Transcript of Jets head coach Rex Ryan's Monday afternoon news conference at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center:
After watching that tape, it was what we thought it was, just a lot of back and forth action. They clearly had the advantage in the first quarter against us. They were making a lot of plays against us. We were able to sustain, able to take their best shot and hang in there enough before we got a good idea of how we should attack them and we were fortunate, when you watch that tape, to come out on top. Obviously, we understand that. But we earned it, as well. I'll go ahead and just open it up for questions.
On the status of DE Shaun Ellis' injured hand…
Right. It's broken, but we're going to let him think that it's no big deal. [smiling] It is something, though, he had the big cast around it. He got a chance to get a sack on Rivers and he couldn't understand it because he wrapped him up and he's squeezing as hard as he could, and he was like "I couldn't believe I can't get him down," and it's like "Oh, yeah." He's squeezing his hand in that cast, so that was a problem. But we hope we can come up with something for him that he can function a little better with it.
On how many bones were broken in Ellis' hand…
I have no idea. I just know he has a broken hand.
On playing Indianapolis again this week…
Well, we were playing like they were going to play the whole game, and when they pulled him [Indianapolis QB Peyton Manning] out, it was a very competitive game. It was 15-10, the ball was back up on their 10-yard line, I believe, when they pulled Peyton Manning. Again, they earned the right to play that game any way they wanted. We've said it and all that.
But clearly they were the No. 1 seed in the AFC for a reason. It's an outstanding football team, really an underrated defense. I don't know how that really is a true underrated defense. They have two Pro Bowl defensive ends in [DE Robert] Mathis and [DE Dwight] Freeney. [LB] Gary Brackett is an underrated linebacker. I would think that [LB] David Harris and him probably deserve the Pro Bowl berth. [Baltimore LB] Ray Lewis is in that group, as well. He really flies around. They're a fast, athletic group on defense. And then on offense, it's Peyton Manning and company, so enough said about that.
On if the Jets not receiving credit for beating Indianapolis will serve as motivation this week…
No. I mean, this is the AFC Championship. Motivation is going to come from the fact that the winner of this game advances to the Super Bowl. That's probably motivation enough. The fact we did win that game by 14 points, it wasn't like we squeaked it out by one point or something like that. We played well. Granted, it was the Colt JV team or whatever people want to call it. They still had the Colt uniform on.
On how the Week 16 game was going when the Colts pulled their starters…
Well, I wanted to be ahead of them. We thought it was going to be a great challenge, and it was. It would have to come down to winning the game in the fourth quarter. That's what we thought would happen.
On if he feels like the Jets' success is proving him right…
I was just honest. I'm not an I-told-you-so guy ... until after we win the Super Bowl [smiling]. Then I'll make that comment. But it's not even about that at all. It's about a belief in the people we had at the organization from the top, from [Jets owner] Woody Johnson, all the way down, just a strong belief that we had a lot of things in place. We had Mike Tannenbaum as our general manager. I was wanting to hire a great staff and felt confident of being able to hire a great coaching staff. And then the way it worked out, we were able to trade up to get Mark [Sanchez], and then later to trade up and get Shonn Greene.
The pieces were coming together, and I knew that if we could really build the chemistry of our team that that would be the No. 1 thing that we needed to do – to have that team come together and believe in the one goal that we have, and that's to win a Super Bowl. You've got everybody buying in. I mean, I've got guys crying in the locker room because they're not active. So that's a real positive thing for me. Everybody wants to contribute to the team's success, not the individual success.
On if he likes players and coaches crying…
I bring it on usually myself. But yeah, it's contagious. [smiling]
On if he expects the game to come down to the end…
They're probably going to go right down to the wire. You're playing the Colts, so this one. I can't see us ever getting blown out. That doesn't ever enter my mind, ever. You're playing against the Indianapolis Colts. They're not going to get blown out by anybody.
On if he thinks Indianapolis is better than San Diego…
Well, we're going to find out.
On the public perception that San Diego was playing better than anyone coming into the playoffs…
You know, they're a little different. They're built a little different. The Chargers are a vertical passing attack, and you have to get depth in your zone coverages, and then they kill you with screens. This team [Indianapolis] is more -- they're both built by the pass, but they go about it differently. It's more controlled passing. He'll take his shots down the field, Peyton will, but it's not necessarily really underneath, but they can work separation routes from you and do different things.
On a team meeting when he asked the players with Super Bowl rings to stand up…
That was earlier in the season. It might have been the night before Carolina [11/29], I believe. I think that's when that was. But it was just a point where I thought we had the talent. I thought we had the talent and I thought we had the chemistry to do some special things, and to waste it, to waste an opportunity, no matter how slim it looked at that time for the outside world, that that would be a mistake. In other words, put everything you had into it, believe in each other, and there's no reason why we can't be in this very spot right now. And our guys did that. They really did.
On what it meant to him to have his players buy into that message…
I just think that part of that was built when we went to Cortland [New York for training camp], which was I know a popular thing for around here. [smiling] But it was something I thought was important, to get away where they just had each other and they could bond together. I think that was the important thing. They don't want to let each other down. They don't want to let themselves down, they don't want to let each other down, and they believe in the players that we have here. They believe in our systems. There's no excuses, and we never made an excuse all season. This is who we are, and we're going to get it done with the collective effort of our football team.
On if the players are healthy…
Oh, yeah. Like I said, we've got the broken hand by Shaun, I know T-Rich [FB Tony Richardson] has got a little rib type thing. Jimmy Leonhard got hit in the face after he made that great play, and the back of the head, but he's fine. He's not a handsome kid anyway, so it's no big deal [smiling]. But we're healthy. No excuse.
On the replay ruling that reversed a potential Malcom Floyd reception and lost fumble into an incompletion…
I'm not going to comment. Are you trying to get me fined by the league now? I have no comment on that play. It was a great play by Jim Leonard, though, I can say that. Anybody happy we got him? We got him in. Would anybody have taken him? If you never saw him play, though, you would have been like "The JV team is over there." [smiling] But I think everybody knows the kind of player he is now.
On if the team wants to show that it can beat Indianapolis at full strength…
There's no added motivation from our part. It's another team. Obviously, they're a heck of a football team. We did play them, and we won the game. Did they pull their guys? Absolutely, and they earned that right, and I said that from day one. If we don't beat them now, nobody is going to care about all that other stuff. They can say, "Well, see, they could have beat you." Well, that was a different day. This is a completely different day from that point anyway. We'll never know what would have happened then. But this day we're coming in there regardless if Tom Matte is playing fullback. We're coming after them, they're coming after us, and the best team will win.
On if DE Mike DeVito will play more on first and second down this week due to Ellis' hand injury…
Yes, it's something we can look at. But playing the Colts, it's-- first and second down look a lot like third down also sometimes. We'll pick our spots. But I had no idea how effective he'd be with his hand. It was all bound up in a club. So hopefully we'll have some way where he can maybe use his fingers.
On if they're trying to make a better cast for Ellis…
Right.
On if it helps him prepare for Indianapolis since the Colts played a similar defense last week vs. Baltimore…
Well, we played them four or five weeks ago, so we have a good feel for them. They did more three wides. That [Indianapolis WR Pierre] Garcon never played against us last time, so maybe that's their plan. It is similar, but we're not the Ravens, we're the New York Jets, and we have different personnel. The scheme is similar, but there are different things that we do.
On if he's just running on adrenaline right now…
I feel good. We got in at 4 [a.m.], so I feel really good.
