Transcript of Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez's news conference following Tuesday's midday practice:
On his relationship with Bengals QB Carson Palmer…
Carson and I have known each other probably for 10-plus years, and I watched him play in high school. My middle brother, Brandon, played on his team at Santa Margarita. I was already Brandon's ballboy. Whatever Brandon wanted, I had to do, and that's when I met Carson and things took off from there. I was a fan immediately, just watching him play, the way he inspired his team, the way he brought emotion to the game. He got excited, he got fired up and obviously he's a great player. You always have big-time heroes and stuff growing up. There's always the Michael Jordans, Wayne Gretzkys, guys like that, but then your local town hero, that was Carson by a long shot. Nobody else was even close.
Just watching him play, he would run three-step quarterback draws out of empty in high school and just run over safeties and linebackers. He was huge in high school. So they won back-to-back CIF titles and I got to be the ballboy for all of those and see them celebrate after the game. It was awesome. He has always been a great friend and he always asks about my brother, Brandon, and my family, and we share the same quarterback coach in Bob Johnson. He's been a great friend and somebody I've always looked up to.
On what Palmer said to him after the game on Sunday…
Not much. I talked to him at halftime, and after the game, a little bit before the game but everything pretty much was "stay healthy," "good luck" and "it's cold." Both of us come from California. This is different. Just talking about what are you wearing, are you wearing two gloves, one glove, is your sideline as icy as ours is, little stuff like that. But him and Jordan, both, we got to talk quite a bit. It was fun to be a part of that game. But that one is over and we've got round two and they are going to be ready to go. So we need to play well.
On what he did with his brother's and Palmer's teams while he was growing up…
Those days I would go to most of the practices, every game on Friday nights, and I would ride over on the bus. I would go to Mass with them. It was a Catholic school, and I didn't even know what I was doing — I'm not Catholic [laughter]. I would go in there and just watch the other guys and see what they were doing. I would always have food on the bus from getting dropped off after school, and we'd go to Burger King or something so all of the guys always asked for food.
Carson was just one of those guys who would love to prank other guys and mess around a little bit. He would either unscrew the water top and watch somebody just pour it all over themselves or take a squirt gun to practice and get after the guys in the towers filming practice. We would be kneeling and he would be talking to other guys on the team and tell me, "Hey, can you get that ball way over there," and point across the field. I'd sprint over and get it. "No, we don't need that one." He knew how excited I was to be there all the time, so he would mess with me. He's always been great to me, so it's been fun.
On following Palmer in college…
As soon as he went to Southern Cal, I think it was with Coach [Paul] Hackett, they would come to summer camp. We would go to as many practices as we could. We would see them there and play a little catch, I would always try to grab a ball and play catch. We always wished them the best and he was the same guy from the first four years where he took a lot of ridicule at SC, "Maybe this guy is not going to pan out or is not as good," that's what everybody is saying about him.
And then senior year, he comes through, kills it — Heisman, first pick of the draft — and still the same guy, willing to talk to me about anything. I called him, talked to him about this year: "Hey, what are you going to do for the linemen? How does that work? Who do you get presents for?" He was awesome. It was great to follow him from Orange County to Southern Cal and then now we are playing in the same league and we have got a big game this week.
On if it has soaked in that he is playing his first playoff game as a rookie…
I don't think so. Hopefully not till Sunday and hopefully we are getting ready to play again next week. I felt this similar feeling when you play in big bowl games. There will be a point maybe before the game, midway through the game, halftime, where I'll go, "This is unbelievable." I remember feeling that way at the Rose Bowl when the B-2 bomber flies over and you step outside of yourself and look back and think this is pretty cool. Look what I get to do.
It's one of those situations where you know you're really fortunate, but at the same time you want to take advantage of it. You don't want to let anything slip. You've got to win the game today. With our preparation, I felt good about it today and I'll finish it up in the film room and we'll call it a day, get some rest and come back and do it again. You've got to do it on Wednesday to win on Saturday. This is great and all you've ever wanted, and to be in the position we're in, I just want to be ready.
On if he's thought about the other quarterbacks in this year's playoffs…
We've played quite a few of them. I think a lot of that is just that Rex [Ryan] has this way of kind of calming you, similar to the way Coach [Pete] Carroll would kind of calm you down when you were going into big games. He would always talk about how it's the same size field, it's the same thing you've always done. "This is what you've always wanted to do, right?" And it's obviously yes. So don't make it any bigger than it should be.
We play all of these great quarterbacks. Those are the kind of guys I want rookies 10 years from now saying, "Oh my God, I'm in the playoffs with Sanchez?" That's what I want. The only way to get that way is to win these games. The kind of team we have, we have the potential to do it. I'm not focused on other teams. I'm focused on us.
On if he appreciates this season…
I definitely do. To appreciate what we have done this year, but then to look at other organizations that have done it back-to-back years, won Super Bowls back-to-back years, things like that, or made the playoffs. [Alan] Faneca was talking about in Pittsburgh how they made the playoffs five out of six years. Going back through our season, it feels like a lifetime. It's so long and there are so many ups, there's so many downs and you're just living and dying with every game. And now you start over. You really appreciate how much hard work goes into this, how much sleep the coaches don't get to make sure you get your game plan on time and to make sure you're prepared for the game and how much you really want to take advantage of all the work we've put it in the off-season and training camp and it comes down to Saturday. There is a great appreciation for all that hard work.
On if the veterans have told him how much faster the game will be…
They didn't say anything about the speed, they just said the environment. The players are the same guys. Everybody is excited, everybody is amped up. I think the outside circumstances, the fans, the cheering, the media coverage, that's what changes. We just need to take it all in stride and not get caught up in anything other than the football aspect of it.
On how he's adjusted this season…
It's just one of those situations where you kind of do some soul-searching and you've got to look at yourself and "What do I want to be? Who am I?" type questions, those big questions, and I know I'm doing the right thing, I know I made the right decision leaving school. I know this is where I'm supposed to be at this moment. What am I going to do next week to eliminate mistakes from last week? That's the kind of challenge you go through. Am I totally out of there? I don't know, because there are still plenty of mistakes that I made in the last game that I want to get back, some throws I want back, some reads I want back. It's an ongoing process.
I think things are going to get a lot easier, things will slow down. But at this point in time, I kind of found that with the way we are running the ball, with being accurate, being smart, that's been our ticket these last couple of games. I just want to play the same way and get a little bit better, just build on each week. I felt I built on the [Indianapolis] game last week and now it's time to build on those last two and get even better. Going through tough times like that, you know everybody goes through them. You just want them to hurry up and end. Now we just need to play smart and play well.
On if other players told him that he should be more conservative…
No, none of players said anything like that. They just wanted me to be me. Rex and Mike Tannenbaum, Woody [Johnson], everybody just said, "Trust your instincts. Don't change that. Don't change who you are. Just make the right decisions. We drafted you No. 5 overall. You are our guy. Nothing is changing. You are going to be the dude. It's up to you." I felt their confidence.
I said last week in the press conference, and even after the game, TJ has been huge for me. A guy who has been there for so long. to have that kind of faith and trust in me, that was great, to talk me through tough situations during games. Him and T-Rich [Tony Richardson] calmed me down during the game when things are heated. You miss a third-down conversion and you're on the sideline and say, "I want that play back." They come over and say, "Hey, don't worry about it, we're going to get them next time." That kind of encouragement and support has helped me get through the season.
On if he ever though he would play against Palmer in his first NFL playoff game…
You always have this feeling, I'm sure Carson had it too growing up, that this is what is supposed to happen, this is what you want to have happen, and you always kind of knew. Did I know it would be exactly like this? No. Being as competitive as I am and as competitive as Carson is, I remember throwing at these flags with Coach Johnson and they are made out of PVC pipe, he has them made by hand. He sticks them in the ground, and you just throw at the flags and try to hit the thing. We got so competitive, we didn't want to try to hit the flags or the post, we would aim for one. We would say "left one," and I would hit it and he would hit it and it would go back and forth.
Now it's the same thing: He went 21 plays, let's go 22 plays, let's go score. That's how competitive it is, just staying focused and playing well, but this is pretty special. So it will be a good matchup and I'm excited. I couldn't think of anybody else I would want to square off against. He's a great competitor and a great friend. Those are the best times, really.
On his experience playing in the cold weather…
They did an awesome job on the sidelines. [Equipment manager] Gus [Granneman], [head athletic trainer] John Mellody, [head strength and conditioning coach] Sal Alosi, all of our strength staff, equipment staff, training staff, they have everything there for you. It's freezing cold, the wind is whipping through the stadium and they have ChapStick. Your helmet is just frozen and every time you click the bubbles, your thumb just goes numb, so they put the helmet in a heater. They do everything for you so you really just take your mind off the elements and just play. They have a big old jacket and are making sure you are stretched out and they have heater lamps. Once you start playing, I have got so many run checks going through my head, so many reads, that's the last thing I'm worried about is the weather.
On his confidence level…
I think these last two weeks have really helped, just turning things around, making the playoffs. It's like a new life, a breath of fresh air. We made it out of a tough stretch during the season where I was being careless with the football and now, I don't want to say I've hit my stride. I don't want to say anything like that yet, but I just feel a little more comfortable.
You really see how important it is to these other players. You just kind of see it when you say hi to guys in the morning and you see them in the cold tub and you see them in the huddle, it's a look knowing like this is it. These next few weeks can change your life. It can change a lot. It's do-or-die. This is huge for us. I feel great and I know that you know when I do feel good, I'm able to be a little more loose in practice. I'm able to have a little more fun, and that's the way these last few weeks have been. So I think Rex has really seen that.
On Coach Ryan's support…
He's the best. I guess the best example is after the Atlanta game, when I went into his personal locker room and said, "Man, dang it, Rex. What was I doing? Why did I throw that ball?" He said, "It's all right. We're going to get better. You're learning from it, right?" I said, "Yeah, I'm learning from it. It's hard. I hate this feeling. I hate coming in here. I've got to do a press conference. I hate talking. I know I'm going to say it's my fault and I hate saying it and it's terrible [laughter]. It's just a bad feeling." He said, "This is what we signed up for, you and me for 10-plus years. We are going to do this for a long time. There are going to be more losses and way more wins."
To hear that from him, he gives you the peptalk before you have to go face the music. It's like that after wins. It's like that after losses. You want to play for this guy. You want to perform your best. You don't want to miss a film session. You don't want to show up late for meetings because you don't want to do that. You don't want to disrespect Rex or hurt our preparation. He makes us feel like a family and you don't want to offend anybody in your family. You don't want to say anything bad about your parents. You just don't do it. He's very supportive and it's obviously helped, especially as a rookie. He makes the joke about both us of being rookies. He said, "I counted us out of the playoffs myself." That's what Rex said. I said, "I believed you, and now here we are." [laughter] We might as well make something of it.
On if it is more difficult to adjust to the New York market or adjust on the field…
It's two ongoing battles. You learn as you go and both of them are very difficult. I think if I wasn't as to-the-point and honest, it would be a lot tougher. When I made the mistakes during the season and I make the mistakes in games, it's my fault and there's no point in trying to single somebody else out, dance around it, and I think that's helped. I know people have commented on that. It's important to be me and just to be honest about it. There's nothing to hide.
Then the other part, the on-field, is just an ongoing struggle and a challenge and that's why I made the decision, because it was the hard thing to do. To me, it would be more fun, it would be more of a challenge. And they have definitely both been that, but at the same time, it's very rewarding. Games like Sunday, hopefully a game like that on Saturday and you wake up Sunday morning and say, "That was awesome. Let's go do it again. Just give me another win. Let's go do it again."
On things he's spoken with Palmer about…
I talked to him about the combine before that happened: What did he throw? What was it like? About pro day, about new teams, quarterback battles with the guy that's been there before, because he went through a battle with [Jon] Kitna. He sat his first year. I didn't know what was going to happen with me and Kellen [Clemens]. Little things like that. Then every once in a while, just calling and asking how the twins are doing and how Jordan [Palmer] is doing. Anything you can think of. If I really have a question and need somebody to talk to that's kind of been in a similar situation, he's who I call. I lean on my family for a lot, and the coaches here for a lot, but there's not many people who have been in a position like this. So he really understands.
On the wristband with plays…
It's great. It's made things a lot easier. I think it helped because as the season has gone on, I've gotten better with repeating the play calls and understanding what we are trying to do with each play and now instead of constantly hearing the plays, I can just say them myself and just get the number through the headset. It was run plays, pass plays, all of it on the wristband. It was very helpful.
On if the wristband makes his job easier…
Just because I've learned the plays over the course of the season, it's the right time. You don't want to use that as a crutch. "I don't know the plays, so I'm just going to spit something out in the huddle and try to figure it out on the way up to the line" — that's not what you want, not here. It's too fast. So now that I have better grasp of the plays, it really helps in just the communication and we get up to the line with more time and it just gives you more chance to see everything and adjust and make our checks.
