JETS HEAD COACH REX RYAN
RR:I don't know what to say, so I will take questions.
Q: Can you talk a little bit about your punter and your punt returning. Three times you had eleven guys at the line of scrimmage with no one returning. The punt, was that a block?
RR:Yeah, no, alright you know it was a block if that [no returner] was the case. I would certainly hope so. Yeah, but no, we were going for the block and the fact that you obviously have a wet football. And it's a rookie punter so we were like, 'Hey, let's go get it.' We weren't getting a whole lot in the return game. That [Matthew] Slater kid is a heck of a football player. And so, I was like 'Hey, might as well go for it.' So, that's what we did. I thought the first one looked like we had a chance to get through there and I don't know, I think our guy fell somehow. But that's, you know, kinda what we were thinking.
Q: Do you feel like you guys let one slip away tonight?
RR:Yeah, I mean that's an outstanding football team and you know, you turn the ball over four times against the Patriots, I bet we can go back several years on that one, there is no way you are winning that one if you are turning it over four times. But I know one thing: we were going to keep competing. And try to give ourselves an opportunity to win.
Q: Talk about the way Geno Smith played, especially in the fourth quarter.
RR:Well I thought Geno had his moments, you know. I don't know how many balls we dropped today, but it was a bunch. There was no question. Obviously, his numbers would look a lot different if he had caught the football. But yeah, man, it is just unfortunate. I don't know how many drops, but the young man had his moments today and obviously we wished we had a few back.
Q: On the first touchdown, can you go through that? It looked like busted coverage.
RR:Yup, it was exactly what it was. I think the first indication of that was that nobody was there. That's hard to deal with. We thought we had a heck of a game plan going in, thought we had a chance to win. And you know, to give a freebie like that to [Tom] Brady. We talked about it all week long, I mean, you can't afford mental mistakes, you know, against Brady. And you know, sometimes, if you are living right, a lot of times you get away with one of those. But you know, not against him.
Q: Did you bench Dee Milliner?
RR:Yes.
Q: Why, in particular?
RR:Well, this young man is going to be a tremendous player. There is no doubt. But as I told him, I said, 'You know, Dee. I want you to sit on the sidelines and I want you to watch'. And sometimes when you do that, it is the best thing for you. And so we replaced him with Kyle [Wilson] and [Darrin] Walls and that's what we did. I am trying to win a game, and put in who I think has the best chance to win it. And the young man, like I said, he is going to be a great player. But at that time, I went with the veteran.
Q: Rex, what caused Geno's interceptions?
RR:They played great defense, I don't know what to tell you.
Q: What happened at the end with the ejections, with your view?
RR:Well, I think [Nick] Mangold tried to make a tackle, is what I think happened. And does, he goes, and tried to take the guy. And you know, I think what happened is Nick went down, the guy turned his back, he ran into the back of his legs and wasn't intentional, by any means. He just tried to make a cut tackle. And he went out of bounds and then all heck broke loose apparently and our team was the only one involved in it.
Q: Did you think that was a fumble from Julian Edelman? Early in the game, they said he didn't have two feet down.
RR:My view must have been obstructed.
Q: Are you pleased with the way the defense played the last three quarters of the game?
RR:Yeah, whatever that is worth.
Q: How about Muhammad Wilkerson, do you have any status on him?
RR:Nah, it is an ankle, I believe. So we will see how he is. Hopefully it is not a high ankle [sprain] because those are rough. But I am hoping that it's not, but I am not sure yet.
Q: Rex, what can you tell us about Mark's Sanchez trip to Dr. James Andrew yesterday?
RR:I can tell you that I am not going to say anything about it. So, that's it.
Q: Rex, how much did the drops mentally affect Geno? Do you think it dragged down his play a little bit?
RR:I think it affected all of us. We've got to hang onto the football. What you are paid to do is catch the football, regardless of the conditions and obviously we have to do a better job of that. You know, would it have changed the outcome? I don't know but I would have liked to have found out.
Q: Rex, this is obviously a different receiving corps for the Patriots, but Julian Edelman did have a pretty good game. What makes him a tough cover?
RR:Well, I think he has been well tutored. That's for sure. You know, I mean he has been with [Wes] Welker. He is kind of a Welker clone-ish. Not as good as him, but he's pretty darn good. You know, he had 13 catches for 78 yards. He did the same thing to us another time when he played. I mean, he is a good football player in his own right. But you know, hey, I know they never had [Danny] Amendola and we never had [Jeremy] Kerley. All that kind of stuff.
Q: Rex, you talked about drops in June and now you are talking about it in September. Is it something that is correctable or is it personnel?
RR:I know one thing, we are going to try awful hard. We are going to do whatever we can to come up with a way to catch a football. You know, obviously, you have that many drops, you aren't going to win that many games, [if] you drop that many balls. I mean, I love the way we were competing over there. I love the fact that we were blocking our tails off and all that, but man. We did, we made a lot of great catches, but we've got to be consistent. When that ball hits our hands, we catch it.
Q: Stephen Hill, are you disappointed in him?
RR:He made a couple great catches and we talked about it, this team, [Bill] Belichick has his guys, they do a great job. I mean, they force more turnovers, more fumbles than any team in the league. We talked about it, even the night before. That's something they do a great job of and we certainly have to protect the ball better than we did.
Q: Rex, you noted that it's tough to win any game against the Patriots when you turn it over four times. The fact that you hold Brady under 50 percent, under 200 yards; a guy who comes from a defensive background, how do you stomach that?
RR:Not very well right now, I'll tell you that much. All that matters are wins and losses and you know, shoot, I am paid to win. And you know, obviously it didn't go our way.
JETS QUARTERBACK GENO SMITH
Q: Can you talk about the first interception?
GS: I was rolling out to my left and tried to fit the ball into a tight window. During that time in the game you've got to be more mindful of the situation – we were right in it and had a chance to kick a field goal and possibly tie the game. I just made a decision that ultimately cost my team.
Q: Did you feel like this was one game that you really could have had and let it slip away at the end?
GS: We didn't get it. One thing I can tell you is that we came out and competed hard and put ourselves in a position to win it late, but with the costly mistakes that were completely on me we just didn't get it done. I take full responsibility for that and we'll get better from this.
Q: Can you talk about the second interception?
GS: Once again, it was just making the decision… I thought the guy was open. He beat the guy up the line by driving it a little bit more. It was kind of tough to do at that angle, but if I drive it a little bit more which I can do, the ball would get there before the corner can react to it. Whatever happened on those interceptions didn't really matter because they ultimately hurt us and I've got to find ways to not put us in those situations. You can say it's a learning experience, but it's about winning and we didn't win today.
Q: You probably had half a dozen passes that were dropped. How did you deal with that as the game's going on?
GS: It's human nature; guys drop balls. As you can see, I threw a number of picks and no one is perfect. I fully support my wide outs. Those guys go out there and give effort on every single play and I'll continue to go to those guys because we have that type of bond here – we are a team. It's early in the season and I'm pretty sure all of those things will be corrected as we go forward.
Q: On the second interception when you went to step up, was it just a matter of the rushers coming in your face and you not being able to follow through on it as much?
GS: No. I've got plenty of arm strength and I've got the ability to make that throw. I've just got to do it.
Q: Did the rain give you any trouble in terms of getting rid of the ball?
GS: No. No, we threw it well. Especially in this league if you make those mistakes, defenses are going to capitalize on it. You've got to be accurate every single time. You've got to be sharp every single play and you can never take a play off – not saying that I did, but you can't have those mistakes and ultimately they cost us.
Q: On the first one did you throw across your body?
GS: I was moving to my left. I moved to the left side across my body, but it's a throw like I said, that I can make. If I put it a touch out front I think it [would] be a completion. It was just one of those plays that happened.
Q: With that last interception did the ball slip at all out of your hand?
GS: That last one was a terrible mistake. I had seen that guy and could have forced the ball – I tried to get a back-shoulder throw and [Aqib Talib] turned around. He's a wily [veteran] and that defense – they're smart and you can tell they're well coached. He got that interception at the end of the game and it hurt. I can't lie, it hurt, but it's only the beginning, we've got to get better from it.
Q: I get the feeling you expected to pull this one out tonight?
GS: Yes. I think we came in to it and had a great plan. We knew their defense plays well as they always do and it seems like every week I'm standing here saying if I don't turn the ball over, we win games and ultimately that's what it comes down to. In this league no matter the yards you get, no matter the time of possession, it's about the turnover battle and I cost us the game.
Q: Between the fumble, a penalty and reviews early on and I think a false start, was it hard to overcome some of the frustration at the start?
GS: No. I wasn't frustrated. I wasn't frustrated at all. We were in the game the entire time and despite the mistakes that we had I think we wiped those out of our minds and continued to play. We played hard. Guys, like I said, were getting open. The backs were running hard, the [offensive] line did a phenomenal job and we played hard. We had our chance.
Q: Some of your sacks were on long plays. Was that because of you holding the ball for too long or was there no one open?
GS: Some of those guys they did a good job of covering our guys down field and I was trying to be mindful of forcing the ball, and taking care of the ball. Some of those plays I felt like I could have used my legs and possibly picked up a few yards on the run or even throwing the ball away, but I didn't do so.
Q: Last week we were talking about the euphoria of that first win and obviously today it's a little more about a disappointment. Just talk about how you will bounce back what you will take out of this first loss.
GS: What doesn't kill you makes you stronger and the positive thing is that in the locker room we are all close-knit, we're a brotherhood and we're tight. I have guys constantly supporting me and keeping my head up and spirits high. That gives me a tremendous amount of belief that no matter what happens despite what goes on we'll pull through and we'll get better. It's early in the season. I don't have to look at this as a learning experience because I think I'm ready for this – I know I'm ready for this – so I have to go out there and take care of the ball and give us a chance to win.
Q: When you talk about being willing to throw to these guys again, is that an important message to get to them and why as a quarterback is it important to stick with them?
GS: Well, for one, they are my guys. I wouldn't want to throw to any other guys. The way that they practice and the way that they come to meetings on time, eager, ready – those are my guys and they make us better. Santonio [Homes] is coming back and he's competing hard and he's getting open. We've got Kellen [Winslow], we've got Jeff [Cumberland], we've got Clyde [Gates] who was battling his butt of tonight [and] Stephen [Hill] made a-heck-of some catches. I think you've got to kind of put things into perspective and just think about the big picture and how we can get better.
Q: In terms of your own play tonight what were some of the positives that you saw in the way you played tonight?
GS: Regardless of the positives, the negatives hurt us and that's all you [can] focus on is improving on those negative plays.
Willie Colon, Outside Linebacker
(On the penalties at the end of game)
"I was tired of losing, and we just can't have it. I don't remember. I saw Nick [Bellore] in there and a lot of guys running. I was trying to get in there and help my brother and that is why I reacted the way I reacted."
(On what exactly happened)
"I don't know, I saw my brothers in there so I went running. So I don't know. "
(On the missed opportunities)
I felt like we had them where we wanted to. It is what it is and it was a hard fought game. We studied the clips and we just didn't get what we wanted to.
(On potentially being suspended)
"I hope I don't get suspended. I hope it is not the case."
(On what happened)
"I lost my temper. I lost my cool out there and we can't have it. It hurts your team and I know better, so it is my fault."
(On the frustration)
They are the Patriots. They come out and are a disciplined team. We had our chances and we had enough of our chances to win this game. We didn't execute as a team and it is a tough one."
D'Brickashaw Ferguson, Tackle
(On the play near the end of the game)
"Today wasn't really the day that went our direction. It was just a lot of bad football on my part. I don't really remember the details of what happened; I just know that at the end of the day I was ejected. It was just a lot of frustration today and we didn't really have the result we were looking for."
(On the play of the team)
"Whenever you play a game you want to be successful, especially when it is a tight game like this. We have the talent, we have the ability, but we just didn't come away with the victory."
Clyde Gates, Wide Receiver
(On the Jets offense and Geno Smith)
"I was just trying to make plays, you know, and trying to make the quarterback comfortable- mostly just make plays. Geno did a great job. Unfortunately, we didn't win the ball game. I felt like he played really well. Everybody makes mistakes. We just have to put this one behind us and move forward."
(On the Patriots)
"It was a short week and a lot of preparation mentally. They did what we were expecting them to do. Unfortunately, we just didn't win the ball game. When it comes (the teams' next meeting) we will be ready."
Chris Ivory, Running Back
(On the Jets rushing attack)
"We had great blocking up front and I just tried to take advantage of what was given to me. Each player tries to play at their level and we just try and take advantage. We made a couple mistakes but it isn't anything we can't fix."
(On the game)
"It is always tough because you want to get the win. Unfortunately tonight we weren't able to get the win. All we can do is start tomorrow and the rest of this week to work on things and get better, get ready for our next opponent. The positive is we are still growing. There are a lot of great things out there but it's the little things. If we minimize the little things, we will be good."
Robert Malone, Punter
(On punting as much as he did)
"This is probably the most (that he has punted in a game). Tonight I knew I was going out there quite a bit, unfortunately."
(On punting in the rain)
"It is all the same. I just try to put us in the best position possible. You have to make sure you secure the catch and remember that it is going to be a little heavier ball. Other than that, it is about the same. You just go out and try to execute each punt individually. "
Dee Milliner, Cornerback
(On being benched)
"I was fine with it, he felt the need to make that decision. I made a couple of mistakes, on a couple calls. I got benched before in college, for sort of the same thing.
(On the first Patriots touchdown)
"We just got to communicate more and go out there and make plays.
Muhammad Wilkerson, Linebacker
(On his injury)
"For the details you have to ask coach Rex Ryan."
(On the defense's play)
"Pretty horrible and then we got the loss, we wanted to come out with that win. We made some mistakes; they made more plays than us and won the game.
(On the first touchdown by the Patriots)
"He is an elite quarterback, mistakes were made, we just have to correct those, and try to get better.
