Q: Is it disappointing when somebody with high expectations is acquired by the team and doesn't meet up to them and gets released halfway through the season?
VW: You have to do what you have to do. Things happen all the time. You have to be able to keep the ball rolling and deal with certain situations as they come. You really can't be bracing yourself for what might happen. You just have to be prepared and when it happens you have to move forward. We're definitely moving forward. The ball is going to continue to roll no matter how you slice it - the ball will roll. The ball is still rolling.
Q: Were you on board with Albert Haynesworth signing from the beginning? At some point do you realize it wasn't worth it?
VW: At this point, my focus is the Jets. That's in the past, the Giants are in the past, the Jets last game is in the past - we're just trying to move forward right now as a team. That's the best thing we can do at this point - move forward, get better as a team and play better. That's our focus this week - is to play better, to be better individually, to be better as a unit, and be better as a team. I think everyone feels that way. That's our goal: to be better this week against a Jets football team that's been playing pretty well as of late. It's a home game for those guys; big primetime game for them. I'm pretty sure they're going to be ready to rock and roll. We're going to have to be able to play well. We're going to have to be able to go out there and make plays and believe in what we're doing and execute. If we don't do that, it's going to be another long week.
Q: It looks like these younger guys are going to get more opportunity for playing time. I know Kyle Love has really stepped up his game of late. Can you talk about the job guys like and Kyle and Brandon Deaderick have done over the last week or two?
VW: They're getting it. I think Kyle all season and even last year, he saw a lot of playing time just because of the injuries we had. The rest of those guys coming in, it's going to be timing - it's all timing. Once you get caught up with the speed and the timing of everything, you'll start being more effective. That's where we're at with those guys. They understand that. They're working their tails off, I'll tell you that - this team is working their tails off. We don't have anyone taking a back seat to anyone. I think everyone is competing. We're each doing our job a lot harder and that's what we need. We have to be able to win ballgames in November and December to be a good football team. Good football teams find a way to win. I think we have a good team here, I really do. We just have to work a little harder, especially now. You're in the middle of the season and you have 10, 11 teams in the AFC with similar records. Nothing is decided now. We definitely know we have to play better in November and December to set ourselves up for where we want to be. But we have to take it one game at a time. It's like we're starting 0-0 right now. The middle of the season and like I said, you're in the middle of the pack. We have to do a real good job of executing and preparation and being able to go out Sunday and put forth a good effort and see what happens then.
Q: How tough is it to not let doubts creep in when you lose two games?
VW: It's not tough. We just have to continue to believe in what we're doing. I believe the last time we played the Jets, they were coming in on a two-game losing streak, on the road, and we ending up beating them then. But ever since then, they turned it around, they started playing better football - they got it together. Now the tides are turned. It says a lot about your team if you can stick together and play together and play good football. That's what we're here for - to play good football. I think we can do that, like I said. It's not like games we're getting blown out and it's not competitive. It's not like that. It's just small things that lead to big things and I think we need to clean those things up. Everyone understands that. I think we're all doing our job to make sure we have all the bases covered and we have to continue to move forward. What we have in this locker room is what we have. This is what we're going to ride with, what we're going to die with, what we have in this locker room. We have something good in that locker room. We all know that. Times are going to be tough, it's going to be tough. There's going to be hard times, there's going to be fun times, you're going to have all of that. It's a rollercoaster, everything doesn't work out smooth. That's part of nature, that's part of life, that's part of sports; it's not always going to be perfect. But when it's not perfect, what are you going to do? Will you be mentally tough and handle the situation or will you just fold and just give into the critics and give into everyone who says we can't do it? I have faith in this team, I really do. I really believe that these guys, all of us, are going to come to work and we're going to grind. We're going to grind for one another and it starts on the practice field. We had a good day of it yesterday and I think we need to have a better day today and a better day Friday and then Saturday going into Sunday. Make us feel like we're prepared and ready to go. That's where we're at as a team.
Q: Does it help that the Jets are the team that you probably know the best out of all the teams in the league because you've played them the most?
VW: But it's vice versa; they know us also. Two division teams that are tough teams and two coaches that are just hard, hard working coaches - you're going to have a good football game come Sunday. And the sad thing about it is that somebody is going to have to lose - that's the sad thing. But you're looking at two football teams that are well coached that can play football very, very well - playmakers everywhere. It's going to come down to who can do the things the most, the right stuff the most, that's what it's going to come down to.
Q: You said there's something good in that locker room and you have faith in this team. Are you surprised this team is 5-3? Disappointed?
VW: I mean, you want to win every game. You want to win every game. There're some plays that you want back, there's some games that you want back because you can always look back and say 'I could have done this differently.' But it doesn't work like that. Like I said, we're in the middle of the pack and we're midway in the season. You have to be happy to see some of the things that you're doing. There are some things that we're doing that we've gotten better at that weren't so good at the beginning of the year. That gave us a lot of confidence. There are some things that we need to get better at. We need to work harder with those. Where we're at is where we're at. Right now it's like a 0-0 season for us right now.
Q: Do you think the defense made some improvements even in the loss?
VW: Yes, I think we did, but you know what? It wasn't enough. But we're going to continue to get better. Like I said, our main goal is each week get better - move forward, get better, never be too high or too low because there's going to come times where it's going to be rocky, it's going to be shaky. Everything is good when you're getting patted on the back and you're winning, you're having fun and everything is great. As soon as you lose a ballgame and some things happen, that right there shows you what type of team you have. Can you pull together as a team and as an organization and get back on track? I think this team is very, very tough mentally - very tough team. That's what I look forward to doing. I'm looking forward to getting back on track. It's not going to be easy - division game, away on the road, primetime game, all laws [are] against us right now. But what we have is what we have in this locker room. That's what we're going to New York with and that's what we're going to play with.
Q: It's often been said that adversity reveals character. What is it about what you see in that locker room that makes you feel that the locker room has enough character to withstand any adversity going forward?
VW: Look at every game that we lost. Look at every game that was close that we won. It shows on the field. You have a bunch of guys that fight. You don't have anyone that's out there giving up. That says a lot to a football team. You win the close games and you lose a couple close games. When I look at the football team, I see those guys and I'm taking the field with four minutes left and certain situations that we know we have to get the ball back to the offense. Sometimes we've done it, sometimes the offense last week goes down and scores. We had to stop them and we didn't. Situational football we can always be better at. But at the same time, it hasn't been bad. Times we had to step up, I think we've done at times and sometimes we didn't. You know what? It doesn't matter what you do for 58 or 59 minutes. You have to be on point in situational football. I think sometimes games are decided in situational football at times; that's when it matters the most. No matter what you've done the whole game, it's being ready to rock and roll in crunch time. That's when we have to be ready to play football, when times are tough, when it's first and 10 and they're in the red area and how many timeouts you have and do they have any and what types of things they have on the field. All that stuff comes into play. I think we just, at times, like I said, we've seen times where we've done it [well] and we've seen times when we've come up on the short end of the stick. But by looking at all that, this team has a bunch of fighters. There's not one person that I can say came into work with their head held down. Not one person. And that says a lot.
Q: In looking at the Jets turnaround, has it been because of better quarterback play? In your mind, what has it been?
VW: Better team play. Better team play. They've been running the ball very well, they've been throwing the ball very well, protecting the ball - they've been doing what they need to do to win, that's what they've been doing. Like I said, it's not going to get any easier for us, going there and playing a division team on the road. I'm pretty sure it's going to be loud - they're going to be pumped up. We're going to have to match their intensity. That's what we're going to have to do.
