Clemens steps back for the throw
Transcript of QB Kellen Clemens' interview with reporters during locker room media availability Thursday morning:
On the Jets' draft picks …
I am excited about all of them. Fortunately, I'd met Mark [Sanchez] prior to the draft. He's a great dude. He's obviously a very talented quarterback. I think it will be a good working relationship. I will certainly try to be as helpful to him as Chad [Pennington] was to me. It will be good. I have been told right now that it's an open competition and the best player will play. We'll compete and keep doing what we've been doing.
On if he wonders about his opportunity with the Jets…
My opportunity, it's right now. We've got a great football team. Great coaches are in place. In speaking with Coach Ryan, it's an open competition. I'm going to get a fair shot at the starting job. That's everything you can ask for, to have a chance to come in and compete for a starting spot on a team. You look around. This is not a team that is rebuilding. We've got some talent. This is a great opportunity regardless of who I am competing against.
On if the opportunity changes with the Jets drafting Sanchez …
There's some weight that goes along with being the No. 5 pick. Everybody knows that. Again, I go back to what Coach said, and I think he's said it publicly. It's an open competition and the best player is going to play. Regardless of all the other business side of things, the best player is going to play. That's all I'm hoping for. That's all I'd ever ask for and we'll just keep going.
On having the same agent as Sanchez …
I thought about that. It was something that I even thought about prior to the draft, something my wife and my family considered, because Dave [Dunn] has a lot of quarterbacks. It's not something that is concerning at this point. I feel very confident in him, and Mark does as well. They are going to handle their business between those two, and Dave and I will handle our business between us, and I am confident there won't be any conflicts of interest.
On his approach …
For me, it comes down to a simple choice. I can get mad or frustrated or whatever, or I can get better. I am choosing to get better. I am going to keep working. The beautiful thing about my approach, it's been the same since Dec. 29 when the season ended. I laid out my approach and my plan about how I am going to get better, and that carried me through the first minicamp, through OTAs.
It's short-term and it's long-term, so it doesn't matter much if it's Brett Ratliff or Mark Sanchez. The beautiful thing when you are competing with yourself, it doesn't matter who the other guy is. There is all that other stuff, but it's not going to help me get better. It's not going to help me be a major contributor on a team whose goal is to be world champions at the end of the year, so it's out of mind. I don't worry about it.
On competing against Sanchez instead of Ratliff…
He's a totally different guy. But it's the same competition, because it's an open competition and the best player is going to play. That's all I would hope for or ask for from Coach Ryan and that's what he said so we just continue to progress.
On if he watched the draft …
I did not watch the draft. My folks were in town. We were out running errands, hanging out. I got a phonecall. The first phonecall was from my agent, who is also Mark's agent. He said, "Hey, are you watching? Do you know what's going on?" I said no. He said, "The Jets just traded up to pick Sanchez." It was actually right as I walked in the door so we flipped on the TV and watched it for 10 or 15 minutes just to see what happened.
I'm a guy who it takes a while for things to really set in. So first I was just like "Wow, we've got players coming in, we've got three players going out." It took a while for it to set in on what it meant. Then you reset your mind on what you have to get done and just go forward.
On if he assumed the Jets would draft a quarterback…
I assumed because we only had three on the roster you want an extra guy to go into training camp because it's a lot of stress on your arm. So I assumed we were going to take one at some point but as far as communication, there is a lot of stuff that comes up draft day, spur of the moment, that they can't give you any indication of what they are going to do. There was not any communication of what they were planning on doing and I didn't ask, either.
On when he heard from Mike Tannenbaum and Rex Ryan…
Immediately after. I was on the phone with Dave [Dunn] and got a call-waiting from both Mike and Rex on conference call. They said, "Hey, this is what we did." Just reiterated that it was still an open competition and the best player is going to play. They had other things to get back to for the day, so they went.
On Brett Favre…
I have seen him on ESPN but I haven't talked to him recently. He's a competitor. He loves to play. What he's going to do with it, I don't know. I don't want to speculate what's going on there. He's as competitive a person as I've ever met. so I am sure that has something to do with it.
On if he can identify with current Minnesota QBs Sage Rosenfels and Tarvaris Jackson…
I know what they are going through a little bit.
On Ryan saying he "has a good idea how the quarterback competition will go"…
I take that literally. He's got an idea on who he thinks is going to start. I don't know who that is. I hope it's me.
On being aware of the fans' expectations of Sanchez…
I'd be lying if I said I am not aware of that. He's the No. 5 pick, everybody is excited to see him play, to see what he can do. But again, if it's not going to help me, if it's not going to help me move forward, I am not worried about. I am going to do the best I can to not think about it and keep working on what I can control.
On his communication with Sanchez…
Mark called me that night, which meant a lot. That's a really classy thing for that kid to do. We had a five- or 10-minute conversation about things going forward. That's our only correspondence so far. Talk about getting a competitive relationship off on the right foot. That was a neat thing that he did.
He just said, "Hey Kellen, this is Mark Sanchez. I just want to say hello." I didn't know the number and I answered it. It kind of surprised me at first. I said, "Welcome to the Jets family." We had a chance to meet prior to this. I just said, "We're competing and it's going to be fun. I just want you to know I will do anything I can to help you out and if you have any questions I'll try to do the same for you as Chad did for me."
On how his family and friends handle his situation …
They are learning, much like my wife and I did earlier. The best approach, just for their sanity, is to block it out. It's probably harder on our family and friends because they have less control over it than we do. I don't have much but I have a little bit and they have none. So it may be a little harder on them.
On gaining confidence from previous situations such as Drew Brees in San Diego…
You go back to the Drew Brees example. They drafted Philip [Rivers] after the trade. It worked out for Drew. Sometimes when things come up in this business, it's so unstable, if you will, you have to have some faith that God's got a plan out there. Sometimes hindsight will tell you if it's a good thing or a bad thing. The best thing for me is from a faith standpoint. This whole thing has boosted my life in that area.
On OC Brian Schottenheimer being on that staff with Brees and Rivers…
Coach Schottenheimer has a lot of respect for Drew and the things that he has done, so we've talked a lot about Drew since the day he got here. That situation hasn't specifically come up but it may in the future.
On thinking beyond this year…
I'd be lying if I said I don't think that Mark being here changes things. There is a reality to this business. But again, I go back to my approach. I am in the fourth year of a four-year deal. I love my teammates, my coaches, this area. I am going out this year and my expectations haven't changed since the draft. I expect to be under center opening day in Houston. Is it long-term? What is long-term in the NFL?
