{"id":4328,"date":"2010-05-28T00:00:04","date_gmt":"2010-05-28T04:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jetnation.com\/?p=4328"},"modified":"2019-11-28T06:22:29","modified_gmt":"2019-11-28T10:22:29","slug":"rex-ryan-press-conference-thursday-ota","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/2010\/05\/28\/rex-ryan-press-conference-thursday-ota\/","title":{"rendered":"Rex Ryan Press Conference: Thursday OTA"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Transcript of Jets head coach Rex Ryan’s news conference following the midday OTA practice on Thursday, courtesy NY Jets PR Department:<\/em><\/p>\n

On Jerricho Cotchery giving Kyle Wilson an education on the field\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, he did. He got him a couple of times. Kyle did a great job for the most part, but he got him a couple. The best one was in the red zone. It looked like Kyle jumped it, the ball went right through his hands and J-Co catches it for a touchdown. [Mark] Sanchez goes, \u201cOooh, I thought the rookie had me,\u201d and I\u2019m like, “That\u2019s interesting. [laughter]. The rookie? No, you\u2019re the rookie.” He still has three games, I guess, until he\u2019s technically not a rookie.<\/p>\n

That was great competition. You see it every day when you get out there with [Antonio] Cromartie, Wilson, [Dwight] Lowery, all those guys, and by the way, [Darrelle] Revis of course. They don\u2019t throw over there. Literally on Tuesday of this week, we were doing a little move-the-ball and on first down we threw it deep. Right when it left Kellen Clemens\u2019 hands, I\u2019m like, “Oh, no, that\u2019s intercepted.” Sure enough. I\u2019m like, “Why would you throw it over there to Revis? You know he\u2019s coming down with it.” And he did. He didn\u2019t disappoint. We call it “Revis Rules.” Sometimes you\u2019ve got to look over there and there\u2019s probably a better option. He\u2019s still doing what he always does. It\u2019s good to see.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve had some spirited practices, guys having a lot of fun. They enjoy the competition. Your great players enjoy competing against other great players. I was talking with Magic Johnson, who is very similar to me, great athletes and things. He was telling me that when he was on the Dream Team, I asked him what those practices were like and he said they were the most intense things and fierce competition that he\u2019s ever been in, more than games, more than anything else, because you\u2019re with the greatest players in the world. That\u2019s probably why those guys are like that. The special guys love competing and that\u2019s what you see on the practice field.<\/p>\n

On talking to Johnson\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

I talked to him. Mike Tannenbaum, myself and Woody [Johnson] had dinner with Magic. You try to surround yourself with great people. At least that\u2019s what Magic told me anyway [laughing].<\/p>\n

On if the dinner was recently.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, recently.<\/p>\n

On how it came about that he had dinner with Johnson\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was an opportunity. He was in the city and we put out a call.<\/p>\n

On whose idea it was to call Johnson\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t Mike T [Tannenbaum] because he\u2019s a Celtics fan. If it was Larry Bird, that would have been Mike T [smiling]. We actually met Magic at the fight the other day, so he was there and just kind of reached out to him. We knew he was in town and we just took him out to dinner.<\/p>\n

On if Tannenbaum met Magic Johnson at the fight at The Garden\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

No. It was the fight in Vegas. When he was in town we just said, \u201cHey, let\u2019s take him out to dinner. Anybody want to go?\u201d “I\u2019ll go.” It was one of those deals.<\/p>\n

On where they had dinner\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019d rather not say. Il Postino. Italian.<\/p>\n

On if Il Postino is a high-end restaurant\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Absolutely.<\/p>\n

On why LaDainian Tomlinson and Jason Taylor are worth the risk\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve had to go against both of those guys and I know the kind of players they are especially trying to go against LaDainian, what he offers. His last game in San Diego, as everybody is quick to point out, he never had a big game against us, but that was our day, I think. I believe he\u2019s got a lot more left. When you watch him out here bouncing around doing a great job with protections, running the football, he\u2019s still got that wiggle.<\/p>\n

We ran a play the other day. It was third-and-10 and we ran the ball so I was really proud of Schotty [Brian Schottenheimer] for that. We had this little fold play and he just started boom, boom, boom like this, two or three different cuts. Clearly he would have made about 20 yards. I was like, “Yeah, yeah, this is our guy.”<\/p>\n

Jason hasn\u2019t really been out there with the shoulder, but he\u2019s been great in mentoring some of the younger players. When I say that, all the players, really. He\u2019s out there. His reputation speaks for itself. It\u2019s going to be exciting.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t wait to get to Cortland when we put the pads on and see those guys out there. We\u2019ll be smart and we\u2019re going to take care of all of our players. But we brought those two individuals in here for a reason and hopefully that\u2019s to find a way to get a little bit better.<\/p>\n

On Matt Mulligan having some issues snapping and if James Dearth will be considered in the future\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

That\u2019s not really fair for Mulligan because Mully is a guy that we\u2019re getting ready to be an emergency to the emergency. One day, he\u2019s got ability as a long snapper. We\u2019re just working with him right now.<\/p>\n

The other young man, Tanner Purdum, he does a real nice job so we\u2019ll see. The way the rules are now, I don\u2019t think you have to be as big as you\u2019ve had to be in the past. You\u2019re able to get by with maybe a smaller guy, maybe a little more athletic guy because you can\u2019t have a body directly over them or even on the shoulders anymore. He throws a bullet back on his field goals. The laces have always been up. This young man is doing a great job for us.<\/p>\n

James Dearth, we know where James is at.<\/p>\n

On if the team would consider bringing in another kicker\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oh, yes. We\u2019ll see. For whatever reason, sometimes kicking and punting, it takes guys a little bit. Very few guys come into the league as rookies and actually kick or punt in this league. That young man [Clint Stitser], I don\u2019t think he\u2019s ready right now. Will he be ready in the future? Maybe so, but right now I don\u2019t think he\u2019s ready. We\u2019ll probably move on.<\/p>\n

On Nick Folk\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

I feel a little better today than I did the other day. He made all his kicks and I feel a little better about that.<\/p>\n

On if he can learn things from Magic Johnson\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

No question. That\u2019s really why I wanted to take advantage of it. This guy was a champion for so many years, one of the elite players of all time, but he\u2019s also one of the best teammates of all time. That\u2019s what you hear about him. Just his interaction with Pat Riley, we talked about a lot of that. We talked about, as he put it, doing things the Lakers way. The Lakers had a way of doing things.<\/p>\n

I just look at our standard as an organization, what we stand for, how we\u2019re going to play, how we\u2019re going to practice, how we\u2019re going to prepare. When new guys come in because you\u2019re going to get new players each year, they have to live up to those standards and buy into those standards. If they don\u2019t, you have to move on. That\u2019s something I\u2019ve always been a big believer in, but when you hear a guy like Magic Johnson talk about it and the success he had, I feel confident that we\u2019re on the right path.<\/p>\n

On Vladimir Ducasse practicing with the first team and if he is still competing for the starting role\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

The competition is still open, but it means something because he\u2019s showing that he deserves some reps. He deserves running with the first team, so that\u2019s a positive. There is still competition going on. He has not been named the starting guard.<\/p>\n

On what he needs to see from Ducasse\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

We need to get in pads and let\u2019s just see what happens. The best guy will play. Whether Matt [Slauson] is the guy or Vlad\u2019s the guy, we\u2019ll see. I\u2019m going to have confidence in either one of those guys. That\u2019s the plan. You want to have two guys you feel great about.<\/p>\n

On how Brodney Pool will fit in the secondary\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Brodney\u2019s a young man with similar talents to Kerry [Rhodes]. I was a big fan of Kerry\u2019s athleticism. The guy\u2019s an athlete. He\u2019s got length. He\u2019s got speed. He\u2019s got ball skills. I think that\u2019s going to be good.<\/p>\n

Obviously, if we were playing tomorrow, Eric Smith would be out there as our starter. We\u2019re trying to get Brodney caught up and put him in that situation where he and Jim Leonhard are working together. In an ideal world, that\u2019s what you would have, that Brodney would be the starter and Eric would play his role.<\/p>\n

Eric and Brad Smith are as valuable to our football team as anyone. They are the leaders on our special teams. They play every special team. They do special things on offense, in Brad\u2019s case, and they do special things on defense, with Eric. Sometimes if you start one of those guys and they\u2019re playing every snap for you, they\u2019re not going to be as effective in their other roles. Their other roles are critical for us. In an ideal world, even though right now we\u2019d start Eric Smith if we had to play tomorrow, we feel Brodney\u2019s going to catch up and Brodney\u2019s going to be that guy that can afford us to keep Eric in his role.<\/p>\n

On how valuable Eric Smith has become\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

When you go back, you have a starting point for players, but that\u2019s all it is. It\u2019s a starting point. We always say that if you want to affect your spot on the depth chart, then do something about it. Eric Smith did something about it. He was the bottom guy on the totem pole and then he worked his way up to where he is as an incredibly valuable member of this football team. We all know about his brains, but I never knew a whole lot about Eric before I got here. We just were plugging in guys. James Ihedigbo is the same way.<\/p>\n

On if there was a point where he almost released Smith\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

No, I wanted the guys to compete and get an idea of who they were. I will say this, maybe I was a little closer to it than I\u2019m admitting because the first minicamp we had, Eric just did the opposite. He reacted like, \u201cI\u2019m not going to be here. Woe is me\u201d \u2014 a natural reaction. You see yourself, you were a starter and now you\u2019re on the very bottom of the depth chart. That\u2019s to be expected a little bit.<\/p>\n

He turned it completely around. By the second minicamp he was running plays all over the place. Then it was obvious. Plus we realized how smart he is and how dedicated he was. He had a path. He could have gone this way down the road and \u201cI want to go play for somebody else\u201d or \u201cI\u2019m going to show these guys. I\u2019m going to make sure they see the best Eric Smith out there.\u201d That\u2019s what he did. Now, we\u2019re not going to replace Eric Smith. There\u2019s no way. The guy\u2019s tremendous.<\/p>\n

On if it would be a special teams problem if Smith wins the starting safety position\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

When you look at it, I believe so. When you talk about Magic Johnson, he told Michael Cooper one day and Michael Cooper was a great player, \u201cYou\u2019re more valuable in this role.\u201d He could have gone as a free agent and been a starter for other teams. He said, \u201cThat\u2019s not for you. Why wouldn\u2019t you stay here and do the role you do best? Instead of playing 50 minutes, you\u2019re going to play 30 minutes and you\u2019re going to be a dominant player like you\u2019ve been on a world championship team.\u201d That\u2019s what he did. After his career was over, he goes, \u201cThat was the best advice someone could get, but it took Magic Johnson to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

I think with Eric, it\u2019s not the fact that you\u2019re a starter \u2014 he starts in so many things that we do defensively anyways. He\u2019s out there all the time. Maybe it\u2019s not running out there with that first unit, but he does so much for us. He could be a starter in this league. There\u2019s no doubt he could be a starter in this league and he\u2019s started for us, but in an ideal situation for us, we\u2019d have Eric do what he did for us last year because he did so much for us last year. He starts on so many of the teams. He just wouldn\u2019t start on base for us.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what we\u2019re looking at right now. Clearly, if we don\u2019t think Brodney\u2019s the guy or we have some issues, we know we can always put Eric in there.<\/p>\n

On how Mark Sanchez is progressing\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

He\u2019s doing fantastic. He\u2019s probably ahead of where we thought he\u2019d be. Today he ran in and snuck in a team rep. I was like, “Oh, oh, what\u2019s he doing?” “It\u2019s a run.” “OK.” I\u2019m waiting. When our trainers say he\u2019s ready to roll, that\u2019s when he\u2019ll go in there. He feels great. He\u2019s pushing us all the time to get in there and that\u2019s where you want to be.<\/p>\n

On if it was planned for Sanchez to be in on team drills\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

No, he ran in there. I was like, “Whoa. It\u2019s a run. It\u2019s a run. OK. Hand the ball off and get out of the way.” That\u2019s the first time he\u2019s snuck into a team rep. Schotty quickly got him out of there.<\/p>\n

On Vernon Gholston\u2019s transition to defensive end\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know if you guys noticed today, but in our first-team thing he split two guys and would have had a sack. That\u2019s three practices in a row where he would have had a sack. I don\u2019t want to say anything because last year I kept saying, \u201cYou guys just wait. He\u2019s going to prove it to you.\u201d I\u2019m not going to say anything to you about Vernon because I don\u2019t want to cat him, but he\u2019s really doing well.<\/p>\n

On who\u2019s impressed him the most so far\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think Braylon Edwards. I think Braylon\u2019s impressed me the most. I love the competitiveness, which he\u2019s always had, but it\u2019s great to see him. I think he\u2019s learning to play the Z receiver as well as the X. He\u2019s really learning our system now. I just love the way he\u2019s competing with those corners. He can\u2019t wait. He was calling them out the other day \u2014 \u201cCome on out, we need more reps.\u201d It\u2019s great to watch.<\/p>\n

Then I think [Kenwin] Cummings. Kenwin\u2019s a guy that has actually put on weight, but he looks quicker. He looks faster and obviously being in our defensive system another year, he looks like he\u2019s a different guy to me. He\u2019s moving in space well. He\u2019s physical when the pads come on and that\u2019s the best thing Kenwin does. He\u2019s physical. He\u2019s tough and he can really strike you. Now, the way he\u2019s moving in the open field has been really impressive.<\/p>\n

On the job special teams coordinator Mike Westhoff has to do this season\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think Westy treats it almost like a year off because he\u2019s not having to teach a quarterback how to throw an out, he\u2019s not having to teach the offensive line, which he\u2019s done before. He can just teach special teams this year. It is a challenge. He has to replace some players. It\u2019s not any different than the defensive coaches bringing in some new players, Cromartie, Kyle, Jason Taylor, and plugging those guys in and getting them up to speed. Then, on offense, having some new guys to plug in there as well. It\u2019s no different.<\/p>\n

I know Mike Westhoff. He loves the challenge this presents. There\u2019s no better guy in the league to have than Westy. Sometimes they use it against him, \u201cAh, Westy, you\u2019ll get him.\u201d We have so much faith in him. You have to get him players, some guys with the athleticism. I think we have that. Last year, when he took Vernon Gholston and put him on the punt team and the kickoff team, he did a great job for us.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s certainly got all the experience in the world. He\u2019s not only going to make it work, he\u2019s going to make it be successful. It\u2019s great as a head coach, you can lay your head on that pillow knowing you\u2019re going to be able to protect the punter, knowing you\u2019re going to be able to cover kicks.<\/p>\n

You can join in on the conversation in our New York Jets message board<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Transcript of Jets head coach Rex Ryan’s news conference following the midday OTA practice on Thursday, courtesy NY Jets PR Department: On Jerricho Cotchery giving Kyle Wilson an education on the field\u2026 Yes, he did. He got him a couple of times. Kyle did a great job for the most part, but he got him […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-4328","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-camp-reports"},"acf":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/peLffi-17O","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4328","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4328"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4328\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47280,"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4328\/revisions\/47280"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4328"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4328"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4328"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}