Transcript of head coach Rex Ryan's news conference following Thursday's midday practice at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center:
First off, that big, tall guy in there, yes that's Trevor Pryce and yes we did sign him. We released big Howard [Green], but don't worry, I have a funny feeling big Howard will be coming back. Our injury report, Wayne Hunter, I'm not saying he's definitely out with his shin, but he hasn't been practicing or doing anything else. I would assume he's not playing. Calvin Pace, we had him doing some drills, but he really did not participate in team drills. We'll see about that. I'm not as optimistic as I was, but I'm definitely not saying he won't play because I think there is a chance he will. Darrelle [Revis] is out, so Revis will miss again. He'll stay here, rehab and hopefully get ready for Minnesota. [Jamaal] Westerman, he was on the bike today. That doesn't look good for him. Then Damien Woody was out again for a personal reason. We expect him to be back tomorrow. Guys that were limited: Nick Mangold with a shoulder, Jason Taylor with his elbow.
A good day today on the practice field. It was a long, tough practice but it was something that we definitely needed. We know the Bills are going to give us their best shot, so we've got to make sure they're ready to go. I thought we had an excellent practice, so the preparation has been good. We'll see about tomorrow. I think our guys will come out, have a great practice. Like I say, they're going to get our best shot as well.
On signing Trevor Pryce…
We saw it as an opportunity, a window maybe. As soon as we saw that they released them, we of course got a little excited about it. At first, I was like there is no way he was released, but we found out that yes it was true that he was released. We started trying to get him here and you guys saw him when he walked in. He's here and he signed. He'll be playing this week.
On if he made a trip to Pryce's house…
No, I did not do that, but I offered [laughing].
On unwritten rule to not sign a player that another team says it plans to bring back to its roster…
I might have missed it.
On if he received a call from Ozzie Newsome …
No, I never received a phone call from Ozzie. Ozzie knows me well enough that if you leave Trevor Pryce out there that we're going to try to bring him in. It's as simple as that.
On what role Pryce will play…
I think he'll be in passing situations. I definitely think he can get out there. This guy is a finisher. He's a great pass rusher, very similar to Jason Taylor except he's an inside pass rusher. We go back and look at what I said about Trevor before we played him, I thought he was the best, or if not the best, one of the best inside pass rushers in the game and I still believe that. We just added a terrific player to go along with what we already have.
On if this hurts his relationship with Newsome…
No. Ozzie and I are close anyway. If it was important for Ozzie, he would have called me.
On if he got a call from Newsome about signing Keith Fitzhugh from the practice squad…
I never got a call from Ozzie. The practice squad, there's a courtesy thing that you'll call other teams to take a guy off their practice squad. It gives you an option to sign him and put him on your roster. For a veteran player that gets released, he's open to go wherever he wants. That's the risk you take, just like it's a risk for us to put Howard Green out there. In my opinion, you don't cut a guy and roll the dice. Trevor Pryce is going to be active for us. I'm not really worried about the Ravens team. I'm worried about our team.
On why Pryce hasn't had much production this year…
I don't know. I know when I watched him on last year's tape, I watched this year's, the things I was looking for were can he still run? He can definitely still run. He got doubled a bunch. He's a guy that's going to take up two guys. If you block him with one, that's when you're kind of asking for it. The great thing is you guys will get to see exactly what I'm talking about this week. He has an opportunity to show everybody and all the Jets fans the kind of pass rusher he is, albeit after two days of practice. I'll stand by him. He had 10 quarterback hits in a playoff game against Miami one time, which I think has never happened and this is a defensive tackle. For the time I was in Baltimore, he averaged a hit on the quarterback one out of every 10 snaps. That's not every 10 passes, that's one out of every 10 plays he averaged a hit on the quarterback. That's what we're getting here, the same thing we brought in with Jason Taylor, bringing that finisher, that edge pass rusher. That's what Trevor brings to us.
On why they didn't try to keep Chauncey Washington…
We feel pretty good about our roster right now. Obviously, you've got Santonio Holmes getting ready to get back on our roster. As much as we would have liked to have Chauncey up, it just never worked out. We let Danny Woodhead go and he got picked up. You can't keep all of your players. There are a lot of good players that will leave here that will play in the NFL.
On if Joe McKnight is costing them talent on the roster…
I think he's a talent. He's got that ability. I never trusted him to make him active initially because of the fumbling. As far as talent, I think he's got more talent that a lot of guys we've already talked about. It's just a matter of him doing it.
On how close McKnight is to be on the active roster…
He looks a lot better. Today, I singled out Joe McKnight and Matt Kroul. They're doing an incredible job on scout team for us. He's really coming. There's no doubt he's coming. He may be active this week.
On LaDainian Tomlinson's enthusiasm…
That's the beauty of it. He is a kid. He's just a little older. He does have that great enthusiasm and it's contagious. He wants the ball in his hands in critical situations and that's the mark of a great one. When we were doing that fourth-and-one, he couldn't wait. As soon as we called it, he was like, "I got it. I got it." Nobody doubted it. When he went flying over the line, those are things you remember. This is the guy we knew we were getting as far as the receiver, running skills, a three down back. Combined with the big tank in Shonn Greene, this gives us a great combination right there.
On Brian Billick saying that he will learn to not be so close with his players…
I respect our guys, if that's what he means by being close to them. I respect our players. I don't see how any coach cannot have respect for their players because I have news for you. It's not the coach. It's the players. The reason you have that nice house and drive those nice cars, my nice truck or whatever, is because the work of the players. Coaching is overrated, I think. If he means respect and all that, absolutely. I don't go out with players. I don't do any of that kind of stuff off-the-field. Am I close with players here? Absolutely, but I think it's based on respect more than anything else.
On how important this game at Buffalo is…
Huge. Of the four biggest regular season games we have left, one of them is this game right here. Then the three others will be the other divisional games. That's how I look at it. That's how I've talked about it with our team and we know how important this game is.
On the communication problems in the secondary…
I don't know. We were number one in the league last year in pass defense and fewest touchdowns given up, and all that. It just takes time. Sometimes, when you look at it, you're bringing in, in that game, three brand-new players in that defense. This happened to us in Baltimore, but after a while, you have some growing pains and then they hit their stride, just like us. Bet against us. See if we're going to finish 20th in the league. Bet against us if we're going to be 31st or 32nd on third-down. I have a funny feeling that number will be first in the league. I'm sure that defense will be first or second. I've been there. I've been down this road several times. It's just I'll bet on Dennis Thurman and this secondary any time.
On how Kerry Rhodes took a lot of the blame for miscommunication last season and he's gone…
Right. I still blame Kerry. I don't know what to tell you. It's Kerry's fault [joking]. I wasn't one of those guys who blamed Kerry Rhodes. I think his style of play fit a different scheme better than it fit this one. I'd much rather have a more physical player. I thought Kerry Rhodes would be an outstanding player for us. He's no longer here. We have Brodney Pool. Brodney Pool's had an impact on two games already this year. Has Brodney done everything right? Nope, but when it was game on the line, Brodney made the pool. Brodney made the pool? [joking]. Brodney made the play, and the pool.
On if he's pleased with Darrelle Revis' rehab…
His rehab has been outstanding. That's what they tell me. I haven't seen it, but they say he's been incredible. It's just a hamstring is a thing that you don't want to rush back especially if you're a corner. We never rushed it back last year with Lito [Sheppard]. When Lito had the hamstring, we never rushed him back. We never rushed back Darrelle when he had the hamstring in training camp because certainly as bad as we want him to play, we want him to play for the whole season, as much of the season as we possibly can. If he plays this game and then re-injures it, now we lose him for another six games or something like that. That would be devastating to our team. We need him at 100 percent and when he is, he's the best corner in football.
On Wayne Hunter's injury…
I was told it probably would have broken most guys' legs, but his bone in his leg is probably that big. When you look at it, it's just this massive bruise right here on his leg. It's bleeding this way [upwards] and downward. It's obviously painful to him and really uncomfortable. It looks horrendous. We're just waiting for him to turn the corner a little bit, but it hasn't happened.
On if he is concerned about Hunter's injury or if it just needs time to heal…
No, it just has to heal.
On if Hunter will need surgery…
No.
On how to defend Dustin Keller…
Don't ask me. There is no way [laughing]. I can't answer that one. It'd be easy, there are ways to defend him but the problem is now you've got to defend the other guys. You can play quarters where you've got him bracketed inside, outside and on top, but now that puts you one-on-one on the outside. A lot of teams are playing Cover Two, which now you have an underneath guy and a guy splitting in between him and the corner. That's what allows him to get open. Will we see more quarter coverage? We might just because of the kind of player he is, but that's just going to open up opportunities on the outside as well.
