Transcript of head coach Rex Ryan's conference call with reporters following Thursday's afternoon practice at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center:
We actually had a good practice today. The guys that were held out of practice were [Mark] Brunell with his calf injury, Trevor Canfield with his knee, Jeff Cumberland with his hamstring. He did do some work with the trainers and with Bill Hughan, the strength coach, but he did not practice. Rob Turner, of course, is out. And then everybody else practiced today. And again, for the game, I would say that Brunell, Canfield, Cumberland and, obviously, Rob Turner will be out. Everybody else should play.
So with that, I'm really disappointed that we couldn't have practice in Long Island this year. It's unfortunate, with the weather forecast we felt it was for the best to cancel practice. We obviously look forward to going back to Hofstra next year, but it's really disappointing. I really was looking forward to it, but unfortunately that wasn't to be.
On if he has spoken with the Giants about possibly changing the time of Saturday's game…
No, I personally haven't but obviously with the Giants being the home team I know that they and the league will monitor and do what is safe for both teams and the fans. But I have not been in contact with anybody. Right now I'm expecting to play and we'll adjust from there if necessary.
On if the team had to make a lot of adjustments after the change in today's schedule…
No, not too much. We had our meetings scheduled and things. We pushed our practice back just a tad, and then we just got through finishing our practice right now. That was it. We did the exact same schedule that we were going to do had we gone to Hofstra. That's pretty much it.
On what time he found out the team was not going to Hofstra…
Obviously, we were wanting to. There were some people saying, "Well, we had to [make a decision] at eight, nine," whatever. Well, the best thing was to see where it's at, how it looks, and really around 1 o'clock is when that decision was made. You've always got to be thinking about the safety of the fans and the players first. That's traveling to the practice, during practice, and the return from practice. So a lot of things went into it. Obviously, we want to go to Hofstra every year, and it was just an unfortunate thing, but you have to do what's in the best interests of the fans and the players first.
On WR Plaxico Burress' back…
He looked great. He made an unbelievable catch today, he had a couple of them, so he wasn't held out of anything today.
On if he is worried about weather impacting the game against the Giants…
Not worried about anything. I've been in a situation where we've played a half and maybe a couple of series against Washington once, then there was lightning in the game. It was raining so bad and the lightning was so bad that they actually cancelled the rest of the game. I've been in that kind of situation, but hopefully, everything will work out and we'll be able to get the game in without any interruptions.
On what will be important to him in this game…
As far as what I would like to see, it's going to be very competitive, obviously. You have two physical football teams, so these are always fun games to watch, I'm sure, as a fan. Both teams like to run the football and play aggressive defense, so I always think that makes for a great matchup. Really, I'd like to see us be able to establish the run game a little more and, obviously, this will be a huge test for us going against the Giants defense.
On Justin Tuck's comments that he will always see MetLife Stadium as Giants Stadium…
He can think of it all he wants, but I think of it as MetLife Stadium and it's the home of the New York Jets. I guess he can think of it that way. He'll probably be one of the only guys that think of it that way. I certainly don't think of it that way.
On the Jets-Giants rivalry and if he still feels the same about what he wrote in his book about the rivalry…
Oh, absolutely. Absolutely, I do. I guess we get to find out on Christmas Eve. We will get to find out. Again, I am not backing down from one comment. I believe we are the best team in New York and the goal is to be the best in the National Football League, not just in New York. I am not backing down one bit from that statement. I believe that will be the case.
On if he had concerns about injuries because of the turf and the rain at Hofstra…
Well, really, it was more the fact that the travelling to the practice, and obviously, during the practice you have concerns of the well-being of everybody. But the turf wasn't the reason for it. It was really fans getting there, our players getting to Hofstra and then the return back. That was really where my main concerns were.
On his level of concern if Brunell does not get any snaps during the pre-season…
I can understand that, but he has played. This is his 19th year. He was with us all last year. I probably would have been much more concerned had he not been with us last year, but the fact that this offense is not new to him now, I feel okay about that. I like the way our young guy, Greg [McElroy], is coming around. I am not too concerned with that.
