Transcript of Jets head coach Rex Ryan's midday news conference following Friday's morning training camp practice:
Today we had a little goal line. It was good to see LT [LaDanian Tomlinson] score on one. In that second group, no that was not the "Freeway Defense" we play where you'd want them to score; it just looked that way. Obviously, there is only one way to work on goal line and that's full-speed. I don't know what the deal is with the second defense, but they decided not to show up in that period. The offense did really well. I guess you could look at it as good news-bad news in that situation.
On any injuries in practice…
We had nobody, that's what Sal [Alosi, head strength and conditioning coach] said [knocking on wood]. There was nobody riding bikes, nobody working out. The kid from Alabama, Marlon Davis, has a quad or knee, but that's the only thing.
On if he held Santonio Holmes out of 11-on-11 drills…
No, usually, we've been rotating all of those guys in there. He just didn't get a shot today. It looked like short-yardage. We did a lot of short-yardage-type things in 11-on-11. That was probably why. We also had a four-minute, but that was probably the only thing. Damien Woody, we gave him the day off.
On if he's concerned about Shaun Ellis, who briefly limped off...
No. Ellis is always [sore]. We watch him with the knee that he's always had. That's why we always list him every report as probable. He always has a little bit of issues, but he's done well.
On Kris Jenkins being more trim…
The great thing about Jenkins is that, like he told me before, he's really working on his technique. When you get up there in your career, you should be a better technical player. You need to be to get by, to play like a dominant guy. There were probably times in his rookie year, his second year, he could stand straight up and still get through there. Now we have to protect his legs, and you can do that through your technique. That's what Jenkins is working hard on.
On Donovan Warren's play in camp…
He's been up and down. Some days are better than others. Today was a bad day. We put him in a goal-line situation and lost. He never showed up on a flat route, he was supposed to have been there and that's another issue.
It's new to him. Sometimes that happens. We actually put him on the line of scrimmage there, so it was kind of new. But he's had some moments. At one time, I said, "It's just not happening for him," and then he had a couple of big days in a row. So we'll see.
These preseason games, this one in particular, the next couple, that's going to be huge. A guy like him, a guy like [Emanuel] Cook, let's see how far he's progressed. We'll see what happens. We went back, had a meeting, looked at our roster — "Who's going to make it?" There are still spots open. We've had five safeties in the past make a team. You just keep the best players and we'll let them sort it out.
On Warren's draft stock slipping from first round to undrafted…
I don't know, beats me. Depends who you ask. A first-round pick usually would have size and speed. That's probably what he doesn't have, that great size-speed combination. The kind of projection, he's an in-between guy, a corner/safety. He's a good football player, but first-rounders usually have a great trait. Speed is one of them.
On if Tony Richardson can keep playing…
I think he can definitely do it another season. The fact that he is a fullback in this league, 17 years — amazing. It just speaks volumes about the way he takes care of himself, the kind of player he is. Usually, that's a spot where most teams just keep one fullback. There's times you'll keep two. All the pounding that a fullback takes, that's amazing that the guy has played that long. He can still do it. That's the thing about him, he can still do it.
On Richardson possibly not being on the team…
That's too early to even say that. T-Rich is good football player so we'll see. John Conner one day is going to be a big-time fullback in this league.
On what Conner would have to do to push Richardson out…
I more look at it as you keep the good football players and all that. If John Conner is clearly the best guy for our football team to be in there, then he'll be in there.
On if some veterans don't go all out on every play in camp…
You'd like to think you monitor that as well. You're not going to get Jason Taylor to pursue like he does in the game, 60 yards down the field. Probably doesn't make a whole lot of sense to practice that way. Literally as a coach, you try to put that in your own hand. You keep going, they'll do exactly what you ask them to do. That's the thing about those guys and really all of our guys. Jason knows, he's been in the league long enough. He knows how you have to work to get your timing, to get all that kind of stuff. The same thing with Kris.
I think the thing with Kris is he was hurt last year. He had to get over it himself. The hitting, the collisions, the going on the ground and all that other stuff. He passed that with flying colors. I know he feels good about that. We're trying to get him to be a dominant guy but also let his technique protect his body. That's really what he's working on.
On how involved he is with K Nick Folk…
I'm not. I leave that to [Mike] Westhoff. There's times when we'll work things but we won't kick him as much. We're not going to kick his leg off and things. Westy's been around a million kickers and he knows how to handle them.
On his thoughts of Folk…
I think he's going to have a great year for us. The thing that's funny, the biggest negative, and we all know he struggled last year, he had that hip injury and he struggled last year with his consistency. The other thing he struggled with, he wasn't even the kickoff guy in Dallas. They had another young man that was the kickoff guy. Our main concern, we wanted to see him kick, and we also wanted to see him kick off. We weren't sure he could handle kickoff duties. You watch him kick off now, he's putting it 5, 6 yards deep in the end zone on a regular basis. The guy has got plenty of leg. He's been very accurate. I know he pushed one today but we feel really good about Nick.
On bringing in only Folk…
We brought in other kickers. We brought in like two other guys but they — whoo, you guys saw that first day. Nick missed three, but I think we missed eight overall that day. It was like wow. We decided let's let Nick kick and we'll be just fine. It's not like the competition was that great.
On if the first preseason game will feel different than a regular-season game…
Yeah I think so. I think it'll be different. We're playing the Giants, we play in the same stadium, that's always a little extra. It is a new stadium, the first time being there, so that will be kind of neat for our players, neat for the fans to try and find out where they're sitting. It's not going to be amped up, not like the regular season, that's for sure.
I did find out that we did win the game last year against the Giants, somebody told me that. We're going to prepare just like we did at that time. In other words, we don't prepare for it, we just line up and play. There are a lot of coaches that take a different look to it. They'll treat this like a game, they'll study us, and that's fine.
On his preseason mindset being different last season before the Ravens game...
Well, because I was going back. I spent 10 years there [as a Baltimore assistant coach]. I haven't spent 10 years with the Giants — I haven't spent 10 minutes with the Giants. I've always said that I respect the Giants because I respect the way they play. They're a tough team. Don't look back on my predictions last year for the Super Bowl. I thought the Giants were going to be the team that represented the NFC so I wasn't that good. I think I predicted us and the Giants.
On if he cares about losing preseason games...
Well, I'd rather win. You're there to really evaluate your players and make sure you're keeping the right guys. You want to see a certain style. Last year I thought that it was important that we established an identity and who we are. This year I think we know who we are but we still want to get out there and see it. Like I said, I'd much rather win a preseason game but we're not going to play the starters in the fourth quarter to get it done. We'll extend them a little bit but we're not going to put them in the fourth quarter of the game.
I guess it's just a different approach. To me, when we've prepared a game plan it's going to be special. We're going through just the basic stuff that we do. Put the ball out there, let it go. That's how I think you can identify guys. We don't need to try to be game-plan-specific against the Giants, Carolina, the Redskins, Philly. That doesn't really serve us. If anything, you want to do just the opposite. If anything, you don't really want to show your good stuff in a preseason game.
On his feelings about possibly going to an 18-game season…
I think any coach would say we like it the way it is. I think it gives you time to prepare your team. You're not having to kill them. Regular-season games are tough. And I understand what our commissioner is saying and everything else. The fans would rather see two meaningful games, so to speak, than preseason games. I mean, preseason games are meaningful in the fact that you're evaluating your players and all that stuff, but the scoreboard's probably not as meaningful as in a regular-season game.
On if he'd rather play a game or have a few extra days of training camp…
I'd rather play a game. This seems really long. It's that time where it's like let's play somebody else. That's how I look at it. I'm excited the fact that on Monday night, if someone cares to watch, that's fine to see. I'd much rather play now.
