Transcript of Jets head coach Rex Ryan's Monday afternoon news conference:
Well, obviously I'm not as happy as you are after a win. That old saying about "It's never as bad as you think and it's never as good as you think," there's a lot of truth to that. A lot of guys did some tremendous things out there. I think on offense you had [Alan] Faneca. He was outstanding. I think Shonn Greene played really well. And I thought Thomas Jones played well. On defense, Darrelle Revis, you have to start with him — phenomenal. I thought Bryan Thomas was outstanding. I thought Kerry Rhodes made a lot of plays. So there were a lot of really, really positive things. And then we had some guys that maybe never played as well as what they've done in the past and the way we expect them to play, and that's unfortunate.
But overall as a team, that was a team effort in defeat. I thought New Orleans, you've got to tip your hat to them. They deserved that game. They outplayed us. They were the better team that day. It's hard to accept, but that's the facts. So we've got to just go back to hard work, preparing, and get better.
I was pleased with the way we ran the ball for the most part. It was good to see. I thought on our 1st down in particular, running the ball, I thought we did that well. I think we had plenty of 3rd down and manageable situations; that was real positive. But unfortunately, we weren't converting. We've got to get better in that area offensively. And then on defense we've got to do a better job of stopping the run. That's what it comes down to. I know that was an outstanding offense we were up against. You had to sometimes try to stop in different kind of spacings than maybe you normally would, but they did a nice job. I was still shocked that they were able to run the football as well as they did.
On why he went with passes on two third-and-1 situations…
Sometimes you have a run-pass option, and sometimes that's just the way it is. It's there, you want to take advantage of it, and in that situation maybe we should have just said, "Forget it, let's just stay with the run call." But again, we're going to always be aggressive. Our playcalling is never an issue because we've got outstanding coaches that do a great job. We've just got to get better at executing. If he hits one, the guy catches it and goes for a touchdown, then we're geniuses. If not, then right now we're facing those questions.
I think our football team is going to bounce back. I know we've got a tough opponent. I think Miami is running the ball on everybody. So this is going to be a huge challenge. They lost a game with like 45 minutes of time of possession once, which I don't think has ever been done. We're ready to move forward. I'm ready to move forward, I know that.
On if Mark Sanchez made the call to pass…
Well, sometimes. I can't say specifically every one. But if it's there, then sometimes we think that we've got the right situation and we can get of a call and check it to a pass or whatever. But I don't know for sure if that was the exact-- we can look at it and say this was one of them or this was one of them, but sometimes you do have run-pass options.
On losing as a head coach for the first time…
There's no difference. I just think the competitor in you, you can't stand it. This week will be horrendous for me. We've got to wait an extra day, too. You can't play on Sunday, you're playing it on Monday. Monday night at somebody else's place, and that day can't get here fast enough.
But the good news is, we can work on becoming a better football team. That's the encouraging part of it, and that's the coaching part of it. I can't wait to play again. It's almost like you've got a volcano inside of you, like 'man, let's go.' That's the way it is. I think that's the way our team feels. Our whole team feels that way.
On what his defense is going to face on Monday night vs. the Dolphins…
It's going to be interesting, that's for sure, because they certainly have run it on everybody so far. They're beating it. They've had a lot of success against a certain style of defense in particular, and they've been dominating. You play against maybe more standard 4-3 fronts. I don't think they'll see that this week, though. I don't think so.
On Shonn Greene…
We'll see how he is. I think he's going to be fine. I was encouraged with him. We knew we had him. We've got three Pro Bowl backs and we've got a young man that we drafted for a reason. It was fun to watch him. That first carry, he was explosive. And we'll see. We got some passes with him in there, don't we, because they're going to have nine guys down there if we don't. But we do. It was funny because when he came in the game, it was like, well, he's going to get the ball. But he's a good back.
On if Greene added energy to the running game…
Yeah, he did. I think it's funny because you've got two pretty good backs that are in front of you. Thomas [Jones] gets beat up because maybe he doesn't have the average per carry that some of the other guys do, but he's doing all the heavy lifting. All the short yardage runs, he gets every one of those. He gets all those kind of opportunities and things. Thomas is a great back. And you've got Leon [Washington]. We were disappointed as a football team in him when he got the eight touches. We've been doing a better job of getting him the ball. I think that's one thing Schotty and I talked about and Brian wants to get him the ball a bunch, which I don't blame him. He's a tremendous player, a tremendous weapon. I never thought we'd major in kickoff returns that game, but we did. And unfortunately we never got to return them. The guy was launching them over our heads about eight deep. They kind of took him out in that phase, as well.
On Sanchez's demeanor today…
He's fine. This kid can't wait. He can't wait to get to the preparation of the next opponent. That's behind us. That game is behind us. We've got to move forward. We've got to learn from it, but we've got to move forward.
On if Sanchez came in to watch video after the game…
Well, I wasn't here. I came in and left. So he may have. I doubt it. But we got here late. But again, he's already met with Schotty, met with [quarterback coach Matt] Cavanaugh. He's ready to go, to move on, learn from his mistakes and get going.
On if Sanchez thought he could do more than he was ready to do…
I think sometimes what happens, just like anybody, if you get behind, you're trying to really force an issue. And when you're down that many scores, that's typically what happens. Mark realizes that he just has to be part of the solution. We've said it before, he doesn't have to be the solution himself.
But sometimes, when you get behind a lot where you've had a play unfortunately go the wrong way, sometimes you have a tendency to do that. "Well, I'm going to make another one." It's almost like a gambler: "Well, let me just put in the rest of these, I'll catch up." That's kind of human nature.
I remember a similar game, we played Tennessee when I was in Baltimore last year, and I think Joe Flacco threw four interceptions in that game. It's kind of a similar thing to where it's like "Hey, kid, don't worry, you've got 11 pretty good players on defense, you've got 10 pretty good players with you on offense. Let's just play."
On his philosophy with a rookie QB and a defense that can take a team a long way…
We're going to stay aggressive on both sides of the ball and on special teams. That's what we're all about, and that's how we're going to play. Mark is a good quarterback. I'm not afraid to have Mark drop back to pass. Did we think it was going to be smooth sailing the whole time? Of course not. We knew there was going to be bumps in the road, but that's all it is; it's just a bump in the road.
The great thing is this is the guy that we want. He's competitive. He'll prepare, he's going to study his tail off, he's going to hit the practice field. But he's also going to hit the practice field with confidence, and that's what he needs to, because that's the nature of the position. He's got to know, he's got to understand that he's got good teammates, and we're all pulling for him, and we all know he can do it. We all believe in Mark, and we believe in the guys that he's surrounded with, just like we believe in our defense, as well.
On having Calvin Pace back…
It was good. I wasn't going to kiss him on the lips, but I thought about it [laughter].
On if the defensive backs will return this week…
I thought they might be able to play last week, but that never happened. So I'm hopeful that they'll be able to play this week. But if not, I'll tell you what, the two young guys that have stepped in with Drew Coleman and [Dwight] Lowery, both of them showing me they can play in this league.
On Sanchez's penalty during the interception return for a touchdown…
I don't know if there's a rule in college or whatever. I think he's thinking, "I'm going to take out a blocker and maybe my teammate will get him." He's got to turn the ball back inside. We definitely have got to make him aware, number one, that's a penalty. And the other thing is you've got to turn the ball back. We've got to work with him on that. I hope we don't major in that, but clearly it's something that we need to address, because you say, it's happened twice now.
On if he spoke with Sanchez after the game…
I spoke with him last night. I talked to him on the plane. I was kind of kidding with him. I said, "Hey, just think of this, kid; can't get any worse than it got today, can it?' It was the truth. It wasn't his day. It wasn't our day. We never played as well as we're capable of playing. We never played as well as we had done in the previous games. For whatever reason, we've got to find a way to be more consistent.
I know it was a hostile environment and we're playing a good football team, but if we play our game, we're going to be tough to beat. We're still right in that thing, we spot them 14 points, literally, and we're right there in it. Until they have that drive on us in the fourth quarter, we're right back in the game. It's like everything went wrong in that situation. I think we're going to grow from this as a football team, I really do.
On Sanchez's reaction on the plane…
He knew I was kidding. He kind of had his head down, but he smiled. He's going to get them back. He's like a tiger. He's going to come roaring back, there's no doubt. I have 100 percent confidence in him, and I have confidence in our football team. We want to play well. We're embarrassed that we never got the win and we never played the way we're capable of playing. And again, part of that is you've got to give credit to New Orleans. I thought New Orleans played great.
On if Sanchez's teammates rallied around him today…
Yeah, of course, and it's not just let's dump on Mark Sanchez because obviously his mistakes are more glaring than maybe others, but we all contributed to this defeat. It wasn't just based on our quarterback. We're not just going to win or lose games based on one guy, based on our quarterback. Again, it's a team effort.
On how much it will mean to have Pace back…
Calvin is a tremendous player, there's no doubt, and that's not being disrespectful to the men that were filling in for him because I thought they played well in his absence. This is a unit I feel that can be tremendous, and we've said that from day one. We've got depth, and right now it's unfortunate we're having to use it. We're having the use the depth at the back end that we talked about, we're having to use the depth at the outside linebackers, but now with Calvin back, I'm excited about that. I really am.
On the ability to utilize Pace this week…
We almost sound like another kid was playing with that toy and now we finally get one. I'm definitely excited about Calvin. He's a rare guy and one of the premier players in this league. We're definitely excited to get Calvin back.
On if they will monitor Pace's time in his first game back…
No, when he left we said, "You've got to be ready to play every snap when you get back. You've got four games to make up." He's not coming out.
On facing Miami LB Channing Crowder…
Yeah, I hope he's thinking about me. No, but I mean that's something else we've got to worry about, Channing Crowder. That is funny. I haven't had one thought about that. I guess I'm kind of licking my wounds from this New Orleans deal. But maybe I'll be able to respond later in the week better.
