NY Jets Post Game Interviews
Courtesy NYJets.com
HEAD COACH REX RYAN
First off, I mean obviously, we got outplayed and outcoached by a better football team today. There is no doubt about that. New England came out the gates and they did a lot of good things offensively and gave us a few problems, early especially and then [Wes] Welker had a phenomenal game. You just have to give them credit, they obviously did a great job. Clearly they were the better team today. No question about it.
On how deflating it is to have Mark Sanchez‘s first interception returned for a touchdown…
Well, it doesn’t help, that’s for sure. This offense doesn’t need a whole lot of help, but when you spot them that touchdown, clearly against a good football team, it’s going to come back and bite you. You know, I thought we scrambled back, found a way to get back in the game. Just to turn it over on first down, that was a crucial play in the game that totally changed the tide back to New England’s favor. Again, you got to give them credit, they made all the plays out there and we clearly didn’t make enough of them.
On if the Jets were outplayed or “out-quarterbacked”?
Well, again, Tom Brady is going to outplay just about any quarterback that he faces. So we were out-quarterbacked, we were outplayed and outcoached. You know, they did a great job. You know, they kind of surprised me by emptying the backfield a little more than I thought. You know, clearly you put your quarterback at risk there. So, I have to give them credit, they came up with that and they kind of had us on our heels for a while.
On if he considered benching Sanchez during the game…
No, absolutely not.
On what the Jets defense failed to do to contain Welker…
No, [Darrelle] Revis did a great job on Randy Moss, just like he did the last time. That is one guy that actually won his battle. But you know, [Wes] Welker I don’t know how many balls he caught, it was a ton … 15 … and probably 200 yards or something. To his credit it wasn’t like he was just blowing coverages, you know, if he played zone, he found a spot in the zone. We had one busted coverage for a long one, but other than that, this guy was doing a great job. Sometimes we had two guys on him and Brady’s had such confidence in him that he was still feeding him the football.
On if he’s thought about sitting Sanchez for a game or two to give him perspective from the sideline…
No, because I don’t think he’s going to get any better sitting on the sideline. You know, he’s got to learn from it. And without question, he made a lot of mistakes today. You know, there were some other guys that made a lot of mistakes today, but he’s got to learn from them. And the only way to do it, you know you can visualize it, watch tape and carry a clipboard, but unless you get on the field, you aren’t going to get any better and that’s my opinion.
On anything the Patriots did that gave the Jets trouble today…
No, I don’t think so. I just think they did a great job, they stayed with it, they were taking away some receivers early. You know, their number one receivers did a good job studying us. You know, the pass rush was good enough, they made him step up a few times to get him off his spot and made him pay. So the mistakes he made, they definitely made him pay for, they came up with the interceptions.
On if New England’s empty backfield was a factor…
Early I wanted to bluff them and let them think we were coming, and all that kind of stuff. And we bluffed ourselves into a 60-yard pass one time, that was a blown coverage. But again, sometimes the match up, you can go zero coverage all you want, but someone has to cover [Randy] Moss, someone has to cover [Wes] Welker, someone has to cover [Kevin] Faulk and they had some pretty good matchups out there. Believe me, this is a heck of a football team and it’s a hard team to defend. And number 11 [Julian Edelman], that guy’s a pretty good football player and when that’s your last receiver out there and he’s still some match up problems. They have an excellent football team and excellent offense in particular.
On if the team’s confidence is shaken right now…
No, but we got outplayed today. There is no question. Our confidence is still there, but you got to understand, when you come out of that tunnel to play the game, you better be ticked off. You know, that’s what happened the last two games, you know, we’ve let teams dictate the tempo on us instead of us dictate it. And that’s the thing I was most disappointed about, you know clearly at halftime, our guys came back and competed. I think we believe we are a decent football team, but you know, clearly we weren’t the best team today. Clearly it was New England.
On wondering where he goes from here in trying to motivate his team…
I am always going to be myself, I get emotional where I guess tears came down. It wasn’t because I was feeling sorry for myself or whatever. I am a competitive person, and those things happen, but I think with me, I think they got to understand that this is what you sign up for. I got a vision for our football team and I want to be a team that you have to strap it up to play against. I know we are capable of having that kind of team, a physical football team and clearly the last two weeks that hasn’t been there when we came out of the gate. And that’s been disappointing.
On if he thinks there’s been a regression in Sanchez’s play?
By saying that you aren’t giving credit to New England, where clearly that’s who deserves the credit. They can make a quarterback look bad,. Belichick is a hell of a football coach. They can do different things, lay some traps out there and things like that and Mark’s got to see those. Would I say he regressed? It’s easy to say that after you compared it to week two, but I think he is getting better. You know, we just got to keep improving. You know, each day go out and get better. Get better each game and I think he will. You know, obviously we got to look at what we are asking him to do. We got to look in the mirror and see what we can do to help this guy. He’s got all the tools. I think everybody sees that. It’s just that we have to be patient with him and I think he’s going to be an outstanding quarterback. I don’t believe he has regressed to the point where I would even ever consider benching him. He’s our quarterback for the future and he’s our quarterback now.
On how confident he is in Revis in single coverage…
Well, that’s a positive, that’s one thing we know we’ve got. We’ve got the best corner in football and you know, he’s going against Randy Moss who is one heck of a football player in his own right, obviously a Hall of Famer, the best vertical receiver in the game, and you know [Darrelle] Revis never flinched one bit. You know, gave up that one touchdown, kind of bluffed him from a yard out, one heck of a throw from Brady, but again, we need to win more one-on-ones, out of eleven one-on-one matchups, we know we got that one. We got to worry about the other guys too. It’s unfortunate to have that kind of effort from [Darrelle] Revis and come up short. And in this game, I can honestly say, this is the first game I thought we got our butts kicked. And you know, we really did. There is no doubt about that. New England was clearly the better team today.
On injuries coming out of this game…
I think [Dwight] Lowery never came back out. I really don’t know the extent yet of that injury, but he wasn’t able to continue and then [Donald] Strickland, I’m not sure if it was a concussion or not. But I know he got his bell rung awful good.
QB Mark Sanchez
On the differences in the New England defense from the first game…
They didn’t change up too much. A lot of it was the first two interceptions were just poor throws, good reads and poor throws. I was a little early on the throw to Braylon [Edwards] and I missed [Jerricho Cotchery] on the outside. I just need to be more accurate, because those put us in a tough hole and the last two interceptions I was just trying to create and do too much, especially the one to Jerricho to Meriweather down the sideline. That’s a situation where we just need to get a couple of first downs, dig ourselves out of a backed up situation and put some points on the board. They scored 17 points off of four turnovers by the quarterback and that’s how we lose. I feel like their defense did a great job of trying to disguise things and I felt comfortable seeing where I was throwing the ball. Like I said, the first few we really good reads and then things weren’t there, I just tried to do a little too much. You can’t do that against a great defense like this. My hat’s off to them for them sticking to what they know and playing smart.
On accuracy issues…
Like I said, the last two were definitely bad decisions. Things that we didn’t need, trying to do too much and not letting the offense work for me. It puts the coaches in tough positions when the quarterback does that. I need to be smarter and more conservative with the football in those situations and when the play is over, it’s over. That’s the message from them. I got to put the balls in there and give our guys a chance for them to make catches.
On the five turnovers…
It’s never a great feeling after you look at the stats, but this something that you definitely need to learn from, keep working and improving. You can’t let it get to you and work for next week and just work for next week and try and get a win here. Take it one game at a time and study this tape and learn, because you can’t afford to have turnovers like that and win games in the NFL.
On his confidence level…
I felt comfortable with my throws, maybe almost too confident. Trying to do too much and created when things were there. I can’t put the ball at risk on offense, I can’t afford to do that and go on out on my own when a play is broken down. Sometimes you miss and when you play a Bill Belichick defense and great players like that, sometimes they cover everything. You just need to “say uncle” and end the play and be smart with the football.
On getting off to a good start…
I mentioned this last week, just get ahead of the count and thinking like a pitchers mentality, throw some strikes early. It’s definitely what I didn’t do, we missed some third down conversions early. We just need to come out sharper and faster.
On his progression as a QB…
I am learning a lot, it’s hard to see by the stats. I need to put this game behind me and learning from the mistakes and taking good things away from it, a couple of the check downs I did hit. The main message is keeping us in the game. I am definitely learning a lot and trying to learn a lot of the fly. I am doing my very best and trying to get smarter.
On his general thoughts on the game…
Very rough day for us. We started off slow the first half and they took advantage of it. Their offense was moving, Brady was moving the offense very fast and they took advantage of our slowness. We picked it up in the second half but it was too late by then.
On his matchup with Randy Moss…
You know, I did the best I could. I knew I was going to be matched up on him like I was the first game and he did score a touchdown, but that was a play right there, where it was a timing pattern. It was on the one-yard-line, one or two-yard line. Things happen quick down there. They got one on us, but I did the best I could against Randy whatever the stats say.
On Moss’ “defense” when he wrapped his hands around Revis late in the game and drew an offensive pass interference call…
I didn’t like that. We kind of laughed about it at the end, when he grabbed me, but I think he was trying to stop the play, because I was over the top of him a little bit trying to make a play and so I think he didn’t want that to turn into a turnover.
On any conversation he had with Moss during the game…
No, not really. Like I said before, I’m not a trash talker. He’s not as well. But we did have a laugh about that play right there.
On any thought of moving him over to cover Wes Welker during the game…
We didn’t talk about that. We played these guys straight up. We felt that our personnel could handle theirs. Welker and Brady, they’re a one-two punch, they got the best of us. He kept us in the middle of the field, run all the pivot moves. One time we came back to the sideline, he did a triple move route or something. It was crazy, but I mean, he’s a great player and he beat us today.
On seeing Welker making catches and gaining yards…
It’s rough. It shows that we’re not getting our job done at the end of the day. I’m not trying to point nobody out, but Wes Welker, you have to press him. You have to get physical with him. He’s like the ‘Energizer Bunny.’ He keeps on going and going, even if he gets knocked down, and that’s what we wanted to focus on this week. Get up in his face and make it hard for him. He’s shifty in there. He’s very fast and he does it week by week. This is a game right here where him and Brady, like I said before, it was a one-two punch in there and he was doing a lot of pivot moves and getting away and catching the ball.
On the Patriots going after him early in the game…
That was great. I love competition like that. They tried to do a flea flicker and Moss tried to catch me sleeping, but that’s football. They try to bring the best out of you and it was great. I love the competition. I’m expecting the ball to come my way, when you’re covering a guy like Randy Moss.
On the Patriots going deep when the game was pretty much over…
We know the Patriots don’t quit. They want to keep going, adding points up on the board, and I knew it. I was ready to go. It’s just a play and I did my job on the play.
On the Jets not appearing to have a good plan to deal with Welker…
Yeah, I think we got to focus in on that more and pay attention to it more. I don’t know what he had the first half. I’m sure he had a bunch of catches, but that’s something that we adjusted at halftime. Like I said before, it was too late. We got to handle that at the start of the game so we can maybe shut him out or maybe limit him from a couple catches.
On if Moss is the best receiver he’s gone against…
Thus far, yes, because I played him twice this year. I’m sure next week Steve Smith and fourth and four. But Randy’s a great receiver and I give him a lot of respect, and when me and him battle it’s great battles.
On if the Ted Ginn touchdown pass at Miami in Week 5 still stings…
You know, it’s just a learning curve. Like I said, I go up against some of the best receivers in the league. Most of the time I’m in man coverage so it’s a live or die thing with that. I just got to be consistent in my play and just playing the best I can.
On if the Jets’ plan was to make Moss settle for short yardage and try not to give up the big play…
The one thing you got to do as a corner, especially in man coverage, is you got to stay over the top with him. You don’t want to get him running down the field. Just like on that trick play, me and him was even, I caught up to him at the end. That’s just something like, you game plan for it, and try to just stay over the top of him.
On the interception return for a touchdown in the first quarter…
It’s just a touchdown and we still felt like we were still in it. But when you spot them a touchdown it doesn’t do you any good.
On how they keep Mark Sanchez up after a tough loss…
I’m just trying to keep myself up. We’re losing games. He’s got a coach that will help him with that situation. He should be able to bounce back from that, he’s still a rookie.
On where the Jets go from here…
We’ve got to try and win a game. That’s what we were trying to do here today. It’s pretty simple. We just can’t turn the ball over. We’ve given up more touchdowns on turnovers than I have ever seen.
LB Bart Scott
On the emotional level of the team…
They’re a great team and they made a lot of adjustments. We came out and got a three and out and tried to seize some momentum, but then our second possession they got the turnover and from there on out, they did a great job of executing and moving the ball. We were kind of on our heels, but then we dialed up some pressure and were able to get to [Brady].
On if the return of Welker was the difference between this game and Week 2…
Not at all. They made adjustments. If I hit you with a left all the time, eventually you are going to protect yourself from my left. They made adjustments to what we were doing and they schemed it up and protected against some of our blitzes. We played more coverage early and then once we dialed up the pressure we started to get to him [Brady] and we were able to hit him.
On the state of the team after the loss…
We are a desperate football team now. Our backs are against the wall right now. There is no magic remedy. The only way out of a hole is to dig your way out. We have to keep playing and trust and believe in the scheme. You have to study harder and try and do everything a little better and hopefully it’s enough to win.
On the loss…
It was a very tough loss. Anytime you turn the ball over to a very good football team you really don’t have a chance to win the football game. We have to learn to control the ball and play keep away from the other team.
On moving on from this game…
We have to take it one game at a time. That has to be our motto from here on out. Just take it one game at a time. It’s all about getting one win starting with Carolina next week. That’s where all of our focus has to be, on Carolina.
On the loss…
I was pretty disappointed. We didn’t play very well today as a team. So we are all disappointed but we have to get back to work tomorrow.
On Mark Sanchez’s performance…
I just tell him to pick his head up and keep playing football because obviously he is very talented and can help this football team win. I’ll let the coaches coach and I’ll just play. We are going to follow him 100 percent because he is the leader of this football team. When we watch the film, all of us could have done something to help win this ballgame. Obviously it’s not just him, it falls on the entire offense.
On the Jets’ defensive play…
We have the mindset on defense, no matter whether it is an interception, no matter whether we get the ball or they get the ball on our five, we are going to hold them. We don’t want them to score at all. That is our mentality going into it. We realize that there are going to be mess-ups along the way. We are not asking the offense to play a flawless game and they are not asking us to. We are asking to give everything and to be in a position that you don’t make mental errors. When we make errors and miss tackles, we are not going to win the game. I am pretty sure when we look at the films tomorrow, we’ll see a lot of missed tackles and errors. A team like the Patriots will capitalize on that.
CB Drew Coleman
On Wes Welker…
We knew he was very good at changing directions going in and out of breaks. We knew that he was going to get his grabs and he very seldom misses. We came out the second half we knew we had to change up and just get after him.
On the Patriots game plan…
It didn’t catch us off guard. Our main goal is to protect the pass. We just have to be able to play our assignments. We knew that Welker and Moss were their top two receivers and we had to do a great job limiting them from making big plays.
DE Shaun Ellis
On the Jets’ improved pass rush in the second half…
We were just rushing them and beating our guys. It wasn’t anything special. Just getting the rush on them, knowing they would be in a passing mode and having to beat our man.
On the success of Wes Welker…
I really don’t know, they caught us on that pass to Welker and that hurt us. That was a good scheme on their part. They brought Randy Moss in motion and messed up the corners a little. Welker then got in the seam. If you look at it, Welker, that is really their offense. That is where everything is generated through. Moss, they know we are keying on him, so that frees up Welker a little bit. To me, Welker, in the game they played [today] he is the focal point. He makes a lot of tough plays for them. We knew what type of player he was but they just hit us with him.
On the Jets’ second-half adjustments…
What happened was we tightened up [on defense]. We didn’t change anything. We had a couple mistakes in the first half that they capitalized on. You can’t have mistakes against those guys because they are going to capitalize on them. It was more of us coming out and being sound.
On Wes Welker’s success…
Welker is a great player. [told Welker’s numbers] Wow, that is pretty bad, but he is a good player. We got some calls to go to him, but he does a good job of finding the open spot and [Tom] Brady puts it right to him. It was pretty tough. They both played well today. You have got to give him [Brady] credit, he did a good job but we had some big mistakes. Every time we made a mistake he capitalized on it.
LB Calvin Pace
On the improved second half defense…
We decided we wanted to play. We came out with a little energy [in the second half]. An offense like New England, they do everything well for a reason. They do a great job of finding our team’s weak points and exploiting them. In the first half we didn’t do enough to impact the game.
On Wes Welker…
He is a big part of their offense. I don’t think his size has anything to do with it, it is his performance. He knows how to get open. The routes he runs are pretty much like run plays. All the way around we just didn’t do enough. When you come into arguably the best team in the conferences house you have to start off fast and we didn’t do that. We can’t wait until the second half to start playing.
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