Transcript of head coach Rex Ryan's conference call with reporters Monday afternoon:
On having the best record in the league…
We made plenty of mistakes yesterday. We made a ton of mistakes on a short week, a tough place to play and all that kind of stuff, yet we never gave up. We just thought it was our day anyway. I think that's the big thing, the type of mentality that we have. The biggest thing that I see is the confidence that we have in each other, but also how hard we play. We made a bunch of mistakes, but we were all out. Our guys, they sold out for each other, and that's the way the New York Jets play. I think that's why we ended up winning the game.
On the pass interference call the Jets received that set up their game-winning touchdown…
That was a good call. I understand that that was a professional call. It's probably a tough call to make on the road in that kind of situation at the end of a game, but clearly, you can't make an assumption that Santonio [Holmes] is not going to make that catch. The guy grabs his facemask, probably the only reason why Santonio doesn't catch the ball anyway.
On if Bill Parcells is right that having the best record reflects that you are the best team…
Well, Parcells was right. You are what your record says. Again, we need to improve as a team. I think we will. I see our team having an opportunity to get better and better as the year goes on. 5-1 is good enough to be in first place, and have the best record in football, so absolutely, it's hard to say that we're not the best team in the league. I still think we're at a certain level right now where our record says we're the best team in the league, but I think this team can really improve and really improve in all aspects. I'm really looking forward to it, when we get back to work. We're on a mission. We know what we want to accomplish as a football team and we're doing everything in our power to get better each week.
On if Santonio Holmes is getting more comfortable in the offense…
I do. I think the more games he plays, the better we're going to feel and the better the chemistry will be with those guys. You look at Braylon Edwards, the difference between Braylon this year and last year, the fact that he came during the season, he's so much further along. That confidence level that Mark [Sanchez] has in Braylon and vice versa that, "Hey, your route is going to be this. I'm going to put the ball in front of you," things like that. That's what we see now with Braylon and Mark and I think the same thing is going to happen with the type of chemistry that Mark can develop with Santonio.
On if there is a conscious effort to get Holmes the ball more often…
No, I think it's just that you have a lot of playmakers here. The beauty of our team is everybody wants it. That's how competitive they are and they think they can be the difference, us winning and losing. I think Santonio has it. Jerricho [Cotchery], Braylon, all those great receivers, they want the ball in crunch time. Santonio and Braylon and all of those guys are no different from that and that's great. When you have a whole group of guys like that, all you have to do is throw it to the open guy and I think that's what Mark is trying to do now.
On his message to the players as they leave for the bye week…
I think, besides the off-field things and all that kind of stuff that we talk about, our message is that, "This is it." We've accomplished, so far, our objective. Our goal, if you will, for special teams, offense and defense was clearly stated in our first team meeting together and that's that we want to lead the league in wins. That's where we're at. Can we get better defensively? Absolutely, we can. In my opinion, right now, this defense isn't even close to where it's going to be by the end of the year. I think we'll lead the league in defense. I think we'll have the best defense in the league. We just want to win and we're finding ways of doing it. That's what's been really impressive with this team.
On when the players will be back…
They have to be back Sunday night and be in the building on Monday ready to go for practice.
On if he reminded players to stay out of trouble during the bye week…
We try to do the professional thing. Just be pros. We have a lot of great people here, but clearly, you make sure that they know that there is Player Protect that is available to him and to take advantage of that. They know that they represent the Jets on-and-off the field and I think that's important to these guys. It is something that you remind them of. The number one thing is to be safe. I understand that sometimes you're 5-1, people know it and just to be smart out there.
On being 5-1 without the defense playing to their potential…
Well it's the kind of team that I envisioned us having and that's a team that truly plays as a team. We talk about it the offense picking up the defense, the defense picking up the offense and our special teams being able to pick up both. We've won games because our defensive's effort has been maybe a little better than our offense, our offense has been a little better than our defense, our special teams has been a little bit better than both. I think that's something that we talk about and I'm proud of the way this team has really come together as a football team. They encourage each other. They work hard against each other on the practice field. It's really a team atmosphere. That's great.
I really believe our defense will get better. I think our offense will get better as well. Our special teams have been pretty good, but we were talking today about it and of course [Mike] Westhoff was like, "Oh, I know we can get better." That's the mentality that they take. Our team, we get a little bit better. We talked about it last year about challenging our team to get better in the offseason, finding a way. I think we did that physically. Now, we're trying to do it collectively and as a unit. That's what you want to do, just keep going. You either improve or you get worse. We're going to improve as a team.
On the plan for Darrelle Revis during the bye week…
I hope he gets some time away, but I think Darrelle is going to stay here for the most, obviously, and get that hamstring physically ready to go the best he can. I think he's close right now. I thought it was an encouraging thing. The way he came out of that game, I thought was big. From a confidence standpoint, his improvement that he made from this week to the previous week, I thought was substantial. I thought he was able to finish on plays. He might not be 100 percent right now, but he's getting closer to it.
On if there are any other injured players that will stay and rehab during the bye week…
No, not that I know of. I know Dustin Keller was kind of looking at a wrist. I don't know the result of that MRI. I know he finished the game with it. Our guys are pretty healthy. We're healthy going into the bye week and that's really encouraging to me. I know David Harris, it looks like he got his nose messed up pretty good. Like I said, "David, when you look like you do, it really doesn't matter, does it?" [laughter]
On his plans during the bye week…
I'm going to stay around a little bit, but I am going to try to get away. My wife has us going somewhere for two days. It could be worse. It could be with the in-laws, so I'm not complaining too much. I know with the Ravens, they have a reunion of the 2000 Super Bowl Champions and I'll be with them in Baltimore on Saturday night. Then I'll come back Sunday morning and be ready to roll, but for the most part I'll be around.
On if David Harris broke his nose…
No, I don't think so. I just think he got smashed in it pretty good. Whether it's broken or not, it probably really doesn't matter to him. He's a tough guy, but clearly he got smashed pretty good.
On how much did the team make fun of Harris because of Kyle Orton's move on him…
I'd say because he had such a great game and that's the one, it's like "Oh, Dave." You know he wants that one back, but the guy that really did a poor job on that was me. I made that call. I was trying to trap Orton. He was hot. That's a pretty good quarterback, but I was trying to put some traps out there. I think he read the coverage. The thing opened up pretty good. We should have probably had a better plan on it, so really that was more of my fault than it was David.
On if the bye came at a good time…
I tell you what, when you win five games in a row, you kind of just wish you can keep playing to be honest with you. It is good to have the bye right now. We can enjoy it, give them a little time off, get away from it a little bit and then come back ready to go. We know that this is just the start of our mission, but it is an opportunity to get a little bit away from it.
