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Offensive Coordinator Todd HaleyRe: The plan for using RB Chris Rainey:I think every week it will be semi-similar. It will depend upon what mode we're in. Last week we got into a bunch of no-huddle which he wasn't particularly a part of. That doesn't mean he won't be this week. It will ebb and flow with him early on especially.Re: Evaluation of the no-huddle:**I think we did a lot of good things. Not enough good things but the fact that we were able to control the football and hang onto it for a long time was good. We just need to finish those drives with touchdowns. For the first time in true, live action and with a fairly new player out there, there were a lot of good things.
Is the Jets secondary the best you will face all season?It's the best we've seen so far, that's for sure. The four they have back there are really special, starting with Darrelle Revis. They are a special group. We're going to have our work cut out for us. Re: Being able to gain a lot of yards on the ground like the Bills did to the Jets last week:I think a lot of those yards came a little later in the game, too. They probably want to stop them no matter what and [C.J. Spiller] is a real good back. We need to prepare to win and that's what we're working at. We're going to do the things we need to in order to get that job done.Re: The offense's performance last week in a hostile environment:We had a few false starts in there which we can't have, three of them I think. We had too many penalties, in general, on offense and that's something we've really stressed and we're pretty good at through the preseason. We went on the road in a really tough, loud environment and for the most part did real good but we can't have those three or four little snafus.Will you be using the no huddle more often or is it more of a situational offense?It's a number of reasons but we had a specific reason going into that game that we were going to get to it pretty early. As we had success, we chose to stay in it. That takes you out of some of your other game plan but we were still able to run the ball. We didn't get out-proportioned, so to speak, because we always want to run the ball and physically beat up on a defense. The fact that we were out there for 15, 16, 18 plays means we were doing a good job of wearing down the defense. In the end, we just didn't finish them off the way that we had to.Re: Talking to QB Ben Roethlisberger in his helmet when you're in the no huddle:When we go into no-huddle mode, there will be little reminders or tips if we see something from upstairs or on the field that's happening, just to let him know. In between series is when all of that communication will go on. When he's out there and we're in that mode, the reason you feel great about being in it is because Ben has a great understanding of what the defense is trying to do. Not so much on the road, but we're able to use cadences and things like that to get into the right play. When we're in two-minute or no-huddle situations, we're trying to run when they're playing pass and pass when they're playing run. Do you feel you were able to put the playmakers in a good position to make plays against Denver?No, obviously not because of the end result. We know we had four or five opportunities that we missed that had we made and executed the plays a little better, we probably wouldn't have felt the way we did on Monday and Tuesday. We did a lot of good things. I thought Ben did a terrific job of calling plays throughout the process. We just need to execute those three or four critical plays that every game comes down to in the end.Is it unusual that the Jets play so much man coverage on defense?I'd say they probably play more man than anybody. Last year, you'd still say the Raiders are up there as a true man team. You have to have the horses to do it and they do with Revis and Antonio Cromartie and a couple of their nickel backs and dime backs that come in. They've got some real good cover guys, in addition to somebody who looks like one of the better safeties in the league in LaRon Landry, that all have cover skills. They have the horses to do it and that allows them to generally rush extra people and that's pretty smart football. Does the Jets man coverage allow you to take more deep chances in the passing game?You want to try to be a high efficiency offense. It depends on who those guys out there are and how we feel those matchups are going to end up. When you're playing a team who's playing man-to-man generally you'll have some opportunities. These guys do a terrific job so that may not necessarily be the case.Re: TE Heath Miller's role:I think he is one of our better players on offense. I'm a big believer, like I've said through training camp, of getting your best 11 out there and getting those guys to make plays for you. Heath, I thought, did a tremendous job in the game, minus a tipped ball that if we get to him, then he has a real good game and the result might be a little different. I thought that was a good start for Heath.Re: Trying to establish the run:I think every game will be different and present different opportunities for us. We started out in the mode with the plan being that we were going to get to a no-huddle situation fairly quick. We can't have penalties on the second play of the game and things like that to get us off schedule. We want to be able to run the ball. Throughout the game, we're going to test ours and the defenses ability to stop the run.Re: How you want to use the running backs:I was in a place where [using a committee of running backs] worked pretty effectively. We led the league in rushing with a committee of backs, to the chagrin of fantasy football owners. Whatever it takes. We've got a nice group, they did some good things, but across the board we need to do better in the running game. How close is RB Rashard Mendenhall to returning?That's a head coach question. I'm just excited to see him out here and every day he looks better to me. That'll be his, the head coach's and the doctors decision.**
Defensive Coordinator Dick LeBeau Re: Preparing for Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow this week:They have a good situation. They have two different types of quarterbacks. Tebow can run the multiple options. He can keep the ball and be a real running threat. Sanchez can run but he isn't the guy that is going to run the option that way. They have two different offensive packages, depending on who is on the field. The good thing for us is that we will know which one is in there. Sometimes they are both in there. That's nothing that you have to get ready for. They present some problems. That's probably why they got Tebow.Can the shuffling of quarterbacks be disruptive to the Jets?I am hoping so. I don't know the answer to that.Re: Wildcat offenses:They have been around. I think Tebow makes it more viable than some of the other Wildcat offenses. He is a better passer and has experience running it all through college and last year. We played against it several times last year, so I feel good about our guys knowing what to do. Stopping it is what we will have to see about. They make you prepare for a couple of different things. That's a plus for them.What does James Harrison mean to this defense?He is a former NFL Defensive Player of the Year, so you know he is a great player. But we've played without him and Troy Polamalu, who also won the same award. Our guys know what is required of them. They have to step up and fill the vacancies and push on. We miss those types of guys and we will be happy when we get them back. It should never be a factor in who wins the game.Re: Chris Carter and Jason Worilds:Both of those men figure to play an enormous role, especially with Harrison having his problems getting back into the lineup. Worilds will get nothing but stronger. He looked good this week. He played well in the game. Carter has played good through the whole preseason. They play with great energy and effort. They are both young players and are getting some on-the-job training. That's the NFL. When it's your turn to go, you have to step in and deliver. I am confident they will do that.Rex Ryan mentioned the Steelers had 28 sacks at home last season. Is there any rhyme or reason for that?I don't think there is. I really do think that was a coincidence.Did you know that stat?I had no idea. I knew we dropped off just a little bit in the sack total but we weren't too bad. I don't care where they come, I just want them. That's an interesting stat. Their PR department probably fed it to him [laughs].Re: Jets' preseason and their first game:You never know what anyone has until you start playing for real. Any NFL team can score 40 points on any given Sunday. It doesn't matter what they did the week before or the last three weeks. You defend the plays that are out there that day or they will be successful. That's every week.Re: Last season being one of the highest scoring seasons in NFL history:If you go back to when I played, and that's really a long time ago, points scored has done nothing but go up. I think it will continue to do so. Those of us who make our living on the defensive side of the ball just have to grin and bear that. Everybody is playing within the same rules. That's the good thing. In the end, we all figure out they aren't playing different rules in Los Angeles that they are playing with in New York. It's all the same throughout the league. It's a good game. People seem to like to watch it. I kind of liked it in the old days when they ran the ball 80 times a game and threw the ball three times.Are there any differences between 2008 when you had a record-setting defense and now?No, there really isn't. That's why I said you won't get numbers like that again. That was very much a-typical. Our guys had a fantastic year. We turned the clock back 25 years. You'd have to go back 25 years before the league numbers, even of the leading defenses, where our guys were. I was aware of it because I am a stat guy. You are not going to see those kinds of numbers again. You just want to be competitive and keep your offense in the game. It really doesn't matter what the numbers are. What matters are wins and losses, keeping your offense in the game and holding the score down where we can get one more point than the other team.Could Polamalu miss this game?I don't know the answer. Coach Tomlin and the training staff would have the answer to that. We've been through these types of injuries with him. Sometimes he makes it, sometimes he doesn't. We have to prepare for whatever eventuality. I don't think it's a real serious thing. I think it will be a short-time injury. I suppose anyone that is not practicing you have to get ready for them not to play.Re: Ryan Clark returning:His tempo at practice, his communication back there, you can tell he is back. He is a weapon for us. He is a great player. We are glad to have him in there.Re: Larry Foote's performance last week:He did everything. He had a great game. We just didn't win the game. He would have been a candidate for defensive player of the week. He forced a turnover, had a sack and had 12 tackles. What more do you want a guy to do?Re: Lawrence Timmons:**I want to continue to grow as a player. In my opinion, and I am his coach and I am biased, but I think he has played at an All-Pro level the last two seasons. I want him to continue to play like that, grow and to increase his productivity. I think he has been a very productive player, as productive as anybody.
