Transcripts of interviews with selected Jets players during Monday's locker room media period:
LB JONATHAN VILMA
On being selected as a captain ...
It is flattering like last year. The players voted me in, so that says a lot about what the players think about me, so I appreciate that. I just want to do what I did last year and try and get us back to the playoffs.
On whether there is an advantage to facing the Patriots out of the gate minus Rodney Harrison and Richard Seymour …
I don't really see an advantage because we are going to face them twice a year anyway. In the NFL, the margin of victory is so slim that you can't be prepared for one game and slack off in another or have added incentive to win one game and not win another. The Patriots are always a good matchup and we know they are a tough team and a very good team. With Harrison and Seymour out, they are going to replace those guys and whoever goes in is going to do well for them.
On the start of the regular season …
The games count. These are real games. We trimmed the roster down and we have the guys that we are going to have for the season. For us, we're ready to go. It's not like we're going to get subbed out in the second quarter and watch the rest of the game. This is live.
WR JERRICHO COTCHERY
On giving suggestions to new captain Laveranues Coles …
We have some things for him as far as the schedule goes, so we are like, "Hey, captain, can you take care of these things for us?"
On Coles being named captain …
He downplays everything, injuries and everything —he's that type of guy. Being a captain in the NFL is an incredible honor because you are getting picked by your teammates. It's not like college where the head coach randomly picks some players and has them be captain. You are getting picked by your teammates, which is an incredible honor in the NFL.
On Coles' relationship with Coach Mangini …
You have some guys that are quiet and some guys that are very outgoing who tend to attract to each other. I'm a quiet guy but I love Laveranues Coles. I love hearing him talk and I love just conversing with him. I can listen to him all day and I think that is the type of relationship [Coles and Mangini] have.
K MIKE NUGENT
On his role as captain …
Your teammates can come to you and say, "Some guys have been talking about this, maybe we can do this a different way," because the coaches are great about making sure we get everything done efficiently. If we can keep doing that, I think that is really a good thing for everybody.
On the added responsibility that comes with being named captain …
You definitely need to take a step up when it comes to that. Your teammates voted for you, so you can represent everyone else on the field as well as the other captains. Brad Kassell and myself, being the special teams captains, can take advantage of that part of it and see what we can do to have the special teams be more efficient and do what we can on any given day.
On teammates voting for captains …
We did the same thing in college. It was voted on. When I first found out that this was the way Coach Mangini did captains, I thought it was good because it's everyone around you voting. It is everyone's opinion and not just a couple of people's opinions.
WR LAVERANUES COLES
On his role as team captain …
I guess my duties have already begun. The guys have already begun putting in their requests for different changes they want done. It's not one of those things where they elected me just as a token — they really want me to do some work.
On being selected by his teammates …
It is a great honor to be elected by your teammates and for them to view me as one of their leaders. I'm not a very vocal person, I've always been a jokester, but for the guys to pick me and allow me to be the voice of the team, go up there and talk to Coach and express what they feel and what they want to get done this season is an honor.
On his relationship with Coach Mangini …
It is what it is. He's my head coach. I pretty much have to do what he asks me to do and try to abide by the rules which he's set in place, which everybody around here does. For me, it's about my teammates. It's not about his and my relationship, it's about the relationship my teammates and I have and the respect they have for me. I respect him and his position. I feel like they put me in this position to get their points across to him and that's what I'm going to do.
On his first course of action …
Guys have been talking about reworking the schedule to not be around the building as long as they are. That's one of the first things I will try and get done, try and cut some of the time down. That's the first thing, and I don't know how I'm going to get that done, but it's one of those things where I'm going to shoot for the stars and hopefully the coach will work with us and make me look good my first time out.
