Transcript of head coach Rex Ryan's news conference following Friday's midday practice at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center:
Here's our list. These guys are going to be out for the game: Dwight Lowery, Marquice Cole and Jerricho [Cotchery]. Those three did not practice today. Jerricho is looking pretty good, so is Marquice. Hopefully, they'll be ready to go next week, but they will not play this game. Guys that were limited, but all these guys are going to be listed as probable — there's like 20 of them, they're all going to be listed as probable. Guys that were limited in practice: David Harris, that will be a new guy. He had a calf. Other new guys: Brad Smith. He kind of had a lower back deal, so he was limited.
Then everybody else that I mention [practiced fully], but they're going to be probable. Nick Mangold, shoulder, Josh Mauga, hamstring, Calvin Pace, foot, Darrelle Revis, hamstring, Mark Sanchez, calf, Damien Woody, ankle. All those guys are probable.
Good day today at practice. It was breezy. It was a little cool out there. We had military day, so that was great to see those guys out there. Then we had a young guy, Jalen, from Make-A-Wish, who was out there with us today, so it was really a good day, a great practice. I think guys are ready to put their best foot forward on Sunday.
On playing without Cotchery…
I don't know how much it'll change because we feel pretty good when you have Brad Smith to go in there and then, by the way, we'll call up Patrick Turner. We'll call him up, so expect him to be active for this game.
On what he likes about Turner…
First off, when I looked at Turner the other day, and then you look at Braylon Edwards, and he's like three inches taller. I'm like "OK." But that's the first thing you notice about him. He's a big guy. I like the way he's been practicing. He competes hard every day. In fact, I gave him a lot of credit for pushing Darrelle [Revis] the way he did getting ready for that huge kid at Detroit [Calvin Johnson]. We gave him a game ball for that because he got into it. They almost got into a fight with each other. He was working him so hard. That was when Darrelle was back to being Darrelle, so I think the young kid can do it. We'll see this week.
On what problems Arian Foster poses for a defense…
Well, he's leading the league in rushing. He has 10 touchdowns. He's an explosive guy, runs hard, finishes runs, has speed to the outside, power through the inside, so he's doing a great job for them. The 100-yard rusher thing, that's great. At the end of the day, you don't want to give up a 100-yard rusher, but we just want to win. If they want to run it 50 times, they'll have 100 yards. We hope that doesn't happen. Obviously, you don't want him to get 100. We know somebody, eventually, is going to get 100. As long as we win, we'll settle for it.
I remember Cincinnati, one time, when I was in Baltimore, we'd gone 50 straight games without giving up a 100-yard rusher and Corey Dillon had 120 yards. I remember seeing some of their coaches at the end of that game and they were walking around like they had won the game and I'm like, "We just shut you out, like, 24-0," and the guy had like 120 yards rushing. It's like "Well, in the fourth quarter, when we were rushing the passer every snap thinking you were going to try to get back into the game and you guys were running draws." You can give up 100, but I did walk out of there like, "We just shut you out." I guess I should've been doing run stunts or something.
On what pressure a back like Foster puts on a defense…
Not just on our defense, but any defense. The kid's obviously doing a good job. He runs hard. He's finishing runs. Any back that has that kind of ability, you have to pay special attention to. How hurt [Matt] Schaub is, we don't know. Maybe they plan on coming in here and running it 40 times against us.
On the passing of former Jets defensive lineman John Elliott…
I just remember, he was number 80 I believe, and was just at that time, I think he was 6' 5" and a rare guy. He was one of those special, talented guys, just explosive off-the-snap guy, had great height, length. Man, he was great. You talk about why the Jets won, you look at the way he played and the way Gerry Philbin played. They were number one in the AFL in defense back in those days and I know John Elliot was a huge part of that.
On working out Shawn Crable today…
Yes [laughter]. Can I comment on it? He's a tall kid. How's that for a comment [laughter]. He's real tall, skinny.
On having the military at practice today…
I just thought it was appropriate. It was great. It's funny because they get a lot of joy out of it and they're like, "Holy cow! It's so and so." We're looking at you like you're looking at these guys. These guys really are heroes. It was great having them. We had one of them judge the buck board contest. We had someone kick a field goal. There was a guest kicker today. I always like having our guys around the military. You realize how thankful we should be. The guys are serving our country and how fortunate we are to have men and women like that serving our country so we can have the freedom to do this. It was just great.
On letting Cotchery heal so the injury doesn't linger for the rest of the season…
That's part of it. If we were playing the Super Bowl, he'd be playing, but we have more games to play this year and we have to make sure we're doing the right things by him and for ourselves as well.
On how long Lowery will be out with the concussion…
With those, you really don't know. We'll see how he is. I think he's better now than he was. Again, our doctors and our trainers don't feel like he's ready to go yet. He looked good dribbling a football today, so he's back to being himself. We're clearly not going to put any guy out there that still has symptoms.
On if his father, Buddy Ryan, being in the military emphasizes the importance of the military to him…
Yes, I think so. I grew up that way and never had to serve. I feel fortunate to never have had to serve. I just have a huge deal of respect. You'll see our team before the game that we're always standing at attention for the national anthem. We try to show all the veterans out there how proud we are of them and how proud we are of this country. It's just a little thing that we do. I know there are other teams in the league who do the same, but we honor the men and women who serve our country. It's just a little way of showing our respect.
On if he gets the sense that this team is ready to break out…
As long as we win. That's the key. I'd love to be able to break out, as you put it. I'd like to break out early. Let's come out and be ready to fire and give them our best shot. I know they're a good team. They're one of the best offenses in the league. Their defense has struggled. Special teams are decent. If we play our best, I think we'll win.
On whether LaDainian Tomlinson is getting fewer carries than Shonn Greene to keep his legs fresh…
Like I said before, I like to keep him fresh through practice and use him in games. He went over 100 yards last week in [total offense], so I don't know how much he's slowing down. He had 100 and something. Someone take a shot at it [laughter]. Combined rushing and receiving he had 103 [110] yards, let's go with that [laughter]. As far as you know, he had 103 yards last week [laughing]. Make it work, guys. [laughter]
On if the team will have a fifth cornerback on Sunday…
I think Joe McKnight. He's been working that way. It probably won't be very multiple with him out there in coverage, but we've taught him a couple zones and I think we even taught him some man-coverage. He'll be alright. He's been out there. He's a great athlete. He kills us out there. I'm telling you guys he's getting ready to explode. He earned our non-trust, I guess you'd say it, by fumbling, but the way he's practiced, he's earned our trust back. I think it's just a matter of time. Expect to see him out there because he's been playing.
On if McKnight will really play cornerback…
At running back, at receiver, corner. He's going to play some for us. I don't expect him to play defense, I hope. That means we had some injuries. If that's what it takes, we'll put him out there. He's from SC so he and Dennis [Thurman, DBs coach] speak the same language.
