2009 Draft Jets First Round Pick - Mark Sanchez
Transcripts of selected interviews with Jets players during locker room media availability Thursday afternoon:
QB KELLEN CLEMENS
On how practice went today…
Today was tough offensively. We started out slow in the 7-on-7 red zone period. The one thing I really like is when we got in the team red zone period and two-minute, we responded well. In a game you are going to be met with some adversity, so I like how we responded. But we will have to clean up the first part of practice.
On speaking to Mark Sanchez during practice…
Sometimes he has questions and I am trying to be as helpful as I can, since I've been in the system a little bit. Also, it is a collective effort and if things are not going well, it is up to us as the offense, skill positions, and to be a little more specific, it is up to us as quarterbacks, all four of us, to go out there and make a play. I am not sure the specific conversation you are talking about, but it was probably something like "Hey, let's go out there and make a play."
On how tough it is to be thrown into the fire as a rookie and pick up the offense…
It's not easy. It's a pretty complex system. He's doing a very good job. He's a very smart kid. He's picking it up really quickly.
On Jerricho Cotchery…
Jerricho is a veteran player who's very smart. He has great football intelligence, which means a lot more to people on the inside. He is a quality, consistent player. You never have to worry about him making a mistake. He is always helping the young guys out, he is communicating out on the field. As I mentioned earlier, it's a very complex offense. We do a lot of different things with a lot of different people. Jerricho is a major factor why things run so smoothly out on the field.
On how the week of OTAs has been…
It's been a good week. We made a lot of progress in a lot of areas. We'll continue to install and expand the playbook. It has been a good spring. I think we are half way done with practices now, so we're looking forward to finishing the second half up on a good note.
On if he has solved the Jets' complex defense yet…
It's funny. I solved a little bit of what they put in and then they just put more in. You're always a step behind the eight-ball. It's really good for us to go against a defense like this because you won't see many fronts, schemes or philosophies on Sundays that we haven't gone against during the week. It will make us better on Sundays.
On if they have made fun of Sanchez…
He definitely did not get a free pass. We let him have it a little bit. I mentioned he is doing a great job with the playbook, but he has come in as the highest draft pick on a team and you're going to get a little bit of razzing and he has done a very good job of handling it, and even giving it back a little.
WR JERRICHO COTCHERY
On his initial thoughts of Mark Sanchez…
I think he's doing a good job because obviously, he fits the bill of really being able to throw the ball. There are a lot of things going on right now. We threw the whole playbook at him and we threw the whole defense at him. It's moving a little fast for him right now, but he's doing a good job of soaking it all in.
On what he's doing, as the most veteran WR, to make Sanchez feel more comfortable...
The most important thing as a receiver is you have to make plays for him. You have a young guy coming in and you want to make plays so it boosts his confidence, makes him feel comfortable when he's throwing the ball, when he drops back. The communication part of it, especially when you're facing a defense like ours, you got guys flying all over the place and just hold up on your end of the bargain in terms of communication, let him know which guys are coming. Anything you can do to make his job a little easier.
On the players' reaction to Sanchez's GQ photos…
He got roasted this week. He's figuring out what it's like to be in this locker room. Guys are bringing in pictures from everywhere and posting them up all over this training facility, so they're giving him a pretty hard time.
