Transcript of head coach Rex Ryan's news conference following Friday's midday practice at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center:
There's a couple of big things today. First off, everybody's playing. [Nick] Mangold, Calvin [Pace], [Darrelle] Revis — all probable. They're playing. That's out of the way.
Now, I want to pass this out. This is some research that I did. Don't worry about [reading] it, I'll cover the highlights. I passed this out because, see, I was not aware that Westy [ST coordinator Mike Westhoff] Westy invented the onside kick. I wanted to do some research on several topics. I know we have a very experienced staff. I don't know if you guys were aware of it, but we went back and looked at the references on the onside kick. See this guy, here, Eddy, The Forward Pass and Onside Kick, he wrote a book about it in 1907. Now, he was the ghostwriter. That's on the third page here on the references. Scratch that out. Put Mike Westhoff there because he was the ghostwriter for Westy about the onside kick. Now, if you'll flip over, the blitz.
Now I want to explain the blitz. It was Bob Sutton. Here's what happened. We all know Bob Sutton. He's playing football. He went outlaw. He was supposed to be in coverage. He decides to blitz the quarterback, thus Bob Sutton is really the inventor of the blitz. Now the last one here, this Pop Warner guy, invented the single-wing, which we now call the wildcat. That was "Pop" Callahan [offensive line coach Bill Callahan]. That was misreported. Just so you guys were aware of that, I wanted to make sure you got a copy of that.
On how Shonn Greene has handled LaDainian Tomlinson's resurgence…
I think Shonn's great. I really think when we brought in LT [LaDainian Tomlinson], it was to have that one-two punch. We had a similar thing with Thomas [Jones], although I think it never went as fast as maybe we would've liked it to have last year because Shonn had some injuries. Now, it's a perfect situation with both of these guys. It really is a one-two punch. Can they both get their carries? Will it balance out or whatever? We just care about winning and I think at the end of the day that's all we really care about.
Shonn is a bellcow and so is LT. They both have huge roles for us. They're great teammates. I remember when the Dolphins had that great run, they had Larry Csonka and you had [Jim] Kiick and Mercury Morris. There's plenty of carries to go around. Really, we're going to be fresh. That's how I look at it. I love "LT isn't going to be as strong at the end of the season as he is now." Oh, really? OK, we'll see.
On if he will play Greene more to preserve Tomlinson…
No, I think what we'll do is take care of LT and his body at practice, and then we'll get him going like crazy in the game. I think both those guys are going to have more of a presence as the season goes on.
On whether he will get involved in the Cablevision-FOX negotiations like he did with the Revis negotiations…
No. I don't see that happening. I wasn't involved that much in the Revis deal. I just went along. Would you have taken a trip down to Florida? That's what I'm talking about. Let me see, I can stay here, I can go to Florida ... at that time, it was cold. "I'll go to Florida with you, Woody. Why don't we do that?"
On fans not being able to see the game because of the Cablevision-FOX dispute…
I'm hoping that we'll have our stadium full and they'll find ways to see the game. If it doesn't get worked out, they'll find ways to see it, whatever it is. I'm not saying go to your local establishment, but go to your local establishment [smiling]. Hopefully, they'll have the game on there, pound a couple of beers. I'm not responsible if they pound somebody wearing a Green Bay Packer deal [joking]. Remember, I'm not responsible for someone pounding a Green Bay Packer fan [joking]. I just want to make sure that's been documented.
On a possible Packer contingent in the crowd because their fans travel so well…
We'll see. It better be a big one. I don't know. This is a place where I wouldn't want to wear Green Bay stuff coming to our stadium. No way [smiling]. These are our fans, our team. I don't know if a Packer fan would want to waste his time coming to this kind of environment. If they travel well, they travel well. We'll see, as long as they travel home mad, disappointed and everything else with the outcome of the game. That would be fine with me [smiling].
On if Calvin Pace is 100 percent…
I think he'll be 100 percent by the time the game gets rolling around. I think he'll feel 100 percent. He's healthy. He'll be playing. He'll be popping out of his skin ready to play.
On if the fact that Green Bay has played so many close games emphasizes the need for good special teams play…
I think that's the way the league is. When you look at it now, teams scrap right down to the wire. Most games, all games are won in the fourth quarter, but it's usually close. The kind of talent that Green Bay has, this is an explosive offense and they have an outstanding defense, so you're going to be in a lot of games. I think we're the best special teams unit in the league, so if it comes down to that, I'll always feel comfortable with our special teams.
On if Nick Folk has exceeded his expectations…
I was nervous, yes, nervous was the appropriate word, in the spring. I always wondered, "Gol-lee." It was real windy and all that stuff, but wow. Then we go into training camp and this guy's kicking everything, just mashing it. Now, you go to the regular season and this guy's money. It went from I was nervous about him to "This guy's awesome." Does that mean he's not going to miss a kick? No, he'll probably miss another kick, but I feel comfortable with him, that's for sure.
On having an experienced coach like Coach Westhoff on his team…
That's the beauty of it. I claim that he invented the out route, and I'm not so sure. He might have. Really, we kid him all the time about it. He's 62 years old. This guy's seen so many huddles broke in his day. He really is a pioneer of special teams. He's the best special teams coach I've ever been around, and I've been around a lot of great ones. I think he's the best. The guys play their tails off for him. They know how much he appreciates them, their efforts. He's brutally honest, so he has that blunt-force trauma. He's a hell of a guy. He really is a fascinating guy. I think the world of Westy, but he's still not above kidding.
On other jokes about inventions…
Absolutely, [DC Mike'] Pettine was claiming that he invented Velcro and somebody else was saying that he invented the Internet, or whatever, today. We're having a lot of fun with it.
On if he has ever known Coach Pettine with hair…
Yeah, we have pictures to prove it. If you guys ever want to see him, I'm sure we can bring him up here. I'll put one up here the next time. He looks better now.
On the tragedy at Notre Dame and if that's changed their thoughts about safety at practice…
It's certainly something we thought about even before this. We have certain protocols here that if the wind gets to a certain level, then clearly they will not be up on lifts, we'll be practicing indoors or whatever the case may be. We have a certain protocol here that we follow.
