Transcript of head coach Rex Ryan's news conference following Wednesday's midday practice at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center:
We'll start with the injuries here. Guys that did not practice today — Marquice Cole with a knee, Brandon Moore, hip. Guys that were limited — Mike DeVito, knee, Marcus Dixon, hip, Eric Smith, knee. And all these other guys were full — Vlad Ducasse, knee, Shonn Greene, rib, Nick Mangold, ankle, Joe McKnight, elbow, Calvin Pace, groin, Matt Slauson, knee.
With all of those guys, I feel pretty good about everybody, really. Brandon, this was within what we had talked about. Probably limit him tomorrow and then have him full on Friday. 'Quice, we'll see how his knee is, but that's probably questionable right now. All the other guys I think will be able to play, DeVito, Dixon and Eric Smith, so we're pretty good there. Jimmy Leonhard had surgery today. Everything went well. And again, like we always say, they always say that as long as you come out of it, so it went well.
On if he thinks DeVito will play on Sunday…
Yes I do. I think Mike looks pretty good out there. If he has a setback, we'll see, but he looked good, did some nine-on-seven drills today, taking on double team and all that, and he looked good. So as long as he doesn't have a setback, he should be ready to go.
On what Gerald Alexander brings to the table…
To be honest, I'm not real sure. We just had him out there today. We have a great deal of confidence in our scouting department. I know they were trying to get us the best player. Right now, he's swimming. He just came out there and we'll see. Obviously, if we signed him, then upstairs feels pretty good about him. And he seems like a nice young man.
On how equipped he feels to play two more road games and one game against the Giants…
Well, this time of year, it doesn't matter where you play, you better go win. And this is going to be a big challenge, obviously you're going down the road to Philly. I know the Jets history, 0-and-8 somebody said, or something like that against the Eagles. I attribute that to they must have played against my dad or something. That's what I told the team, anyway. Eight times? I'm not so sure about that. I don't know even know if they ever played them. But obviously they're an excellent football team and we know it's going to be a big challenge. But hey, I know we have to travel to Miami, but it feels like Miami today, so we'll be used to it.
On if the chances of Alexander playing this week are remote…
I would think so. I would think that it would probably have to be an emergency for him to get in there. Like I said, we're bringing in the young man to give us depth, not to be a starter or anything. We feel good about our safeties. Obviously, Eric Smith, Brodney Pool and Tracy Wilson. He may or may not play. I'm not sure.
On if he expects Donald Strickland to be worked into more packages with Leonhard injured…
Well, Donald, we've always got different roles for him. It may mean that [Ellis] Lankster gets some more, maybe [Isaiah] Trufant. There's a lot of different guys that we'll be looking at to do different things.
On if he is surprised that the Jets are underdogs on Sunday…
Doesn't really matter to us. I'm not betting on the game so it really doesn't matter to me.
On if the team's experience in the playoffs the last two seasons has helped it get ready for this stretch of games…
Well, even the whole time, I think it gave us confidence that we can do it. We'll really talk about that more once we get in the playoffs. Clearly, we have three games left. Going to be tough, but we're confident.
On the offense scoring 13 touchdowns in three games…
I just think it shows on the practice field. We had a great practice today. But we've been doing that. The accountability, the attention to detail, and our guys are coming out and we're having fast practices, very few mistakes.
On if the offense's improvement comes from preparation…
I think we were making more mistakes during the week [earlier in the season]. I don't think our practices were quite as sharp as they've been lately and I think that carries over to the game. I don't think there's any doubt that how you practice carries over to the game and I feel great about it. I think it's from a confidence standpoint, from everything. I think you see, right now, our team is feeling pretty good about themselves.
On how he feels about how the Antonio Cromartie-Nnamdi Asomugha free agencies played out…
We're happy we have Cromartie. I'm sure Philly's happy that they've got Nnamdi. That's behind us. We're extremely happy that we got Cro back.
On how close Asomugha was to joining the Jets…
You'd have to ask Nnamdi that. I addressed this a long time ago, we made an offer, never came off it one way or another. This was our offer. That's what we felt comfortable with. Nnamdi never felt comfortable with it and he ended up choosing to go somewhere else.
On the play of Mark Sanchez this season…
I don't know what people look for in Pro Bowls and all that. You just take the guys that win. I think that you'll probably be better off. I think, when the season's over, he'll be right there where we expect him to be, but I think he's had an excellent year. I really do. Is he going to throw for 4,000 yards or whatever? To be honest with you, I don't really know. You guys know that. I think the guy's an excellent quarterback.
On Sanchez's resiliency…
This is the same guy that bounced back from, what, he had five interceptions in one game his rookie year, two three-game losing streaks, and he bounced all the way back. You're going to have those type of games. Each guy is, but he's proven that not only can he bounce back from the fall in a week, but he'll bounce back in the fourth quarter of a game to win. It might not be going great, but he can come back in a fourth quarter and still win a game, and he's proved that as well.
On if Michael Vick looked like he's back to form last week…
He's Michael Vick. There's only one of those guys in the league. He's explosive, 4.4 speed guy, and can throw a strawberry through a battleship. He looks pretty good to me. Looks like the same guy to me.
On what type of pressure Vick and the other Eagles other weapons put on the defense…
That's the thing. When somebody asks me after the game does he make a difference? Yeah, he makes a huge difference. He's a special player and they've got special talent around him.
On if Vick's success after time away from the game impacted the team's decision to sign Plaxico Burress…
No. Not one bit.
On what they are looking to do against Philadelphia's defense and their pass rush…
They're the number one pass rush team in the league. They have a ton of sacks. You just have to keep them off balance. We can, hopefully, be able to run the football, get the ball out of Mark's hands, protect him, block them up, give them different looks, that's what you have to do. This is an excellent pass rushing team, without question. They have, on their defense now, a bunch of Pro Bowl guys. They may send more guys to the Pro Bowl than any team in the league. They are talented, a super-talented team.
On if he thinks the defense will need a game to regroup from the loss of Leonhard like they seemed to need last year…
No, I don't think so. I think there was some unusual circumstance because he got hurt with one day left in the week for practice. I think that was what really contributed to that, and the fact that we were playing the New England Patriots. I don't want to take anything away from them, but that was part of the issue, part of the problem. Right now, there are no excuses. We have a full week's preparation with Brodney Pool and Eric Smith, the same guys that closed out all the playoff games and everything else, so we feel really comfortable with those guys. Obviously, it's an unfortunate injury. It's a huge loss to us, but we're built to still be effective.
On the injury to the fan that occurred at the game last Sunday…
I just found out about it today. I know Matt Higgins has reached out and I'll reach out once the young man's feeling better. I'll say this about our organization, I'm sure we'll do something special for him when he is ready for that.
On what he thinks has propelled Shonn Greene the past couple of games and if he thinks it's the same player he saw earlier in the season…
I think it is, but sometimes, it just doesn't click maybe when you think it will, but right now, he's running the ball extremely well. We're getting him a lot of touches. This is the time of year when he usually takes off. I've always talked about having those big backs. You want a big back at the end of the year because those are the guys that can take the pounding and they also dish it out, where some of these little backs might really do a great job earlier in the season, but when it's later in the season, they don't get up quite as fast and for whatever reason, don't seem to be quite as effective.
On if it helps to mix LaDainian Tomlinson in with Greene too…
You love having those two guys back there, and also with Joe [McKnight]. Hopefully, Joe will be back this week, which I think he will be. Joe will play this week, so that'll be good. It keeps them all fresh. They can do different things and like I say, we want to always have at least a two-headed monster, sometimes even a three-headed monster.
On if mixing in Tomlinson the last couple of games is due to the fact that he is healthy again…
That was the big reason. You're always going to have Shonn Greene and LaDainian Tomlinson. You'd like to have both of them featured in your game plan.
On what the biggest challenge is for the Jets defense against Philadelphia…
Oh, man, I think it starts with [Michael] Vick, obviously, at quarterback because he can make every throw and obviously his mobility is a huge concern. You have [LeSean] McCoy, I don't know if he's leading the league in rushing, but he probably should be. He is second. He's like one of those guys that runs like, "Don't touch me." He makes cuts like ridiculous. He has embarrassed a lot of good football players this year, but an explosive talent as well. Those will be the top two. You have [DeSean] Jackson over there, who is a game breaker. This is an excellent offense. They have the big left tackle, [Jason] Peters, playing outstanding, so this is going to be a big challenge for us.
On if he is hesitant at all to blitz Vick because of his mobility…
You have to treat him like he's Michael Vick, but you have to take shots at him. You can't just stand there or whatever because he will stand there and kill you throwing the ball, so you'd better go hit him. That's the way you'd better approach him.
On if they will try to punt away from DeSean Jackson on Sunday…
I think there are people around here that might be able to answer that question better than us. Let's face it, if he doesn't make that return, Green Bay doesn't even go to the playoffs last year. He is that kind of guy who, game on the line, can break it. Any time, he can break it. The average doesn't look that great this year, but he is one of those guys, you have to hold your breath every time he gets it and it's like, "Oh, just get him on the ground." He is a special returner.
