Transcript of head coach Rex Ryan's news conference following Friday's midday practice at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center:
Big news is Summit [High School] goes for their undefeated regular season today, to close out their regular season. Probable on the injuries: David Harris, Calvin Pace, Brodney Pool, Darrelle Revis — all probable. Brodney is fine. All those guys were full today. Nobody missed anything.
On Mark Sanchez commenting sarcastically that his son Seth could make some of those throws that he should have made against Green Bay…
Seth found out about Mark's comment and all that. Seth's like, "Yeah, no question, I would've made the completion. Hello?" He thought Mark was telling the truth there, but yeah that was great. Sanchez would go watch him play all the time last year, all the freshman games. He's only seen one game this year and my kid actually got hurt so he and Jim Leonhard were there to watch. They're no longer invited to the games.
On if his son reached an injury settlement…
No, he toughed it out, of course. No shock there [smiling].
On any concerns about Brodney Pool's health…
No, not at all. He checked out. We gave him the finger test, how many fingers and things and he's fine. I'm kidding. Really though, when any player gets hit in the head or has that kind of collision, his helmet kind of smacked him in the eye a little bit, but you're cautious. As soon as you see Brodney Pool out with a head injury, everybody's like, "Oh, there's that concussion thing." Really, we haven't seen it. He's been great and he's physical and all that kind of stuff. We're happy with Brodney and he'll be ready to play well this week.
On whether Vernon Gholston has turned a corner this season…
I think with Vernon, he's playing much better. Unfortunately for Vernon, he's backing up Shaun Ellis. It's probably not a great thing, but he's done well. The thing that I like the best is how his teammates are around Vernon. Vernon's one of the guys. He really is accepted and it's because of the way he plays, carries himself, how smart he is. We've played him in different spots and all of the sub teams, but you literally can turn and say, "Vern, go get so-and-so." He's in there. He's really valuable that way. He's doing a great job on teams. He's going to be an excellent player. I really think that.
The fact is, when I made the comment about one of the best defenses in the National Football League coming to your town, that was based on a comment that a reporter made talking about Vernon Gholston like, assuming, "Well, you have Vernon Gholston, top-ten player. He's been a disaster," whatever it was. I was like, "Man, you have no idea." This guy is a good football player. He really is. It just kind of burned me a little bit kind of. I was like, Vernon's not that guy. Vernon's an excellent football player and he's part of a great defense, so we're happy he's here.
I'm telling you, he fits in with all those guys right now. He gives as much as he takes, back and forth, with each other. I know one thing, when you have guys saying that "I want to throw the quarterback. I'm going to get him and throw him to Vernon, so he can get the sack, just to get it off his back," that's what they think of him. Everybody just wants it bad for Vernon and he's playing well.
On Gholston not having a sack as a pro…
I know, but it's not like he's out there every snap. He's not out there every snap and what we do with him, unfortunately, he gets a lot of the dirty work. You've got other guys that you're putting in maybe ideal spots, but Vernon gets it. It's kind of the rite of passage in our defense. You've got to do the dirty work before you get all the good jobs. I'm telling you he's an excellent player and he's doing well.
On if he would have drafted Gholston sixth overall in the 2008 NFL Draft…
That high? No, I wouldn't have taken him that high. Right now? Yes, absolutely I'd take him.
On if he would have drafted Gholston as the sixth overall player right now…
I don't know if he'd be the sixth overall. It depends on who else is there. Right now, I like the way Vernon Gholston plays. I really do. I think when he came out, I thought there probably needed to be some development there, but right now I'm absolutely happy with Vernon Gholston. The sixth overall player, I don't know about that. Who was that this year? Was it [Ndamukong] Suh? I would have taken Suh [laughter]. I really like Vernon.
On if he thinks Gholston has a long-term future with the Jets…
Absolutely, I do.
On how difficult it was for Gholston to be drafted sixth overall and get criticism from the fans…
What happens is it's unfair. You come into a situation and you need to develop. He's a young kid coming out. Now he's a man. Sometimes it's tough for fans to realize there has to be development with guys. You're thinking, hey he's the sixth overall pick, you're going to get Lawrence Taylor. There has only been one Lawrence Taylor. It just takes time for guys to feel their way. I remember when we got Haloti Ngata in Baltimore. It was like, "Oh, what's he doing? He only had one sack." Oh, yea? How many guys would like to have Haloti now, all those teams that missed on him before? I think Vernon is going to be a productive player in this league. He's smart. He's a team-first guy all the way. Eventually, he's going to make those numbers that people think.
On if Seattle WR Mike Williams illustrates his point that players need time to develop…
There's been a ton of guys. It takes a while. Let's face it, he was thrown into a completely different position, one that he was not familiar with. You see the numbers and I don't blame Eric [Mangini] or anybody else for trying to make that move because you see those numbers, "Well, he could be ideal at this spot." Now he can back up those spots. He's playing defensive line. He's doing a lot of things for us. Like I said, he's a big contributor to our football team.
On if players with ties to the Detroit area are excited about returning home …
No question. Absolutely. I think guys are excited — Bart [Scott], David Harris, Braylon [Edwards], Vernon. Calvin Pace was even born in Detroit. He lived there till he was 3 so he doesn't remember much of it. Of course, we have Eric Smith, but he is actually from Ohio and went to Michigan State.
We're very aware of where guys are from. I had an old football coach tell me that he really believed in the hometown hero. What I mean by that is we had a running back who didn't play for eight games and all of sudden he's rotating him in there with the starters for this week. I was like, "Why are you playing this guy?" "Oh, he's from this town." The guy goes out and rushes for 120 yards. I was like, "Whoa." Ever since that time, I bought into it. We had two guys that played in New Orleans. Ronnie Prude, not exactly a household name, gets two picks in the game, one for a touchdown. Dawan Landry, in the same game, he has two picks, one for a touchdown. I'm telling you, there's something to it. I'm expecting big games from Bart, David, Vernon and Braylon Edwards. Anytime you go back home, you want to do something special.
On how much the team is looking forward to getting back on the field after a week of criticism…
We never played well. The good thing is we get to play on Sunday against a good football team at their place where they're coming off a big win. It's going to be a hostile environment which is just right for us. Let's see what happens. There are easier spots to play in. We're extremely confident. It doesn't matter who we play. We just want to play. The fact that we're playing Detroit and they're pretty hot right now, we'll see. I feel good about it.
