Brian Schottenheimer interview transcript 12/30/10

On Thursday New York Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer addressed the media.  Here is the transcript courtesy of the Jets.

On the decision to start Mark Sanchez this weekend…

“I think the biggest thing for all our players is (that) we’re not looking at this as a bye week. We’re looking at this as a week to get better. We’re looking at this as a week to prepare. I think if you look at where we are offensively the last couple weeks, we’re kind of, hopefully, finding our stride. Mark’s in a really good routine. His preparation the last two weeks has been outstanding. Just his focus and, obviously, working through the sore shoulder, he’s just been really dialed in. More than anything, I think it’s just the fact we’re trying to keep the routine. I know there’s a good chance maybe we play Saturday, so it could be a short week, but we want to make sure our guys feel good coming out of this week and even out of the game going into the next week.”

On whether Sanchez’s struggles after long layoffs factored in the decision-making…

“I think, more than anything, it just comes down to that we’re just trying to keep the routine. This is different than a bye week. The bye week, the players disappear for a couple of days. We, as a staff, disappear for a couple days, hopefully. That really has nothing to do with it. It’s more just staying in the routine and (saying), “Hey, it’s a normal game week for us.””

On whether they will play Sanchez sparingly like in a preseason game…

“I think that all remains to be seen. The easiest thing for us to do is to prep all these guys and have them all ready to go. Obviously, Rex has a plan of what he wants to get done. Again, I think a lot of it will be based on how we do. Again, we want our guys to play, but we also want to find out about some of the young guys. I know we’re excited about seeing some of these young guys that we see every day in practice and we’ve watched them this week, actually, do some things. There’s some big eyes out there, but that’s kind of fun, whether it’s a guy like Jeff Cumberland, Joe McKnight, Vlad (Ducasse) (and) some (other) guys who are getting some work. It’s good to see.”

On whether the routine and preparation this week is more important than the actual game itself for Sanchez…

“That’s the thing that we’re really big on. I know, myself, we just want his routine throughout the week to be the same. I know last Wednesday, you all knew he was really limited, threw some light balls. He’s been the exact same the last two days this week that he was last week. That’s all we’re trying to do. Obviously, this is something that we hope continues on for a long time, up through the playoffs and into the Super Bowl. We just want to make sure he’s kind of working his way through his routine and that routine, obviously, has worked for him. The game is going to take care of itself, whatever ends up playing itself out, but I’m really pleased with how he’s worked through these last two days and even going back to last week of trying to mirror those things up.”

On whether he thinks Braylon Edwards has been extra focused the last couple of weeks given his performances…

“He really has, even in practice. We always have cones out there. During the course of the week, when you catch a pass you finish your run and we always say to finish through the cones. Throughout the course of the year, the tempo, sometimes, going through the cones (changes). They run through the cone, but it’s not always like a full-speed tempo. Braylon, the last couple of weeks, has been awesome, just playing fast, jumping in like he did last year, late in the year on scout team and he just looks like he can’t get enough right now. Again, I think that’s something. I think he’s hitting his stride at just the right time, not that he had a couple weeks where he wasn’t as involved. When you have so many playmakers, there are certain weeks where you just see guys stand out and he’s done that. A couple of catches against Pittsburgh were unbelievable and then, obviously, made a bunch of plays for us last week. I think he’s in a really good spot right now, just in mental framework, dialed in, whatever that term is, and I think he has a lot of confidence.”

On how Edwards playing on the scout team came about…

“He kind of just does it on his own. Obviously, he always likes to get over where the ball (is) circled. Usually, on the card, they circle where the ball is supposed to go, so you’ll see him finagle his way into that spot sometimes. It’s something he does (to) kind of keep his conditioning up and stuff and it gives our defense, obviously, a great look.”

On balancing LaDainian Tomlinson’s workload between rest and trying to get 1,000 yards…

“I think it’s a little bit like all the guys. We’re not looking at LT (LaDainian Tomlinson). There are a lot of guys who are close on a couple of things here and there. You hear them all talking about it. Braylon (Edwards), I think, needs 100-and-something yards to get to 1,000. Again, the outcome of the stats doesn’t matter to us. The biggest thing that we’re trying to pay attention to right now, because that’s what we control, is this week and the work week. Then, obviously, when Rex lets us know, “Hey, here’s what I’ve decided to do. Here’s what I want to do,” then it’s just going to play itself out, but LT’s been working along with Shonn (Greene) and the other backs. We’re not going to chase anything if we feel like (he doesn’t need it). He has a lot of 1,000-yard seasons, but if he goes and gets it, great.”

On if it is possible Shonn Greene gets more carries to get him playing like he did last postseason…

“Yeah, I think so. Obviously, you’ve seen Shonn’s kind of taken off. He had a great game last game. Again, I think it all depends. Not to be vague, but we just don’t really know how it’s going to play out. Hopefully, we go in there, we have a lot of success and maybe it’s like, ‘Hey, let’s get them all out. Let’s just get them all out and let these other guys go.’ Shonn’s kind of hitting his peak right now. LT’s still playing really well, so it remains to be seen.”

On the interception to end the game at Chicago…

“We got them to jump offsides on first down and we ended up coming up with a four-verticals play and Mark just kind of got a little greedy, to be honest with you. They played Tampa-two (coverage), we were trying to isolate it and Mark thought he had a good feel for the safety and could get him to stay inside. He tried to make a ‘hole-shot’ throw outside to Santonio (Holmes) and just never saw (Chris Harris), the safety. To have it back in that situation, it’s first-and-five, like we talked to him about, ‘Hey, they played wide. They played soft. Just check it down to LT, get us a first down and then we’re off and running.’ I think he kind of forced it. I think he tried to make a play and would like to have that one back.”

On Chris Harris seemingly not having a man to be responsible for on the interception…

“No, (he did not) because Jerricho (Cotchery) was running a route adjustment. Sometimes, we’ll run a high-stretch off of the safety, but based on this concept, with the coverage that they were playing, Jerricho ran a route adjustment that curls him up on the numbers. There was no hold, which is why the ball shouldn’t go out to Santonio (Holmes) because the safety didn’t have anyone holding him inside.”

On Joe McKnight seeing more time on offense this weekend…

“I think so. I think, again, not knowing how the game is going to play itself out, Joe’s gotten some work. He’s earned that. He’s earned that through what he’s done on special teams. He’s earned that with the way he’s performed on the scout team and so I think when he gets his number dialed, I think we’re all excited to see what he does. He has a ton of natural ability. He’s great with the ball in his hands. He’s explosive. He’s a guy that can go the distance any time he touches it, plus, he’s a threat out in space. The biggest thing with some of these young guys is, obviously, just playing, for some of them, in their first real-NFL game, not a preseason game. When they get called, if they get called, I think they’ll be ready to go. Joe is like a lot of those guys. I think he’ll go in and play well and we’re expecting that of him.”

On the job the offensive line has done the last two weeks giving Sanchez time…

“It’s been unbelievable. I think it’s not just been with that (pass protection). I think when you look at a couple of the run defenses that we’ve played, Pittsburgh and Chicago, they’re dominant up-front. I think they really, as much as it hurt Rex to call them out, we were giving him a hard time about that because that’s (the offensive line) his pride and joy, those guys really responded. They are great players, but they take a lot of pride in what they do. When Rex called them out in front of the guys, you just saw something kind of change in them. I think we have the best (offensive) line coach in all of football in Coach (Bill) Callahan. Obviously, you have a couple of Pro Bowlers up there (Nick Mangold and D’Brickashaw Ferguson). I think it’s unfortunate, it’s a shame, that Brandon (Moore) doesn’t get as much of a nod as he deserves. You’d be hard-pressed to find a better guard than him in all of football, but they’ve just been outstanding. That was one of the goals we had with Mark (Sanchez), with the sore shoulder, is you want to keep him upright and I think that they’ve done a great job. A guy like Wayne Hunter, how can’t we talk enough about him with the job he’s done stepping in against a couple (of good pass rushers), (LaMarr) Woodley in Pittsburgh (and) (Julius) Peppers lined up on his side more times than not. They’re just playing really well right now and I think a lot of it, obviously, was Rex challenging them.”

On whether he has done any preparation for the potential playoff matchups…

“That’s the thing, when you look at it, it’s hard to look ahead. Like I’m saying, this is not a bye week for us. This is a week we’re playing. We’re playing a defense that’s given us some problems in the five years I’ve been here. They play hard. They’re playing a lot better right now. You see some of the numbers might not point to that, but they’re playing well, so we’re focused on this game. Plus, if some of the young guys play, they deserve to have us being really focused on that, which is where we are right now.”

On how important it is to keep the offense playing well going into the playoffs…

“I think that’s a big part of it, as well. We want to have some success. I think the biggest thing, for us, is that the guys that are in there, that they go out and they play like a Jet. They play the way they’re coached to play. I think you’ve seen us play very physical. (We’ve) talked about it, up-front. We’ve been almost dominant up-front. The backs are finishing runs. Braylon (Edwards), for all the catches he had last week, I think one of the biggest plays he had was a block right down our sideline on a 12-yard run that Shonn (Greene) had. Those guys are doing the little things right, whether it’s Mark (Sanchez) or ends up being (Mark) Brunell or however the game unfolds, those guys, we want them to play like Jets because we want to continue the identity that we’ve gotten back to the past couple of weeks.”

On how the rotation of quarterbacks would work on Sunday…

“We’re still talking about that stuff, but yeah, that’s probably the way it’ll play itself out (with Brunell coming in to relieve Sanchez).”

Tyson Rauch

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