Here are some New York Jets quotes for 12/4/13:

Head Coach Rex Ryan:

Opening statement:

“As far as we’re concerned, (it was) probably our best day of practice we’ve had offensively. Not that it’s a good sign, it’s a great sign for us. Guys came out full of energy, bouncing around. Obviously, we need that. It’s just hard to explain but it was out there today. Unfortunately, our defense wasn’t as sharp, so there are some things we have to clean up, get better at and have a better day tomorrow. Offensively, (it was) a really outstanding practice. (It was) our last day in pads for us, so it was good to see.”

On what he has seen from Ed Reed:

“There’s a lot of things that are hidden that he does extremely well. I think we’re all waiting for him to hit the stats sheet on interceptions. I’m sure he is too. It’s probably the longest he’s gone in his career without a pick. Certainly, they know where he is and given the opportunity they throw one out there at him, hopefully he’ll be able to make it happen. Again, I like our situation at safety. This past week I had a certain plan that I was going to use and I kind of scrapped it. I have to find ways to use all of our talent and I plan on doing that.”

On this year’s draft class:

“I’ll tell you what, if there is another class that has had five starters in it, I mean if this isn’t an A+ class, I don’t know what you’re looking for. You probably have the Rookie of the Year in Sheldon Richardson, if not, (then) I don’t get it. Maybe it’s another sport outside of football. You have a young quarterback who has started every game. You have a fullback who was our last pick, (and) even though he’s from Wake Forest, he’s starting and has done a nice job. He’s a good, good player. You have Winters, and yeah he’s had some struggles, but guys he’s also done an outstanding job in some games. I think he’s going to be a guy that can be a starter for 10 years. He’s got that kind of look about him. That’s an outstanding pick, I don’t know where we took him, third round I guess. That’s an outstanding pick. Dee (Milliner) I understand has had some struggles, I’m not making excuses for him but he’s a rookie corner. I don’t know any other rookie corner that’s come in the league, outside of probably (Darrelle) Revis, that jumped right in. I think we’ve been a little spoiled here with the corner play. I think, to me, overall it’s a great class. We have some young offensive linemen that we haven’t played yet, (Will) Campbell, (Oday) Aboushi. I think this class is as strong of class that I’ve ever seen.”

On benching some of those draft choices this season:

“That’s ok. That doesn’t mean anything. We’ll do things for different reasons. You try to win games. That doesn’t mean that these guys aren’t good picks. If they weren’t, they wouldn’t have seen the field ever. I think this is a strong group. For us to criticize or be critical of a draft class that has five starters in the National Football League, as rookies, I understand it’s the New York media but this might be a little tough. This is a bit of a stretch I think, to criticize this draft class. It’s as strong as I’ve ever seen.”

Quarterback Geno Smith:

On if this was the offense’s best practice of the season:

“I think we had a good practice today. I liked the way that we executed. I liked the tempo. I can tell guys definitely want to turn things around and we understand that we haven’t played well as of late, so we’re doing everything in our power to get that changed. I think that was a result of us having a good practice today. Now it’s about just building consistency and turning one day into two.”

If he is motivated by having to watch the second half from the sideline:

“Yeah, it does motivate me. Like I expressed to my coaches and teammates, I never want to come out of a game, never, no matter what. It did motivate me. I think, like I said, in hindsight it could be a good thing later on down the road. Honestly, I never want to come out of a game, but I’ve got to use it as motivation and take it for what it’s worth.”

On if he worries about being benched in the future if he makes mistakes:

“No, I never play with those things on my mind. Marty (Mornhinweg) doesn’t want me to. He (has) always expressed the confidence that he has in me. He always expresses (that I should) be confident in my teammates and myself on the field. When I go out and play, I trust every single man out there, all 10 guys, including myself makes it 11. I just go out there and give it my all and not worry about the consequences, just go out there and play and have fun and take care of the ball.”

If it is impressive to have five rookie starters:

“Yeah, it is impressive. It goes back to us contributing. I can remember when we first got in here that’s one of the things we all collectively talked about. We all talked about wanting to play big minutes and (wanting) to step up to the plate and help our team out. I’m not here to rate the draft class. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us. We’ve got a lot of things we need to improve on. That’s really where it lies. We’re just trying to get better as a team, as individuals. That’s something we’re working towards.”

On what he liked about today’s practice:

“I just think the tempo, there was a lot of enthusiasm out there. I was just trying to do my best to get the guys going. Everybody came in and kind of washed out these last three weeks and just got back to work. That’s something we’ve been doing all along. I don’t want that to get confused as if we haven’t been working hard because we have. We just haven’t played as well on Sunday. The good thing is that every man knows that it’s going to take hard work to get back to where we were. We’ve just got to keep climbing. We can’t let anything else affect us outside of this building.”

What this game means to the Jets:

“It means a lot for our team. We need a win. Obviously, we’ve had a few rough weeks. But the key thing for us to do is just clear those things out of our minds, not let it affect us. Nothing in the past can affect us, good or bad, and just move on from it and then go out there and have fun on Sunday.”

On how rough this stretch has been for him:

“It’s tougher to have a loss. Honestly, as a competitor I just hate losing more than anything else. Some of those games where we won and I didn’t do so well, it’s kind of easier to cope with some of my mistakes. But when you lose, it’s kind of harder to bear with. It’s something that I’ve honestly learned that you’ve just got to roll with the punches and get better from it. We’ve got a lot of young guys on this team, especially on offense. We’ve just got to continue to get better and just move on and use a lot of these tough stretches as motivation. It’s all about learning and that’s something that we’re learning as a whole. “

If he has had to deal with a physical or mental rookie wall:

“I don’t see it. I don’t think so. As of late, I’ve been staying in the building later, trying to correct things. I haven’t hit any wall of any sort and hopefully I don’t. I just want to continue to play football and I want to continue to progress and get better and just try to contribute to this team in any way I can.”

Tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson:

On his NFL experience:

“It’s definitely been a wonderful experience. (It’s had) it’s highs and lows, but the challenges (are) always great and that’s something that every week you’re faced with. You’re always facing the top defenders in this league. To go out there and do your best, that’s all you can ask for.”

The recent offensive struggles:

“The season is always an ebb and flow. This is not uncharacteristic of some of our other seasons, but it’s how we respond to adversity that really shows the character of a team. We have an opportunity to really show what we are. I think we have a great locker room. I think, again, Geno (Smith) is great. I think we just have to continue to work hard and make this (game) ours this week.”

On Coach Rex Ryan saying today’s practice was the best practice offensively of the season:

“I mean, yeah, we go out there and we try to work hard. I think, again, we were able to click today and we just want that to translate to execution on Sundays.”

Whether he takes pride in being durable and playing in this many consecutive games:

“Yeah, again, I don’t think that I have a lot of control over it. I’ve been blessed not to be on the ground or hurt. I’m just happy that I’ve been picked to play this position. I’m happy that I’ve been picked to play this position for this long and I’m still fighting every day to represent for the left side. So, it’s a great challenge, but it’s something that, again, it’s what I do and I’m happy to be in this position.”

On the importance of protecting Smith against Oakland’s defense:

“That’s our charge every week, to make sure that he has time, to make sure that he can do what he needs to do. We recognize that as an offensive line our role is to execute to our best, so that other players can shine – the wide outs, Geno, (and) the backs, ultimately that benefits our offense, that benefits our team. So, our charge this week is definitely to give him time and allow him to operate.”