Transcript of head coach Rex Ryan's news conference following Thursday's midday practice at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center:
Like always, injury report: Calvin Pace, Darrelle Revis we said were out yesterday. They were full-go today. No, I'm just kidding. They're still out for this week. Guys that did not practice today: Wayne Hunter with that shin injury and Nick Mangold with his shoulder. Wayne's shin, he took a helmet on the shin and it looks terrible. Jason Taylor was limited in practice, but he looks pretty good to me. That's where we are at as far as the injuries are concerned.
Antonio Cromartie broke that all-time Florham Park record today. I think he had 10 interceptions out there today. It was crazy. You can ask him the specific number, but it was unbelievable. He looked outstanding today. This was, without question, our best Thursday practice. That's not saying much because the first week's Thursday, as I reported to you, was awful and last week's was a little better, but this one was terrific. We'll see how we do tomorrow in practice, but it was a great practice.
As far as Braylon Edwards goes, I'm not going to make any further comment. I have no further comment. I went over all that yesterday, so I would like to move on and talk about other things.
On if he is optimistic Mangold will play Sunday…
Yes.
On Mangold's injury…
He's just got a shoulder AC joint sprain, that's what they told me. He's tough, he'll be fine.
On if Mangold can play even if he doesn't practice at all this week…
Yes. He's one of our real smart guys. We've got a great player behind him with Rob Turner. I was going to say with "Oh, what's his name," but I figured I better not.
On if he expects Mangold to play…
I do expect him to play.
On if he expects Wayne Hunter to play…
I hope he plays, but that is brutal-looking. I would say he wouldn't play based on how it looks, but we're optimistic.
On if it's bruised…
Yes, it's horrible looking. It's this color [of his dark sweatshirt] and huge.
On who they will use as an extra lineman if Hunter can't play…
That would be Vlad [Ducasse]. He got work at tackle, guard, all that stuff.
On who Cromartie picked off 10 times…
It was a potpourri [laughter]. Take your pick.
On Mark Sanchez's zero interceptions this season…
I think a lot of it is attributed to what he did in the offseason, the fact that he's got a great grasp of our system. He's much further along with recognizing defenses. I think that's what I would say. We all saw it in training camp. That was a different guy out there than it was last year. That is impressive. That will be tested this week. This is a ballhawking unit led by Mike Nolan. I think Mike is a terrific coach. He's a guy that I'm proud to have been under that taught me a lot of football. The only thing I'll say about Mike is, as good a coach he is, is wife is a better cook, made the best cookies of all time. That's a little side note there.
On what he wants to see from Sanchez this week…
I think I'll sign for the same. Three touchdown passes, I'll take that. Really, it's hard to top that game, but you never know. It's going to be a huge challenge this week. That's a team that really got after Minnesota, one of the better offenses in the league. We know we have our work cut out for us. I'm excited to watch our guys play.
On if consistency is what separates really good quarterbacks from pedestrian ones…
Right. I never looked at Mark has a pedestrian type guy. I think he's going to be an outstanding quarterback. He may be there sooner than we think.
On what he sees in Cromartie going against Brandon Marshall…
Two great athletes going against each other, two huge guys for their positions. I mean they are giants for their positions. I saw Marshall at the Pro Bowl. I couldn't believe how big he was. He's one of those guys that when you look at him you're like, "Man, how do you cover this dude?" That's what I was thinking. He's huge. Then you look at Cromartie and it's the same thing. Corners aren't supposed to look like that. He's got great lean, great speed, great everything. It ought to be a great matchup.
On if Kyle Wilson will start in place of Revis…
Absolutely.
On the offensive line's inconsistencies...
I think we've played well. I don't know what we're averaging per carry, but I'm sure it's got to be right around the top of the league, rushing yards per attempt. I think the protection's been alright. We've had some guys get beat. There's no question. We've probably given up more sacks than you'd like to, but I also think we got much better the second week than we were the first week. We allowed Mark time back there to make those throws down the field. I've got a lot of confidence in our line.
On if he feels fortunate that Wilson started in place of Revis during training camp…
Well, I think it helped him a great deal. I would've taken it the other way. I would have been more happy to have Darrelle here the whole camp. It was an opportunity for him to get a lot of work. He might not have been as far along if it was the other circumstance.
On LaDainian Tomlinson's breaking a lot of tackles…
I agree with that no question. He's breaking a lot of tackles. The thing that I think is incredibly is the way that he's making people miss in the open field. We all know the great move he put on, that big 30-yard run, but the thing that was more impressive, in my opinion, was catching the pass that wasn't one of Mark's better efforts. He made a great catch and then his move in the open field off of that was like, "Wow."
Is he actually better than I thought he would be? Yep, he is. I thought he was going to be outstanding, but right now, he's even better than that. Man, he's something else.
On who Tomlinson faked out on his 30-yard run…
I'm not real sure, but there's some equipment still out on the field [laughter]. I don't know if it's got his number on it or not.
On improving the pass rush this season…
When we added Jason [Taylor], we wanted Jason to come in and have a three-man rotation at outside linebacker. That quickly went to two men with Calvin [Pace]'s injury. That was what we wanted. Then we wanted to close guys out, to put those three guys out there in the fourth quarter and rush the passer. We saw at the end of that New England game why we brought Jason here, without question. He's a closer. He's one of those guys. Great pass rushers win games for you in the fourth quarter. He's got a history of that throughout his career that he's a guy that closes. Fourth quarter sacks win games and that was a huge one right there. That's the thing about Jason, he's also a guy that doesn't just get the sack, he strips you a lot of the times. And wow, I know all of us were thinking the same thing. As soon as he ran that spin move, it was like, "Oh, get the ball," and he got the ball out.
On if Miami is transitioning into a more complete offense…
They still run a ton of Wildcat. It's a great thing. When you mention our game last year out there, it wasn't just the fact, because it is a fact, that we didn't close out that game. They took it to us. They clearly won the game in all facets – coaching, playing, physical. You name it, they won the game that way. Wildcat is a big part of it. The thing about that Wildcat is it makes you prepare for them. We spent a lot of prep time going over the Wildcat and still do. It's something that's a big part of their offense, but as far as the kind of quarterback [Chad] Henne could be, absolutely they can do a lot of things with him. When he came out, and I think I told you guys this before, I actually liked him over [Joe] Flacco. We'll see when their careers are over who ends up being the better quarterback. Both of them I think are going to be young, outstanding quarterbacks. In my opinion, you're seeing the future of the NFL in these two quarterbacks this week.
On how important this game is…
This game is huge. I'm not going to sit here and say that lie that's it's just another game. Yeah, it's another game that if we win we're half a game in front. If we lose it, we're two and half behind them. This is a huge, huge game for us, not so big for them, so then can rest a lot of guys [smiling]. Obviously, it is a big thing and the fact that we were 0-2 against them last year is still a burr in my saddle. They clearly earned that first game and that second game, they made enough plays. They made some big plays in some unusual situations to win, two kicks for touchdowns. Jason returned one [fumble] for a touchdown. It's a new year and it better have new results. That's what we're counting on.
On not commenting on the Braylon Edwards situation…
I don't have anything to add. It's as simple as that. I don't have anything to add. I'll stick to what I said yesterday. Nothing's changed. We'll make that decision [how much Edwards will play] when it's time to make that decision. I'd rather focus on the other things.
On if he's decided how much Edwards will play on Sunday…
No, but I've got a feeling.
On how the Miami defense has changed under defensive coordinator Mike Nolan…
They're much more aggressive. I like Paul Pasqualoni, don't get me wrong. I think he's an outstanding coach, without question. Mike Nolan is just a guy I've been around, so I know him personally. I know the kind of commitment he has, how organized he is and how his teams will play. He's a good motivator. He's a great person. He's knowledgeable. He's smart. I'm still going to try to beat him like he stole something.
On being able to come out the first three games of the season 2-1…
I'll take it right now. That would be fine by me because we lost an opportunity that first week. It would be huge because we're basically in first place in our division and we want to win our division. We know how tough this division is. Having two victories in our own division would be huge for us.
On what he expects from the Miami fans…
[Smiling] I think they're really going to give me a good ovation when I come out there. Don't you think? I would expect a standing ovation. That's one of those deals, I'm coming out with a helmet [laughter]. I'll try to sneak out there a little bit. That's why I've been losing a lot of weight. Maybe they won't recognize me. "I think he's back in there. I think he's coming out a little later."
