1495 Sports is proud to bring these New York Jets quotes for 12/13/12:

Head Coach Rex Ryan:

Opening Statement:

“I’d like to start really today by talking about some guys we really don’t talk a whole lot about. Like Konrad (Reuland and Jeff) Cumberland, two young tight ends. I think they really had to step it up obviously, with the injury to (Dustin) Keller. But these two guys are really improving. Mike Devlin’s doing a great job coaching these guys but their blocking’s really improved. And really with Cumberland, more the in-line blocking, and (that’s) not bad for a college receiver but he’s doing a tremendous job for us. And then Konrad’s doing, the jack of all trades, the garbage man or whatever you want to call him, does the jobs nobody else wants. He’s part fullback, tight end, all these type of roles. It’s challenging mentally, now the kid’s from Stanford so it’s probably not too challenging, but he’s doing a great job. I see his blocking improving and things like that. They’re a couple of guys we really don’t talk a whole lot about but they’re doing a tremendous job for us.  As far as who we’re up against this (week) in Tennessee, it’s a young very aggressive, attacking style football team. They have a lot of young talented playmakers on both sides of the ball.  I look on their defense. I look at these two guys, in particular, these two linebackers they have. You have (Akeem) Ayers who obviously is having a tremendous season – rushes the passer well, blitzes, can put his hand in the dirt and rush the passer, but he’s all over the place, very active guy from UCLA. I think he has 85 tackles and eight or nine passes defensed. He can do it all. Then this young guy, I think is going to be a good player for them, the kid from Carolina, Zach Brown I believe is his name.  Zach can really run. He can really run. He’s all over the place. And they’re active on the outside obviously with (Kamerion) Wimbley and with (Derrick) Morgan, the former first-round pick from Georgia Tech. So they have two really good guys there. They attack you with penetrating style of tackles. So it’s definitely going to be a challenge for us up front. And then offensively, the (Jake) Locker kid is a tremendous athlete. I mean, he can really run. He’s probably scrambling more than any quarterback we’ve seen maybe all season. He’s getting out and he’ll take off with his 4.5 speed, 230-pound guy, he’s got a strong arm and really I think this is kind of what the NFL is looking like for the next generation of quarterbacks. Those guys that can run, have those big arms and (are) big guys, kind of like the Cam Newton’s and Locker’s and all that type of stuff. It seems to be a trend in the NFL (and he’s) obviously, a very talented guy. The wideouts with Kenny Britt, (a) local product, and all that stuff and (Kendall) Wright, a couple first-round picks there. So they’re very talented. And oh, by the way you have Chris Johnson. So, obviously it’s going to be a big challenge to us but, it’s one we’re excited to be facing.”

On how long it will take Edwards to learn the playbook:

“He’s a guy that’s played in the league a long time. Braylon’s smart. He’s a smart guy, so hopefully he’ll pick it up fast. I know Sanjay’s (Coach Lal) spending a lot of time with him and things. So we’ll see. But we did this (and) all I want is the exact type of game we had the last time we picked him up which was I think he scored a touchdown and set up two others. If he can do that, we’ll be okay. But again, it was funny, but when we did make that trade, it was like okay, how much (can we play him)? There were questions about how much we can really play the guy and he played a ton for us that game. But we’ll see how it goes.”

On whether Edwards having a connection with Sanchez helps:

“Yeah, I think obviously he’s familiar with him. I think that’s good that the quarterback is familiar with the receiver. The receiver, all they have to do is run the route and catch the ball, so I don’t think it matters who’s throwing it. For a quarterback, there’s a comfort level and, quite honestly, with the receivers there’s connections with the quarterback. Receivers will want a ball in certain areas. And if I’m running a slant there, maybe a receiver that wants the ball in front of them maybe wants it higher. There are some that want it lower, all those types of different things. I think obviously, he has that, spending two years here, he should have that kind of connection or rapport with the quarterback.”

On what makes him think Edwards can contribute:

“I think he can. That’s why we brought him in. Obviously we feel good about it, the kind of player he is. As I mentioned before, he does have some chemistry with the quarterback (Sanchez). He’s familiar with him. The system may be different, but I think he’s a smart guy. I think he learns quickly (and) I think he’ll pick it up quickly. We’ll see how much he can help us.”

On how much he’ll pay attention to the Cincinnati and Pittsburgh games:

“I’ll watch (them), but I don’t think you can get emotionally invested in (them) because you have to go out and do your job or it makes no difference. That’s where we have to be. Obviously, we’ll watch (them). I’m pulling for Dallas like crazy, but that’s it. You can be watch it and you can be cheering for whoever but, at the end of the day, you have to take care of your business. That’s where our energy needs to be focused.”

Wide Receiver Braylon Edwards:

On coming back to the Jets:

“It means a lot to be back. I had some great times here. I feel like I left a small part of myself here when I left. To be back is great. I think I can come back and just provide a little bit of a (veteran leadership). I’m going into year eight. I’ll be 30 in a month. Don’t tell anybody. There’s some pride, some of the things we had last time I was here was fun and just getting after it.”

On if having a rapport with Mark Sanchez helps:

“It does. Mark and I have stayed in touch since I left. The big thing with us is that we’re friends off the field. We spend time together off the field, so we know each other a little bit. When you get in the locker room or in the meeting room or the field, that rapport helps to have that trust.”

On if he was surprised to be back:

“I was (surprised) to say the least. I always wanted to come back, but after this offseason, not really getting a phone call, I kind of thought that was it. I moved on mentally. To get back and kind of be in the same situation we were in in 2009, a lot of guys weren’t here but the guys that were, like you said, anything is possible. We didn’t even think we were going to get into the playoffs and low and behold we got to the AFC Championship.”

On his health:

“The health is good. Obviously, I have a hamstring tweak but we’ve been getting after it with the rehab. The training staff is doing a tremendous job in the day and a half that I’ve been here. They’re really getting in there and doing what they do best. I definitely think I have a high chance of going on Monday night.”

On his participation in practice:

“I got out there and you saw me. I went through some individual (drills) with Coach Sanjay (Lal). I ran a couple of routes with Mark (Sanchez) and Tim (Tebow) in there. It felt ok. I was able to do some things. It’s definitely a step in the right direction, a good sign, seeing as though it’s Thursday and we have about three days or so.”

On when he found out the Jets were interested in him again:

“To be honest, my agent knows how I am. I get pretty excited about things. I actually heard about it more so on Twitter and ESPN before my agent actually called me and put some validity to the situation. I really didn’t know for sure until maybe two hours before it happened.”

On if the Jets feel like home:

“First and foremost, I had good success here. We went to two AFC Championships. It was very fun times for the team, my family and myself. I feel like I came here and gave a lot to the organization in terms of myself and I feel like it was well received. I felt as though this was home. I feel like I know all of the people in administration, by name. I know their background. I know the janitors. I know Ronaldo. I’m very cool with people here. I know everybody. It just feels like home and to leave it kind of hurts a little bit. It’s kind of like leaving college. You miss college. That’s just kind of how it was.”

On what gives him confidence that he can be the same receiver he was last time he was here:

“Turn back the clock? Come on. I’m 29 (years old). Next month is January, I’ll acutally be 30 in February. I felt good this offseason after I had knee surgery in January and I rehabbed very hard down at the University of Miami. We got after it and I was in shape this year in training camp with Seattle and basically so far this season, with the exception of the last week and a half. I was in great shape. I’m trying new things. I feel great. I wish I could have showed it more or had the chance to show it more, but now I do. I feel good. I feel like I still have the same speed. I feel like I still have the same strength, if not better. I still have that understanding of the game. Being in year eight, I’ve seen a lot. I’m ready. You’ll get a chance to see when I get out there.”

Quarterback Mark Sanchez:

On signing WR Braylon Edwards:

“It’s great news. It’s exciting to have somebody like that back and we’ll work him in slowly and hopefully get him ready to play.”

On how long it will take for him to reconnect with Edwards:

“We’ll be good. He’s one of those guys that he just knows how to run routes, he’s played for a long time, he understands coverages and he picks up things quickly. I know he’ll pick up the system fast, a sharp guy. We’re excited to have him back and that will only help the rest of the guys, Chaz (Schilens) an JK (Jeremy Kerley) and Mardy (Gilyard), all of those guys, Jordan White, and the tight ends, everybody. So it’s a big help.”

On the Titans defense:

“A lot of them (are) pretty young guys, but so athletic, they play beyond their years. They’re a sharp group in the last really two or three weeks, they really tighten up on third down and it’ll be a tough test for us at their place on Monday night. We’re excited about the challenge. Great front seven, good backend, they’re just a solid group and they play with a lot of energy, a lot of passion, so it’ll be good for us.”

On getting another chance to play on national TV after the last one:

“Sure. That’s always nice but at the same time, not to down play the game or anything, we just need to win. Whether it’s at six in the morning or eight o’clock at night, whatever, we just need to win some games.”

On what Edwards can bring to the offense:

“He can block, he can stretch the field, he can run underneath routes he can pretty much do it all, so it’s great to have him back and I know he’s happy.”

 On what it means for the offense when he has chemistry with a receiver like Edwards:

“Well, it’s good. I feel good with the wideouts we have now, I think Braylon can only help us. He helps energize that group and he’s a hard worker, he knows how to watch film and he can help some of those young guys too so it’s good for all of us.”

On his confidence level for the rest of the season:

“I feel like we really have a chance. I feel like our run game has really picked up. Our offensive line looks great. It’s going to be another challenge these next few weeks, and most importantly this week, to control the line of scrimmage and the run game and the pass protection. Then get Braylon rolling a little bit, get these other receivers in, who haven’t been here as much, just get them ready to play, keep those running backs fresh and keep them rolling.”