Transcript of head coach Rex Ryan's news conference following Wednesday's midday practice at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center:
Even though we don't technically have to give an injury report, here's the deal: John Conner had a little neck thing, but he was full today, so he is fine. Guys that were limited were Calvin Pace, Wayne Hunter, Nick Mangold, [Darrelle] Revis, Jason Taylor and Shaun Ellis. Shaun Ellis, knee; Taylor, elbow; Revis, hamstring; Mangold, shoulder; low leg for Wayne Hunter; and Calvin Pace, foot. The only guy that didn't practice was [Jamaal] Westerman. He was held out of everything.
On Randy Moss being traded to Minnesota…
I was hoping they would have waited a week. That would have been much nicer. Clearly, by them making the trade when they did, you know he'll play this week. There's no doubt about that. We've just got to get ready to play him. I thought it was interesting. Clearly, it was a little surprising. We knew we were going to have to play him another time, so it might as well be this week.
On what made the Moss trade interesting…
New England trading him for a draft pick instead of Moss playing for the whole year. I have a great deal of respect for Randy Moss. He is one of the premier vertical receivers in the game still. Here we go. I was kind of thinking, "I feel pretty good," and then all of a sudden, "Hey, Minnesota just traded for him. There goes sleeping well this week." Surely he won't up to complete speed with everybody else, but my brother said he's a smart guy. There's no doubt he'll be playing this week.
On if there was gamesmanship involved in the trade…
No, I don't think so [smiling]. Probably so. It's good for New England the fact that he is playing this week. It would be real gamesmanship if they trade him back [laughter]. That would be the one where it's like "That's not right." I hope that doesn't happen.
On if Darrelle Revis will be able to play this week…
I don't know. We'll see. He moved out there pretty well today. He's not opening up completely, but it was encouraging to get him out on the practice field. He was working hard. Hopefully, he'll be ready to go. As far as matching up with Moss, I really don't know where he's going to play. Is he left side? Right side? Slot? Who knows? I think it's too early to say. We're just now game planning.
On how Minnesota acquiring Moss affects their game plan…
It definitely affects it. You've got a guy who they say is one of the best vertical threats in the game. Usually you go into games, without our corners, most of the time you roll your coverage to Moss. That's something that most teams do. Most teams do it.
On how much weaker the Patriots are without Moss…
I don't know. They know their team a lot better than we do. I just know he's a huge threat. Generally, wherever he goes, he takes two with him. It helps your numbers in other areas. Maybe they have the next Randy Moss out there. We'll see.
On if he is more confident that Calvin Pace will play this week than Revis…
I'm confident in both guys. I think both guys will play. I went in the training room the other day and both Calvin and Darrelle were there and Wayne Hunter and I was like, "You guys are missing all the fun." They were like, "Yeah, I know. We're playing this week." Ok, we'll see. It is true. Guys want to play. They're doing everything they can to get back on the field. I'm confident they'll be out there this week.
On if how a player is preparing affects the decision of whether or not he will play…
Yes. Even last week when I saw Calvin, he just wasn't quite there yet. That was something I mentioned and I'm sure he felt.
On how they will use Revis if he plays…
I think it's too early to tell right now. Let's let him get one more day of practice in. Will he always be on the left? I'm not sure. We got posted by that one kid, [Anquan] Boldin, that first week. If he's ready to match up, we'll match up. We'll see how he feels.
On how much Moss will help Brett Favre…
He's got a good group of receivers, but when you add Randy Moss to the picture — matchup problems. You've got [Bernard] Berrian, you've got Percy Harvin. Their tight end [Visanthe Shiancoe], I know he had a hamstring. He probably needs to rest a few more weeks. I'm no doctor, but you don't put a guy out there with a hamstring [smiling]. That would make it easier I think. Really, you've got some matchup issues. You have a guy that can throw it 80 yards at least. They've got some fast guys and he can throw it out there.
On Santonio Holmes being able to help the offense…
I think he's going to be a huge thing for us. We certainly have some matchup issues that the other team is going to have to face too. You can go three wides with us and you have Holmes, [Braylon] Edwards and Jerricho [Cotchery] and Dustin [Keller]. There are some matchup issues there as well. He looks sharp. He looks like he hasn't missed a beat. He looked good.
On if they will ease Holmes into the game plan…
He'll go. You're basically going to rotate three guys in regular personnel groupings and three wides are always out there. Brad Smith, his role as a receiver might be a little less than it's been in the past, but Brad's still a great weapon and is a guy you can bring in there.
On if there is a concern about integrating Holmes into an offense that is doing well…
It's going pretty good, without question, but when you have a chance to add a great football player then you add him. That's what Santonio is. Like I said, there is nothing wrong with our chemistry and it is going well. It's just if you had Merlin Olsen, you want to work him into the rotation. You know what I mean? I think Merlin would be out there and that's how I kind of look at Santonio Holmes.
On if the heart of his offensive philosophy is still going to be ground-and-pound…
Sure. Absolutely. The great thing is having those weapons makes you play cover two. That's what Minnesota wants to play anyway. They should be confident stopping the run. They've have one of the best run stopping groups in the league, so I don't think they're going to change for us.
On if he's concerned that his wide receivers will have limited receptions because he wants to be a ground-and-pound team…
We're a football team and it doesn't matter. We just want to win. We have two great running backs. They're both touching the football. They're doing a great job for us. We care about winning. That's really all we care about. Now, individually would you like to catch a lot of balls? Yes. In some games Braylon may catch more than Santonio and Jerricho. Maybe Jerricho catches more than those other two some games. It's just the way it works. We're in the win business and our team wants to win. More than anything else, we want to win.
On how much it helped that Holmes was able to go to meetings and work out during his suspension…
I thought it was great for us because he's not missing anything. He's on top of what he's doing. I think that was really big. Especially when you have a new player coming into a system, I think that was really a positive thing for us.
On if there is more pressure on him to want Revis back this week with Minnesota trading for Moss…
I feel plenty of pressure to want him back there without question. I've been wanting him back there for a while, but we've got to do what's in the best interest of Darrelle and our team. If he's not ready to go then we will not put him out there. Yes, you want him out there without question. We all want him out there.
On how he will know Revis is 100 percent healthy…
I think the player has to tell you. He has to tell you and then you always listen to your medical people: the doctors, trainers, the experts. You get a good feel for it, but the player needs to sign off as well. We will never throw him out there if he doesn't think he's ready to play. That doesn't make any sense. When Darrelle feels good, the fact that he's out there practicing now, the commitment that he's made through this process of trying to get better, rehab, strength and conditioning exercises — you can't do more than he's done. Now it's just a matter of getting that confidence, opening up and let's see how that goes. You want him to be well. We all want him to be well. If it's grabbing, if it's doing all that kind of stuff, then maybe it's not ready, but I'm hopeful that he'll be out there on Monday.
On if LaDainian Tomlinson being willing to share carries sends a message to the rest of the team...
That's a great point. I never thought about it. All we are is about the team. Our guys buy is in. All you have to do is watch how Braylon Edwards blocks and you know the commitment we have for each other. It is hard to argue. If LT is willing to do that, how can you argue? This guy is a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Maybe some of these other guys can be looked at in that light, but I don't know. There are very few LaDainian Tomlinsons out there. You see the way he is. He gets as excited for Shonn [Greene] as he does himself when Shonn's making a big play for us. He's just a great teammate. I know one thing, he's lifted not just the offense but the defense as well. He's one of those rare players who has that kind of gift.
On how Tomlinson has lifted the defense…
They're inspired by watching him play. It's hard not to be. He came in and spoke to the defense one day. He spoke to the offense and I looked at him and said, "You ready to go down the hallway?" and he goes, "Yep," and went right down the hallway and gave the same message to the defense. It was powerful listening to a guy that's worked his entire career and came here, dedicated himself to his teammates and he's chasing the same thing everyone else is. It was great. It was from the heart and it really meant something to everybody.
On if Holmes has learned anything from his suspension…
I know one thing, he was here at 6 in the morning. He couldn't wait to get back to playing football, back to his teammates. I haven't really gotten an opportunity to really talk to him about the suspension. For a young man that loves football as much as he does, to have it taken away from him, a lot of times that will be the wake-up call people need.
On if defending Favre is still a challenge…
He's still throws it like the old saying, "He can throw a strawberry through a battleship." He's got that great arm and he still does. He can change the arm angle. It's crazy what he does. You guys know. You saw it up close and personal. It's still the same guy. The problem we face also is they have arguably the best running back in the league [Adrian Peterson]. You used to play Green Bay and they never really had that when I was there. You had some good backs, but nobody in this guy's class. That's another problem we have.
