On Tuesday New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez addressed the media.\u00a0 Here is the transcript courtesy of the Jets.<\/p>\n
On how excited he is to go back and play Indianapolis again\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n “We\u2019re thrilled at the opportunity that we\u2019ve allowed ourselves this year, to make it to the postseason, and it\u2019s going to be another fight. It\u2019s a great team. I think we match-up well against them, but it\u2019s going to take our best effort. They\u2019re one of the best teams around. They always are. It\u2019s going to be a good challenge for us and we\u2019ll be ready for it.”<\/p>\n On how much last year\u2019s AFC Championship game will help him going into this game\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n “It helps, just knowing the environment (with) the two games from last year. That kind of experience never hurts. It\u2019s good that we\u2019re familiar with the place. We need to be sharp, mistake-free and it\u2019s going to take a great effort from our entire team, so we\u2019re excited about that.”<\/p>\n On whether he has any concerns about his shoulder\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n “No, (I am) feeling good. (I will) be ready for Saturday.”<\/p>\n On how much higher his confidence level is going into the playoffs this year compared to last year\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n “I think (it is higher) for the entire team. I\u2019m feeling better towards the tail end of my second year. I feel light years ahead of where I was last year, just mentally, knowing the schedule, understanding what a playoff game feels like, anticipating that kind of energy that you get from their crowd and how you need to be loud at the line of scrimmage. Little things that I had to experience first to understand, now I just feel a lot better (about). It\u2019s a great opportunity (for) us and I\u2019ll have a better feel for it.”<\/p>\n On whether the shoulder affects how he throws\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n “No, it\u2019s not really affecting much. We\u2019re just being smart about it, taking the right routes, giving the right throws and approaching it the same way we have the last couple of weeks, but it felt good today.”<\/p>\n On how the playoff game will be different from the last game where he did not attempt a pass\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n “I\u2019m just trying to bounce back after getting pulled last week for (Mark) Brunell (laughter). Coach (Ryan) has been talking about it for a while and then he benched me last week, so I\u2019m a little upset (joking).”<\/p>\n On the overall attitude of the team entering this week\u2019s game\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n “We\u2019re focused. I really feel that. Nobody\u2019s had to say too much. Guys understand. You look at guys like Jason Taylor and LaDainian (Tomlinson), guys who came here for this specific reason. If that doesn\u2019t get you excited to play for other guys on your team and to play for yourself and to play for Rex, I don\u2019t know what does. This is a huge opportunity for us and we don\u2019t want our season to end. We\u2019re in this thing. Hopefully, we can get on a four-game win streak and take it right into Super Bowl Sunday, but it started today. We had a great start for our first day of practice and we\u2019re ready to go. Guys are excited.”<\/p>\n On what it means facing Indianapolis again\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n “It\u2019s a great matchup for us. It really is. We beat them once last year, they beat us when it really counted and that\u2019s hard. That\u2019s a tough feeling, going home after a playoff game, (getting) all the way to the AFC Championship game, having the lead at halftime and then coming up short. This is a different team, very similar on their defense. Guys fly around. They do a great job, but it\u2019s a good matchup for us, so we\u2019re excited.”<\/p>\n On how much he participated in practice today\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n “(It was) the same thing I\u2019ve been doing the last couple of weeks. If you don\u2019t take every rep, you\u2019re supposed to be, technically, limited. I got probably, almost all the throws. I felt good with the plan, (I was) accurate and I threw the ball well.”<\/p>\n On whether he did more today than he had done on the first practice day the last couple of weeks\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n “Absolutely.”<\/p>\n On Coach Ryan joking about injuring his shoulder on purpose\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n “I just think he knows that I\u2019m in a good place right now. I think our offense is (as well). We\u2019re just in a good place. I\u2019m getting the ball out of my hand quickly. I am making pretty good decisions with the football when it\u2019s in my hands. I\u2019m stepping up in the pocket well, two hands on the ball (and) little things that we\u2019ve worked on and overworked last week, just the fundamentals. It\u2019s all starting to come together for our offense. We\u2019re kind of hitting things in stride and that\u2019s what you want going into the playoffs. I think that\u2019s what (Coach Ryan) means. It\u2019s just like if you\u2019re sick and you play a really good game, everybody\u2019s going to say, \u201cWell, you might as well be sick every week.\u201d It\u2019s just the way it goes.”<\/p>\n On whether he feels like he is better equipped with more offensive weapons this time against Indianapolis\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n “I think our team is definitely better. A lot of that has come from Shonn Greene having another year under his belt, me having another year under my belt, our offensive line almost all back, knowing what it\u2019s like playing there and then, the addition of Santonio (Holmes), giving J-Co (Jerricho Cotchery) a chance to free himself up in the slot, Braylon (Edwards), another big target outside and then Dustin (Keller) having a great year. I definitely think we\u2019re a better team.”<\/p>\n On why he thinks he plays better in big games\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n “I don\u2019t know. It\u2019s just these games are the most important. These count the most. I have no idea. You just get excited for these big ones and you need to play well. You know there\u2019s a lot riding on it.”<\/p>\n On whether last year\u2019s postseason success gives him added confidence going in this year\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n “Absolutely, just (from) knowing what these games feel like because it\u2019s a different feel. You can\u2019t really describe it. It\u2019s just bigger. It\u2019s faster. You can feel the intensity. You just feel what\u2019s riding on the game and you don\u2019t want your season to be over. You want to play again and we want to play again next week. It definitely helps. I don\u2019t know how to describe it. Once you played a playoff game, you know what it\u2019s like. Just like starting your first game, you kind of get the jitters out. We\u2019ve done it before. We\u2019ve been in Indianapolis\u2019 stadium before, so we\u2019re ready for the challenge.”<\/p>\n On whether he thinks he is calmer now\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n “I think so. I think, just once you get that experience, it\u2019s just one other situation you\u2019ve done. We\u2019re definitely in a good place as an offense. We know how to handle it. Schotty (Coach Brian Schottenheimer) knows how to handle it, so it\u2019ll be a good challenge.”<\/p>\n On how his chemistry with Braylon Edwards has evolved this season\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n “I feel good with all of the guys. I don\u2019t think the game plan has changed much, I just feel like he (Edwards) is that guy in the progression that ended up getting the ball in the last couple of weeks. It goes in waves. J-Co (Jerricho Cotchery) will catch a bunch of balls three games in-a-row and then it\u2019s Tone\u2019s (Santonio Holmes) turn and then it\u2019s Braylon\u2019s and Dustin\u2019s (Keller). They all know who\u2019s hot. I\u2019ll feel who\u2019s hot and you want to feed them the ball, but nothing really has changed, trying to get him the ball or doing anything different.”<\/p>\n On the Indianapolis pass rush\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n “It\u2019s the entire unit. Those guys (Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis), they\u2019re the heart and soul of that defense. They fly off the edge (and) they stop the run well. They\u2019re not just pass rushers. These guys can slow down your running attack and it\u2019s a solid group. They don\u2019t do a whole lot, but what they do is they try and confuse the quarterback (with) pre-snap looks and then they fly around the ball. They\u2019re not the biggest, size-wise and stature, but they play very hard. (They are) tough, smart guys, so it\u2019s a big-time matchup for us.”<\/p>\n On whether his admiration grew for Peyton Manning after seeing his performance in the second half of last year\u2019s AFC Championship\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n “I\u2019ve always thought he was one of the best, so I don\u2019t (know) if anything changed. It just affirms what you already think and you already know. He\u2019s a great player. These matchups, it will be a handful for our defense, so they\u2019re excited about that challenge.”<\/p>\n On whether he thinks of this game as an opportunity to start building a legacy\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n “I feel like this game is a lot bigger than me. It\u2019s for our team and we\u2019re just trying to win another playoff game for our team, so I haven\u2019t thought about it that way at all.”<\/p>\n On whether he has talked to veterans about how fortunate he has been to have two playoff appearances in his first two seasons\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n “Absolutely, Rex talked to JT (Jason Taylor) and he just said, \u201cWhen\u2019s the last time you won a playoff game?\u201d He (Taylor) said, \u201cNine years ago,\u201d so it just tells you how special this opportunity is, how there\u2019s nothing more important in your life right now than what\u2019s going on in this building. That\u2019s the way you need to approach it, when you\u2019re eating, when you\u2019re sleeping, just thinking about the game, going through the calls in your head. It\u2019s another good opportunity for us, so we\u2019ll make the most of it.”<\/p>\n On if he slept well before his first playoff game last year\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n “Pretty well.”<\/p>\n On whether he feels he could beat Peyton Manning in a shootout if he needed to with his shoulder injury\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n “I better be able to (laughing). I\u2019ll feel good. We\u2019re inside. (The shoulder) will be good.”<\/p>\n On whether his shoulder could handle a shootout\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n “I\u2019ll be ready to play.”<\/p>\n On if the AFC Championship feels like it was just yesterday\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n “Your rookie year, is the longest year of your life. This year, it\u2019s like I woke up this morning and yesterday we were in Cortland. Now, we\u2019re already (at the playoffs). It\u2019s flown by so fast. (Mark) Brunell laughs about forgetting plays. He\u2019ll say, \u201cDude, just wait until you get to be my age, you\u2019ll forget an entire season.\u201d It flew by. It really did. We\u2019re just trying to extend it. Now it\u2019s seeing how many more games and how many more practices we can have and hopefully we get to our ultimate goal.”<\/p>\n On how excited he was at the 2009 AFC Championship\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n “I was fired up. It will be the same for Saturday. I don\u2019t know what it is, it\u2019s just everybody has that understanding. It\u2019s win or go home. I don\u2019t want to watch any game next week, I want to be playing in them.”<\/p>\n On the offensive line over the past few weeks and what is needed from them on Saturday\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n “The offensive production over the past three weeks has been almost the best all year. It starts with them up front. They\u2019re really doing a good job on the running game. They pass block and give me plenty of time. For a guy like Wayne Hunter to step up the way he has and we\u2019ll see what happens with Damien Woody. Both of those guys are capable. We have three tackles to play against two really good defensive ends. That\u2019s reassuring. The way the backs have run with Shonn Greene really coming on. They have really been peaking at the right time and we\u2019ll need that. We just have to keep riding those guys up front because they do a great job for us.”<\/p>\n On if he gets excited to play in quarterback-duels\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n “Sure. It\u2019s fun. Your job is to go out and score every time you get the ball whether it\u2019s a field goal or a touchdown. It was nice to get into that kind of rhythm on offense whether the other team is scoring or not. Just for us to focus on our offense against their defense. You don\u2019t really watch them too much. As long as we\u2019re scoring, we\u2019re happy.”<\/p>\n On if the scheme the last few weeks has been tailored to the offenses strengths\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n “We try to stay balanced. That\u2019s been the key all year. When we\u2019re balanced, we play our best. The offensive line has really picked up their play. They\u2019ve done a great job all year. It\u2019s just really been highlighted during the last couple of weeks. We\u2019re in a good spot. Hopefully, we\u2019ll do well.”<\/p>\n On whether Dustin Keller will have a big role this week\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n “It\u2019s any of those guys. It could be Dustin, it could be LT (LaDainian Tomlinson) or Braylon. Dustin always does a great job and demands respect when he\u2019s running down the field. Nothing different than any other week. There\u2019s no one match up that looks like we could just exploit something against a defense like this. They\u2019re so solid. They do such a good job in the back end that you have to be patient, spread it around and not just focus on one guy or they\u2019ll make you pay.”<\/p>\n On the reason the offense has been getting the ball off quickly\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n “I feel comfortable. Your percentages obviously go up the shorter you throw the ball. We\u2019ve had timely shots, good throws and even better catches down the field when we really needed them. It\u2019s been a matter of me getting through my reads the way I should, fast and efficient. Getting rid of the ball is just so much easier on the guys up front. It keeps their defense off balanced. I think it\u2019s been that our offense is really in a grove right now so we\u2019re going to try to keep riding that.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On Tuesday New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez addressed the media.\u00a0 Here is the transcript courtesy of the Jets. On how excited he is to go back and play Indianapolis again\u2026 “We\u2019re thrilled at the opportunity that we\u2019ve allowed ourselves this year, to make it to the postseason, and it\u2019s going to be another fight. 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