Transcript of head coach Rex Ryan's news conference following Thursday's midday OTA practice at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center:
Well, it's OTAs. It was great to be out there today. The weather was fantastic. I like the energy and the tempo that's out there. I think we all see it. I like the way the draft picks, especially our top three draft picks, they look like they belong. We saw Stephen Hill obviously caught another big pass, I'm sure it will be reported that a lefty threw him a touchdown pass today. But [Quinton] Coples looks like he's killing it pretty good out there. Then [Demario] Davis, for the most part, did a great job until the last play of that two-minute. It's called a wheel route. If they throw it anywhere but the end zone, we'll just come up and make a tackle. But other than that, he's been flying around, making his presence felt, as well. I'm really excited about the draft class and how they're progressing. With that, fire away, please.
On Coach Sparano's passion and how the offense is moving along…
Well, I love it. He'll get on coaches, too. He was on Ben Kotwica today. He [Kotwica] runs our two-minute thing. He's got the whistle, he's the referee, all that. [Sparano] was getting on him: "You've got to have that thing down there." He's great. He's as passionate a guy as I've ever been around. We see it, we knew it. I saw it when we went against him, looking at him across the field — "OK, I see you. Watch what my team does to your team." One of those types of mentalities. He can't help it. That's who he is. I love that about him. I'm excited about when I'm in the classroom and how he's threatening to run the guys out of meetings, player or coach, that's nodding.
He's great. I tell you, it's fun. He can coach every position. I don't care what it is, quarterback, left guard, receiver, he can coach 'em all. It's great to watch. It's a lot of fun. He's got a lot of great coaches with him. Obviously Mike Devlin, Anthony Lynn, Matt Cavanaugh we've known, Lance Taylor. But then the new additions of Guge [Dave DeGuglielmo] and Sanjay [Lal], it's fun to watch.
On the fast tempo and how it will help for training camp…
I think it lets you know, number one, just because you're putting in a brand-new system, it doesn't mean there's anything less than that kind of tempo that's acceptable. No, no, you got to catch up. You have to be caught up to speed. My dad always had a thing: Don't let the only limitations your players have be you as a coach. It's hard not to take that personal, but it's a true thing. Your players can always do more than you give them credit for. We throw it all at them. We expect them to be at that kind of tempo and let them know this is how we do things. I think that's great to watch. There is no question about it. You feel it.
We had a couple of delay-of-games in that two-minute — that drives him crazy. I know they're not doing it on purpose just to see him blow a gasket, but that's kind of what happens, because it's not acceptable. It's funny, in a two-minute situation, I've always looked at this, like when Belichick, I always talk about how he organizes his team to handle those two-minute situations. Nobody has done it better than the Dolphins in the last few years. I think that's really going to help us, as well. Under obviously Tony's guidance and things, you see that. That's who he is. The way he handles the clock, manages the quarterback, I think it's tremendous.
On what it means to have the team focusing on team slogans rather than the Super Bowl…
Well, I admit I made a mistake by saying all that stuff before. There's no doubt. I guess I've got to apologize for saying it all the time. I made a mistake, there's no question. The goal has never changed. We all know what the goal is. To get there, you have to do these things. I think the first two years we kind of figured it out, and then we missed it last year. That was my fault. You look back, I've got to do better at that.
I think that urgency now, the pride of this group, this team, is that we know how to get there. It is those words, it is the accountability, everything that we talk about. This group wants it. We want to be in those playoffs again. We know that there's no shortcut for hard work. That's what we're out there doing. And in the weightroom, guys are doing a great job. Our weightroom numbers are going [up] like this. We want to be a strong, physical football team. You got to do that in the weightroom. You got to put your work in there as well.
On how Tebow has progressed since last week…
I think he's done well. Each time you're going to have some good days, some bad days, sometimes the defense is going to win, sometimes the offense is going to win. But I think he's done well. Everybody is just learning this system and things. The thing that I've always said about him, I think Tim has a nice touch on the deep ball. I don't think there's any doubt.
Today Stephen Hill made a great move. He's open — boom, lay it in there. Stephen Hill is fast. When you look at him, he's got that size and speed. He brings that to the table. He can get off of press better than I thought. I thought that would be where he would really struggle. Guys coming into the league, for the most part, it's like, OK, you can be fast, but let's see how fast you are getting off this press. I think that's something that has been surprising to me is that he gets off press pretty good. It's good. That gives us that presence, that speed on that outside, that size, that length, all that.
On Tebow's completion percentage being down but being able to hit the vertical pass…
He does. That's a real positive. Can he become more accurate? Yeah. He's got to work on it, sure. Each quarterback has things to work on. You've got to be accurate with the football. There's times when I think Sanchez can throw it with anybody in this league. Then there's other times like "Oh, gosh, Mark missed it." Like he was even a little behind today. Late in the down, it might have already been a sack, but he's trying to finish a play, but that's Revis playing corner, so you're not getting that one back. Those are things that we've got to get better at, for sure.
On if Tebow's presence has inhibited Sanchez's ability to lead the team…
I don't sense any of that. I think it's a real positive locker room, a great vibe. You talk about the leadership and Sanchez. I think the best thing about how Sanchez is leading is in the classroom. Tony will fire out questions, and Sanchez has all the answers. I think that speaks volumes to his teammates. I see that over and over and over again.
On offering Nick Mangold the chance to go to London to watch his sister compete in the Olympics…
I just think Nick is a smart guy. He would understand our offense, all of that kind of stuff. So it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see your sister do something that is absolutely incredible: Competing against the world's best in a weightlifting competition I think would be incredible. I know that if I was in a similar situation, I would want to see my brother in a weightlifting contest. I think we'd all want to see that [laughter]. But I would. I just wanted to make sure, "Hey, look, I know how important this season is, this game is, our football team is, but there's other things that are equally as important, maybe more important in the big picture of things."
On if he was glad that Mangold turned down the offer…
Yeah, I was shocked when I read in the papers that he turned it down. He never even told me. I'm like, you got to be kidding me. But this doesn't come around often.
On if he's going to try to convince Mangold to go…
Yeah, I will. But it's not going to happen. Once Nick is locked in... I don't think he realized this is an amazing thing, it really is. How many people are good enough to go to the Olympics and compete against the world's best, and represent our country? I think it's an incredible opportunity for her and him as well.
On how the trade for Tebow will affect Shonn Greene…
I think Shonn [Greene] is going to carry the ball a bunch. I don't think that's going to affect Shonn's carries. LaDainian [Tomlinson] is not here. You still have Joe McKnight and things. I think Shonn is going to get plenty of carries. I don't think he's going to have to worry about that.
On how Greene can benefit from Coach Sparano's offense…
I think he'll benefit a great deal. I do. We want to be a run-first team. In other words, bring them all in here and we'll throw it. Now we can throw it over your head, we can do it whenever. We want to be a physical football team. You're going to know it. So we're not going to disappoint you. We're going to give the ball to Shonn Greene a bunch.
On if they have started using Tebow for anything other than quarterback on offense…
No.
On the gains made in the weightroom this spring…
I think when you look at them, we're a strong football team. I was in there today, breaking records on the treadmill [laughter]. But I'm there and I'm watching the guys. Because this is day 18, I'm allowed to watch them. But just being around them, you see the energy, guys lifting, moving weights. [Antonio] Cromartie doing chin-ups while doing bicycle wheels as he goes up. Wow, we're a strong team. But you see guys pushing and driving each other. That's a great thing. The other thing is I thought as a football team it hurt us not having that time together. Because we're one of the only teams, like I say, I'll challenge any team, our attendance, this is a voluntary deal, our attendance is probably as good as anybody's in this league. I would think it would be as good as anybody's in this league. The first two years right at 100%. This year at 96% of a voluntary deal. Our guys want to be here, and they're working hard.
On the team's objectives for strength training…
I want to be a strong team, make gains during the season. You've got to push yourself, get stronger in the off-season. I want guys to be looking in the mirror looking at themselves. They push me to wear this because of the weight loss. My arms look like twigs and things. They're like, "Please put some sleeves on." I'm like, "All right." But when you look, you want guys who say, Yeah, I'm looking good, feeling good about themselves, feeling strong, being able to move people. That's what you want your team to be. We want to play the part, for sure. But it's not bad looking the part either
On if LaRon Landry is missing out by not being at practice…
You know, it is a voluntary deal. I mean, that really is what it is. It is a voluntary thing. Do I think he's going to struggle picking up our defense when training camp rolls around if he's healthy enough to get out there and strong enough to play? No, I don't. But he's got a playbook and all that kind of stuff. Guys learn differently.
On if he's spoken to Landry…
I've texted him a few times. These young kids, they don't speak on the phone. I've texted him a few times.
On Aaron Maybin's offseason…
I think he's just scratched the surface. I think having Karl Dunbar here and Anthony Weaver really working on his pass rush will really help. I think he's going to be one of the big guys that benefit from having an expert like Karl Dunbar here. What his numbers are going to be, you know, I don't want to place too many things on him. That's the problem I always run into. I expect him to have a big year rushing the passer for us. And I also think knowing the system better, I think there's some things that we can do with him. Maybe it's some base situations as a backup that we can use him also.
On focusing to get back to being a good coach…
I mentioned it before, last week, you know, I'm putting a lot of pressure on myself because of what I expect from this team, what our players expect, what this organization expects, what our fans expect. We want to win, all of us. When I say "we," I'm including the fans, you name it. We expect to win. Whoever's out there, they expect the Jets to be a good football team. We don't want to disappoint them. Let's make sure we're a good football team. We want to be in that race.
Sit back at home, me driving around our stadium and see the Giants playing in there, us not, that stings. I mentioned it. I don't want that. I want us to be in a home playoff game. Is that difficult? Yeah. You've got a team up the road. New England has been to a million of 'em in a row. We know there's a lot of work to do, but we want to be there, there's no question. Pressure, it's not a security thing for me, it never has been about that for me. I want to win, I want to be special. Just like the Giants were last year, I want to be special. So that's what's driving me.
On Darrelle Revis challenging himself and the team to improve…
Revis is Revis out there. Every day he competes. I mention [Muhammad] Wilkerson. He has some of the ability where I think Mo can take that next level. Can he be Revis? I don't know. Like we mentioned, I said, Why is he the best? Why is Revis the best? He's the best because he competes every single day. I throw balls out there in some defensive walkthrough type things, and he'll pick those off all the time. But push yourself. That guy will have no regrets when his career's over.
Actually he'll probably be like Walter Payton — man, what a great career and all that. They asked him if there was a single thing that he could do, because he's a legendary workout guy and everything else, what would he do differently. He goes, "I would have worked harder." "You worked harder than anybody that's ever played."
Revis has that type of temperament on the field. You see that every day. He competes every day. Does he win every down? No. But he competes every single down.
On Revis' contract situation…
I'm not going to get into the contract stuff. You can talk to Mike and Revis about that. My thing is I'm excited about this upcoming season and having Revis there, there's no doubt.
On if he expects Revis at the start of camp…
I think Revis will be, yes.
On if he expects Santonio Holmes back next week…
Yes. Once he comes back from Germany, he'll be here.
On if the gap widened between the Jets and the Patriots after last season…
I think that's the perception out there. I don't necessarily believe it. In fact, you know I don't believe it, but there's 29, 30 teams ahead of us if you listen to some people. I don't think so. We'll see. I think it's going to be a real competitive conference. When you look at us, you look at our division with New England, Buffalo, and Miami, it's going to be tough sledding, there's no question. I think it speaks volumes that our teams usually make it to the championship game or pass that. This is a tough division. I think it's an excellent one.
On Rex's upcoming film…
I'm sure it's going to be one they want to watch, for sure. No, I haven't seen it or anything else.
On if he puts the team in a bad spot during contract time by talking players up too much… Yeah, I do, sometimes. But the truth's the truth. What I'm saying is Deion Sanders made X amount of dollars, so Revis, sign [Sanders'] contract [laughter]. Go ahead and negotiate it now. I think that's being fair.
