Transcript of head coach Rex Ryan's news conference following the Jets' Wednesday morning training camp practice at SUNY Cortland:
That was a beautiful December day today. Without question, it had to be the coldest training camp day I've ever been a part of, that's about thirty years' worth or whatever. That was interesting and I showed up like this. I quickly said, "Vito [Contento, equipment manager], I need a raincoat or something." But man, that was chilly. Almost as chilly as the offensive performance today. Not a good day at all for the offense. Obviously, we have to straighten a lot of things out before we play the game against Jacksonville, so I'm disappointed. I thought we had been doing some good things out there. It was a good day for the defense, bad day for the offense. I don't know what else to say about it.
We had a couple of injuries, [Robert] Malone was held out, we had Kenrick Ellis again held out, he was on a bike today. I saw Santonio [Holmes] out there some, [Clyde] Gates looked like he did pretty good today. Joe [McKnight], again, still no update on Joe, so you guys know what we're going to say there.
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On if Geno Smith still has to prove he can be competent in live situations… **
I think there's still work to be done. To definitively win the job, there definitely needs to be more evidence. If you want, we have to see more out of either guy, both guys, we have to see more out of both guys to have a better answer at that spot.
On what he thought of Smith specifically today…
It was brutal. That was Geno's worst day. Obviously the ankle is part of it. Way too many picks and things, did not look comfortable today. Obviously he has to come back from it, he will come back from it but it was a bad day. We've seen it, guys have bad days, but this was a really bad day for Geno.
On his comment Tuesday that Smith had not dipped during camp…
Well, I never said that. There's days guys dip some, but it was a bad day today. There's no other way to put it. It was a bad day.
On if he was surprised Smith had his worst day at the end of camp…
There are different things that you're seeing and all that. Was I disappointed he had the day like he did today? Absolutely. I guess these days happen, but you don't expect them to happen.
On if Smith's practice will have an impact on the decision of who starts Saturday…
I think there will be some factors on who starts. One of them is obviously Geno's health. If he's talking to the trainers and all that stuff, I think that's a big issue. And then we will see how it goes. As of right now we're not ready to say that we're going to go with this guy or this guy.
On the possibility that Smith would not play Saturday…
We will see how it goes. He has been out there practicing, working through things. I don't want to get into the what-ifs and all that, but I guess that could be a possibility.
On if Smith's ankle would be a factor going against Jacksonville's first team and second team defense…
We will see how he is and we'll talk to the trainers on all these guys with injuries, how they come back.
On if the starter in this game will indicate who is leading the QB competition…
No. I think you guys can look into it any way you want, but I don't think so. I don't believe that's it.
On Smith saying his ankle has not bothered him…
Well, I think that's bravado, I don't think there's any doubt t. I mean, the fact is he's not using it as an excuse. To me, that is a good thing, that's a positive thing. I mean, guys, you've seen him out there. He's not able to move like he normally does, he's not able to drive the ball like he normally does. With his velocity that doesn't mean that he still can't get out there. He's competing. He's been out there every day. But is he 100 percent? I would say that he is not 100 percent.
On the team's "psychological baggage" of last year…
Again, all of us have just erased the computer from last year and you move forward. I think our team has done a good job of putting that behind us.
On if Smith can't play, if he will keep the quarterback competition open longer…
If that's what happens then we will address it again, but certainly we are not thinking about this right now. We are hoping that Geno is able to play and Mark is able to play and everything is the way we originally planned. Our plans can alter and we'll lean on our trainers and everybody else on all injuries, not just Geno's.
On if time is running short for a rookie to win the job…
I don't think so. I think there is competition still in a lot of spots. And there's still some time. Will it become more of a sense of urgency probably after this game? I would say so.
On what caused Smith's interceptions today...
I'll watch the tape on that and then I'll give you a decision on the exact reason. I think it's multiple things. Was it fundamentals? I think that contributed to it. I also think he was late on a couple of throws today and he missed a guy that was robbing from the back side one time. So there were some contributing things there.
On if he thinks it's odd that Smith wouldn't say if he wanted to start on Saturday…
Well, I'm not going to speak for Geno or whoever, but his whole thing from day one was, hey, he's going to compete. And that's it and he basically leaves the decision to other people, but he's just here to compete so again you'll have to ask Geno that.
On if the ankle is the only thing that may keep him out of Saturday's game…
No, that would be the only thing. But guys, he has been out there every day. It's not something that we absolutely [are concerned about]. That's just not the case.
On if he thought he would have more clarity about the quarterback situation at the end of camp…
I thought that this was going to be a real competition and it wouldn't be solved after one week of a preseason game. This is only our second preseason game and I don't know how many are really decided after one preseason game. So I don't think it's a surprise that there's not clarity at a number of positions really.
On the seriousness of Kenrick Ellis' back…
Well, again I know it's a day-to-day thing so I'm certainly hopeful it's not as bad as Sione [Po'uha]'s. That kept Sione out of a lot of training camp so hopefully it's not like that so to me it's just a day-to-day type injury.
On David Harris' leadership without Bart Scott alongside him on the field… Right, he's been fantastic. I mean, he really has taken over that leadership. He's more vocal and everyone on this team respects him. Everybody respects David Harris. And not just because he's a good player but he's a true professional, and I think everybody recognizes that. Demario [Davis] has some leadership ability of his own, but I see that he does lean on David as well. I think David overall has really taken that role over and it has come natural, just a matter of time, and they all respect him.
