I'll keep these in one thread just to make it easier. New York Jets QB Mark Sanchez, 1.25 On the season? It stings, it hurts. You lose a tough game like that and make it as far as we did, it?s frustrating. You want to win. Everyone in this locker room did. Once you get past that part, which I don?t know how long that?s going to take, it?s important for me to understand, as a rookie, that it was pretty special. As a team (it was) unbelievable. At one point we were 4-6, not a chance. We were kicked to the curb, not a chance. To make it as far as we did, the resilience in this locker room, the way we worked, the way we rallied around Rex (Ryan), that was pretty special. On another note, the way Rex came in and just really changed the culture of this franchise in one year, that?s big time. It is something we all bought in to, we believed in him and the best thing he said, maybe the entire year, was today, ?It?s just the beginning. Wear your Jets stuff with pride, there is nothing to be ashamed about. It?s been an awesome year, we came a little bit short.? That stuff happens, so we will rally and bounce back. On if what the team accomplished this year overshadows the bitterness of the loss? I don?t know about that. You go back-and-fourth, depending on what mood you?re in. The first and the third thought is, ?Dang it. This is hard. That?s tough.? Right in between there though we?ve got a shot. This franchise has a shot. With Rex, we have a shot. On what Coach Ryan has done to changed the culture of the Jets? I just felt like his attitude and when he said, ?Be proud to be a Jet.? We want to be a football team that is tough to play. ?Oh man, we have to go to New York to play the Jets, not again.? That?s the mentality Rex wants. We?re starting to get there. That?s the mentality, being tough. A tough team, an all-weather offense, a defense that just hassles the quarterback, gets turnovers, wins the field position battle and a special teams that can hurt you. I think we?re starting to get there.
New York Jets CB Darrelle Revis, 1.25 On his thoughts today? The emotions are mixed. The season didn?t go how we wanted it to go. We wanted to get to the Super Bowl. Guys are talking today and the coaches are talking today about the year, (what) we accomplished and what we need to do to improve to get to the Super Bowl. On how long the sting of the loss lasts? It?s going to hang on until we get back there and actually win it. That?s the thing, games like this stick in your mind and it hurts bad. You just have to improve and work harder. On if he can appreciate the accomplishments of the season? Yeah, they?re great. We had a great run. When people didn?t believe we could do it, we made a way. The one thing about this team, guys didn?t point the finger. Mark Sanchez had an up-and-down year, but towards the end he managed to prevail in ways that we haven?t seen in the regular season. The one thing that we want to do is just build off the success that we were having the last couple of games. On Coach Ryan today? He?s great. You want to play for a guy like him. I know he gets crazy sometimes with the media, but that?s just his personality and we like it. We appreciate it.
New York Jets WR Jerricho Cotchery, 1.25 On his thoughts right now? The thought of the loss is the thing that is controlling my mind right now. I?m very disappointed in the outcome of yesterday, but you have to put a lot of things in perspective. We had a heck of a year. We battled through a lot of adversity this year. We still hung in there and we were able to get to the AFC Championship. We ran into a great team. On when the sting of the loss goes away? It takes a while for me. It lingers for a while, but I will say that today?s meeting was a lot better than last year. To come from that point to the point that we?re at right now, things are looking good for the New York Jets. I?m glad that I?m a New York Jet right now. I?m happy for the guys in this locker room and the way that we hung in there with each other, didn?t point any fingers and continued to battle through the year. I think everyone in this locker room should be proud of themselves. On the future of the franchise? We have a lot to build on. The thing that is most encouraging is (Mark) Sanchez. He played a very good game yesterday. That was a big-time game. To play in the AFC Championship as a rookie quarterback, he rose to the challenge. He rose to the occasion and he made a lot of plays for us yesterday. The guy on the other side (Peyton Manning), he?s been doing it for a while now at a high level. He got into a zone that we see on TV, but we got a chance to see it in person yesterday.
New York Jets C Nick Mangold, 1.25 On what he?ll remember about this team 10 years from now? Hopefully, I?m still kicking in 10 years. I think it?s the people in this locker room. This is a great bunch of guys who care about each other and play for each other. I think that will last with me forever. On what this season means for the Jets moving forward? I think it?s a good start. Rex (Ryan) came in here and laid down the law and said this is how things are going to be. We took it to heart and ran with it. I think we were able to break away from the pain a little bit and see the good things we accomplished. I think it?s a good base. On not being underdogs next season? It?ll probably depend on how things go this offseason and where we?re at. Favorites or underdogs, you never really think about it too much, or at least I don?t. You go out there and you play the same way no matter how people are talking about you.
New York Jets TE Dustin Keller, 1.25 On what he can take away from this season? I think we had a very solid season, especially the way we bounced back towards the end of the year. Obviously, the ultimate goal of winning the Super Bowl, we came two wins short of that. There are a lot of good things we did this year and we should be happy about it, but not satisfied. On what the team has proven? We?ve proven that we are a tough team to come in the future. A lot of teams aren?t going to want to play us, the way we play defense, the way we run the ball and Mark (Sanchez) just came alive at the end of the season. We?re definitely going to be a team to watch out for next year. On the fans? The fans were great and traveled with us, especially to Indianapolis. There were Jets chants and it was amazing. The type of support they gave us throughout the playoffs was motivating for us. On Mark Sanchez finishing the season strong? It was something that was bound to happen sooner or later. We?re lucky enough to get our chemistry going in the postseason. There?s no better time than that.
New York Jets OT D?Brickashaw Ferguson, 1.25 On their successful season? Obviously, it was very disappointing that we couldn?t continue on in the big game given that we were just one game away. We just talked to Rex (Ryan) and he really just highlighted some of the things that we did well. How we became a team that nobody wanted to play, tough offense, all-weather offense and great defense. We did a lot of great things. We really reached a lot of pinnacles, but we can take pride in that. I think we?re happy, but it?s a bittersweet day today. On the emotions of the team after their final meeting? You get a chance to really talk to a couple of your coaches and say, ?Hey, great job this year.? I think everybody is happy with the type of staff we have, the type of players that were in the locker room. It was just unfortunate that we couldn?t go all the way. These opportunities sometimes are rare. It was my first AFC Championship game and hopefully it won?t be the last. On how much better the offense will be next year? I don?t think there is a limit to the level we can attain, I just think it?s a thing where we?re going to analyze what we did well throughout the whole season, look at the things we?ve done poorly and just continue to work. One of the benefits you have (is that) we had so many of the same guys in the locker room and so many of the same coaches. You can utilize experience and not so much start over. You can build on what you?ve already done.
Great quote from Rex after the game. "It?s just the beginning. Wear your Jets stuff with pride, there is nothing to be ashamed about. It?s been an awesome year, we came a little bit short.? I love you Rex!
I like what I am hearing but they are all right, it is bittersweet. We can be a team that can beat anyone in the league. If Rex can carry the same mentality over the next number of seasons and we can plug in a few improvements here and there, this team can be good for a long time. I think the biggest thing they accomplished this year was the change of culture. Everyone bought in, they knew they were going to play everyone tough, and to a man they took that mentality and ran with it. I hope every player can go in there next season prepared to pick up where they left off.
This is by far the most optimistic I feel about the jets right after the season has ended. Sure there are still needs (cb, pass rusher, oline depth). But the core is there. If jenkins and leon come back to the level of play we are use to I really don't see why this won't be a elite team next season.
I agree with you 100%. I've never been so optimistic after losing a playoff game. Especially considering how bad it felt last year.
Couple more: New York Jets S Jim Leonhard, 1.25 On if the loss stings less today? It doesn?t really feel any better at this point. It?s frustrating still, knowing you were this close. You get this far in the playoffs and you know anything can happen. To be one step short of a Super Bowl, it hurts. It?ll hurt until that game is over. I?ll watch that game and it?ll be frustrating. I?m definitely not throwing a Super Bowl party. We played well. We had a good season. We set the foundation of the team that we want to be. We put that out there to the rest of the League of who the New York Jets are and who they?re going to be from this point forward. We can?t be disappointed in that. You lose that game and you?re obviously not satisfied with what you?ve done this year. On what he knew about the culture of the Jets before he came here? I knew a little bit. I learned the history and how the fans seem like they are waiting for disappointment. It?s changing. I think that was the first thing Rex (Ryan) tried to get out there to the fans that this will not be the Same Old Jets. I think we laid that foundation. The fans should have that confidence just like we do now that it?s not the Same Old Jets. We?re moving forward and we?re going to be a contender year-in and year-out. That?s our goal. Hopefully, the fans realize that because the players in this organization realize that things are changing. On what it will take for the team to take the next step to the Super Bowl? Obviously, we need to get better. There are great teams and Indianapolis is one of them. You look at the teams that continuously get to this level and what they?re made of and who they are and you have to learn from them. Now, we have that experience. Maybe this team needed this experience this year in order to take that step. It?s hard to say, but I know the guys in this room and everything they?re made of. We?re hungry and we want to have success. We will do everything we can as a team and individually to take that next step. It?s hard. It?s not something you can point your finger at and say this is what we?re missing. It?s definitely not easy that way, but we?re not afraid to work. No one in this organization is afraid of work and we?re willing to put that in.
New York Jets S Kerry Rhodes, 1.25 On the ups and downs of the season? I think (it was) up and down for the whole team. We started off good, had a lull in the middle there and at the end turned it on. It was just one of those things where, as an NFL player, you go through these type of things and as a team you do. You just try to bounce back and do a good job. On what he?ll take from this year into next season? You never know what happens next year, so that?s that. At the end of this year we know we made a great run. It?s not where we wanted to be. We thought we could have gotten to the pinnacle and that?s the Championship and have a chance to win it there, but we didn?t. The Colts were the better team yesterday. We grew as a team and made a lot of strides. On Coach Ryan always believing in the team? Whenever you have a guy believe in you, it?s a great thing. We believed in him as the season went on. A lot of the things he said came to fruition, even though we didn?t meet the President. We got pretty close. We believed in him and he believed in us, which is a good thing.
New York Jets Fan GreenMachine We were supposed to be awful. We went to the AFC Championship game and went toe to toe vs the best team over the past 10 years. We are young and the future looks great. Fuck Miami. Fuck New England. Peyton Manning has a five head.
I remember writing on here that Ryan & the Jets should tone down the rhetoric...'put up or shut up' is what I said. Well, they 'put up' as far as I'm concerned. And now what they're saying sure sounds like a team that realizes the need to better themselves to get to the next level and wipe the bitter taste from their lips. That's good to hear. Coach Ryan has me believing in his approach, but even better he seems to have each and every player on the team sold on it as well. I really think that another year or two will see the Jets become truly a force to be reckoned with. I bet we'll win the east this year with 11 or more wins. We're not gonna sneak up on anyone either. Another strong defensive effort, an improved offensive performance and smarter calls by the coaches and we're there.
