Transcript of Jets head coach Rex Ryan's news conference following Wednesday's midday practice:
All right. Let's do what we always do, right? Read off the injury report.
Larry Izzo, Jim Leonhard, Lito Sheppard, [Donald] Strickland and Wayne Hunter did not practice today. Wayne is a personal issue. Larry Izzo has a hamstring, Leonhard a knee, Lito still the quad and Strickland an ankle. Guys that were limited in practice were [Darrelle] Revis and Kerry Rhodes. Revis a little hamstring issue, Kerry a knee, and then the other guys that were full participants that are still on the list is Kris Jenkins, [Sione] Pouha, Matt Slauson, Damien Woody and Wallace Wright. So that's the injury report.
With all of those DBs on the report, you would think I would feel nervous, but we are only playing New Orleans [laughter], so I'm not really worried about having to cover anybody with Drew Brees and company there. I can just see the headline, "Ryan Slams Brees." I would feel a lot worse if this was Friday and those names were in that order. I have a feeling we'll have guys ready to play this weekend.
I really don't have a whole lot to say except Jason Trusnik was the Special Team Player of the Week, so we are proud of him and we all know what that means — no game ball for Trusnik. We had to yank his ball. After further review, we are going to give a ball to Vernon Gholston. I thought Vernon did an outstanding job. He prevented a touchdown on sheer hustle, great effort. Vernon is starting to get it. I think if Vernon was a first-round pick this year, all of us would have been really happy with it, fans included. The fact that he had last year, he didn't need to throw that one out, just wash that out, because I really think we are starting to see that when he missed that time, he never really caught up. We are seeing the Vernon Gholston that I think this organization thought they were getting when they did draft him. We are proud of the way he's playing. We really think he's coming on, and we think he'll be a major contributor in our plans as we move forward.
On if Strickland and Sheppard will practice Thursday…
I tell you what, this is one of those things where you would rather be safe than sorry. If they are ready to go this week, then so be it. If not, we'll just move on and give them a little more time. They are certainly much better than they were last week, so I'm hopeful that we can get them out to practice. I know they were running around a little bit today, but until John [Mellody, head trainer] and Sal [Alosi, head strength coach] are convinced that they are ready to go, that's a position right there where you don't need to [rush them]. If you've got a quad injury or hamstring, you'd better be ready to run, because I can tell you this: This team right here, they can run. New Orleans, they have got some guys that can flat run. Our guys have got to be 100 percent ready to roll.
On if Leonhard, Revis and Rhodes will be OK to practice this week…
I think so.
On if they are planning on adding Corey Ivy to the team…
We brought Corey Ivy in. We had Justin Miller in. If our situation ended up like this, then obviously we would definitely consider those guys. Especially Corey, because he's been in the system. I think Corey would be able to contribute right away. He's a smart kid.
On if adding Ivy to the team could be a factor if neither Strickland nor Sheppard can play this weekend…
That's definitely a possibility. Right now, I don't think we'll have to make a roster move. [General manager] Mike Tannenbaum is smart, he brings guys in just in case.
On if it not knowing which defensive players will play affects the game plan…
Most of those guys with the exception of Lito and Donald finished the game, so they played through the game. I think I'm very confident that they will be ready to go. With Lito and Donald, that's a little different, but the other guys — Kerry, Jim Leonhard and Revis — finished the game last week. I'm definitely confident those guys will play.
On speculation that there will be a Super Bowl with both New York teams…
All I'm saying is we've got New Orleans and that's it. Unless they are going to play the Super Bowl the fourth week of the season, this is it. Every week we treat like a Super Bowl. Our entire focus is on this. We're not going to get caught up in that. You know me, I'm not a guy who would ever put the cart before the horse [laughter]. Hopefully they are still talking about it during the playoffs.
On what stands out about the New Orleans offense…
Before, it was always about their passing game, it was about Brees putting up ridiculous yardage — and he still is with all the touchdowns. I think up until last week, he had thrown at least two touchdown passes in a thousand games in a row was I think the numbers that I was told [laughter], so he's pretty good.
Now, this team is second in the National Football League in rushing. It's impressive. It doesn't matter who they put in there. All of the guys that have played in that spot are all doing a great job. This [Pierre] Thomas kid is a heck of a runner. I don't know where he came from. I think he played at Illinois. He packs it in there pretty good.
On the New Orleans defense…
I think we'll see how they do reacting to us. They are playing pretty good on defense. I don't know where they were before. I know [defensive coordinator] Gregg Williams is a good football coach and he has those guys really flying around. They are multiple on defense. They will go from 4-3 one week and play 3-4 exclusively the next week, so they have some of that kind of combination. They have some players that are versatile. Bobby McCray, they are using him as an outside guy, defensive end some, outside 'backer. It's a fun defense to watch. They really move around, and they are pretty aggressive. They blitz a lot. Gregg has always done that going back to the days, I remember, as head coach obviously in Buffalo and Washington.
We have to do a great job. Our preparation has got to be critical this week on both sides of the ball and we have got to make it a physical game. I think sometimes it's impossible to be physical when you don't know what you're doing. I'll give you an example that this football team does. They had, I believe it's 15 different personnel groupings, so is it what we call U? That's a heavy thing, two backs, two tight ends and a receiver. Well, it could be UX, that's with an extra lineman. It would be U25. It could be a million different things. They are very multiple in what they do with their personnel groupings. We have to do a good job and stay on top of things. It's going to take a lot of preparation work.
On getting the offense to avoid "lulls" during games…
The part I like most about our offense is there has always been a win at the end of it, too. I will take a lull as long as we keep winning. But this happens. I think we have got to give credit to some of the teams we have played also. New England and Tennessee probably are not the easiest teams to move the football against consistently, especially on the ground. That's why we'll see what happens.
I have a lot of confidence in our offense. I know we are going against a good New Orleans defense. I think New Orleans, as much as I respect them and we certainly do, I bet they respect us too. I think we'll see what happens. It's going to be a great challenge for us and it's going to be a great challenge for them. I know you guys are tired of me [saying] it, but maybe we will get an opponent that isn't worthy. Right now the opponents that we are facing, every one of them have been outstanding. So if I'm saying the same thing, I'm saying the same thing.
On if there is a shootout between Mark Sanchez and Drew Brees…
I'm not comfortable ever in a shootout. That's just something that doesn't enter my mind. Am I confident in our offense that we can score and we can move the football consistently? I absolutely am but I would not be comfortable in a so-called shootout. That would be foreign to me.
On if all of the attention on Sanchez will be a distraction to him…
I really don't, because I think this young man can handle it. He's been the No. 1 quarterback in the country for years when he came out of high school. He's a mature guy, but he also doesn't take himself too seriously and I think that's what you've got to have in this market. Be true to yourself and good things will happen. I think if he changes who he is, I would be totally shocked by that. I think that's the only way he can be successful. I think if he keeps going out and doing what he does and he's himself, just a charismatic guy, a caring guy, a great teammate and a guy that really studies the game and is passionate about learning, he'll be fine.
On when he knew that Sanchez would be able to handle the pros quickly...
I think it was in our interview process. We saw the tape, and you could tell he had the "it" factor there in the physical play. Obviously, he was very talented and made all the throws. One of the best things we did was go out and as an organization, we wanted to make sure we got this quarterback situation right, and if we did draft a young man in the first round, that we didn't want to miss. I think if you miss on a quarterback in the first round, it kills your franchise. We wanted to get a guy that we thought could compete for the job right away.
We went to the classroom, we put him through a little mini-playbook and he blew it away. He blew it away at his pro day where he was working out, his individual work out for us. He just blew us away, absolutely did. I saw the way he reacted. He was around not his teammates but the people he was working out with. The respect that he had from the school I thought was an impressive thing to me. When we went out to eat, when we left, I knew he had a personality that I liked when he pretended he was jumping on a motorcycle. I said he had me right then. I was done.
He never took himself too seriously. He knew how important it was as a job interview, but he was also himself. He's got confidence, charisma and obviously a lot of God-given ability. He's got some great teammates around him and he knows that.
On clarifying if he benched David Clowney for a Twitter comment…
Really, the Twitter deal, I don't even know what Twitter is, I don't know how to get on there, I never read anything. I heard there were some things, but my thing is that if you have this kind of ability and maybe you are not quite performing up to it, whether it's on the practice field or your preparation, then maybe something is not where it should be. That was my concern. Right now, to be honest with you, this young man is very talented, and I wouldn't be doing this team the right thing. If I thought he was being selfish in the fact that maybe he wasn't preparing like he should or he needed a little kick in the pants, then that's what we are going to do. I'm not saying him specifically, but I owe it to our team to get the best out of everybody.
I will say this, he was outstanding last week — outstanding. He prepared like a pro, and that's why I think he's going to be successful moving forward, I really do. Nothing is ever given to you in this league or anywhere else. It's not given to you. You have to earn your shots. Every guy on this team is going to do something for the best of this football team. If that means we've got to sit a guy down, if that means David only plays one snap in the first half, or that means these corners are down and all of a sudden we pick them up one week, whatever is in the best interest of our football team, that's what we are going to do. Obviously, we want to win. That's what we get paid to do, as coaches, as anybody.
That's the great thing about this football team. Everybody is driven by the same thing, wanting to win. If we think that for our team the best situation for us is that David is not playing that much, or Bart Scott is not playing that much, then we are going to do it for our team. We have even had Kerry Rhodes out a couple of plays, because maybe the personnel grouping would be best if we were in this and this. We used to do the same thing at Baltimore. There was a certain package that Ed Reed was off the field. You might say, "Well, Rex, that's pretty stupid. You have the best player in football and you are not playing him." But he might not be the best player in that specific situation. That's what we have to understand as a football team and I think our guys do.
On talking to Sanchez about ball security…
Yeah, we absolutely will. You've got to protect the football. He does a good job of avoiding things. Sometimes you've got to move with the ball in there. When in doubt, you always drive the ball to your inside shoulder when you're moving up in the pocket, your back shoulder when you're moving back in the pocket. Sounds like a little thing, but it's critical. That's a turnover waiting to happen. I think he understands it. The tough part about playing that position is things are flying around you and you've just got to sense the pressure and understand that you still have to move and protect the football while you're focusing down the field.
On if he and Brian Schottenheimer are expanding the offensive playbook each week...
I think you are giving me too much credit because with me, I turn that thing over to the offense. With Brian and [OL coach Bill] Callahan, each week the playbook changes a little bit. We are pretty much running everything right now.
