Transcript of owner Woody Johnson's news conference following Friday's midday practice at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center:
On his thoughts about playing on 9/11…
It's just a big game for us. It's a great honor to have been selected by the NFL to play this game. It brings back a lot of memories. We had our kickoff luncheon in New York City last Wednesday before we played the Eagles. Some of us had a chance to visit part of the site. You can't get close to the site. It was pretty close to the site, but you could feel it through the people that were working there. The site just gives off a feeling of what happened. A lot of our guys were [young] when it happened. But for those of us who were there, it will be a poignant moment.
On what he remembers from 9/11…
Just how the country became focused instantaneously on one thing, and that was what happened at that site, on that day, at that moment. Everybody of course remembers where they were. I remember just the fact that New York, and the country, became paralyzed momentarily. The whole country. The bridges were stopped. My brother was over in New Jersey. He couldn't get back. He was on his bike. He persuaded a fisherman and gave him a couple bucks to take him across the Hudson to get him back, and then he rode up. My wife, who wasn't my wife at that point, but she was late to work. She was working for Sandler O'Neal. They lost I think 40 or 50 percent of their workers at Sandler O'Neal, typical of a lot of companies, and she just happened to be late because she was out with clients the night before and didn't go in. And she talked to her boss as she was coming in late and he said, "Get the hell out of here." And then the phone went dead.
Memories of the appearance of 9/11, we saw the buildings go down. Before they went down you saw the little post-its come down and people jumping. And the cops. It's tough. I was at the memorial dinner on Wednesday and there was one tree that made it. And that tree is going to be in the memorial, it'll be on the memorial site. I served for the last 10 years on the memorial board, so I've watched this thing. I've had a chance to meet a lot of the families and talk to them about their kids or their wives or husbands that were lost.
And then going through the process of building it, and it seemed forever to get it done, but that's what it takes. We had a lot of different constituencies that wanted and should have had been a part of the discussion and they were a part of the discussion because we took the time. The process lent itself to creating something that will, I think when you see it, there's no way to describe it. When you see it, you're going to feel it immediately.
On if his wife's office was in one of the towers that got hit…
Her office was in the tower.
On which building his wife's firm was in…
I don't really recall which one it was.
On if his wife's boss was lost…
He was lost. Some of them made it out, because I guess they saw the side of the building. They could see the other building. I guess it was Building 2, it was the second building to get hit. They saw it, and so those guys went down and they just made it apparently.
On him relating a pretty harrowing story about 9/11…
Everybody has a story. There are thousands of stories from that day.
On playing football Sunday…
We will be playing football on Sunday. I think it's a great honor in light of that and in light of this 10th anniversary.
On if he spoke to the NFL about being selected to host a game on 9/11…
Did I speak to them? No, I didn't ask specifically for this. But the previous year I was asking for things, if you remember [joking].
On the security measures for the game, since it occurs on 9/11…
I can tell you that we, for every game, do everything that we know to protect our fans and to protect the stadium. We are extremely rigorous, our security people are in [contact with] all the security forces in the world as far as I know. Anything that comes up, we know about. So we're very well plugged in with New Jersey, New York and other areas. Our job is to create a safe environment and we fully intend to do that.
On if the terror threat caused the team to increase security…
As far as I know, no. Our security is already at a pretty high level. We'll wait to see any recommendations any of these security forces make and we'll, of course, go by that. We're prepared.
On if there will be any kind of national security presence at the game…
I can't go in to specific details, but yes. I think you've been around me long enough to know that we're pretty thorough.
On if players should be allowed to wear special equipment commemorating 9/11 without getting fined…
I'm not aware of this controversy, but shoes don't seem like a big thing to me.
On Coach Ryan saying that he hopes no Cowboys fans are in the stadium…
Yes, I heard that. You know Rex, Rex didn't mean it that way. Rex is enthusiastic. He's very confident in his team. He has a high degree of affection for his team and I think it was coming from that light rather than the other. We have to provide safety. I don't care what jersey you're wearing, you're going to be safe at our stadium. That's just the fact of the matter. We have a responsibility to protect you and make sure you have a good time, as well, so he didn't mean it that way.
On how ready his team is to begin the season…
It's our team. This is the fans' team.
On how ready he thinks the team is to begin the season…
They look good, they really do. It's a Friday practice, so it's when you see it all come together, so they looked ready. They're ready. They can't wait to play a real game. It's Sunday night at 8:20.
On where he was on Sept. 11…
I was working out.
On if he was in New York City…
I was in the city. I was working out. I saw it [on television]. I saw a little thing hit the building and, like a lot of other people, I thought it was just like a little Cessna or something. I didn't know what happened.
On if he saw it on television…
I saw it. All the women, they were all on the machines and they were looking at this thing and I was somewhere else. I remember hearing this collective gasp that got everybody's attention. We all walked over to see what was going on. It wasn't until a few minutes later that people started to realize the potential enormity of this. At first it didn't seem like it was that much of a [problem].
On if the people in the room saw it on the television…
They saw it on the TV. It came on and then by the time I made it back to Fifth Avenue, it was totally bizarre because people were walking the wrong way on Fifth Avenue. Fifth Avenue had been closed. The bridges had already been closed. It's amazing how fast you can shut this place down, the whole country down. Then, it was everybody being glued to their TVs trying to figure out what is going on here.
On what he thinks this team has that can put it into the Super Bowl…
Number one, it has another year with Rex and our great coaching staff, with the coaching staff, essentially, intact. All of the veterans are back, almost, so you have the same team with more experience and more desire really, because they know how close they've been.
On if it's the Super Bowl or bust for this team…
I don't know about bust. We're always going to set our goals the highest possible way. That's the only way to lead. You don't lead your troops in to come in 47th.
On if he would consider the season a failure if he does not get to the Super Bowl…
I never consider it a failure because we always get 100 percent. We give it everything we have to give, so that's all I can ask of our guys to do.
On if he ever thought the season would start on time during the work stoppage…
To be quite honest, I wasn't sure. I don't think anybody had a total fix on it because what you do with each agreement is you never know until both parties sign on it. There is no way to know that. We could hear sides and this and that, but really until you sign the thing, you don't know. I'm happy it worked out, particularly for the fans.
On if he thinks his hiring of Rex Ryan has sparked others to hire head coaches who are not from the typical head-coaching mold…
Absolutely, I think we've led in a lot of different ways with the things we've done. You can never judge a book by its cover. Although with Rex, I judged it by its cover because when I saw the guy and talked to him for two minutes, he was 45 minutes late to the interview, and even with that, in two seconds you got past that and just could realize that this was a natural leader. He has an affection for the players and he has the Xs and Os, for sure. Beyond that he was always a top defense for the last three years. He had that. I thought he could connect with the players.
On if he thinks the NFL will see more coaches that act like Ryan…
I think Rex is who Rex is, so I think if anybody is going to try to be Rex, that's not going to work. I think if you are authentic, it's going to work. If you're not authentic, the players are going to see right through you, right?
On what he expects from QB Mark Sanchez…
Mark is a very talented young guy and once again it's his third year. He's very talented and I think if his confidence level and all that keep going, I think it's an upward projection for him. He's going to continue to do very, very well. I could just see him today. He looks good.
On what specifically he saw…
Just his reads and how quickly he's doing it, and all that.
On if he is happy that he drafted Sanchez…
Absolutely.
