Transcripts of conference calls by Oakland's Dennis Allen and Matt McGloin with Jets reporters on Wednesday afternoon:
RAIDERS HEAD COACH DENNIS ALLEN
On Geno Smith…
Listen, I see a guy who has talent and ability. You see when he's had time to sit back and throw the football, specifically some of the earlier games, he's been able to throw the ball extremely well. I see a guy who's really talented, but I see a guy who's a young football player and he's made some young mistakes, but obviously I see a guy who has a lot of talent and has a lot of ability.
On Rashad Jennings' status…
He hasn't totally cleared. He was able to go out and practice today on a limited basis, non-contact. We're basically just following the NFL protocol on concussions and he's cleared some of the hurdles but hasn't cleared everything, so we're going to continue monitoring that as the week goes on.
On if Darren McFadden is ready for a bigger workload if Jennings can't go…
Well, really we have Darren McFadden and Jeremy Stewart. Both those guys weren't able to practice today due to other injuries. We have Marcel Reece, who's gone in there and played for us there. Obviously, Jamize Olawale is another guys who's played tailback before. We also have Taiwan Jones on the football team who was a tailback for us last year.
So we have plans in place if any of those three guys, I'm talking about Rashad Jennings, Darren McFadden or Jeremy Stewart, if any of those guys are unable to go, we have guys who can fill in in that role. Really what we have to do is just go through practice, kind of evaluate as the week goes on and see who's going to be available to us.
On if Tony Sparano provided him any insight on the Jets defense…
Yeah, he's got a little bit of insight as to the things they want to do and kind of the philosophy of what they do defensively. I'll say Tony Sparano, he's been a great addition to our football team. He's done a hell of a job for us, coaching our offensive line and helping me out. I'm glad we got him because I think he's a heck of a football coach.
On the quarterback situation…
Number one, I think we're getting back healthy. I think we have two quarterbacks that are distinctively different, yet two young guys that have a lot of potential. There's been times during the year Terrelle [Pryor] has gone in there and really been an explosive play make for us. Then when he went down with the injury, Matt [McGloin] has come in and played very well under the circumstances. We have two young guys that are still learning but both of them have a lot of potential.
On returning to MetLife Stadium for the second time this month and if the team will follow the same routine…
No, I think our routine is going to be pretty standard as far as what we do and how we prepare. Obviously, we didn't have the results there last time that we were looking for. Hopefully, we'll be able to come out and play a little bit better and finish a little bit better in this game.
On the Jets defensive front…
I see a dominant defensive front. When you have that many high draft picks playing on the that defense, you're going to be talented and you're going to have guys that can make some plays. They're extremely tough to run against, one, because they have really good players, and two, they have a really good scheme and they make it tough on you offensively.
RAIDERS QB MATT McGLOIN
On the Jets defense's struggles against the deep ball…
I don't know. I'm not in that organization. I couldn't tell you why. All I see when I turn the film on is this defense plays a lot of different coverages, they give you a lot of different looks, a lot of athletic guys there in the secondary. We've got our work cut out for us.
On what he remembers about playing against Dee Milliner in college…
Obviously, he's a great athlete coming from a great university. He's got good size, good speed, good range. Our wideouts are going to have to do a pretty good job up against him. We had a good day of practice today and I know they're working hard towards that. I'm going to have to get the ball out on time. We'll see. Like I said, it's going to be a good challenge for us Sunday.
On what it will be like playing relatively close to where he played at Penn State…
Yeah, definitely, it's going to be exciting coming back East to play a game. I'm actually excited to play in the cold weather for once. It should be fun. I'll have some family there, some friends. I grew up only about two hours from the stadium. It'll be nice to play in front of a lot of my relatives and friends and things like that and let them experience it, and I'm definitely going to enjoy it.
On the morale of the team following several close losses…
Well, we just have to play a complete game. We're not consistent enough right now. We have to learn how to finish games. That's basically it and that's something we're preaching this week. We've got to finish, got to play a complete game, stay consistent and stay focused.
On where he is in his development after three starts…
I definitely have a long way to go. I made some mistakes in the three starts. I can't make the critical error that I made last week. So I'm just working on that, watching a lot more film, trying to prepare as best as I can.
