Jets Postgame Quotes (Preseason Week Two)
Head Coach Robert Saleh
Video: Here
On the injuries…
Izzy (Israel Abanikanda) is dealing with a thigh contusion. (Kenny) Yeboah is dealing with a hamstring. (Joe) Tippmann is dealing with a knee. They’ll all get further evaluated tomorrow.
On the penalties especially inside the red zone…
Turnovers, penalties, good ol’ preseason football. A lot of good tape that we can look at. A lot of guys did a lot of really good things. Some guys, not so much, but we’ll get a chance to look at it all.
On Mekhi Becton’s play…
I thought he came in and played with a lot of energy, lot of juice. We didn’t have a lot of plays on offense, but I thought he did a really nice job. I’m looking forward to looking at that tape, but watching it live, it felt really good.
On if Becton will get a look with the first team this week…
We’re going to look at everything, case-by-case.
On Zach Wilson’s big run and if he preferred that he step out of bounds…
Yeah, but good run.
On if that play reminded him of last preseason and the topic of Wilson running…
Yeah. He’s such a competitor. You’d love for him to slide out of bounds right there and just call it a day on that run, but he’s a competitor. It’s hard to jump in his headset while he’s running and tell him to go out.
On sitting Michael Carter and giving Bam (Zonovan) Knight an extended look…
Just wanted to give Bam a chance to solidify himself. Him and Izzy are doing a really nice job making it hard on us.
On the overall play of Wilson…
I thought he did a nice job. He extended some. He was really good in the pocket, good presence. Threw a couple of good balls. Got one to (Allen) Lazard. I thought he was fine.
On the decision to not dress Tony Adams…
He had some game reps. He’s been doing a nice job, but there are a couple of guys that we wanted to get a look at. There are still a lot of battles for that fourth spot. He’s been really good.
On if there is a chance he might start Aaron Rodgers next week…
We’ll see. We’re going to have all the talks about how we’re going to handle this third one, whether or not we want a dress rehearsal – not game plan or anything – but just make sure that everyone is getting out there to play. Again, we’re going to talk about it all in the next few days.
On if the decision to play Rodgers next week will be his or the coaching staffs…
He can always interject. I’m always going to lean on him and talk with him, so he will definitely be part of the discussion.
On if there is concern regarding Knight’s ball security…
Yeah, the ball security wasn’t good enough on the entire offensive side of the ball.
On a potential special teams touchdown in the fourth quarter…
The refs did a really nice job getting the game under control, going through their procedures. They made the right call.
On the play of Ashtyn Davis…
You can count on Ashtyn to bring it every single day. He has a great attitude. It’s important to him. He works at it. He has great speed and athleticism. His special teams ability is through the roof. I have genuine appreciation for Ashtyn.
On if he expects Alijah Vera-Tucker and Laken Tomlinson to return to practice this week…
We’ll see. We’ll get the injury report tomorrow, talk through it with all of the doctors, and see where everyone is at and if they’ll be available.
On the status of Duane Brown…
Duane, same thing. I think he is going through some evaluation. We’ll get more information as he goes through that.
On the evaluation of Brown…
It’s all planned. Weekly evaluation.
On if the injury to Tippmann is serious…
I don’t know. I couldn’t tell you. Again, it’s something that we’ll evaluate tomorrow. I don’t even want to guess.
QB Zach Wilson
Video: Here
On his long run…
They did a good job dropping everyone out. I think they dropped eight on that one. Where I was trying to go with the ball, their Sam backer was kind of sitting underneath it. I kind of told myself in this game if they’re going to drop some guys, I’ve got to get down into my outlets and try to get out of the pocket. It was also a goal, Aaron (Rodgers) kind of mentioned the first game I should try to use my feet a little bit. We’ve been in camp and throwing it quite a bit and trying to stay in the pocket and get rid of it, but part of the game is extended plays after, too, so that was part of it as well. I also wanted to get out and work on some of that stuff too.
On being told about running out of bounds…
I think the first thought of my mind was kind of like Jacksonville when I came down the sideline, I was like, “I think I might be able to score here,” so I tried to cut back, but I should’ve gone out of bounds.
On how the game went otherwise…
Good. Those guys did a good job of disguising, they gave us some tough looks, some funky fronts. It’s going to be a good learning experience to be able to go back and watch. I think we had some good, easy completions underneath, but I would love to see if there was more to them, so it’s kind of hard to get an answer there until I really go back and watch it because I do want to jump into that film and see if there was more there, for sure.
On having Mekhi Becton as his right tackle and how he played…
Great. I didn’t get touched. It’s hard to point to just him because I’m not, obviously, focused on just him during the game, but I think all of those guys did an awesome job and I’m excited for him to be healthy and back out there and he’s in great shape, so I’m excited for all those guys that got to run tonight. Every time we step out on the field, it’s a great opportunity for us.
On the offensive line’s performance after Tampa Bay pressured them during joint practices…
Yeah, I think probably because of that, the guys up front took it as a challenge. Same with us getting the ball out of our hands quickly. I would also say that tonight was probably a little bit more of show like we’re going to bring a lot and then kind of bail out of it, too, but I think the guys up front stepped up to the challenge. I think they did a great job.
On where he’s improved this offseason and preseason…
I would say just being comfortable, having a clear understanding of what the goal of each play is and understanding what looks each thing is for and why I want to get to certain plays, why we’re doing things a certain way. I think when you really have an understanding of why we’re doing something it’s easier to be able to be successful on that play. These games are fun because after every single rep, every single play, there’s always going to be something you can learn and go back to. It’s going to be fun film to watch.
On if he wasn’t comfortable last year…
I wanted to feel like I was, but I didn’t feel as comfortable and confident as I do right now, of course. For whatever reason, I don’t like to say I tried to be, I would like to say I knew what was going on, but obviously things didn’t work out that way. Whatever reason it is, I do feel like there’s a better understanding of what’s going on now.
On if he’s had more fun this preseason…
Yeah, absolutely. I’d say in general, I think just having an understanding and being grateful that I get to play football for a living and it doesn’t need to be so stressful, it doesn’t need to be putting so much stress on your shoulders every single day to try to be perfect. Every opportunity is a good learning experience and failing is an opportunity for you to try to get better, so I think it’s just cherishing the locker room, these guys we have. I think Aaron has done a good job of showing all of us that. He makes it extremely fun. Hack (Nathanial Hackett) makes it extremely fun, so it helps you realize that there’s so much more to the game than just being stressed every day.
On Rodgers saying he wanted to hand the position off to him after a few years…
Yeah, of course, that’s the goal. Play as long as you can. It helps me knowing that he believes in me, that I can play this game for a long time. That’s why I lean on him so much. I truly appreciate having a big brother like that.
On Rodgers saying he would like to have a few good years here and then hand it off to him…
Yeah, of course. That’s the goal to play as long as you can. That helps me know that he believes in me and I can play on the team for a long time. That’s why I am around him so much. I truly appreciate him as a big brother like that.
On what Rodgers said to him after he ran…
He said I was watching his highlight film from 10 years ago when he was a younger player.
On if there is anything he wants to work on…
Yeah. I would say same kind of thing. Each and every play just having those keys, being comfortable within what the play is, and how efficient can I get to my reads. Getting the ball distributed, of course having good pocket movements. Everything that comes with being a quarterback. Just trying to keep improvements.
On not having pressure on him…
I don’t know if I would look at it like that. That’s a great question. Sometimes if the eyes are off of you, it gives you great opportunity to learn. I definitely think that is helping, because I am able to really sit there and learn from Aaron, learn his reps, but I do feel like regardless of the situation that I would’ve been this comfortable, confident feel anyways. I would like to hope so at least, just with change of scenery , change of environment and things. Just going into the offseason trying to improve and get better I feel like also probably helped. I would definitely say it’s part of it too.
On how he thinks he can continue his growth in the regular season…
Yeah, you have to be very good at watching and retaining information. Standing behind Aaron and seeing each rep that he takes, there’s a lot of good learning. I think in the quarterback position, you can almost be just as beneficial to watch as it is playing. You never get the true feel until you’re done. To play games you’re able to kind of see what that’s like, so I learned to pay attention, and ask questions and understand why he’s doing certain things.
On if he has had a moment in camp where he said to himself that he’s having fun…
It started in OTA’s. I think it was just, I make mistakes, and can be tough on myself or whatever and Hack (Hackett) would do a really good job, we’re not negative here. It’s not about making mistakes, everyone makes mistake, it’s how we respond and that you show me you can do it on the next play because there’s quarterbacks that throw interceptions and make a bad decision. How can you show that you rebound and go to the next play? So, he does a really good job with helping us kind of keep that mentality. Not everything has to be so stressful.
On the way he warms up….
I would say the reason I throw the ball the way I do anyways was because of Aaron. I copy his form. That’s what has worked since I was eight and I’ve always felt like I’ve been pretty good at replicating things that I see. Whatever level it’s been right in front of me. It’s not that I naturally say I want to throw like him. I just think it naturally happens. You watch every single rep and I try to do the same thing and all of a sudden it works like that, but there are definitely things that I do try to copy. He has an insane quick release, drops the ball. His arm slots aren’t high, so those are things that I am working on in my game and how quickly can I get the ball in my hand.