Transcripts of news conferences and interviews in the locker rooms following the Jets' 37-10 triumph over the Chiefs at MetLife Stadium on Sunday afternoon:
HEAD COACH REX RYAN
I love the way we started the game. That's two weeks in a row we've started with impressive drives. That's been a point of emphasis, and we've done a great job with that. We had five quarterback sacks on defense, which I believe is the most we've had all season. That's a positive. I believe Mark Sanchez is the only quarterback in the history of the Jets franchise to throw for two touchdowns and rush for two touchdowns, so that's another thing that he will be in the Jet record book for. Shonn Greene had a really impressive day with 187 total yards.
I thought we did a tremendous job in the screen game, Nick Mangold in particular. I told Nick the bad thing is that we know how fast you are now, so we expect you to start leading those sprints. He blocked a guy all the way to the end zone, which was impressive. I love the way he's finishing people now.
Kansas City had three sacks. It can rush the passer. It was unfortunate because we wanted to keep that [sackless] string going, but I liked the way our offense blocked, especially in the run game. We were able to knock them off the ball a little bit, which was impressive. I also saw that the Saints won — that was impressive. I'll just throw that out there.
On the play selection by Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer...
Tremendous. I knew we had a great week of preparation. I thought the guys were sharp. He just dialed it up and turned it loose. He kept them off-balance. I like some of the things we did — some of the direct snap runs, some of the screen calls were great. It slowed that pass rush down a little bit. He did a tremendous job calling plays. I thought Mike Pettine did a great job calling plays on defense as well.
On when he makes the decision to take the ball if the Jets win the coin toss...
It's something that I decide. Generally, I won't decide it and let anybody know until right before it happens. It's just a gut feeling that you take. Normally, I like to defer, but all week long I felt great about it. We wanted to get up on this team. This team was 13-2 when leading at halftime, so you look at those stats and we wanted to jump out early on. We thought we could, and obviously the offense did a great job driving the football.
On injured Jets defensive back Jim Leonhard...
I don't have an update right now. Hopefully, it's not that bad, but again, I'm not sure. Jimmy did a great job returning punts, and then he makes a great play on the interception. Then he has the injury. I'm hopeful it's not that bad, but it's never good when you need help coming off. We'll see what it is. I don't know the extent of it right now.
On if he feels the Jets will be overconfident coming off three-straight wins...
No. They're never easy. They were playing pretty darn good coming in. There are no easy games out there. You've got the Eagles, the Giants, and Miami to close it out. There's no easy games there. As far as being overconfident, we're always confident, period. Overconfident? I don't think so. We'll be confident going to Philadelphia, which is a tough place to play. I'm not sure how many times the Jets have ever won in Philly, so we know what that one is going to be all about. We have to put our track shoes on to match up with that team.
On the Jets timeout following the opening kickoff...
That wasn't great. That's not going to go on my coaching resume. It was just a miscommunication on personnel. Somebody heard one thing, somebody heard something else. We only had 10 out there. By the time we got the guy out there, we didn't have any time. I like the result of the first play out of the timeout. There were some things in the game that we still have to clean up, but those are things we'll work on.
On if he feels calling designed rollout plays for Jets QB Mark Sanchez helps him get into a rhythm...
I like moving the quarterback some, especially against good teams that can rush the passer. You look at Kansas City, you look at Philly who we're coming up on, and sometimes it's dangerous in that pocket, but it's good. You work your run game, your play-action, and also some movement fakes, and I thought we did a good job of that. I thought we mixed it up really well today.
On splitting carries between Jets running backs Shonn Greene and LaDainian Tomlinson…
I think we've got two great backs. We want to get them both involved. That's just the way it worked out. Shonn had 24 carries, LT had nine carries. If you have two really good backs, you're going to use them both.
On the Jets performance over the last three games…
We just have to keep focusing on our next opponent. That's what we've done. We don't worry about the rest of the league. We just have to take care of ourselves. If we don't take care of ourselves, it's not going to matter what the rest of the league does, so we have to take care of our business.
On keeping Sanchez in the game on fourth-and-4 in the fourth quarter….
That was my call. I thought if we could get the first down, we could basically run the clock out and get the game over. I thought we had a chance to convert on it. Obviously, you go back on it and wish you would have just punted it or tried a long field goal. At the time, were up 25. I just thought if we get the first down, its basically over. Their kid [Tamba Hali] made a nice play, stripped the ball. That's what happened. At that time, I just wanted to put Mark [Brunell] in. We were going to run the football. Brunell does a great job. He needs to get some snaps. He's such a professional, the first down on the hard count. He handles that cadence probably as good as anybody I've ever seen. Brunell did a nice job there coming in there at the end.
On if this is the best he's felt about the offense this season...
I feel really good about our team. We were five-for-five in the red zone, or "the Money Zone," as we call it now. Ever since we start calling it "the Money Zone," we're No, 1 in the league in that category. I like "the Money Zone." Our guys are doing a great job there. A lot of the times, that's the difference between wins and losses.
On if he's concerned about playing Philadelphia Eagles now that QB Michael Vick is back…
Yeah [laughs]. That's an easy answer. I don't think he should play to be honest with you [laughs]. He should be rested. Rest him up for the later games. That guy's a ridiculous talent. We're definitely going to have our hands full. That team is absolutely loaded. They've got as much speed as any team in the league. We've got to get rested, we've got to get well, we've got to have our track shoes for that game. We understand that.
On if the Eagles are more dangerous because they're out of the playoff hunt...
I don't know their particulars. I don't know if they're out of the playoffs. I don't know what their picture is. I really don't care. I just know the type of talent they have. You would think they'd be more dangerous fighting for a playoff spot than you would if they were out of the playoffs because they'd have something to fight for. I don't know what that scenario is.
On if this was the Jets most complete game this season in all three phases…
I thought so. I liked the way we went down there on special teams and forced a fumble. I liked the way we popped the ball, did a nice job on punt returns. For the most part, this was really a complete game by our special teams. We did have one leak where the guy came through untouched and T.J. [Conley] boomed a punt out of there, so we've got to get that corrected. I thought our team played well. I feel great about our offense. The yards aren't great, 314 yards, but 5-for-5 in "the Money Zone." We ran the ball really effectively, 159 yards rushing. I love the 42 rushing attempts, so I thought that was good. I thought the defense was impressive. I guess it would be our best game so far this year.
QB MARK SANCHEZ
On his feelings about the offense's performance the past few weeks…
I think I was happy we had another opening drive touchdown and set the tone early. And we converted on some big third downs and didn't have too many third downs, which is good, especially early in the game. We had some explosive plays and the running game really took off. I thought up front, Brandon Moore had probably one of his best games. He looked great. Those guys did a great job. We made some big plays in the pass game, but we really relied on our running game today, and that was great. It's a quarterback's best friend.
On if he was surprised by head coach Rex Ryan taking the ball after winning the coin toss…
It was just a little bit of a surprise, but that worked out well, especially when you go down and score.
On if there has ever been a game when he had to call a timeout before the first play…
No, that's something we have to get cleaned up- the personnel stuff. If we don't get the right guys in the huddle, then we're not getting the play in until late and we're fighting the clock at the line of scrimmage every time. So that's one of the things that needs to be cleaned up. It's very important.
On how nice it was to get ahead by a lot early in the game...
That's kind of the way the game went and that was good for us and I'm glad we capitalized on that. I think we just missed a couple things in the second half where we could have extended the lead. Those are the things where we need to stay sharp mentally, physically, all that and not have some of the mistakes we had, the penalties and things. I'm proud of the way we took care of the football and won the game.
On why the team thrives in December and January the past few seasons…
I think we understand the importance of these games late in the season. We understood, especially my rookie year, and this year we missed opportunities early in the season and anytime you do that you want to try to make up for them. And guys understand that, we understand the kind of Wild Card race we're in. So I think we just find a way to click and that's important late in the season.
On why screen passes were working so well today…
Some of the screens were out of different sets and personnel and stuff but they're a fast-flow defense, they rush the passer very well and some of that misdirection stuff can get those guys if you have the right timing. And we did. The offensive linemen got out in the screen game, the running backs had great phasing and you just have to get the ball to them. They're like long handoffs, and that's the way we treat them.
On if it is difficult to extend the lead when the team is up by so much already…
Right, we just had some third downs that we could have been better on. We got some penalties and stuff that extended the drive and we ended up scoring, but I think it could have been easier on us and I think we could have added at least one or two more scoring drives so that's something we'll look at, and even when you're up big late in the game, you have to pretend that it's the beginning of the game and you're trying to win it. So we'll take that approach.
On if the first half was the best half of football the team has played this season…
I think things were clicking and I think like I said, the running game was phenomenal. It set up a lot. in our passing game, we were pretty efficient and I still left some completions out there that could have helped us late in the game, but we got off to a fast start and that's important. Rex likes to see that from the offense and it definitely does give the team a boost, so that's good.
On if the offense's short passes were specifically designed for the Chiefs defense…
It's just what we decided to call today and what ended up working, but our game plan was great. Another great game plan by Coach [Brian] Schottenheimer and Cav [Matt Cavanaugh] and Coach [Bill] Callahan and we executed pretty well. But there are some mistakes to clean up and we'll get them fixed.
On if he noticed the ovation he got during introductions…
We're just trying to win a game, trying to play hard, play for these guys, the coaches and this was another great game plan like I said. Like I said before, that's the last thing on my mind. We're just trying to win games.
On how good he and the team are under pressure…
It's important, and pressure either brings out the best or worst in players. I think that's a tribute to our front office and our general manager and Rex drafting guys and acquiring guys on this team that know how to finish, that know how to be competitive when it really counts. That kind of stuff is important, especially when you're in a Wild Card race like this. And it looks like we're getting a little help from the outside, so that could be huge for us but we have to control what we can and be good these next few games.
On if his second rushing touchdown was by design…
It's just a good call. It was a good call.
On if he was surprised by how easy it was for him to walk into the end zone on the opening touchdown…
It was just a great call again by coach, we executed well and it ended up working out. So that was good.
RB SHONN GREENE
On today's victory…
I think we did a good job of executing all of the plays. Offensive line, they did a great job. Wide receivers blocking downfield on the perimeter, so it was a great game.
On being able to win in a "laugher"…
I don't want to say a laugher. This is the NFL, so you don't want to underestimate anybody, but it felt good to put a lot of points on the board and dominate.
On if he and Tomlinson made it a point to take control of the game…
We try to make that a point every week. Game in and game out we want to try and put the game on our shoulders and help our team win.
On how he is feeling…
I'm pretty good. Just got to keep going. I'm doing good. It's football, I've got nicks and bruises here and there, but I'll be all right.
RB LaDAINIAN TOMLINSON
On what it meant to have such a dominating victory…
It was good for us just to start fast. Our defense played well. A lot of three-and-outs for our defense. Our special teams played well. Our offense, once we started fast we just rolled from there. Schotty [Brian Schottenheimer] did a great job of playcalling. Shonn Greene ran the ball hard. Excellent game today, over 100 yards. Mark [Sanchez] threw the ball well, had a couple of rushing touchdowns himself. All the way around, this was probably our best team effort.
On how the first drive set the tone for the offense…
I think it set the tone right away for what kind of day it was going to be for us. If you noticed, we won the toss and we took the ball. So that kind of set the way for us to start fast, and once we got that first touchdown, we really felt like it was going to be a really good day for us.
On the importance of getting off to an early lead against teams with losing records and if those teams go away when they fall behind…
I don't know, in this league, if any team would just go away, but that is an important point, to get up on teams fast, particularly teams that may not be in the playoff race. If you get up fast a lot of times from there you can just get going. Sometimes it will be an easy day. Sometimes it won't. But today it worked out.
TE DUSTIN KELLER
On what it meant for the team to get a touchdown on the first drive…
It's huge. We've been saying for a long time, with this defense, we go up a touchdown in the beginning of the game, it was 7-3, we're going to lead the rest of the game. That's the type of defense we have. That's what's expected. I think the rest of the game we played consistently pretty good football. We were good in the red zone and for the most part we took good care of Mark [Sanchez]. I knew he got a couple of hits, but I think we played pretty well.
On if the first series set the tone for the offense…
Yeah, I think so. When we come out fast and we know immediately that we can move the ball on them, then we just continue to do it the rest of the game and that's what happened today.
On how the offense found its rhythm…
The run game, I think, more than anything kind of got us going. Shonn Greene did a great job today. I think he went over 100 today, which is really big for us. And we kind of leaned on the run game and things opened up in the passing game off of that. So when we're running the ball well, we're able to do a lot more stuff.
CB ANTONIO CROMARTIE
On the Titans and Bengals both losing today…
It's good. It puts us in a good position to get a chance to get in to the playoffs. At the end of the day, we never know what can happen and we just have to go out and play for the next three weeks. The next game for us to focus on is Philly.
On the Philadelphia game coming up…
The whole thing for us is to build, build on this weekend. [We need to] go into Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, when we start our practices back up, go in and try to prepare the way we need to prepare, like we've been doing the whole entire season, just try to get better every single day and every single week. For us, we need just to go in and watch film, watch the things that they do, try to pick up the things that they're doing and go out and just go play football.
On Shonn Greene's performance today…
Shonn Greene did a great job. We know what he's capable of. The offensive line did a great job of opening holes for him, and he was finding the holes and making big runs
S ERIC SMITH
On how they adjusted today without Jim Leonhard…
It's just part of the game. Everybody is ready to go at all times. Brodney [Pool] came in. I filled in when he was hurt. We sent some linebackers in to play the linebacker spot. We have a lot of depth. We have guys that know what they're doing. If people go down, we can fill in.
On if the defense felt like they could hold Kansas City's offense in check…
We felt like we had a pretty good chance to make some pretty good plays on them. They had some good tendencies and we knew we'd have some opportunities to get our hands on the ball.
On the schedule ahead…
We definitely have some quality opponents coming up. We just have to keep playing like we did today. If we can put this effort together each week, we have a good shot at winning.
T D'BRICKASHAW FERGUSON
On how it feels to seemingly control their own playoff destiny now…
It feels good, but we know that we have to keep on winning. That's the best thing that we can do for ourselves in our situation, and then kind of let the chips fall where they may. We have three good opponents coming up and our focus is 100 percent on Philly.
On trying to get the Jets to the playoffs for the third consecutive year…
Our goal has always been to go to the Super Bowl. Every year, that's what we've done, it's where our focus has been. This year is no different. The season has kind of had ups and the season has kind of had downs, but we're still fighting to get there. That's the original goal and we're sticking to it.
On running the ball over 40 times today…
It's really good. We have some talented backs and they did a great job today. I'm just excited that, as a team, we had the kind of success that we did today.
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS LOCKER ROOM
CHIEFS HEAD COACH TODD HALEY
Tough result for the Kansas City Chiefs. In the first half of that game, when you can't get a first down and you're having trouble keeping the other team from getting first downs, it's not going to be a good half. That's pretty much the way it went. We couldn't slow them down and we couldn't move the ball. Then we gave it back to them and they were able to take it down the field. They did a great job in the red zone. I take my hat off to the New York Jets. They were more prepared and just played better, period.
As far as our team goes, anytime you have a result like that, it starts at the top with myself, the head coach. We probably had our worst half of football, I don't know that it's even close, of the season. That being said, we have a lot of prideful guys in that locker room. I think the second half could have gone one of two ways and it went the way that encourages me and us. The guys came out and fought hard in the second half. They obviously played a lot better. It still wasn't good enough. In the second half, from a penalty standpoint, I think we had one in the first half and then we had 10 or 11 in the second half. That generally will get you beat. It's not a great result.
I give credit to the Jets. They won the game in a pretty clear-cut fashion. We've got to get out of here and bounce back. We have a big game coming up this week against Green Bay. Like I said, we have a prideful group. They're unhappy and disappointed and frustrated. We just have to do a better job.
On where the team is now…
I don't know. We'll have to see how the rest of the day goes and see exactly where we are. None of that matters if you play like we did in the first half. It just really doesn't. We have to figure out a way to make some progress here. It's been the same thing all year. We've just been very, very inconsistent. This game is a microcosm of the entire season. The first half was really, really bad football and the second half was at least football that can get you to hang in and be competitive.
On what he said to get the penalty…
I'm not getting into the penalties. Like I've said, the officials have a very difficult job. The one thing we can't do is loose our composure over a call. That's on me, 100 percent.
On if it was frustration coming out…
Like is said, that's a prideful group and you're having a rough day and we're going up and down the sideline all day talking about keeping composure and staying focused on doing each one of our jobs. Obviously, we had a couple rough spells in there.
On what he sees in Tyler Palko that makes him think Palko gives them the best chance of winning…
That's a hard question after how today went. It's a team loss. Offensively, you can't put it all on one person. You just can't. Generally, when that occurs it goes to the quarterback. We have to evaluate this tape and see exactly what happened. Once you see the tape, sometimes it will change the way you feel, but I think the tape is going to change too much of our feelings right now in a very disappointing loss.
On if he considered making a change at quarterback…
We talked about it. Where the game was, we didn't think that would be a good position to put Ricky [Stanzi] in.
On if there's a chance Stanzi will play in the last three games…
I'll stay with what I've said. The guy that gives us the best chance to win will play because we're playing to win. Like I said today, when the score gets to where it was, I don't think that's the best position to give somebody their first action in the NFL on the road.
On the defense regressing…
I think our defense played a lot better in the second half. In the first half, we just couldn't cover their backs. They made a couple of plays, but to me, the backs just killed us in the first half. Whether it was screens or we were in man-to-man, their backs did a better job than we did of covering them. Without watching the tape, that's what I felt more than anything defensively. I thought we did bounce back and play better in the second half. We just have to be better.
On what the team does now…
I don't think it's trying anything. I think that generally as a coach, you stay in the present tense and you do what you think you need to do to try and have your guys understand the situation that you're in. Right now, like I said to the guys, this record stays with each and every one of us. The final record stays with everybody on this team in any capacity. Right now we have five in the W column and eight in the L column. For some of the adversity we've gone through this year, the ability to bounce back and keep fighting like we've done throughout the year, I would say that our guys have a great deal of pride and don't want to stop now. We've got to figure out a way to play better and try to get wins. We have three left: Green Bay, then Oakland, and then Denver. It starts with Green Bay.
On what he meant when he said they would see how the rest of the day goes to know where the team stands…
The rest of the games. I can't make a statement when I don't know what the rest of the teams in our division are going to do. Really, our number one goal is to win the division. Depending on how the rest of the day goes, we could still be alive or could not be alive. I don't know all the scenarios right now.
On if their playoff chances will influence how he coaches…
No, I don't think it matters. Like I said, we're playing to win every game no matter what. Obviously, you have different reasons to win. Our number one goal that we start the year with is to win the AFC West. As long as we still have a chance, that will be our goal. Otherwise, it will be winning each and every game each time we line up to play. We'll do everything we can to try and get a win.
CHIEFS RB THOMAS JONES
On the game…
It was weird having to play against your old teammates. I had mixed emotions obviously. Jets fans showed me a lot of love which I appreciated. We didn't win the game and that's what we came up here for. That's the tough part. We didn't get it done. We made mistakes, had a lot of penalties and didn't do what we were supposed to do. Regardless, whether it's against the Jets or any other team, a loss is a loss.
On Shonn Greene…
He had a great game. He ran well and he ran hard. Obviously, I wish he wouldn't have done it against us, but I'm really happy for him. I look at him as a little brother. Anytime he has success I'm real proud of him. But like I said I wish it wasn't today.
