Transcript of quarterback Mark Sanchez's informal news conference following Wednesday's midday practice at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center:
On if he is confident the offense can correct their mistakes from Monday…
Absolutely. I think the most promising thing about that game, the most encouraging thing, is that all those mistakes are easily fixable. It was an undisciplined game and it really speaks to the fact that this is an all-out team effort. It's the ultimate team sport because when ten of eleven guys do it right, the play's not going to work. I think we saw that. We've all owned up to our mistakes. There were some great messages, guys getting up individually and talking in front of our team meeting and in our offensive meeting. We're ready to get rolling on offense, just like we did all summer, all spring. We're ready to go. We're ready to have a breakout game. I think there's no better week to do it. We'll get a win in our new stadium and get things rolling again.
On if he felt that Baltimore shut them down or the offense hurt itself…
I think they did a good job playing their schemes well, but I think we just hurt ourselves because when we did throw the ball down the field, we didn't get set before the play. Certain offensive drives, first-and-15 instead of first-and-10. That doesn't help, and it makes it tough on Coach Schottenheimer. There were opportunities there, and we missed them.
On if the offense should have been more aggressive in its playcalling…
I still really think that we had some opportunities to throw it down the field, and we weren't set. We're inside the five-yard line. Who knows if we start rolling from there? Maybe throw it up a couple more times. That's the way the game is going to go. Were we a little conservative? Sure, but we played well enough to win the game. We had opportunities to win the game, let me say that, but not that we played well enough, or disciplined enough to win. We definitely had opportunities. A lot of that's a feel thing for an offensive coordinator. When we're rolling, it's easy to call shots and throw the ball down the field. When we're not, and it's a tight game, and we're debating about going for it on fourth-and-one, then let's be smart. Take the points. That was the feel of the game. It's an ebb and flow. It changes every week.
On having to take on New England's defense on Sunday…
Sure, just another stingy defense, another defense where we can't hurt ourselves because they're going to make plays on their own. We don't want to help them. A tough front seven again, [Vince] Wilfork anchoring down that 3-4 defense. Some great players. [Tully] Banta-Cain had an awesome game last week. He just does a great job of disrupting your timing in the passing game and getting after your tackles. It's going to be another challenge for us. You couldn't ask for anything more. This is going to be great.
On if Coach Ryan is the same in public as he is in private with the team…
He's exactly the same. I don't know what else to say. He's exactly the same guy. He was disappointed. He never questioned our effort. He knows everybody wants to win every Sunday, but he was just disappointed in our play last week and he let us know. He just told us, flat out. We needed to hear that. Maybe it's just what we needed. We joke around about it, but there's nothing wrong with going 15-1. It started this week and it started today. Beating the Patriots, today, that's where it started. Our heads are in the right spot and the effort will definitely be there.
On how he would explain the differences between Coach Belichick and Coach Ryan's coaching styles…
They definitely have different styles. Both of them have been successful, so I respect them both. It's just a whole different regime or a whole different camp. They're more private about things and we're just kind of all out there. Two different schools of thought, but nothing wrong with either one. I'm in this one, so I like this one better.
On what he admires about Tom Brady as a quarterback…
As a quarterback, his poise — just a guy that never gets rattled. He's always sharp and he's one of those quarterbacks that younger quarterbacks aspire to be because defenses are scared to give him the ball. When he has the ball the last drive of the game, defenses are terrified. That's good. That's what you want as a quarterback. That's what you want as a team. I respect him so much. I know he's a great quarterback and we have our hands full. Our defense will have to do their very best.
On if he is concerned about the offense…
I wouldn't say I'm concerned. I've said it before, it's way too early to hit the panic button with the guys we have in this room on the offensive side of the ball. Some studs, and we can rely on them. We have some go-to guys and we'll play a lot better this week. I know that. I know it for a fact.
On the importance of this game since it's a division rival…
Rex stressed that, too. Big games are more than just a single game. They kind of put you ahead of the curve there with the conference race and the divisional race. This is a monster one. It's a big one. We couldn't ask for a bigger stage. This is great and this game can't come soon enough.
On if Coach Ryan ever hurts the team with his confident talk…
No, I think we all feel the same way as he does. That confidence that he has, it's true. He's not blowing smoke. He's not talking for his health. That's really how he believes and feels, and we believe the same thing. We're thrilled that he has enough confidence in us to talk like that. It's great.
On if there is a coaching style that he prefers to play under…
This is what I love. There are no secrets. You can tell exactly how he feels, win, lose or draw. Hopefully, he is going to tell us how he feels after a lot more wins, starting this week.
On how much the offense needs to improve over Monday…
This was just disappointing because we went back and looked, there were one or more guys on each of those third-downs that we didn't convert that just missed an assignment, whether the ball wasn't there, it wasn't caught, something went wrong, a protection breakdown or whatever it was, it wasn't right. I know the guys have owned up to it today. They are professionals about it, and I said it already, but this game can't soon enough. Guys are just so eager to get back out on the field, show that we're a better offense than that, not to anyone else, but to ourselves because we know it. Now, we just have to do it. We're ready to get our first home win, so it will be nice.
On if he is concerned about the offense…
I think it'll come game-to-game. I was fine with the game plan last week, I'm fine with the game plan this week. I feel great about both of them. In that game, we played situational football really well. We were smart about things, but when we took our shot, we just had penalties, we had breakdowns that were just so bad you can't expect to win like that. We'll have games where we throw for over 300 yards. I know it. I'm confident in it. We'll have games where we rush for over 250, and that's fine. Whatever it takes, this offense is ready to do it, and we just need to start proving it this week.
On if the offense planned to play conservative…
I don't think it called for that. It wasn't that way in the beginning of the week. It's just the way the game started to play out. It was tight. We didn't want to try and take a shot and mess something up. Why do that, when you can play into a win, hopefully, without any mistakes? You play mistake-free, you can run away with that game, and hats off to Baltimore for playing so smart.
On if the offense will have to score more than nine points to beat New England…
[Laughs] I would agree with that. That's a safe assumption. We just need to play the way we know how and the way we're capable of. We have all the talent in the world, and it's about everyone being accountable, owning up to their mistakes from last week and moving on.
On what Coach Ryan meant by possibly dialing back the offense…
I think part of that is, right after the game, people are upset and want to change stuff right away. That's fine, but at the same time, we know we can handle the volume of our offense. The guys are ready to play. We'll be fine. Whether it's a huge game plan or a small game plan, we just can't have penalties. We can't hurt ourselves. It doesn't matter how many plays, 80 plays or eight plays, we just need to run them right.
On if the offensive players are pressing to try and prove themselves…
I don't know. I think when we're relaxing, having fun and just playing, like a kid's game, when we play it that way, we feel great. Good things happen for us. When we do push and stress about stuff, it makes things harder. I think part of that is we started getting penalties, things started happening, it was like nobody wanted to be the one to mess up. That's fine, but we just have to go play, eliminate any doubt, know that we're a great offense, go out and prove it.
On how long it took to get used to Coach Ryan's candor as a rookie…
I never experienced it before, but you catch on after about a week [laughs]. Once you hear that, "Hey, did you hear Coach say this?" you're like, "Woah, OK. That works for me." I'm all good with it.
On LaDainian Tomlinson's Monday night performance…
He played some inspired football. That's good for us. We need to be able to get him the ball and let him work, like he did. He's capable of having big games still, that's obvious. We get into a little more of a rhythm, that will really complement our passing game and our play action fakes. It will be great for us. We're thrilled to have him and he did a really good job.
On his response to Joe Namath's criticism of the team's play…
There was an article today about it. It was no slight against Joe or anything like that. I just felt like it's a little too early to hit the panic button. Don't read into it too much. It was a bad game, poor execution, too many penalties and we had a couple plays downfield that got called back and didn't work out. We'll throw the ball plenty and we'll run the ball plenty, and we'll be just fine. Don't read too much into it, but that's him being a fan and him being a part of this organization, and wanting us to do well. We understand that. That's awesome. We love his support. We all felt the same way, all just frustrated. That's OK. As competitors, it's OK. Now, we just need to go out and fix it.
On if he beat himself up over his own play Monday…
I just really tried to enforce the 24-hour rule. You get your 24 hours to think about it, win, lose or draw, your best game, your worst game. You throw five touchdowns, man, that's great. After those 24 hours, man, you have to let it go. That's the way everybody feels in here. We've definitely moved on in our preparation. On the field, it's like that game is a lifetime away already. We've taken our lessons from that game and we're going to apply them to this game, play smarter football, hopefully come out with a win.
On if he would have beat himself up more over the game last year…
Maybe, but I just felt like we had chances to win the game. Even in the very last drive, we had chances. When you don't turn the ball over, especially when the quarterback doesn't throw any interceptions, we'll always have a chance to win the game, even if it's on the very last play. I was happy about that. Then, when we do throw the ball more, I need to make the same good decisions, check it down when I need to, then we'll always be in it. I was proud of that, but there were obviously some plays I want back. Twenty-four hours, take your lessons and move on.
On how long he beat himself up over the loss…
We played at 7 [on Monday], so by 7 last night, it was over.
On if the rule is that easy to enforce…
That's it. You come in this morning, it's a new week.
On if it's easier to forget last week with a shortened week until the next game…
Oh, that's exactly it. I wish we were playing tomorrow, so this is perfect.
On correcting their mistakes…
We just talked about, a couple of the plays we ran last week during the practice, guys weren't set. It's just one of those things of holding guys accountable. During the week if it's not right and a flag is thrown by one of the refs we hired out here, you have to take it seriously. It's not like, 'Oh, he's out to get me.' No, it's for real. This stuff happens in the game. We've seen it. Unfortunately, we had to learn it the hard way [Monday] night. We don't want to miss those opportunities anymore. When you get flagged in practice, talk about it and learn from your mistakes.
On what David Clowney brings to the team…
He has great speed. He's done a great job learning the offense and he's becoming a more complete receiver. He looked great in practice today. He can obviously stretch the field with his speed, so we'll really look for him to help now that's he's back.
