Interviews (Pennington, Jones, JMac) From Minicamp

The NY Jets releases the transcripts of interviews after this mornings minicamp practice. 

QB CHAD PENNINGTON
On the hiring of quarterbacks coach Brian Daboll …
It gives Brian [Schottenheimer] a little relief to where he can really concentrate on concepts and the whole perspective. [Brian] Daboll can hone in on us as individuals. Having a second pair of eyes doesn’t hurt matters. It really helps matters by making sure we stay detailed and focused on the details of what we are doing. If one coach misses something, we have a second coach to back him up. 

On his second year in the offense …
I’m really getting a lot out of being able to execute some of the finer details, the finer throws, the ball placement and the accuracy and making those throws actually happen. Last year I was just trying to make sure I could get on the field, call the plays and make as many throws as possible. This year I have all of the confidence in the world to make all of the throws and all of the different types of ball-placement throws that we need to make, and I can work on those. Last year, physically, it was just a slow process. Now I feel like I’m progressing physically and it’s time to put the physical and mental together.

On having to learn a new offense last season while overcoming injury …
It certainly makes it frustrating. Sometimes in the last few years, I knew where the ball needed to go but I wasn’t sure if it was going to go there. Sometimes it would and sometimes it wouldn’t. That’s just the kinks you have to work out after you’ve been through an injury, trying to get your body back in shape. There is so much that goes on inside of your body with muscle memory and your nerves and all of the different things you don’t see on the outside, but you feel them on the inside and you just feel that something is not right. Throughout all of last year and into this off-season, I feel like each day I have been able to come out here and make more progress and try to become more accurate. I understand the type of throws that need to be made in tight spots and am able to anticipate those throws.

RB THOMAS JONES
On the Jets offense …
It’s different than Chicago. In Chicago we ran the ball so well that we had a certain amount of plays that we ran on. My motto is “It starts with the team� because we know what we want to do. Here we have so many good players on offense, so many good receivers and very good running backs. There are a lot of weapons on offense, so they have a lot of different ways to get guys the ball.

On what impresses him the most about Chad Pennington …
The fact that he is a smart guy who comes to work every day. As a leader, he shows he has a presence in the huddle. I’ve known him for a long time. I’ve watched his career because we came out in the same year of the draft. I’m just fortunate to be able to play with him.

On critics saying that he is a one-dimensional back …
I don’t really pay attention to what is said on the radio or how people look at my skills. I do what the coaches ask me to do.  If they throw me the ball, I feel pretty good about catching it. 

On his approach to off-season workouts …
I try my best to rest as much as I can in the beginning of the off-season. Once I get into the middle of it, I try to go really, really hard. I don’t really stop once our break is over. I continue to work hard up until camp. That mentally prepares me for training camp and two-a-days and how hard it is.

On his workout schedule …
Usually, I work out Monday through Thursday and then I have a personal trainer for Friday. I work out Friday and Saturday, so Sunday is the day I take off. My workouts are broken up where I can get enough rest during the week. I enjoy working out. Even if I didn’t play football, I would be one of those guys working out at the gym.

On having a play sheet on his wristband …
It’s kind of a cheat sheet, but it’s one of those things where you have so many plays and so many different things that it is good to have something like this to remind you of things so that you get used to the plays.

On whether he will have the plays on his wrist during the season …
I’m not sure. I haven’t played here yet, so I wouldn’t know. 

On whether he has talked with Tiki Barber about playing in New York …
I talked to him about it last year. New York is a great place to play football. It’s one of those things that if you do really well, you can have a lot of fun and be real successful. I’m fortunate to be here in New York. I’m from Virginia, so I’m much closer to home. All my family can come see me more now. I’m just happy to be here.

WR JUSTIN McCAREINS
On having Thomas Jones in the backfield …
It’s going to be something that defenses are going to have to key on. As a receiver who is involved in the passing game, you can only appreciate that. That’s just a big worry that they are going to have deal with and it will take the focus off of us running pass routes. 

On the upcoming season …
I’m very excited. This time of year, you’re playing against the same guys over and over again and then you get to training camp and the pads come on. All the weightlifting and running is done, all in preparation for the NFL season, which there is nothing like. I enjoy playing in games 100 times more than I do practicing. There is nothing like it. I’m really looking forward to it.

On overcoming off-season trade rumors …
I’m here and it seems like I’m getting some good reps. I’m a part of the offense. I’m doing the best I can to put my best effort into the practices and meetings. I feel like I’m still part of the group. I’ll continue to work hard and try to contribute to a winning season.

On the second year of the offense …
A majority of the guys have been in this system and have experience without having to learn things from scratch. Obviously, you are going to feel a little bit more comfortable and be able to play a little bit faster and be able to add some new things each day and I think we’ve been doing that. It looks like things are going pretty well, but we do have a lot of improvements to make.

On off-season trade rumors …
A lot of things are out of my control. All I can do is continue to work hard and continue to let it be known to the people in power that I’m here to be on the field and I can contribute to the offense.

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