Transcript of head coach Rex Ryan's news conference Monday afternoon at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center:
A good win. We know this one right here, the way we do our math, which is not everyday math. I always look at it as these division games count as a game and a half. If you kind of look at it that way, this game against Miami can either put us up by a half of a game or down by two and a half, I think. In other words, this is a big game. There is no doubt about it. Plus we need a win against him. It's going to be a good game. This last one, this past game, I thought we played a great football team in New England. Tom Brady. This was an amazing stat somebody told me, whether it's true or not I don't know. I'll let you guys figure it out. Somebody said that that's the first game in his career against the Jets that he threw two interceptions in a game. That's pretty amazing because he's played against the Jets a bunch. He there six incompletions in a row which was, I guess, something that he had never done before. That was pretty impressive by our defense. Obviously, it tells you the kind of quarterback [Tom] Brady is. I've been a part of some that look like they're 20 incompletions in a row by a quarterback. Either way, I thought our guys played hard. I thought it was a great game. The fact that we won by 14 doesn't say how close that game was. Obviously, it was a well fought game, tough game all the way through. I think our guys really responded at the end as we talked about before. A great team effort.
As far as injuries are concerned, I know there is a report that Darrelle [Revis] will be out one to two weeks. I have no idea where that came from. It came from Darrelle? OK. Well maybe he knows more than I do right now at this time. OK, so there you have it. I haven't really talked to John [Mellody] so I understand that everybody went and got looked at. I talked to Nick [Mangold] and Jason [Taylor], but those MRI's weren't back to my knowledge, so I'm not real sure. I feel pretty good about almost all the guys except Darrelle. I'm not real sure about.
On how Pool felt after the game…
He was getting treatment on his ankle right after the game, but we feel pretty good about it. I'll tell you, he did a nice job. That's a tough position to play if you don't get that many reps with all the calls. I thought, for the most part, Brodney played pretty well.
On feeling good about Mangold and Taylor playing against Miami…
I just do. I think both of those guys are really tough guys. Jason, we all know his history. He plays and Nick's a tough guy. We'll see, but I feel pretty good about them.
On his read on Revis' injury…
With hamstrings, you really can't tell. Could he play in nickel situation? Is it best to rest him the whole time? We have to be smart with this one.
On making sure Revis is healthy when he gets back on the field so there are no lingering issues…
That's the deal. Last year with Lito [Sheppard], he tried to play or was wanting to play and we were like, "Nah, let's hold off." Another time, we played him in a role and he got hurt again and was out for three more weeks. We've got to be smart here and do what's best for the football team and Darrelle.
On if Revis' injury is being classified as a strain…
That's my understanding.
On if playing teams that aren't pass heavy will influence the decision to play Revis…
Well, they are a run-first team, but they have a big old wideout out there that's an outstanding player in Brandon Marshall. They've got other weapons as well. If he can play, that's what you want to have happen. I think this kid the first time we played Miami last year, [Chad] Henne the quarterback had the highest rating in the history of the game against us. I thought we were playing Dan Marino. The next game, I thought we did a much better job against him. It would be a lot easier of a job if we have Darrelle out there. I don't know if it's easy, but it will be easier if we have Darrelle out there.
On if he has more confidence in the defense's ability to play without Revis after the second half of the New England game…
We'll do what's in his best interest and the team's best interest. We're not going to force a guy to play for sure, but it's a big game and there are a lot of different variables that go into that decision. At the end of the day, if you just do what's in the best interest of the player, that's probably the smart thing.
On Calvin Pace's injury update…
Calvin is doing great. Extraordinary, I think is the way some people and the doctors describe it. He's way ahead of where most people are at this time.
On if Revis would have to practice this week in order to play Sunday…
I'm not a guy that says you have to practice to play especially if you are really good, so he'll probably fall under that category.
On who will make the decision as to whether Revis will play Sunday…
I know he's going to want to play, but it'll be our doctors and John Mellody. We'll sit down with Darrelle and collectively we'll make the right decision.
On how long it will be before Pace can play…
We ruled him out last week at this time. I'm not so sure we want to rule him out right now even for this game. We'll see. That would be extraordinary if he can play, so we're probably leaning on we'll see. Where is that officially? Doubtful? OK. Put him in the doubtful one for now.
On if Pace will be able to play for Buffalo…
The way he is progressing, there is no reason to think he can't do that.
On Antonio Cromartie's performance against New England…
He was tremendous. The thing that is funny because he never started the game that great. He played off of [Wes] Welker when I wanted him to press. He gave up a touchdown, which is tough. That little guy is tough. He was matched on a tight end and got beat, so he never started off great. Man, he really finished great. When you looked at it, having that matchup — never batted an eye. That's what you love about him. That's when you know you've got a great corner, when a guy says, "All right, let's go on to the next challenge." That's what you see with Revis all the time. "OK. That play happened. Let's go." He was right there. Some of the coverage he had staying on top of Randy [Moss] in that situation. [Tom] Brady throws it up and gives his guy a chance. We came down with it. It's just a great play. Then the one when the ball was tipped, he had the presence to go ahead and get after Moss after he had tipped it. That allowed Brodney [Pool] to come over and make a great interception for us.
On the Patriots not using their final two timeouts…
I was a little surprise, but it wasn't going to affect the game. Even if you get the ball back, do you really want to put your quarterback in that situation. You're not going to score twice in that time. You may submit him to get some hits. If he does play him and he does get hit, everybody's questioning him. Not like you'd question me if that happened, but you'd question even him. I was a little surprised.
On the Patriots signing Danny Woodhead…
That's great. I can understand bringing in a guy like Danny Woodhead. He's a tough guy. He can play multiple positions – running back, receiver, special teams. He's just a special player.
On if there was gamesmanship involved in the Woodhead signing…
No, not really because if there was gamesmanship, he would have been a captain [laughter].
On D'Brickashaw Ferguson giving up sacks…
Yes, he gave up a sack. I was hoping Mark could have avoided that big dude. [Gerard] Warren I think came in there one time and got him too. He's not perfect. He's a great player, but he's not perfect. We've got to strive to be that way. I thought our communication on that left side, even pick up stunts, wasn't where I think it should be and where it needs to be. I think the more Brick and [Matt] Slauson play over there, the more comfortable they're going to get. We've got to do a better job over there.
On what he's seen from Bryan Thomas…
I think he looks better in 58 than he did at 99. I'm not saying that's the reason, but he's playing great. He really is. The fact that he got walked down by an offensive lineman, we're willing to forgive him. He really is doing a great job, tremendous on the run. We've moved him all over. He's playing outside linebacker, defensive end, nose tackle, we've got him all over the place. He's smart, but he's a playmaker also. He's doing a great job for us.
On Eric Smith's hit on Wes Welker…
That's a tough call because it wasn't like he hit him head on this way, they were both going the same direction trying to make a play on the football and then had that collision with him. Welker did a tremendous job of making sure he got that penalty called. Wes wasn't hurt. You sure thought he was for a minute until he saw that flag and made it look good. I understand the rule that you don't want to hit a defenseless guy in the head. I don't think that was Eric's intention. He might have made contact with his helmet.
On if he talked to Braylon Edwards about his taunting penalty…
I brought it up today in a meeting. I told him that he played a great game and we would have given him a gameball, but he didn't because of those things. I love the way he played. He was really into it, but you're killing us. You can't put the team in that kind of jeopardy. You're kicking off from the 15 and that's two weeks in a row we've had to do, not from Braylon both those game, just this past game. When you get a safety, that's usually a nine point play because the team's kicking off from the 20 and usually go down and score. Well, we're kicking off from the 15, so that really put our defense in a bad situation. I appreciate how passionate he is, but you don't want to be selfish. That's basically what that is. As great as he played, and no one is as big a Braylon fan as I am, that's something I probably should have addressed right when it happened. I was too worried about trying to get them stopped, but that's needed to be addressed and we did address it.
On if Edwards was spoken to about the penalty before the two-point conversion…
No. That's what I mean, I probably should have gotten to him earlier than that. But he's smart. He knows better than that. It's not the first time he's ever been in the end zone either. He knows.
On if going for it on fourth-and-1 in the fourth quarter was to keep Tom Brady off the field…
That's the thinking and the fact that I have a lot of confidence in our offense. We talked about it the night before. I kind of had a vision that the game would play out like it did and I wanted to put it on our offensive line to get it done, to block it up and put it in the hands of LT [LaDainian Tomlinson] and good things happen. If they would have stopped us, then they would have had a better opportunity to come back. That never even entered my mind. I was thinking that we were going for it period. We have a confidence level in our offense, our offensive line that we can get a yard. Obviously, I never realized that LT was going to jump about six feet in the air, but wow. Like they say, I know he's washed up and everything [smiles].
On the difference between going for it on fourth-and-1 against New England and not against Baltimore…
Well the difference was that one right there we had a two touchdown lead and I felt the odds were in our favor that we would pick it up. Against Baltimore, in that situation, I wanted to get points. I knew that points are hard to come by, that we had to get them one way or the other. We would have looked a lot better had we not given up that touchdown and gone in the locker room 6 to 0 against Baltimore but that never worked out that way.
On if knew that Tomlinson was going airborne on fourth-and-1…
Yes. I know because I've seen him do it to me a couple times too. That's hard to stop. The thing about LT is LaDainian can either take it over the top. He can do down below. He is just a super short yardage back. What's he got? 150 touchdowns or something like that. He can find a way to get that yard. There are very few guys that can take it underneath with their feet on the ground or they can go over top or they can bounce it. He can do all those things.
On when he decided to go for the two-point conversion late in the third quarter…
Well, we talked about it about a minute before we scored to be honest with you. I'm a guy that usually likes to go for it, unless it's the fourth quarter or it's that exact situation, it's the last drive in the third quarter where you have it as it's going. That's when I'll go to the charts, so to speak, make that decision. Then I felt really good about our two-point play. Mark [Sanchez] ran it great. They pressured us. We threw it up there to Braylon. We knew we had a size advantage over there, Braylon came down with it. It was a great catch and great throw.
