Transcript of Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez's news conference following Tuesday's midday practice:
On what last week did for his confidence…
I think it helped. It was a special game last week, but like you said, it was last week. It's something to build on. I think the last three weeks have improved. We've improved as an offense, but most importantly just taking care of the football and making the right decisions which is sometimes a conservative one and just playing smart and field position. It's definitely something to build on, but we threw the ball 15 times. I have plenty of room to improve. I haven't arrived. I've still got a long way to go.
On if Braylon Edwards is due for a breakout game…
Absolutely. Just seeing the kind of catches he makes in practice and even the catches he's made in the games, I guess the drops standout just like the interceptions standout for me. He's in a tough position. Does he think he should catch those balls? Absolutely. Do we talk about it? All the time. Do we get in the extra work? Yes, so we're doing the right things to make that happen. It's only a matter of time. He's a playmaker. He's a stud and you feed the stud. You just keep throwing him the ball and he's bound to catch it.
On what Edwards can do for his development…
He's a big-play guy and when you get a big play like that, that can help swing momentum. That can really get guys going on the sideline. It helps out our defense. It might give us a one big play and done. It might give us just a one-play drive and that's huge for the offensive linemen [because you] get them off the field and give them a little break.
On if he talked to Edwards after the dropped ball against Cincinnati…
Yes, we talked about it. He felt like he should have caught it. Could I have put the ball a foot out even more in front? I probably could have. That's how critical I am of myself. That's how critical he is. It's something that will fix itself and we're working towards it.
On what he said to Edwards on the sideline after he dropped the ball against Cincinnati…
'Just don't worry about it. We're going to get you involved in this game.' He caught a big slant on a third-down later in a drive that set up a touchdown run by T.J. [Thomas Jones]. He's made some big time catches. Sure, some of the drops standout, but that's expected whenever you drop a big play like that [or] whenever I throw a pick to the house. That's what stands out in the game. It's not a big deal. He's mentally tough and he's going to work through this thing and we'll be just fine.
On if Rex Ryan is different than any coach he has had…
Coach [Pete] Carroll was a little different, but I think a different kind of different. That doesn't really make a lot of sense, I guess. He's [Rex Ryan] is so real. He doesn't hide anything. He tells us exactly what he thinks of other teams. If he thinks there is a weak link on another team, he'll tell us. If he thinks that so-and-so is a great player or we didn't have a good practice, or we did have a good practice, he doesn't blow smoke. He doesn't just try and pump you up. He's so genuine and real. You know what to expect. You go about your business. You want to play for him. You want to do well for him.
On if Ryan's candidness has hurt him at any point…
No. Sometimes the truth hurts. We can't throw picks. That's just the way it goes. We can't give the ball away. [With] things like that, there's nothing wrong with saying that as a coach especially when your quarterback is throwing a ton of interceptions. I don't think him being candid is rude at all. It's real.
On if there was a moment when things turned around for him this season…
It just kind of gradually turned and gradually got better and improved. It's been a real mindset to take care of the football, to make the right decisions for the team and I thought the press conference after the second Cincy game, it kind of hit me there. You figure out through this process what helps your team win and then you know what gets you beat and turnovers gets you beat. In this league, turnovers will get you beat. When we don't turn the ball over, we have a chance.
On if it was a struggle to realize that he had to eliminate turnovers to be successful…
I think I've gotten better with it. Like I said, I've got a lot of work to do. I don't want to feel like I've got everything covered and I've figured it out. I just think that working to eliminate turnovers has really helped. We'll just keep going from there.
On what he discussed with Ryan on the timeout during the Cincinnati game…
Not word for word. It was frustrating. I thought it was a situation where they thought I wasn't going to get the play off with the play clock. I saw it and was ready to get the snap, and then I felt comfortable with the play that we had called. I knew what was going to happen on defense. I just felt good about it, so when we called a timeout, it was for a different reason which was fine. We just wanted to switch up personnel [and] change the play up. We converted anyway so it didn't matter, but it was just one of those situations where I felt so good and so comfortable. Then, we stopped everything. I was like, 'Man. Why the heck did you do that?' It's alright though. They knew I was into the game in the heat of the moment. Obviously, nothing is personal. We're all trying to win, so it was fine.
On if it has shown how he's improved and grown…
I guess. That's maybe a sign of growing up a little. I hope. Being able to fire back real quick and knowing what's going on and six weeks ago would I have done that? I don't know. Maybe not. Maybe it would have been like, 'Oh, maybe I messed something up. Maybe I didn't get the formation right.' Now, I just feel more comfortable. It's easier, I guess, to start yelling.
On what Brian Schottenheimer has meant to him this year…
He's been instrumental in my development. He's just been there to talk no matter what, sending me text messages, calling me late after games, after the Buffalo game, after Atlanta. Really after tough games when I don't really want to talk to anyone – I'll answer his call. He's just like, "How you doing man? How are you feeling? What's up?" He's easy to talk to. He's taught me so much about playing in this league. These last couple of weeks, we've really started to kind of grow together. This thing on offense has really started working, so we kind of found what we like to do. We've found a little bit of a formula. We're obviously going to keep tweaking it and keep going, but it's been a great relationship all year. It's difficult to think about, but at the same time I just try not to. Just like at SC with [Steve] Sark [Sarkisian]. There were rumors that he was going to leave. You just kind of block it out and keep playing. We'll cross that bridge when we need to.
On how much the team reflects the attitude of Coach Ryan…
I think we do. A lot of guys speak their minds. It's just my first time going through it, so I'm pretty cautious. I try to be at least with what I say except for Coach [Pete] Carroll. A lot of guys are real like Rex and they don't have to hide their feelings. They can talk to him. It's an open door policy all the time. A lot of guys just say how they feel, so I think we do reflect our coach and have this confidence about us without being too cocky or boastful about anything. We just kind of fit his mold really well and we've adapted to his style and system.
On his feelings of being in the playoffs with other quarterbacks like Peyton Manning and Drew Brees…
It's pretty cool. It's great, but at the same time you don't want to just be there. Just like those guys, they don't want to be mentioned with all the other players you just mentioned. They want to win it, just like I do. Competitive guys make it to this level. I'm honored to be here, but at the same time I don't want to look back and say, 'Man, that was cool getting to the Divisional round.' We want to get to the AFC Championship. We want to get to the Super Bowl. It's great to think about. I probably won't think about it until later on, maybe in the off season, but I hope it's something I can reflect on and think, 'Man, I beat some of those guys.' Just keep preparing and stick to what we know and make sure to shake their hands after the game. I've grown up watching those guys so it's pretty special.
On his development and how his team has helped him get to this point as a rookie quarterback…
It's just a reflection of our team. Like you said, this is a really special group. To have a running game like we do, that takes so much pressure off the quarterback, especially a rookie quarterback. To have an offensive coordinator, an offensive line coach and offensive line who are so experienced, they help me out with protections and we really talk through things. Where a ten-year vet, I'm sure Nick Mangold didn't have to explain zone-protection to Brett Favre last year. Those are things that I need to talk about with Nick and he has no problem with it. That speaks volumes about the kind of players we have in this organization and how easy they have tried to make it on me. Sometimes I made it hard on myself being a hard-headed rookie, but we're coming along. We're in a great position and we just want to keep playing and keep winning.
On the confidence he gained with some of the successful passes last week…
It was great for us to get Dustin [Keller] involved. He's one of those players that are still developing, like I am. Hopefully we'll be around together for a long time. Converting on third-downs, big third-downs, third-and-longs, we just want to position ourselves a little better and get third-and-manageable. It was a confidence building game and it was important to win on the road like that in a hostile environment against a very good team. Now we just need to build on it. We're rolling right now. We feel like things are going well, but we still have a long way to go.
On how he reacted to the Coach Ryan's calendar that included a Super Bowl parade…
That's Rex. There's no hiding it. Maybe in some organizations, on some teams that would be the big elephant in the room, "I wonder what day the Super Bowl is. Obviously it's going to be a Sunday, but what date is it? When is that parade?" That is the kind of stuff you think about. That keeps you going through the whole process. It fires you up.
Thomas [Jones] talked about it the other night before the game. He said, "There is nothing like knowing you are going to the Super Bowl. That confetti is going to come down. Just keep thinking about that, keep dreaming about it. When you get tired in the film room, stay 10 more minutes and just think about 'That could be us'. It will change your life forever. You'll be a champion forever." That was pretty special. That just reflects Rex's mentality and we like that.
On if he was tired of people saying he was the "weak link"…
I knew I had some tough games, that's for sure. I knew that I played well in spurts and that I needed to keep plugging away, keep preparing, not lose focus, not lose faith in myself and this team. To let things work for me instead of forcing. These last couple of weeks, I haven't really forced anything. I haven't really tried to make something work out of nothing and that's where we've gotten in trouble in the past. When I stay away from that, there is nothing to worry about. We just have to play and hope for big plays. We know our defense is going to play well. I don't think that really bothered me at all. It was frustrating at times, but it's something that you work through. Hopefully that's long gone.
On how he worked through the difficult parts of the season…
A lot of it was just keeping up with the routine. The coaches even approached me about it just saying that I'm here late watching film, I take my film home, studying the plays, making flashcards. I'm doing all the right things. It's important to me and people see that. They see how frustrated I am on gameday when things don't work. It's a matter of just communicating with the offensive coordinator Schotty, Coach [Matt] Cavanaugh, talking through situations and putting myself in a good spot. Getting ahead with the down-and-distance, getting ahead of the chains. Just worried about getting completions instead of maybe trying to throw touchdowns and throw it down the field or trying to lock onto a receiver. Just check it down, live to see another day, let's get another play on offense.
On the challenges the Chargers present…
I can talk a long time about that. They are a special group. On offense they're explosive. We'd love to keep their offense off the field. We need to play well and take care of the football, maximize our opportunities in the red-zone. They have just a stellar defense. I'm excited to play against guys that I know over there. Kevin Ellison, a former teammate at [Southern California] came in this year playing really well, especially for a rookie. [Antonio] Cromartie, both corners are great, [Quentin] Jammer and then [Shaun] Phillips and [Shawne] Merriman, there front three running the 3-4 defense there cause quarterbacks fits. They get interceptions, they get pressure on the quarterback. They make you be patient. They really test your patience as a quarterback. Yeah, it's going to be important to take care of the ball and [we] know that we're in for a big challenge. The crowd is going to be going wild, it's a big time game for them as well. We just need to show up with the right mindset and build on these last couple of weeks.
On playing close to home in California…
There will be a ton of family there. It's always fun to go and play for them. Just to see a bunch of people that I haven't seen in a while that I won't see until the offseason, hopefully a few weeks away. It's going to be a special night. At the same time, just like last week, there's always something that could be a distraction whether it's going home or it's playing against somebody you grew up idolizing in Carson Palmer two weeks in a row. Those kinds of things happen, I guess, with the playoffs there is always some side story, something that can get you off track. It's something to respect and show that I'm appreciative that the fans will be there, people that I know, but at the same time we have to win a football game. That's our real focus.
On if missing the Tampa game might have helped…
It was definitely hard. I remember watching the game and being upset and frustrated that I couldn't be there at least, just to watch or participate. It's something you deal with and move on from. I don't ever want to feel like that again. We don't want to go home this week, that's what it will feel like for months. It will feel like the Tampa game for months if we go home. We just need to keep winning and keep improving.
On if he ever had conversations with the offensive line about trust…
We didn't have to talk about it at all with that experienced group. You just trust them automatically. These guys are good. They keep my jersey pretty clean. Knowing that they're going to be there and get through my read as fast as possible. Make it easy on them. Don't get too jumpy in the pocket and drift right into Brick [D'Brickashaw Ferguson] once he's handling somebody like Mario Williams, or somebody like that. He's had an awesome year, so you just have to trust those guys and know that they're going to be there for you and to make sure that we're in sync with our Mike points and declarations from a protection standpoint. Nothing really needed to be said. I just needed to get on board with them, to catch up.
