Interviews with selected Jets players during locker room media availability Thursday morning:
QB ERIK AINGE
On if he can share information on why he was away…
I was away dealing with a private matter. That's all I can say.
On if the private matter is behind him…
Yes. It's personal. Like I said, it's a private matter with me. I've dealt with it. I'm back. I'm working out, competing. It's great to be back. I can't do anything about the time that I was away. I can just do stuff about the future.
On his reaction to the Jets selecting Mark Sanchez…
We drafted another good football player. That's the way I look at it. We want to win football games. In their opinion we took the next best football player to help us win football games. I can't control any of that. All I can do is control my play and try to be the best player and quarterback I can be and try to help this team win. That's what I am going to do.
On if he is the best he can be at this point…
I'm not exactly where I want to be yet. I'm getting better every day. The strength and conditioning program is awesome here. Every day I come, I get better. I have felt really good throwing. It's just a matter of staying in the books and taking it one day at a time working out and all that kind of stuff.
On if he feels like he needs to catch up at this point…
Yeah, I do. But at the same time, there is nothing I can do about the time I missed. All I can do is take advantage of the time I have ahead of me and take advantage of today. I really believe that. I need to work as hard as I can today. I need to work out today, study film today, try and be the best teammate and player I can be today. As long as I do that, everything will take care of itself.
On the team's reaction to his private matter...
They have been extremely supportive. They understand. They don't know, either. It is a personal thing to me and they respect that.
On what the Sanchez draft selection means for him in regards to the QB competition…
To me, they drafted the next best player to try and make our team better. Whether it's a quarterback or a running back, we drafted the next best player. I can't control that. All I can control is myself. Whether I get two reps or 100 reps, I don't get to decide that. I just need to try and take advantage of everything they give me.
Brett Ratliff is a good example, an undrafted guy who put himself in the position to have a chance to start. I learned a lot from Brett and how he handled things. Competition is part of the job. Being an 18-year-old and starting in the SEC, playing for four years there and battling for a job, I welcome competition, not in an arrogant way. I understand how the job works and I welcome it. It is part of it.
On if he feels the quarterback competition is slanted…
There are a lot of things that go into it being the fifth pick, I understand that. If you get five reps and you do really good in those five reps, you might get six reps. If you do really good in those six reps, you might get seven. You just have to be patient and take advantage of everything you get and control what you can control. I don't decide how many times the ball gets snapped to me, but I do control what happens when the ball is in my hands. If good things happen when I'm touching the ball, then I'm going to touch the ball more often.
S KERRY RHODES
On what he thinks about the Mark Sanchez selection…
They've been saying all along during that process that he has impressed them with his workouts and the way he has handled himself. They're very confident in him, so it gives us the same confidence.
On if he was surprised that the Jets traded up to select Sanchez…
You can never be surprised with the draft process. You hear rumors of who people like and what teams need. We play on the team and we see people every day, but we didn't see how the young guys have performed. I haven't seen him even in college. You can never be surprised with this process. You never know what's going to happen.
On if it changes the mindset of the defense if Sanchez is the starter…
That's the way we were trying to build the team anyway. That's what we were trying to move towards. I don't think it changes the way we were going to approach it. Either way, we were going to have a young guy that didn't have a lot of experience in that position. We want to be a dominating defense anyway.
On if he thinks it is Sanchez's job…
Whenever you take a guy that high and you give up that much stuff for him, he is going to be held in high regard. I am sure he is going to get every opportunity to win the job, but I am sure that Kellen [Clemens] is going to come out and fight just as hard. You have seen guys like that not play right away and you have seen some play right away. You never know.
CB DARRELLE REVIS
On the Jets drafting QB Mark Sanchez…
Mike Tannenbaum told me it was going to be a surprise. He didn't want to tell me who they were going to get. But, it was good. Whatever they do upstairs, it's for the best of the New York Jets and we got some good picks this year.
On Kellen Clemens' experience level…
He's been here for a while, so he knows the system. He has experience in this building, starting in '07 when he came in for Chad [Pennington]. So he's been here, he's been through a lot of camps.
On the pressure Sanchez will feel as the No. 1 draft pick…
It's pressure, it's a lot of pressure, but you've just got to be relaxed and be humble about the whole situation. I know when Mark comes in here, it's going to be crazy. You guys are going to be at his locker probably every step he takes. It's just for him to be calm and relaxed.
It's a learning experience as well. Some guys learn in different ways. I am sure Mark Sanchez is mature and can handle it. He lived in L.A. The media out there is not as crazy [laughter]. He's been in a big media market, too, out in L.A. I'm sure we got the right guy.
