New York Jets Head Coach Todd Bowles, 10.23
On the play of the Jets defense…
After giving up one hundred and something yards in the run game last week, we got back to basics on that end of the ball. The coaches did a hell of a job. Coach (Kasey) Rodgers got them ready to play and they did an adequate job today.
On the status of Jets QB Geno Smith…
He has a knee. He is getting further tests run.
On the details of Smith's injury…
I don't know how it happened. I know he got sacked. The next thing I knew, he didn't come back in the game.
On if he knows why Smith was ruled out…
I guess he was hurt. You don't get a sense during the game.
On how he felt Smith played…
I thought he was doing alright. He was moving the ball a little bit. We hadn't opened up the offense yet, but he was poised. He was fine.
On whether Smith will start next week if healthy…
It's too early to tell right now. I want to see what the injury status is before I make that determination.
On how Jets QB Ryan Fitzpatrick played…
He did a good job controlling the ball. There is one play we'd like to have back on the third-and-inches when he threw an incomplete pass to Brandon (Marshall). Other than that, he was fine.
On the play of Jets RB Matt Forte…
He did a good job. They did a good job blocking for him. They had some different wrinkles and they got him free a little bit. He did a heck of a job.
On the play of Jets CB Buster Skrine…
He did a good job getting the turnover. It's some things we're still working on and getting better at every week. He made a complete turnaround from last week.
On the important of the fumble recovery by Jets WR Brandon Marshall…
It was big. You want to go down to the red zone and get points, and we got points after that. Regardless of what happened on the play, we got points. We got two turnovers, which we haven't been getting, and we tried to capitalize on them.
On how the secondary responded after struggling early in the game as well as this season…
They've had some decent comeback games. There were about three plays we'd like to have back in this game, but they fought. They got turnovers, which we haven't been getting lately. It's a credit to them for continuing to fight.
On if this win gives him hope the Jets can work their way back into the playoff race…
I never lost hope. We're getting better one game at a time. We got this one and have to get ready for the next one.
On when the decision was made not to dress Jets DL Muhammad Wilkerson…
It was probably this morning.
On the injury to Jets C Nick Mangold…
Mangold has an ankle and is having further tests run as well.
On the situation with Jets LB Erin Henderson…
Non-disclosed injury. Put him on the non-football injury list and we'd rather keep that private right now.
(follow-up)
On if the injury was sustained away from football…
It's a non-injury.
On the overall relief after a four-game losing streak…
I don't think it's relief. I think it's frustration. We're 2-5. We have to be able to get better. We can't change the past, but we have something to do about the future. That's what we're going to work on.
On whether Jets RB Bilal Powell was held out because he was the team's emergency quarterback…
No. We might have been running the ball the rest of the game.
On the blocked field goal late in the fourth quarter…
They blocked it and I wasn't happy. I have to see the film and see what happened, whether they made a good play or the kick was low. I haven't seen the film yet.
On whether Jets P Lachlan Edwards said the wind caused him to miss the snap on the punt…
It went through his hands. There are no excuses.
On the Jets delay of game penalty in the red zone…
(It was) miscommunication with two guys.
(follow-up)
On whether they should have called a time-out there…
We were fine.
New York Jets QB Geno Smith, 10.23
On his injury…
We've got to see, you know, assess it throughout the week. (I) still have to* *get an MRI, so we'll see.
On the play where he injured his knee…
I was trying to get away from a sack. The guy was able to grab a hold of me. Something just felt funny when I got up. I don't think it will be anything too significant, but we'll see.
On if he injured his right knee…
Yes.
On how frustrating it is to earn an opportunity to start and then get hurt in the second quarter…
I mean it's frustrating to get injured no matter what point of the game it is. The key thing is we won today. We got a win. We were able to go out there and execute. (We) did some good things. I'll be fine either way. The main thing is that we continue to build on this success that we had today.
On how he felt prior to his injury…
I felt good. I felt like we were moving at times. We had a few key plays at third downs that we all wish we had back, but I felt good overall. Who knows what could have happened throughout the game, but in that brief stint I felt good.
On his touchdown pass to Quincy Enunwa…
I would love to say I did something special on that play, but it was all (Quincy) right there. He caught an eight-yard pass and took it to the house. That's what you need. That's how you spark a team. That's how you get some momentum going for yourself. He did it for us today.
On if he expected to have the opportunity to play this season…
Honestly, I didn't even pay attention to it. I don't think about myself when it comes down to a team sport. It's all about all of us. I love every single guy in that quarterback room. We pull for one another each and every week. We compete with one another and we try to make each other better. That's helped our team. Obviously we've got a long ways to go and this is just one game. We've got to move on quickly and get ready for Cleveland.
On if the doctors have ruled anything out regarding his knee injury…
We still have to take MRI's. Like I said, I feel fine, but always got to take all of the precautions necessary.
On if his injury has caused him a lot of pain…
I don't feel like it hurts a ton. Honestly, I was begging to go back out there, but I understand they're doing their jobs so we'll see how it goes tomorrow and move on from there.
On if he is thinking about why he can't catch a break with sustaining an injury after starting the game…
That's how stuff works, man. That's how life works. I'm not thinking about that right now. I'm just happy that we won. I think I'll be fine, but we'll see how it goes.
On if he should start next week…
We'll see. Coach is going to make the decision. The doctors have to make their decision first, so we'll see.
On how much the offense changed with him playing quarterback…
Honestly, we call the same plays. We call the same plays. We read it out the same. That's our system. No matter who's in there, me, (Ryan Fitzpatrick), or anybody else, it's going to be called the same way because that's what the defense is doing to us or we're trying to counter what they're doing. We just have to continue to focus on us and get back to work next week and try to get another.
New York Jets CB Buster Skrine, 10.23
On the defense's adjustments in the second half…
We played aggressive. We knew they are a deep ball team, but we still played press coverage. Once we got up, we knew that they were going to pass the ball.
On his bounce-back performance from last week…
Well, I'm an aggressive corner, so I'm always going to be hands on. As a corner, it's a passing league. A lot of times, when a team sees a corner have a bad game the week before, they will try and check to see if he still has his confidence.
New York Jets DL Sheldon Richardson, 10.23
On if the defense showed their true identity today…
Most definitely. I thought we played well through the whole game. They're still a good offense and they were in it for the whole game. We pulled it out in the end. It was a great team effort.
On playing out of position…
It's building my resume, it's not tough at all. I hold my own, believe it or not. I'm guarding running backs, tight ends, and slot receivers. I hold them all. The one big play they had on me, it was a third down and we got off the field. That's a win for me. I'm just trying to win third downs in those types of situations. The coaches put that on me so I can't complain.
On if it's better for the team for him to play his normal position…
Who are you going to sit? Like I said, it's just that simple. I'm the one capable of doing that. It's that simple. I'm a team player, whether people believe it or not. I don't mind doing the trash work and letting my other guys eat off of that. This is a team. Win, lose or draw, we're still a team. Arguments or whatever it is you want to call it weeks later, we're still a team. We're a family, families fight all the time. We're a team.
RIP to my uncle, he was murdered on Tuesday. He guided me a little bit. I played with a heavy heart today. He got us through this win, I know he did.
New York Jets CB Darrelle Revis, 10.23
On the defense's ability to force turnovers…
We struggled early on to force turnovers as a defense, but we're known to force turnovers. We were one of the top defenses in the league last year. Once one comes, they start coming in bunches. That is what happened today.
On whether the defense is playing more aggressive…
I think its better execution. Guys are focusing in more on their jobs and executing the game plan.
On the team's performance over the past couple of weeks…
These last couple of weeks, we've been in a slump as a team. Sometimes you have to look at yourself in the mirror, and self-evaluate. I think everyone has been doing that these past couple of weeks. I think it carried over to this game. Moving forward, I think we can build off this win, and really appreciate it.
New York Jets RB Matt Forté, 10.23
On if he liked the amount of carries he got today…
It doesn't matter to me, I've said that before. Whether it's running or catching the ball. It doesn't matter if I get 30, 25, 20 or whatever it is or however it shakes out. I'm just trying to get positive yards, keep the chains moving, score touchdowns so we can score points and let our defense do what they do.
On today's success with the running game…
It felt good. We popped a couple runs. There is always going to be those two or three-yard runs in there. It felt good to pop a couple of those runs in there. We're still waiting on getting that big long one. We ran the ball pretty efficiently in the red zone. I was proud of that.
On the fumble...
It went kind of fast, I don't know. I had the ball. I was looking for a hole and I cut outside. I think I had both hands on it. Somebody swiped their arm through and it came out. Luckily Brandon (Marshall), who is notorious for getting the ball back after things like that, got the ball back for us. It was a huge play in the game, a huge turning point. You definitely can't do that in the red zone, especially after a turnover by the defense.
New York Jets QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, 10.23
On how the team did today…
I thought it was fine. We got a great effort by the defense. The turnovers were awesome. We did a good job controlling the line of scrimmage and I thought Matt (Forté) did a good of running the ball. It wasn't a high-powered, explosive offense, but we got the job done. It's just nice to be in the locker room with a good feeling. I think that's important for us to recapture that feeling and hopefully now to get some momentum going forward.
On if he thought he would be going in after Geno Smith went down…
Yeah, unless they wanted to go Wildcat (laughing). I thought that I would be the guy, but it's a pretty ironic situation.
On his emotions over the last week feeling that he might not quarterback the Jets again…
That's the NFL. It's just tough. The biggest thing in the game in order to last, is to have belief in yourself, because when the owner stops believing in you and the general manager stops believing in you and coaches stop believing in you, sometimes all you have is yourself. That's kind of something I've had to deal with before, something I'm dealing with now. I just do my best to prepare and be the best quarterback I can be.
On if he feels thinks he should start…
Yeah, I don't know what decision they are going to make or what Geno's health is going to be like, but I think I should start every week.
On if he believes that the owner, general manager and coaches stopped believing in him…
Yeah, when you get put on the bench, that's the reason why.
On if there was a thought about being conservative being up 24-16…
Yeah, I think just the way the game was going, the way we were running the ball a little bit, the way that our defense was playing, we kind of rode that in the fourth quarter and they did a great job of stopping them on fourth down at the end there.
On being put into the game suddenly and then leading a scoring drive…
I got into the huddle and we almost all had to laugh at the situation and the irony of it. Not because Geno got hurt obviously, but just being thrown back in there, but it was a good drive. We had some guys make some plays down the field and we ran the ball well. It was nice for that initial drive to get out there and put one in the end zone.
On how big the play was that Brandon Marshall made forcing a fumble at the goal line after Baltimore recovered a Jets fumble…
It was huge. I saw Matt fumble it and I don't know if anyone else on the field realized that he did, obviously, besides Matt, because there was a huge pile and he was still driving his feet, but I couldn't locate the ball. I had no idea where it was, and then off to my right, either in or close to the end zone, I saw the ball and I saw one of their guys pick it up, run into the end zone and start looping around and I'm glad he came out of the end zone.
On if this was the type of performance he expected Forté to have early on in the season…
Every game is different and when you have the lead, it's easier to lean on the run game. When you're losing by a score or a couple of scores, which is the last few games and how it's kind of gone for us, you're going to lean on pass game a little more. You're going to be in catch-up mode. This is kind of what we did well last year. This was a great winning formula today. Our defense played great, we ran the ball, we had a lead, we're going to make our big plays when we can make them, but be smart with the ball and it's a good formula for us. Hopefully we can continue it.
On what it's like to not have people believe in him and how he counters it…
It's not easy, but I think my teammates believing in me is a big thing. Their opinion of me, that's kind of what drives me and what matters and so I know I still have that belief in the huddle, so that's important to me. I'm human, so it's not the easiest thing in the world to deal with, but it's something that I've dealt with, and again just relying on my support system and believing in myself is the biggest thing.
On if he played angry…
I've probably played better as an underdog pissed off and so, I don't know? Going forward, yeah, I'll be pissed off.
On how quickly he realized Smith was hurt and he would have to go in…
I wasn't sure. He was hobbling a little bit, you never know if that is a serious injury or just kind of dinged up and he could shake it off. I went over and I asked him, "Are you alright?" And he was kind of still trying to feel if he was or not and I said, "Do I need to warm up?" He said, "Yeah." At that point, I just got a couple of throws in and got ready to go in.
On the scene when he got into the huddle for the first time…
I don't remember. You'll have to ask those guys. I don't remember exactly what was said.
On the Ravens having a Harvard alum (Kyle Juszczyk) on their team…
We had an Ivy League photo at the end of the game. There were four of us on the field, so I saw him. I talked to him before the game and after, but I am very proud of my fellow Crimson in the NFL.
On Columbia winning on Saturday…
And Columbia won yesterday. It was kind of a weird score, though, wasn't it? I was able to go to the Harvard-Princeton game for a little bit yesterday and Harvard was able to win it.
On the days following Bowles' decision to start Smith and whether they were strange…
Yes. It was a really strange couple of days coming in. A newfound role and just having to really take a step back and no longer being in that role of starting quarterback, slash leader, slash no longer being in the huddle at practice and having to take a step back and have to watch. It's an awkward situation, a situation I don't like being in. You try to get over it. It took me a couple of days. I told Geno and I told a couple of guys, 'I'm going to need a couple of days for this one just to let it sink.' Again, going back to me being human and not just being a robot. There are strong emotions there for me, especially not knowing if that was the last time I was going to be out there as a starter or not and starting to think about some of that stuff. Like I said, people having given up on you and having to see them every day, that stuff is not necessarily the easiest in the world but something you try to deal with as mature as you can and move on.
On whether he anticipates this week being the same…
I try to be a professional and do my job every day, whatever is asked of me and required of me. That's kind of the thing that has worked best for me.
On what was said between he and Smith after his injury…
No, because he went in and got checked out, I think. At some point he came back to the sideline in street clothes. I feel for him. He's been kind of waiting for his turn and waiting to get in there and he gets his shot and, unfortunately, had to come out. That's a tough thing.
On if he's resigned himself to the idea that he may not start again this season…
No. I have no idea. It's up in the air, but I'll be ready.
On whether there is a disconnect between how the coaches and ownership feel about him compared to how the players do…
I don't know. I think I have a pretty good feel for how my teammates feel about me and I think that's what really matters.
On why he feels the season isn't over…
I saw it. Aside from the Buffalo game, this was the first time you just saw the offense and defense feeding off of each other. (It was) kind of that same feeling we had last year, the energy, the passion. I think today was a good indication, a good showing for everybody else – all of our fans – that we're not throwing in the towel. We do have a lot of talent on this team and we're going to continue to play hard and hopefully win a lot of games.
New York Jets WR Quincy Enunwa, 10.23
On his touchdown…
It was a sit in the zone play. I turned around and the only thing I saw was Brandon Marshall blocking his man. So I knew it was my moment to get out there, and I ran as fast as I could. The one thing I was thinking about was that Odell Beckham Jr. had a couple of them last week, so I wanted to make sure that people knew that he wasn't the only explosive receiver in the 2014 draft class.
On the team's offensive game-plan…
We had a great game-plan. We made plays, and that was the one thing that has been missing. That was one of the things we were looking for this week, and we got them.
On the play of QB Ryan Fitzpatrick…
He came in and kept the offense going. That was great. We have two great quarterbacks that know the game and know what they're doing. They're experienced guys, and he was able to step up and lead us to a victory.
