Transcripts of three Jets players on a conference call with Jets beat reporters this afternoon:
LB DAVID HARRIS
On the importance of being around the complex in the offseason …
We were in the building, doing workouts, just hanging out with a couple of the guys. They are like my brothers and I am close with all of them. I just like to be around football.
On the Jets' acquisitions on defense …
I think everyone has real good expectations for this season. We made a lot of off-season acquisitions. We've got some good players in Kris Jenkins and Calvin Pace and now we've got Vernon Gholston on the outside. We are just trying to take it one step at a time and move toward the playoffs.
On Coach Mangini's approach to practice …
He takes a serious approach. Everything is like clockwork. Everything is scheduled from water breaks to everything else. He's got total control of everything and knows everything that's going on. He pretty much hangs out with the defense most of the time. He's a very good coach and everybody is glad to play for him.
On when he was ready to get back into it after last season …
For a month after the season ended, everyone had to get away from football, take some time off and spend it with their family. We've been off for about six or seven months now and everybody's just ready to get back in the groove of things.
On DT Kris Jenkins …
Everybody knows what he is capable of. He is three-time Pro Bowler, he's a big guy, he takes up space, he needs to get double-teamed and I think that he is going to help us and I think everybody is going to benefit from it.
On how this camp will be different from his rookie camp last year …
Everything is slowed down. My mind isn't racing a hundred miles an hour to try and figure things out on the field and I am just more comfortable with the guys. Everything has just slowed down for me.
On his thoughts on the team this season …
I think everybody just wants to take it one day at a time, one practice at a time and just try to get better every day and everything will play itself out when the season gets here.
On how Eric Barton has helped with his progress …
Eric has helped me out a lot. When I got thrown in the fire in the season, he was there, giving me tips and giving me a heads-up on what to expect. He's a great, great teammate. He's been in the game for about 10 years now, so football is something that comes very natural to him. He understands the concept so well that he made my job a lot easier coming in as a rookie linebacker trying to take control of the defense. He's just a great guy and I appreciate everything he's done.
On Gholston …
I only had practiced with him one day because he came late because of Ohio State's late graduation, but he's a good guy. He's learning, just like I was, and I see myself in him a lot. He's trying to pick up everything so quickly. He is going to be all right.
WR JERRICHO COTCHERY
On his feelings about Coach Mangini saying he's planning to hold camp practices to two hours ...
Oh, no doubt. Yeah, anytime you can do something to help the players save their legs, we definitely welcome that.
On how he would characterize training camp workouts the previous two summers ...
It was mostly just the length of them. I mean, we were out there for a long time, you know, but anytime you need to get a lot of work in, then you have to go about getting that work in in the proper fashion.
So I guess Coach is switching it up a little bit and he just thinks we can get more work in in the classroom. Either way you approach it, I think it's helpful. As a professional player you have to think about saving your own legs but this time he's doing it for us.
On if players came out of camp tired the past couple of summers ...
I wouldn't way that. No, I wouldn't say that at all. I think we've been in great shape throughout our off-season here since the time I've been here. So I wouldn't say we've been tired at all in any aspect.
On if shortening practices was something Coach Mangini talked to the players about ...
There were some questions here and there, but Coach makes his own decisions. He's a guy who's big on research and so I think he's just been furthering his plan and seeing how his plan has been working, and I think he is just tweaking some things. He evaluates us a lot, so I think he did a lot of self-evaluation. And I think he just tweaks some things within the program and it's just a fresh start. I don't think it's something that's drastic here. I just think it's something he's tweaking and it's just refreshing.
On if he's expecting an easy camp …
Not at all. It doesn't matter how much he tweaks training camp. It's going to be tough because there are consecutive days and it's just a lot of work physically and mentally each and every day. It's going to be tiring and some days you're going to have to fight through, but I think it is going to be refreshing knowing the coaches are doing a lot just to try to make sure that your legs are in the shape they need to be in.
On his feelings about not knowing who the offense's starting QB is yet ...
It's not a big distraction at all. It's not any drama coming from my standpoint. I know that coming in after this entire off-season, I have to focus on being the best receiver I can be. Whoever wins the job, I have to make sure my level of play is where it needs to be for whoever wins the job. So that's the approach I've been taking.
On if he'd like to see Brett Favre in a Jets uniform …
We have guys here, so I wouldn't even do that. My teammates feel very confident in the guys we have here, so I'll be definitely happy for whoever wins the job here, but any other player outside of here, I can't even worry about that.
On if not knowing who the QB is can lead to division on the team ...
No, I don't think that's the case at all. I mean, the quarterback position is one of the positions that's been highlighted, but throughout the team I don't think there will be any division whatsoever for who wins the job. There's a lot of position battles throughout the team each and every year, you know, so whoever wins the job, the teammates are happy for them and ready to move on through the season.
On other issues on this team besides QB ...
I think just as a team we're not really worried about the QB situation. As a team we just need to focus on being the best team that we can be throughout this preseason and training camp. A lot of work needs to get done each and every day, because it's going to end up coming down to the way we worked through our training camp, and once training camp is over the it's on from there. So we're just trying to focus on being the best team that we can be right now.
On thoughts about how Chansi Stuckey and Dustin Keller have looked ...
Well, I haven't had a lot of time to dissect their game at all because I have been trying to focus on myself. But what has been standing out is that those guys have been making plays and whenever a guy makes plays it stands out in practice. And they have been doing that on a regular basis so hopefully they continue to do that and continue to get better so they can help this team.
On thoughts about the Jets' WR corps ...
I am very confident in the group that we have. We have a bunch of hard-working guys and we have a some guys that can get out there and get the job done, you know? And this is an important time right now. We've been working extremely hard this off-season and this is the time right now in training camp where we have to put the finishing touches on everything.
We have a bunch of guys that can get out there and make plays and we have a variety of guys that can do different things, that bring a lot to the table, so I'm excited about this group we have and I'm excited about the team in general.
On if Chris Baker's contract situation could be a distraction …
Well, I don't think it'll be a distraction. I know he's on the team but when it is a business situation like that a lot of guys just stay away from it. Hopefully that situation will resolve itself, but we just go about our business each and every day and just try to get better as a team.
CB DARRELLE REVIS
On how things feel different this year from last year …
Last year I held out a little bit. They had to do business with the contract. I held out, I came in late into camp. This year it's totally different and actually this will be my first training camp as an NFL player. It's great to be here. I don't have to worry about holding out or stressing on how my contract is going to be. Now it's all about business. It's about getting in and getting a lot of reps and playing football.
On what Vernon Gholston's emotions might be as he tries to get his contract signed and get into camp ...
Basically one of the things I did was work out so I could be prepared. When it was time to come in here I was ready. And another thing: The coaches were calling me, keeping me up to date on how the team was doing and what I needed to focus on and what I needed to study on. I am sure they are doing the same thing with Vernon.
On how much he was behind when he got to camp …
The only thing I was behind in was in reps, playing against and competing for a starting job, which I didn't get to do. Other than that, the study side of it, early on the coaches were keeping me up on how the team was doing and what I needed to study on. I would say more so playing time on the field, getting reps.
On who is going to start opposite him at the other corner …
That is a tough one. I don't know. I don't even know if I am going to start. Right now we are in training camp and this is where guys compete for jobs. We are going to see who wins the job and who are going to be the toughest players out there.
On how eager the team is coming off of last season …
After the season was over last year, after that last game against the Chiefs, we put it behind us. We started off in the off-season strong and it has been going good ever since. Guys are feeding into the program and it's great. We hang out now and we do everything together. We have each other's back and right now, coming into camp starting tomorrow, it's going to be exciting for us. It's a new season, a new year and we are focused on 2008.
On how excited he is about all the new additions on both sides of the ball …
It's very exciting. I mean you have Alan [Faneca], Damien [Woody], on defense you have Kris [Jenkins], Calvin [Pace] and we have a lot of other guys, we have Darnell [Bing]. We did great this off-season in the free agent area. Just being out there with them in minicamp and seeing how things are going is great. Right now it's just focus on this training camp as a whole as a team so we can go into the preseason games, play well and carry it over into the season.
On if there is pressure to win after all the money being spent in the off-season …
Every team wants to win. There's the business side of it and there's the winning side. Coach Mangini and Mr. Tannenbaum are going to handle and take care of the business side. Coach Mangini has to do coaching, too, for the winning side.
Right now we want to win. We went from two years ago, 10-6, which I wasn't on that team, and then this last year to 4-12. It was a big turndown and we have another year to prove ourselves again as New York Jets and we want to be a winning team.
On if he and Kerry Rhodes will continue to watch video together and invite other guys to those sessions …
We are going to continue to do that. We are also going to add more DBs. Last year there were only a couple of us. This year hopefully we can get the whole secondary at somebody's house on weeknights to study more so we can get more of a feel for each other. When Kerry and I and a couple other guys were doing it, we got a feel for each other and we can do certain things on the field that make plays successful.
On if it would help him to have one player take over the other cornerback position ...
Whoever starts on the left the side or the right, which I don't know if that's me or not, I know the coaches are going to do a great job and put the best players out there to compete and to win games. If it ends up to be me on the left or right and whoever is opposite of me, I am sure the coaching staff has confidence in them and I know everybody is going to be on the same page back there because there are four DBs, we have to communicate with a lot of hand signals.
The one thing that I meant when I said get a feel for each other is just being closer so we can think the same, have the same mind on the field on the same play so we can execute the job the best way we can.
