Transcript of head coach Rex Ryan's news conference following the Jets' Wednesday midday practice at the Atlantic Health Training Center:
Today, another hot day. It was good to get out there. Actually competition against each other sure we take care of our own. We got a made it a little too spirited. Got to make little chippy there in some of those periods. I thought it was very competitive and I like what I saw out there. Unfortunately Lex Hilliard, we had to put him on IR with the shoulder, and he is going to need a procedure for that. That's really unfortunate because Lex is a tremendous player and also a tremendous person and he's just a tough guy and it's just an unfortunate thing. You know, just one of those things where you have a 9-on-7 drill, live contact drill, it wasn't tackling but it was full speed and it's unfortunate that that happened.
On if he was disappointed to see Antonio Cromartie hit Stephen Hill hard during a drill...
I think there's thud and then there's like over-the-top thud, and I was disappointed because we have to protect each other. Stephen was running full speed and all that. Cro actually came off his coverage and made the hit, and again I don't think he intended to certainly hurt Stephen, but still we have got to be smarter. [You're in] great position, just let it go. I think that's what we need to do. Sometimes when you say thud, guys have a tendency, especially when it gets close to that goal line, to put a little extra on it, but we certainly don't need to do that, we have to take care of each other.
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On if he knows who will start at quarterback for the third preseason game…**
I think both guys looked good today. But we will see, again, how everything is tomorrow. We're not ready to do that yet, we haven't discussed anything as far as that goes right now.
On if he anticipates announcing the starting quarterback Thursday…
Hey, I guess we can anticipate it, I think that's fair to say, but we really don't want to put a timetable on it. You know eventually we have to name one, so we'll see.
On if today was Geno Smith's best day of practice…
It wasn't brutal, that's for sure [laughing]. That was a great day. I don't know if that was his best day, because he's had a lot of good ones, but he had a great one today.
On Joe McKnight saying he had a concussion recently…
I'm staying with a head injury. You know right now, the last two days, he has been out there full pads so that's good to see. My information is it was a head injury and that's all I'm comfortable saying about it.
On why McKnight practiced when suffering from a migraine after he couldn't make it out to the field…
Well again, our trainers, this isn't there first rodeo with anything. When our trainers say that a young man can practice then he's been cleared to practice. It's as simple as that. The fact that Joe was in a red jersey meant non-contact and there was no contact that day. You might recall he went down. He caught a ball and then fell to the ground and that's where he got hurt. But I'll stand by our doctors and our trainers and not look for a witch hunt.
On if he was not informed that McKnight had a concussion…
I was saying, what I get was he was out, or limited, or whatever with a head injury and that's all, and that's what I'm comfortable saying. Unless something specifically was there that says concussion, then I'm going to say exactly what was on the list.
On him being uninformed of the injury…
I was informed that he had a head injury. That was it. I lean on the trainers and the doctors as does any coach in this league and that was what was told to me.
On where his offense will rank this year after saying the defense will rank top 5…
Well you know what's funny? See I think I'm wrong by saying that. I shouldn't say that because I am out of the prediction business, but I know where I believe everything is going to end up, I have always said that about the defensive unit because every one of you says, well that's my expertise. So that's fine and I'll just put that on my shoulders. That that's where it's going to be I don't want to put any extra pressure on the players or anything else, just put it all on me. So where ever it ends up, if it's not good enough it comes right down on me and that's where it should be. If it is good enough it should go to the players and the coaches. That's fine and I have always felt that. I am not going to put where we are going to rank offensively, special team all that. I was probably wrong by saying that to the defense because I certainly don't want to burden our players, but we better be there, and it comes to me it's on my shoulders period, and that's it.
On if he will address Cromartie's with him in the locker room…
I'll talk to our team about it. We have to take care of each other, and that's it. Now look, I love Cro being aggressive. When Cro is aggressive he is as good as any corner out there. So there's a fine line, you want to be aggressive but you have to protect your teammate above all else. Sometimes when you get down there, the competitiveness of you, you don't want to see anybody move that football or cross that line that's for sure, but at the same time it's more important to take care of your teammates above all else.
On how his father coached has an influence on how he wants to conduct practices…
Well, I recognize the fact that in training camp and in hot days in particular, those things happen, kind of turns the heat up on a lot of things, but at the same time, I'd just prefer not see fights and all that kind of stuff. I just want to see us get better. I think that's the big thing. I love the competition, but you don't have to press me to bite being over the top of that, whether it's fighting or whatever.
On Hill's condition…
Well you guys saw him on the field, the end of the thing, as the old Randy Moss deal. Guys got coverage and he snags the ball over somebody, so I think Stephen's fine.
On the kicking competition…
Again, we'll let it play out. We have two good kickers and that's kind of where we were last year, I felt the same thing. I think we've done a good job of bringing guys and both those guys are kicking the ball well.
On if Dee Milliner will practice tomorrow…
I'm not sure. Again, as I mentioned a little yesterday, we were hoping he would be progressing a little better, so this is just a little time to get him right. It's not like it's a new injury at all. It's just, we're trying to get him closer to 100 percent than what he is and we thought, like I said, the trainers and doctors thought that giving him a little time to rest it, that we'll accomplish that.
On Clyde Gate's condition…
I'm not sure on that yet.
On if Vladimir Ducasse playing with the starters was a result of playing Stephen Peterman at center with the second team…
I think it's a combination of both things. I think Vlad Ducasse, quite honestly, that was another guy that I was going to bring in for videos because he actually played left guard, right guard and right tackle in the game and did a tremendous job for us against Jacksonville, so I think he's really pushing. I don't think there's any doubt that Vlad's pushing for that, but we also want to see Stephen play center and that's something that, actually I thought Stephen today, it was a better day today for him playing center than it was even yesterday, so you see him actually improving a little bit. I feel pretty good about him there.
On what Ducasse has improved on…
From top to bottom, you name it, mentally, instincts, physical. This is where you wanted him when you drafted him. You might have wanted him there a year before, but this is where he's at now, so he looks pretty good to me.
On if Ducasse fits better at guard or tackle…
Well, for our football team, he's got to be able to play both. We feel real fortunate to have the starting tackles we have and then same thing really at guard, but he's a guy that has proven that he can play both.
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On how Santonio Holmes looks…
He seems excited, so I think that's a good sign. But again, he's going to lean on the trainers, we're all going to lean on the trainers and the doctors and when they say he's ready to go, he'll be chomping at the bit. I can tell you that right now. He's excited, I think he's in great shape, which like I say, is unusual for a guy, he's done everything but run routes and all that other kind of stuff, but we'll see how it is. Hopefully, he can get on the field soon.
On if Chris Ivory will get a good deal of work on Saturday…
I like to definitely get him work, [Bilal] Powell and all the guys really, Tommy [Bohanon], but yeah, it'll be good to see him. I tell you where I've been impressed, I mean his protection's improved. Like, if somebody said today, he attacked a linebacker like he was a guard, so that was encouraging to me.
On if he would be confident with Tommy Bohanon being the starting fullback…
I certainly would be, but again, we'll look at every opportunity out there, but certainly he's been impressive in these camps and in practice, so I feel good about him. We also have Konrad [Reuland] that can play fullback as well, and like we said, he's kind of the garbage man, whatever, he's going to do it, tight end, U, fullback, whatever. He can do that, but again, we always keep all our options open and we'll do that, but I've been very pleased with Tommy.
On what other attributes Bohanon will have to bring due to the lack of teams using fullbacks…
Well, we've used the fullback quite a bit I think and the fact that he can also play some tailback and he also does a good job on special teams.
On Braylon Edwards not practicing for the last three days…
You guys are going to be tired of hearing me say it, but that's kind of his game-plan, so that's the game-plan for him this week and we'll see. Will he be out there tomorrow? I'm not sure, but I don't have a schedule in front of me, but we'll see how that goes. I know this past week I thought in the game against Jacksonville, he looked much better than he did actually against Detroit, so that was encouraging to me, but as far as him not being on the practice field, our guys do a tremendous job of getting our guys ready to play and we'll just lean on them.
On if Edwards will play Saturday…
Well again, when he'll play, I mean hey, if the trainers say let's not play him this week, then we're not going to play him.
On if it is realistic to expect Mike Goodson to open the season with the team…
Again, I'm going to say really what I've said about Goodson before. I'm not going to add anything to it right now. We'll address that at the appropriate time.
