On what the Jets are doing better now than in Week Two...
I think all of us are doing a lot of things better than we were that first week of the season. The Jets do everything well. They certainly have gotten a lot of big plays out their passing game with (Dustin) Keller, (Santonio) Holmes, (Braylon) Edwards, and (Jerricho) Cotchery. Of course, their leading receiver is (LaDainian) Tomlinson. He gets a lot of catch-and-run plays, screen passes, (and) short plays that he turns into long runs. He's very dangerous too while you're worrying about all the other guys. Of course, (Calvin) Pace is back in there on defense so that is another good player on that side of the ball.
On the Jets slant game...They do a good job on those routes. Edwards and Holmes are both very good after the catch. They can take a short pass and turn it into a long gain with their speed and Holmes' quickness. They also use the double-move off that which they ran against Green Bay and Detroit, if I remember right. They start on a slant and run the slant and run the slugo (slant-and-go) off it. They do a good job of keeping you on them with the double moves and on the simple catch-and-run plays that can be a five-yard pass. That can be a big one.
On the Jets being 9-2...
I think their 9-2 record is what it is. It shows a lot about them right there and how they've won those games. In the end, I don't think anybody's record really matters right now. It's all about the preparation and the game this week. I don't think any of that is really that significant as far as the outcome of this game because this game is more about the preparation and the performance of the two teams. That will be on Monday night. That's how we look at it.
On spreading the ball around to different receivers...
I think the important thing is for the quarterback to get the ball to the players that are open. Those players make plays and (need to) be productive with it. However that occurs is really what the passing game is all about. You can throw to the same guy every the time if he's open and he's productive and makes a lot of yards and gets a lot of catches. There's nothing wrong with that. If you throw it to a bunch of different guys and they're productive, then that's fine too. If you run it and make the yards, (that's good). The important thing is to move the ball and score points. You don't need stats for one guy or stats for five guys. The important thing is to be productive moving the ball and score points.
On what has made the Patriots receivers so effective after the catch...
Players that have running skills with the ball in their hands, that's how they make the extra yards. Some players are better at that than others. Some receivers are really good route runners and get open and have great hands and make great catches, but they're not as effective after the catch. Other receivers are less route runners, but when they get the ball in their hands, they're dangerous. They make a lot of yards just by not getting tackled. There are a lot of different ways to do it. Again, receivers have different skill sets that anytime you have the combination of guys that get open, catch the ball, run good routes and can make people miss after they get the ball in their hands, you face a lot of potential for big plays there. Not everybody has all of those. Not all receivers or tight ends are backed by all those skills. If you can get some combination of them, that's what makes you successful.
On the Jets blitz packages...
They run their basic blitzes, but then with each of those calls, they have different ways of making them look the same, but they're not the same. They're a little bit different. They disguise them or they make swap calls between a couple of players, so instead of this combination of players of coming, another combination of players come, but that's the same coverage. Then, they show you that same look and do something different off of it. They'll run action on coverage, with seven or eight guys in coverage so you're not getting single coverages. Everybody is getting doubled or most everybody is getting doubled on the play. You think they're going to blitz but then they pull out of it and give you more of a coverage look. I think it's the change-ups and little fine point adjustments that they make from week-to-week or even within the game that they're subtle but they can be very effective. If a quarterback or receiver makes a mistake, he thinks he's going to see one thing when the ball snaps and it's something else and he doesn't make the proper adjustment then you can have quarterbacks and the receivers not doing the right thing, not doing the same thing or not doing the right thing and then you have problems in the passing game. A lot of it is the same or similar but they do change up from time to time. They do a good job of combining their pressures and their coverages and making them look the same so that it's hard to identify before the snap (and) sometimes even after the snap exactly what they're in.
On his relationship and respect for Rex Ryan...
Well, I have a lot of respect for Rex and all the things that he's has accomplished as a coach and professionally especially. Of course, Rob (Ryan) was here. I hired Rob when I came here in 2000, so even though I haven't spent a lot of time and I've never been on a staff with Rex, I've been on a staff with his twin brother. It sounds like they have a lot of similarities and I think they both describe it that way. I feel like I know Rex through Rob probably better than just the amount of time that Rex and I have spent together. Obviously, (he) does a great job. (He) did an excellent job with the Baltimore defense. That 2000 defense that he was a part of is as good a defense as there was in the history of the game. Of course his father's (Buddy Ryan) defense at Chicago in '85 is probably the other one that's right up there. There is definitely some carryover that Rex and his father, Buddy, did. Rex's development as the coordinator and then as the head coach of the Jets, you can definitely see his stamp on the team, how they play and how successful they've been over the last two years. I have a lot of respect for him, what he does and the success that he's had doing it throughout his career, particularly the last two years where we've gone head-to-head to with him, but all the way through.
On when was the last time he heard an opposing coach say he wanted to kick his (butt)...
I don't know.
