Jets

Jets TE Jeremy Ruckert and HC Aaron Glenn praised QB Geno Smith‘s hot start to the season.

“He’s a warrior, man,” Ruckert said, via ESPN. “He’s a field general. We have the utmost confidence in him.”

“Are there some things that he has to improve on? Absolutely, absolutely he does, and he would tell you that himself,” Glenn said of Smith. “But I think, overall, I was really pleased on how he operated.”

Jets

Jets HC Aaron Glenn believes the team is on the cusp of turning the corner, and they’re a few plays away from a record-changing shift.

“We’re right here. Our guys know it’s this gap right here that we’ve got to close. We’re fighting our asses off to close that gap, and we will — from a coaching perspective and from a player perspective,” Glenn said, via Jets Wire.

Jets CB Brandon Stephens acknowledged that the team needs to do a better job of closing out games.

“We’ve got to figure out a way to close out these games. Everybody has to look themselves in the mirror and figure it out and just see what we have to help this team win these games when they come down to the end in the fourth quarter,” Stephens said.

Patriots

Patriots HC Mike Vrabel spoke about trying to have more control over the offense and making better decisions, rather than forcing the play as QB Drake Maye did in the team’s recent loss. 

“I think sometimes, we really want to make a good score, right? Sometimes we’re so focused on it, we try to choke the life out of the golf club, and we’re squeezing it so damn tight that the ball has no choice but to go sideways,” Vrabel said on sports radio WEEI, via ESPN. “We need to stop trying to choke the life out of every single play. We need to relax. We need to settle in and go play football and not try to force things that aren’t there. Confidence comes from your preparation, and it comes from going out there. I can’t manufacture confidence. You have to practice. You have to hit those plays in practice and you have to feel good about it. We just have to be able to make sure that we’re on the same page, that everybody knows what is expected of them, have a few details, and then go play football.”

“I think this is just an offensive unit deal, a team thing,” WR Romeo Doubs chimed in. “The fundamentals are key … fundamentals aren’t strong enough. I keep emphasizing on it because that’s part of this league, this game. You cannot win games doing your own thing. You have to have some sort technique and some professional initiative to get things rolling.”