Transcripts of selected interviews with Jets players before Wednesday's midday practice:
RB THOMAS JONES
On if he's anxious for the first game…
We're very anxious. We've had a great preseason. We've been coming together well as a team. Obviously you get tired of hitting the same guys in practice every day. Now it's actually for real and we're excited about it.
On how the huddle has changed with QB Brett Favre…
Honestly, it hasn't changed too much. He's a great leader. The major thing is the change in his cadence. Every time you have a new quarterback, you have to get used to a new cadence. For the most part, we're pretty much the same huddle. We're organized, Brett comes in and calls the plays. The good thing is we have a lot of veteran guys in the huddle, so we've all been around football a long time.
On if Favre's work ethic and durability are admired…
Yes, definitely, you have to. To play as long as he has played and to have as much success as he has had, that success shows his hard work and his dedication.
On playing the Dolphins…
They're a physical team. They play hard. You can watch the film and see they're a totally different team than they were last year. We're expecting a tough game.
On playing against QB Chad Pennington…
It will be different seeing Chad over there. We're used to playing on the same side as him. I wish him the best of luck. He's one of my good friends and he's a great quarterback. I wish him the best.
S KERRY RHODES
On playing against Chad Pennington…
We're going to play all sides of the game. Like I said, if he's on the money and he's on time and he has the read, he can make every throw in this league. He can throw a deep ball 40 yards, where Brett Favre might be different. For him if the deep throws are quick and on time, it's going to be an accurate throw and is going to be on time. The DB won't have a chance to get to it. That's why we're going into the game, trying to get him off of his spot and trying to mess his reads up.
On if he was with Pennington when the QB got the call in Cleveland that the Jets had acquired Brett Favre…
No, I wasn't with him, but I actually talked to him as soon as it happened. It's just one of those situations where the team went in a different direction. He knows that it's a business. He wasn't bitter about it. It's a chance for him to play and be a starter somewhere else.
CB DARRELLE REVIS
On playing against Chad Pennington…
He's in a new offense now so it's going to be different. We're not looking at the New York Jets' Chad Pennington. We're going to be looking at the Miami Dolphins' Chad Pennington. It's different.
On what he'll say to Pennington after the first time he hits him…
[Laughs] I'm going to pick him. Hit him, I can't say. No, I don't talk junk. I just play.
On if it was a surprise that Brett Favre was voted a captain…
Not to me. Brett, he's been in the league for about 16 or 17 years. He has proven himself to be a leader. Coming in, we wanted him to be that guy, to be the leader of the offense and run us.
On Pennington's intelligence and if there is a way to confuse him on defense…
I don't know [laughs]. I just know Chad is smart. I'm not going to give him the game plan that we're going to do on Sunday. You just have to play and be competitive.
