Transcript of Jets head coach Rex Ryan's afternoon news conference following Tuesday's midday training camp practice at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center:
Today we had Josh Mauga and [Donovan] Warren both held out again with concussions or head injuries. [Charlie] Tanner, the guard from Texas has a bit of a knee. We don't know the extent of it so far, but he's going to be out. Early thing was two to four weeks but that's really all I know there. Ropati [Pitoitua] is going in for surgery today so he's going to have that and come back after a good surgery. I think Ken Montgomery is doing the surgery so we're confident there, but that's an unfortunate thing.
Today's practice, it was great to see all of the fans out there today. Offense struggled a little bit. Sometimes it's like a Wednesday practice type deal. Defense is looking pretty decent. We're not game-planning Washington specifically but we did put in a two-minute situation, someone else's defense, not ours, against our offense. Except when the defense was up, the two offense went and just ran their plays against their defense. Now that you're totally confused [laughter], offense really never had a very good day. They had a good day yesterday and it wasn't very good today, so we have to get better.
The scout teams we challenged. Some scout team guys, as soon as you put a card up, then it's almost like, "Oh, I'll just go through the motions," but that's not the case. I have to make sure they do a better job with that as well. It seems like when you put the cards up, the tempo goes down a little bit and that's something we can't have and won't have here. I challenged the team to get better, so we'll see.
On if the cards were Washington Redskins-specific…
No. The defense never had a card. When the defense was out there, it was just against our offense because you get better reps that way and the defense didn't care what you do anyway. From an offensive standpoint, the offense was putting in some cards. For instance, we don't put a whole lot of Cover-2 with our defense, so we worked some Cover-2 things specifically. I think they had a certain blitz that even though we're not game-planning Washington, they wanted to see, so that's basically what happened there.
On how important it is to get in a good rhythm offensively…
It's going to be a challenge, too, because Washington, if I'm not mistaken, they were a top-five defense last year, so I think that'll be a good challenge. They have a lot of weapons on offense, Mike Shanahan. They went for 400 yards passing against the Ravens even though they only scored three points. It's going to be a good test for both sides of the ball. This will be the last [preseason game with the starters]. I mean, we'll get a series against Philly, probably, maybe a little longer than that but not much. This will be a big test for us.
On Nick Mangold's contract extension…
He's going to officially sign here. We have a deal in principle with Nick and it should be official within the next couple of hours. It got so close that I held him out of the game today. I don't want him to get hurt — "No stepping in a hole, you're getting ready to sign." It's a big contract so that was my decision to keep him out of practice.
On if Mangold was happy to be out of practice…
He's like, "What?" and I'm like, "Yes, stay out. You're going to get this deal signed." I'd hate for him to step in a hole or something like that.
On if he seriously thought that Mangold might get hurt if he practiced today…
Yes, I did. I don't know how many coaches would. I never wanted to [jinx him] so let's just get this thing done. He's healthy and happy. He can go home, pretend when he signs it here that it's not that big of a deal and then go home and cry to his wife. That'll be good.
On what specifically the offense needs to work on…
Well, I think protection would be the first thing. We have to do a better job protecting the quarterback, a better job completing passes and a better job running the football. Other than that, I think it was a pretty good performance against Carolina. Seriously, it starts up front. We pride ourselves on having the best offensive line in football. Let's get out there and get a little rhythm. It's a good football team that we're playing. We're excited to play against Howard Green out there, Ma'ake Kemoeatu, a couple of my former guys. It will be a big test for us.
On if Matt Slauson is still in the lead over Vladimir Ducasse at left guard…
He's been ahead the whole way but the kid is coming. If we can eliminate the little mistakes he had in the game and make it a physical contest, I think he could close the gap even more. It's still a contest in my opinion.
On Slauson's performance in the last game…
I saw Slauson get beat like a drum on one. It might not have been a sack by his guy, but he clearly affected the play. In fact, it was a ball that was almost intercepted where Mark [Sanchez] almost got his knee hit. He just got beat clean by an old-school pass rush move where the guy lined up wide and gave him a little head fake, came off the ball and swam him. The wider they get, the more strength they get as a pass rusher. You have to know that. It's obvious. It's Football 101. The closer you are, the more wiggle they give you. You have to get better than that.
On who will start on Friday…
It will be Slauson still. Whatever Bill [Callahan] tells me.
On Sanchez's knee brace…
I had him put the brace on after I saw that thing. It was close. He couldn't step up. The guy's helmet was here. I was like, "That's enough." That's why he's putting it on.
On if Sanchez will wear the brace during the games…
Yes. I want him to wear it and see how it feels during one preseason game and if it's that big of an issue, then we'll take it off for the game. I feel much better about him just having that thing on.
On if the play where Slauson got beat caused him to have Sanchez wear the knee brace…
That is the play that got my attention. Absolutely.
On when he would like the decision to be made about Slauson and Ducasse…
Well, I'd like to have it done right now. We knew last year when the decision was the right time for quarterback. I think this one's going a little longer but we'll do what is eventually right. Sometimes you have to prepare for a guy to go down in a game. Who's your next? We still have [Rob] Turner. Damien Woody, we actually got him a couple one-on-one pass blocking sets at guard and put Wayne [Hunter] at right tackle. You kind of hide your depth. Kind of where we are on our D-line. We've got five guys we know who can really play and we're working to who's going to be the sixth guy.
On if Ducasse will get time with the first team offense against Washington…
Yes. It's something we've talked about and we'll give him a shot in there. But he's got to eliminate the mental mistakes or I don't want him in there if he can't handle it mentally.
On Eric Smith's preseason performance…
Eric has been a great player. He's done a great job for us. He does so many different things for us. We take advantage of his intelligence, kind of like the team did when we had a spelling bee for our Jeopardy game. We had a rule that you could only use Eric Smith once. He was the difference in the game, by the way. I don't know if ["Hard Knocks"] will show that this week or not, but that's him. He's smart. He can play anywhere. You can turn him around and put him in.
I did that to Jim Leonhard once during a preseason game when we needed a defensive lineman. It was just going to be an extra zone out guy. I just turned, "Give me somebody smart. Leonhard!" and threw him in there. You can ask him. He's got one snap as a defensive lineman in a game. The guard's like, "Who is this guy?" He got down into a three-point and everything. It was beautiful.
But that's what you can do with Eric Smith. You win with smart guys, and, the old saying, dumb guys get you beat. Eric Smith, we're happy to have him. We will put Eric Smith against anybody in this league in an intelligence test.
On if he knew what he'd get from Smith when he got here…
I think the answer is no to that. I had no idea. In fact, I was not a fan of Eric's. The first mini-camp, I was like, "We'll probably move on from this guy." We had moved him down on the depth chart. We brought in Jim Leonhard and already put him over him. He never took too kindly to it, and I can understand that. The next camp, he decided he was going to show me who he was. Not just me, but all of us, the kind of player that he was. From that point on I realized this guy's not going anywhere. He's a heck of a player.
On why he made the preconception about Smith…
I never knew him. I just knew that I wanted Jim Leonhard on our team.
On if it was solely a depth chart issue…
I kind of figured that. We had some other guys at safety and we had moved him down. He started playing and his head probably wasn't into it, which I understand with two guys over you. But when he decided that he was going to show us what kind of player he was, that's what turned my head.
On Wednesday's practice at Hofstra…
Last year was great. We went down there, the fans were crazy. Kind of like the fans now [in Florham Park today]. I don't know if we really had that last year, but when we went up to Hofstra they were like that. There's a lot of Jets fans right in that area. We want to be true to that. I know the Jets were there for years and years, back when my dad was coaching. I thought it was a great opportunity for us — even though it's one day — to keep our fan base out there and let them know that we still think about them. It's an opportunity for us to do it. It is an inconvenience. You never know how the traffic is going to be there. But it's the least we could do.
On if the offense has taken a step back since the first preseason game…
They did a good job in the first preseason game. We definitely took a step back from that first game to the second game. Was it the fact that we only had them out there for a quarter? We'll find out. There's no excuse. We'll line it up against a better defense than both of those teams this week with Washington. I assume it's going to be a good test for us.
On if he's concerned about the offense…
Nope.
On if Kellen Clemens knows he isn't the No. 2 quarterback but Mark Brunell is…
I had a conversation with Kellen before he came here. I've had another conversation since. I think he knows where we are. We signed Brunell to be our backup quarterback, and he is. Mark is a veteran quarterback. He went to a Super Bowl last year as a veteran backup quarterback. He was a perennial Pro Bowl-type player as a starting quarterback in this league. He's an ideal guy for us to have. This is a new system to him, though. When we first had him here, we just had a few things in and he was lighting it up. Now, since we got everything in, he's not as sharp as he will be once he gets this package down. I have all the confidence in the world that he'll get this down.
On if he thinks they'll keep both Tony Richardson and John Conner at fullback…
I definitely do. I would be shocked if those two weren't on our opening day roster. The bigger question might be what do you do with the third guy? Does Jason Davis make this team? He's a good football player. He's going to be a fullback in this league. Do we keep him? What do we do? The one thing that Mike [Tannenbaum] and I talk about all the time together is that we'll keep the best football players regardless. We may be heavy one way and light in a different area, but at the end of the day, that's usually the best thing for your football team – keep the best guys.
On what the team gets from having an open practice…
I just think it's great that the fans come in. We've been away from our facilities. We were at Cortland for all that time. Now we come back in here and give the fans in this area the chance to see their team. It's good for us. That atmosphere is always good when you have fans out there to watch you. It's a win-win situation.
On if Smith's hit on Anquan Boldin affected his perception of him…
No. When I looked at that hit, number one it wasn't intentional. It looked like Boldin got hit into Eric and [Smith] was just trying to make a play. It was an unfortunate situation for both of them. I know Eric had a concussion and Boldin obviously had a serious injury. Those are things you never want to see, but Eric's deal was he was trying to make a play on the football. That's what he did.
It's just something when you stack guys up athletically, then you realize that Eric is a talented player in his own right. What he brings to the table, this is something that we take advantage of, guys what they can do. He has the minimal make up that you can do so many different things with him. I don't know how many mental mistakes he makes, but I bet you can count them on one hand for a year. He's smart. He's instinctive and he's got great hands for interceptions. He'll hit you. He does all those things and by the way, he's one of the premier special teams guys in this league. He is a very valuable player for us.
