Transcript of quarterback Mark Sanchez's news conference at his locker following Wednesday's midday practice at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center:
On going to Oakland…
It's a good trip for us, this West Coast trip, first road game of the season. We're going to need our best effort because they are a good, tough team, better than they looked a couple of years ago. This is their home opener, so they'll be charged up and ready to go. It'll be a good matchup for us.
On if it will be a high-scoring game…
I don't know. Hopefully we're scoring a lot of points. Hopefully our defense does, well, like they always do, so we'll see.
On how his forearm feels…
Good. Feels great.
On how his elbow feels…
Even better than the forearm. They feel good. Our training staff, they're the best. They got me ready to roll. I took every rep in practice, so I feel good.
On preparing for the game knowing Nick Mangold may not play…
We've got Colin Baxter rolling with the ones. He did a great job. He's getting more and more comfortable. It wasn't an easy position for him to come in last week. It's one thing for somebody to go down in the fourth quarter, and take a couple of snaps, one or two drives. He came in for 50-plus snaps. For his first go, he did a pretty good job. We'll get the snap count down, and little things like that. The nerves are gone. He's ready to play. He's doing a great job. He's playing confident. That's the thing. We're just building him up all week. He's shown great strides already since Sunday.
On if he has spent extra time with Baxter this week…
Yeah, after practice, talking over some stuff, going over some calls. In my head I'm thinking, "What would Nick want me to do?" It's good for me to brush up on some of those protection issues and be ready to roll.
On if he wants to get his wideouts more involved this week…
Whatever the game dictates, that's how I feel. If it's 50 passing yards or 500 passing yards, it doesn't matter to me. I'm sure the wideouts want their touches. That's fine. They should. They're competitive. If we rush for a million yards or throw for them, it doesn't matter as long as we get the win and take care of the football.
On the Raiders defense…
They're doing a great job covering down the field. They're physical. They get after you at the line and they don't let you get the release a lot of the time. That front seven's a great group, between [Richard] Seymour and [Tommy] Kelly, I think their Mike does a great job, [Rolando] McClain from Alabama. It's a strong group, and then [Michael] Huff's back there playing center field and chasing the football down the field, so you've got to be smart when you throw it up the field. It's an active group, a tough group, a typical Raiders in-your-face, physical bunch. It's going to be a good fight for us. We need to play really well.
On if he gets excited to play a defense that plays a lot of man coverage…
For sure. They've shown they change it up from time to time. It's about winning our one-on-one matchups and getting rid of the football quickly because they're pass rush is great. It'll be a good test for our wideouts and for our precision in the passing game hopefully.
On how Mangold's absence will affect the running game…
Nick does a good job of pointing things out and communicating. It just puts more pressure on the rest of us. That's good for us. That's a good challenge. We're spoiled having Nick Mangold in there. He's the best in football. Hands down. He's awesome. It's a good test for me, brushing up on some MIKE points and understanding exactly how some of these plays are blocked, and putting us in the best play possible. Those guys are doing a great job helping Colin and Colin's doing really well for himself.
On the mentality of going into three straight road games…
I'm happy we got those two wins at home. That was big for us, to take that momentum into these next three weeks. Focusing on this first west coast trip. Rex's thing, since we both have been here has been, "Stay on east coast time." It eliminates distractions out there, because bed check's at 8:00 pacific time. We need to say hi to your family or whoever's back home and get back in the hotel and get ready to play. He's honest about getting our fluids during the week, the right kind of fluids [joking], making sure we're ready to play and taking care of our bodies. Guys understand that. Get your sleep and get down when you can, study, and be ready to play.
On how Plaxico Burress can have an impact on the game even if he doesn't catch a pass…
For sure. He just demanded a lot of split safety coverage and our wideouts knew that. Dustin [Keller] was able to get free in there a couple of times and make some great catches in some zones and sit down and find the football. Our wideouts demand a lot of respect in the passing game, so it could be a good day for Dustin when that happens.
On if he prefers playing against a team that plays man coverage underneath…
It doesn't seem to change too much. It changes our game plan but it's just a good test for us, since we haven't seen a ton of it. I'm curious to see how our guys do. I think they'll do well. I know they're competitive. They want the football. They'll do their best to get open. We need to win our one-on-one matchups when it's man-to-man. I really have no preference. Whatever they dictate, you react from that and try to get completions.
On if it is a simpler defense to read…
Yeah, at times. If they're not dropping all over the place, sometimes it's easier. They run it pretty well, so it's not that easy. It's no cakewalk is what I'm saying.
On how much he relies on Mangold and how much more responsibility he would have with the starting center out…
It's not much more. I think you just get spoiled having Nick so much, especially my first year, a little bit last year, and not quite as much this year, we're talking more at the line to each other, instead of just listening to see what Nick would say my rookie year. The funny thing is, I made the joke to Nick, there was a play in the Raiders game two years ago where Shonn Greene scores a touchdown. I went up to the line and I had no idea which way we wanted to run the ball and I just lost it. I didn't know what to do. So I just asked Nick during the cadence and I said, "What do you like, Nicky?" He kind of put his hand up one way and we ran the ball that way and scored a touchdown from like the 12, and Coach Callahan says, "Nice check." Thanks. I just took the compliment [joking].
That's how good Nick is. He sees the clock. I don't know if a lot of centers do that, but he can see the playclock, too, so he knows when I'm asking for the ball quickly. It's good. It's a good challenge for me. It's a good challenge for Colin. He's excited. He was in there watching film yesterday with Nick. He's asking me questions and wants to know what I'm thinking. He's got the right attitude, that's for sure.
On if his elbow is bruised…
No, I just banged it a little bit on the helmet. You get your throwing motion and momentum going at a helmet, and then you hit something. It makes it hurt a little more and it freaks everybody out because it's your throwing shoulder and stuff, but honestly, it feels great.
On if he is worried about taking so many hits…
I'm just trying to stand in there and get rid of the ball when I can and eliminate a lot of hits, especially along the sidelines trying to string out plays. As competitive as I am, I want to get the best of a play and make sure we use its full potential, even when things break down. Some of the time you just have to say uncle and avoid a hit. There's a handful of situations already, in two games, some hits that I don't need to take. I'm taking them because I'm just stringing out the play. I'm not worried about it, but we'll clean things up and I have to get rid of the ball.
On if he expects the running game to improve…
I think there are some holes there. It's different, we've done kind of a different running attack I guess, with single back stuff. But I think our guys are doing really well with it. They're communicating well, it's just, we have to execute a little better, just a little bit better. Some of these runs, especially in that Dallas game, they're a shoestring away, one gap away, one step, one footwork set, whatever it is, they're right there. Some of these can break and we can really hit our averages that we want to hit. We'll break a run here soon.
On where he and Plaxico Burress are and if Burress was expecting to be more involved by now…
He had that touchdown the first game. That was a big play for us. He could have some opportunities if we see a lot of man to man this week. We want to use our best matchups when possible, but it could be a good day for the backs and tight ends and stuff, and he understands that. He knows we're Week 2 of a marathon. He's in it for the long haul, he has a really good feel for this and the longevity of the season, so he's not fazed about it at all.
On Raiders fans offering him hot dogs after the sideline incident two years ago…
Two weeks in a row, one was the press conference reminder and this one is the "no eating on the sidelines" reminder, so I'll keep the food off the field.
On what he learned from that incident two years ago…
It's just a good reminder of what playing quarterback in this league is like. I actually met the cameraman, he ended up saying sorry. He's like, "Man, I feel bad. That thing turned into a big deal for you huh?" I was like, 'You have no idea.' But you laugh about it now, and I knew we would at some point. But it wasn't very respectful to the game and other guys playing and that's not the way I wanted it to be, and that's not the kind of player I am. So it's a mistake you learn from.
On the comparison of the NFL to USC…
There's definitely a spotlight on the quarterback position there at USC given the recent history of pretty good quarterbacks to play there. But it's nothing like here, nothing like New York. A good steppingstone and a good prep, but I don't think anything can prepare you for this market and this environment, but I'm adjusting, I think, fairly well. And I love these guys, I love our team, that's for sure. So they're helping me out quite a bit.
