Transcript of Jets head coach Rex Ryan's news conference following Wednesday's midday practice:
First off, guys that never practiced today: David Clowney with an ankle; Brandon Moore, foot; Lido Sheppard, quad. Then, guys who were limited: Jerricho with a hamstring; Shaun Ellis with knee and ankle; Bart Scott with a knee; Brad Smith with a quad; Damien Woody with a foot. Guys that were full: David Harris, wrist; Strickland, ankle; and Brian Thomas, wrist. In other news, Leon Washington is supposed to be back tonight, so that surgery went well, and hopefully he'll be back in town tonight.
Great practice today. Tempo was outstanding. This one, not surprisingly, is one that we really probably don't have to wait until Sunday to play. I mean, we do have to, but both teams know each other well. It's been only a couple weeks, so I'm sure they could have scheduled this game earlier, and both of us would have signed up for it. It's going to be a fun game, and like Ronnie Brown says, "The tougher of the 11 guys on the field will get the job done, will win the game." We'll see what happens.
On how Justin Miller looked at practice…
He looked pretty decent returning kicks. I know, obviously, he's got a great history with Mike Westhoff, and most of the guys know him. He should jump right in and help us as a returner.
On if Miller will start this Sunday…
We'll see. I think so, unless something else happens. I believe he'll be our kick returner.
On quoting Ronnie Brown…
I got the quote and that's a great quote. They must have felt that they were the tougher team on that Monday night, and we'll see who the tougher one is this week.
On if he thought Miami was the tougher team…
It was like 50 yards below their average, but right now we're the No. 1 running team in the NFL, so we're going to find out. I think it's a great statement, because I think he's dead on. I think he's dead on, and I don't have a silver tongue like he does, and I respect Ronnie Brown. He's a hell of a football player, him and his partner Ricky Williams, but I couldn't agree more with him on that statement. It's going to be a great game.
I think our fans need to set the tone up in the stands. I'm not saying hit people in a Dolphin jersey or something like that [laughter], but we've got to get an understanding one way or another. This is our home field and I'm expecting big things out of our crowd. This is [Chad] Henne's first NFL start away from his own stadium, so we'll see how that works out for him this week. This is not an easy place to play and we want it to be as difficult as people for any team that comes in here, and it's just the mentality. If you like old-fashioned football, then this is going to be a game that you don't want to miss. If you want to see an aerial circus, you probably need to go to a different game.
On what they need to improve on from the last time they played Miami…
Other than struggling to stop the run and the pass, I think those would be two areas I think we probably need to improve in [laughter]. It wasn't our day, but we're going to find out if Sunday is.
On how important it is for him to make amends for the last game…
It's huge. It's on me. There's no question about that. I'm responsible for how we played, so I can't wait for this game. I'm one of the few that have the guts to admit it, that absolutely I want to play this game again. I wanted to play it three seconds after that first one. Would the outcome be different then? I don't know, we'll see if it's going to be different on Sunday. I believe it will be. This is going to be a physical football game. It's going to be a great throwback game. We've even got throwback jerseys on, so bring it on. It's Winston Hill Day. Winston may play left tackle for us. We'll see.
On the Wildcat…
I don't know, you've got to give them credit. Obviously, the way they were celebrating, they deserved it. Whether it was scheme, whether it was execution, whatever it was, they got the job done. We'll see what happens. They threw the ball for 250 yards. When you look at it statistically, that's the number that really jumps out at you. They did a great job converting on third down. This team leads the league in third down conversions because they have so many third and shorts. If it's third and long, that's going to play into our hands. They know it and we know it. The idea is to do a great job on first and second down, give ourselves an opportunity to get them on third and long situations and get off the field.
On how much of a challenge the Wildcat presents…
It's a huge challenge. The Wildcat, that's all everybody wants to talk about. The way they moved the ball through the air on us, too, was a disappointment. Hey, we'll see what happens. They should call it the monster, though, as good as it is. We'll see.
On speaking with Leon Washington…
It was great. I talked to him after the game that day, that first night. Like I say, in typical Leon fashion, he was just talking about how he was so proud of his teammates and how they played. He was all excited about that. The guy is in great spirits. He can't wait to get back and start rehabbing, getting back to the guys and get ready for next season. That's just the way he is. He's got a great, great mindset, and that's why I think he's going to recover from this. I think he's going to be as good as new when he hits that field next year.
On if they talked about how difficult this injury is to recover from…
No, I never talked about the rehab. This guy is a tough guy. I have confidence in Leon. He's going to put the work in. We've got the right guys here with John [Mellody] and with Sal [Alosi]. I have great faith in our trainers and our strength coach and our program. I believe he'll be back. There's no question in my mind Leon will do what it takes to get back and get back to being 100 percent. I don't doubt that for a second.
On if he thinks Miller will contribute in the secondary…
I don't envision him helping us this week. It's not like when we picked up Braylon Edwards to play receiver. He doesn't know the system. We may have a role, but I doubt it this week. This first week we'll probably leave it up to the other guys, but moving forward, I want to see what the guy can do, let [the coaches] take a good look at him, and then we'll put him into some plans.
On who he is most concerned about that didn't practice today…
I'd say Lito is the one that I probably have the biggest concerns with right now.
On Jerricho Cotchery and Brad Smith…
I thought they looked good on the practice field. Jerricho went out there running with the ones. We'll see how he is. You feel good, now you do a lot of work, we'll see how they respond tomorrow, see how they're feeling.
On Mark Sanchez eating a hot dog on the sidelines…
First off, everybody thought it was my hot dog that he ate [laughter]. I was disappointed in it and he certainly wasn't meaning it in a disrespectful way, but I don't want to take anything away from the league, his teammates or the game at all. It is unfortunate. We have a great game, run for 300-some yards, breakout game, a 38-to-zip score, get a shutout, and now the focus is on the hot dog. I think Mark is doing the right thing with the plans that he has. I don't know the specifics, but it's good to see. That was just my point about it. I was disappointed, and I told him that. I probably can't express the exact words that I said because I always get in trouble from you guys [laughter].
On where the hot dog came from…
I still don't know. If he knows, he's not admitting it.
On if eating the hot dog was disrespectful to the league…
No. To me, I'm an old-school football guy. You're playing a great game of football. I know you're hungry, but leave that for the fans. You can go in the locker room and you can eat afterwards. That's not the biggest mistake he's ever going to make. I'm certainly perfect [laughter], so that was what was disappointing.
On the message that was sent by eating the hot dog…
To me, you're disrespecting it, you're disrespecting the opponent, you're disrespecting the game itself. That was what I thought. It wasn't that big a deal. He tried to hide it. I never knew about it until I was informed through Bruce [Speight] that it had happened. I addressed it on the plane with Mark. I've got an expression for it, but it's hard to use. It's a mouse something and we're hunting elephant. He's handled it the right way in my opinion, so we'll move on from that.
On how much the win did in helping the team's spirit…
I don't know. I think we needed a win, obviously. We had given away a couple of games. Oakland had just beat Philly, they were riding pretty high. I think they thought they were going to play well before the game. Our guys were on top of it. We were there for a purpose. We weren't out there to sightsee. We were there to win a football game and our guys did a great job of executing the game plans. I thought it was a great team effort. As far as the spirits on the practice field, maybe we gained some momentum from the win, but I think it's the fact that we get to play a Miami team that won the game with six seconds left and in the fashion that they won it. I think our guys are looking forward to the opportunity to compete against Miami against at our place.
On how important it is to go into the bye week with a win…
I think that's a good point, there's no doubt. Our mission is to win one game a week and our focus is strictly on that, but the bye week, you're exactly right. You don't want to have that bad taste in your mouth for two weeks. You've got to go get this one.
The beauty of playing Miami now is that it is a divisional game. If you get beat and whipped, like we did that Monday night, if we would have played Minnesota, Chicago or somebody like that, you may have to wait four years for that opportunity again. The great thing about this one is it's right now. It's happening right now. They've only played one game, and they get us again, so we'll see. Every man in that room I'm sure felt, I know I did, that I wanted this opportunity again. Now, sometimes be careful what you wish for. Ronnie Brown hit it on the head, and I think we're going to find out. We're going to find out who has the tougher 11. And I'm OK with that.
