Transcript of quarterback Mark Sanchez's news conference following Wednesday's midday practice at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center:
On his preparation for the game against Buffalo…
I'm preparing like I'm going to play, watching film, taking as many reps as possible and still being smart about my shoulder, so until [Coach Ryan] says I'm not in, I'm treating it like a regular game.
On if he wants to play Sunday to keep the momentum from his last two performances going…
I think all of us on offense, we've kind of found a good rhythm here and it's important to watch the same amount of film, prepare like we're playing and that's all we know until he says anything different. It's important to keep up with our routine and you just use this game as preparation for our next playoff game.
On how his shoulder is feeling…
Good, it's feeling all right.
On how his shoulder feels compared to last week…
It's feeling better. It's just sore, so we're being smart with it.
On making the playoffs his first two seasons in the league…
It's a tremendous honor and not the easiest task, so we're proud that we made it this far. We would've liked to win a couple of more games during the season and position ourselves a little better in the playoffs, but you take what you can get. We're in the playoffs just like last year, we have to get ready to play on the road and we've done pretty well at that.
On how irritated he would be if Coach Ryan pulled him during the game on Sunday…
He has a good feel for things and he knows what he wants out of us. He also wants to be smart with injuries and at the same time keep us in our same rhythm. My routine has been good these last few weeks, I felt good when game day came and I want to feel that same way this Sunday and not miss a beat, so until he says anything, I'm preparing to play. I'm ready to go, and then if I do indeed get pulled, I'll be [Mark] Brunell and Kellen [Clemens]'s biggest cheerleader.
On how much value there is in starting and playing some on Sunday rather than knowing he will not be playing…
It changes your mental approach. If you know you're not playing, if he tells you early in the week and just says, "Hey, you're resting all week," it might change your mental approach. Even if he says it on game day, I want to be able to go through the warmups, go through all the footwork stuff. I want to keep my feet sharp. I've been a lot better with two hands on the football, little things like that, working on fundamentals and this is the perfect week to get back to it. It definitely helps, all the reps you can get.
On if playing three Sunday games in a row has helped him settle into a routine…
Absolutely, you just kind of hit a rhythm. I felt confident going into each Sunday. I just felt good with the calls, they were rolling off the end of my tongue. I'm feeling great in the pocket. The offensive line is doing a great job run-blocking, pass-blocking, so it's all of us kind of feeling a rhythm on offense. We don't want to disrupt that. We want to hit the playoffs in stride, so that's just the game plan this week and we'll keep going with it.
On if he has changed his routine at all the past couple of weeks…
No. I don't know, we just kind of hit a groove and we've felt good with everything. I know what calls are coming from Schotty [coordinator Brian Schottenheimer], I'm getting the ball out of my hand quickly, I'm getting to the checkdown when I need to, little things like that. It's important to stay sharp this week because we might play a Saturday game the next week and we just need to be ready for a short week if that's indeed the case.
On if he would play and how much he would play if it were up to him on Sunday…
I'm glad I'm not a head coach. I don't know, I mean I always want to play. I like practicing, I like playing and that's all I think about. I love doing it. I just want to be smart with my shoulder and make sure that the reps I get are quality reps, that nothing slips during the week of practice in my preparation, film study and then on game day, do as much as Rex needs. If it were up to me, I have no idea. I'd see how it feels on Sunday first before I did anything. I just want to be ready for the playoffs and I know what kind of a grind that is from last year. I need to play even better than I did in the playoffs last year, this year, for us to win. We'll see. It's going to be up to Rex and that's a tough decision. I don't want to be in his shoes.
On if he has looked at his possible playoff opponents…
It's still pretty early and that entire week is going to be dedicated to whoever we play. We'll cross that bridge when we get there, but it's not worth looking over a Buffalo team that's playing pretty well. Their defense is active. They look good. Their nose tackle [Kyle Williams] does a heck of a job. [Paul] Posluszny does a great job. [Jairus] Byrd, in the back end, he's making great plays like he did last year. These guys are a good group and those are the guys I'm preparing for.
On how Coach Ryan's reconsideration of his playing time affected his preparation today…
Really, for a Wednesday, if anything, I did more. With the exception of throwing it, I probably did more. Footwork, ladder drills, drops with the bags and just fundamental stuff, keeping two hands on the ball and then just getting a few less throws and saving my arm; I'm preparing like I'm ready to go on Sunday and it didn't really change anything.
On Coach Ryan's initial thought being to rest him this week…
That's good that he sees that I'm playing well and he wants to keep me in a good place. Just like a shooter in basketball, you start shooting a good percentage or higher, you start hitting all your shots, you start hitting all the throws, making the right decisions, you have to keep rolling. You don't want to change anything. You eat at the same places, good to bed at the same time.
On his completion percentage being on the rise…
That's what he's been getting at, whatever you're doing, don't change. The way you get your haircut, how you brush your teeth, I've done that, just keep it the same. He's big on that and obviously he's more superstitious than I am, but we'll keep everything as routine as possible.
On long layoffs causing problems for the offense…
It would never hurt to get those reps [this week]. It looks like it's been a pattern, it's something we'll look at, at the end of the year and Rex will examine how we want to do our bye week schedule. That's his call. Mr. Tannenbaum and Mr. Johnson, that's their call. As for us, that first group got after it today. We looked good on offense, we looked sharp. Injured guys, healthy guys, they were flying around. That's the most important things, it's what we can control. It's important to notice that from those games and understand that we need to go full speed this weekend and make it real.
On if he can maintain the rhythm he's had the last two weeks without playing this week…
If he thinks that's the best, then during pregame I'll go through an entire practice script or two of them, just to get the footwork down, just to run around on the field again and make it as real as possible. I don't know what he's going to say on Sunday, but I'll be ready to play.
On the Brett Favre fine…
It sounds like it's a league matter and they've made their decision. He's no longer with our team and I don't know what else to say except that it's their decision.
On how he feels this week compared to the same time last week…
I feel better, definitely better. It was about the same amount of throws, definitely less than a normal Wednesday, but more footwork, more drills. Every play that I wasn't in, I'm giving Brunell the call. I'm going through the footwork on the side when the defense is going. I'm making it gamelike, making it like I am taking every rep.
On the windmill motion he uses to get warmed up…
It's just keeping it warm, keeping it loose. Once it's loose, once it's feeling good, staying by the heaters, that stuff helps. Once you get on the field, you're just going on adrenaline and you're just playing, but any kind of warm-up you can do helps. It has kept it warm the last week and the week before that, against the Steelers. I've just been trying to throw as much as possible on the sideline and keep it loose.
On if his shoulder will get tighter if he doesn't do those types of things…
I think so. It's just cold outside. It's like anything, you want to stay warm, your legs, everything. You go back out there cold and you just won't have your best series. You don't want your first pass of the series to be a warm-up. You want to get those on a sideline and then go in ready to go. Especially during TV timeouts, you just stand out there. It's important just to stay loose especially with an injury.
On going to the playoffs in his first two seasons…
It hasn't really hit me. I saw what Coach Sean Payton said the other day, that they expect to be in the playoffs, expect to be in the Super Bowl. That's what Rex has taught us, that we should be in the playoffs. That's the way we want to feel. Of course we're very proud and we know how exclusive that group is to get there, how fortunate they are, how many breaks you have to get and how hard you have to work to get to the playoffs. That's what we want.
Last year we didn't quite get as far as we wanted. This year we are trying to take it one more game and one more win. It'll be a good push but it's something you look back on, hopefully when I'm Brunell's age, and think, "It's great, two years in a row, your first two years, that's awesome." As soon as next year starts, I'm thinking playoffs again. Let's take it as far as we can. That's just kind of our mentality and that's just how competitive our team is.
