Transcript of head coach Rex Ryan's news conference following Thursday's midday practice at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center:
First off, the injury report: I think [Buffalo Bills QB Ryan] Fitzpatrick was limited yesterday. [Laughter.] Guys that were limited today for us: Plaxico [Burress] with the low back, Mike DeVito, knee, Kenrick Ellis, ankle, Isaiah Trufant, hamstring. And then guys that were full: David Harris, ankle, Nick Mangold, ankle, Calvin Pace, groin — and I think they were limited yesterday, but they're full — Marcus Dixon, knee, and Ropati [Pitoitua], knee. So there's the injury front.
One thing I was really pleased to see: Joe McKnight was voted the AFC Special Teams Player of the Month. That's a huge award for him and deservedly so.
On Rob Ryan saying he would make a better head coach than him…
Hopefully one day we get to find out. I hope he does get the opportunity to be a head coach. Rob is a great coach, and he certainly wants that opportunity, as every coach in this league wants that opportunity. But you know what? At the end of the day, he's not going to be quite as good as his brother. I don't know, because all I'm doing is basing it on facts. When we were kids, my batting average was a little higher than his, OK? The only thing he's got on me is probably test scores, academic test scores, but other than that, from an athletic standpoint or something like that, I think I've always been able to be just a little bit better. But I hope he gets that opportunity. I'm sure he'll be a great head coach, I really do.
On if Burress' injury is a new injury…
No, he had some tightness in his back. But he did have some tightness back there. But he's getting the heat treatment and all that kind of stuff. We don't want to run him into the ground. We want him to be 100 percent when we play on Sunday.
On if Burress' injury happened yesterday…
I think it's happened before that, but I guess it really hasn't limited him in practice until today.
On if DeVito will be able to play this week…
I'm not 100 percent sure. I was a lot less confident yesterday than I am today, so today he practiced some reps with the defense, so I feel good. We'll see how he responds. Yesterday they worked him pretty hard, Bill Hughan and those guys worked him pretty hard, and sometimes you get a setback, but he did not have a setback, so I'm encouraged by that.
On needing DeVito and Ellis to be healthy when facing Fred Jackson…
Well, that's it. You want to have all hands on deck, that's for sure. You're not going to play a guy if he's not ready, and that doesn't help him and it doesn't help you as a team, either.
On having success against Jackson the past couple of seasons…
Well, yeah, we've been ahead, I think, quite a bit, so that helps. Jackson, we've known about him for a long time. He's an excellent back.
On who would play if Ellis and DeVito were unable to…
Well, I think you would see MTV [Martin Tevaseu] would come up, so you'd have those five. It would be [Marcus] Dixon, Ropati, obviously Bo [Sione Pouha] and Muhammad [Wilkerson].
On if the seamless transition between kickoff returners since he's been here is amazing to him…
It is. Obviously Westy [Mike Westhoff] does a great job, and I always say that Westy is probably a Hall of Fame special teams coach. If they start putting coaches in the Hall of Fame, assistant coaches in the Hall of Fame, I think you'd start with my dad and him. And I mean that. What a tremendous coach. But they've also had ability. All those guys you mentioned had great ability, and Joe McKnight is no different.
On his impressions of Ryan Fitzpatrick…
Even when he was in Cincinnati and we played against him, I had a lot of respect for the young man even then. And when he played in Buffalo he replaced their guy there, [Trent] Edwards, I think. But you kind of ... "feared" isn't the right word, but you kind of wish the other kid would have stayed in there because I think this guy has got something to him. He's got that leadership, he's smart, he delivers the football, and he's a good athlete. I mean, he can run with the ball as well. So I've always known that about him. But he really broke out this year. You look at it statistically and all that, and the most important stat is wins and losses, and right now he's doing a heck of a job.
On why the defense has so many more interceptions this season…
We're mixing in a few more traps and things like that which have helped and they've thrown a couple balls in there. But sometimes those things happen. I think with a better pass rush comes more interceptions and more sacks comes with better coverage. So I think it's a combination of those things. But we certainly have the ability. We have guys that can make plays on the football, and we're doing that so far this year.
On if some of the interceptions came out of zone this season…
Yes.
On if they are playing more zone this season…
Well, we're running some loaded zones where you put some traps in there, you let them think it's man and then you run loaded zones. We play so much man with [Darrelle] Revis that everybody knows. It's hard to get an interception when you're just playing true man, even though Revis can. But every now and then you give him what we call the down off once in a blue moon where you actually let him play like every other corner in the league, and he gets interceptions, it seems like.
On how much LB Aaron Maybin has grasped the playbook…
Well, he is getting the playbook down. He's made strides in that area, and I think you'll see him play more this week. I think you'll start to see him play a little more.
On Burress taking the blame for not playing well…
Well, that's the thing, the great ones do that. There's other guys that have done that as well. But yes, absolutely. That's what you see about him. Everybody says, well, is he disgruntled? No, he's not. He was looking at himself, and that's it. When we brought him in, we never expected Plax to be the same guy he was when he left the Giants. We know it's a work in progress getting back. He had been out of football two years. But eventually we think we know where he's going to end up, and that is going to be that super receiver, and when you combine him and Tone [Santonio Holmes] together, that's going to give us a pair of great receivers.
On Burress' toughness…
He is a tough guy, and we've seen some crunches and blocks that he's had. I think a lot of times you get tagged with all these diva receivers, but that's not Plax, and that's not Tone. These guys are great teammates. They'll go block you. They'll do the dirty work and they don't mind doing it.
On what makes Buffalo a difficult place to play…
First off, you look at it you're facing a good football team, guys that always play hard. When you look at them, that's what you think of Buffalo. These guys fly around, they play hard, and then the next thing that you think of is that wind, that wind flying all over the place and snow and the bad weather and all that stuff. And certainly that's something you have to deal with. And when you go out there, a calm day is probably 20 mile per hour winds. It seems like it. I've been in there in worse conditions. But certainly the weather is a factor generally when you go to Buffalo.
On if Maybin will start Sunday…
I don't think so.
On if Josh Mauga will start…
I don't know, we'll see. We could start him, but I don't know if that's the case. Are we doing [Maybin] like we did LT [LaDainian Tomlinson]? No, you've got to be a Hall of Famer to do that. [laughter]
On if Maybin was a Hall of Famer…
He probably is at Mount Hebron High School. [laughter]
On if Maybin will be a captain…
Probably safe to say that.
On how the Jets get back to having success on the road…
Oh, no question, and this will be right up there. They're undefeated at home and they are at tough team to play at their place. They're having a "white-out." Oh, my goodness. We need to win, there's no question. You're not going to go anywhere if you can't win on the road.
On why the Jets have been able to have success on the road in the past…
Bring a good team. If you bring a good team, it doesn't matter where you play. And unfortunately we lost three games on the road. That's something that kind of digs at us right now. But I think we'll break the trend this week. We know it's going to be tough. I understand we're underdogs. So we'll see.
