The three coordinators took their turns at the podium Thursday. On whether Justin Miller can play defense, covering Wes Welker, the no-huddle, how to get Sanchez started quicker in-game, Ahmad Carroll’s “average” play and much more.

New York Jets Defensive Coordinator Mike Pettine, 11.19

On Justin Miller improving…

I’m sure he was working out when he wasn’t on a team, but there is no substitute for real football action. You need to get back into football shape. That’s something that comes with getting your timing back and just playing. It was good to see today. He really stood out today that he had a good day. I don’t know what he did for Mike Westhoff, but I just know from what he was doing on the scout team, he looked like he’s definitely getting his legs back, which is encouraging.

On if Miller will be ready to help on defense this Sunday…

We haven’t decided the active/inactive. At this point, the work that he’s getting is on the scout team. If he was going to help us on Sunday, it would be in an emergency role.

On where Miller could fit in this season on defense…

It would be a specific role. There would be a specific package of calls. Since he wasn’t here in the spring and for camp and for any off our offseason stuff as far as running the package, it would be too much to try to give him everything. It would be a defined role. Here’s five or six calls you need to know. I think that’s something he could be successful in. That will be a situation where if we feel he’s ready and he’ll be on the active list and he’ll be up, then we’ll find some work for him to do for us that can help us.

On how different it will be for the Patriots to have Wes Welker instead of Julian Edelman…

It’s a big step up. To me, Edelman was a poor man’s version of Welker and he did a good job filling in for him. Now they are getting creative and going to some four-wide receiver groupings that gets them both on the field which is certainly a challenge. Welker is definitely a step up. It’s easy to see that he’s really been a shot in the arm for the offense now that he’s 100 percent. He’s averaging close to 10 catches a game in the last month or so. Yards after catch are his usual. Then, he ignited them the other night as well with the punt return as well. He’s a weapon. It’s certainly justified that the guy is a Pro Bowl guy almost every year.

On how much of Darrelle Revis’ coverage of Randy Moss in the first game was man-to-man…

I don’t have numbers. We mixed our coverages up a lot. You have to do that against New England. You can’t give them one look. I can say this, we weren’t in a lot of true cover zero with no help. Nobody in the League is. Most teams in the League, I would be shocked if they averaged more than four or five snaps a game of straight man coverage (with) no help. That being said, a lot of times when there’s a post player a lot of teams play cover one, man free. A lot of times that safety is never a factor if their route stayed to the outside. That guy is basically on an island. If you play quarter-coverage, you’re four-across, the route can dictate whether you can help or not. It’s hard to put a number on that. What I do know is this, there were a lot of times where he covered him where it wouldn’t have mattered if he had help or not. He was all over the route. He did a great job and our plan will be similar again. We’ll mix what we do and have (Revis) matched up on (Moss) and know that will be a focal point. I’m sure it will be fun to watch.

On not being able to finish games defensively…

It’s frustrating. Sometimes you can handle it a little better when you just get beat physically. A jump ball gets thrown up and their guy out pulls your guy for the ball or it’s a tackle and the guy wins it and he makes a guy miss in the open field. It’s more of a physical thing. It’s frustrating when it’s a mental thing and some of our breakdowns are self-inflicted and that’s certainly been the case. It was certainly the case against Jacksonville. That for us was the most disappointing thing. That last drive where we had three or four mental errors that resulted in big plays for them. It’s hard enough to defend teams in this league from a man versus man standpoint when it’s the physical part of it, but when you’re gifting some yards you’re putting yourself in a position where you’re staring up a hill. That to me, looking back on some of the issues we’ve had, that has been the most disappointing. I think part of that is growing pains. It’s the first year of a new system. Rex and I came from Baltimore where we were four years into it and the guys understood it and they knew where guys were going to be. It was frustrating to not be able to jump right in and have it be seamless where the guys know it right away. We feel it’s a worthwhile system to wait and live through those, but it’s frustrating that we’ve had some issues with it and that it’s cost us some yards and potentially a game or two.

On if the mental errors are communication errors or guys just making mistakes…

It’s a little bit of both. Guys not on the same page. Some were individual things where it was a technique or a guy needed to be aware of more than just the one guy in front of him and made the mistake of playing more of a man-type thing where he needed to account for other receivers in the area. Other ones are communication. The obvious one would be Kerry (Rhodes) and Jimmy (Leonhard). Determining who’s on wheels, a balance formation, one of the safeties was down and one was in the post. They clearly weren’t on the same page. It’s a double-edged sword. At home, you want the crowd to be loud and we have one of the best crowds in the league in making noise for the opponent, but we stress it in practice. That’s one of the reasons we play the loud music in practice for our (defensive) guys when we play at home is because we need to make sure we can communicate when it’s loud as well. We know it’s going to be that way in the Meadowlands. That’s part of it. We stress it to the guys. Everybody knows the defense, but we need to get to the point where it’s graduate level, where we understand the finer points of it. I don’t know if anything other than experience will bring that, but we’re a work in progress.

On if there is a specific person that will cover Wes Welker…

I would say a cast of characters would be a bit more accurate.

On if Drew Coleman will have a role in covering Welker…

He’ll be up, so I’d like to think he’ll be involved with it as well. Sometimes it’s good with a guy like (Welker) to throw some different types at him. He’s a guy you can’t play one coverage against because he’s so good at reading. That’s one of the things, to me, is one of his strengths. He reads the coverage and I don’t think there’s anybody better in the League reading the leverage of a defensive back. If you’re outside, he pushes inside. If he knows you have to work inside because of the coverage, he’s going to push away from you.

On if there is a guy in particular that is better than most at cover a shifty guy like Welker…

I’d put (Donald) Strickland on that list for sure. Dwight Lowery’s played some inside, but I don’t know how great a matchup Dwight would be being a taller, rangier corner than a Strick or Coleman or even Marquice Cole. We had success in Baltimore with Corey Ivy who played well against Welker in 2007. Like I said, you can’t match one guy. You can’t play one guy. It will be a combination of things.

On if Sebastian Vollmer is getting help…

They’re helping some. You can’t go into a game against Indy and not have a plan. I don’t think there are any tackles in the League, I was in Baltimore all those years with Jonathan Ogden, and he had his hands full with (Dwight) Freeney as well. You have to mix it up because (Robert) Mathis on the other side is such a good rusher as well. We have a plan and it’s based on the first game and what they’ve done since and where we are personnel-wise since then. Some of it will involve trying to take advantage of their tackles and some will work on the other part of their offense.

On what he knows about Vollmer…

I can tell you he’s pretty good. He’s big, about 6-8. They do a real nice job technique-wise with their guys. You have a Pro Bowler like Matt Light who know might find himself struggling to get back in the lineup. That tells you something about that kid. He’s solid and he’s a good athlete. He kicks back well and he has such a great wingspan that you can see why a guy like Freeney had some issues on him.

On Kerry Rhodes’ season so far…

I know it’s been a frustrating year for Kerry. The easy assumption to make was you’re going to be the Ed Reed of this defense. Well, there’s only one Ed Reed. The defense wasn’t built for Ed Reed to make plays. It was made to stop people. Our big thing that we stress every week, it’s one of our mottos, is do your job and big things will happen. I can understand why it’s been frustrating from him because the production hasn’t come. As far as him doing his job, we grade guys every week and we plus/minus them on every play, Kerry traditionally grades out as one of our higher guys percentage-wise. Sometimes it’s luck. There was a play earlier in the year where David Harris ended up getting an interception that Kerry would have made if David wasn’t there. I can sense his frustration because I know he wants to be a playmaker and he’s made plays in the past. That’s something that I think will come in time. The more he and Jim (Leonhard) play alongside each other and understand the defense and can position themselves in the right places, most of the times we find the turnovers come and the plays come when you’re doing your job.

On Rhodes’ work ethic…

I don’t have issue with it. To me, Kerry has a good feel for what we’re doing. Can we as a coaching staff police what our guys do when they’re outside the building? No. We can recommend. He’s good in the meeting room. He knows his job. There are some guys where that’s their thing. When they leave the building, they put more on their plate football wise. I think as coaches we all want to be of the mindset that our guys are all going to be gym rats and football junkies and if they leave here, they’re going to go home and study tape. Not everyone is like that. That’s just part of that. As coaches, we all want him to be like us, which probably isn’t a good thing.

On if Marques Douglas is like having a coach on the field…

I don’t think this is anything you can teach. I think Marques has outstanding instincts for the game. When he studies tape, he can get a pretty good feel for whether it’s splits or during an actual game listening to line calls. He gets a good feel for whether it’s a run or pass. He does a good job communicating that with the rest of the defense. When our guys are off on the sideline, he’s a leader that’ll grab that group. To me, that’s one of the reasons we brought him here. He’s obviously on the down slope of his career from an athletic standpoint, but what he brings to us from an intangible standpoint I think is invaluable.

New York Jets Offensive Coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, 11.19

On what he expects from the New England defense…

I think there is one thing that we can be sure of and that is it will be something we haven’t seen. We’ve come to expect that from Coach Belichick and (defensive coordinator) Dean Pees and their staff. They play everybody different. Injuries factor into a lot of things. I think what they are doing a good job of now is earlier in the season they went to the four down. The last couple of games, some of the Miami stuff, they’ve played 3-4. Against us they played all nickel. You really just don’t know. You prepare for everything. Our guys have seen more stuff this week than most weeks because you’re mixing personnel and looking at different things. Everything is different. You have four down, three down, subgroups. We expect to see extra guys in the box, post-safety defense. They feel really good about what they (have) going on on the outside right now. The corners are playing really good. It will be a surprise.

On the Patriots having Jerod Mayo back…

He’s a great player. With what he did last year, sideline to sideline player. I think he has a lot to do with getting people lined up, at least that’s what it looks like on film. He makes a lot of the checks. He and (Brandon) Meriweather are the two guys that you see doing a lot of the communicating. A big-time football player. They don’t bring him all the time, but when he comes he’s a good pass-rusher. He’s good in coverage, he’s just a good all-around player. It definitely helps to have him back. He is the one guy that doesn’t move around too much. You know he’ll be off the ball and the other guys are kind of interchanging. They move them all around. (Gary) Guyton plays different spots.

On if they will come after Mark Sanchez more than the last game…

Going back and looking at the film, they’ve never really been a big pressure team against us. Do I think they’ll pressure us more? Absolutely, I think that is what most teams are doing to us now. Going back and looking, they wanted to be sound in their coverage, they wanted to get the extra guy down in the box and see how Mark would handle throwing into zones with people in his face, but absolutely. I think we’ll get some more pressure. They’re kind of going a little more in that direction anyway. They have a thing that we call cover-nine where they bring six guys and just play man-to-man on the outside and in the middle with nobody deep. Those numbers have jumped up a bunch. You never know, but we are expecting to see quite a bit of pressure.

On if there should be less pressure with Braylon Edwards and Jerricho Cotchery…

It all depends on their corners. A lot of things about pressure is you are trying to get a quarterback unsettled. It’s not so much we know we’re exposed a little bit on the edges, but it wouldn’t get a hit on the quarterback. I think you go back last week against Jacksonville, one of the best plays I think Mark made was the throw he made to Jerricho when Reggie Nelson hit him. Usually hits like that have an affect on a quarterback. I think that is why we are getting so many blitzes. People want to find out how Mark is going to hold up when you have people around his legs and hitting him and knocking him down. I think that is kind of the formula people are trying to use against us now.

On the timeout at the goal-line against Jacksonville…

We hit the big play on fourth down to Shonn (Greene) on the boundary. It was on our boundary, so the look that we had, he was right by the pylon. What we tried to do was hurry-up. We call it an attack formation where we hurry up and get the ball snapped. The ball wasn’t spotted as quickly as we hoped. At that point, once the ball was spotted, Jacksonville had done a good job of adjusting and they had everyone in the gaps, so my concern that point in talking to Rex was we wanted to score. At that point we were behind. I didn’t want a bad play to happen. As we discussed it, we burned the timeout because we felt the most important thing, not that we wanted to burn the timeout obviously, we had to get in the endzone. That was the most important thing. In hindsight, I really believe we’re the best goal-line offense in the NFL, I believe that. We probably shouldn’t have attacked in that situation. We probably should have send our goal-line people out there and gone with what we do best, which is pound the football in down there. I really do believe that we have the best goal-line offense and execution in the League.

Maybe he got in. We just didn’t know. You never know in that situation. He came over and I asked, “Do you think you could have got in” and he said “Probably, I don’t know.” It was one of those deal where we had worked so hard to get down there, we didn’t want to take any chances. Burning the timeout is not a good idea.

On New England not allowing the “deep ball”…

That’s kind of been their M.O. for the last couple of years. The run, if I remember, is a run that Ray Rice had that went for 50-something yards. They do a great job. They call it GTFB, which means stay back. It’s hard because Meriweather is kind of rolling around back there and people get behind him. Again, you have to make the throws and Meriweather is a great player. He kind of reads the quarterback. I think that is kind of a new wave with safeties in this league. They are going to play deep and kind of read the quarterback, so when he is supposed to be in the deep middle of the field, you might see him 15-yards deep on the hash where the quarterback is looking. It’s hard to get behind him with the way the corners play. They are trying to funnel and keep everything in front of him. They are doing a good job tackling. We have some things that we think we can hopefully get and they are not all deep balls. There are some things we think we can get an advantage and find the seam in the crease. It can be yards after the catch as well. They are doing a pretty good job tackling.

On not getting the ball to Braylon Edwards in the first half…

We look at it, we actually kind of keep track up in the press box of where the ball is getting disbursed to different people, how many carries people have, how many does Thomas (Jones) have, how many does Shonn (Greene) have, how many catches. There are some times where we tried to get him the ball in the first half, things just didn’t work out that way. To Braylon’s credit, all he ever said is, “Hey Schotty, I can win on this. I can do that.” We went in and made a couple more adjustments. We reconfigured some things and got him involved. He can help us win and when he gets going, that play he made on that big incut on third-and-nine where he elevated up, we talked about that. His ability to go up and get deep incuts and deep balls is special.

On having Edwards as a “new weapon” in this game…

Coach Belichick and his staff are aware of what he can do. They played him a couple of years ago in Cleveland. It is new. He wasn’t here for us last game. It’s always been said that Coach Belichick is going to play the philosophy and the coordinator. I think this year he is kind of playing different. You have Mark, you have different pieces, now you have Braylon. I think he is going back and looking at our last couple of games this season and saying “What are they doing here? How are they moving the ball?” because obviously he is going to be a guy that they are going to want to stop. I know he always has had respect for our receivers from what I’ve heard, Jerricho, Laveraneus (Coles). Braylon just kind of fits in to that kind of role.

On having not scored a touchdown in the last two minutes of the first half…

(There are) a couple of situations. The one that jumps out at me last week we had a negative run where we lost four yards. Probably got a little bit conservative. The other one that jumps out at me is the Miami game on Monday night. We didn’t have a whole lot of time. He moved us down the field a little bit. At the end of the first half it is a little bit of a risk-reward depending on where you are, how much time you got with how aggressive you want to be. We’ll take into consideration are we getting the ball first in the second half? Is the defense up first? That all kinds of plays into the thinking. I think you are correct, I don’t think we have scored a touchdown to end the first half.

On how often they run the no-huddle…

The Tennessee game and this (past) game. We’ll go in and out of it some. Those have been the ones that it has been featured the most. He (Sanchez) likes it. There are some calls you can’t make at the line of scrimmage, but he likes it. He’s a tempo guy. I tease him, going back to the Houston game. He got really going and looked at me and said, “Come on, come on.” I said, “Settle down, you’re still a rookie right now (laughing).” He likes that tempo, he gets into a rhythm. He feeds off of that. That is what you saw last week with the two long drives at the end. We’re a rhythm offense, it’s not just Mark. We kind of get into a rhythm and make a couple of first downs and find our feel, if you will.

On why Sanchez has slow starts but plays better in the second half…

It’s funny because we look at it every week. One of the things that I will say that we are working with him on is he is really athletic and has really quick feet. I’ll go back to last week, he got sped up a little bit with his feet. There was a throw down in the redzone to Dustin Keller where he was so fast through his progression that it hadn’t really developed and he kind of yanked one because it hadn’t developed and he threw it at Dustin’s feet. The emphasis on him getting away from center and getting a little bit more depth in his drop early on to slow him down because he is an energetic guy who gets sped up. That’s not unusual with young players. I think he calms down as the game kind of gets going. Sometimes getting hit and things like that calm you down as well.

On trick plays…

We always carry a half-a-dozen of them in the gameplan. Quite honestly all of them don’t look good in practice. The ones that don’t look good we take out. That was a design that we feel really good about in seeing some things on film. I’ll go back to the first play of the game. Mathis was a guy that we saw liked to peak around in the backfield a bit. You all saw Jerricho get behind him. It was something that looked good on film, it looked good at practice. My personal opinion on calling (trick plays) is it is kind of a feel thing. I thought it would be a positive play. Looking back on it, I wish he (Edwards) would have run. You hope for a big play, there is a little bit of risk with that, at the very least he can run and make four or five yards. It’s no different than handing the ball off to the other guys. We’ll carry more some weeks than others. When they work they look really good and when they don’t work you look like you’re foolish.

On Coach Ryan wanting to put the ball in the offense’s hand at the end of the game…

It’s flattering. At that point of the game we were playing very well. We had a 13-play drive and a 16-play drive. Rex does a good job of (doing) what it is going to take to win. It had to kill him to make that call, it’s not his mentality. We were aware of what was coming. You have to give Jacksonville a lot of credit. It would have been great to have a done that offensively.

On if game-winning drives are a “right of passage” for quarterbacks…

Other than the Miami game, that was the last one. We got down to the seven or eight yardline then we got sacked and knocked back. That would have been his first comeback win, I guess. Even Brett (Favre) talked about that last year. That is one of the things that I learned from being around him. How he played in the first or second quarter didn’t really bother him. Third quarter, fourth quarter he knew he was going to make some plays. The thing we have to do with Mark is we have to start faster. What we have seen going through most of the games is he has played really well in the second half. You can go back to the last New England game, we struggled a bit in the first half, had some bad field position, but once we got going he came out firing. He has played really well in the second half.

On if he had any words as a mentor for Sanchez about his post-game press conference…

I really don’t get that involved with it. The big thing is he has to be himself. We have a great PR staff. I wouldn’t want to come in here and talk to you guys without getting briefed (laughter). I really think that he cares. It’s funny because he was consoling me after the game, I was really down. Then when I heard about it later I was like what happened? He’s growing. It is all part of the process and he cares. He is not the only guy, I think most of the guys, if not all of the guys in that locker room care. We want to win and we’re doing everything we can and looking under every stone to try to find the solution.

New York Jets Special Teams Coordinator Mike Westhoff, 11.19

On who will be the punt returner this Sunday…

Obviously, with Jimmy (Leonhard) and his hand (injury), he’s out. What’s looked best in practice is Jerricho (Cotchery). Plus I like the fact that he came to me and wants to do it. He looked really good. He looked smooth and we’ll play some two-deep like we’ve done before with he and Brad (Smith). The two of them together, I felt looked really good. Plus with Jerricho being short-handed, then I can play some different fronts and be a little more aggressive at times. I may want to do that some, so I liked what I saw with Jerricho. He looked very good catching the ball.

On when Jerricho Cotchery came to him and asked to be the punt returner…

We put an ad in the paper (laughter). We just talked about it. Everybody knew it because when those things happen, we have back-ups. Of course, Darrelle (Revis) has done it before. Dwight Lowery has done it. We were trying to see who the best was, and we were trying to look at everybody. Lito Sheppard at one time when he was young was very proficient at returning. He hasn’t done it for some time and that’s tough to all of a sudden say, ‘Ok, be the guy.’ Jerricho has always put a hand in and catches punts all the time. He felt real good about doing it. He said, “Hey Mike. I like doing this. Give me a shot.” As we looked at it at practice, I thought that he did the best job from what I saw. Back in the day, before he became famous, that one year when he was our kickoff returner, he had the highest average in the NFL. I think he was short two reps from qualifying because he had gotten hurt, but he can run. We’re not ruling anything out. We kind of catch them by committee which a lot of teams do. New England has basically done that the whole season. Now that (Wes) Welker is more healthy, they’re using him more than anybody but it’s something we’ll do. I really liked what I saw there and felt very comfortable with it. I’m quite certain that’s the way we’ll go.

On who will return kickoffs…

I hope we don’t have too many first of all. I’m just teasing. Justin (Miller) I thought looked better today than I’ve seen him look since he’s been back here. I thought he had an excellent practice. As a DB (defensive back), gosh almighty. He had a great day and he ran well. Part of that has been activation and who we can end up really using. You have to sacrifice a lot of guys (and) you have to be careful when you start getting injuries as to how you do it. These are tough calls. You lose a DB. What’s Jimmy’s (Leonhard) status going to be? Those are things and ramifications that we’re going to have to keep in mind when we do this. I thought he’s looked pretty good at it, but also Dwight Lowery. Now he only had the one he just picked up and ran in the last week. They (Jacksonville) tried the onside, which when they saw Wallace (Wright) leave early on the first one, only problem they had is I saw it too and didn’t warn him even though he still didn’t play it the way he should have. We knew it was coming, so we’ve got that and then they squibbed one to Rob (Turner). He picked it up. Then, they popped one even though our numbers aren’t what you want to be, the field position certainly was. We would take that, but I like what I’ve seen of Dwight. I like what I’ve seen of him at practice. We’re working Brad Smith back with him and I threw David Clowney in for a particular type of return. They all did a pretty nice job, so we’re going to see how it plays out in that regard. Part of that decision will be we’ll see how Jim (Leonhard) is. Do we need the extra DB? All those kind of things because you play a team like New England, you’ve got to dress as many DBs as you can because you play the various packages. That’s all part of the decisions that we have to make, but I feel pretty comfortable with all those guys. Whoever we end up going with, I feel good with it right now.

On if there is worry that Darrelle Revis will get injured if he is a punt returner…

To be honest with you in the heat when it’s going on, to tell you the truth, we don’t think that way. Darrelle has done it before and obviously you look at his numbers and you say, “Gosh.” He cut the one ball, we were in safe because they were in plus territory and yet he gained three yards. If he doesn’t catch it, that ball rolls to the two-yard line. That was a nice play that he made. Now the other one, I tell you the truth, I wish he had run straight ahead. We would have blocked it well. He kind of hesitated and he went inside. It’s tough for him. Here is one of the premier corners in football, maybe the premier guy that has such a burden. We really just don’t want to have to throw him back there and do it if we don’t have to. To use him last week, no we don’t think that way.

On if it is hard to activate Miller if he is only going to be the kick returner…

It’s pretty hard to do because he’s not a punt returner. He’s done it, but I don’t feel comfortable with him doing it. You’re really looking at a guy almost to do one thing if he doesn’t have a role on defense and he’s not been a teams guy. That’s a tough decision. Would I like to have him back there doing it? Sure. Have I seen that he’s head and shoulders (above the rest)? Up until today, probably not, but today I liked what I saw. That makes it a tough call. If we end up with (Dwight) Lowery or Brad Smith, I’ll feel pretty comfortable with them.

On in a perfect world would he like to have Miller returning kickoffs…

Sure. The last time we did, he went to the Pro Bowl. I know he’s a tough kid. He’s really practicing hard. He’s really trying to get himself back. In my opinion, today he practiced like a pretty dog on big-time defensive back. He did a good job. He made a heck of a pick and he’s really trying, so you can see how hard he’s working trying to get himself back in to it. Unfortunately, sometimes he’s got himself painted in a bit of a corner because the fact of being involved in so many other aspects of the game. That’s an issue we’re going to have to face, but I feel ok with it.

On what he lost when Leon Washington broke his leg…

A good friend. He’s just a multi-dimensional guy and a big-threat guy. He’s a guy that can take it to the house, plus he does so many other things for our football team. Tough blow. The thing that I felt really good about and I don’t think we’ve lost all of it is with Jim Leonhard back there was the strength of he and Leonhard together. I hardly got to use it. That’s something I was really counting on doing for a good bit of the year. Then, it never materialized. I have a sign in my office (that reads), “You can’t win with the players you don’t have.” I firmly believe it. I wish I had him, but I don’t, so you move on. You find a way with the next guy. I feel very comfortable with the people we have right now. You see this in the league all the time. It goes on. It’s tough and we don’t like it, but we don’t get to reschedule so we deal with it.

On if he talked to Washington after his injury…

Of course. I talked to him in the hospital when he was out there.

On what he said to Washington…

I don’t think anything earth shattering or that would be quoted. I have a great deal of affection for him and think a great deal of him. I’ve watched how he’s developed the whole time. Justin Miller was our return guy and went to the Pro Bowl. Leon was a blocker for him and really not much else. All of a sudden, Leon became the return guy and next thing you know he’s running touchdowns and then he’s scoring them on offense. I feel like a very intricate part of him and very close to him. I think he’s going to be fine. I looked at his X-Rays. I showed him mine and said, ‘I’ve got one worse than that.’ I was teasing him. He’s going to be fine. He’s a great kid. We see him here a lot. He comes in a lot to try to rehabilitate. As soon as this thing heals, jump back in and continue his career which I can imagine will be outstanding.

On waiving Ahmad Carroll…

There were some issues and things that took place. I didn’t have much to do with that to be honest with you. To tell you the truth, from my perspective it was very average production. I know he made some big plays and there’s big-play capability, but not near as many as you think. They double Wallace (Wright) not him. Sometimes when he’s single (Wright) goes down and makes the play. (Carroll) didn’t make it. He had a number of tackles he could have made. He was from me to you against Reggie Bush and let him run. Nobody blocked him. We automatically checked to a single flyer. It was pretty well-designed. I felt pretty good about it. He should have made the play. There were too many plays he wasn’t making and penalties. When you add that up with some other things that maybe weren’t exactly what you’re looking for, time to move on. It just is what it is. In my opinion, just plays he didn’t make.

On Larry Izzo…

He’s above-average.

On why Izzo is above average…

You have to watch the film. He did miss a tackle. The running into the kicker, he got pushed into it. That certainly wasn’t a penalty that was costly. He’s involved in a lot of intricate things because of so many things he can do. You’re comparing apples and oranges also. Larry has played much better in my system. He’s way ahead. Larry probably gets the most difficult blocking assignment every week. He’s pretty proficient in it. Last time we played New England, the single block, he knocked two guys flat on their (butts). Those were pretty good plays. Is he the guy he used to be? No, probably not. He gets down and covers. He gets in the mix of things in punt protection and punt team he’s on. He’s an integral part. He can fill in at fullback. He plays the wing. He blocks. His roles on all of our teams are pretty integral. For the most part, he’s performed pretty well. You have to sit down and really watch it. Is he the guy that I had down at Miami? No. Probably not. He’s coming to the end of it, but no one has been better than him in my opinion in that particular role. We don’t have anybody that can play as well. He’s done it pretty well.

On Carroll returning kickoffs…

He had no clue how to read it. He just ran. There is talent there. There is some talent there. We gave him an opportunity and tried to resurrect him and there were some things he did well, but not enough.

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