being a player. And I've got to do the things necessary to execute the offense in the way that it's drawn up. I've put in a lot of extra work. I allow myself to be coached. I critique myself as well. And I just do all the things that I'm used to, which is just work hard and do your best.
On if there is value to easing him in like Colin Kaepernick was in San Francisco…
Each player has his own situation. Right now my current situation is to compete and try to win the starting job and that's what I'm doing right now. When that day comes, whatever happens, I can't speak in hypothetical terms. I can only talk about the present. And my job right now, here and now, is to compete.
On what he has learned from Coach Lee…
I've learned a lot. He expresses how to be a pro, just being a pro quarterback. That's something that every single quarterback has to learn from the worst to the best, the greatest to the not-so-greatest. That's something that just comes from being a rookie. There's a lot of things that I'll learn going forward that I haven't even experienced yet, but it's all about taking it in stride, learning from it and continuing to think positive and work hard.
On if he gets frustrated with dropped passes…
I never get frustrated. It's a part of playing football. Drops happen. My job is to encourage the receiver. I'm going to continue to go back to him because I understand that those guys do a heck of a job running routes and getting open and they'll catch the next one. I'll never get on a guy and you can't dwell on the past, you've got to focus on the next play anyway, so my job is to continue to encourage those guys and whatever happens. I make mistakes myself and they encourage me, so that's all a part of being on an offense and being a teammate.
On the toughest part of transitioning from the shotgun to under center…
I can't say what the toughest part is, one single aspect of it. I do understand that there is a challenge and like I said, it's all about getting repetitions. I feel more comfortable with it now than I did when I first got here and that's just all a part of the learning process. But there's a long ways to go and I've got to continue to polish that and get better with it.
On how much he was asked to extend plays in the past…
I mean, that's a part of my game. I play within the pocket but I do have the ability with my athleticism to extend plays, make plays outside of pockets whether it's running, picking up first downs, possibly even a touchdown or rolling out right or left and throwing the ball downfield. I like to think that my game is based within the pocket. I do things within the pocket but I can use my athletic abilities outside of it. I think that's a part of being an all-around player and I think it helps me out a lot.
On if there were designed running plays for him at West Virginia…
I didn't have any designed runs but I did have runs. I did run the ball. So whether or not I was able to do it or willing to do it is not the question, because it happened.
On the complexity of the snap count…
It's pretty complex, but more or less I think it's about the number of repetitions. Doing it over and over and over and over, even when I leave the building, so that it's always the same because every single guy who gets under center is different. Mark [Sanchez] goes under there sometimes and it's different from when I go under there, and Greg [McElroy] and Matt [Simms]. So we all have got to do it the same and just repeat it over and over and doing it well and being able to have all the guys on the same page.
On how he practices the snap count outside of the building…
Just practice it. Say it.
On if he will attend Jets West…
No comment.
On why he won't comment…
I'd rather not comment on that.
On if he was invited to Jets West…
No comment.
