Transcript of head coach Rex Ryan's news conference following the Monday afternoon walkthrough at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center:
I know one thing I forgot to mention yesterday, I was talking with Woody Johnson and Chris Johnson and I go, "Man. I'll take a win of any kind. That'd be great. I would like to win a little easier, but man I'll sign up for a win of any kind." Shoot, I'll still sign up for that, but wow, it never had to be that close, obviously. The fact we came back might be better for our team in the long run. The way we came back and battled, the mental toughness it took, the resolve that it took and the fact our young quarterback led our team down the field when it looked like it was stacked against us, I think is actually better for our team.
I do have some injury updates. I put this thing on if we would have had a real practice today, so I kind of put it that way. If we would have had a real practice today, first off, Dwight Lowery is going to be out. We're getting more evaluation on him but with that concussion I think he's going to be out. Guys that would not have participated today were Jerricho Cotchery [groin], Damien Woody [knee]. Guys that would have been limited would have been Marquice Cole [hamstring], Drew Coleman [groin]. He had a little groin issue during the game. Shaun Ellis [knee], Sione [Pouha, ankle], Brad Smith [low back]. Guys that would have been full would have been David Harris, James Ihedigbo [neck], Nick Mangold [shoulder], Calvin Pace [foot], Darrelle Revis [hamstring], Mark Sanchez [calf], Matt Slauson [knee]. David Harris had a calf.
On if Damien Woody had on MRI…
He has not had it yet, but he's getting one later today.
On if Jerricho Cotchery will play this Thursday…
It's hard to say whether he'll play or not. I know we think he's doing well. Will he be good enough to play on Thursday? I'm not sure.
On putting games away earlier and not have it come down to the last seconds of the game…
Again, you'll take a win of any kind. In this league, every team is capable. That's for sure. We had a 13 point lead. I think we all felt pretty good about it and then we turned the ball over unfortunately. Then we gave up some big plays against our defense. Nobody is harder on the defense than I am because my expectations are so high for that unit and for this football team. That unit, in particular, I just expect so much from them. Sometimes guys make mistakes but we've got to try to get them fixed, try to get those mistakes eliminated and tighten up our communication, our responsibilities. Myself, I've got to do a better job. I think when we do that, we'll be where I said we're going to be.
Everything I do, I talk about having the best defense in the league because I'm just going on what I truly believe and the facts that I have and I've been around. For instance, I'm proud of our defense. I'm proud of the way our defense is playing. We're seventh in the league right now. Compared to this time last year, I've got all the stats and you guys can look at them. The only thing that we haven't improved on at this time last year was red zone defense which is important, without question. It's actually red zone defense and red zone offense, but everything else we're ahead of at this point last year.
My vision for our team is we build this team to get better in December and January, so we'll see. We'll see who is right. I know where my money is at. I think we're going to improve as a football team. I've said that before, but we've just got to go out and prove it. I'm proud of the way we're playing right now, offensively, defensively, special teams. I think we can go. I think we can get better. I know we can and I'm basing that on past experiences last year, how much better we got at the end of the year and how we're built, how we train. Everything we do, we take that bye week and everybody kills me for that bye week schedule, but that bye week schedule is to get better at the end of the year. So we'll see. We'll see who is right and who is wrong.
On if he's concerned about the lack of pass rush and how to improve it…
I think we get a lead and then we turn them loose. That's something that we've got to really look at. We have excellent pass rushers led by Jason Taylor, Shaun Ellis, Trevor Pryce, Calvin Pace. That's a pretty good group of pass rushers. Now, we don't always ask those guys to rush the passer. Maybe we need to do more of that. I don't know. But when we look at it, that's certainly something that we've got to really look at. Those guys can rush the passers.
On the defensive breakdown in the fourth quarter…
We turn a guy loose, that happens. If they would have thrown it to number three, we would have been all over it. Unfortunately, they threw it to number two and we never had anybody on him, so that was a problem.
On if there was a common denominator to the defensive issues in the fourth quarter…
It was a mistake. Well, that was one play for a big gain, for a touchdown. That obviously made it a six point game. Then we were playing in Two-Man coverage. We came off of coverage and allowed a guy to make a throw, got outside our rush and it really was like an overload and the kid recognized it, did a nice job of pulling away from our overload and made a play and then went down and scored on us. Again, you've got to give them credit. They're on scholarship, too. They get guys that are pretty good over there.
On Jason Taylor saying that he was responsible for covering Joel Dreessen on the touchdown and if that's an example of not dropping his pass rushers in coverage too much…
Yes, well certainly that could have been one. I think the big thing is also the communication. I know Jason, he's trying to own that. That's my mistake. Our communication wasn't 100 percent there. Jason was dropping off number three and not number two. Our communication has got get better and that starts with me. That was my responsibility, really not Jason's.
On the communication breakdown during the Dreessen play…
There is a breakdown and Jason wasn't dropping off two, he was dropping off number three. We had too many guys dropping off three and nobody dropping off two. He's trying to own up to that, but really that lies on me. That doesn't lie on Jason. Jason has been awesome. He's been great for us.
On Eric Smith saying they were going to simplify things on defense…
We've had some injury issues. I know when we were in Cleveland we had a couple of guys get hurt on a kickoff and then we were getting our two minute defense ready and we have two guys we have to substitute in all of a sudden. There were some issues there for sure. We can dial in. We can get better.
I think our communication has to get better this week. We're really going to be challenged by this group. You have two Pro Bowl receivers [Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco], a Pro Bowl running back [Cedric Benson], a Pro Bowl quarterback [Carson Palmer], and they have this tight end [Jermaine Gresham] that's huge. He's catching balls all over the place. We're definitely going to be challenged. Our defense will definitely be challenged. I think we'll be up to it.
On if Mike Pettine calling plays has contributed to the defense's communication issues…
No, DT [Dennis Thurman], Mike Pettine and myself have been running this defense for a long time. That's not it at all. Like I said before, he's been calling some good ones. I've got to make sure when I call them that they're better.
On struggling against teams that do not have winning records…
Like I said, every team is capable. Cleveland has won three games, but oh, by the way, they beat New England. They beat them pretty good too. They beat New Orleans who won a Super Bowl last year at New Orleans. Detroit's had their moments. Again, you just want to win. That's it. Houston made mince meat out of Indianapolis. I mean they destroyed them. That's a pretty good team. It's a tough league. There are no easy games. That's for sure.
On if his mind ever wanders to the game upcoming game against New England…
No. We better take care of this one. This group right here is physically as talented as anybody we're going to play when you look at that offense. Their defense hasn't played as well as last year, but it's still a capable group.
On if there is a level of prestige with playing on Thanksgiving night…
I think there is. I think both of these teams were chosen to play in this game because they are two good football teams. I think that's why the league chose us. Both teams went to the playoffs last year. That is a good thing. As far as would I rather play on Thanksgiving, it doesn't matter to us. We'll play it tomorrow if that's what they re-schedule it for.
On how the team has condensed their preparation schedule this week…
It's tough because this week has to be about your mental preparation, your focus. You've got to study. We've got to spend more time in the classroom than we do actually on the practice field. Physically, this team's played two overtime games on the road, then came back and had a tough one this past week and now turns right back around to play on Thursday night. The physical part has to be done on Thursday. It's a lot of mental preparation, studying and doing things on your own in the classroom to make sure we have it dialed in so we can make it a physical game on Thursday.
On if he is amused that he has to explain his 8-2 record…
I hope I have to explain 9-2. That would be fine with me. It really would be. When it's all said and done, we know how it's added up at the end of the year. It's based on wins and losses and nobody cares about anything else. They don't care if you have injuries. They don't care if it's a home game, road game [or if] you're wearing green-on-green. It makes no difference. They're going to count it all the same.
On what he's seen from Mark Sanchez over the past few weeks that stands out…
Just the obvious production at the end of the game. When you have to have it most, he's been at his best. That's the sign of a great quarterback and he's getting there. Like we said yesterday, he's only had 25 starts in this league. You see the growth that he's made. I'm not going to say he's going to be Peyton Manning, but if you look at the stats of Peyton Manning as a rookie quarterback and what he did his second year, I think they won 13 games. He's not Peyton Manning, but you're seeing similar growth. This guy is going to be special. I think he's headed down that path.
On if he likes that Sanchez is emotional and gets excited…
No question. That's our guy. That's him. He's a great competitor and that's the way he reacts. He loves to compete. Just give him the ball and an opportunity and that's all he asks for. He's got great belief in his teammates and his teammates have a great belief in him.
On where Sanchez is now compared to last year's playoff game against Cincinnati…
I'll take the one now, but he was pretty good that day, too. He really was. Each game's a little different. You might want to run it 50 times and you end up throwing it, not 50, but you end up throwing it a bunch. Sometimes guys are giving us certain things that we can take advantage of. If you want to put them all down there to stop our run, then we can burn you on the outside.
We never had Jerricho, but the two guys we had out there with Braylon [Edwards] and Santonio [Holmes], that was over 200 yards between them and three touchdowns. Come on down there and play that run. That's fine with us. We decide when we run it, when we pass it, no matter who we play. I like this about "the lack of production by LT" [LaDainian Tomlinson] these past couple of weeks. That's right, two games in a row he's gone over 100 yards, whether it's rushing or receiving. That's two in a row. Maybe the lack of rushing average I could see as a legitimate. But he's gone over 100 yards two games in a row and we'll take that from him for sure.
On if he's concerned that Woody won't be ready to play on Thursday…
If he's ready to go, he'll be in there. If not, we feel good about Wayne Hunter. We left Wayne isolated a lot of times on that [Mario] Williams guy. There's a reason that he was the first pick in the draft. He's pretty good. We have a lot of confidence in Wayne Hunter. We're fortunate. We feel like we have the best backup tackle in football in Wayne Hunter. If Wayne has to play, we know he'll do a great job and give a good account of himself.
