1495 Sports is proud to bring these New York Jets quotes for 9/26/12.
New York Jets logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Opening Statements:
“I think going against San Francisco, I am glad we are playing them at home, because I think we are going to need our fans. Hopefully that will be a big edge for us, to have home field advantage, get our fans behind us. I think that will give us a big boost because, quite honestly, this football team (the 49ers) is loaded. I know them very well, and this should be a heck of a game, and that is why I am challenging our fans-they could make the difference in this game. We need you to be supportive and make it tough as possible on them.”
On the challenge of matching the 49ers physical play:
“It definitely is a physical challenge and things. But (they’re) smart, they give you a lot of different things, a lot of different formations, personnel groups, so you have to be on top of it. Mentally, you have to be sharp and then physically, a physical challenge, going up against that kind of talent over there, obviously, is going to be a tough match up as well.”
On if winning the close game at Miami gives the team confidence:
“I think any time you can win games like that, that go back-and-forth, I think that is huge. I think it does give you confidence in close games that you’ve been there before and you can find a way to win. I think that’s important. Clearly, a couple years ago, you made mention of that, when you looked, we got in the playoffs. That’s when we beat Indianapolis and even moving forward, had a close game with New England. Even when we got down to Pittsburgh, we never thought we were out. We knew we could come back. Why? Because we had come back in previous games. It definitely builds your confidence when you can win games like that.”
On if any players at other positions will play cornerback:
“We’ll do that this week with Joe McKnight. He’ll have a role on offense, but we’re also teaching him how to play corner, in not quite a full-time capacity, but he’s going to be over there a ton (and) in the meetings. He’s a guy that we saw on scout team when he was a rookie, that he has the necessary skills to be able to play corner. He has the speed, the size, the athleticism, ball skills, everything you look for in a corner. I don’t think there’s any reason not to think that Joe McKnight couldn’t be a corner. It’s just going to take time, obviously. With (Coach) Dennis Thurman and (Coach) Jimmy (O’Neil) over there, I think we have great teachers of the game and I think it will be interesting. I definitely would not bet against Joe McKnight becoming a good corner.”
On what they are doing to help Joe McKnight transition to cornerback:
“Right now, we are just trying to make sure he knows the basic stuff of our defense. He had a great practice today. It seems, the way he plays corner, it comes to him naturally. I think the biggest thing for him is to make sure he keeps working hard and working every single day with Coach Thurman and us.”
On their challenge against the 49ers:
“The challenge with the 49ers is we just have to make sure we do a great job with play recognition and making sure we come up and make the tackles that we need to make.”
On the 49ers offense:
“They have a great running attack with Frank Gore. I think the young guy is (Kendall) Hunter. They have a one-two (running) back combination. They throw the ball down the field. Most people call it conservative, but for them it’s really not conservative. They stay safe with the football. (Alex Smith) threw his first interception last week, his first interception in 250-something attempts. He’s doing a great job of taking care of the football and he would rather take a sack than throw an interception.”
Running Back Joe McKnight:
On if he was surprised they asked him to play cornerback:
“Yeah, I was surprised, but it was a decision to make the team better. I’m all for it.”
On if he thinks he has the attributes to play cornerback:
“I have the athleticism; I just have to work on my technique. (There’s) a lot of athleticism in the cornerbacks in this league, you have (to have) the technique take over. That’s one of the things I have to work on.”
On if he will play cornerback this weekend:
“This is how I found out, Rex (Ryan) walked into the room and said I was traded; I got traded to the defense. (laughter) Ever since then, I’ve just been working on the defense. I’m not doing a lot of stuff, just keeping it small and really simple for me, so I can go out there and just play.”
On if he will spend time with the offense this week:
“Coach Anthony Lynn told me to know my offensive plays because I still have a role on offense.”
Quarterback Mark Sanchez:
On San Francisco:
“This is one of the toughest teams we’ll play all year, defensively, offensively, special teams-wise. They are, in all three phases one of the best teams. They’re sharp. They know their assignments. It’s clear they play with a purpose. They have to practice really well. It just shows on film that they’re rarely out of position and they play tough, they play physical. I have a lot of respect for both Harbaugh coaches (Jim & John), so we have one coming to town and we have to play our best.”
On the Miami game:
“I think the most important thing was getting the win. No matter how bad it looks, thank God there are no pictures on the scoreboard because it was a nasty one. At the same time, we were a resilient group. We outlasted them and we just kept playing, so we had our best football there towards the end of the game. I think our last 15 to 20 plays were our most efficient. That’s an encouraging stat and hopefully we can just pick up where we left off and eliminate some of those mistakes.”
On Coach Ryan saying he finishes games strong:
“I think Coach Cav (Cavanaugh) and Coach Sparano have done a great job of just reminding me, especially in the last game, especially as overtime started, there’s nothing we can do about missing a flat early, or missing a hitch-and-go to Chaz (Schilens) or missing a deep ball to Santonio (Holmes). There’s nothing you can do about that at that point. You have to finish the game. So we had to get hot. We had to kind of rally the troops there and figure out a way to win, and we did that. That was the most important thing. I’m glad we did it, but now, looking back, there are a lot of things we need to improve.”
Quarterback Tim Tebow:
On the challenges the 49ers present this week:
“They’re a great defense and they have a great team. (They have) a lot of big time players, a great scheme, great special teams, a very efficient offense and a great defense. So for us, I feel like we have a great plan, we have to execute and play for 60 minutes.”
On what to expect from the physical play of the 49ers:
“Yeah, they’ll definitely be physical. They have a bunch of great players and hats off to them and their coach and all their players for the success they’ve had over the last few years. We know they’ll come in and be competitive and play hard and be physical and be well coached.”
On the challenges of playing a team that they don’t play often:
“I think you get to know players more when you play against them, so I think that’s one thing. I think coaches know coaches, (when) they coach against them for a while. I feel like our coaches know their coaches really well, and probably vice versa. They’ve coached together at different places. I think they’re a great team, they have a lot of great players, they’re coached really well, you don’t see them out of position, you don’t see them missing plays, you don’t see them missing tackles. They do what they’re supposed to do and they do it well, and that’s why they’ve been very successful.”
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