Transcripts of Jets head coach Rex Ryan's postgame news conference after the 23-20 loss to the Rams on Friday night:
Like I told the team, I hate losing. I hate losing. I don't care, preseason or not, whatever the case, it stinks. You have to give credit to the Rams. They did a good job. They made some plays. One running back was so quick, I never saw his number [laughing]. That was embarrassing. We made way too many mistakes on defense and with the third group. Sometimes unfortunately, this game is too big for some people at times. That's why not everybody makes this team. I'm looking for Jets. I'm looking for guys that are passionate, tough people and are smart. We made way too many mistakes. It was embarrassing. Two touchdowns they got were off mental mistakes by us. I can't handle getting beat physically but I can handle it more than when we get beat mentally. That was real unfortunate.
We're going to have to practice harder with the third group. We got 'an opportunity' they call it around here, some scrimmage-type things at the end of our practices. We have to get better. We have to tackle better. I thought the "one" defense bowed their neck pretty good. After that first turnover, I think the Rams were zero-for-five on third down in the first half. The first defense did pretty decent, held them out of the end zone.
We turned the ball over too much, but other than that, I was really happy with the way our offense performed. When you consider that you have three starting offensive linemen out, our quarterbacks were outstanding, all three of them today. I'm disappointed I couldn't get Harvard [Chris Pizzotti] in, but I'd rather win instead. That's the way it is.
I thought David Clowney, we saw that speed. I guess they should have read the bio. He's pretty dang fast. I liked the poise that all three quarterbacks had. [Mark] Sanchez, for a rookie to step in there and his first throw, to unleash one like that, was pretty impressive to me. Again, I was real happy with all three quarterbacks.
On the aggressive Jets defense…
I was calling the defense early on [laughing]. That's our style. That's the way we'll play preseason, regular season, it doesn't matter. The league knows what we'll do. We like to pressure. It's funny, most of those pressures were four-man rushes, they were just disguised pretty well. I thought the guys did a good job of that, moving around, that first group. I was happy with the way we were moving around and disguising things.
On if a quarterback decision will be coming soon…
I think with the way all of them performed, they did outstanding. I though we might be a little more vulnerable with our offensive line situation. That's why we took Sanchez out. That was my decision. I think he showed us everything we needed to see. He completed a vertical route, mid-range pass, he completed everything. The offense looked great.
I thought Kellen, with the one mistake in the pocket where he fumbled, other than that I thought he played well. I was really happy with Ainge.
On if Sanchez will start next week against Baltimore…
I haven't made that decision yet. We'll sit down and talk about it. But he will definitely play more.
On Sanchez's first pass of the game…
You have to ask Schotty [Brian Schottenheimer] because I was shocked by it. I was like, 'what the heck is that? Let the guy warm up a little bit [laughing].' But he has all the confidence in the world in him. Clowney had a step on him. It was just a great throw as well. I think that just shows you the kind of kid he is. This guy, he's a cool customer.
On if he feels better about the wide receiver competition after tonight's game…
I've been saying that, that the wideouts are pretty good. Brad Smith had a couple of real nice catches. Wallace [Wright] had a couple nice ones, ] got shaken up on one he should have caught, but I was happy with our offense, all of them. You have three starters out on your offensive line. I'm not an excuse guy at all, but those guys stepped up and played well.
On the quarterbacks improving their chances…
I was happy with all three of the quarterbacks. I thought they all played well. When Sanchez came in, he looked like he looks in practice. He stepped in there, it wasn't too big for him. It wasn't too big for [Kellen] Clemens, and quite honestly, I thought Ainge played really well also. I don't think we're there yet. We'll meet as a staff and if there's a decision to be made, we'll all discuss it.
On if Sanchez would be the choice to start at Baltimore...
That's what you guys would think. So we'll see. If we decide that, we'll see. A lot goes into that. The opponent we are playing is pretty decent on defense, I think they shut out the Redskins. There are other factors as well. [Kellen] Clemens did a good job minus that one bad [play]. But we'll make that decision and then we'll let you guys know. It would be probably obvious in the first practice what we are going to do.
On the game affecting players "under the radar" who are trying to make the roster…
It affected a couple players negatively. I know it's the first game and you have pre-game jitters, but you've got to play in the NFL. You have to have skin like an armadillo. You have to be tougher than that. You can't make mental mistakes. There were some guys that disappointed me, but I thought [Britt] Davis had a nice catch. That was good to see. I thought some of the young offensive linemen. [Matt] Slauson, from what I saw, did a decent job. I thought [Matt] Kroul, at times, was pretty good on defense.
On his first game as head coach…
It was good for awhile. I was calling the defense early in the game until the last series of the second quarter. That was business as usual. Schotty [Brian Schottenheimer], he ran the offense over there. He doesn't have to check with me to do anything he wants. He made a great statement at half time. I just love the attitude. He said, "We are going to run the ball every snap until we get the first down". And he meant it.
The great thing is, most guys would shy away from third and long. You're playing at home, most guys are going to have to throw it or get booed out of the stadium. He made that statement and this is what we preach the whole time. When we make a statement to our team, we are going to follow it up. That means, if we say a statement, "We are going to run the ball 50 times", we better have 50 carries. I was proud of Schottenheimer. I love his statement that he made to the offense. He was tired of that, he knew we could run the ball better than that and that's why we kept running it to start the second half.
I feel strong about this team. I really do. To be able to go without three of your starting offensive linemen and be able to move the football like we did, with three different quarterbacks, I thought that was pretty impressive. Our defense, I know what we can do. I know we are missing two Pro Bowlers but I like the attitude we took the field with. When you have that Jets decal on your helmet, that should stand for something. I don't care if you're the third team or whatever you are, that has to mean something, that has to be a prideful thing.
To let someone run the ball for a 90 yard touchdown and rip in there and make a mistake and let a team score on you with a linebacker covering a wideout, that doesn't make any sense. I wanted the team to know how disappointed I was and the fact that I can't stand losing. I don't want the team to stand for it either. I have a tough times believing they can play for me and understand that we are all disappointed. We all wanted to celebrate a victory.
