Head coach Herm Edwards
(on being able to relax after the Jets' first win) "You can't relax. We have to keep pulling and keep working. I just think that obviously it (winning) helps you. You feel better after a win then you do losing four in a row. We still have a lot of work to do and things we need to try to accomplish here down the road. Hopefully, our focus is that way. Obviously, we are coming down to Houston and playing the Texans. They have a young football team, some talented young players on offense. They are a pretty good football team."
(on former Jets cornerbacks Marcus Coleman and Aaron Glenn) "Obviously, those guys--our first year here they we're starting corners for us. They did a magnificent job of helping us go to the playoffs. We won 10 games with them. Then to lose them the next year because of--obviously we were strapped a little bit with the (salary) cap, we had to do some things. We lost them and they're playing very, very well down there (in Houston). Marcus is a tremendous athlete, obviously. He has got great size, good hands, a good tackler. Aaron--he is a speed cover guy, one of the better cover guys in the National Football League. He went to the Pro Bowl last year. They are very, very good corners. Two of the better one in the league."
(on keeping a positive outlook despite their record) "Well, obviously the season is long and you know things happen. That's what is great about the National Football League. As soon as you think you get it figured out, it's not figured out. I think our players understand that. That has always been our mindset here. You play one game at a time. It's a long season. We always say it's not how you start it's how you finish. We've been able to finish pretty well in the last two years. Our finishes really have propelled us to go to the playoffs. Hopefully, we still have some gas in our tank and can work our way out of this. It's definitely an uphill climb for us."
(on how their losses have proven quarterback Chad Pennington's value) "Well, yeah. I think when you lose Chad (Pennington) and you lose some other players obviously on the offseason, that hurts you. There is no doubt about it. But you've got to move on because players get hurt as we all know and you've got to continue to play. I think our team, for the most part, earlier in the season there were some games where if we would've made some plays, we probably would have a better record. But we didn't make those plays. That's why we suffered to a slow start. So hopefully we can start making some plays like we did last week and hopefully win some more games."
(on running back Curtis Martin's slow start and his offer to concede playing time to Lamont Jordan) "Obviously, watching last game, he looked like the Curtis Martin that we all want him to be. We were able to run the ball. Lamont (Jordan) was able to run the ball also. I thought for the most part that really helped us offensively. Curtis Martin was being a team guy. That's why he is one of the leaders on this football team. He is going to get the football. When he runs the ball, that helps us. We know that and he did a good job of that last week.
(on potential of the Jets' offense versus the Texans' defense) "(The Texans) have played some teams with some potent offenses, too. That has something to do with (their defensive struggles). But if you really look at them, no runner has run for 100 yards on those guys. They've done a great job that way. They make you pass. When you have to pass the ball a lot, bad things happen. You turn the ball over, they knock the quarterback down--all those things happen. That's how they play. Sometimes you go against hot quarterbacks--and that has happened--and so you get some yardage on you. But I think for the most part coach Capers and those guys do a great job and they have a young football team. They're building a young football team down there and they're going to be a good team."
(on Texans QB David Carr) "I like him. I like his enthusiasm. I like his ability to move in the pocket. I think he is a young quarterback that is getting better. He has actually played, when you really think about it, more games than Chad (Pennington). Believe it or not. He has started more games than Chad already. They are in good hands with having him. He can make all the throws. He has some gifted receivers down there and he understand how to get the ball to the backs. He does a great job of checking the ball down to the backs. He can buy some time in the pocket with his ability to move."
(on the Texans' three main running backs) "They are all strong runners. They are tough guys, can break tackles. They are all strong-legged guys. They do a good job. They are physical when they run. They can catch the ball out of the backfield. It's tough. They have got a nice offense. They move the ball around very, very well. That's why they are number one (in the AFC) in offense. They do a good job. They have a lot of weapons and that concerns you when you play defense against them."
(on QB Vinny Testaverde's ability to stick around in the NFL) "Physically, he has always stayed in the game. He has stayed in shape. He has a good mindset. He understands the game. He loves playing football. He really does. He has a passion for playing. You can see him later on, when he does decide to retire--heaven knows when that is--he'll be in football I would think in some type of capacity. He has that ability to prolong his future with the way he conditions himself on the offseason and how he keeps himself in shape."
(on Testaverde's long NFL career) "The great thing about Vinny is we actually listen to the same music. So that's pretty good when you have a player that understands the music you used to listen to in the late 70's. So that's pretty good."
(on the Jets' defensive line) "Bryan (Thomas) obviously had his first start last week and did a nice job. He is an oncoming guy. Dewayne (Robertson) is a guy--we put him in there right away--and he is a guy that we like. He has great upside and I think the more he plays, he is going to continue to get better. I think both those guys are young, talented guys. When you build your defense, you build it with your defensive line first. I think you do that and I think we have a pretty good defensive line. We've got some young guys, John Abraham is another younger player. He is in his fourth year. Shaun Ellis is having a great year. (Jason) Ferguson is having another good year. So I think those guys are really the emphasis of what you try to build a defense with."
(on cornerback Donnie Abraham's return form a shoulder injury) "He is a ways away (from playing). We are talking probably next month on that."
QB Vinny Testaverde
(on playing an expansion team) "You don't look at it that way. I mean every team in the league is so close in ability and talent that your week of preparation is the same for everybody. So you never take anyone lightly. Especially in our case; we're 1-4 and trying to get things turned around here."
(on Marcus Coleman and Aaron Glenn) "There's no question but it works both ways. I don't know who's advantage that is but certainly I have a lot of respect for those guys. I think they're some of the best corners in the entire NFL."
(on taking advantage of the Texans' injured secondary) "We watched a few games on film, certainly last week's game and I think (Steve) McNair threw for a few yards there, but it comes down to going out and making plays. They're very tough against the run and we know it's going to hard to run the ball but we have to continue to try and do that."
(on last week's win relaxing the team) "It's certainly a good feeling to walk in here Monday morning knowing that you won a ball game. Herm (Edwards) stressed this morning that no we can't get excited now. It's nice to get a win but we can't settle for just one win. We want to continue to do the things we did on Sunday and hopefully that will set us on the right track to where we want to go."
(on his long NFL career) "I have certainly found a way to survive for a number of years in the NFL. It's been a lot of fun in going against coaches like Dom (Capers). Whether he was an assistant at Pittsburgh or now a head coach it's been a lot fun. As we play other teams I find myself going over and talking to more coaches than I do players because I know more coaches now than I do players. I have certainly been blessed with the physical ability to be able to stay healthy and been around some good teams. Approaching my 40 th birthday I still feel like I'm playing at a high level. I still feel like I can contribute to help my team win football games. Chad (Pennington) will be back soon and I know that but at the moment I'm in here playing and I have to help my team win this week."
(on playing after this year) "My mindset is that as long as I'm having fun and I'm healthy and the team has a chance to win each week I want to be part of that. If I can contribute in any way to helping my team win I want to be a part of it. If it's not fun for me or if I'm not healthy than no I don't want to do it anymore."
(on Curtis Martin offering playing time to Lamont Jordan) "Anytime you go through a stretch of losing like we have things are going to come up and you're going to see the character players, the leaders step forward as Curtis (Martin) did and make statements like that. It's tough when you lose. We went through it early last year and guys stepped forward and did the same thing. Herm (Edwards) has said this year after the first four games we lost that he was going to mix it up and change some things. We have to do that in order for us to get a spark and get back on the right track."
(on replacing Laveranues Coles with one guy or collectively) "I think it's a combination of both. Certainly Santana (Moss) is our big play guy. Anytime we get the ball in his hands we are expecting or hoping he can take it the distance no matter if it's a screen pass or a deep throw. With Curtis Conway being new he has gone through some adjustments trying to learn the system and I think he had done a great job in doing it. He's going to continue to get better with it and so is Santana because he's such a young player. We talk about Santana taking that place of Lavearneus (Coles) but it's also everybody making that contribution to continue to be as dominant as we were last year."
