Jets Postgame Quotes (Week One)
Head Coach Robert Saleh
Video: Here
On the injury to Jets QB Aaron Rodgers…
Concerned with his Achilles. MRI is probably going to confirm what we think is already going to happen, so prayers tonight, but it’s not good.
On what he learned about his team tonight…
Personally, I didn’t learn anything. I think we all know what we have in that locker room. I think we’ll continue to keep speaking with the way we play. I think that’s what those guys are. They are an unbelievably resilient group. We’ve already known that. Our defense came out in the second half and took it personal. Take the ball away from those guys four times, stop after stop after stop. I thought the offense was absolutely speaking the right language at halftime. We came out of the locker room and made the adjustments we needed to make and got the points we needed to get. Overall, I thought it was an unbelievable game all the way across the board, special teams obviously capping it off. Proud of the group. They didn’t show us anything we didn’t already know in the locker room.
On processing his emotions regarding the win and the injury to Rodgers…
That part sucks. I’m going to enjoy this win. Winning in the NFL is hard regardless of who the quarterback is. Personally, I don’t hurt for me. I don’t hurt for our locker room. I hurt for Aaron and how much he has invested in all of this. I’m still going to say a prayer. I’m still going to hold out hope, but my heart is with Aaron right now and no one else.
On if Rodgers was still here…
I think he left.
On how he felt Zach Wilson handled himself…
I thought he was awesome. He had a couple of big third-down throws, clutch throws, to extend drives and score points. I thought his command of the huddle, the line of scrimmage, I thought he was gritty, he was creative off-schedule, scrambled for a big one. He threw the interception and still bounced back. It didn’t snowball into anything big. We still have a lot of faith in him. I think we have proven that by keeping him here and continuing to invest in him. I am excited for him and his opportunity.
On if he saw the effect Rodgers has had on Wilson tonight…
Yeah, for sure. He still has a long way to go in terms of growth, but what you love about Zach is his mental makeup, the way he approaches every day and how much confidence he has in himself. I thought today was a really good example of what we think of him and how he can play. He’s going to be great. He is.
On if Wilson is the quarterback if Rodgers is out…
Yeah, he’ll be the guy.
On if he saw Rodgers…
Real quick.
On how he was able to refocus after Rodgers’ injury…
That’s part of the game. You’ve got to go. I’ve said it before, no one really cares at the end of the day. I think, from a locker room standpoint, the group of guys we have, like I said, the resilience. No one was phased. The way we came out in the second half, on a mission. We picked ourselves up off the ground. The defense got stop after stop. The offense came out, bam right off the bat, got three points, the big turnover that resulted in a touchdown to Garrett (Wilson). It was a gritty performance. Proud of the guys.
On when he knew about Rodgers’ injury and if he knew immediately…
I kind of knew midway that he was out, obviously. We knew he was out. And when they told me what they think it was, I just recall the look on Aaron’s face before he went and took his knee. Pretty much knew in the first half.
On what the moment was like for Xavier Gipson…
I’m going to speak for our entire locker room and say we knew he was going to get one today. We just had a feeling. That kid is electric with the ball in his hands. If I am a team, I am not kicking to him. Let him keep proving it. None of us in the locker room are surprised he took one.
On if the ambitions and plans of the team remain intact regardless of Rodgers’ injury…
Always. You’re always trying to win every game. You’re trying to get as far as you can. You’re trying to win world championships. Next man up and we’ll keep rolling.
On the play of Breece Hall…
Breece looked good. I’m going to mess with him a little for getting caught on one. He’s still getting his legs back, but he has such great vision and burst, and he is so slippery, deceptively slippery. Excited for him. He had a couple of big runs, a big screen. He is only going to get bigger, better, and stronger. I thought Dalvin (Cook) was good, too.
On the play of Jordan Whitehead…
He was outstanding. He’s been outstanding. He was four dropped interceptions away from having an all-pro year last year. He caught them all today and he’s going to catch a hell of a lot more. He’s got great instincts in the back end. He has great instincts in the box. His range is better this year, believe it or not. His ability to get from red line to red line. Our confidence in him, he’s an outstanding safety. An outstanding safety, and he has been.
On what it means to win on September 11 and for New York…
It means a lot. Winning in this league is hard. Winning on this day, I thought the crowd was absolutely electric the entire day. I thought the stadium effects were cool. They stayed engaged, the fans did, and the players. To win on this day for this city, for these fans, and for the NYPD, NYFD, everybody who bleeds green and white, it was a cool moment.
On if there were any other injuries…
No.
On the play of the offensive line…
I thought it was good. We moved people in the run game. I thought we protected good enough. They have a really good front, you know? There is going to be a lot to improve on, obviously, but I thought it was good enough to win a football game.
On if he spoke to Duane Brown after Rodgers’ injury…
No. Not yet. It was kind of an off-schedule play. The play extended further than the timing of the play, which at that point the quarterback, Duane can’t look at that and say it was his fault. You fight until the end of the down, but when it extends the way that it does, it’s just a very, very unfortunate play.
On if the play Rodgers was injured on was designed to be a quick throw…
From a quick-game standpoint, yeah.
QB Zac Wilson
Video: Here
On the emotions of seeing Aaron Rodgers go in and being thrust into the game…
Yeah, crazy. I mean, first, I have so much love for Aaron (Rodgers), so my heart goes out to him. I have no idea what’s happened. I have to see what happened for a second, but I know he’ll find a way to keep working to get back, but it’s tough. That hurts us as a team, but my job as a quarterback is it’s my job to step up and I’ve got to be able to be as efficient as I can in that offense. A lot of emotions, right? Week One, opening day, trying to learn as much as I can from this guy, but I’ve also got to make sure that I’m ready to go. It’s a lot of emotions. You’ve got to be able to try to stay calm and go out there and try to perform the best you can.
On the conversation with Rodgers at halftime…
The whole team went up to him, so really I just kind of went in there and said, ‘I love you, man.’ I didn’t ask him any questions, just wanted to show him that I love him.
On if he felt the help Rodgers has given him this summer manifest in the game…
Yeah, I think each play it’s a big game and each play you’ve just kind of got to tell yourself to rely on the training I’ve put in this entire year. What everyone’s kind of talked about between Coach Hack (Nathaniel Hacket) and TD (Todd Downing) and then Aaron, of course. Trust the work that we’ve put in as a team and rely on the guys around me because they are some very talented guys and so I think that was the focus for me. One play at a time.
On what it was like on the final play…
Unbelievable, man. Like, you couldn’t draw it up better. It was bound to happen at some point this year. I didn’t know it was going to right then for (Xavier Gipson), but that dude is an unbelievable player and he’s got a great feel with the ball in his hands and I’m so happy for him. First kind of game for him in a real regular season game, so I’m just really happy he had that opportunity. It’s really cool.
On what he saw on the touchdown to Garrett Wilson…
Yeah, we had a run play called and you guys know G (Wilson), that dude’s pushed me all day to throw the fade, throw the fade, throw the fade. And I want to, you know? We had the run play called and Coach Hack goes, ‘Hey, let’s err on the side of handing this one off.’ And I just looked out there and saw G and I’m like, ‘I’m throwing this one up. He’s going to go up there and make a play.’ It wasn’t the best throw, the dude was boxing him out, but that dude has unbelievable ball skills and he always finds a way to come down with it, so he’s somebody I’ve just got to keep leaning on to.
On the touchdown play being called a run…
Yeah, it was a run with a tag RPO on the backside.
On the win against a divisional opponent…
Yeah. Huge, huge. Especially just because (it’s a) divisional game and the Bills are a big-time team. I think our defense did an amazing job at getting turnovers, but we needed to capitalize on those more. We should be able to put more points up when they have four turnovers, but this is a huge win for us and it’s a long year, we’ve got to take it to next week.
On his mindset looking forward…
Yeah, I’ve just got to keep getting better. Trust me feet, trust my coaches, trust the guys around me, rely on this defense that we have, and progressively just rely on everything I feel like I’ve done throughout training camp and preseason as well and just do my best to keep improving as a player.
On how much more prepared he is to take a next step following this summer with Rodgers…
A lot more prepared. A lot more prepared. The hardest part is now putting it into a game and I’ve got to be able to do that. Going into this week it’s applying everything that he’s kind of helped walk us through and being able to watch him and the coaches, how they’ve handled this offense. I’ve got to be able to handle that efficiently.
On how good it feels tonight after the work he put in this offseason…
Yeah, I mean, unfortunately you go in off of an injury, but to get the win was huge against a big team on Monday Night Football. I mean, that was the first time I’ve been a part of anything like that. The fan base was unbelievable tonight. It’s a long season, like I said. So, can’t get too high or too low. Just got to take it one week at a time.
On if playing on a short week coming up is difficult…
I don’t think so. Just because Monday is typically our shorter day anyway and tomorrow we’ll have the ability to kind of rest and take care of our bodies and get back after it.
CB Sauce Gardner
On his reaction to the Aaron Rodgers injury…
It is not something that I want to see, it is nothing any of us want to see. That’s my dawg, that’s my guy. He is a great teammate and great leader. It caught us off guard, but we dedicated winning the game to him.
On how faith plays a role in his mindset moving forward…
We just got to keep being us. We have to keep working, keep leading and we will get through it.
On the team processing what happened to Rodgers…
I can really only speak for the defense. When we saw that, we put it all on us. J (Jordan), White he got three picks today. I think we had four turnovers. The defense stepped up. Zach (Wilson)did a great job, throwing that TD (touchdown) to Garrett. He looked real comfortable and great. He stepped up, offense stepped up, defense stepped up and especially the special teams stepped up. I feel like we played complimentary football, especially in the second half.
On why it’s sustainable for the team to continue winning…
Defense – we’re going to do what we do. Special teams is going to do what they do. Offense, Zach looked real good tonight. Aaron took him under his wing. I feel like Zach is going to do what he’s supposed to do. He’ll help the offense.
WR Xavier Gipson
On how it felt to win the game in overtime on the punt return…
Man, amazing. It feels like I’m dreaming. It felt like I was dreaming, and it came true, so it felt amazing.
On if it feels even better since he went undrafted…
It was meaningful, knowing how hard I work, knowing my position, how fast it could have ended and Coach (Robert) Saleh, I thank those guys for believing in me and giving me an opportunity to show what I can do.
On Coach Saleh believing in him…
Man, he said that since the first preseason game, he is like ‘Man, you are going to get one, just be patient your time will come’ and when coaches believe in me like that and give me opportunities and give me a chance, it builds on my confidence, knowing someone believes in me.
On his emotions after he scored…
I felt like I was going to pass out, they all got on me. It felt like I was dreaming, I didn’t know what to do, I just took off running. It was amazing, for sure.
On how the last few months have been…
A rollercoaster, not knowing if I am good enough, truth be told. Just letting my work show, day in and day out show them how bad I want to be here, show them how bad I want to be a legend and be great. It has been like a rollercoaster.
RB Breece Hall
On if he surprised himself in his first game back from injury…
I mean yes and no. Once I got on the field, I was like, ‘I’m still that dude. Anytime I touch the ball, I can do whatever I want with it.’ I always had that mentality, but I was just happy the coaches stuck with me today. They said I was going to have a pitch count before the game, but I told them I don’t want a pitch count, but if I have to, I will. So, they kind of just rolled with me, Dalvin, and MC (Michael Carter) carrying it. So, it was cool.
On still pushing through to win the game with losing Aaron Rodgers…
That’s just one of the ways (Robert) Saleh just challenges us. Just to always being able to respond. Just to adapt to any situation. We got stuck a little bit, but we bought it together, figured it out. Zach (Wilson) came in and managed the game well. We made plays when we needed to.
On his confidence in the team with Zach Wilson at quarterback…
Yes, especially seeing his progression this offseason with Aaron (Rodgers). Everybody knows Zach’s potential, so I have all the confidence in the world in Zach.
S Jordan Whitehead
On his interception goal…
I guess you could say, but I’m just going to keep working every week. I like to manifest but something like this, you got to talk about it. You got to talk about during the week, believe that you’re going to do it. That’s where it comes form.
On keeping confidence despite the Rodgers’ injury and continuing to talk about championships…
For sure. Zach (Wilson) is a starter than any other team. He played multiple games last year and the year before. He got a lot of film out there. He had a lot of great throws. He showed already that he could run the team. So when that happened, everybody, Zach been having a great camp, so we were ready.
On how the defensive mindset changed when Rodgers went down…
You do feel like, ‘Okay, let’s go.” But like I said, Zach’s been the starter. Aaron’s been mentoring him. Everybody had faith in Zach. He has a great arm. I was ready for that deep ball, for Zach to throw that home run. It’s coming.
WR Garrett Wilson
On tonight’s last few moments…
I mean that was, when I first met Zach (Wilson) and then to have how today finished. I can’t lie, I would have never guessed it went straight like that, but throughout this process and getting to know him and just the way he goes about business, he’s so deserving of everything that’s about to come his way. I’m sure there’s a lot more where that came from, as far as him making plays. I mean you could tell just when he’s running with that ball, he’s special it with it, man. Like I said, a lot more where that came from with Zach.
On Zach Wilson’s play today…
Just his confidence level and projecting his voice to the huddle and hearing him when we came in for half time, rallying the guys on offense and making the statement that we need to go down and win this game. There’s no excuses in this League. You’re 0-1 or you’re 1-0 and he balled, man. He balled in that second half. Went out there and just let it loose and sling it around. We’re excited to get to work, me and Zach. Just keep building upon his wing. I’m happy it just ended the way it did, but the reality of it is that we got a lot to put on and we plan to be better on offense, but we did what we had to do and that’s what this is about.
On what happened during his touchdown…
Zach believed in me. We had talked about that a little in half time. He believed in me and I told him that I got him and I got to be a man of my word. That’s really all there was to that. I can’t say I drilled that, I can’t say I practiced that. It’s just kind of the will to make a play for your dog. That’s all there is to it.
WR Allen Lazard
On what today’s emotions have been like…
A roller coaster. I mean as cliché as it is, that’s probably the best way to describe it. For us to start the game, kind of slow and everything, Aaron (Rodgers) going down, really just trying to get in the groove of everything. Breece (Hall) breaking off that big run to feel like we get the momentum back and only getting three points out of it is a disappointment from the offense and everything. Obviously, the defense, they were stout the whole game. I think (three) points in the second half if I’m correct. Jordan Whitehead, I mean damn. Three, three. I mean guys pray to have three in a season and he had three in a game. I think that’s just hats off to him and the work that he’s put in and everything. Just capitalizing on the opportunities. More importantly, I think Xavier Gipson, for him to be able to capitulate the game and to finish it off the way that he did. No one more deserving of that. An undrafted guy coming in, working hard every single day, the focus, determination, the love that he’s not only just giving the game but given to our room. You see the passion that he has for it. Just so much love and respect. No one more deserving, no one more deserving.
On the crowd and the atmosphere in his first game at MetLife Stadium on 9/11…
Wow. Just wow. Especially with 9/11 and everything, what this means for this city, for these fans. The hardships, the hard times. Just even going through Covid and all that stuff that’s just a little bit more recent. No one more deserving I think than this city. Trying to be able to flip the script and kind of bring good energy and just positive vibes back to the city and everything. It was great to be able to go out there and get that win for them.
On how much confidence he has in Zach Wilson…
The upmost. The upmost confidence in Zach. Just seeing his growth and development – just him back there having his poise and everything. I’ve seen develop in his game and not only physically, but mentally, as well. Just giving the right checks, getting us in the right plays and him calling the plays that he wants to play, that he wants to run and throwing the ball. He made a few great throws today honestly. The one to Garrett (Wilson) on the corner route, me, I think it was a third down that I kind of picked up about fifteen, twenty yards on and a few other plays that I think he did phenomenal on just to be able to stay collected and be able to do his thing. I’m very proud of him and really just this whole offense, as well.