Transcript of Jets head coach Rex Ryan's midday news conference following Monday's morning minicamp practice:
First off, it's going to be a great game against New England this week [laughter]. It's the start of mandatory minicamps. It's good to see everybody here. We had it open to the public, so it was good to see a lot of our fans and for them to get a chance to watch us. It was a great day.
On Kris Jenkins participating in team drills today…
He's pushing himself hard. This is the lowest his weight's been for a while now. We're just breaking him in slowly. Kris is doing well.
On the status of the weight loss challenge…
Right now, I'm in second. Actually, I was letting them get out there a little bit. It's hard. I've been reeling them in a little bit. Slowly, but surely.
On what it means to him that Darrelle Revis is at minicamp…
Number one, it shows you that this guy loves playing. He can't help himself. It's great to see. He's competitive. He loves to compete everyday on the practice field. It's great to see him out here.
On Revis sitting out some drills because he was feeling lightheaded…
Any player we have, when they tell you something's not right, you believe them to be a man of their word. You just let them go. I believe Darrelle would be that way. If he's pulling a fast one on us, then he's pulling a fast one on us. Kris Jenkins is out there, he gets a couple of snaps. Sometimes the player will know better than a coach, trainer or anybody else: "Hey, I need a couple of plays." I wasn't aware of that.
On Revis making a statement by sitting out in drills…
Ok, well, he made a statement.
On if that disappoints him…
Yes, that would disappoint me. He's out here competing every day. We go full speed against each other all the time.
On if he's worried Revis' contract situation will disrupt team chemistry…
No. We're not playing right now. Our team is going to be just fine. I hope teams are banking on something's going to be wrong with the chemistry of our team. Every single team has contract situations. You talk about Darrelle, we've got Nick Mangold, you've got David Harris, and you've got a bunch of guys. Shaun Ellis is in the last year of his contract. That's what happens when you have good football players. Our thing as a football team is you're trying to keep all of your good players. This is an outstanding football team. When we get to playing, we'll be just fine. We plan on being the team that wins the whole thing.
We did have 100 percent participation in the voluntary OTAs. If there are teams that are looking at us not having chemistry, I think you'd be hard to find any other team with the record we had in the OTAs. I'm not going to say we were OTA champion, I'll leave that to Channing Crowder [smiling], but I believe we were OTA champions again this year. One of these days we're going to be Super Bowl champions. We'll see when that is, sooner rather than later.
On what he's seen from Mark Sanchez…
He's our starting quarterback. He's doing great. He was here all weekend. I think he put in six hours on Saturday. I forget how many hours on Sunday. It's funny because he's involved in other things because he's not just a rookie quarterback anymore. I think he's past that, yet he's working harder than anyone on this football team, studying in the classroom and doing everything right. That's what I'm excited about. He doesn't need to prove anything to me, just get out there and play.
On how Sanchez looked today…
He looked fine. Did he not look good today? I thought he looked pretty decent.
On how they can protect Jenkins to prevent another injury during the season…
You can't do that. That was just a freak play that happened. Obviously, you try to take care of them to a point. Veteran players, when I was in Baltimore, [Tony] Siragusa, they know how many reps they need. Kris will be no different. He's played the game long enough. He knows his body better than anybody. You can't protect everybody. If something like that is going to happen, you don't want to see that happen to any player in this league, but that is unfortunately the sport as well. Kris can only go out there and play like he always has.
He's going to be in shape and ready to roll. You look at him right now and he's bench pressing 550 pounds, so he needs to work on that obviously [laughter]. He's just a big man. You can only play this game one way and that's full speed. You can't go out there trying to protect this or trying to protect that. My dad had a great comment once, everybody can go after a guy, but it's hard to kick that person's butt when he's kicking your butt. I think that's the plan with Kris. Just go out there and whoop everybody you got and we'll figure it out at the end of the day.
On how much weight Jenkins has lost…
I'm not going to get into the numbers, but he's clearly done better than I have.
On if he talked to Nick Mangold about being at minicamp…
No, we talked about other things. It was great to see Nick. That's another situation where he's on the final year of a contract and clearly he's a guy we want to be a Jet for a long, long time.
On Darrelle Revis sitting out parts of practice…
I'll talk to Darrelle. That's the first I've heard of it. I'll talk to Darrelle. I believe in Darrelle, so when he tells me he's light-headed or has a hamstring, I'll believe him just like I would any other player on the team.
On if he told him that directly…
No. I heard it and when I went in there, they said he was light-headed. I said, "OK, no problem." I never have an issue, never put a player in there who has some type of issue. Even if the guy's not feeling well – here, sit here. Never put a guy in there if he doesn't want to be out there. And you know what? If his situation is that he has something on his mind and he isn't focused 100 percent, then I really don't want him out there. We practice hard and go full speed, and if that focus isn't there, then I don't want to put anybody in jeopardy. That's for sure.
On if he would let it happen again…
I'll have to talk to Darrelle. We'll see what's out there. Again, there are times when a player has come to me in the past and not felt right, then absolutely stay out, whatever it is. I've had guys with personal issues that were affected, then I wouldn't put that person out there. I did that for years in Baltimore. One individual jumps out at me, that I'd be like 'Alright, just stay with me.' One guy wanted to play in the first preseason game almost every year in Baltimore because the night before the game, he would have a nightmare or something like that. "You know what, big guy? Just stay right here with me." Because on Sunday when it's real, he'd be whipping butt, and that's all I care about.
On if it's contract-related…
I'm not getting into any of that. I'll talk to Darrelle personally.
On if, in the end, it will impact what the Jets want to accomplish this season…
My goal is to win the Super Bowl, and nothing is going to get in the way. I truly believe that. I can't tell you the impact. If we have a guy gets an injury or whatever…we have a football team. It's not about one individual, it's about a whole football team.
On Revis' contract in reference to former Jets guard Pete Kendall…
I don't want to deal in that what-ifs. We'll see. … I have a pretty good track record of dealing with people. We'll see what happens. The distraction is, when we line up for real, we'll see what happens. We'll go to war with whoever the hell is on this team. It doesn't matter. We're going to be the New York Jets. We're about the decal. It's not about one individual. Do I think Darrelle Revis will be here? I absolutely do.
On newcomers who stand out…
Kyle Wilson is the one who clearly is the guy who jumps out. Obviously, we take him with the first pick, you expect him to do some things. He's really been impressive. The thing that I have been most impressed with Kyle is that he will study with a Darrelle Revis. He'll hang on every word. He studies the tapes. He does all that. He does the extra things. He spends time with Dennis Thurman. It's not just the physical talent that he has, but the mentality that he wants to be great in the classroom as well. I think he's going to be a terrific player for us,
On Kevin O'Connell…
He looks nice and tall, a good-looking kid. He looks like [Tom] Brady. I'd like to see him play like Brady. We'll see. He's competing with [Erik] Ainge for that third spot, and we'll see what happens.
On Matt Slauson and Vladimir Ducasse…
We said going in that we'd have an open competition between those two. Some days they just rotate whichever way Bill [Callahan] wants to go with it. That one's going to be a great battle in training camp.
On why team ran better to the right than the left last year…
You have two of the premier run-blocking offensive lineman in the league in Damien Woody and Brandon Moore. I can say that confidently because Brandon has five years left on a contract, or four. Those are some powerful guys. Alan [Faneca] was really good on the move, so we had a little more power on that side. This year, we hope to be a little more balanced. D'Brickashaw's great at cutting off, but he's also great at the point, so I think we'll be able to run both sides this year. But again, clearly if we have to have it, everybody in the league knows what play we're running, we'll still run it there and I think we'll still get it, just like we did against San Diego.
On if showering his players with compliments put management in a tough position…
The great thing is, I'm just honest. The thing about Darrelle Revis is that he was the best corner in football last year. I'm not the only guy that knew that. In my opinion, he should have been the defensive MVP of the league, without question. If you're going to put that on one individual, you might as well give it to the team with the best defense in the league, which clearly was us as a team.
Again, I'm going to be myself. I said that from day one when I took the job, and I'll be it when they're telling me to leave 20 years from now. I had an agent tell me that no coach has made it past six years in Jets history. I don't know if that's true or not. I think Weeb [Ewbank] did, but I'm not worried about anyone else. I'm going to be who I am and I am proud of this football team. We'll see what happens. I'm going to be me. The great thing is that, if I'm speaking the truth, it shouldn't be a problem. I think the whole league sees specific things. Brandon Moore is one of the best guards in football. I'm not the only guy that knows that. Everybody in the league knows it. He knows it. We'll see.
