Transcript of Jets head coach Rex Ryan's midday news conference following Monday's morning training camp practice:
Today was a great practice. It was our best practice since we've been here this year. I thought the tempo was good. It was lively. Guys were banging into each other. We probably had a few too many dropped balls, but other than that it was a tremendous practice. That's really what you want to see. Guys were eager to get back out there. Sometimes when you give them the day off, a lot of times they come back and they're like "aaarrgh," but this team responded. It was excellent to see.
Vernon Gholston, that's the best day he's had since I've been here. We'll see. I want to see him string something together but this was interesting. It's almost like "Hey, I can do this." It started when we were on a 5-on-4 drill and it's the offensive line versus the defensive line and he came off, it was against Wayne Hunter and he stood up Wayne. I was like, Vern, if you can do that on Wayne Hunter, you have to do it all the time, because Wayne is about as good as it gets, as powerful as he is. He jacked him up and I said, "Now you just have to get off the block and use that speed." Then he started doing it and it was unbelievable. After that fight, I saw him throw Rob Turner on the ground and I was like, "All right, my man is here." We'll see. This is the most excited I've ever been about Vernon Gholston was after today's practice. He was challenged by [Mike] Westhoff in the special teams meeting. I don't know what it is, but someone needs to ask him. Whatever he had for breakfast, he needs to eat. That was big time and we'll make sure we find out what it is.
We had a couple injuries. Jason Taylor went out with a slight groin pull. He felt something so we pulled him out. Braylon [Edwards], his knee was a little sore so we limited his reps. We got fluids for Joe McKnight but he came back right away, said he was fine. [Jeff] Cumberland is still out with a head injury. [Marlon] Davis is still out with that knee. [Brashton] Satele is out, but he was out there on the field today so I would not be surprised if he's be able to go this afternoon but we'll see. He's doing well.
On if Santonio Holmes hobbled off the field today…
He's just trying to give the DBs a break. It's funny when Santonio gets up there all of a sudden those DBs' legs get a little weaker. It's against anybody, but it happened to be Drew Coleman. He ran by him on that deep route. It was a little underthrown but he did a great job of coming back and catching the ball — would've been a touchdown. He made a nice play. The next play, he runs a comeback and almost breaks Drew's ankles. His move was so good. That's the kind of receiver he is. He's just got great route running ability. He's strong. He's physical.
We know he's a clutch guy too, there's no doubt. All you have to do is go back to that Super Bowl game when he said, "Just give me the ball." There are guys who want the ball hit to them, or so to speak. Then there are other guys who want the ball hit to "that guy." With Santonio, we want the ball hit to him and he wants the ball hit to him. I thanked [Mike] Tannenbaum again when he ran by him on the 9-route.
On what he's expecting from RB Chauncey Washington…
I see him working hard. He has a chance. He's a big guy who can play special teams and sometimes there's a role for that. We'll see. The guy coaching him, Anthony Lynn, was a big guy that could run down on kicks and he was on special teams, but we'll see. He's doing well. He had that nice run. Our defensive end, [Jason] Lamb, fell down. He ran right by him and popped it out for a nice touchdown during the scrimmage. He's doing well. He's a big guy. You want him to do well because he is big and strong. He's working awful hard. He's with Anthony all the time. He works with him separately; he's doing whatever it takes. If he doesn't make this team, he's got nothing to be ashamed about. He's putting it all out there.
On Mark Brunell taking a break...
We gave him a rest day. We need competition to find out who that other guy is. I think Kellen [Clemens] had a really good practice today. He had one bad throw but other than that I thought he did pretty well.
On if he wondered where Gholston's skills were…
I thought it would happen last year, but it was a coaching mistake. I think we put him now into a role where he can be more successful quicker. I thought that by playing the same position he would feel more comfortable as the year went on, but I still think [defensive end] is a more natural role for him.
On how much fighting he allows in practice…
Right now, it's the time of training camp when you expect some fights, and it's fine. If we get more than two in a day or something like that, that's enough, I've got to step in. I don't feel like we need to run them. I want us to be a tough, physical team, but sometimes that's just being selfish. It's the heat of the battle. I thought [Matthew] Mulligan and Lance [Laury] were going to get into it today. I'm not discouraging that.
On Robert Turner being involved in the fighting…
Oh, that's Turner. Turner can't help himself.
On why Turner is in the middle of the camp fights…
That's why he's here. If he wasn't that kind of guy all the time, he wouldn't be at this level. He has to be like that. That's his mentality. He has to be tough. He has to be just a nasty guy and that's who he is.
On why Turner isn't in the running at the starting left guard position…
It's a much bigger picture than that. We want to get a big body in there, a big, physical presence. Turner's a good player, there's no question about it, but he's excellent in his role. He's a backup, he just happens to back up the best center in the league. He could probably start for some teams, but he's a backup to [Nick] Mangold. He can swing to guard, so he's got depth there. He can also play fullback, tight end. That's what you want. That's a lot of hats, and he wears a bunch of them.
If he goes in to start, now who's going to play that role? Wayne Hunter's a guy that would jump right out at you. He's big, physical, strong and all that, but now who's going to be your backup tackle? There's a lot of things that go into it. We think we have the two guys that are competing for that job in [Matt] Slauson and [Vladimir] Ducasse, and eventually one of them is going to be the clear-cut winner and we'll move on and still keep training the other guy. I think those are two guys that have the physical tools that you look for, and it's just a matter of giving them the opportunity now, and we'll feel good about it when opening day comes rolling around.
On D'Brickashaw Ferguson…
This guy is sharp. The thing that I really like about Brick, besides everything, is that this guy will get after you now. He has the long, basketball frame, but he's much stronger than that. He and Wayne Hunter were partners in the weightroom this year, and they push each other like crazy. He's maximizing his God-given tools, which is, well, he's got everything. You watch him as a run blocker, don't tell me he doesn't have a chance to be the best tackle in football.
On the offense vs. the defense…
I told the offense this after the scrimmage, I told them last night. I said, "I've been coaching for 25 years and when I'm in charge of a defense or whatever, I can honestly say I'd never been in a scrimmage where the offense whipped the defense." My defense always whipped the offense, guaranteed, 100 percent of the time. Go back to last year, it was the same thing. They just whipped our offense. I looked at the tape like three times. I'm looking at little things — "Oh, the playcalling." How about this? "Pettine called the defense. It has to be Pettine's fault." It isn't Pettine's fault. I'd go back and say, "Oh, it has to be this." No, it isn't that.
Do you want to know what it is? It's the offense. Look at our offense, where it is this year compared to last year at this time. We had quarterbacks battling. Right now, we have a great quarterback, a young quarterback. We have a backup quarterback that's seen it all, can get it done. You look at our running backs now. We had a great set of backs last year, but I think it's about the same here, maybe even a little more flexibility in the backfield now with LT.
Then, you look at the tight ends we have. That's a huge, huge difference. This time last year, we never had a tight end that could block. We were having to put Wayne Hunter over there. He can block, but that was it. Now you have Ben Hartsock, you have Mulligan, you have Dustin Keller, who is a much better blocker than he was. That's obvious. Then look at the receivers. No offense to Chansi Stuckey, but Chansi Stuckey's no Santonio Holmes and he's no Braylon Edwards. That's the fact. When I looked at him, I was like, "Wow! These guys are pretty good."
Now I did also tell them that the defense would kick the heck out of them today. I told them that last night, also, because I was going to get more involved in it. So, I took it upon myself. It pretty much worked out that way for the most part. Anyway, we had two deep passes by Sanchez, he underthrew [Cotchery]. I told Jerricho, "If Sanchez throws a ball like that to you, when you're that open, just signal fair catch. Don't take the hit. Just signal fair catch." He looked at me like I was crazy, but Sanchez has to get the ball out there a little quicker. J-Co beat a guy by like 10 yards.
Other than that, I'm just telling you. I'm excited for a reason. I see our offense really growing. We put in a couple of run plays that I really love today, so that was good to see. Other than that, I thought [Kris] Jenkins stood out and. I thought Gholston stood out on defense.
On if he is looking forward to watching the Sanchez-to-Keller connection…
Well, you think about how he finished the season. Three games in a row, he scored a touchdown. That's what we can get from this guy. His receiving skills are as good — well, I don't know if they're as good as [Antonio] Gates, but they're pretty good. He has special receiving skills and he's improving as a blocker. You love to see him use Tomlinson out of the backfield. Last year, I kept yelling, "Throw the ball to Leon! Throw the ball to Leon!" Well, that's what we have. You have a great back — a receiver, a runner and a protector — let's use him. They're easy throws to make. Today, he fed one in there, it was three guys [covering]. It might not have been the best choice but [Sanchez] threw it in there and [Keller] caught it.
On any recent updates about Darrelle Revis…
No, I have no communication there. From my end, I guess we'll know at the appropriate time.
On if he feels Revis needs to report by a certain time to remain in-sync with the defense…
Like I said, you can go a day before the game [and he would remain the starter]. I was saying it facetiously, but he might be able to do it. My thing is, I'm just coaching this group. We'll coach this group. That's all we can focus on right now is getting this team ready. We have to prepare like he's not going to be here. If he comes walking through the door, that's fine. Someone will probably kiss him on the lips [laughter]. It doesn't matter. We're getting this team ready. The guys that are here, we're getting ready. We can only coach who is here and that's what we're doing.
On Kyle Wilson's progression…
I like it. He's smart, he's starting to get it. He's alerting motions. He's doing the kind of stuff that you would think an older player would do. He still hasn't seen it all yet, but he's certainly coachable and I have the best coach in the business in Dennis Thurman. I think it's going to work. He's going to be a tremendous player for us.
On if playing Wilson with the first defense is a new move…
Yes. It's funny because Dwight [Lowery] is the one who said [Wilson] ought to be starting. That was interesting. It surprised us. He never told me, he told Dennis. Yes, it surprises me. But he sees that he needs to work. He needs the reps. The kid has rare ability. Lowery does so much for us — he's been learning safety, nickel, dime, "x," corner. He's doing all that. He's going to play like a starter anyway. It just shows you that this is a team. These guys know. It's interesting. You see Tony Richardson, he's competing with the kid from Kentucky [John Conner]. We'll see. We'll probably keep both. He's still mentoring [Conner]. That's the beauty of this game. You see guys that are helping these guys out. That's when you have the right guys on your team.
On if Wilson could start opposite Cromartie in the first preseason game…
Absolutely.
On what he sees in his defense after the first week of camp…
There are things we can improve on. Right now, I looked and thought, "God, where's the communication?" I was talking to Jim Leonhard. I was like, "Jimmy, I don't see our communication being as tight as I thought it would be." He said, "Yes Rex, I agree." Then I realized that we have three new players out there. You have a brand new safety and you have two brand-new corners. I was like, "Oh yeah, I guess that explains it." It took Jimmy to tell me. But that's it. This really is their first training camp together. We're not quite where we need to be. We're just a little off right now. But we'll get it. I have complete confidence, we'll get it.
On if Kris Jenkins will play in the first preseason game…
We'll be holding our breath [laughing]. We'll be playing him a couple plays. But it's "Oh God!" Just smash somebody and get out. That's all we need. But you have to get a couple reps in. He doesn't need many. Just to get in there for his confidence more than anything else.
On Mark Brunell holding for field goals…
He did it last year for New Orleans. We're really happy with the way Steve [Weatherford] is holding right now, but you still need a backup guy. The ideal guy would be Brad Smith. He does everything else. But he's not comfortable with that. You may think, "How can Smith not do it? He's good at everything else. He has great hands, he's a great athlete." Plus, we all know Brad — he'd catch it and run with it. It's probably better off having somebody else in there [smiling].
On if he will be moderating his comments about his player's contract situations…
If I had to sign the contracts, maybe. But that's [Mike] Tannenbaum's deal. I just tell it the way I believe. But the film don't lie. Plus, Brick's signed to a 10-year deal. I think we'll have him a long time.
