HEAD COACH REX RYAN (Opening statement ) Saturday, January 8, 2011
"Tell you what, we've been in some close ones this year. But to come out and pull this game out against a great football team, against a great quarter back. It was a herculean effort by our team. I mean really, I'm just thankful for the men that I coach. Thankful for those two backs we got that pounded it in there. Thankful for that coaching staff. Thankful for Nick Folk and I'm thankful that I finally got to beat Peyton Manning."
HEAD COACH REX RYAN (How did Mark Sanchez grow up today? ) Saturday, January 8, 2011
"Just as the game went on he got sharper and sharper. And the last pass to Braylon Edwards, the kid called that play on his own. We could have got them with a run, could have got them with a pass. I said I just want to move the football. And Braylon's like, "Look they're playing me at man. I know I can go over top of this guy." And Shotty (Brian Schottenheimer) just said, "Alright kid you throw the ball you want" and then he made that huge throw right there. That's how much he grew up."
HEAD COACH REX RYAN (How much did your win last week against Buffalo play in to today's win?) Saturday, January 8, 2011
"Not much, I don't think. I was proud of the effort of our team last week because we said it was going to take our whole team. And it took the top of the roster and the bottom of the roster to get that done. We felt good about it. We won that game the Jet way. Realistically this one, we've been getting ready to play the Colts really for two weeks. It paid off. Our coaching staff did a great job preparing our guys and our guys went out and executed the game plan. It's funny you know you're not going to stop them completely but make one mistake and then boom, he burns you for a touchdown. Our guys gave just incredible effort. I challenged our guys, especially at halftime to be able to come back in that locker room and be able to look each other in the eyes after that game and you'll know and your teammate will know that you gave everything you had. And that's what it showed today."
QB- MARK SANCHEZ (general comments) Saturday, January 8, 2011
"It was a great effort, especially in the second half. I'm real proud of our guys, in a tough environment, for getting this win. You can't say enough about our guys on defense. They really fought and bailed us out on offense at times, and then the offense responded when we needed to. It's a great feeling coming back to Indy and getting a win against a great quarterback, a great team and a really dominant franchise."
QB- MARK SANCHEZ (on the play to Braylon Edwards near the end of the game) Saturday, January 8, 2011
"We just called one of our plays that has plenty of options for us. They gave us the right coverage for Braylon to make a play. I missed him on a couple of balls earlier in the game, and when we needed it the most we got it. Schotty (offensive coordinator) Brian Schottenheimer gave me the freedom to do that and it was a big-time conversion and set us up for the field goal."
QB- MARK SANCHEZ (on the running game) Saturday, January 8, 2011
"That's my fault for not even saying anything about it yet. The defense and the running game takes a lot of pressure off the quarterback. I didn't have my best night. That was obvious in the first half. It really picked us up."
QB- MARK SANCHEZ (more on the pass that set up the field goal and his growth as a quarterback this season) Saturday, January 8, 2011
"It's a 'got to have it' situation. We practice them all the time. There are a few plays for every quarterback in their playbook – for Peyton Manning I'm sure there are a million more – but for me there's a select few plays that I really feel good about. You kind of have those in your toolbox. You go to it in a time of need. We needed it. I knew I could have made the throw last year. I don't know if I could have made that call last year."
K-NICK FOLK (on how winning kick) Saturday, January 8, 2011
"I don't remember much. I just kind of went out there and tried to make it look just like an extra point like I had the two previous kicks in the game and it went right down the middle."
K-NICK FOLK (on whether he thought it would come down to his kick after Colts scored) Saturday, January 8, 2011
"Of course. You look at the time. We get a big kick return and that's kind of what set it in motion for me. I think we needed 20 yards. It just started from there."
K-NICK FOLK (on whether he was ready to kick the longer field goal when Colts called timeout) Saturday, January 8, 2011
"Yeah, kind of. We had run the ball on the previous play. That's what I was thinking. Braylon makes a great play on the sideline and made it a little bit shorter. I think, especially kicking here, you can kick the same ball just about every time from probably about 55 and it will go in. So that was my mentality going in and it happened to work out well today."
K-NICK FOLK (on whether he thought the kick was good when it left his foot) Saturday, January 8, 2011
"Pretty much, yeah. I hit it pretty pure and I think I probably would have made it from pretty far because I hit it really well."
S-BRODNEY POOL (on holding Colts on early third downs) Saturday, January 8, 2011
"I think the coaches just came up with a good game plan. They prepared us well and we just went out there and executed. The guys were communicating and it helped out."
S-BRODNEY POOL (on gaining momentum with early 3 and outs) Saturday, January 8, 2011
"You could say that. We wanted to come out and start fast. I think we did a good job of that."
S-BRODNEY POOL (on how satisfying it was to be the new guy playing a big role) Saturday, January 8, 2011
"It's very satisfying, but it wasn't just one guy. All the guys back there played well. We knew it was going to take a total group effort and it did."
S-BRODNEY POOL (on broken coverage during Garcon TD) Saturday, January 8, 2011
"It was my fault. I take total blame for that. I was kind of leaning to one side. They came out in a bunch and (Manning) went deep out of it and they made a play."
S-BRODNEY POOL (on holding Peyton in check) Saturday, January 8, 2011
"I think we did a great job. The scoreboard said that because usually (Manning) comes out on top in those types of situations. I think the team came out here with a total effort and everybody just made plays."
DE-SHAUN ELLIS (on getting win after heartbreaking loss last year) Saturday, January 8, 2011
"It was a complete overall effort. Great win for us. We came back to finish where we left off last year and now we'll just continue on to part two. We knew it was going to be tough sledding. Peyton Manning is a great quarterback. We knew he was going to cause some problems, but one thing was keeping them out of the end zone and making them kick field goals."
DE-SHAUN ELLIS (on Rex finally getting a win over Peyton) Saturday, January 8, 2011
"For Rex, it was good for him to finally get the win and beat (Manning). For us to put (the Colts) out of the first round was great."
CB/KR-ANTONIO CROMARTIE (on taking over the kick returning duties) Saturday, January 8, 2011
"We felt we could go out and just play football. Guys always want to be ready for anything that's going to happen on offense, defense and special teams. When I saw that Brad (Smith) went out, I just asked the coach to put me back there. I practiced it and said it was something I was willing to do and help to try to help out as much as possible. It helped us out with the victory. It's just a great feeling."
CB/KR-ANTONIO CROMARTIE (on lifting the team on the kickoff return at game's end) Saturday, January 8, 2011
"We felt good about our offense and we had confidence. We had two timeouts left and we wanted to try to get down the field and get us into field goal range. Mark went down and made a great throw to Braylon on the sideline. From there, it just happened. It's a blessing."
RB-LaDAINIAN TOMLINSON (on his feelings about a chance to win a championship) Saturday, January 8, 2011
"Every opportunity is precious. For me, as an older player, you never know when opportunity is going to come around again. You want to leave it all out on the field. You want to have no regrets at all. For me, the decision to come here was the right decision simply because I always felt that defense wins championships. Offense puts people in the stands, but defense really wins championships. I felt like the Jets have the best defense in the league. And last year they were No. 1 in rushing with an up-and-coming quarterback. I felt this was the right fit for me, and it turned out to be the right decision. "
RB-LaDAINIAN TOMLINSON (on Mark Sanchez's performance near the end of the game) Saturday, January 8, 2011
"Mark seems to play his best at that time for some reason. He seems to just forget everything else that has happened throughout the game and play his best football in the most critical times of the game."
RB-LaDAINIAN TOMLINSON (on his speech to teammates circled around him before the game) Saturday, January 8, 2011
"There's no tomorrow. For us, we have to get it done together. No one believes in us but ourselves. For us, that's what it was about. Get it together; we're going to need every man in this circle to make a play. I'm pretty sure we used every man in that circle tonight."
LB-BART SCOTT (on the defense against Peyton Manning) Saturday, January 8, 2011
"We knew it was going to be tough sledding. We wanted to make sure we didn't let the ball get thrown over our head. We let him get one and he made us pay for it. We knew we were going to have a light box and be challenged running the football. It was a tremendous job by our front four, really in a six-man box, a light box, just keeping the ball in front of us and making him earn everything he got. "
LB-BART SCOTT (on the significance of the win for the Jets franchise) Saturday, January 8, 2011
"A tremendous team effort. Everybody had to contribute. It came down to the wire. I think some some of those games we had early in the season kept guys hopes up that if we just stay the course, even after (Adam) Vinatieri kicks that kick ... still believing. ... The offense did a tremendous job of staying the course the entire game."
LB-BART SCOTT (on Manning not throwing much to Reggie Wayne and against Darrelle Revis) Saturday, January 8, 2011
"When he looks over there and Revis has tremendous position, it's just the read. If the read doesn't take you to Reggie Wayne, then you don't throw to Reggie Wayne. Revis did a tremendous job. ... Revis is a tremendous player. We know Reggie Wayne is, too. But he does that to everybody, even Peyton Manning."
LB-BART SCOTT (on Mark Sanchez) Saturday, January 8, 2011
"The kid has a lot of resolve. I think he plays better in pressure situations. ... He's moving. He gets in a groove. The tempo gets him in a groove. I think he just sees the field a lot better sometimes when he gets in a rhythm. We've seen it in spurts all year, in pressure situations, him stepping up or elevating his game. And we needed every bit of it today to get a victory."
RB-SHONN GREENE (on the mood at halftime) Saturday, January 8, 2011
"We knew we still had a whole half of football to play. We knew that even when we were down. We know we are capable of doing it. We showed that early on in the season of coming back and getting a victory. I knew we had it in us. We all stuck together and got the job done."
RB-SHONN GREENE (on what was going through his head when Nick Folk made the game winning field goal) Saturday, January 8, 2011
"I kind of knew it was good before he even kicked it. I knew Nick was going to come through and put it in middle. It was just a matter of us getting into field goal position and maintaining our goal on offense."
RB-SHONN GREENE (on the play of the running game) Saturday, January 8, 2011
"I think we played great. Give a lot of credit to the offensive line and the wide receivers on the edge blocking. Those guys did a great job of opening the holes for us and we took care of the rest."
RB-SHONN GREENE (on the need to put points on the board against Peyton Manning) Saturday, January 8, 2011
"That was our plan. We had to keep them off the field and ground them and pound them with me and LT with our offensive line going in there, I think we accomplished that."
RB-SHONN GREENE (on the play of Mark Sanchez during the last few weeks in the season) Saturday, January 8, 2011
"I think he was there every week. He came to play every week this season and has shown it also in the post season as you saw today. I don't think he has lost anything."
TE-DUSTIN KELLER (on the play of Mark Sanchez in the second half) Saturday, January 8, 2011
"It just shows Mark and this team's resilience especially versus a team like the Colts. They made him throw an interception in a game at a point like that you aren't going to come back and win the game. He just kept his poise and came back in the second half calm and collected like we expected him to be and he did a great job."
TE-DUSTIN KELLER (on how the team was looking at Mark Sanchez and how steady he would be in the second half) Saturday, January 8, 2011
"I think last year we would have. This year is just different. He is doing a good job of coaching himself with those mind games you have to play with yourself. A lot of people say the little man in your head that you talk to. I think he has done a much better job of putting himself into a much better positive mindset."
TE-DUSTIN KELLER (on whether Sanchez called the pass play to Braylon Edwards to set up the game winning field goal) Saturday, January 8, 2011
"I didn't know until after the game that that was his call. But, good call good call. It put us in a good spot for the field goal and Folk knocked it in. I think it was in an area where we were able to take a little bit of a chance. We knew we were in an area within field goal range with Folk but why not take a shot to get us in a real comfort zone where we know it is pretty much a given that he (Folk) is going to knock it in. I don't think he changed the play in the huddle. I think Schotty gave him free reign to call whatever he wanted at that point and he called Braylon's number and he made a huge play on the sideline."
TE-DUSTIN KELLER (on if the way the Jets played was similar to their identity) Saturday, January 8, 2011
"Yeah, definitely. I think we have kind of established ourselves as the team that is able to close out the close games. Nine times out of 10 when you have a close game like that most people will bet their money on the Colts but I think this year is just different for us. We went out and got guys that can close out games for us."
TE-DUSTIN KELER (on Rex Ryan winning three road playoff games in his first two years as head coach) Saturday, January 8, 2011
"That is unheard of and huge especially in his first two years. The second half of the season we played our best football and he is the one who motivates us and gets us to do it."
TE-DUSTIN KELLER (on what he was thinking before Folk's field goal) Saturday, January 8, 2011
"I was like just put it through the goals posts and lets go home, but I had to do a little celebrating in between. But that was huge."
OT-D'BRICKASHAW FERGUSON (on what he thought when the play was called for Braylon to set up the field goal) Saturday, January 8, 2011
"Braylon's talented and he can make all the catches. He is fast enough, quick enough, he's talented enough. He is the type of wideout that you are wowed by because he can do everything."
OT-D'BRICKASHAW FERGUSON (on if he was surprised by that play being called) Saturday, January 8, 2011
"When you are in those situations it is just like let me give this guy some time and do whatever I can. The d-line, they were humming up and we are just doing our best to minimize what they can do so Mark and the other guys can do what they do."
OT-D'BRICKASHAW FERGUSON (on the 17-play drive and what it meant for the game) Saturday, January 8, 2011
"It tests your conditioning and you got to make sure you are in shape for those things. On a serious note, I think it gives a team a lot of confidence that you can drive and pass the ball the way you need to in critical times. When you have to put points on the board its good that you dominate the time of possession so that the other offense doesn't have the opportunity to put points on the board."
OT-D'BRICKASHAW FERGUSON (on what that drive did for the Colts defense) Saturday, January 8, 2011
"I think it is a combination of both. Whenever you do seven-play stints it takes a toll on their defense and it keeps their offense off the field."
LB-CALVIV PACE (on the play of the defense) Saturday, January 8, 2011
"With the weapons they got in Garcon and Reggie Wayne, anytime they get on the field they can make a big play. Other than the one play, I think we did a great job of keeping everything in front of us. With a team like that you kind of have to survive some punches and then do what we did today by making them kick field goals and make them drive the length of the field. The key thing today was our offense was able to go out there and pretty much impose their will and that was huge. It was a total team effort and we just got to keep it moving."
LB-CALVIN PACE (on the ups and downs of Nick Folk during the regular season) Saturday, January 8, 2011
"Kickers get paid to make the big kick. With Braylon making that big catch at the end that obviously helped him out a lot. Nick is a good kicker. You are going to miss some kicks but in that situation they got it down close enough for him. Hopefully next week we can win by 14 or something so he won't have to make the game-winning kick. If need be, I'm pretty sure he can do it again so it was good to see him do that."
