Transcript of head coach Rex Ryan’s news conference Monday evening at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center:
Obviously, we want to get that game behind us, but we have to learn from it. What we said yesterday basically holds true. You look at the tape, that old saying, “It’s never as bad as you think it is, it’s never as good as you think it is,” that holds true in this game. We did a lot of good things on defense, I mean there were five three-and-outs, things like that.
But the thing that really hurt us was we never set the edge. We talked about that, and when you play against an explosive player like [Darren] McFadden, that’s the number one thing you have to do. And so I think that was the biggest disappointment. Obviously he ripped us for that 70-yard touchdown run. He had a broken play where he goes for 30. They run a reverse, we have three guys there and don’t get him on the ground.
So overall it was not up to our standards by any stretch, and quite honestly there’s only one other time I can remember a game like that happening to me, and I’ve coached, what, 15 years in the NFL? So it doesn’t sit too well with me or anybody in this organization and the good news is we get to play Sunday. The bad news is that we have to play against a team that is rolling right now. You have Baltimore and then New England right after that. Probably two of the toughest teams that you could face. So we’re going to find out about ourselves big-time these next couple weeks.
But here’s where we are. We’re going to put it behind us. As I said before, I said, it’s a bend in the road, not the end of the road. But it’s going to challenge us as coaches, challenge us as players and I believe this team will be up to that challenge.
On what other game Sunday reminded him of…
I was coaching in a game, we opened the season against Washington when I was in Arizona, and they ran a reverse I think for an 80-yard touchdown. I almost think a receiver had 100 yards rushing against us. That was about as bad as it gets. And then I think before that you have to go back to a Morehead State game maybe. But I’m not used to getting crushed like that. We played a terrible game against the Giants once, they ripped an 80-yard touchdown run, but the thing I was proud of in that game, we had a kid named Fabian Washington, track down [Ahmad] Bradshaw, made the tackle on the 1-yard line, they had to kick a field goal. So that was good.
On if he is concerned about his defense…
No. Like I say, it’s a long season. We’re certainly not starting off with a bang, but I have confidence that we’ll get it fixed.
On how he approaches the team after a loss like that…
I think immediately after the game it’s more just raw emotions, so you’re not in a teaching mode then, at least I’m not. The next day, you are back to “Let’s correct this.” So you’re back to being a teacher. These are professionals, there’s no sense yelling at them again. You already had at them once. Again, it wasn’t just about them. It was about me, it was about all of us. But I think that’s more like it. And then as the week goes on, it’s almost like, “Let’s get this thing going. How are we going to fix it?”
On Hue Jackson wanting to “bully the bully” and if the Jets don’t have an “edge” this year…
I don’t think so. They got around the perimeter a bunch on us. Tried a throwback pass, we covered it and the guy outran us for 30 yards. Ran a reverse. I hardly think that’s really bullying us. And you know what? Maybe we’ll get a chance to play them again. I hope so.
On if it concerns him at all that Sanchez has had to undergo some physical test each week of the season…
I think it’s probably minor to everybody else [Sanchez's broken nose], probably more than that to him. If we had our nose broken, we would probably think it was more than minor, but that happens. He got hit in the nose. The thing that I loved about Mark is how competitive he was. Here, the game is on the line, he’s trying to dive for it, albeit he never got in, but he’s a super competitor. He’s tough. I don’t think there is any doubt about that, but you would love to keep him from taking all those hits. Now, some of it is his own fault, like if you get outside the pocket, just get rid of it. Quarterback is not our problem right now.
On how serious Antonio Cromartie
’s injury is…
I think he’s more day-to-day right now. We’ll see how he progresses. Hopefully, he’ll be out there Wednesday. I think he said it was like a bruised rib and a bruised lung, so I’m sure it’s painful right now and hard for him to take a deep breath. Some of these young guys, they recover quick. Where it would take probably an average guy a couple of weeks, I think these guys bounce back generally.
On if they will make a move to replace Jeff Cumberland…
We’ll see what’s out there, but yes, unfortunately Jeff has been lost for the year. He tore his Achilles. That’s, I guess, our third Achilles injury since I’ve been there. The only other one I could ever remember is Matt Snell, but it seems like you’re seeing more Achilles injuries now for whatever reason. That’s unfortunate. We’ll see who is out there for us.
On if he looks back fondly on his experience in Baltimore…
Oh, yes, definitely. I love the people in Baltimore. They treated me great. They treated my family great, but quite honestly right now, I’m not concerned with them at all. I’m just worried about our football team.
On the chances of Nick Mangold playing this week…
We’ll see. He’s probably day-to-day, as well. I don’t think he’ll practice Wednesday, but he seems to be progressing, so hopefully, we’ll have him back.
On if he is concerned that the offense is getting away from the running game…
I think, as long as you’re able to move the ball effectively, we don’t have to run it or you don’t have to throw it. You’d like to be in a situation where, I looked at Baltimore yesterday, they were throwing it all over the place. I think they had 403 yards at halftime, that’s at halftime, by the way. I’m sure, like this week, are you going to run it against Haloti Ngata, over and over, and against Ray Lewis. We’ll probably have to throw it more than we want.
On what he thinks has contributed to a slow start from Shonn Greene…
I think Shonn played well yesterday. He was running hard. I think the formations and the fact that we were down contributed to that a great deal.
On why they replaced Cromartie with Donald Strickland and not Kyle Wilson…
First off, Kyle, he had some cramps and things, so he was actually out of the game for a little bit. He came back, but at one time, we were like, OK, looking around. It was one of those deals. We’ll see. Strick is an excellent player. That’s why we brought him back. He knows our system. He’s tough, he’s competitive and we can do a lot worse than Donald Strickland.
On Joe Namath questioning the team’s preparation…
I welcome him to come out here and watch our guys prepare. He’d see a team that, in my opinion, prepares as well as any team I’ve been around. I disagree with him.
On if you can make players overconfident…
The great thing is I’m confident with our football team. There’s no question about it. I’ve told you this many times, I’ve never gone into a game I didn’t think I’d win. I haven’t won them all, but I certainly think we can and will. I’m not going to change who I am because Joe Namath said something. Namath can come in here, and if he can still throw, we’ll have him as a backup quarterback, but you know what? He doesn’t know our team. He’s on the outside. Even though he’s a Jet, and once you’re a Jet, you’re always a Jet, but he’s on the outside. He’s not in these meetings. I think if he was, he’d be shocked with the preparation.
On the debate between going for the touchdown or field goal on the last drive…
At first, we started the drive, we were going to kick the field goal. If we were stalled at any point, we were going to kick the field goal. Any time you get inside the 10-yard line, I think you’ve got to score the touchdown. When it got down to the two, then in my opinion you’ve got to score. If you can’t score from inside the two, you don’t deserve to win it anyway.
On if he would have kicked a field goal from the nine-yard line…
If we would’ve stalled right at the nine, I probably would’ve kicked it. That’s when you start thinking touchdown, but when it got down to the two, I thought it was a no-brainer that you go for the touchdown.
On when Mark Sanchez broke his nose…
I think when he got his nose broken, it was on that sack. [Kamerion] Wimbley was the guy.
On the Raiders playing a different style and if the offense adjusted slowly…
I think that was due to the injuries they had. So they ended up trading out and playing a lot more Cover-2. We did have almost 500 yards on offense. I think we probably made the adjustments pretty quick.
On how the injury to Jeff Cumberland affects the three-tight end set the Jets have been using…
We’ll see what’s out there. I know there was a couple of guys we really liked, but they’re injured. We’ll bring the guys in that we think can help us. As far as having those three tight ends, sometimes it looks good against certain teams. In the past, we’ve used tackles in there as tight ends. With the three receivers we have, you’re taking a good player off the field. We’ll see if that still is a big part of what we do or not.
On if it is more difficult to play defense these days because of the rule changes…
I think some of it, we didn’t do ourselves any favors by having five defensive penalties in that game. It gives you five more possessions basically. That’s going to kill you. But it’s much harder to play defense. I think sometimes, the defensive guy has a right to the football, and it’s hard to sometimes judge, is it pass interference? Is a guy making a play on the ball? I think some of these receivers are so good at knowing how to draw penalties or whatever, but it’s certainly much harder to play defense now than it was, say, ten years ago.
On if he is going to ask the NFL about any of the officiating…
I’m not sure on that one. Our guy gets a broken nose and I don’t think there was a flag. But I think he must have gotten hit in the chest and broke his nose [joking]. And then ours, I don’t know. Strange. But guys are human, guys are going to try to protect the quarterbacks and all that. But I personally never thought it was roughing the quarterback. But we’ll see. We submit plays each week and we usually get a better clarification of them later during the week.
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