NYJ Training Camp Press Conference
by k1ngm0j1 | 4 years ago | 1 Comments
Welcome to the NYJ training camp press conference with coach Moji. Coach will be up in a second to talk about the team & then will open it up for questions.
"I want to thank all of you who are here. Its been a long break but we are finally here and man I am so pumped up to get to work with this team. Training camp has been ultra competitive for us so far. Several players have stood out to me and earned themselves more playing time.
Before I break down the team, I will start with the moves we have made over the past 24 hours. With the league year open we have agreed to send a 3rd round pick to Philadelphia in exchange for RT Jason Peters. Peters is such a good player adding him to that lineman room was a no brainer for us. He will compete with George Fant & Chuma Edoga in camp on the right side of the line. I know a lot of people are going to question the move since Peters is 38, let me tell you what this guy brings to the table is so valuable. He will solidify our right side of the line & his ability to mentor rookie LT Mekhi Becton made this a no brainer for us. Becton has looked absolutely incredible so far, and my lord is he a massive human. I am excited to watch the strides he will make with a sure fire Hall of Famer in Peters mentoring him & taking him under his wing. To get a guy like Peters for a 3rd round pick & to still hold the Seattle pick in the 3rd round was a really great move for us.
The second move we made was a tough one, we have sent CB Pierre Desir & FS Marcus Maye to Kansas City in exchange for a second round pick. I want to first thank Maye for his time here. He was a great Jet for the past few seasons & we wish him nothing but the best. Desir wasn't here very long but he showed up & worked his tail off everyday. He is a true pro & I wish him the best of luck in KC.
You always hate to lose players of that caliber, but where we are as a team getting another pick in the 2nd round was just too tempting. We now have 2 1sts, 2 2nds, 3rd, 4th, 2 5ths, 6th & 7th. 10 selections in this upcoming draft will help us add some key pieces & get this thing turned around. I cant promise we will be a playoff team this year, but know this team is going to play hard & help is on the way this offseason. Hang in there Jet Nation, we will right the ship, that I do promise.
Last bit of house keeping here before I talk about what I have seen through camp, it turns out we have been awarded the first selection in the preseason waiver wire draft, that pick has been used to sign FS Earl Thomas. I am very excited to get Earl in here & see what he can do. Having him back there on defense will be huge for us. Adding an All-Pro FS to the team & that Dbacks room was a very pleasant surprise. I hope Earl can show Ashtyn everything he knows.
Alright my notes from camp: Starting with the Offense, Its been up and down for Sam back there at QB. I have seen a lot of great throws, which I knew I would get from him, having played for me in the past. There are some little things we are working on fixing, like getting the ball out a little quicker. We have had a lot of turnovers come from Sam getting hit & that is something we are trying to clean up. He physically looks great though, hes in great shape & has been working really hard to install the new wrinkles into the offense.
Lev Bell & the rest of the backs have looked really good as well. Lev is special man, he does it all. His ability to just carry the load on the ground or through the air has made play calling really fun so far through camp & in our scrimmages. Hes been fantastic & has helped bring along rookie back La'Mical Perine, who has showed some burst so far through camp.
Im sure all of you have seen the WR's work. Mims, Perriman, Crowder, Hogan, all of these guys have shined at times. We have a lot of speed at the wr position & they are building some quick chemistry with Sam. Herndon has looked really good as well catching the ball. He looks like he did 2 seasons ago before missing last year with injury. All reports on him have been positive from the training staff & he has the green light for this season. The thing we are working on with this group is holding onto the ball. We have had some drops lately & its something we are really focused on. Speed is great but sometimes you need to make the tough catch with 2-3 guys around you. that's something I think we can do a little better.
Moving to the defensive side of the ball the big standouts have been Ashtyn Davis & Blake Cashman. For a rookie Davis ability to read the field has been ultra impressive. He has been flying around from sideline to sideline making plays on the ball. Hes such a dynamic player we will have him all over the field, similar to how some former NY SS have played without naming names.
Cashman has been a beast in the run game. He has no fear, he just flies to the football, he takes on blockers, its really been fun to watch him play ball. Teaming him with Avery & CJ is quite the linebacker room. We have been working both Avery & Cash at ROLB & I think that will continue to rotate as the season goes on. I think our ability to move guys around & be versatile will help us win games this year.
Overall I have seen plenty of good things but there is a lot to clean up before we get started. I am excited to keep working with this team & turn them into a real powerhouse here in the AFC. It wont happen overnight, but we will get there. With that I open it up to questions."
Reporter: "You touched on Sam's struggles so far during camp, are there any doubts in the building that Sam can be the answer at QB for this franchise?"
Moji: Absolutely not. I have all of the faith in the world in Sam. Hes a huge reason I decided to come back to NY. We had a lot of success in the past together but we have unfinished business together. Sam is going to be great, you can just tell when you watch him play. My job is to make him great as fast as possible. When you put two very driven guys together, that both have massive chips on their shoulders, usually you get results. Neither of us will be satisfied until we win the big one & I trust Sam is the guy to help us accomplish that.
"The division is really tough & this is arguably the worst roster in the whole AFCE. Especially after the additions of Von, Barnett & Thomas to your respective division opponents. How do you plan to compete?"
Yeah there is no doubt the division is super talented. I think that we face 3 really solid teams twice a year. They are all well coached & have very active users. We know we have our work cut out for us but I don't think we are that far behind. I truly believe that this group of guys is going to fight & leave it all out on the field every week. Even if we don't win a bunch early on, I promise you that no one will look forward to facing the Jets on their schedule. We will compete each & every week! At the end of the season I think there will be some coaches really surprised at where the Jets finish.
"With the departure of Maye & Desir, what is the plan in the secondary? Earl will obviously start at Safety but what does the Cornerback situation look like?"
Yeah the plan now is to have Earl at FS & move Ashtyn to SS. I really like the depth we have at cornerback. Brian Poole is fantastic & I can sit here & have a whole press conference talking about all of the good things this guy does. Hes very physical for a corner & I think we need more of that on this team. Right now 2nd year CB Bless Austin is going to start on the outside. He showed a lot of promise last year as a rookie out of Rutgers & as long as that knee stays healthy he is going to be a key piece for us this year. That third spot is kind of up for grabs right now. It will be one of the more important battles throughout the preseason. Quincy Wilson seems to be leading right now but anything can happen. I like the depth we have with Nate Hairston & rookie Bryce Hall.
"How has the development of Quinnen Williams been? There was so much noise last year when he was selected 3rd overall & a lot of that hype seems to have diminished after a disappointing rookie year. Is Quinnen still part of the long term plans of this team?
Yeah I think Q would be the first one to tell you he wasn't happy with how his rookie year went. Sometimes those High Ankle sprains can just eat at you all season & it really does hold you back. Honestly Q has looked great all camp. Hes been quiet but hes actually having a really nice few weeks. I would love to see the sack output increase & we are working on different things to help him out, but he has been solid. Hes a strong kid & hes super athletic. I think hes been fantastic in the run game & we are fine tuning those pass rush moves to help him really bounce back with a strong sophomore season. He has a really bright future as long as he keeps working hard.
Alright everyone I appreciate the time. This is something I am going to try to do after each game. We talked about giving more media access & doing interviews after we play. I look forward to speaking with you all after we face the Giants here this week.
Its time to get to work