(On creating explosive plays in Week 7 at Cincinnati) “It was big. I had guys go up and make plays on the ball and then guys catch it and then go make plays. And then somehow the seas parted, and I somehow got 20 yards running the ball. But it’s definitely encouraging when you’re moving the ball in chunks like that.”
(On if chunk yardage plays offset concerns about his completion percentage) “Percentage shows a lot of different things, not necessarily accuracy. Because, you watch the film, it’s not a bunch of missed balls. I think we’re taking shots down field and those are going to be lower percentage, but also higher reward, so there’s a little give and take there.”
(On the comfort of having K Josh Lambo) “We lean on him too much sometimes, like he’s too good. We don’t need him kicking as many field goals as he is, but knowing that we’re getting points, it’s big time.”
(On QB Nick Foles returning to practice) “I think we’re pretty good at quarterback if nothing else, you know? Hopefully that’s the case. We love working together, and it’s just going to be a lot of fun.”
(On if he’s thinking about whether he or Foles will start when Foles returns) “No. We’re all, everybody in that room is worried about beating the Jets this week. And then next week, it’s going to be beat the Texans and then after that it’ll be beating whoever else we play after the bye.”
(On the importance of home field advantage) “That’ll be huge. Anytime we get to come home to a good atmosphere it definitely makes a difference, and we’re excited anytime we get a chance to play at home. Just the fact that we won’t be here for awhile makes it even more important.”
(On the play WR Keelan Cole made on his 2-yard TD reception) “That was awesome, man. That was a really tough play. Him running all the way around the guy and coming back down, making the play, I was really happy for him. He hadn’t gotten a ton of opportunities, so I know getting a score for him was big for his confidence.”
(On trusting Cole to make a play on the ball) “Yeah, exactly. Just trying to play it safe there, where it’s kind of us or nobody. Because we knew on the goal line there you probably have two downs, on the 1-yard line anyway.”
(On his reaction of seeing Foles on the practice field) “It was good, man. He looked comfortable. It’s been awhile, we missed him out there. He brings a lot of energy. It’s a lot of fun when he’s out there, so it was good to see him back.”
(On getting WR Dede Westbrook and WR Chris Conley involved in the offense) “It was awesome. I think we have a lot of guys that can make plays in that room, so I think every week it could be any combination of them. We’re just trying to get to the point now where everybody’s rolling every week and we can do some really good things.”
(On how they incorporate TE Josh Oliver into the offense) “I just do the reads that they tell me. It’s not my job to decide who gets a bunch of touches. I make the reads, and if the read tells me to go there, I’ll go there.”
(On what stands out about Jets Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams’ defense) “He’s definitely aggressive. They’re going to try to take away the run first, and they’ve done a really good job at that. They have some talented guys and they’re going to play an attacking style of defense. So they present their own types of challenges and it’ll be a lot of fun to play against them.”
(On the relationship he’s built with QB Nick Foles) “He’s a good guy, through and through. And that’s not circumstantial. It’s not based off of how he’s doing or how I’m doing. It’s based off who he is. And he’s going to be a great teammate, a great leader, no matter what position he’s in.”
(On if he and Foles spent a lot of time together outside the facility after Minshew took over the starting position) “He had to take a little bit of time off with the surgery, but as soon as he could get back into the meeting rooms, he was there with us watching all of the film, helping anyway he could. Helping me get up to speed and try to understand these defenses and plan.”
(On if he felt sorry for what Jets QB Sam Darnold went through on Monday Night Football) “It’s definitely a tough job. They probably shouldn’t have played that clip. That’s not cool. You put trust in these guys putting microphones in your face for the game, so I feel for him there for sure. It was a tough night for him.”
(On if he will feel trepidation in wearing mics for games going forward) “You want to be able to come to the sideline, and be confident and tell your coaches how you feel and have that open line of communication without getting everything and anything thrown up there on TV. So hopefully in the future we’ll do a better job of keeping that – what needs to be behind closed doors, behind closed doors.”
(On Westbrook’s 33-yard reception) “Yeah, that was a bad decision by me. I threw a punt up there, but he went up and make a heck of a play. Having receivers like that, that even when you’re not 100 percent they can make you right, that gives you a lot of confidence.”
(On throwing the third down sideline pass to Chark instead of dumping the ball off to RB Leonard Fournette) “We got that play in kind of late. We were supposed to check to a different play, but the play clock was too low. So, ended up – my mindset already, I was just trying to make something happen and he just kind of popped right there, so he made a good play for us.”
(On if it is a fine line to walk between being confident his receivers can make a play versus being careless) “I am not going to do that again … That was ill-advised. You definitely are not going to take unnecessary risks, but part of the game is there are a lot of snap decisions and sometimes you are going to be wrong. When you have guys that can protect you like that, it makes you feel better.”
(On when he needs to be aware of Jets S Jamal Adams) “Every down. He is a different type of player. He is one of the best I have seen. He is always going to be around the ball. He attacks, so it is going to be a lot of fun to be able to play against him.”
(On the amount of red zone focus this week and how important it is to get better there) “Yes. There have been a lot of talks about it in a lot of our meetings. Friday is our big red zone practice day, so we will hone in. I know we are going to really focus on execution down there. I know there have been a few different things. Some negative plays, some penalties. We just have to get with what we are comfortable with and execute.”
