Transcript of quarterback Mark Sanchez's informal news conference following Thursday's midday practice at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center:
On the importance of the game against New England…
It's a big game, there's no doubt. Our team seems to play well in big games. It's another divisional rivalry-type game, so we need to play our best and give them our best shot in a tough environment. It's going to take, definitely, our best effort and a good week of preparation. We started that today. It's going to take mistake-free play on the offense, no turnovers, no penalties and we'll have a shot.
On how excited he is for the game…
I'm thrilled. It's the best stage in the world, Monday night, everybody's watching, two powerhouses in the AFC East going at it, so we're excited. It'll be a fun one.
On how New England's defense has changed defensively since the first meeting…
They have done a good job with making adjustments on the run. I think [Devin] McCourty has turned out to be a pretty good player. They do what they do well, and that's disrupt the passing game, make it tough on the running game. They play well on the back-end. Their DBs do a great job of keeping things in front of them. [Brandon] Meriweather has done awesome all year, just like he did last year. It's a great team, once again, and we knew that. We need to play well.
On if it feels like a statement game to show they are not a lucky team…
No, I think we've earned the right to be where we're at. We know it's going to be a great matchup, but nothing really changes other than that. Stick to our preparation, trust in what we know, trust our coaches, trust the game plan and play mistake-free. We don't need to make any statements. We just need to play well.
On people saying the game is Tom Brady versus him…
No, he's playing our defense, I'm playing their defense, so it has nothing to do with that. I don't play against him.
On playing for Coach Ryan…
He trusts what you do. He puts you in the right position. He encourages the coaches on offense to do what I like to do, to do what our receivers are good at, to get guys touches and it's going to be another great game-plan and we're ready for the challenge. It's nice to play for Rex.
On why he was so critical of himself after the Cincinnati game…
The same thing when I watch the film. It just affirmed everything I said. I just passed up easy completions. I didn't make very good decisions when I got out on the perimeter. Those kinds of things, especially down the stretch against teams like New England, like Pittsburgh, Chicago, Miami, they'll get you beat bad. We can't afford to have that. That's not the way I've been playing the last few games before that, so there's no way I can go back to playing like that.
On why he had a bad performance…
I don't know. I think it was just an off-night. The coaches talked about it, other people talked about it being a short week, but it doesn't matter. The good ones, the great ones, they don't let that affect them. I'm still learning. I still have a long way to go, but I'm glad that I identified a lot of that, the problems with my play, and now it's time to get better.
On wanting to play his best in big games…
That's always just been important to me. You have to show your best on the biggest occasions, just like the wideouts, just like LT [LaDainian Tomlinson]. The big-time players want to play their best on the biggest stage. That's always been important. That's always been the way, just growing up and playing for Coach Johnson, Coach Carroll and now Coach Ryan. Those are the most important ones.
On if he has a different feeling during the week of a big game…
I don't know what it is. It just seems like the guys who are remembered for a long time, the guys that have gone down in the record books as the players who seem to be the best, play best when it counts. We're going to need another great effort this week.
On having Santonio Holmes playing for this meeting against New England…
He can only help us. We did well without him that game, and he just adds such a different dimension, another wrinkle to our offense. He's tough to cover. That's a good thing for us, and we'll see how they match-up against him.
On what he remembers from last season's loss at New England…
Ball-security issues, making poor decisions. Watching the game from last year, just not playing within myself, not letting the offense work for me and going out on my own trying to make plays. This isn't the team to try and do that against. That's the way you get beat and that's how they want me to play. That's how they expect a young quarterback to play. It's going to be important to make really good decisions, take care of the football, ball security in the pocket and get the ball out to open receivers at the right time.
On if he thinks that Braylon Edwards and Santonio Holmes can take advantage of the young New England secondary…
J-Co [Jerricho Cotchery] and Braylon [Edwards] had a great game, Dustin [Keller] had a great game, LT had some catches, Santonio [Holmes] is playing, so I think it will only help. Those numbers are kind of deceiving because they play on top. They don't let you get big plays. They've had some interceptions. McCourty has five picks or something, so he's done a really good job, especially for a young player. We're going to have to play really well and know that those stats aren't always telling because this team, always towards this time of the year, gets better as the play. In their big matchups, they always play well, so we're going to need to play really well.
On if Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are a quarterback-coach model that he and Rex Ryan aspire to…
We want to stay together for that long, and it helps, that they kind of set the standard for their own team and their own franchise. That's the way Rex talked about us, being together for ten years. The day I was drafted, he said that. That's going to take him coaching really well and me playing really well, and neither of us getting the other run out of here [joking]. They set the standard for their organization. We're doing it for ours, but we have a long way to go. They've been pretty good together for a long time, we're just starting, so we'll see.
On the learning curve from year one to year two…
I just wish I could learn as much, [Mark] Brunell told me about this and other quarterbacks have talked about it, you'll never learn as much as that jump between year one and year two, from year two to year three. I wish you could. I wish you could get that much better, but this is the biggest jump of your career. I'm taking it all in stride.
On if he feels he has made the most of the jump from year one to year two…
Absolutely. I'm fighting to get things right. Some of the mistakes that I didn't really see last year when I first watched the film after a game, I'll see them right away. I know them after the game. After the Cincy game, I don't think I ever would've talked like that last year because I might not have known exactly what I did wrong. Now, you know, on the sidelines right away, "Man, I missed the mark," "You know what? I was late," "He has to run that route better," whatever it is. I can't tell you in words. It's just a different feel out there. You start to understand the game and how long the games are. You're not so much of an emotional rollercoaster during the games. I'm taking care of the ball better and that's been the biggest area of improvement.
