Transcript of Jets head coach Rex Ryan's midday news conference after Wednesday's morning training camp practice:
We have a little injury update. [Joshua] Mauga and [Brashton] Satele are still out. Mauga was out there and felt a headache when he was riding the bicycle — we took him back in. Guys that were limited: Jason Davis with an ankle, "Terminator" [John Conner] with a knee, Lance Laury with a lower lip. He had a bunch of stitches on his lip. He got injured on the play [against the Giants] where Eric Smith blocked the punt and he dove for the ball. When he dove for it, his face hit the ground, so he has a bunch of stitches in his lip. His nickname is Bubba or something right now [laughing]. Donovan Warren threw it up in there pretty good today, that's the good news. The bad news is he was a little woozy. He might have a head injury, maybe a concussion, we're not sure yet.
Today's practice, I was disappointed with the way we hit the practice field. It was kind of sluggish to me. There were probably as many false starts as I've seen in a long time. The defense is really starting to stem and are doing different things. You have to be focused and ready to go. I was disappointed with that. I made sure the team knew that as well.
After watching the film, it was basically what we thought it was. Our first group looked dominant and then the backups have a long way to go. We'll see this week when the backups get the majority of the snaps during the [Carolina] game. The ones will probably only play a quarter and that will be it.
On the difference in the dropoff in the Giants game between the ones and the twos…
Skill is one, but I thought it was the intensity. Obviously, the ones were all excited, but when we came out of halftime, we were flat. We missed a field goal and then they hit the big play. [Dwight] Lowery had great coverage, but sometimes it's hard to defend a perfectly thrown ball and the kid [Victor Cruz] made an unbelievable catch. After that, it snowballed. It looked like we had no fire. There were some guys hitting people out there but it just wasn't consistent. The intensity wasn't consistent.
On Nick Mangold's condition…
They've done all those types of tests. He's fine, he had a little bit of a headache. I said "Forget it" so I played doctor on that [laughs]. He's fine today. He was out there and he's fine.
On why Mike DeVito and Matt Mulligan did not participate in practice…
Mulligan, DeVito, Bart Scott, all these guys were award winners, the "Iron Jet" winners. They had a day coming to them, which would [allow them] to miss a practice. Because you're one of those elite guys, you were chosen by your teammate as an "Iron Jet" winner. There's a lot of little perks to it. One of the perks is that you get to skip a practice. The days are running out, you have today or tomorrow, so I wanted to make sure they were getting them. The thing we think is funny is that Mulligan, of course, is all taped up and when DeVito came out and he wasn't practicing, then he said, "Oh, it's OK." Because they're like brothers. Mully's going to do what DeVito does. So he says, "OK, I guess it's OK." That's why a lot of those guys were missing.
On if there was any movement in the left guard competition from Monday's game…
I thought both played pretty well. It was good for Vlad [Ducasse] to get in there, see what it's like in an NFL game, the intensity and everything else that goes along with it. Now, he'll be more prepared for it the next time. But I thought he did OK. I thought [Matt] Slauson did pretty well. I was happy with the way Slauson played.
On Joe McKnight's performance in the game…
He had a couple of real nice runs and then the others, sometimes you just have to get 3 yards. Just pop it in there and get 3 yards. Eventually you keep hitting it in there hard, it will pop for you. Shonn Greene is a great example. He's got a totally different running style, but give us what you've got in between those tackles. The kid has tons of ability. I'm just trying to get him there. Don't dance as much, just go ahead and hit it up in there. We'll see. We're working on it. It's still a work in progress.
On if McKnight's running style from college can translate into the NFL…
Sometimes it doesn't. You can't always outrun people. The home run isn't always there to hit. You just have to hit singles. I think if he takes that approach, those long ones will come. But he's got to hit some singles first. We have a complex offense and sometimes your head's spinning a little bit. Protections, different fronts, different this, that, but when you get the ball in your hands, do what is natural. Let's go. Hit it up in there. I believe he will. I just think he has to see it on tape and see what we're talking about, see what Anthony [Lynn] is talking about.
On what he attributes Danny Woodhead's success to…
He's just got guts and heart. He's short. It's funny, but literally if he were five inches taller, there's no telling what this guy would be. But he's not. He's still got God-given gifts and talents and he makes the most of them. Yesterday he did a great job covering punts. It's like "That's a heck of a job, Woodhead." He came down there, found the guy that was running, goes back in there and puts his face in it. Nobody is ever going to question his courage and his toughness.
On seeing what the secondary looks like without Darrelle Revis…
The fact is that we gave up 70 yards passing in the first half, 51 on something that should have been called a sack. Other than that, I was happy with the way the ones played. The ones played great. You can't play much better than that, with Revis or without him. Obviously with backups, you get guys that are moved up a spot. Everybody is. If you have a guy that should be your fourth corner and he's now your third or second or whatever, there's always that ripple effect. Don't feel sorry for us. We've got plenty of talent here. I've won and been productive on defense with a heck of a lot less talent than this.
On if it's hard for backup corners to play zero coverage…
It's hard, but we're not going to play Cover-2. If they want to do that, go somewhere else. We need guys that take it. The other thing is it's tough on that line and tough on that quarterback. If you're playing a whole game, sometimes it's hard to pick that arm up in the second half, if you're hitting them enough. It's kind of a give-and-take. Would we have played the game differently [with Revis]? Maybe so, but we're just going to let it fly.
On what he's seen from Kyle Wilson mentally…
Everything. He's giving it all to us. He's playing outside. He's playing inside. He's doing a tremendous job. He's very coachable, takes as good notes as probably any rookie that I've seen in a long time. He's a rookie in experience and age, but he's a veteran as far as his professionalism.
On Nick Mangold's personality off the field…
Nick is a great guy. He's smart. He's really a quick wit. Most offensive lineman aren't as funny as he is. He's got a heck of a personality. They're all smart, but he's also got that kind of personality, a very humorous guy. Then he's got that long blonde hair and all that stuff. He looks a little different, and he is different.
Today I thought I had him because I made a little bet with him on a two-minute situation. I was betting against the offense, that they would not be able to kick the field goal to win the game. I had insider trading information, because I knew that Nick Folk wasn't going to kick until this afternoon. I'm like, "I'll take that bet." I figured there's no way a punter is going to be able to make that, assuming it'd be like a 47-yard field goal, but it wasn't. They got down there close and sure enough he nailed it. Mangold said, "Our kicker's not kicking." And I said, "Exactly." But the kid [Weatherford] made it anyway.
On if Steve Weatherford will be the backup kicker…
Absolutely. No sense in kicking Nick's leg out since he's the only kicker here. We have a special-teams practice and we're going to do kickoffs. You have to have a contingency plan.
On Clemens being the second QB in vs. the Giants...
I just wanted to give him a shot with some of the guys. We knew we were going to play Brunell, but I wanted to play Kellen so we threw him in there. I think he showed himself well.
On giving Brandon Moore the day off today…
Brandon Moore hasn't had a day off in his life. I know he had a little stinger during the game, but as we all know, he will never complain about anything. When it comes to football or toughness he never tries to get out of anything. We gave him a bone — "Take the day off." He's seen the center and [Damien] Woody have a day off so why not? He's played for nine years and he looked at me as if I had lost it. Because of the way he is, the guys had a good time with it.
On any players moving up the depth chart…
I think MTV [Martin Tevaseu] is playing well. He has a broken hand, but he's playing well. He's getting active so I was happy with what he was doing. Because we treated the game as the second preseason game, we probably haven't seen these guys.
On if he and the team had any concerns about the turf at the new stadium…
We had no concerns at all. Our guys really like it.
On Damien Woody giving up a sack to Giants rookie DE Jason Pierre-Paul…
It was a "do this, do that" deal. One of them, on a certain protection, Woody would kick out and take the end guy. Another one is he'd stay here and the guard would molly off to get him. It was an "I got him, you take him" situation. When he realized that the guard not mollying, he tries to go back out and the guy beats him. You have to give the kid credit, he made the play. Everyone who saw it was like "Something wasn't right there," he had done a great job kicking out on him and protecting, but that's why he was so late getting out. I think it was that we tried to make a call and it just registered late.
On the additions of LaDainian Tomlinson on offense and Jason Taylor and Antonio Cromartie on defense…
They've been everything we thought they would be, all three of them. We talked about LT, the way he can catch the ball out on the backfield, the way he can pass-protect and his running skills. He shows everything. Everyone is still looking for him to slow down. OK, we're still looking. Jason Taylor gives you that great pass rusher and I'll tell you what, he's a much better run defender than I even thought he was. He's got great length and he plays to it. With the two guys that we have, Bryan Thomas and Calvin Pace, and now you have Jason Taylor, that's as good as anybody in this league has. We're really excited about that, the depth and the fact that we will be able to rush the passer in the fourth quarter, which is when you have to.
On John Conner's performance…
Well, we saw him, he got like three of them in the game. He knocked three guys on their back. Even had one on a kickoff. He did everything we expected.
On how he feels about Tony Dungy's comments critical of his cursing on "Hard Knocks"…
I've been a big admirer of Tony Dungy. I'm sure a lot of people are. I felt that he unfairly judged me. That was disappointing to me. I made a phonecall to Tony and I've invited him to come to camp, or anytime, to spend a day with me and the organization. I think that maybe he'll have a different take on it.
On if he was surprised that Dungy agreed that the commissioner should be involved…
Like I said, I think I was more surprised that he judged me.
On if he spoke to Dungy directly…
No. I left a message with my phone number. I anticipate him calling me back.
On his personal "mission statement"…
I'm always going to be myself. I'm a good person. Just because somebody cusses doesn't make them a bad person and just because a guy doesn't cuss doesn't make him a good person. I will stand by my merits.
On if there will be fewer curse words on tonight's Hard Knocks episode…
I have no idea.
On if he thinks there are bigger problems in society than cursing…
I would think so.
On his feelings about Mike Westhoff being featured tonight…
There could be more F-bombs.
