• In addition to tendering Edwards there is a possibility that the Jets will tender Leon Washington and Kellen Clemens.
• He likes Erik Ainge and Kevin O’Connell as backups but would look into bringinning in some veterans to backup Sanchez.
• Expects TJ to be back.
• Says the team is undecided on Lito (but chances are pretty good that Lito won’t return, based on his performance and what the Jets will have to pay him come March).
• Expects Gholston to return but he certainly did not sound too confident about his future. Stated it will be an important offseason for Vernon.
• Expects Sanchez to be ready “well before” camp, sounds like an operation could be performed on Sanchez’s knee however the team hasn’t finalized anything.  
• Expects Rhodes to return to the team but he didn’t sound confident about what he was preaching.
• Says secondary will be a priority after all “Rex loves DB’s.”

Edit: For those who wish to listen to Tannenbaum’s press conference for themselves, here is the link.

Opening Statement

Like I told the team, I hate losing. I hate losing. I don’t care, preseason or not, whatever the case, it stinks. You have to give credit to the Rams. They did a good job. They made some plays. One running back was so quick, I never saw his number [laughing]. That was embarrassing. We made way too many mistakes on defense and with the third group. Sometimes unfortunately, this game is too big for some people at times. That’s why not everybody makes this team. I’m looking for Jets. I’m looking for guys that are passionate, tough people and are smart. We made way too many mistakes. It was embarrassing. Two touchdowns they got were off mental mistakes by us. I can’t handle getting beat physically but I can handle it more than when we get beat mentally. That was real unfortunate.

We’re going to have to practice harder with the third group. We got ‘an opportunity’ they call it around here, some scrimmage-type things at the end of our practices. We have to get better. We have to tackle better. I thought the “one” defense bowed their neck pretty good. After that first turnover, I think the Rams were zero-for-five on third down in the first half. The first defense did pretty decent, held them out of the end zone.

We turned the ball over too much, but other than that, I was really happy with the way our offense performed. When you consider that you have three starting offensive linemen out, our quarterbacks were outstanding, all three of them today. I’m disappointed I couldn’t get Harvard [Chris Pizzotti] in, but I’d rather win instead. That’s the way it is.

I thought David Clowney, we saw that speed. I guess they should have read the bio. He’s pretty dang fast. I liked the poise that all three quarterbacks had. [Mark] Sanchez, for a rookie to step in there and his first throw, to unleash one like that, was pretty impressive to me. Again, I was real happy with all three quarterbacks.

On the aggressive Jets defense…

I was calling the defense early on [laughing]. That’s our style. That’s the way we’ll play preseason, regular season, it doesn’t matter. The league knows what we’ll do. We like to pressure. It’s funny, most of those pressures were four-man rushes, they were just disguised pretty well. I thought the guys did a good job of that, moving around, that first group. I was happy with the way we were moving around and disguising things.

On if a quarterback decision will be coming soon…

I think with the way all of them performed, they did outstanding. I though we might be a little more vulnerable with our offensive line situation. That’s why we took Sanchez out. That was my decision. I think he showed us everything we needed to see. He completed a vertical route, mid-range pass, he completed everything. The offense looked great.

I thought Kellen, with the one mistake in the pocket where he fumbled, other than that I thought he played well. I was really happy with Ainge.

On if Sanchez will start next week against Baltimore…

I haven’t made that decision yet. We’ll sit down and talk about it. But he will definitely play more.

On Sanchez’s first pass of the game…

You have to ask Schotty [Brian Schottenheimer] because I was shocked by it. I was like, ‘what the heck is that? Let the guy warm up a little bit [laughing].’ But he has all the confidence in the world in him. Clowney had a step on him. It was just a great throw as well. I think that just shows you the kind of kid he is. This guy, he’s a cool customer.

On if he feels better about the wide receiver competition after tonight’s game…

I’ve been saying that, that the wideouts are pretty good. Brad Smith had a couple of real nice catches. Wallace [Wright] had a couple nice ones, ] got shaken up on one he should have caught, but I was happy with our offense, all of them. You have three starters out on your offensive line. I’m not an excuse guy at all, but those guys stepped up and played well.

On the quarterbacks improving their chances…

I was happy with all three of the quarterbacks. I thought they all played well. When Sanchez came in, he looked like he looks in practice. He stepped in there, it wasn’t too big for him. It wasn’t too big for [Kellen] Clemens, and quite honestly, I thought Ainge played really well also. I don’t think we’re there yet. We’ll meet as a staff and if there’s a decision to be made, we’ll all discuss it.

On if Sanchez would be the choice to start at Baltimore…

That’s what you guys would think. So we’ll see. If we decide that, we’ll see. A lot goes into that. The opponent we are playing is pretty decent on defense, I think they shut out the Redskins. There are other factors as well. [Kellen] Clemens did a good job minus that one bad [play]. But we’ll make that decision and then we’ll let you guys know. It would be probably obvious in the first practice what we are going to do.

On the game affecting players “under the radar” who are trying to make the roster…

It affected a couple players negatively. I know it’s the first game and you have pre-game jitters, but you’ve got to play in the NFL. You have to have skin like an armadillo. You have to be tougher than that. You can’t make mental mistakes. There were some guys that disappointed me, but I thought [Britt] Davis had a nice catch. That was good to see. I thought some of the young offensive linemen. [Matt] Slauson, from what I saw, did a decent job. I thought [Matt] Kroul, at times, was pretty good on defense.

On his first game as head coach…

It was good for awhile. I was calling the defense early in the game until the last series of the second quarter. That was business as usual. Schotty [Brian Schottenheimer], he ran the offense over there. He doesn’t have to check with me to do anything he wants. He made a great statement at half time. I just love the attitude. He said, “We are going to run the ball every snap until we get the first down”. And he meant it.

The great thing is, most guys would shy away from third and long. You’re playing at home, most guys are going to have to throw it or get booed out of the stadium. He made that statement and this is what we preach the whole time. When we make a statement to our team, we are going to follow it up. That means, if we say a statement, “We are going to run the ball 50 times”, we better have 50 carries. I was proud of Schottenheimer. I love his statement that he made to the offense. He was tired of that, he knew we could run the ball better than that and that’s why we kept running it to start the second half.

I feel strong about this team. I really do. To be able to go without three of your starting offensive linemen and be able to move the football like we did, with three different quarterbacks, I thought that was pretty impressive. Our defense, I know what we can do. I know we are missing two Pro Bowlers but I like the attitude we took the field with. When you have that Jets decal on your helmet, that should stand for something. I don’t care if you’re the third team or whatever you are, that has to mean something, that has to be a prideful thing.

To let someone run the ball for a 90 yard touchdown and rip in there and make a mistake and let a team score on you with a linebacker covering a wideout, that doesn’t make any sense. I wanted the team to know how disappointed I was and the fact that I can’t stand losing. I don’t want the team to stand for it either. I have a tough times believing they can play for me and understand that we are all disappointed. We all wanted to celebrate a victory.

There are going to be some guys we release who may be able to play in the National Football League. We just don’t think they can play for us. We want guys that are just so passionate about it that they give everything they have. That kind of investment is what we are looking for. We’ve had some guys that might have been short on talent but they made up for it in everything else and they have a chance to make it.

What’s refreshing to me is you so often see teams just sign talent for the sake of talent. It’s become clear that Ryan is determined to sign players to fit what he wants, whether they’re the most talented or not. So often we see teams like the Cowboys or Redskins just throw money and talent at the wall and hope it sticks into something substantial. Pittsburgh, Indy and New England have found guys in late rounds, guys as free agents who just fit the team philosophy and who’s abilities are maxmized by the system. What that tells me is that perhaps he sees the young receivers on the roster as guys who may not be the “big name” or most talented, but guys who can fit into what they want to do on offense and develop into legitimate weapons — just maybe not in the traditional sense.

More Ryan quotes after the jump…

On whether to sit or play a rookie QB…

I certainly understand why people do it (sit a rookie quarterback). It’s hard to buy experience. If the guy has that kind of ability where you think that he could help your football team, then I think you have to give a guy that opportunity.

As we’ve seen and said before, Rex is going to start who he thinks is going to help him win NOW. He’s going to start the best QB regardless of whether it’s Sanchez or Clemens. What I think fans should be on the lookout for during minicamps and training camp is which player can manage the offense best this year, not necessarily who shows the best potential for years to come.

On Baltimore starting Kyle Boller his rookie season …

(The Ravens) thought it was the best choice, it gave our team the best chance to put him out there. He had some ups and downs. He got hurt almost in the first game of the season. Everybody’s different and there’s always a different circumstance.

Being an NFL head coach is never an easy or guaranteed business so be clear that Ryan is not just going to start Sanchez because he’ll be the better QB in 2 years. Sitting on the bench and learning isn’t going to hurt, but that said, if Sanchez is arm and arm with Clemens at the end of this competition, it’s likely Sanchez will get the benefit of the doubt. Something also to consider: Regardless of what he says, a holdout is possible. As Jets fans know, Tannenbaum plays hardball when it comes to rookie contracts and Stafford’s deal is not exactly cheap. That’s going to be something to keep an eye on.

On if anyone jumped out at Coach Ryan today…

It was good to watch them (Offensive line) really work. That offensive line is so much of your character as a football team. I love the way (Bill) Callahan coaches. He is a tough guy and he really makes those guys work. They are not just eating the grass, they are really working out there.

We all saw Callahan’s coaching work wonders last year as the offensive line jelled into one of the best in the NFL. I know that of all the coaches I hoped Ryan would hold onto as he took office, Callahan was hands down No. 1. Callahan’s aggressive coaching style fits right into Ryan’s wheelhouse and it’s good to see that nothing has changed. Look for the offensive line to continue to be a major strength of this team. Sixth-roud pick Matt Slauson should be an interesting developmental prospect to watch considering his history with Callahan at Nebraska.

On his impressions of Shonn Greene…

I love the way guys bounce off him. He comes rolling in there, guys are going flying. Guys are trying to tag him, his teammate went flying today, bounced off him.

…

But it’s true, he hits that hole and you say ‘man, that’s a big man coming through there.’ He runs low, he’s a big ol’ rascal. They bounce off him. Unfortunately, some of the passes bounce off him.

…

Those are things we can work on. We literally can get that better in his game. (Running backs coach) Anthony Lynn is an outstanding coach. He couldn’t take it today. He had to put those guys through more ball drills. He said ‘I let them slide for one day, but not two days.’ I think he’ll get better that way and I think his pass protection will improve also.

On whether Greene’s burst is better than he thought …

Not more than I thought. Maybe more than a lot of people thought. I think if you are just looking at him, you just see this big guy. I think he surprises a lot of people how quick he is and the kind of speed he really does have.

I wanted to get both of the Green responses out before I commented. Greene is an individual who has been through a fair amount in order to get to the NFL and I think he’s is going to be a HUGE addition for this team. I think he’s very much like Brandon Jacobs and we’ve seen what kind of impact he has had with the Giants. Despite all of the rushing touchdowns last season, it’s been a long time since the Jets had someone they could give the ball to on 4th and 1 or on the goal line and just ask them to push through the line. He’s a huge body and is likely to be used in a very situational role in his rookie year. He could be very similar to what Tim Hightower was for Arizona this past year and snake a good number of short-yardage touches from Thomas Jones. With the team likely to run the ball a heavy amount, having 3 NFL-quality backs is a major boost. However, it’ll be interesting to see what kind of impact this has on Jehuu Caulcrick’s roster status and potential playing time this season.

Opening statement…

Today we are following our normal schedule, so we will be working primarily on third down. That will be the point of emphasis. Tennessee has always been very good defensively on third down since the time Jeff’s (Fisher) been there. It’s really no different this year and that’s an area we’ve made quite a bit of improvement on since the bye offensively. That will be a really good challenge for us.

On Jeff Fisher’s longevity with the Titans…

It’s incredible. You don’t see that very much anymore – the Don Shulas, the Tom Landrys, guys that were there 25, 20 years. It seems to be much rarer than it used to be. It’s a real testament to him. He’s done it in different places in terms of where the team was – all different types of players, young, old. It’s been the whole gambit and he’s been consistently successful. It’s impressive.

On the progress of CB Darrelle Revis…

Darrelle continues to make really good progress because of the way he works on his technique at practice and his consistency at practice. I had a long discussion with Leon (Washington) yesterday about the characteristics of great players. He brought up the fact that when he came into the league, he really thought that great players were extremely talented (and) more talented than the other players. Since he has been in the league, he realizes how hard working those guys are. They are extremely talented, but they are usually the leaders in terms of work ethic. A guy like Alan Faneca is a great example of that. Darrelle is moving along that same path in terms of being extremely talented, working on his technique every day in practice and having consistent levels of practice. I really like what he’s doing in terms of studying the opponent. That’s something that has improved significantly from his first year to his second year.

On whether he has made a decision between K Mike Nugent and Jay Feely…

No.

On reason for conversation with RB Leon Washington…

I was congratulating him on breaking the team’s record in terms of (career kickoff) returns and being the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week. We were laughing about his early days here and the time that he made the decision as to how he was going to define his career. Mike (Westhoff) will have players present to the rest of the team. Leon, whenever he presents, it’s like a coach. It’s thorough. He’s the returner so he could easily say, ‘the kicker’s going to offset here. The ball’s going to come out to the five (yard line). It’s going to be this hang time,’ but he goes through block-by-block (and) how we have to block it, who the guy’s are we have to target, why we need to make sure we have those guys covered, what the reads are, what the adjustment is if the ball is outside the sideline and if the ball’s kicked somewhere it’s not supposed to be. It’s really satisfying to see. He’s one of the guys that came in with me and to see his growth and development is great.

On laughing with Washington about the fumbles during practice as a rookie…

It was the fumbling. It was the struggling with the blitz pickup, the route. He was about as in shape as I was. (smile) All of those things lead to a very tough rookie camp. He won the offseason award program. He was the overall winner this year. He was voted the team MVP last year. It’s his ability combined with his work ethic and determination. He’s another great example of size. He’s not the biggest guy in the world, but he finds a way to be consistently productive.

On whether RB Curtis Martin had an impact on Washington’s work ethic…

I definitely think that Curtis helped out. Curtis helps out a lot of people whenever he’s around. His focus is rare. I don’t know if he even dated during the season (smiling). It was all football all the time. That was his focus. When he was injured or dealing with any type of pain, I would ask him about it and he would say that not playing was not an option. It never entered into his psyche that he couldn’t play that week. Pain was not going to be an issue. Nothing was going to stop him.

On TE Dustin Keller’s confidence…

There is a fine line between confidence and over-confidence. He is very gifted. It’s easy to have confidence in him at practice. He makes unbelievable catch after unbelievable catch so the things that he has been able to do in the games aren’t surprising. If he continues to work at it and understand defenses as he gets better in terms of the fluidness and the feel of the routes then he will be that much more productive. There are times when some of his breaks look a little robotic. It’s not that smooth where you’re hinting and going, but it’s gotten a lot better. If he keeps working at it and drilling it (in terms of) where the openings are, he has tremendous upside.

On the matchup between DT Kris Jenkins and C Kevin Mawae…

Any time you put two players of their experience, ability and styles – they are different styles of players – that’s always fun to watch. Kevin is very savvy. He’s always been a very savvy guy. To see how he’s going to approach (Jenkins) will be real interesting.

On Brad Smith…

We always have plays in for Brad that are very specific to him, but the nice thing about where Brad has come in terms of being a receiver is he can just go in and play receiver. He doesn’t have to be in for gadget-plays are those Brad Smith-specific plays. He can just go in and play receiver. I am very confident with what he can do there. He is another guy who has consistently improved. It’s not a function of forgetting about Brad or putting him on the backburner, sometimes it’s just the way the game goes. We have a lot of guys who can do good things with the ball, so whoever ends up getting it is a plus.