Jets Postgame Quotes (Preseason Week 2)
Head Coach Robert Saleh
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On the excitement QB Chris Streveler brings to the game…
This is the second time in a row that he’s done a really good job. He did get reps this week, but up until last week, he had not gotten a rep. You just sit back there and pay attention and take notes and learn. It’s all mental for him. He went out in the third quarter today and the fourth quarter last week and executes– with the exception of one pass – to near perfection. He’s a warrior and a fighter. It (has) been cool to watch him play.
On watching Streveler have success…
Really quick story. In 2017, we’re playing Minnesota in the preseason and I think it was on Sunday Night Football. We’re winning pretty good and then the fourth quarter comes around and this quarterback is running all over the place. He’s absolutely crushing us. We have zero chance to stop him. And then two years ago, I’m looking at this quarterback and I’m like, “Son of a gun! That was the quarterback that killed us!” And it was (Taylor) Heinicke. You never know where they come from. You never know how it works out, but it’s great to see a guy seize his opportunity and take advantage of it.
On the decision to rest the starters…
The ultimate decision came down to the fact that we’re scrimmaging with New York on Thursday. I do want to treat this week as a dress rehearsal. I felt like it would be a heavy load to play in this game. I would much rather get a good workout with all those guys, which we did. Practice Thursday, have a dress rehearsal, and then call it a preseason.
On if the starters will play in the preseason finale Sunday…
That’s the plan.
On if he is concerned about the Jets penalties…
It was sloppy on both sides, to be honest with you. There were a lot of flags thrown. It was wet and rainy, so guys were getting a little grabby. It’s something we definitely have to fix.
On the play of DL Bradley Anae…
It’s a deep room. He’s another guy that shows up every day. He works his absolute tail off. He is going 100 miles per hour every play. He took a shot on us leaving his last stop and coming here. He didn’t have to. I think it was with Dallas, if I’m not mistakes. He didn’t have to, but he took a shot and wanted to be here. He’s kicking butt. He’s doing a really nice job. I’m really, really happy for him. Those second-half defensive touchdowns – especially from a big man – are pretty cool.
On if the weather conditions make it more difficult to evaluate players…
No. It wasn’t too bad. The pass game might hurt a little bit, but you could still see the physicality and the assignments. Are you actually executing the assignment the way you want it to be? You can still take a lot out of it.
On missed defensive assignments in first half…
Poor vision. Poor eyes. The two explosives that we gave up…obviously, wasn’t good play. We held them to a field goal on the first explosive. The second explosive, we gave up a touchdown and then had a quick three-and-out against their guys. Overall, two plays, but that’s the lesson. If you give up explosives in this league, you’re going to give up points almost 90 percent of the time. Overall, I felt like we bounced back – especially in the second half – and played good defense.
On his reaction to Anae’s touchdown…
He was nice enough not to flag me, but I should get out of the way. I have to be better.
On the play of DB Bryce Hall and what he saw live…
It’s just vision. It’s such a simple fix. I know what he was playing for on the first play. He was playing for a drift route and (Kyle) Pitts kept going. That there, just trust your vision. Trust your size. It’s going to be a bang-bang play. The second play was a quick switch where we just kind of all pass it off and stay in your zones and collect it, especially with the formation they had. Either way, he’ll be fine. He’s been having a really good camp. I know this one probably stings a little bit and he knows it’s not good enough. At the same time, he has been having a good camp, so you don’t want this day to define what he has been able to accomplish so far.
On when he wants to have his two starting cornerbacks set…
We’ll see. You do want to start setting everything, especially if we’re going to have a dress rehearsal Sunday. We have a personnel evaluation tomorrow, so we’ll talk about all of that stuff and sort the week and make sure we have it planned out in preparation for rehearsal so we can get going for week one.
On the play off Garrett Wilson…
Every play is very important to him. He has freakish body control and ability to create separation with his lower half and how he runs his route. He has violent hands. He can snag a ball. He had a couple of tight window catches. I love his mindset. Love where he is at. Even for him, just continuing to get better and stronger. He is only going to get better. He’s going to be a cool player.
On what he saw from Michael Clemons…
Same thing you always see. He plays his absolute tail off. Plays with violence. He’s a tough block because he just keeps on coming. Overall, I love where he’s at.
On the kicking competition…
Eddy (Pineiro) was cleared a few days ago. Again, same thing, we’ll talk about it in the personnel discussion. I thought he did a really nice job. Booted one out of the endzone on the kickoff to show the power he has in his leg. He has the extra point. I think Z (Greg Zuerlein) has been kicking really well. They have been going neck-and-neck in practice. It’s been a good battle from the both of them.
On the play of Lawrence Cager…
It’s been fun for him to remake his body, going from receiver where he was 215 to where he is playing now (at) 240-245. He picked up all that weight. The physicality of the game is not too big for him. His mindset has turned 180 from where he was a year ago in terms of how he approaches practice and his rehab and all that stuff. It’s been really cool to watch him develop over the past few weeks.
Mike White
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On how he’d summarize his night…
Yeah, I think it was one of those preseason games where you kind of couldn’t get into a rhythm. There were some things going on, pre-snap, post-snap penalties, that kind of hindered that and just interchanging guys and things of that nature. But I thought those are the kind of games where you can fall into the trap of trying to force things and making too much that’s not there as a quarterback and start throwing unnecessary interceptions. So, in that aspect, I was happy with how I took care of the football and didn’t kind of try to make too many plays that weren’t there.
On if it’s tough playing with backups when the other team is blitzing…
Yeah, any time you get pressure in the NFL it’s not quote easy, but yeah, it’s just something you’ve got to deal with. That’s part of the preseason — handling those looks, and you only get better from it. It’d be easy if you just went in there and they played coverage and only rushed four every time, but those are the kinds of things that get you ready for the season, because come season time, if I’m one snap away when we started the season, or two snaps away, whatever that gets all handled out, you’ve got to be ready for those looks, so I think that only helps you get better.
On what the Falcons were dialing up…
Yeah, they would do the double-A, both linebackers in the A-gap, and either blitz them or drop off and play some type of a coverage. They would rotate the nickel to play the half field and the safety to come down to play the Tampa Two. Just a lot of different things, which was good, good looks to get, different from what we saw in joint practice, so that was nice to be able to get the gameday adjustments that you would get in the season, ‘Alright, this is the look if we get this again, this is what we want to do,’ and things of that nature. So, it was good. It was some good work.
On Garrett Wilson’s play and development…
Yeah, I thought he was going to keep his feet and convert on that third down. Garrett’s one of those guys who just kept getting better every day. You tell him one thing and he puts his twist and his special dynamic in it, but he never makes the same mistake twice it seems like, he just keeps improving. And as a rookie, especially as a receiver, that’s what you want to see because they’re not going to come in and get everything right all the time, no one’s going to do that, especially a rookie, so to see him able to take the coaching and play within the scheme but still add his special, unique skills in it that’s what’s going to make him a really good player down the road.
On the completions to Denzel Mims…
Yeah, I thought that was a really good drive because we had 20-something seconds on the clock and we were able to go down and get some points out of it, which is nice, and we practice that all the time, so to be able to execute it in a game was sweet. And yeah, Mims made a great play on that one and then the slider situation, we call it, when you’ve got seven seconds or whatever it was, catch the slant real quick to make the field goal shorter and bang the time out, so it was good situational execution. And Mims has had a great summer, one of the better summers I’ve been around with him, just from his mindset, his body looks different, his route running looks different, he looks more powerful, (and) body control. He’s always been big so he’s always going to win more times than not, but I think he’s had a great camp and I think it’s starting to show on the field.
Chris Streveler
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On playing in the rain…
Yeah, it was definitely getting a little wet, a little sloppy out there but, I mean, that’s football, right? You play in the rain sometimes and had plenty of, you know, bad weather games up in Canada up there. So, you know, been there before and you just try to be smart with the ball and you know, stuff like in that four-minute situation at the end, you know, kind of follow the ball and make sure we `take precautions with things getting a little wet.
On rallying the team and creating energy….
Well, it’s not just me. There’s a lot of guys out there that are making plays, right? It’s not just me out there and I think everyone’s just kind of feeding off it. When you see guys that are out there competing in the second half of a preseason game, trying to make plays and put a spark in the offense, it fires everybody up. It’s not just me, it’s the O-line getting fired up. One of my favorite plays was I had the ball on the six-yard line and I say, “Hey, we’re running the ball here and let’s get this ball in.” The O line, I just saw it in their eyes, they were fired up. That’s just the energy that guys feed off of. Like hey, let’s get this ball in or Cage (Lawrence Cager) making a big catch and run there. So, everyone’s contributing, everyone’s making plays and everyone’s just feeding off that
On Lawrence Cager’s wide receiver background and the way he plays…
He’s definitely a very athletic tight end and he can do some do some good things, run smooth routes and he’s a big guy. Like I said, he made a great decision on that choice route there. They brought some pressure inside and the middle was wide open and made a great decision and put the ball on his chest and let him do the rest of the work. So, been making a lot of good plays and doing some good stuff for us.
On the experience of the last two preseason games….
It’s been fun. You go out there and you get to play football and win. That’s the most fun thing in the world. It’s been fun and just, again, like I said last week, I’m just so thankful for every opportunity that I get. You just never know. I’ve been bounced around and had a lot of ups and downs in this business. So, every opportunity I get, I think I just have a fresh and appreciative perspective on it of how thankful I am to be able to continue playing this game at the highest level and I don’t take anything for granted.
On defense falling through momentum and how cool it was to see the scoop and score…
The scoop and score was awesome. You’re thinking, ‘Alright, we’re going to get the ball back here. We’re up one and let’s make this happen.’ Then you go up eight there. That’s a huge swing and for them to be flying around making plays and doing what they were doing, we’re feeding off that offensively too. I think everyone’s just, ‘We go down, we get a touchdown,’ and then you can kind of feel the energy shift and they go out, they get a stop, we go down, we put a score together. Everyone’s just feeding off that right and that’s the nature of football. There’s ebbs and flows within a game and you try not to ride that wave when you’re low, but when you’re on the high side of that, you try to ride that momentum and continue making plays. Thankfully, after the interception there that I threw, the defense came up big and made a stop. I felt like we lost a little momentum after that, but they came back and made a nice goal line stand and we were able to close it out in the four minutes. That’s why it’s a team game.
On being a player that loves the game of football….
I love playing football. This is my dream. I’ve wanted to be in the NFL since I was a kid and like I said, I’m so appreciative for every opportunity I have and every time I get to step on that field and put this jersey on. It just means so much to me and I love football. I love the process of every day trying to get better and working on the things that need to get better. Just this time of year, it’s camp and everyone’s working hard and grinding and you kind of have to embrace that grind, otherwise it’s going to be a long month for you. So, you know, no matter how things go on, just try to keep my head up and keep pushing forward every day, putting my best foot forward and just trying to get better every day.
On how much he thinks he’s helped himself in these 2 games….
I try not to think about that stuff. Again, for me, it’s just trying to get better every day and capitalizing on whatever opportunities I get. I’ve been getting opportunities here and I’m very thankful and I’ve got to keep doing it for the rest of camp. The minute you get comfortable in this business, is when the rug gets slipped off from under you and that goes for everybody. Just got to keep pushing and getting better. It’s week two of the preseason, we haven’t done anything yet.
On playing quarterback like a linebacker and embracing it….
I would embrace that. I’ve always embraced the physicality of football. Sometimes it’s been smart. Sometimes it’s not as smart but it’s just the way I play the game and I embrace that. Probably have to be a little smarter at times but, if I can square somebody up and put my shoulder in your arm or make a play, and going back to the energy comment, I think sometimes stuff like that can bring energy. If your quarterback is running around and doing some things, maybe that brings a little spark to the team. So I don’t know, I just play the game the way that I play and I don’t really try to overanalyze how people categorize that.
On playing special teams and volunteering to do so….
Yeah, that was like, probably like a week into camp. I wasn’t getting a ton of reps at quarterback and I’ve played special teams pretty much everywhere else I’ve been just as an opportunity to get on the field. Being a third string, fourth string guy, fighting for a spot, it’s the more you can do. That’s just kind of the nature of that position. For me, it’s something that I’ve embraced the challenge of trying to learn something new and add value to the team and have definitely dialed back on that a little bit after last week because now, taking more reps at quarterback in practice and that’s kind of where my focus has been, but at first I wasn’t getting any reps at quarterback. I went up to (Brant) Boyer and was just like, ‘Hey, I’ve done this before, I would love an opportunity.’ He got me in there and it was last week, in the preseason game, I think it was like six minutes left in the fourth quarter and I was at quarterback and he was like, “Hey, you’re on punt block here, are you going to do it? I’ll take you off.” I was just like, ‘No, I want to do it. Come on. It’s like I haven’t had a rep yet, let’s go.” So, you know, they ended up going down and scoring or whatever happens. So, I didn’t get to do it. But you know, it’s something that I’ve embraced just as an opportunity to add value.
Bradlee Anae
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On the team’s performance…
I thought we brought energy today. We had a lot of momentum coming into the third and fourth quarter. We were able to finish. I’m just proud to be part of this team. I think we have something special going on.
On his defensive touchdown…
I was just grateful to be able to do something and to be able to get, you know, pretty much 90 guys running to me. Even though I was gassed, I was grateful to be able to bring that energy. Because energy is important. Momentum is important. And there’s pretty much nothing I could say to get that energy. Only stuff I could do like get a sack, fumble and a touchdown. So, it’s just great.
On why he chose to play for the Jets…
I just hopped on the phone. I remember after the season in Dallas with coach Aaron (Whitecotton), I really kind of connected with what he was saying, like as far as the defensive front here. Attack defense. Very similar to what I played in college. So, I was like, hey, okay, I considered it and jumped on the film and looked at the Jets from last season, their defensive play style and I was like man, I feel like I can really be a fit here. And so that’s kind of what made my decision. It was also a decision for me and my agent. We kind of sat down together and talked about options. So, it was a strategic and just a perfect fit for me coming out of Dallas.
Lawrence Cager
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On his Touchdown…
It was a good play. It was a choice play. I saw man coverage and I knew I could beat the safety and (Chris) Streveler threw a great ball and I just made a play whenever my number was called.
On what has been working for him these past two games…
I think it’s just preparation. Coach (Ron) Middleton has done a great job getting me acclimated to the tight end room. So just investing, trusting him, trusting God and just staying on course.
On Chris Streveler’s performance…
He’s a baller. He’s a game time player. I love his passion. Every time he gets on the field, you just feel it feel his presence. It’s amazing. And that’s what you want in a quarterback. He is an amazing player, and I just can’t speak (anything) but great things about him.
On his transition from Wide Receiver to Tight End…
Um, yeah, at first you know, when you first make a transition, it makes you think a little bit. Like I said earlier, I owe coach Middleton a lot. Him staying on me every single day, having meetings every day. Even the best in our room, Tyler Coklin, CJ Uzomah, Trevon Wesco and Kenny Yeboah, I ask them boys so many questions daily. They never get annoyed. They’re always looking to help me, and I watched them a lot and I told them boys I learn from them every single day so it’s really that tight end group as a whole. We just brothers, and we just want to see everybody succeed. Like I said, without them; without coach Middleton; I wouldn’t be where I am at today.